That’s where you’ll find LSI in the latest “Small Spaces” Issue of Rue Magazine.

Our live/work loft in Charlotte certainly fits the bill for small, but we made sure not to scrimp on style. 

Reference was made to our tiny terrace, but no photo to show… so we thought we’d let you see:

All photos were taken by Ron Royals. Big Thanks to the ladies at Rue for featuring us!

We’re always interested in other designers and how they work. This extends beyond interiors, as we believe that all creative endeavors are a link in the one chain that is the urge to make something beautiful or interesting. We were thrilled to find this little interview with British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith on the Rug Company blog, and while he makes it all sound so easy, we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg in the process of how a line of ties, or a rug, becomes a reality. Enjoy!

We think good. We saw this photo of Aaron Ruell’s and immediately thought:

“That looks just like Michel’s place!”

Michel’s:

Well maybe not exactly. But the feeling, sans birthday explosion, is still there…

see more of Aaron’s (otherwise known as Kip from Napolean Dynamite) quirky work here.

See more of Michel’s colorful home here.

… is in this house!

The March of Dimes 2011 Designer Show House, in Charlotte, NC.

Of course we’re talking about our room, but our esteemed fellow designers will be sure to give us a run for our money. And we mean it. It’s going to be good, with Mrs. Howard, Aida Interiors & Luxe Home Couture, Max & Co, Isabella (will our friend Bryn be there?), and Barrie Benson of Domino fame in attendence, to name a few.

We’ve been working on this space non-stop this week, gearing up for the opening Oct.7th. Paint is done.

Ben Moore Chelsea Gray on the walls:

chevron in the dressing room:

..and that’s about it. But Monday, MONDAY starts the install.

We can only share a few images to give you an idea of where this is headed.

Indigo velvet (deeper color than pictured below) custom headboard a la:

this great “Halston-esque” chandelier & ochre accents:

And we’re crossing our fingers that our friends at Decade will loan this beautiful painting, which will sit opposite the black commodes that will flank the bed, and the rams head chair which will perch in the dressing area- all available for purchase through LSI when the Show House concludes:

There is so much more, we can’t wait to show you how it comes together. Watch for it on FB & Twitter, and make sure you come out to the show house when it opens! Tickets are $15 each and proceeds go to the March of Dimes. Get all of your design obsessed friends together and make a day of supporting this great cause!

The October House Beautiful hit the stands….

So. Newell going bold in this one. The article written by stylist Craig Schumacher in the Oct. issue is unlike any we’ve read in the interiors world. It’s unusual, and frankly we think it’s brilliantly brave to address the ideas of living beyond your means in a world where image is often everything.

No one relishes the idea of scaling back their living space due to necessity. What we love about this article is the idea that you can still live with what you love, sacrificing nothing, as the title suggests, and with great style to boot.

Craig’s style, as he admits, is majorly Anglophilian (possibly not an actual word, but you get the point). It’s not what we do usually, but we love that he loves it and he’s become a master of layering in his downscaled space. Even if this isn’t to your taste, the images paired with the article made a great piece. Seriously, you should all read it.

Layer layer layer. It’s what we always say to ourselves when we discuss designs for client’s spaces. It’s inspirational that Craig refuses to lose his “things” even though his home is now a smaller rental. The effect is so cozy.

Thank You, HB, for such an interesting, honest, and different kind of article. We enjoyed it.

Also, if someone can explain this whole digital watermarking thing… how DOES this work? Crazy!

This past week we worked on design concepts and ideas for one of our new Charlotte clients. Normally we like to keep the specifics of our work in progress under wraps, saving the details and the design lovelies for our client’s eyes only- at least until AFTER the installation… otherwise known as “the wow moment”.

We thought it might be fun, however, to show you a little more about how we work. For this particular job, we’re straddling the lines of our Luxe/Mini Luxe services. We jokingly call these tear sheets our “Lisa Sherry Playing Cards”.  Conveniently grouped by room, we’ve gathered inspiration & mood images along with paint swatches, wall & window treatments, accessories & specified product ideas.

 The cards come with detailed floor plans that relate back to the items we’ve selected for our client. What makes this kind of project plan great is that it’s so versatile. From here we can do the leg work, or our client can shop at his leisure, taking it room by room as he pleases. And we mean that literally- the cards are so much more portable than a large scale design board, you can take them with you as a guide when you shop.

If you are at a point where you need that little bit of guidance in your home, our MiniLuxe service might be perfect for you. Read more about it here.

