While shopping at the Hickory Furniture Mart recently I stumbled on this sweet treat:

Remember the days when everyone painted their dining room or living room crimson???




Well, look what happened when Tobi Fairley stopped 'seeing red' in her Family Room.
 



And the other side:




Tobi has such a fresh and fun design style. Afraid of color??? Not this girl!!
Great unexpected color combo's are her signature. She doesn't let trends dictate her color
 selections or her decorating. Her designs are rooted in classic style and refined 
traditionalism. 
  
After:







I was so excited to hear her speak about her business and her thoughts on social media, 
blogging, and the lost art of 'handwritten thank-you's' a few months ago at the High Point
Furniture Market. She is extremely knowledgeable {she has several degrees!} and a few
 years ago, she was selected by Traditional Homes Magazine as one of the
Top 20 Young Designers.

{Margot Austin, Brian Patrick Flynn, and Tobi Fairley}

To see more of Tobi's portfolio, visit her site here.

One of the highlights of last weeks Furniture Market was a luncheon I attended with other bloggers,
 Marketing Yourself by Design: Insider Tips. And trust me, the tips came from folks who know how to
market themselves superbly.
 





Recognize these folks?? I happen to be a big fan of all of them.
 {lleft to right} Maxwell Gillingham Ryan,
Margot Austin, Brian Patrick Flynn and Tobi Fairley.

Yep--that's a gooooood panel. 



Tobi's design business is based in Arkansas. Her award winning designs for high-profile and celebrity
clients have been featured on HGTV and have been published on the cover of House Beautiful,
 Traditional Home, and Better Homes and Gardens special publications.  
 


 Maxwell Gillingham Ryan is co-founder and CEO of the wildy successful Apartment Therapy blog.
 This cutie patootie has such an interesting story--did you know he was an elementary school teacher for
7 years?? His next idea was to head-up a group of 'hired by the hour designers' all over NYC. They
were even going to have their own little cars like the Geek Squad! This idea never really grew legs.... 
Currently, his team puts out around 100 posts a day {!!} and during the luncheon, he repeatedly
referred to his blog as 'small'! Oh, such modesty.



Margot Austin is a magazine editor and stylist in Canada. Margot has covered fashion, beauty,
 entertainment, home renovation and design. She is currently senior design editor at style at home,
a Canadian magazine read by 1.6 million people per month {me included!}.
You can also now check her out at her own blog, margoaustin.ca. 

 

And last but not least, Bryan Patrick Flynn, the uber talented guy behind the uber great blog 
Decor Demon. He is also a television producer turned self-taught decorator/designer.
Brian's TV production credits range from news at an NBC affiliate in South Florida to design
and reality shows on Discovery Channel, HGTV, TBS and Fox. In addition to being an associate
producer, Brian is also the set decorator and on-air design talent for the TBS series,
Movie & a Makeover. And he shared with us that he just wrapped production on the
 new season of Design Star on HGTV! I can't wait to see how he spiced up this 'much in
 need of spice' show.  


{I have this ridiculous expression on my face because I was asking Donna if she had ANY idea how to use a camera...}

Brian was kind enough to sit with me, answer questions and offer all kinds of great advice. I must
 say, that I have never met anyone who talked as fast as Brian...thank goodness we were sitting at
the same table with him so we could read his lips while he was speaking!! He is full of energy,
unapologetically honest and has a fabulous sense of humor! 

I left with a ton of notes from this highly informative session. I always get inspired hearing
others path to success. They graciously shared so many tips, and just as important,
so many 'what-not-to-dos'.  

The High Point Market was, as usual, inspiring. It was just what this designer needed to reenergize
the creative juices. After strolling through several showrooms, it became very apparent that Peacock
 Blue is still incredibly hot and we will continue to see a lot of it this year. The close runner-up in the
  'popular Market color category' was Coral. The 2 were seen very much in tandem. Sometimes the
coral leaned towards the pinky side while often it was more orangy. Today, I'm sharing images of
these color trends. 

This first vendor, that also has a warehouse a few blocks from market, Blue Ocean, opens
 their warehouse during market. It is stocked full of found objects as well as great replicas.
Like these enameled containers:


{Blue Ocean via Shannon Berrey Designs}

Shelves and shelves of pottery found in many shades of blues.


{Blue Ocean via Shannon Berrey Designs}

And these fun alphabet dressers would be outstanding in a nursery or childs room. 


{Blue Ocean via Shannon Berrey Designs}

In Jilian Chichester's space, the 'hot' colors were used in a striped painted wall treatment,
as well as on the velvet sofa, tray, and pillows-- just to name a few.


{Jillian Chichester via Shannon Berrey Designs}


{Jillian Chichester via Shannon Berrey Designs}

At Luna Bella, the wall colors were, you guessed it...Peacock blue! This cool chalkboard was uber 
 glamorous with it's gilded details and it comes with it's own double sconces attached at top.


{Luna Bella via Shannon Berrey Designs}

Design Legacy is a showroom that  I could easily spend an hour walking around in--and
it's a small showroom! I'm pretty sure I could walk through 10 times and STILL not feel like I
 have seen all that is available. They were covered in blue and coral, but for some reason, I
didn't take a lot of pictures--I was probably too mesmerized by all the unique offerings.
    

{Design Legacy via Shannon Berrey Designs}


{Design Legacy via Shannon Berrey Designs}


{Design Legacy via Shannon Berrey Designs}

Halo, a british company that I also wrote about last market, used the Peacock on their
 walls, as well as on many of their Union Jack inspired accessories. Halo sells to Esquire
 and Restoration Hardware.


{Halo via Shannon Berrey Designs}

Recognize anything from Restoration's catalog?? I know I do!


{Halo via Shannon Berrey Designs}

Look how beautiful Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams showcases the trendy color combo in a bedroom vignette.


{Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams via Shannon Berrey Designs}

In a little bit of a twist, Lillian August showed the most beautiful shade of coral on grasscloth covered
 walls. Not to be overlooked--the velvet blue slipper chair. I love it with the white legs and white rug.
 Interjecting the white allows the palette to feel so fresh and so different than the previous images
 where it feels moody with a vintage vibe.  
 

{Lillian August via Shannon Berrey Designs}

 So what do you think about these colors? Do you use them in your decorating
currently or would you be open to incorporating them in your home?