17 Feb From Vegas to Palm Springs – Modern Color & Texture Inspires!

I can’t help it…but with this gorgeous weather in Austin and clear, blue skies, I really want to be poolside, either at Austin’s well-known jewel, Barton Springs Pool (which is essentially just down the hill from my studio), or out in Palm Springs at Modernism Week.  Kind of like interior designer, King of Modernism himself, Christopher Kennedy, below.

Photography by, and with permission from, Christopher Kennedy.

I met Christopher for the very first time here in Austin at an interior designer event a couple years ago. When I heard his personal story and his love for Mid-century modern, well, I’ve been smitten ever since. He’s not only uber talented, but a friend and also just a really great guy. And Christopher, known for his incredible Mid-century modern interior designs, not only has his own line of modern furnishings, a new store, and a new book (his book signing below was at the Vegas market), but he magically (with a lot of hard work!) produces the “#1 Must-See Event”, Christopher Kennedy Compound , each year for Modernism Week.

Graphic by, and with permission from, Modernism Week.

Graphic by, and with permission from, Modernism Week.

Be sure to keep reading, because I’m going to feature a few of the talented interior designers that are featured in The Christopher Kennedy Compound going on right now at Modernism Week. The full list of the select interior designers, “The TasteMakers”, and the sponsors for the 2016 showhouse are listed above. I am fortunate to know two of them, and met four more while on the VIP Tour in Vegas.

But if you want to meet this incredible talent for yourself, you’d better hurry because you only have FOUR more days to high tail it out to Palm Springs to see all this Mid-century Modern Magnificence during Modernism Week!!

Photography by, and with permission from, Christopher Kennedy.

This image above of ALL the talented interior designers invited by Christopher to style a room in the compound is such a wonderfully, happy, colorful image that’s popping up all over social media for Modernism Week. The green of that lawn is totally inspiring as you’ll see throughout this post!!

But first I want to catch you up with what’s been happening so far this year at Deborah Main Designs’ studio.  Phew, what a busy 2016 it has been, but I’m loving it!! Many of you who follow us on Social Media, know we were fortunate enough to attend the Vegas Red Carpet Tour at the end of January with Jackie Von Tobel of Soft Design Lab.  Another super star in the world of design, Jackie sure knows how to give a VIP Tour and I was thrilled to meet her in person and many other interior designers. Below is a photo of our fun group and the names and faces of all who attended.

And below is a funny pic of me I think, because it reminds me of King Kong, as my body looks superimposed onto the image while men are running away from me, or toward me, in the background. LOL!!

Flee, it’s Deborah Main about to take on the World Market Center in Vegas!!

It was my first time EVER in Vegas (“Vegas Virgin”, I think they call it!) and I have lots to share with you about this exciting trip over the next month. My incredible experience at the Las Vegas Market is intricately connected to why I’m talking about color and texture in Mid-century modern on the blog today.  For those who’ve heard of the fabulous time period, but may not be as familiar with it, it happens to be one of my FAVES!  Here’s a quick Wikipedia definition for you:

“Mid-century modern is an architectural, interior, product and graphic design that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965. The term, employed as a style descriptor as early as the mid-1950s, was reaffirmed in 1983 by Cara Greenberg in the title of her book, Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s (Random House), celebrating the style that is now recognized by scholars and museums worldwide as a significant design movement.” – Wikipedia

Photography by, and with permission from, Gregg Cestaro.

In the spring I particularly love to break out all the colorful textiles I have that inspire me, like this Mid-century modern one above of a Vera Neumann silk scarf transformed into a one-of-a-kind pillow.

And that’s also why I get so inspired by Modernism Week because it just brings that “Rat Pack” era back alive with incredible architecture, fabulous furnishings and colorful interior design.

Here’s a Mid-century modern chair, the David Chair, below, designed by Christopher Kennedy, that I absolutely love, particularly in that mustard color.  I’m hoping someday to remodel our family/dining room into a Mid-century modern haven with maybe a reading chair like Christopher’s for my husband, who also happens to be named David. A great birthday or anniversary gift for the hubs, don’t you think?

Photography by, and with permission from, Christopher Kennedy.

