At Home for the Holidays Archives

Please Welcome…This is Glamorous!

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

We are tickled beyond measure to introduce today’s guest post from the widely acclaimed blog This is Glamorous, perhaps best described as the equivalent of a long and beautiful dream. As you’ll soon see, to simply call This is Glamorous an inspiration would not do justice to its breathtaking and utterly feminine images. We simply can’t get enough… Here, a tiny sampling of the signature style for which This is Glamorous is known, perfectly capturing the feeling of the holidays.

Enjoy, everyone.

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It’s the time of year for transitions, from November’s blustery nights to December’s early morning frosts and during the wonder of the holiday season, Christmas comes in shades of red, late autumn’s apple orchards and fallen leaves giving way to crimson crystal and red lipstick at holiday soirÃ©es and scarlet berries half-covered in snow for what could only be described as the most wonderful time of the year . . .

{wishing you a beautiful holiday season}

{p.s.} Thanks so much to At Home Arkansas for the invitation to be a part of this new and lovely Holiday Guest Blogger Series.

Happy December,
— R
xo

{image credits: 1 – Mikkel Vang for Martha Stewart living October 2008; 2, 3 & 7 – Mikkel Vang; 5, 6 – FranÃ§ois Halard; 4 & 8 – Daniel Farmer; 9 – Day Birger et Mikkelsen; 10 – Paul Costello for Domino, November 2007; 11 – Kiera Knightly for Coco Chanel ad campaign; 12 – Luphia Loves}

Room of the Week 11.23.10

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

With just two days til Thanksgiving, we’re paying homage today to the KITCHEN, the room about to be the scene of cooking, baking and creating all things yummy. A few of the spaces where we’d be happy to don our aprons and start prepping the turkey:

(A Little Rock kitchen designed by Kevin Walsh; photo by Nancy Nolan)

(A Fayetteville kitchen designed by Chris Goddard; photo by Rett Peek)

(Designer Mona Thompson’s Little Rock kitchen; photo by Nancy Nolan)

(A Little Rock kitchen designed by Becky Charton; photo by Nancy Nolan)

(Connie and Larry Gulick’s Russellville kitchen; photo by Nancy Nolan)

No matter your style, we wish you a day of happy cooking and giving thanks.

In case you missed them:

The Traveling Designer visits Atlanta for a girls’ holiday shopping trip

Dress your dining table for Thanksgiving

fall entertaining with providence ltd. interior design

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

The sisters at Providence Ltd. Interior Design, Mona and Talena, not only create spectacular interiors (We’re featuring one of their projects in an upcoming issue… Shhh!), but also have a thriving blog. As with their interiors, they always get it just right with their posts, using eye-catching imagery and inspiring plenty of ideas. One look at his month’s installment of their series with At Home and you’ll get the idea.

Fabulous fall fete, anyone?

At Home’s October issue (available here) is filled with gracious living inspiration. The Sisters are spending our days right now on the details that make a beautiful, yet comfortable fall transition. We’ve gathered even more inspiration to share with you…

So many fun things to do with pumpkins…

It’s also time to change the menu…

We’re craving some heartier fare…

Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin

Â For the recipe click here.

Cheesy Corn Bake…

For the recipe click here.

Autumn Chopped Salad

For the recipe click here.

And good old Texas sheetcake…

Â For the recipe click here.

It’s time to ditch the pink flowers and bring in the mums…here and there we like to change out pillows too…

Pottery Barn has some really great inexpensive options..

If you follow us you know that we just love to set a pretty table…we try our best to please everyone…

Or maybe something a little less formal…

Life is busy…let’s not allow that to crowd out all the little things that define gracious living…

Until next time…

It’s your turn. Let’s talk!

Images via Decor de Provence, Splenderosa, Party Resources, Pretty Pink Tulips, Pinterest, Cuteoverload.com

green design : tips for entertaining in small spaces

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Our resident green design blogger Lyndsey Lewis is back to share some great party prep ideas when entertaining in a small space. As the owner of the 900-square-foot Little House in Little Rock, Lyndsey knows a thing or two about making a small space work for her needs. You can read more about the Little House on the At Home website, or follow the building process of her green home on the At Home blog here. Happy 2013 At Home readers! I’m so excited about the new year, as it will be the first full calendar year in the Little House. In 2012, I hosted several gatherings at the house, including an Open House, a slumber party for my girlfriends from college, a Halloween party, a baby shower, and several smaller dinner parties. I’m already anticipating all the fun events I’d like to host this year!

‘Grannie’ and ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ Halloween 2012

. With that being said, I thought it might be helpful if I shared my strategy for ‘creating’ space for large gatherings in small places. So far, my 600 square feet haven’t let me down… even with a guest list of 90 people. My secret: furniture that is great at multitasking. One easy (and cheap) way to make your furniture just as hardworking as mine, is to add rolling casters to tables or other large items. My kitchen is equipped with a small island for extra counter space and storage; my dining area, a round table with seating for 6 guests.

