GEORGE FURBISH

There's something very special about a local brick and mortar business supporting other small local business.  We all need to support eachother to keep the magic happening.  Fortunately for the DRH Showroom, we are located in an area where we are able to showcase extremely talented individuals, and today, we present Furbish, a local painter.

A native of Rhode Island and lifelong resident of New England, George Furbish is well into a second career as an oil painter.  His focus is on the landscapes and seascapes of the New England states.  He finds particular inspiration in the coastal environment of Rhode Island and its spectacular Narragansett Bay which has become the inspiration for his "Impressions of New England."  "After having spent many years working in an office environment with actuaries, accountants, finance officers, and risk managers, I find that painting offers me a challenging but pleasing contrast, and an opportunity to express my creativity in a totally different way."

His artwork speaks for itself.  Framed and ready to go, these pieces are detailed, highly expressive works that will add dimension to your home.  We have them displayed in a few configurations, a gallery wall, stand alone and on an easel on a mantle.  All great ideas!

Please come by to see these beautiful pieces in person.  Here are a few just to show his range.  Enjoy!

View George Furbish's Website

Wallpaper...The Lost Dimension

We rudely ignore our walls all the time.  And our ceilings are like the black sheep of the family.

Shame on us.  We obsess over the layout and the design and the decor of our rooms but rarely consider how we should be treating the very structure that creates our space.

Thoughtfully curating a gallery wall or mounting a well placed dyptych or triptych can be lovely.  Painting walls and ceilings are a fabulous and necessary first step. (Diptychs and triptychs are a brilliant tool for photographic storytelling. They present two or three images which can be from the same session or they can be polar opposites to show opposition).  When in doubt, if you're redecorating a room that hasn't been touched in 8-10 years, the FIRST thing you need to do is paint your ceiling.  Even if you're sticking with white.  Go bright and flat if you're keeping things traditional.  If you're feeling daring, go gloss, but make sure your ceiling is smooth enough to your liking.  The gloss will highlight texture.  A-ha moment: paint your ceiling a funky color in a satin finish and leave your walls and trim white.  OR WALLPAPER YOUR CEILING!

Same goes for walls.  Please don't ignore them.  They are your canvas.  A fresh coat of paint will always make a room feel fresh and clean and bright.  If you treat your ceiling with something colorful or outlandish, neutral walls are a great way to establish balance.  Or you can paint your walls the same color as the ceiling.  OR YOU CAN WALLPAPER YOUR WALLS.  Or one wall.

Clearly (or maybe not so clearly) what I'm getting at here is wallpaper.  Not just wallpaper, but grasscloth, textured fabric wall treatments, even shell.  A bold, dimensional print is not for the faint of heart and so we often see the accent wall.  Totally acceptable.  A statement is made when you dive in and take a boldly printed wall treatment and put it on every wall in a room. 

Here are a few images and product shots of Kravet wall treatments that we at Darby Road HOME have access to that are beyond inspirational.  Enjoy!  And please, remember, if you're scared and want some moral support, that's what our DRH Design Services are for!

Summer Home-Runs

We've had quite a tease this week with some warm-ish weather.  Personally, 75 to 85 degrees is my happy place and then I feel that it's only right to be surrounded by the ocean and quaint towns and fun harbor side bars.  Naturally.

A little shout-out to The House of Turquoise, a blog based on homes decorated with Turquoise.  Turquoise is the color of the season.  It's warm and cool, bright and versatile and a natural beauty. 

Fabulously, the Darby Road HOME Showroom carries lines that allow customization to mimic any sort of inspiration.  Custom Upholstery that can be created from the frame up, from fabric to cushion to welt to nail head.  Furniture and Case Goods that can be made to order laquered, sleek and shiny or weathered, rustic and lived-in. 

Here are a few inspirational photos to get your interior-decor juices flowing for summer style.  Beneath you'll find a slider of some items we have in stock that go perfectly with this bright summery vibe!  Enjoy!  