A few months ago we got a visit from the incomparable Ron Fiore, Creative Director of Hickory Chair. Ron is a sort of superstar in the furniture industry, a creative genius quietly living outside of High Point, NC. It was just after this past Spring market when he came by our studio with our friend and photographer, Kenton Robertson. We were chatting about Hickory Chair and how the Suzanne Kasler line came to be and the story he told us was so interesting, we thought we’d share.

Prior to Suzanne’s line for HC, there weren’t many furniture lines rep’d by large companies that had great feminine appeal. Ron and Jay had been talking about the future of HC, and how they needed to tap into the female buyer- what did she want, what did she need, what was she looking for? Women still spend 85% of a household’s income, and while we personally see more husband-involvement in client purchasing now than ever before, it’s true that women hold the purse strings.

One night Ron had a dream, and woke up thinking “POWDER BLUE”. Powder blue, powder blue- it was just stuck in his head, this color, some kind of significance was attached to it in the dream -but he didn’t know it’s meaning.

The next day he was standing in the reception area at Hickory Chair. The door opened, and in walked this woman- precisely dressed in powder blue Prada drivers, a powder blue Prada bag, wrapped in a powder blue pashmina.

POWDER BLUE! It was Suzanne Kasler.

Suzanne had come to Hickory Chair to present a line based on her personal collection of antiques and a few custom designs she had completed for clients. Ron told us that they were so impressed with her vision, which tapped right into the need they were seeing in the marketplace at that time. Since then the Kasler line has been a complete success, starting the move toward designer lines produced and sold by Hickory Chair. We have to admit, there’s hardly a piece of her line that we couldn’t use in any of our current projects.

Here’s a pic we shot that day of Lisa & Ron (who, we’ve heard, is rarely seen sans Yankees cap). Thanks, Ron, for sharing that little bit of serendipity with us. Even in the world of design it seems there are sometimes greater forces at work!

After seeing this dress on the Valentino Fall 11 Couture runway (via the Terrier & Lobster) we started thinking about this oft-neglected shade of green. Peridot is hard to pin down- it’s not lime, it’s not chartreuse, it’s not a saturated color but it still has it’s own distinct depth- especially in a silk, satin or velvet where there’s luster involved.

When we started digging for peridot used in interiors, we came up empty handed. So- what do you think? A trend worth starting or a color best left on the Valentino runway?

As an aside, Kathryn’s eyes went right from the dress to the pattern under the model’s hemline. More details on this, please!

images via terrier & lobster, Maisons Cote’ Sud via Aesthetically thinking (RIP, sweet Charlie), & NYmag

About a week ago we had a shoot in Charlotte at friend/client turned member of the LSI team Michel’s house. Whew, that was a mouthful- but it’s true. We met Michel & fell in love, and now she’s one of us. See why below!

A little last minute style & prep, and then the team from Charlotte Home & Garden arrived!

First things first- coffee! Then the ladies headed to the living room to talk story while Chris scouted out his shots:

This shoot was really a dream. So easy-going! Here Michel tells the story of how she went from licensed therapist to interior decorator for LSI. Lisa helped Michel take her home (which houses 3 rambunctious boys + husband) to that next level, pulling everything together- & in the process saw Michel’s innate talent firsthand.

Want to see just how the day went? We took a little video- this is basically Million Dollar Decorators… or not. But you get the idea. For those who haven’t been through a photo shoot, it kinda goes like this.all.day.long. You’ll have to click the link to watch our little peek behind the curtain, so to speak:

almost Bravo worthy

Don’t want to spoil the surprise and show you too much of the interior- you can see this home on our portfolio page but we know Chris will put his own photographer’s take on it- we can barely wait to see what shot he got while squeezed into this corner.

Blake & Lisa have a chat on a vintage yellow suzani:

Getting a look at the shot:

And then we moved upstairs to shoot the bedrooms, where we had a little extra entertainement…

Sadly we’ll all have to wait until October to see this issue hit the stands. Thanks to Lindsay, Blake & Chris, from Charlotte Home & Garden for making this such a great experience!

Sorry guys, just for the ladies this time. We couldn’t resist sharing some of our current favorites.

We wanted to share some of our summer finds. All tried & tested by the ladies of LSI!

1,2,3,4,5,6

Sometimes we wonder if we post too much fashion on our blog. After all, we are not fashion designers- we’re interior designers. BUT. There are so many ways in which we are inspired by something from a fashion spread- from colors to textures to composition, we believe inspiration comes from everywhere & anywhere. After running across this tumblr last week, we’ve amassed quite a collection of new inspiration. So we thought maybe you’d like to see how we dissect & reapply all of this visual stimuli. For example:

Any of these references could get worked into an interior. Our eyes are always open for that new idea or a reminder to think in unexpected ways.