Kitchen (above) and dining area (below) in their natural states

Both the cart and my dining table both are mounted on wheels. (I added the casters to the dining table myself using a set of four from Home Depot, $11.96.) When it’s time for a get-together, these rolling pieces quickly change the space into an open area for seating and serving.

Dining table becomes a serving buffet and bench seat is open for better traffic flow

I can also move a small chair and table from the entryway, and the kitchen cart turns my ‘foyer’ into the perfect spot for gifts, party favors, or a guest book. It also means there’s no need for me to haul the cart out to the garage for temporary storage.

Everyday foyer (above) and party-ready foyer (below)

I’ve found that having people gather in a smaller spaces tends to make the event seem intimate and more casual. I end up sitting closer to other guests, talking to people as they slide past to grab another drink, and reliving that feeling of a spontaneous house party from my college days. In fact, the space has never felt small to me… just cozy.

At Home in Arkansas’ Favorite Cookie Recipes

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Welcome to today’s edition of Friday Favorites!

It’s sad but deliciously true: Sweets don’t last very long around the At Home in Arkansas office! But just as we’ve fine-tuned the art of consuming, as it turns out we’re also quite handy when it comes to baking. Here, a few of our very favorite holiday cookie recipes, which we hope you’re not afraid to indulge in over the holidays. Tried and true, they might just be your own family’s new favorites!

Happy Friday!

Imagery: www.marthastewart.com

Holiday Decor How-To, thanks to Eddie Ross

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

We had the pleasure of meeting designer extraordinaire Eddie Ross during his visit to Little Rock’s Fine Arts Club, where he showed the group a myriad of project ideas for holiday decor. These ideas are so fun, we had to share.

Hi all, Eddie here. The holidays are upon us, so to help you deck the halls more beautifully, here are three of my favorite projects I shared with the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas. Have a joyous holiday season, everyone!

Everlasting Wreath

Tools

1) Assortment of ball ornaments

2) Wire hanger

3) Ribbon

4) Glue Gun

Take a wire hangerÂ and bend it into the form of a circle. Then, grab your glue gun and as many round ornaments in varying sizes as you can find. You’ll need about 80 in all. Whenever I do my tree, I like the more unusual shapes, so it’s always the round ones I have left over. Even if you don’t, though, you can always find them for reasonable prices at a discount retailer, especially after the holidays.

To secure the metal cap to the ball, dab a little hot glue and press. That way, the cap will remain attached as the ornaments are strung.

Next, untwist the end of the hanger, then string one ornament at a time, making sure to alternate the placement and colors as desired. Use smaller sizes to fill in the gaps!

Check out the final result! To secure it to the door (make sure it’s on the interior!), I used the hook end of the hanger, together with a little wire. Then I covered it up with bubblegum pink satin ribbon and a bow. How simple and beautiful is that?

Candy Cane & Candle Centerpiece

Here’s a project idea for a centerpiece using a holiday favorite, candy canes.

Tools Needed

1) Candy canes

2) Hot glue gun

3) Miniature silver balls for embellishing

4) Round pillar candle

Steps

1) Hot glue two candy canes together, and repeat until you have eight sets.

2) Hot glue four sets together (see image above) and repeat, so you have two sets.

3) Hot glue one set on top of the other.

4) Embellish with miniature silver balls.

Festive Bamboo Serving Station

And lastly, a fun and easy project for creating a holiday beverage station where everyone can help themselves.

Tools Needed

1) Bamboo

2) Shredded coconut

3) Ornaments

4) Cups for hanging

5) Spray paint

6) Glitter (preferably Martha Stewart’s)

7) Florist’s foam

Steps

1) Spray paint bamboo and apply glitter.

2) Arrange in florist’s foam in vase.

3) Top florist’s foam with shredded coconut.

4) Hang ornaments and cups for guests to use for serving themselves beverages.

Cheers to a festive and happy holiday season!

PS- Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a year-long subscription to At Home in Arkansas magazine! Click here for details, and to see our month-long Holiday Guest Blogger Series schedule.

In case you missed it:

P. Allen Smith’s favorite holiday recipes, especially for At Home

have a happy pinterest thanksgiving!

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

Come on, everyone is doing it! Pinterest, that is. Even At Home columnist Jerusalem Greer, of Jolly Goode Gal, can’t get enough. Check out her fave Thanksgiving-inspired pins below. And follow her on Pinterest too! She’s one of our all-time favorite Pinners…

PS- At Home also has an account! Check us out here.

