Product Details
Country Living A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace: The Fabulous Interiors of Magnolia Pearl

Country Living A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace: The Fabulous Interiors of Magnolia Pearl
By Robin Brown

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Product Description

In 2001, Texas Hill Country textile artist Robin Brown established Magnolia Pearl—a design company showcasing her unique and remarkable style. Almost instantly, she became a cult figure to the fashionable young women who snap up her fantastic bags and couture clothing at high-end boutiques across the country. Now, in her first lavishly photographed book, Robin explains her interior design philosophy and shows us all how much you can do with just “a bit of velvet and a dash of lace.”
In her fresh, young, and truly one-of-a-kind approach to home decoration, Brown combines colors, textures, and materials to create environments of endlessly fascinating detail. Her incredibly ornate rooms feature an eclectic mix of Victorian, oriental, and vintage American décor—yet they’re easy and affordable to duplicate and personalize.
In addition to taking us layer by layer through each phase of decoration, and providing easy-to-follow and irresistible projects, Robin offers a delightful discussion of her unusual childhood that’s as personal and inviting as her own designs.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #78028 in Books
  • Published on: 2008-10-07
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 160 pages

Features

Customer Reviews

Bohemian Eclectic Lifestyle5
After waiting months for the release of this book, I was not disappointed. Robin Brown has written a true gem and the photographs are gorgeous. Originally, I was expecting more of a "how-to" book on duplicating some of her treasures, but I learned something more important, Robin's book has given the information and encouragement to create my own personal treasures.

"A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace" is a true inspiration, both in originality and wisdom. We do not have to be wealthy, our "things" do not have to be perfect; but therein lies the beauty - in how we learn to look at things in a new and different way. Robin's perspective on life is told in such a way that many, many people can relate to and reinterpret in our own lives and homes. The book guides us through every room, and shows us how we can take the smallest scrap of lace, or a yard of brocade, and see it through "new" eyes. I have a new appreciation for the things I have collected through the years, and I now have been infused with the inspiration to jump in and use them in ways that I had not thought of before now. "A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace" has reaffirmed things about myself and my personality, that I had tried to "put on a shelf" for awhile, and at times thought I should relent and paint my walls "Builders Beige", just to go "with the flow". No more... Ms. Brown, with the tales of her unusual and adventuresome childhood (which I do envy!) remind me to be ME, to enjoy the things I love even when they do not fit within the confines of the mass majority, that there is beauty and freedom in being ourselves, surrounded by the things we love, even if they don't happen to look like your neighbor's. Her use of color, textures, layers, and styles shows what a wonderful natural talent she is. I must say thank you! to Robin for sharing her gift, reminding us that we all have one, and neither do we have to be wealthy in order to utilize it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fabrics, a bohemian flavor, thinks outside the box, or is seeking permission to "color outside of traditional lines". It is a wonderful inspiration for those of us who may see things a little differently or that want to begin to do so.

Robin Brown has provided me with a book that is not only about decor, but about the way you express your life and style, and being true to your best "inner" bohemian! I love it!!

A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace: The Fabulous Interiors of MAgnolia Pearl5
Excellent book, lush photos and sweet, funny stories. Can't put this down, even though I have read it twice thru! Feel truly inspired to get more creative with salvage/sustainable stuff that invokes the beauty in life that moves my soul. Blessings, Zahara

Why shouldn't decorating be fun?5
This is a fun and entertaining book which pretty much thumbs its nose at traditional interiors. "There's no such thing as too much color" (p 91) Magnolia Pearl decided.

Certainly her choices color are astonishing--layer upon vivid layer, one explosion of red and gold piled on top of pink and purple--yet she manages to pull it off. Laces and velvets, damasks and bits of feathers combine to dazzle the eye in every room.

If you are, say, a college student living on a shoestring, and wish you could think of some way to liven up your shoebox of a dorm room, this book will fill you with ideas. This is certainly the way to turn trash and flea market treasures into colorful, intensely personal style. Also there are great hints. She very carefully explains how to tea stain any bits of lace you may have.