CasaSugar

Love It or Hate It? Crew Towels

CasaSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:00:35 -0700

These Crew Towels ($3.99-$7.99) from Linen and Things embrace the love for all things prep. Would you hang them in your bathroom?

Steal of the Day: Preppy Plaid Chair

CasaSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:39:06 -0800

The price is right on this Urban Outfitters crisscross plaid chair. Marked down from $200, it's 75% off at $49.99. I love how the classic modern shape is given an entirely different dimension thanks to the upholstery fabric. Watch out though-the shipping charge is $85, and this chair can't be shipped to Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.

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Open House: Can Design Talent Be Inherent?

CasaSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Drew University student and Charlotte Moss intern Maximilian Sinsteden made waves this week when his preppy, eclectic, and decorated-to-the-nines dorm room was featured in New York magazine. As it turns out, the 21-year-old senior, who has no formal design training, has already officially started his own interior-design company. He's had a knack for the art since before he was 12. So, where did he acquire his skills? It's “inherent and experience," he says. Do you think this is possible? Do you think interior design talent can be inherent? Or is it just picked up from experience? Do you think designers need formal training to succeed?
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The Card Shop: Sealing Envelopes the Cool Way

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:00:54 -0700

If you weren't satisfied with the colorful Japanese masking tape . . . or if you just crave variety, I've got another way to seal envelopes for you. TapeSwell Decorative Tape ($7) comes in 20 different "madly modern" patterns, with a bit more oomph than that colorful masking tape. Feeling a little damask today? Seal your envelopes and packages in a black and white flocked patterned. Embracing your preppy, horse-riding roots? Maybe the emerald chain decorative tape is for you. The sky is the limit: just figure out who you are, and TapeSwell will help you personalize your outgoing mail. But, don't stop there, perk up your moving boxes and anything else around the house that needs a boost!

Nice and New: Rubie Green Bedding

CasaSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Eco-chic upholstery fabric designer Michelle Adams of Rubie Green has ventured into the bedroom. With a new bedding line, that is. Now her downtown preppy patterns can be yours even if you're not up for reupholstering a sad chair or having custom curtains made. The current offerings include duvet covers, sheet sets, shams, and bed skirts. Take your pick of four designs, including a black and white graph-like Habibi, the pretty-in-pink zig zag East Village, the summery yellow lattice Tillinghast, and simple Classic bedding with black piping. All of the bedding comes from a factory that is certified eco-friendly by the Global Organic Textile Standard in every step of production, from the weaving of the fabric down to the final packaging, and is made from the softest 300 thread-count organic cotton percale. Who ever said you can't look good and be good (to the environment) in bed, too?

Get the Look: Grand Slam Glam

CasaSugar — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:00:53 -0700

I've been tuning into a lot of U.S. Open matches this week, and watching tennis always makes me want put on a cute old-school tennis dress and play a few sets. It also got me thinking that the preppy '80s vibe that tennis often conjures would make a great decorating theme!

Well-suited to a girl's room or a guest room, this look I'm calling Grand Slam Glam mixes pretty pastels and preppy details, with just a few tennis-inspired accents tossed in. Here's how to get the look.

The Palette: Think girly country-club chic, with lime green, light blue, and delicate pink. Present your palette in perfectly preppy patterns, including argyle and gingham. Then, just for fun, throw in a few snatches of tennis-ball yellow.

For the rest of the elements and to see my product suggestions, read more

The Furniture: I went with white and off-white furniture evocative of courtside style. This Cannes Cottage Headboard ($1,130) reminds me of a tennis net, while the Room Service Home Palm Floral Bench ($1,249) lends a spectator vibe.

The lighting: Keep it simple and let in lots of sunshine. You shouldn't need much more than a table lamp - perhaps one that echoes the shape of a trophy.

The accents: Get your game on with a vintage tennis poster and some preppy monogrammed pillows. For fun, I also threw in a few Victoria Hagan for Target Trellis Linen Coasters ($12.99) that remind me of tennis balls.

