Monthly Archives: September 2012

Thursday: Spotlight on our Designer Fabric & Trim Clearance Sale, First Time Like This!

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Spotlight on our Designer Fabric & Trim Clearance Sale, First Time Like This!

Well, we are in a big mess!

Our Pillow Shelf – all of these will be for sale. The bottom ones were made for a show sample, the middle ones are Tom Filicia Fabric, the top ones are made from Crate & Barrel fabric and interlined

Fabric all over, trim piled up

For 1 day a Private INVITATION ONLY sale

IF ANYTHING IS LEFT, we will then open up online with Shopify on Saturday for 3 days

Will let you know how it goes !!

We’re already wiped, so…time for more coffee and of course to get my hair done first !

xo Ann

Wednesday Style Points: Bespoke Design Makes A Difference in Your Home

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Wednesday Style Points: Bespoke Design Makes A Difference in Your Home

A Client took this photo as inspiration for a Custom Artwork Piece we were having made…

Bespoke: Custom, Made to Order

This was another photo that a Client took, which we modified into something very custom which held special significance for them…it blesses them each day!

We love how custom, hands on things in your home bring life and soul into a space

This photo, taken by our Client on one of their many travels became the inspiration for another custom piece of art. This client’s passion and gift is photography which we take and turn into design elements for their home….encouraging them to fan into flames their gift to bless others

At Couture Chateau we care deeply about building spaces that equip our clients to be the best they can be

We love custom because hand made items bring a story with them into a space

Those things are blessings to both the TRADESMEN & WOMEN who create them & the CLIENTS who love them

Have a great Wednesday – embrace the Style Points that belong just to you!

xo Ann

Tuesday Tidbit: We Love Tweed in Home Furnishings!

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Tuesday Tidbit: We Love Tweed in Home Furnishings!

Ralph Lauren Tweed Fabric

We love using Tweed in Home Furnishings. Above is Ralphs Fabric…does anything look familiar below?

As Fabulous on Shams as it is as a Suit !

I like Tweed because it gives dimension without overpowering pattern…subtle but classic!

Subtle Texture, Subtle Pattern…LOVE it!

What is your Tuesday Tidbit on Tweed? Love it or leave it?

xo Ann

Monday Matters: We Love Our Workrooms!!

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Monday Matters: We Love Our Workrooms!

HAND Made Table – Each Piece of Parquet was hand cut, fit and distressed…

As we prep for our sale and start to price out some items

Custom Pillow Collections by Ann McDonald of Couture Chateau

It becomes clear how much labor and love go into each product

Hand Made Couture Chateau Lining Fabric

Hand crafted details

Custom Pillows: Lined and often Interlined with our Couture Chateau Fabric!

We are GRATEFUL for the hearts and hands that make our lives better!

xo Ann

Saturday Sunshine: Reminded of one of my Favorite Quotes…

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Saturday Sunshine: Reminded of one of my Favorite Quotes

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

“Comparison is the Thief to Joy”

As the founder of a Company who’s motto is: Live a Custom Life, There is Only One You, I had to remind myself of that this week!

Some AMAZING Women at Fashion Week! Denise McGaha, Stacy Naquin, Jennifer Reynolds, Edyta Czajkowska (Not pictured, more friends: Lisa Mende and Traci Zeller…also AMAZING women!)

As several of my friends were in NYC for a fabulous time at Jason Wu’s working and learning alongside Brizo.

Photos Courtesy of Denise McGaha’s Facebook Page. You can Follow Denise HERE.

Does it get more fun than this?! I mean Brizo AND Jason Wu? A Designer’s Dream Team…

I was setting up with our Team for our once yearly Clearance Sale for close Friends, Clients & Designers

Yes, that is 4.5 Yards of Versace Home Fabric ;)!…

I realized that we are EACH where we are supposed to be at any given time

Remembering that these chairs will find JUST the right home…because we are being faithful stewards of the task at hand, and that next season it might be the right time to be somewhere else ;)!!…

As you take some time this weekend, remember, YOU have something unique, special and amazing to bring to the table

A Gorgeous Draw Leaf Table, similar to one we have in the Studio that will be for sale…

Saturday Sunshine: Be YOU!

Lift up those hands and twirl just a bit today ;)!…Even if it’s raining in your life, I promise there is sunshine behind those clouds!!

Live that custom life.

xo Ann

Friday Frugal Finds: Peek at some of the Lamps from this past year!