Below are two 1960’s gowns with all the Palm Springs colors that I can’t wait to make into luxury one-of-a-kind pillows!  That green striped textile below pops out just like that perfectly manicured lawn with all the interior designers (at the beginning of this post). How can you not love bright and sunny colors in the spring time??  And, if you’ve been following our blog (you can sign up for it HERE) you know we LOVE to up-cycle and re-purpose vintage dresses into fabulous pillows.

Almost identical colors to these motel rooms in Palm Springs!

Photography by, and with permission from, Santa Monica Property.

And before I move onto to the cool geometric blue textiles and design, I want you to meet Julia Buckingham, one of this year’s “Tastemakers”, whom Christopher selected to design one of the bedrooms in the Christopher Kennedy Compound.

In Palm Springs, Modernism Week is celebrating it’s 10th year, so it’s a very big deal, and an incredible honor, to be one of the lucky interior designers to be asked to design for Christopher’s compound.

And we have just a peak of a few of the designs below. But first, my introduction to the Chicago-based interior designer, Julia Buckingham in the gorgeous Global Views showroom at the Las Vegas Market.  Julia is an incredibly talented interior designer known for her style she calls “Modernique”. I still can’t believe she debuted her new line for Global Views in Dallas at the 2015 June Market and I totally missed it!!

But it was well worth the wait to meet this lovely designer in Vegas at The Las Vegas Market. I had heard, read, and seen on social media so much about Julia’s new line, that I was dying to see it in person and meet her too.  (You can read more about Julia Buckingham Collection for Global Views HERE).

Below is her infamous “Wiggle” chair. And WOW, it is amazing in person as well as the “Steamer” rug!!  To me, the colors, patterns and styles of her collection for Global Views speak of Mid-century modern.

“The new Julia Buckingham for Global Views Collection celebrates the journey of design and encourages people to not just decorate, but to curate their spaces in a personal and meaningful way. The collection will include a selection of furniture, lighting, rugs, tabletop and home accessories by the Chicago-based designer.” – Julia Buckingham for Global Views

The boldness of the colors and pattern in the chair and rug are amazing to me!!! There is nothing out there in home decor or interiors like this truly spectacular collection by Julia. That’s what I love about it…it is so different!!  And you know we at Deborah Main Designs love the unique!

Our Vegas group below touring the Global Views showroom and Julia’s collection. I personally had never stepped foot in a Global Views showroom and I was in absolute awe of the stunning array of luxury furnishings!!  Be sure to follow our blog, because I’ll be writing and showing more photos of the Global Views showroom and more showrooms in the coming weeks.

I was just thrilled beyond words to finally meet this design icon, Julia Buckingham, in person. And she’s just like everyone talks about….as sweet as can be.

And with my 1960’s light blue coat, trimmed with fox fur, adorned with a vintage sea urchin brooch….well, it sent Julia and I, and even one of the owners of Global Views, into shared excitement for collecting vintage brooches.

Not to mention the fabulous dress that Julia was wearing which so reminded me of some amazing 1940’s Mid-century fabric I had in my collection with gold painted over it. She immediately knew I was a little different when I started shooting photos of her dress!! Ha! ha!  🙂

One of Global Views’ delightful owners above, Frederick Rayner, showing me his vintage cuff links which turned into a wonderful discussion and show & tell on his phone of vintage brooches.

I could talk for hours on collecting vintage brooches and textiles and had a blast chatting with Frederick at Global Views!

The detail of Julia’s gorgeous dress (which I’m sorry I cannot remember the designer) reminds me of many incredible textiles from the 1940’s -1960’s with gold metallic painted on them. Thankfully, Mid-century textiles, color and texture still permeate and inspire new fashion and interior design.  How lucky we are!!

Below is Julia with our Vegas VIP Tour leader, Jackie Von Tobel of Soft Design Lab, and one of the presenters on our first day at Las Vegas Market, Scot Meachum Wood.  Stay tuned on Pillow Goddess for more about the rugs that Jackie and Julia designed for Feizy Rugs and the presentation that Scot and other designers did coming soon.