Pine Cone Hill Alice Quilt in Green	The Art of Tennis poster
Cannes Cottage Headboard	Blue Argyle Wallpaper
Shine Ava in Sky Blue	Palm Floral Bench Room Service Home
Pottery Barn Mongrammed Pillows	Target Victoria Hagan Trellis Linen Coaster Set

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:15:29 -0700

AT:SF is inspired by pops of color.
Craft shows you how to use one pattern three ways.
Danny Seo features a gorgeous blanket made from scarves.
Dwell has photos of a floating pool.
Charles and Hudson tells you about the Reuse Everything Experiment.
Elements of Style finds preppy ikat.
SavvySugar tells you how the Wall Street crisis affects you.
Shak in Style has dreamy horse photographs.

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Love It or Hate It? Ralph Lauren Madras Quilt

CasaSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:15:00 -0700

Even though I was the furthest thing from a preppy in high school, some part of me still loves the look of madras. However, I'm torn about whether I could pull off a Ralph Lauren Madras Quilt ($249.99) in my bedroom. Obviously, I'd switch up the style a little with some less country-cute pillows, to give the quilt an edge, but I'm not sure if that's enough of a change. What about you? Do you like this bedding?

Casa Craving Challenge: Blue Striped Danish Bench

CasaSugar — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:00:38 -0700

Every Thursday on CasaSugar, I'll give you a decorating challenge and ask you to go Casa Craving for items that fit the look. (Here's a post explaining what a Casa Craving is and how to create one.)

The latest Casa Craving Challenge is inspired by the thought that you the readers don't necessarily have the same home décor tastes as CasaSugar. So, this challenge will be training in how to make something work that may not necessarily jive with whatever furniture, accessories, tableware, lighting, and other home accents you're usually drawn to.

So in this Casa Craving Challenge, I’d like you to design one room around this Vintage Danish Bench from Hudson and make it work with your aesthetic. You can choose to design a kitchen, living room, bedroom, whatever you like, as long as you say which type of room you've chosen and stick to it. You should also briefly describe your décor style, and tell me how you've made the bench work with it.

This rugby-esque blue striped bench projects a very preppy, Bostonian look, which is not everyone's style. If your guide to style is the Official Preppy Handbook, then by all means, go for Ralph Lauren bedding and throw some Lilly Pulitzer in there. But if your look is Japanese-inspired quiet minimalist, then you'll need to find a way to tone this bold pattern down. Either way, I'll be looking to see that you thought about how to make the color, pattern, style, and shape of this bench work with the other products you've chosen. So think about it carefully, and then decide how you'd make this blue bench feel at home in your home. What furniture, artwork, silverware, lighting, rugs, throw pillows, blankets, and other accents would you use to get the look?

Tell me by creating Casa Cravings and tagging your Cravings with the phrase blue striped bench, and I'll feature the results next Wednesday, Oct. 17th. Even better, you can create a list of your bookmarks; TeamSugar has a great tutorial on listmaking if you're not sure how. Please let me know if you have any questions. As an added bonus, we'll be giving away one CasaSugar canvas tote to one of the challenge winners.

For a list of online home stores to try, read more

Amazon Home
Bed Bath & Beyond
CB2
Crate & Barrel
Design Within Reach
Gump's
Ikea
Jonathan Adler
Lekker Home
Linens and Things
Macy's Home
Pottery Barn
Restoration Hardware
Room & Board
Target
Urban Outfitters
Unica Home
West Elm
World Market

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Would You Dress Your Floors in Monogrammed Rugs?

CasaSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:00:58 -0800

This George Monogram ($30 to $35/sq. ft.) by Diane Elson Bankoff is part of Elson & Co.'s children's collection, and I assume it's meant for a nursery. I'm not going to lie: It's certainly a good-looking rug. But personally, I feel that monograms are best left on the doormats, flasks, or preppy L.L. Bean tote bags of the world. Covering your floor in a fun pattern, or a classic Kilim, says more about who you are than a trio of initials ever will. But I suppose a monogrammed rug is one step up from a dull sisal. Tell me what you think: Would you or wouldn't you?