style [stahyl] an elegant, fashionable, or luxurious mode of living
car•rot [kar–uht] something promised as a lure or incentive
style carrot: a morsel of chic design
i am a writer and editor living in boston, obsessed and affected by the aesthetics of life. i got my professional start in the fashion closet of rolling stone magazine. but the true start of my passion for combining pictures and text began at age twelve, in the basement of my childhood home in connecticut. it was there, perched on the modular sofa under a disco ball from the previous decade, that i crafted copy to accompany the fashion photos i had my sister snap. i can still see my favorite shot of myself in a silky (read, polyester) dress with a swingy skirt (purchased for a cousin’s bat mitvah), sitting prettily at our bamboo bar, (empty) champagne glass in hand.
i learned the real ins and outs of publishing during my three years as an editor at a travel magazine, then subjected myself to a year of terror as a model editor at a women’s magazine. (no, it’s not like the devil wears prada. it’s worse.) i was living my dream. in the mid-’90s i flitted from one fashion show to the next, explaining that the internet was the next big thing. not a tech savvy bunch, but they played along.
then, real life hit and i moved from nyc to dc, had two babies (both with carrot-colored hair), retired my aol screen name (stylexpert) and cashed in my stock options to help finance the renovation of our 1918 bungalow. life began anew. forget fashion. it was all about hearth and home. glossy design tears, colorful paint palettes, nubby fabric swatches, little squares of smooth corian. being surrounded by good design on all sides, above, and below, was essential to a good life.
these days, from the sofa in my bay window on in the back bay of boston, i write about the (material) stuff that life is made of: breezy dresses, glossy lipstick, barn weddings, mid-century architecture, modernist furniture, high end kitchens, emerging artists, and fantasies of all kinds.
life is but a dream.
xom
p.s. my name is marni elyse katz | you can email me at stylecarrot [at] gmail [dot]com
photo by samara vise
Congratulations, the blog looks nice and clean.
I like the all yellow pieces for your banner.
Let me know when you need to feature Plank, art on a yoga mat, or just stuff.
Good luck
Doreen
Marni,
If your room is really as dreary as you say, and a photo might be a good idea, your color selections for wall paper may not do what you want. The light reflective quality of grey isn’t very good though it is lighter than what you may have. Bright tones and high contrasts (black on white) give more energy and “brightness” to a dreary space. Consider a pop of color in your small space behind your bed. Then repeat the color on your bed in a pillow or a piece of art in the room.
Thought for the day!
Sue Adams
Hi Marni,
If your goal in your bedroom is to create a less dreary room then you might want to select brighter tones. The papers you are considering are very serene and lovely for a bedroom however a pop of color or bolder pattern in a small space will give more energy and “brightness” to an otherwise dreary area. Carry the color onto the bed with a pillow or around the room in a piece of art. Your bedroom should be pleasing and a haven but not boring!
Hope this helps,
Sue Adams
Absolutely love your blog!! Its stylish awesomeness.
Cute blog! You have a great eye.
What a great blog!!! I love all the colors and all the fabulous ideas….
In my business, decorative wall tiles, I’m finding that people are not afraid of color or style choices… People want something unique, that shows their personal style….
I’ve had people put nautical or fish tiles in a bathroom. Makes sense…. water… nautical…. fish…..
But I’ve had some pretty unique designs like the woman who loved cats and wanted 27 accent cat tiles for her bathroom or another customer who wanted funky bright colored cows around her sunken tub…. (She was really into cows!)
But whatever your style or look your hoping to achieve this is a great blog to get some great ideas.
Lovely blog! I’ve listed you in my “sites to love”
section.
Happy Blogging!
Marni,
Thanks for your visit to simply danish today. Fun to meet you – I love your blog. I will be totally ignoring customers now with my nose stuck into your site.
Have a fun visit in P-town.
Linda
Hi Marni,
I really like your blog and how you group the similar designs together. Must have taken you a lot of time to hunting down all those designs. My husband and I are now planning on building our house and your blog will certainly inspire us a lot. Also as a mother of two, I can amazed how you managed to look after the kids as well as writing the blog. So thanks and keep up the hard work!
Madeline
Lovely dear, I’ll try to follow your wonderful steps. Hopefully, one day I’ll have half of your amazing résumé.
It looks like you have a happy life, I’m really glad for you.
Alright….its just been so long since I’ve come across a blog that has held my interest entry after entry. The only sad thing about that is I have gone through the entire blog. Wonderful posts and I do believe you are my new fav! I only wish you posted multiple times a day.
P.S. – I cannot believe you were allowed to have your own phone in your room in 1982! Lucky ducky.
