I luv Eddie Ross

A quick back note to this story:

I was a huge fan of this past season’s Bravo – the network that can do no wrong- show Top Design!  Every week, my girlfriend Mary ( a fab decorator in her own right!) would dish about the rooms, the challenges and the never ending mayhem surrounding the lives of it’s contestants as they each worked their creative fingers to the bones every week in hopes of hearing the sweet, coveted words-”you have the top design”.

So when a few weeks back my sister Kate said to me ‘ Did you read my post today over on Color For Your Home ?… It’s based on a post from Eddie Ross’s blog ( you know- Lifestyle Editor of Martha Stewart Living and Top Design contestant ) and he left a very nice comment on it.’… I of course was clapping and jumping with glee.

My first thought was “Eddie has a blog?” and ” I gotta call Mary”…. which I did straightaway… informing her ( after I scoured and devoured his entire cool/cute site) that Eddie had left a comment on Kate’s blog, appeared recently at the Chelsea Flea and vowed that when he was there again we would make the pilgrimage to see him together.

So when I received an email invite to see Eddie in person at my local Calico Corners, only a few days later…I left it to kizmit!  And now that it is all said and done and I have meet him in person I can official say I Love Eddie Ross!

If you are not lucky enough to have a Calico Corners near you here’s a little insight… it’s a super friendly designer or DIYer accessible store full of beautiful fabrics, custom furniture, designer books du jour, and enough bullion and fringe to decorate all 50 states with…. just browsing through the colorfully stocked store gets you inspired to REDO, RENEW and  REFRESH your entire home…. which happened to be the theme of Eddie’s in store workshop.

Mary and I caught Eddie’s eye minutes after we entered the store and quickly introduced ourselves-honestly he could not have been cuter or nicer!  He offered us in true proper host manner a glass of wine ( which just so happens to be my most coveted, sweet words every week ) and as we enjoyed a glass together we discussed his new home, antiquing and how fantastic the store and the beautiful spread ( styled by Eddie… with his own punch bowl and silver, no doubt) looked.

(just so you know a day of electronic catastrophes had been plaguing me .. so the fact that my camera was out of battery when I went to snap away seemed only par for the course… thus I was left to my phone so sorry that the pix are not the best, in person it was oh-so pretty)

Yummy treats and libations amongst a bouquet of white hygrangeas, roses and the tallest tapers-ever!

Eddie gathered the crowd around and began his talk about how how easy it is to update and transform your home using a little talent ( via the Calico Corner’s crew) and some things that you may already own…plus or minus some fresh new fabrics and trims.

Now because of the fact that before I was a blogging New Yorker I was a very thrifty girl from Virginia for me he was simply ‘preaching to the choir’ (  Just so you know Eddie my greatest conquest to date is a Heywood Wakefield rattan sectional sofa in original fabric with the original price tag still intact on it- purchased for a mere  $13 at a Southeastern Virginia thrift store circa 1992- impressive, right! ).

Eddie’s cool thrift store finds transformed by some fantastic new Calico Corner fabric

Eddie talked about how to determine what makes a great second hand find: for chairs and couches in old fashioned upholstery ‘lift up and look under it’s skirt…check out the legs’ he playful suggested amongst a rooms of giggles.

Often times the furniture is so well made that you need to learn to look past ugly, worn fabric and examine it’s lines to discover if it’s worth investing in.  Switching out the legs ( if it’s a wee bit squat ), re-upholstering it in a classic neutral fabric ( for a timeless look ) or adding a fun pleated skirt with a bright contrasting fabric peaking through are all ways to bring it into this decade.

Other simple ideas to give your home a designer look- custom tablecloths ( one for every season ), napkins hand made from high end remnants and pillows made from fabrics you already own.

In fact pillows were said to be the easiest way to update a room with your own unique style.. Eddie used an example of a beautiful old shawl ( shown below on the left)…. using just the 1 floral motif per pillow and framing it and backing it with new coordinating fabrics. Yeah, finally something constructive to do with that pretty piano shawl I inherited from my mother-in-law!

My favorite pillow idea of the night was to turn a vintage dress into a pillow…( I’ve covered a bench in my daughter room with a pink wooley vintage coat that I wore to the hospital on the day that she was born- Eddie I think we are kindred spirits).

The camera man ( filming for Eddie’s site ) taking a close up of the gown that Eddie made into a pillow that would have the reps at ABC Carpet and Home wagging their tongues!

A close up ( not so great my little IPhone… but you get the idea, the pillows on the left are from a LIly-like 60’s romper complete with over sized rick a rack trimming the sides… how fun for a teenager’s home pad hangout.. while the pillow on the right is made from the overlay sheer beaded fabric from the dress- gorgeous in person!

The night concluded with some great Q and A from the crowd…. and a happy round of applause. My favorite color advice from Eddie: when a woman asked if you have all neutral furniture and accessories in a room do you need to keep the walls also in a neutral color palette.  No, he explained…surrounding a neutral furnished room in color ( deep navy walls and a pale blue ceiling he suggested in this case ) is the best way to give the space an instant, thought out designer look.  Neutral fabrics are always a great choices for furniture but to keep the room interesting, layer lots of different textures.  One of the cheapest way to add great texture- Ikea sisal rugs- ‘They’re the best’, he says. ‘I have them throughout my house’.

The man of the hour enjoying some much deserved post talk vino

But my night didn’t end just then, I also drummed up a conversation with non other than PVE Design blogger Patricia van Essche… she had presented Eddie with the most beautiful illustration at the beginning of the evening ( read all about her night here ) and I recognized her logo on the back of the picture frame.

It was so fun to meet a fellow blogger and talk shop and color… she is super talented, if you don’t already know her blog check it out!

Anyway… all said and done I was so thrilled with meeting Eddie ( as was Mary ), I thought he was just the most engaging speaker and really the most down to earth guy…everyone was abuzz after at how much they enjoyed the evening.

In fact, I enjoyed myself so much that I’m already planning a follow up Part 2 post about Eddie which is to be entitled:  “I Luv summer antiquing with Eddie Ross and then drinking cold beer overlooking the fields surrounding his new home”- what’ya think Eddie- hint, hint xoxo

Image of Red Velvet Heart box from Etsy.com