And Julia is one of the “Tastemakers” for Christopher Kennedy’s Compound this year at Modernism Week. Here’s a sneak peek below of her bedroom design. Wow, what I’d give for a room that stepped right out to the pool. I asked the hubs last night if we could retire to Palm Springs??  He looked at me with that look “Are you crazy”? Oh well, it was worth a try.

Photography by, and with permission from, Julia Buckingham.

I love the colors Julia selected for the bedding. I”m sorry I don’t know more details about it, but it will surely be all over social media, on many blogs and written up very soon in Traditional Home, one of the sponsors of the showhouse. So be sure to keep a watch for more great press on the Christopher Kennedy Compound!

Photography by, and with permission from, Julia Buckingham.

Here’s a polka dot gown (below) in our 1960’s textile collection that totally reminds me of some of the colors Julia selected for her showhouse bedroom above and her “Steamer” rug for Global Views below.

Now Julia will kill me I’m sure for this…but doesn’t the cool heel of her shoes look awesome with her rug?  I love the colored and clear heels in fashion today! Now how fun is that!!

Now onto the cool blues.

Photography by, and with permission from, Modernism Week.

There’s nothing like the blue sky and cool water of a pool out in the Palm Springs desert that will get you thinking about all the incredible pops of color from the 1950’s and 60’s. Below is the kitchen for this year’s showhouse, designed by none other than, the King of Mid-century himself, Christopher Kennedy.  If you follow #ModernismWeek and #ChristopherKennedyCompound on Twitter or Instagram you will most certainly see more of the fabulous designs by Christopher and the other interior designers involved.

I love the glass pendants in Christopher Kennedy’s design, because they remind me so much of all the blues and greens so popular in the Mid-century interiors and the “glass floats” used years ago by fisherman.

Photography by, and with permission from, Christopher Kennedy.

Here is a pair of our Redbrick Modern pillows handcrafted with vintage Barkcloth that we at the Deborah Main studio love because of that same lime green and royal blue that is so prominent throughout Mid-century design.

And here are some fabulous blue and white geometric textiles below that we can’t wait to get started on creating luxury pillows with!  Which reminds me….we have a lot of exciting new changes coming up this year for Deborah Main Designs, like our NEW Essentials Collection and more. So be on the look out and follow us on Instagram @deborahmaindesigns and Twitter @deborahmain or sign up for our quarterly newsletter to get the full scoop coming up in late spring. Hint – new website on the horizon!

One of the other interior designers, who is a home-grown Texas gal and a knockout designer, is the fabulous Dallas-based, Denise Mcgaha.  I have not had an opportunity yet to work with Denise, but I met her in Dallas a couple years ago at one of the #SneakPeeks for bloggers at Dallas Market.  She not only “Designs with a Deadline”, her signature trademark of designing within 90 days, and dresses to the nines with style, but look what she did with a laundry room below at the Christopher Kennedy Compound?

That’s what I love about talented interior designers like Julia, Denise, Christopher and all the other “Tastemakers” for the Showhouse, is they really know how to make every room of a home, from a master suite, to a kitchen to even a laundry room, feel curated and meaningful, one you’d want to spend a lot of time in.

Denise Mcgaha’s laundry room for The Christopher Kennedy Compound is so gorgeous with Mid-century colors, textures, and patterns, that I am totally inspired to make my laundry room into something spectacular.  I love Denise’s choice of colors, the wallpaper in an awesome retro pattern, and the ’60’s vibe with the rope chandelier. Very tropical and desert at the same time!

Photography by, and with permission from, Denise McGaha.

Photograpy by, and with permission from, Denise McGaha.

And last but not least, during the VIP Red Carpet Las Vegas Market Tour, we enjoyed THREE book signings, one of which was Christopher Kennedy’s new book, California Modern.  Here I am with Christopher in the VERY cool Zuo Mod Showroom.

And here I am (below), before Jackie ushers us out to an over-the-top exciting final private cocktail party (more on that in March), having a blast in the Zuo Mod Providence Arm Chair in Blue Velvet!  WOW, did I love that modern showroom and chair!!

I hope I’ve inspired you to either hop on a plane to Palm Springs to check out all the cool modern design, or hire one of these amazing interior designers for your next interior home project.  You’ll be glad you did!  Till next time, stay warm in the Northeast, and bask in the sun in the Southwest.  XO, PG