7 Great Ways To Dress Up A Room With Drapery And Chandeliers

The best part of traveling, going to a restaurant or visiting a new place is capturing in your memory the scenic appeal of that place. The lightening, the furniture, the people, and the décor…all the details set the mood. Everyone enjoys indulging in decadent luxury every now and then, but luxury can be oh so costly! Marisa Perry, owner of Marisa Perry Atelier has graciously shared treasured tips and pictures of her favorite interior design rooms showing us how to create romantic extravaganza in our abodes by using two elements: drapery and chandeliers! And she’s also given us alternatives to buy these lavish items dirt-cheap!

Pink Room With Black Details

This combination may sound like a girly meets gothic fusion but if done right- you can make it quite elegant. Marisa proves that taking risks and playing with different color schemes can evoke Hollywood glamour in your room. Inspired by the Cristal room at Baccarat, designed by Phillipe Starck, Marisa decorated her dressing room by adding a dramatic black chandelier and off setting the darkness by using pink drapes and blond wood furniture. Now, who want to go play dress up over at Marisa’s ?

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Old World Vanity Elegance

Oh darling we’ll always have Paris in our own home! By adding heavy drapery in a rich gold tone color and a Baroque style chandelier to your vanity area, you can easily recreate old world, opulent, European elegance.

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Romantic Canopy Delight

Nothing says romance like a canopy bed. We’ve seen it inthe most romantic movie scenes. Two lovers vigorously devouring one another in the midst of passionate lovemaking; there’s always candlelight, soft fabric drapery delicately swaying as the scene progresses and a gorgeous chandelier hanging low in the loving space. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a canopy bed, you can DIY your own canopy bed by using wooden dowels, curtain rods, sheer fabric and thumb tacks, incorporate a small chandelier and you will have novella romance in your room everyday! (see tutorials on DIY canopy beds) http://diy.allwomenstalk.com/gorgeous-diy-canopy-beds

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Exotic Purple Glamour

Who knew purple could be so seductive? Inspired by the enchanting, stunning interior design of Joel Robuchon’s restaurant in Las Vegas, you can paint your bedroom walls Tyrian purple and add purple drapery to match. A purple and black combo is the most amazing to experience in person, and low light setting adds that sexy effect! Be careful though, you may never want to leave your room!

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Romantic in Pink

Pink is not a color a guy would choose, but it is such a sweet way of adding romance into your everyday life. Pink exudes warmth, kindness, passion, love and nurturing. Pink makes the ultimate statement: what a thoughtful and romantic gal you are! Take this room for example: it uses an innocent cotton candy pink with a crystal chandelier and soft translucent white  drapery fabric

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High Color Seduction

A prestigious high color depth will set the mood for a really sexy atmosphere. If you choose a deep color, it allows you to play with light and soft, bright and rich toned drapery. This is where you get creative with your color schemes! A vivacious, luminous chandelier adds the va va voom factor!

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Neutral, Soft, Parisian Chic

Neutral hues feel comfortable, and comfort can be so sassy! Painting your room in soft colors lets you accent your room with bold chic fixtures. Like this gray, gold toned accented room with white and taupe drapery and a gold, rich chandelier!

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There are several ways to transform the rooms in your home into romantic getaways and you won’t even have to break the bank! See below some of Marisa’s favorite websites:

http://www.greatchandeliers.com

http://www.halfpricedrapes.com

http://www.regaldrapes.com

 

 

Douglas Elliotts Top 10 Love Songs

Douglas, our designer, is known for his love of rock in addition to his love of jewelry and design!  I decided to find out what his top 10 love songs are for all you romantics out there!  If you know Douglas, you will not be surprised to see that this list features a lot of Beatles!

1. If I Fell – The Beatles

2. And I Love Her – The Beatles

3. Something – The Beatles

4. It’s Only Love – The Beatles

5. I will – The Beatles

6. You Make Loving Fun – Fleetwood Mac

7. It’s Only Love – Van Halen

8. Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton

9. Hopelessly Devoted – Olivia Newton-John

10. Fools Rush In – Elvis Presley

What are some of your favorite love songs?

