The first time I saw Peacock Alley‘s Vienna Collection, the stunning beauty immediately captivated my attention. The elegant pattern, the soft finish, the perfection in every detail – I knew wanted a piece for my own home. After ogling beautiful images and planning the perfect layout for my own boudoir, it became time to experience this perfect, plush cloud for myself.

While the name is inspired by the classic beauty of Austria’s largest city, the compelling medallion quilted pattern was derived from a 17th Century French uniform button. With a swirling, leaf-like pattern inside each perfect circle, the intricacy of this extraordinary collection is as refined and delicate as lace. Choosing the piece and color I preferred most was a difficult decision.

I carefully selected a coverlet in the Taupe color, and eagerly awaited its arrival. As soon as I got the box through my front door, I opened the package and unfolded this masterpiece; And just like a fine work of art, this matelasse was even more lovely in person than it appeared in the photographs.

The subtle sophistication of the pattern and smooth finish of the fabric were welcome additions to my bedroom. I carefully laid the dreamy coverlet across my bed, and waited for nightfall. As the hour grew later, just one yawn was reason enough to usher me to bed.

As I draped myself in the most luxurious beauty and comfort, my eyelids drifted shut, lulling me to sleep. The texture was soft, the fabric lightweight, and the color so subtle that nothing could keep me awake. I took a deep breath in, calmed my senses, and felt this soft, silent beauty cloak me in peace and tranquility.

And for just one moment, I was almost certain I could hear the faint melody of a Viennese Waltz, inviting me into the sweetest of dreams.

With summer in full swing, Yves Delorme is helping us celebrate Bastille Day with their biggest sale of the year.

Offering beauty, sophistication and incredible comfort, Yves Delorme has all the finest indulgences for bed and bath. Whether you need something for that perfect summer birthday gift, or want to treat yourself to a little luxury, now is the time to act!  From July 11 – 19, enjoy 20% off all Yves Delorme items.  But hurry, this offer is as fleeting as a soft summer breeze, so be sure to place your order soon!

For more amazing summer styles from Yves Delorme, click here!

Summer’s here, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate outdoors! Pool parties, barbecues, picnics and brunches are great ways to spend time with friends and family… but what do you do if your indoor/outdoor rug gets dirty? Fear not!  We asked our friends at Dash & Albert, and they shared these easy steps to cleaning indoor/outdoor rugs.

1) Roll up your soiled rug and move it to your cleaning space (showers and tubs are perfect spots!).

2) Fill a bucket with cool water and your favorite liquid soap or detergent (like our Le Blanc Linen Wash).

3) Lay the rolled rug in your cleaning space and unroll enough to access the soiled area; rub in your soapy solution onto the rug with a brush.

4) Rinse the soiled area with clean water.  If the stain has not gone away, keep brushing with your soapy solution until it disappears.

5) Once the rug is clean, roll it up and lean it against a corner so the water can roll off the carpet and down the drain. When it’s dry, roll out your newly clean carpet and enjoy!

Love how easy care these are?  To view our entire group of indoor/outdoor rugs, click here.

For over thirty years, Peacock Alley has produced exquisite bed and bath linens, combining classic elegance with incredible comfort.  This season, we’re loving their new throws (so many amazing colors!) so we worked with Janie at Peacock to choose our favorites and we took them home for a spin.

Here’s what we thought …

All Seasons Solid Cotton Blanket: Combining the soft, coziness of a winter blanket with the mild texture and weight of a summer throw, the All Seasons Blanket really is perfect year-round. In 100% Egyptian cotton, all four neutral hues are completely free of dyes and bleaches.

“This 100% cotton blanket is so plush, you could confuse it with mohair, chenille, or wool. I can’t resist cuddling with it!” – Nicole

“Plush, cozy, and surprisingly lightweight, the beauty of this blanket is in the details. With a nice suede label and herringbone tape binding, it is perfect for chasing chills away” – Carolina

“The softest cotton I’ve ever felt, the All Seasons blanket is absolutely luxurious. It is light enough for a brisk summer night, but cozy enough for fireside winter evening” – Eve

“The All Seasons Blanket is creamy, soft and velvety, like a teddy bear. Not too heavy, cozy, and plush” – Si

Captiva Cotton Throw:  Made in Portugal from soft cotton, Captiva is the perfect throw for breezy spring evenings or cozy mornings with a cup of joe.  Available in nine colors … five neutrals and four brights.