OK, I have a confession. I am obsessed with Pinterest. Since the advent of Social Media, I have treaded slowly and cautiously. I like to blog and read blogs, I enjoy Twitter but can go days without it, completely forgetting that it exists. Facebook is what I call a necessary evil. I use it to stay up-to-date with local and social events and to connect with old or far away friends because it is convenient. Tumblr is still a little bit of a mystery, even though I have an account, and Â I managed to completely dodge the MySpace and Xanga all together. However, Pinterest has me completely whooped. I am fully under her spell.

Since I was a little girl I have been ripping pictures out of magazines and stuffing them into folders. From crafts to decorating to fashion, I have binders full of inspiration and idea boards scattered around my craft room. Now I have Pinterest, a beautiful, paperless, virtual way to create hundreds of idea boards all with a few computer clicks. From recipes to hair-styles to home building ideas to holiday decor, it is all there.

This year I will probably spend Thanksgiving eating Chinese food out of a take-out box, as I will be days away from submitting my cooking & craft book manuscript to my publishers. I will pack my boys up and send them to the grandparents for a happy holiday, while I buckle down to meet my deadline. However, thanks to Pinterest I can still dream of a beautiful homespun and crafty Thanksgiving, planning the perfect gathering, even if it is just virtual. If I were going to host Thanksgiving at my house this year, these are all the crafts I would want to make – all of which I found, of course, on Pinterest:

The Table

I have a large collection of vintage aqua plates that I think would look adorable in a setting like this. Â And look at the little berry, mini-pumpkin and mum baskets – how cute are those? I may have to add a floral table cloth under the natural stick place-mats, but over all this setting is perfect.

House and Home

The Mantle

I am going through a bit of a felt-phase and I think this leaf garland would be precious, hung in three or four strands on our white mantle. The colors are the perfect version of traditional fall tones for my home, the texture old fashioned, the assembly simple.

Everyday Lovely

The Kids’ Craft

Around our place the turkey has been known to take its own sweet time cooking, so I like to have a craft for the little (and often big) kids to work on, keeping them occupied and out from underfoot. This a great take on the traditional Thanksgiving Thankful Tree and it makes a lovely party favor as well.

Etsy

The Outfit

One of the things I love most about holidays is picking out what to wear. I love to add a little homemade crafty flair to my outfits whenever I can. This floral sash would be the perfect addition to a smart little fall dress, or even a skirt and thick sweater combo.

I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

The Treat

For thanksgiving I love to make one new dish. Something that looks yummy and holiday specific. As soon as I saw these little one bite pies I knew I wanted to try them. I am not sure about the filling, maybe I would change that. But oh the shape! How could you resist a golden flaky leaf pie?

Duhlicious

So those are my Thanksgiving Pinterest dreams, what are yours?

You can follow me here: http://pinterest.com/jerusalemgreer/ on Pinterest And you can follow At Home here: http://pinterest.com/athomeinarmag/

Happy pinning!

Please Welcome Paper Pastries!

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

While it’s true that letter writing is a dying art form, one visit to the Paper Pastries site will have you never wanting to send out another e-vite ever again! This positively charming web site is an extension of the Los Angeles greeting card and stationery company Margaret Haas started with the hopes of turning people on to letter writing again. We fell in love with her work immediately, and promptly asked her to contribute a guest post on making handmade holiday cards! Take her advice and you’ll be the holiday envy of all your friends and family, who’ll be marveling at your crafty hidden talents.
Thanks for helping us out, Margaret. Over to you!

1. A problem I always run into during the holidays is having little scraps of wrapping paper left over. I hate to throw it away so I came up with a couple of ways to include the paper in a holiday card.

2. If you’d like to buy already folded note cards, Paper Source has a great selection of colors and sizes.

3. If you’d like to make your own card- I recommend using a thick cardstock. Cut your paper to size, and fold in half if you’d like. Using a bone folder is the only way to get a clean crease. Using card stock is great if you want a specific size- like to fit exactly on top of a gift.

4. Now back to the wrapping paper- a fun way to incorporate it into a holiday card is work with the printed design. I love these gumdrops from Snow & Graham, so I cut out 3 gum drop shapes and used a glue stick to attach to the front of a card.

5. Complete the card by adding a message- a personalized greeting is even better!

6. Many families like to send photos this time of year. The scrap gift wrap would make a pretty backdrop for a photo. First make sure your photo fits on the card you’re using. Flip the gift wrap over and trace the size of the card. Using a ruler draw a box slightly smaller than the outline.

7. Cut out the box with decorative scissors.

8. Attach the background with glue then the photo on top of that.

9) A more advanced option is cutting a shape directly out of your card. First you should choose a shape; the simpler the better. Lightly pencil on the shape.

10) Lay your card flat and cut out the shape using an exacto knife. It’s recommended that you cut on a cutting mat, to protect your tables and blades.

11) Cut a piece of the scrap paper the fits the front half of your card. Then place glue around your shape on the card. Lay the piece of scrap face down. Smooth with your fingers or a bone folder.

