January’s Elegant Birthstone - Garnet

Desiree Bracelet

Garnets come in a variety of colors including the beautiful pink/merlot rhodolite garnet.  Rhodolite garnet has a blue/pink undertone and a gorgeous sparkle and translucency that is very different from regular garnet with its brownish red undertones.  This Desiree Bracelet was just completed and photographed today and is a thoughtful gift idea for someone with a January birthday or perhaps saving it for someone special for Valentine’s Day! 

The generous step cut nuggets bring out the beautiful rich merlot color - especially in the daylight. The translucent characteristic of the rhodolite garnets  are married to creamy white freshwater briolette pearls to form a bracelet infused with elegance.  24k gold vermeil (gold plated silver) accent beads add to the richness of the design.  This bracelet extends from 7.5” to 9” long and culminates with a unique button pearl detail that gives the bracelet a slight Moorish influence.

Kelley Proxmire via Coco+Kelley

via How Joyful

via Cote de Texas

With today’s interior design trends influencing this bracelet of red & white, you can easily see that the balance of colors leans toward more white with just an touch of red providing a very dramatic accent.  Red in interior design is a concept that is very much based on emotion - love it or hate it!  Personally, I love the warmth and drama of a red infused room, but have found that it has more longevity when used merely as an accent.

Valentino

Although in interior design, red as an accent color is more comfortable for most - nothing can compare to the arresting beauty of a woman dressed in red!

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Will You Be my Valentine? A Sweet Valentine Give-Away!

I was recently in the process of negotiating with my hubby over some fabulous antique cherub lamps I found to add to our Family Room (really. . . that just involved a lot of whining on my part and trying to change his mind by creating some of his favorite dinners). His logic (and distain for pudgy little cherubs) won in the end - and the classic antique bisque lamps that had been sitting in our storage unit (originally bought for a client in Boston) turned out even better than I had envisioned (but not without a lot of elbow grease on my part!).

Fast forward a few weeks - and now we are getting even closer to Valentine’s Day. I still dream about those adorable little cherub lamps and what a perfect statement it would have made for the design of the Family Room. Just as I was about to resolve myself to no sweet little antique cherubs in the room – the fates flaunted yet another little angel for me to lust over – a wonderfully chippy white antique fountain cherub (and he is on sale!). I think I will print out this blog posting with a big red circle around this photo. Maybe Cupid will threaten him with arrows if he does not come through this time!

With Valentine’s Day in mind, my thoughts have turned to all things pink & red (both interior design and jewelry). Both colors are favorites of mine, but I tend to wear more pink than red. I just erased our red Family Room and Kitchen when we embarked on our renovation. Although I love the look of whites, ivory and gray – I suspect I will get bored such a neutral palette sooner rather than later. After all, I was raised in the colorful South.

Once criticized for creating a “Pink Palace” in Boston, I still have remnants of pink all over the house in Scottsdale. After so many years as a designer in Boston, I realized that people tend to like to decorate their homes similarly to the colors found in their closets – big surprise!

Pink in interior design, however, must be used judiciously. Too much and the effect can be sickeningly sweet! Used sparingly, it is a romantic, comforting and friendly color.

Bakeries frequently use pale pink boxes to package their delectable confections with the full knowledge that the soft pink color causes us to crave sugar!

Red is another color that you either love or hate in interior design. Psychologically, it evokes passion and intimacy while physiologically it increases our heart rate, blood pressure and appetite.

Casinos have historically used red to create a stimulating environment that has the added benefit of causing us to loose track of time!

For the past week or two, my jewelry workspace has been a cacophony of red, pink gemstones and creamy white pearls as I prepare for the most romantic holiday – Valentine’s Day.

If you have managed to make it to the end of this post – well, maybe you are the fortunate “Valentine”. I will be gifting a pair of “Bien-Aimé” earrings to one lucky reader on February 10th. Post a comment below and make certain I have info on how to reach you in case you win.

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