StyleCarrot

ARTmonday: The Willard Gallery in South Portland, Maine

Meredith Perdue, artist and proprietor of The Willard Gallery in South Portland, Maine, emailed me the other day about the recent launch of her art gallery and consultancy that launched last week.

The Willard Gallery is located in Perdue’s adorable studio building off South Portland’s Willard Square. The artwork and experience are absolutely approachable. You can shop either online or by appointment at the gallery.

Here are some pieces available at and photos of The Willard Gallery:

Maine Art Gallery Owner Meredith Perdue The Willard

Meredith Perdue, artist + owner, The Willard Gallery

Gallery Wall at The Willard Gallery In South Portland Maine

Teapot Painting At The WIllard Gallery

Iris Tea, Melanie Parke

Julie Bowers Murphy Seascape at The Willard Gallery

Early Morning in Maine, Julie Bowers Murphy

Landscape Painting At The Willard Gallery

Orange Path, Richard Kooyman

Julie Bowers Murphy Seascape at The Willard Gallery

Gulls Over Maine Harbor, Julie Bowers Murphy

Claire Cushman Painting At The Willard Gallery

Field Day, Claire Cushman

Abstract Painting At The Willard Gallery

Claire Cushman Painting At The Willard Gallery

Au Printemps, Claire Cushman

Moxie, Laurie Fisher

Gallery Wall at The Willard Gallery In South Portland Maine

The Willard Gallery In South Portland Maine Exterior

The Willard Gallery in South Portland, Maine

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I frame my art using StyleCarrot partner Framebridge >

Just In: Serena & Lily Introduces New Rattan Furnishings for Indoors & Outdoors

In case you’re not excited enough about spring. StyleCarrot partner Serena & Lily has introduced 300+ new pieces, including rattan furniture and accessories. Can you say scalloped rattan tray?

If you’ve swooned over the bohemian Avalon daybed but had nowhere to put one, consider pre-ordering the new king or queen-sized Avalon bed, a celebration of coastal Cali decor with enough gravitas for a New England interior.

I love the marble-topped pedestal dining table with wrapped rattan base for a double dose of natural materials and a perfect blend of city meets the sea.

Here are nine new introductions of rattan furniture and accessories from Serena & Lily:

Serena & Lily New Furnishings For Spring 2021

Shop these new indoor & outdoor rattan furnishings from Serena & Lily:

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Serena & Lily Bohemian Rattan Bed

The beloved bohemian Avalon daybed by Serena & Lily has been reimagined as a king or queen-sized Avalon bed. The original inspiration was a 1940s French bed that they company rendered in rattan for a coastal casual vibe. This rattan bed is available with a footboard or without. The white ceramic, textured table lamp is a coastal take on the Kelly Wearstler Linden lamp.

Serena & Lily Balboa Rattan Coffee Table

Serena & Lily has added a wood and handwoven rattan coffee table with brass capped-feet to its Balboa collection. At 46-inches in diameter and a bottom storage shelf, it’s very efficient, and its appearance lends itself to a coastal Cali living room or a more polished city decor. Paired with a braided abaca rug for complete coastal appeal.

Serena & Lily Rattan Pedestal Dining Table

The new Serena & Lily Southampton dining table has a 30-inch diameter marble top and rattan pedestal base. Paired here with the everyone’s favorite, Serena & Lily’s take on the classic Parisian bistro chair, the Riviera dining chair made with a rattan frame and woven resin seat.

Scheming: Not Too Feminine Floral Bedroom by Thiara Borges

I used to chat with Thiara Borges when she worked for designer Kate Maloney. Borges has since gone out on her own under the name Studio Borges Interior Design and her work is beautiful. I love how this bedroom combines femininity, sumptuous fabrics, natural materials, unexpected color pops, and a vintage element all in one cohesive scheme.

Last summer, I wrote about this bedroom in Boston Globe Magazine. Borges designed the bedroom for a woman in the South End of Boston whose style she describes as “cool and eclectic; modern and traditional.” It was the last room in the condo they tackled, and while the client wanted to retain her personal vibe, she also wanted the room to feel calm and soothing.

Borges achieved her goal by choosing wallpaper in a softly-colored, painterly botanical, Designers Guild Delft Flower Grande Tuberose, then layering in texture, color, and shine.

“I tend to emulate a client’s personal style by echoing accessories they might wear; she always has a cool piece of jewelry on,” Borges says. “The bed, the lampshade, and the pillows are an extension of her polished, but cool, eclectic look.”

Bedroom With Floral Wallpaper And Blue Velvet Bed Photo by Michael J. Lee

You can pull together a bedroom scheme that balances femininity, glamour, and a global sensibility with these carefully curated furnishings, accessories and artwork that I scoped out on StyleCarrot partner sites:

Bedroom Scheme With Blue Velvet Bed And Floral Wallpaper

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Kelly Wearstler teaches interior design >

Scheming: Dining Room Drama with Kelly Wearstler’s Graffito Wallpaper

With vaccine life on the horizon, I’m thinking that dining rooms might need sprucing up. Throw the kids and their laptops back to their bedrooms and classrooms, and reclaim your entertaining space. I’m sure you practiced plenty of recipes during lockdown. It’s almost time to put them to use for friends.

I love this dining room for its fearlessness. I’ve seen other dining rooms with Kelly Wearstler Graffito wallpaper and adore them. This one by designer Martha O’Hara takes it to another level by pairing an equally busy, but geometric rather than organic, pattern on the floor. Then, O’Hara prettifies it with a floral chandelier and goes for color with green velvet head chairs.

Although Martha O’Hara Interiors is based in Minneapolis, she and her colleague Emily Anderson designed this room for O’Hara’s son in Norwell, Massachusetts. I wrote about it for the Boston Globe Magazine.

Kelly Wearstler's Graffito Wallpaper

Photo by Joyelle West

If you’re daring, go for a patterned dining room. It’s an easy look to pull off with the pieces I sourced for you from StyleCarrot partners, based on O’Hara’s design.

Kelly Wearstler's Graffito Wallpaper

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ARTmonday: Drive-by Projects Debuts Online Art Shop

After a year of corresponding with art consultant Beth Kantrowitz, I met her in Provincetown when she did a pop-up gallery the summer before last. I was instantly attracted to her enthusiasm, not to mention her taste in art. She and Kathleen O’Hara of Watertown, Massachusetts gallery Drive-by Projects recently introduced the Drive-by Store where you can by works from emerging and mid-career artists online. Here are some of the offerings which you can also see @drive_by_projects.

Drive-By Projects Gallery Boston Emerging And Mid-Career Artists