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Friday Frugal Finds: What do you think of these Lamp Pairs?

2 Fabulous Floor Lamps from a Studio Temporary Living Set Up

Contemporary & Traditional…we’ve used them in various projects, from Temporary Dressing Room Designs, Studio Set Ups, Photo Shoots and Publication Staging over the past 18 months…

Pair, Hand Painted Ceramic Lamps: A Feature on Pink, Old and New!

Getting Tagged & Readied for Sale…

Toile Painted Lamps: Kitsch and Fun

xo Ann

Wednesday Style Points: Behind the Scenes at Jason Wu with Brizo Faucet!

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Wednesday Style Points: Behind the Scenes at Jason Wu’s with Brizo Faucet

Jason Wu Collaborates with Brizo

So, no WE aren’t this season…but some of my friends ARE!

Jason for Brizo

Stay tuned as we stay in touch with Jennifer Reynolds

Jennifer Reynolds

Denise McGaha

Denise McGaha

Traci Zeller

Traci Zeller

Lisa Mende

Lisa Mende

and Stacy Naquin

Stacy Naquin

We will stay in TOUCH with these ladies over the next week. They are the real deal. Hard working, smart, beautiful inside and out. BLESSED to call them friends.

I will be with these amazing women next week – but as we get updates will share on our Facebook page! xo Ann McDonald

xo Ann

Tuesday Tidbit: My Tiffany Blue Habit

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Tuesday Tidbit: My Tiffany Blue Habit

This image is from Cup of Beautiful Blog

Love it? Leave it?

Even the binder dividers I like!

I simply love it!

Love these!

Our VIP Day Boxes are Tiffany Blue

Ok…yes, we do have grey for our male clients and white for our super contemporary clients, but I always try to start with this color!

The drape walls in my office are Pale Ice Blue (I like to think of them as subtle Tiffany Blue)

Our Studio Drapery Wall: Divides my desk from the conference table area. We can open or close off the space depending on who is in the Studio that day.

It looks great with Black, White, Red, Grey, Yellow…

Even the blanket that sits over my Office Chair is Tiffany Blue…it keeps me warm most days ;)!

Gotta have it!

xo Ann

Monday Matters: Labor Day

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Monday Matters: Labor Day

Happy Labor Day

What do you Labor and Toll at?

Our Studio Space is a mess as we prepare for our Sale…we are laboring to make it right for our friends…!…

Do you feel rewarded for your efforts?

Sometimes this is how we feel…we work long hours and get a “raisin pay”….our heart is to always give the best away to those who work alongside us!

We wanted to take today to say THANK YOU to those who WORK ALONGSIDE US at Couture Chateau

I have always loved this image…it is humble, honoring to work and reminds me that every stitch matters…”Young Woman Sewing, The Artist’s Sister Anna Hammerchøi,” by Vilhelm Hammerchøi, oil on canvas, 37 by 35 centimeters, 1887

We are NOTHING without the skilled men and women who are EXCELLENT at their trade

An Upholstery Shop

We believe in compensating them WELL for their CONTRIBUTION to our lives and homes

Fair Trade…in the USA, it means we use well compensated local workrooms that are as small and local as we can source. It is our belief that skill is a gift and a gift should never be treated as something disposable. Gifts should be honored and rewarded. We are grateful for the gifts our tradesmen and women bring to the table so that we might furnish beautiful spaces for you!

Happy Labor Day!

xo Ann

Sunday Stewardship: Time to Take Care of Self

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Sunday Stewardship: Time to Take Care of Self

The self…how do you see yourself? Love this picture ;)!

Do you love having a long weekend

I like this picture of the hard hat for Labor Day…symbolic of working on ourselves as well…

Sometimes Stewardship is about REST

That sleeping Lion…

Our Spaces – our Couture Chateau’s need to be places & spaces that can NURTURE us

My Family Room Coffee Table…I always feel safe in this room…a glass of wine with friends in the evening doesn’t hurt!

even as grown ups

A Couture Chateau corner in a Client’s home…a place to sit and relax…get ready for the world…

Here’s to a Sunday of Stewarding our SELVES

I love reading books on Sunday afternoon…rain or shine…it calms me for the week…

So WE (You and I) can make our contribution to the world from a place of Safety, Order & Beauty!

Let’s build YOUR Couture Chateau…some of our fabric bolts beautifully piled together on a Couture Chateau settee…like our lives…pieces piled together to make us who we are!

xo Ann