Finish the card with a personal message!

A holiday tour of blogger Kyle Knight’s chic home

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

We’re beginning this week’s series of guests with blogger Kyle Knight of Knight Moves, now also an editor of High Gloss magazine. We fell in love with her home when it was featured on La Dolce Vita, and we’re thrilled Kyle agreed to show you what it looks like all dolled up for the holidays–and how to achieve the look too.

Since my holiday decor collection is a bit scant,

I’ve been shopping for Christmas goodies over the past few weeks. There are so many fabulous options out there! Too many options can be overwhelming and much as with non-seasonal home decor, picking a style and color palette for your holiday decorations can be tough.Â Tough or not, I have to get moving or else we would look like the Grinch had ransacked our house!

Focusing mainly on our living room for the time being, I went with a neutral color palette…sticking to golds, silvers and whites. The room has orange accents (including a large orange rug), so I won’t buy anything with much red since it doesn’t mesh well with everything else.Â Luckily, the “no red” rule narrows down the pool of choices.

I’ve picked up a few things during my scouting missions…including these cinnamon scented pine cones. They smell SO amazing! These were $2.50 per bag at Michael’s.

This season I’ve been on the lookout for greenery made from Magnolia leaves (like this wreath) so I was thrilled to come across the garland on the mantel at a local store called Mary Cates and Co.

I found the silver striped votives at Michael’s. I also bought flameless candles since I don’t want to light the oil painting above the mantel on fire. I set the striped votives on top of stocking holders purchased at Target. Luckily I already had the julep cups!

The silver ornament ball wreaths are from Z Gallerie and they are hung directly on the mirrors with some 3M Command Strips.

This pretty Birch vase filler from Z Gallerie also found its way home with me.

I added a bit of lighted garland for the buffet in the dining room….I found this one at HomeGoods.

These glittery frame ornaments from West Elm make cute labels for stockings, don’t they?

The sparkly wreath hanging on the fireplace screen is from Crate and Barrel. I’m a little annoyed with it because the glitter is getting everywhere. If you’re glitter-averse like me, you might want to steer clear of this one!

It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas post without mentioning my favorite candle…Thymes’ Frasier Fir.Â Here it is in action along with an angel that my grandmother gave me.

One thing in our collection that I’d like to replace is our tree….it is definitely too skinny. It was perfect in our last house because the living room was so teeny, but this room could handle a bigger one. Maybe that will fit into next year’s budget.Â I think I’ve conquered this room for the time being. Now we just need to buy and wrap some presents!

What is on your list this year? Do you buyÂ ornaments orÂ new wreaths every year? What colors do you use in your holiday decor? Is it a color scheme other than traditional green and red? I’d love to hear all about what Christmas looks like in your home!

In case you missed it:

Christmas gift guide from Bright.Bazaar

Holiday fashion for kids from Kellyâ€™s Korner

Holiday decor and seasonal touches from Pure Style Home

Fashionable vintage holiday decor from Mae’s Emporium

P. Allen Smithâ€™s favorite holiday recipes, especially for At Home

A trio of seasonal project ideas from designer Eddie Ross

Wintry-white interiors from This is Glamorous

holiday entertaining ideas from providence ltd. interior design

February 9, 2014 by ark_admin

With Thanksgiving this week (!), the ladies of Providence Ltd. Interior Design are here with a few ideas for gatherings with family and friends. Begin with a formal dinner, wake up for a yummy brunch, and while away the afternoon hours on the porch aglow with candlelight. Sound divine? Read on…

Did you see the Parkinson home that was featured in the November issue of At Home in Arkansas?Â We were so thrilled to be a part of this project from the ground up…click here to see.Â And for even more details and some before and afters, click here.

This home was built with family and friend gatherings in mind, so let’s plan a fewÂ get-togethers.

For a formal dinner, we’ll set the table in the dining room…

On the menu…

Click for the recipes…

Vertical Pear Salad

Dijon Chicken Pasta

Chocolate dipped strawberries

We’ll plan brunch in the breakfast room…

On the menu…

Click for the recipes…

Mimosas

Mini stacked pancakes with fruit

Baked ham and cheese sliders

And because it’s still nice outside, let’s light a fire and invite friends over to relax on the back porch…

We’ll light lots of candles…

…and maybe do a simple anti pasta buffet.

We don’t even need any flowers right now…as you can see it’s still styled from the photo shoot. But when it’s time to change things up, simple and natural will fit this setting the best…

This home is party perfect…

We think the Parkinson family will really enjoy entertaining here…don’t you?

It’s your turn. Let’s talk!

Please Welcome…This is Glamorous!

Room of the Week 11.23.10

fall entertaining with providence ltd. interior design

green design : tips for entertaining in small spaces

At Home in Arkansas’ Favorite Cookie Recipes