“This feels like a knit sweater for those cooler summer nights, and the coral color reminds me of the beach” – Si

“The dressy ribbed stripe and happy color give it a tailored finish and refined look” – Carolina

“Comfortable and chic, the Captiva is that beloved blanket you always want to curl up in, but it’s pretty enough to display draped over the couch” – Nicole

“Like a soft, warm hug, this throw is perfect for an afternoon nap, or just curling up with a good book” – Eve

Majorca Cable Knit Cotton Blanket:  In a welcoming, plush cable knit, the Majorca Blanket is as soft and comforting as your favorite sweater. With several new colors to chose from, the Aqua stands out as fun and a perfect reminder of the water.

“The sweater-like quality is so inviting, and the aqua color is clean and refreshing” – Eve

“The first thing that caught my eye was the rich, beautiful color. The intricate weave is similar to a cable knit, but has a more unique shape, like a wave” – Nicole

“I like the medium weight, and the aqua color reminds me of the tranquility of water” – Si

“It is a really substantial weight, fluffy and a bit heavy. I love the border finish; it’s so beautiful you could wear it as a shawl” – Carolina

Ready to try for yourself? Check out all of our Peacock Alley Bedding and Bath here!

Keeping with their signature style of classic elegance, Peacock Alley has added many new collections for Spring/Summer 2014.

Combining cotton and linen for the perfect summertime weight, the Mary Ella Bedding Collection is the perfect balance of sweet femininity and practicality.

Embracing modern simplicity, the new Billy Collection has a subtle jacquard ticking stripe in five inviting hues.

Adding new spice to an already flawless design, the Majorca Cable Knit Cotton Blanket gets a new punch of color in Blue, Aqua, Green and Coral.

Now available in the all new Grand Euro pillow size, collections such as the Mandalay Bedding offer the ultimate indulgence for your bedroom: the height of a Euro Sham with the width of a King Sham, 26 x 36 inches.

With just the right touch of pastel, the new Charleston Collection has subtle Southern charm in a delicate floral pattern.

On soft, sateen cotton, Emma exhibits a hand-drawn geometric print in colors that will mix and match perfectly with the more subdued styles.

For more beautiful bed and bath linens by Peacock Alley, click here.

Summer is on the horizon, and we’re captivated by the citrus palettes making a splash on the design scene! From tangerine to grapefruit, pops of punchy colors are perfect for adding a tangy twist to traditional interiors. Combine two or more extroverted hues, like lemon with lime, for a juicy, ‘Happy Chic’ look, a la Jonathan Adler or Trina Turk.

Here are some of our favorite picks this season:

For al fresco dining, nothing beats the chic but practical acrylic drinkware from Mario Luca Giusti.  We love how artistic the Palla Fluo pitchers look en masse …

… and how easily they can brighten anything up – even an ancient Italian cobblestone courtyard!

Sprinkle your interiors with these citrus accents for a bright, modern, and peppy aesthetic.

We’re in a happy mood just looking at this trend!

The entire design world continues to crush out on gold.  Inspired by jagged edge stone formations (and influenced by Rock and Roll Glam, Cubism, and Art Deco), Michael Aram’s “Rock” Collection feels of-the-moment even as it references past artistic movements.  As Michael says, “the gold finish feels decadent while the faceted rock forms are simple and clean. The result is a bold collection that I feel reflects a casual, yet elegant lifestyle that is very edgy and modern.”

There’s something for everyone on your list:

To see the entire Michael Aram Rock collection, click here.

“I decorate rooms from the bottom up…I always begin with the floors.”

Iconic interior designer Bunny Williams, known for her classic yet charismatic style, has teamed up with sister companies Dash & Albert and Pine Cone Hill to create a collection of indoor/outdoor rugs that is as fashionable as it is functional.  They are designed to stand the test of time, and the occasional spill of red wine!

Williams’s collection is polished and thoughtful, but with a bohemian quality that reflects the designer’s laid-back personality. She says, “What I design are backdrops for living. I want to create rooms to be used, not just showplaces to be admired.” Williams conceived 36 elegant, performance-based designs that would fit in with customers’ busy lifestyles. Marrying comfort and style, the rugs feature sophisticated patterns in soothing color palettes, all on durable, washable materials. The natural jute rugs are made from eco-friendly vegetable dyes while the indoor/outdoor rugs are constructed of a recycled-materials weave.