We’ve noticed something.

Are you seeing it?

There’s this color story that’s so prevalent right now. Maybe it’s Summer approaching, but everything is white walls with lots of blue, red, greens & a little bit of yellow. We’re not criticizing. It’s this global/rattan/beach/suzani/ginger jar/fiddle leaf fig thing. Ok, so we’re a little tired of the figs (yes, we have one in the studio). And we have that Ralph Lauren woven coffee table, too. So see, it’s not that we don’t like the look. Let’s look at Sig’s place again- what’s not to love? The styling of that gate leg table alone is worth a good study.

There’s nothing wrong with blue & white. We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again- it’s classic. But right now we’re fixated on pastels. Maybe it was this home that sparked the change. Or maybe it was this Paris apartment, designed by Baroness Bruno de Pampelonne, seen in Vogue Living Australia:

Lavender, citron, icy blues, black & mousey neutrals… these colors suggest a different kind of glamour, a different “feel” for a space.

We are also digging this more accessible palette in the recent Serena & Lily catalogue. Sherbet style tones meet khaki, camel, linen & “off-metallics” (ie, not silver & gold). Their new rugs are really cute, too.

Another color on our radar? Opal-Mint-Jade. LOVE these loungey sofas from Elle Decoration:

and this Jay Jeffers room from the Elle Decor Showhouse that we snagged here:

So where are you all falling in the color spectrum these days? We’d love links to your recent favorites!

So the new May/June issue of Lonny is out, and WE’RE IN IT!  We were dying to tell you about this when we first found out it was going to happen but we had to contain ourselves. We’re just so thrilled with how all of Patrick’s photos turned out- it was kind of a dreary on the day of the shoot, and he doesn’t use any extra lighting. In the end, the home appears just as light filled and airy in the pics as it does in real life. And can we just boast about how attractive our homeowners are? Such a great photo of them!

We made sure to take plenty of behind the scenes shots (iphone, so excuse any blurriness), and our friend and homeowner Scott Vincent took plenty of great pics as well. Here’s the shoot from our point of view, with pics of Michelle (who is just magnetic, by the way) and Patrick at work:

We headed into Minneapolis on April 26th and made our way to the home of Courtney & Scott Vincent.

A shot of the exterior; we love this home- kind of rainy, the morning of the shoot:

When Michelle & Patrick arrived, they immediately started snapping away. A few from the stairs-

L to R, Lisa, Patrick, Courtney holding baby Pearl, & Michelle:

Lisa watches Patrick set up the shot of the collage wall in the living room:

The girls entertain themselves with the coloring book placemats:

This family is just so photogenic!

A little interview and a shot with Lisa:

Holden is not as shy as she’d have you believe…

Did you know that Patrick shoots film? Film. For a digitally produced magazine. It kind of surprised us.

He said he prefers the romance of film. We love a man who uses words like “romance”.

Scott & Courtney pose for their close-up:

We love this group shot of Courtney, Pearl, Lisa, Michelle & Patrick:

It was really an honor to be chosen for this issue. Again we want to thank everyone who helped to make it happen (including our amazing clients who have become friends!) and want to thank Michelle & Patrick for a laid back & fun shoot.

We’re thrilled with the outcome!

Haven’t seen it in Lonny yet? Click here.

When you can look at a design created 6 years ago and it still excites you, it’s got to be good. Grant Gibson recently reminded us of this Martha Angus interior created for the SF Showhouse in 2005. Above the chinoiserie de Gournay wallpaper, above the Warhol, it’s that stack of hot pink boxes that holds the attention.

I’d really like to ask Martha what the impetus was for that fantastic stack (Is it a piece of postmodern art that we’re not familiar with? We know Martha is often the designer of choice for collectors of major works). Martha, if you’re reading this, do tell! We want to know the story!

This room is really our Mixology philosophy at work. Martha has a new blog, so we’ll be watching the direction she takes there.

images via Grant K. Gibson and Martha Angus Inc.

As High Point Furniture Market draws to a close, we’d like to give those of you unable to attend this year a peak into another showroom we had the privilege of designing. Selamat, the San Francisco based furniture & accessories company, had some fun new finishes to show off and we had a blast coming up with fashion forward ways to showcase them . Inspired by trends off the Spring runways, We chose colors and pattern to show buyers the versatility of their collection. And here’s how it turned out:

We were so pleased with how the showroom came together, but even more than that we were so happy to have met the folks at Selamat, hear their inspiring story, and learn about their entrepreneurial path. Meeting fantastic people and forging new relationships is such a part of design, and we couldn’t have gotten luckier with this job. Make sure you check Selamat out!