Coffee and Antiques with Bob

Bob Loeser is the Director of Sales at Marisa Perry.  You may know him as the elegant man who can get you any diamond you’re looking for, but what you may not know is his love for antiques and art.  Some of our customers have gotten wind of his impeccable taste, and have brought pieces in for his input before they buy.  He is our favorite resource for all things antique, and he also makes a mean martini!

I decided to sit down with him and pick his brain about antiques and decorating for creating your romantic, antique style home.

How long have you been collecting?

30 years.  I collect art, antiques, and interesting objects.  Some are not so valuable, but I collect them just because they’re cool.  I also have a decent collection of ancient Roman and Greek artifacts.

How do you feel about mixing antique with modern?

I love it.  I think that it’s much more interesting today to do that because it shows you have flexibility of taste.

If you were going to suggest a staple for antique beginners what would it be?

I would say buy yourself a little end table, or a side chair, and come to a realization of what styles you like.  Work your way up!  The nice thing about a small piece like that is that it doesn’t necessarily dictate what the rest of your style will be.

What antique shops in New York do you recommend?

Guild antiques on 83rd and Lexington has a lot of 18th century English styles.

Newel has a beautiful selection of high end antiques (lighting, furniture, etc.)  Full array of 17th to 20th century, from Louis 14 to Art Deco.  425 East 53rd Street.  A wonderful place for inspiration.

a_image French Louis XVI style (19th Cent) cream painted open arm chair with carved gilt trim with a beige upholstered oval back and seat

What advice do you have for shopping at auctions?

My advice is to watch them and visit them frequently.  You never know what will turn up!  Also, never go in with one thing in mind!  You may be surprised at what you find.  Doyle New York is my favorite for the basic collector because they are a local house and deal with local estates.  You can find some of the finest 18th century furniture up to modern reproductions at reasonable prices.

What is your favorite piece from own collection?

My favorite piece of furniture is probably the early 18th century French Bombe I have in the living room.  Bow front with cabriole legs.  Louis the 15th.  Covered with inlaid wood with a very decorative pattern and gilded mounts.  Marble top.

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Favorite Art: a Carracci portrait with a side view of a nude male, 16th century Italian Renaissance.

Paintings by Carraci

Paintings by Carraci

Let’s say you find a piece you love, but it has some wear and tear.  How do you fix up a not perfect piece?

The easiest thing to do to improve the look of a piece is Olde English scratch cover, or you can buy furniture touch up pens which will help get rid of the scratches.

If you really want to improve the finish, Minwax Finishing Wax.  That’s a high quality wax that leaves a high quality finish,  You must thoroughly clean with a damp cloth with a mild dishwashing detergent like Ivory.  Do not saturate it.

What happens if the fabric on a chair or sofa has some spots?

I used some spray on oxyclean which doesn’t hurt the fabric.  Try an invisible spot first to make sure it doesn’t hurt the fabric.  Use sparingly and rinse with warm water.  But there are some stains that you just can’t get out.

Thank you Bob!

Until Next Time….

Romantic Special Occasions

Greetings Romantics!

I asked my husband for help with this post about romantic special occasions and his response was a mumble/grunt about putting the toilet seat down before he fell asleep, so it looks like I’m on my own here.

One of our best days last year was his birthday trip to Catalina Island.  The 30 minute ferry out there was fun itself…a brisk breeze, a seal following the boat, and whale sighting.  Not bad!  It happened to be on a Monday, so it wasn’t crowded at all, an extra bonus.

Highlights include our submerged boat tour through a beautiful kelp garden and plenty of fish, but the best was yet to come!

Underwater View

As the no longer submerged boat returned us to the dock, we spotted a swarm of dolphins…there must have been about 100 of them!  My husband raised his camera and managed to capture this amazing shot of them jumping in row!

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We lucked out big time when a water taxi driver agreed to drive us out smack in the middle of the dolphin frenzy.  He even spun the boat around a few times to get them even more playful.  This is my other favorite photo from that day:  so random!

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The element of getting outdoors and seeing something amazing was the key to romance during this trip.  We all know you can do the dinner and flowers thing.  I think we need to step it up!  Get out, go somewhere you’ve never been, and see something you ordinarily wouldn’t during your day-to-day life.

What have been some of your unique romantic special occasions?

Until next time…