PS don't forget we are giving 21% off to those with Military IDs on the 21st for Armed Forces Day!

The Salty Mermaid Cottage is a quaint and colorful home- ship-lap everywhere- with porch swings and slipcovered sofas and driftwood accents throughout.  So cozy and calm and inviting!  Wait til you see all the outdoor spaces!

The Rose Cottage is a pillar of shabby chic decor.  It's charm rises up from the rustic farm table, a trough kitchen sink, feminine chandeliers, ikat, linen and floral upholstery and a window seat fit for Cinderella (pre ball).

The Serenity Lake Front Home is a serene (I'm sorry but is there any other word to describe this?) house with cool, muted tones of seafoam, denim blue and white.  The living area is what summer homes and weeks away on holiday are made of.  Everyone in the same room, hanging out, relaxing, making guac on the kitchen island, mixing moscow mules over at the wet bar... Who needs walls?  This is so well done- while this is one big great room, the furniture layout clearly divides the room into it's respective parts.  There's order while still being flexible. 

Tangerine Tango is a post about incorporating orange- tangerine (2012 Pantone Color of the Year) specifically- into the home.  Blue and orange is a design trend that we've been watching this year.  We've seen more of the bright orange and a royal or navy blue paired together.  But this combination of turquoise and robin's egg blue with tangerine is a more light hearted approach.  Incorporated with shiny black and white, this home is funky, playful and modern, but still laid back and perfect for a schmoozy weekend with friends and family.

PWL: DRH Casegoods

Cabinets, shelves, etagerés, bookcases, and chests of drawers generally fit into the category of Casegoods.  I'm not sure it's the most widely used term, but it's the genre of furniture that serves to keep you organized.  And since disorder utterly ruins a well decorated or potentially beautiful space, casegoods are essential in our lives.

The Darby Road HOME showroom is virtually a haven for beautiful casegoods.  In stock, we have a strong variety of options which span in colors, sizes and styles and we also work with many vendors that offer custom options. 

I know you've been rethinking a space in your home or office that could use a sturdier system to keep your busy life together- come here and discover the perfect piece that you'll be proud of and that will work hard for you for years to come.  Our design services are always available to help you pick just the right option.

Below, check out this month's Products We Love featuring some of our star casegoods!

TREND : COLOR

Listen, if I could marry a color (besides Gold- which is more a state of mind than a color), it would be gray.  I like it when it's dark and moody.  I like it when it's airy and wispy.  I like it when it's muddled in earth tones.  I love it when it's plumby purple.  I love it warm; it's actually one of the only things I enjoy when it's cool.  I love it when it stands alone as a pure representation of when black meets white. 

But this sky and this weather are giving me reason to take a break from my love.  It's like when you need a girls weekend from married/parenting life every now and then.

Not that I know what that's like.

(I do.)

When one of the Darby Road HOME in-house designers let me dig into her iPhone photo album from her recent travels to LA, Palm Springs, NY and Miami (yeah, I know) it was as if I was on that much needed break. COLOR.  EVERYWHERE.  Being that it's Cinco de Mayo and I'm enjoying a Margarita with a space heater beating on my legs, it's like I'm actually there.  Join me.

The decor was mod, traditional and everything in between, but they played with color like a school yard crush.  I wouldn't even call this a trend so much as a statement.  We New Englanders will not succumb to the doldrums of this weather.  Until summer, we will persevere and create the vibrance we need to survive!  And drink and aim space heaters at ourselves.

This is why it pays to work with DRH Design Services.  Our designers bring their interior design inspiration into your home!  Experience, travels, technical knowledge, a sheer knack and a keen eye are all elements that make up an outstanding designer.  That and a great relationship with our client.  So come, meet, greet and get started.  We are having weekly Wine Tastings this month- every Thursday from 4-6- with a flash sale of 10 items up to 50% off.  No obligation.  Just visit, sip + shop.