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Tobi Fairley

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Your favorite serving of design, entertaining, travel and more…

Design Du Jour:

A Road Map to Summer

What’s the ultimate way to get to know someone? A road trip, of course! I mean you can learn A LOT about a person when you spend a few hours together in a car — everything from what’s on their iPod (Glee, Katy Perry & Adele) to how they take their coffee (with creamer, thank you!).

This past week Country Living came out with their list of 50 Things To Do This Summer in 50 States. While I may not be able to get to all of them in the next three months, I can guarantee you this is a list I’ll be saving, pinning on my travel boards and going back to for years to come. I mean, how could I resist a caramel factory in Colorado or a Lobstermen’s co-op in Maine??

I think one of the reasons the list is so juicy is because it comes straight from the mouths of local residents in each of the states. Who better to tell you where to shop, eat or sleep than a local, right? Speaking of locals, I was honored to be selected as the Arkansas representative for this list. If you’re wondering what I selected, click here to see what I like to do on warm summer days in central Arkansas.

Want to see who’s headed where? Follow the Twitter stream #50states for your own virtual tour of the U.S.

Happy Trails!
xo, Tobi

 

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InBox Interiors Project Reveal

As some of you may remember from a few months ago, I shared a sneak peak of a recently completed InBox Interiors design of a game room for three teen girls. Now, I’m delighted to share with you the complete before and after reveal!

It all started when one thoughtful mom from Plano, TX wanted to transform an empty upstairs media room into a hip hangout for her young teen daughters. The idea was to do an extreme makeover without the girls ever seeing it. The best part? The big reveal would be ready for them Christmas morning!! That’s what I call a special gift!

This super mom’s Inbox Interiors design arrived near Thanksgiving, giving her just one month to implement the design and meet her Christmas deadline. She transformed the room behind padlocked doors to keep it a surprise for the family. Working as intently as one of Santa’s elves, she was able to complete the project and surprise her family for Christmas. Pretty amazing!

To show you how the transformation went down, I put together a few progression images — including the before pictures, the design idea and the end result. Solid, well-thought-out design plan + lots of DIY elbow grease = AMAZINGLY FUN SPACE!! Check it out…

The big reveal on Christmas morning! (Don’t you love the looks on their faces?!)

The girls enjoying their new hang out hot-spot with their super mom. No guesses who the cool kids on the block are now!

If you would like to know more about our InBox Interior’s service, check out our website here!

xo,
Tobi

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The Fabric of Summer

The first official holiday of summer is just one week away! Woohoo! If your part of the country has been nearly as warm as ours here in Arkansas, you’ve probably already slipped in to shorts and sundresses to keep your cool.

You may remember a few weeks back when I shared my latest feature in Southern Living. If you missed it, I shared tips for hosting a luncheon and styled the party in one of my favorite lightweight summer fabrics (for shorts or dresses!), seersucker.

Today, I’m guest blogging over at my good friend P. Allen Smith’s, where I’m sharing a few of the reasons why I love this versatile, go-anywhere fabric.

Read the Post Here

Here’s to seersucker!
xo, Tobi

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Sunday Showcase: Barry Dixon

Little Rock is in for a treat: Barry Dixon is coming to town! He’s going to be speaking and signing books tomorrow at a fundraiser luncheon, hosted by the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas. Barry is probably the nicest guy I know–one of my absolute favorite people–and an amazingly gifted designer. Though he has traveled the world, he has family in this area (especially Northeast AR) and he claims his Southern roots.

His design style is informed by this association (he is the epitome of the Southern gentleman), but the breadth of his travels give his interiors a global inflection that is truly unique. He has been a great inspiration to me throughout my own career; in fact, one entire showhouse he designed for Traditional Home was featured in an issue that I treasured as my bible of design for years!

Barry is a multi-faceted designer with his own collections of fabric and trim, furniture, rugs, and more. Let’s have a look:

1. Three examples from Barry’s fabric collection with Vervain / 2. Barry’s Albemarle Dining Chair / 3. The gorgeous Hakam Table

Learn more about the beautiful things Barry’s doing at his website, and join me in welcoming him to my hometown. I’ll be sure to follow up and let you know all about the event.

xo,

Tobi

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Design Camp A to Z in Pictures

Wow! This week we had one of our most fun and educational Design Camps ever!!

And, yes, I know I say that every time, but it just keeps getting better!! If you’ve never experienced camp, check out these pics…

Day One: We kick off camp with fresh flowers and a few video introductions.

Brittany, one of my lead designers, shared some thoughts on creating design boards.

Later, our VP of sales, Brooke, realized she matched the board!!

Joking aside, there was also a ton of learning taking place on days one, two and three!

One of the highlights of day two was a Skype session with Susanna Salk. She discussed her latest book, Be Your Own Decorator, and each camper went home with a signed copy!

And, as always, the food was one of the highlights! How cute are these lunch baskets from Palette Catering?? Yum!

As the campers rode away in this pink stretch Hummer, we were all sad to see them go. So many relationships are formed during camp and you truly learn so much not only about design, but about each other. The only bright spot is knowing we’ll be in touch for years to come!!

Stay tuned for some big announcements about our design education and upcoming dates for our next events!

xo,

Tobi

 

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