Travel: Luxurious Hotels in Charleston, South Carolina

Next month, I am going to be traveling to the southern United States, and I just cannot wait! It’s been a year since I’ve been to North Carolina, and I have several items on my agenda for this visit.

I’ll begin with a visit with my family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and then High Point Market in nearby High Point. In addition to these two stops, I’m planning on visiting Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. Eek! So darn excited! Road trip, here I come!

One of the best parts of travel planning for me is researching hotels, and let me tell you, there are some amazingly beautiful ones in the south! Let me share with you where my Charleston research has taken me thus far.

Planters Inn is traditional and full of creams and whites. The tone-on-tone decor definitely works for me, and the poster beds are so very charming.

PlantersInn_RoomsGallery_9 PlantersInn_RoomsGallery_3 croppedGallery_GuestRoom_6 PlantersInn_RoomsGallery_6 PlantersInn_RoomsGallery_2 PlantersInn_RoomsGallery_5 SpoletoSuite_website2 PlantersInn_gallery7 croppedGallery_PlantersInn_5 PlantersInnThe Spectator promotes its rooms as being “spacious, gracious, and utterly unforgettable”. I’d agree.

the-spectator-hotel 2241284-The-Spectator-Hotel-Guest-Room-3-DEF CTH1519_Spectator_Premier_Suite_307_01-631x355The Market Pavillion Hotel is another stunning property in Charleston. The guestrooms look large, and the bathrooms seem to be the ultimate in luxury.

king_lgcornerbath_lg guestbath_lgUp next is the Belmond Charleston Place. Warning – it’s another stunner complete with classic wood furniture, luxe linens, and beautiful bathrooms.

ocha_1366x400_room_premier_luxury04 ocha_1366x400_room_premier_luxury01 ocha_1366x400_room_premier_bathroom01 ocha_1366x400_room_premier_room03 ocha_1366x400_room_premier_king_balcony01Zero George Street‘s website draws me in, and I’m sure the hotel would, too, in person. This property is modern, airy, but most definitely southern.

2013_Zero_George_08021-1100x514Zero-George-Veranda-King Zero-George-Harbor-Room-3 2013_Zero_George_0787-380x220 2013_Zero_George_0600-380x530 ZG-Anson-Suite-Web-1100x514Can you now see why I think hotel planning is so fun? So dreamy!

The Friday Five: Classic Karl Lagerfeld

It’s amazing how some people’s style is so instantly recognizable. Karl Lagerfeld, for example, is so distinguishable because of his white ponytail-tied hair, dark sunglasses, high-collared shirts, gloves, and random chain accessories.

I laughed quite a bit while I was researching items to include in today’s Karl-centred post. Could you imagine your face as the object of a bag, for example? Have a look…

Karl-Lagerfeld-candleKarl Essence Rare Scented Candle, $85, Luisa Via Roma

karl-father-t-shirt-eleven-parisKarl is my Father t-shirt, $58, Eleven Paris

565861_in_xlLagerbones tank by Brian Lichtenberg, $35, The Outnet

Karl-bagTC Karl crossbody bag, $220, Monnier Freres

3961123Karl Lagerfeld unisex pop rubber strap watch, $74.97 (on sale), Nordstrom Rack

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Design: Pantry / Workroom Storage Planning

There are always a few items on my renovation to do list. Even though my fireplace is currently ripped apart and waiting for my attention, my pantry/workroom is also on my mind. The room is an absolute mess. It’s a disorganized dumping ground for my tools, supply remnants, and random pieces of just about everything.

The plan is to turn this room into a more efficiently organized workroom and a cantina. A cantina, for all my non-Italian readers, is a cold storage room (or pantry, I guess). The cantina is basically the second heart of the home for Italians (2nd only to the kitchen). This is where we store thing like jars of Nutella, homemade jams, and extra household supplies. (It’s a gem of a room, let me tell you!)

I love that my house has a room that I can dedicate to being a cantina.

So, I’m currently doing research about the best options for storage racks for both my workroom materials and cantina items. I would really like this one room to serve both purposes. I’m totally inspired by the spaces below, but I know that recreating most of them is not realistic for my home. Just dreaming…

34-garage-workbenchvia The Design Files

d69adbe6f950bc62d66d1b4e98cab114Ina Garten’s pantry, via House Beautiful

pantry3via The Vintage Wren

4via Deuce Cities Henhouse

CL0203068t_2_vvia My Home Ideas

Art: White-on-White

When I bought my house 2 years ago, my nephews gave me a trio of all white art (seen here). My sister thoughtfully gave them a bunch of white supplies (e.g., paper, feathers, glitter, tissue paper) and let each of them create a piece of art for me. I really love this trio and they have a prominent place on my living room wall.

I find monochromatic art to be interesting, clever, and serene.

CAVIAR20-PACHTER-HAMMOCK-2_largeHammock by Charles Pachter, $4000, Caviar20

CAVIAR20-YVESGAUCHER-17_largePhantom Structure IV, Yves Gaucher, $2450

300_De_lDe.Fragment IV, $4500, 1stDibs

cropwmUntitled by Franz Klein, $212.99, Art.com

sparkleSparkle by Georgianna Lane, $80+, Citizen Atelier

DSCF3999Time Forgot, $60+, Nicole Cohen