Williams continues, “My personal style is all about making my houses comfortable and inviting for my family and friends, and of course, my dogs.” Each piece in the collection is named after Williams’ favorite pets, past or present.

For her collaboration with Pine Cone Hill, Williams designed throws and pillows that work beautifully with the rugs, making it easy to get a coordinated look with minimal effort.

For more information on Williams’ collection with Pine Cone Hill, please click here. Click here for additional information on Bunny Williams for Dash & Albert.

Spring cleaning season is here, which means it’s time to freshen up your linens. If your towels are tired, your tub mats worn, and your bathroom is generally looking drab, give your home the update it deserves with Kassatex’s new collections of luxurious bath essentials. Say goodbye to fuzz and hello to fluff with linens and accessories designed to help you clean up in style.

Experience unparalleled texture and comfort with Kassatex’s new bath towel collections, many of which are inspired by destinations in Europe. The Marseilles Collection features a wave effect sculpted in piece dyed jacquard, while the Mallorca Collection is enhanced with an on-trend ombre print and unique eyelash fringe for a more contemporary look.

Named after Portugal’s captivating capital, Lisboa Bath Towels take forms inspired by classic baroque style. Featuring a decorative jacquard bottom border in a delicate palette, this collection is the perfect compliment for any bath.

Designers of well-appointed bathrooms rely on chic bath accessories to artfully store toiletries and eliminate clutter.  A porcelain dispenser from Kassatex’s new Shagreen Collection is a lot more glamorous perched on the counter than a plain, plastic soap bottle purchased from the drugstore.

To view more from Kassatex, including new introductions to the Bambini children’s line, please click here.

This is a true story:

In 1989, the British Rail Pension Fund showed the finest Tang Dynasty porcelain horse ever found at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong Auction.  That same night, thieves broke into the Sotheby’s warehouse, held the staff at knife point, and made off with the horse.  The heist made headlines around the world, and the Hong Kong organized crime squad was called in.  They set up a sting operation, pretending to be buyers, and recovered the stolen horse.  It was then transported in a convoy of seven armored cars and sent to London, where on December 12, 1989, it sold for a record-setting 3.74 million pounds, or $6 million ($10.7 million today after inflation) to an art dealer from Tokyo.

Such excitement is just another page in the history of the legendary horses.  During China’s Tang dynasty, horses were loved and revered as symbols of imperial power.  Emperors and noblemen gave them names like “Wind” or “Dragon.”  Poets rhapsodized about them.  Artists created porcelain horses that captured their strong, muscular builds in life-like poses.  Merchants, on the other hand, were forbidden from riding horses — such a noble creature was not to be wasted on the ostentations of the merely wealthy.

Today, Tang horses are among the best-known Chinese art.  Relatively ordinary ones are selling for about $250,000, while a premium pair sold at Sotheby’s in 2013 for almost $4.2 million.  For your collection of Tang horses, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Most Tang horses are only 15 inches tall.
• All Tang horses are made from ceramic.
• They were made to accompany the rich and powerful in the afterlife and buried with their owners.
• Most Tang horses are equipped with full riding gear.
• Almost all Tang horses have highly stylized, combed manes and a short, upturned tail.
• They come in both glazed and unglazed versions.
• The glazed versions usually come in three colors, hence the Chinese term sancai or “Three Color” horse.
• Of the glazing colors, cobalt blue is the rarest and most prized.  Only 5 percent of Tang horses have the blue cobalt glaze, which was more expensive than gold at the time.
• Tang horses have traditionally appealed more to Western than Chinese buyers, who avoided them as burial goods.

As a gallery specialist recently told The New York Times, “You want crisply defined medallions, beautifully articulated, hand-finished faux-fur saddlecloths and harnesses with bells and floret motifs. When all these elements are perfect, you’ve got a home run.”

While you wait for the next one to come up for auction, here are a couple of modern versions to add to your collection.  L’Objet’s unglazed Tang horse in large or medium, has a zen and modern look:

Herend’s limited edition Reserve Collection Tang Horse reinterprets the Tang original in the company’s signature sapphire blue fishnet design, with 24kt gold highlights:

Do you think today’s designers have outdone the ancient masters?