Hi-
Nice work! I’m into all things fashion and style and really enjoyed the vibe and stuff you feature. Love the furniture, fabric, vintage, clothes. I read this article in Psych Today a while back about the difference between fashion and style- according to the article you don’t need fashion to have style- which I thought was an interesting insight…but in your case…I think you have both! Keep up the great work!
best,
joejoejoe
Somehow, I now feel less than chic….which is the reason ..We have linked your blog as a resource. We write about appliances, lighting, plumbing and energy efficiency. Have a look when you have a free moment http://yaleappliance.blogspot.com/
Sincerely,
Steve
Hey, thanks Steve. I am quite familiar with Yale Appliance, having purchased all the appliances for our Cape house there. Thanks!
Hello Marni:
Hope you are well. Been on your great blog before but never realized you are a mom, too. How do you do it all?!
Just want to drop you a line that after 8 years on Newbury St, we are relocating to the North Shore–Marblehead vicinity. Of course, we are having an huge moving sale–everything is at least 30% off.
Hope to see you at the next design event. Btw, I totally covet that Starburst mirror in your banner.
Best,
Panamai
Bliss Home
225 Newbury St
Boston
Oh, sad news for Newbury Street. I will post about it though. When’s your last day?
Hi Marnie,
Both Ashley and Alex (my cousins) forwarded your site to me. They told me that you are looking for fashion blogs in CT… I read a lot of fashion blogs but none in the CT area. I am in Fairfield County and the Moffly Media website is a great resource for fashion, decor and so much more.
http://www.mofflymedia.com/
Love your blog!
I was so happy to see you featured one of our items on your amazing blog!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Best,
Michele Graham
Juxtaposition home
Marni ~ love your manner of writing & expression; happy to have found your blog ~ so far, with all I’ve gotten through, I love it!
Hi Marni 🙂 I didn’t even realise this was your blog until I saw your note after mine on jess’ work. This is great, I enjoy strolling thru your site. I will be around to follow up on whats to come.. keep up the fun, great to be back in touch with you. xoxo
That’s funny. Did you know about it before Jess’s work or did she send you a link? So glad to say hi! : )
Enjoy your blog!
Hello Dear!
Such a lovely blog. I am sending you one mail in person with an affiliation request! hope you like and accept that!
love to see your blog every day…
Several months back I reached out to you regarding KitchenArts closing and our opening of KitchenWares by Blackstones. We are thrilled to say summer has been great and many new items have arrived in the store for fall. We have the corner of the market on cookie cutters and gadgets. Our bakeware corner is expanding. And, our best known asset – knives – have grown to now include more than 250 styles including a much sought after line, Mac Knives. We also carry lines such as LeCreuset and Staub for those thinking of a tasty soup or roast. We still offer the famous knife sharpening service too! If you would like to know more about us, visit us online at http://www.kitchenwaresboston.com or we invite you to stop by and visit 7 days a week. Stay tuned for our upcoming calendar of events! Jennifer, Jim, McKenna, and Ben
Hi, Marni.
I enjoy your blog— and even more, following someone local who shares many of the same cultural interests and obsessions.
Love the description of your childhood memory—I can picture it!
Appreciate your open, honest style. I get it!
May be coincidence that your name happens to be one of my favorite fashion labels…
Hope you will come visit me, too at http://www.katierosenfelddesign.com.
Meantime, I will continue to read.
Best-
KR
Hi there!
A while ago I purchsed the crate and barrel multi rug after i saw it on your site. I’d love to get another one, but the rug has been discontinued. Does anyone out there have one they’s like to get rid of? I’m willing to pay…
which rug?
Dear Carrot,
I represent Ambition Scarves.
We are exporter of Scarves and shawls from Kolkata, India. We deal in all varieties of scarves. We have talented pool of people associated with us which helps in meeting International standard like producing quality product, on time delivery and low cost, thus makes us very competitive in market.
Further, we do take customize orders wherein we can develop any design, colour, pattern as per customers requirement.
I look forward to hear from you soon!!!
So excited I ran into this blog!
Hi there,
I love your blog so much that I awarded you the One Lovely Blog Award. Congratulations! I received this award from a fellow blogger and as a recipient I had to award it to a few of my favorite bloggers 🙂
You can read more about it on my blog, http://www.michelleswordpressyay.wordpress.com
Congrats!
Michelle
You are still writing well…..
great blog- makes it easy to compare when looking for a particular piece of furniture. Thanks
Amazing blog! please check out my store! 8pyramids.us
Your store looks great, thanks for your email too.
I want to contact you for guest blog..
[email protected]
Hi Style Carrot,
I like this blog and also follow this blog regularly ,because you gave a clear and clean concept in your articles. Thanks for the articles.
Good Luck