2.15.2018

Introducing ... Girls In Madras


I am so inspired by fellow bloggers and amazing accounts on Instagram and these are two places I go quite a bit to feed my creative soul.  One of my favorite Instagram accounts and fellow bloggers is Summer who is the precious and very talented writer of Girls in Madras.   You may recall I have featured Summer before during my Bar Cart series but I have been dying to get my hands on photos of more of her apartment as it is just as beautiful and amazing as she is.  You will absolutely love her home ... the photos are truly incredible and she is one talented and inspiring girl.


Summer and I share similar tastes ... we love blue and white, are very attracted to all things Chinoiserie and have a passion for bar carts and bamboo.  I am sure if we were neighbors or even lived in the same city we would be antique shopping partners.  Her home is a perfect mix of old and new and is styled beautifully as you can see. 

I spy so many artisans and artists that I recognize and adore.  Summer has beautifully mixed Society Social with lacquered bamboo pieces and the work of Slim Aarons, Willa Heart and Paige Gemmel.  She shared with me she lives in historic Webster Groves (St. Louis suburb) and has for the last three years. "It’s a wonderfully charming area. I live blocks away from the cutest walk able downtown that has literally everything I need to stay alive—good coffee, monogram shops, and sushi. It’s definitely hard to think about moving to another neighborhood in the future!"


I asked Summer to share her thoughts on her apartment and her style and she delivered with extras.  I thought it would be so fun to learn about her space through her words.  As she gives us a tour of her beautiful home I know you will fall in love with it just as I have.  She is truly so darling!


My apartment is a natural culmination of my two favorite pastimes: decorating and entertaining. I’ve been collecting antiques for years, even before I had a place to call my own. The dining room is my absolute favorite space because it is filled with several family heirlooms; a Regency pedestal table that my parents bought right after their wedding, a Chippendale china cabinet with beautiful inlay that once graced my grandmother’s foyer, and two English horse lithographs from my grandfather’s library, to name a few.




For me, the most exciting thing about decorating is finding cool new ways to mix textures, colors, and patterns. I especially love mixing antique with modern, neutrals with bold colors, upholstery with metal, and lucite with dark woods. Oh and, I love to layer rugs! I found this leopard cowhide rug at a local antique store and immediately saw its layering potential. Cowhides look amazing layered over larger area rugs! 



I am so madly in love with this etagere!  I am currently looking for a matching pair of etageres for my office.  This one has me totally ready to wait to find exactly what I want and not rush the hunt.  This one has me with all the heart eyes and wanting to rent a truck and "borrow" this one!  😍


My first apartment was a studio in a Gilded Age high rise. It had beautiful parquet floors, molding for days, and…very little square footage. I had to get creative with the space I had available, which taught me how to rock my style in even the trickiest of circumstances. The most challenging thing about decorating that space was finding a stylish way to separate my living room and bedroom (having spent my entire life in old houses, I wasn’t used to dealing with open floor plans). I ended up using a Coromandel screen that I found at an antique shop as a room divider. Now that I have a bit more space, I use furniture and rugs to create the illusion of distinct rooms that flow together yet still have their own character. As you can see, I’m using my white Society Social sofa as a divider between my living and dining areas. This sofa is everything! I love the high tufted back, the navy piping, and the stain-resistant linen fabric. I’ve also carved out a little bar area between the living area and dining area, so no matter where my guests are sitting, I can serve them with ease and grace. 



My dining room is a bit more formal than my living room. I think the antique mahogany furniture takes it up a notch in formality. I didn’t want it to feel stuffy, so I brought in these fun lucite bamboo chairs to lighten the mood. I love the light, airy lucite against the mahogany! I’m thinking of covering the white chair cushions in a fun fabric and I’m still on the hunt for the perfect Palm Beach-y chandelier …#goals


Isn't her table darling styled for Valentine's Day?  I love that she mixed tobacco leaf with gingham.  She is clearly up for mixing prints just like me.   And for me ... the more the happier I am!

On Fridays, my mom and I meet for brunch and “do the rounds” at our favorite vintage spots around town. I picked up this tobacco leaf vase for a steal a few weeks ago at a local antique mall. My mom never fails to check the display cases at the malls for finds, so she gets all the credit for this one! I love collecting antique Chinese porcelain of all varieties, and I’m particularly fond of obsessed with rose medallion, blue and white, and tobacco leaf. 




Bathroom: I’m obsessed with my custom-made towels from Hempstead Thread! They were a Christmas gift from my mom and I mean, that monogram is to die for! I love anything chinoiserie and I’m a sucker for fabulous, statement-making pagoda monograms. 



My bedroom is basically all blue and white with little touches of green, pink, and orange. I’m in LOVE with this vignette of my dresser top! The navy lacquer dresser is simply stunning against the white walls and the vibrant little touches make my heart smile! 



I love a room screams "I'm timeless, collected, and interesting, come in and explore!"


Isn't her home just the most amazing?  I truly think she is so gifted.  She has created a home that is truly her and so stunning. I might need to drive up just to go on one of her Friday shopping trips with her mother, how fun would that be?

I am so thrilled to share Summer with you.  As I stated before she inspires me so with her darling blog and her amazing Instagram feed.  You must follow along with both of them.  I am hoping one day she will make the trip to Atlanta and shop Scott Antique Market with me, wouldn't that be so much fun.  I promise to story like crazy if she does!

I hope your Valentines Day was absolutely lovely.  Our Daddy came down with a combo of the flu + broncitis so we put a pause on our lovely dinner for four and are hoping to eat it tonight or tomorrow.  The salad was delish (we scarfed it down last night) and I went ahead and froze the sauce and meatballs!

Have the best Thursday ... 

1 comment:

  1. I adore this home. I love colour and blue and white china. The pink and green just knock it out the park. Yay I am so tired of grey and beige monochrome interiors. I feel a kindred spirit

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