Birds of a feather...

I may be girly, love ruffles, and live for the pretty ... but I am a  football fan;  and even more, a Baltimore Ravens fan! If you are from Baltimore, chances are you saw that incredible game the Ravens played against the Patriots leading them to the Superbowl. Charm City is nothing short of super-duper pumped for Sunday's big game.  How could we not be? 

The morning after the game I was contacted by Angela of Rusty Love Vintage Rentals & Home Décor, who asked if I was interested in doing a purple, "Baltimore Ravens," display in her showroom window. Absolutely! Count-me-in!

Angela’s store & style is chic, feminine, vintage-elegance and nothing short of fab-u-lous…so, I was trying to stay clear of the typical, cheesy, “football” theme with flags and grass fields. I told her I was going for more of a feminine-esque, black and purple Ravens window display. Ideas fluttered in my head all day (pun intended)... a cluster of birdcages hanging from the top, nests, lavender feathers, her purple chairs, her black top hat with a purple feather sticking in it., a subtle effect of birds in the backdrop, and most importantly, I wanted a dress-form wearing a magnificent, poofy, purple dress in that window to steal the show. She went shopping, I went shopping, then we went shopping together and in 2 days, it came to life. She was even able to find the perfect dress for the show-stealer, but it was white. Problem? Not for her!...  Angela spent the night hand-dying it purple.  It looked fabulous!

I arrived Wednesday at 10:30am and left around 5pm…even stopping by the next day for an hour or two for some perfecting and last minute touches like a bottle of Ravenswood on the table.  Angela and I painted birdcages outside in 18 degree weather, proving our devotion to prettiness by the pink glow of our cheeks.  I spent the day climbing on ladders, tying and re-tying birdcages to the ceiling, tilting my head to the side for what I always think is a better view, spitting away feathers that stuck to my face as they fell, and having a ball with Angela in her window as it came to life.   We ended both days the same, outside the store together, looking in the window with big smiles on our faces. Who said team spirit didn't mean feminine and fancy-schmancy? Go Baltimore Ravens!

Thank you to Angela at Rusty Love for having me! 

.

.

.

.

.

.

Furniture & Props: Rusty Love Vintage

Design, Styling & Photos: elleDesigns

rustic-ly glam, thanksgiving table

thanksgiving holiday table

...burlap runner on top of white table cloths;natural elements combined with

crystal accents and white vases..and to top it off mismatching chairs.

the flowers were made of locally grown white roses, wheat, eucalyptus, and grass.

...and it wouldn't be a holiday without ...

real lovebirds

I cannot wait to see the pictures from the photographer, but 'til then, mine must do. What a wonderful couple to be able to design and plan a wedding for. Dommie, short for Dominique, and her now hubby, Jeff, had a gorgeous fall wedding on November 5th in her great grandmother's barn. Jeff is an amazing artist and she works as a graphic designer and a (quite impressive) scrapbooker as a side business and wanted the wedding to reflect their crafty, artsy lifestyle. When they first brought me on, they were deciding between a few venues but didn't have that *spark* with any of them. When I suggested a little revamp on the barn on her great grandmother's property they looked at each other and smiled. She handed me a teal, peach vintage purse for inspiration, said "vintage & different"  and  told me go to to town. I came up with designs and ideas, drew up sketches, she loved them and 9 months later here it was...

the details...

I tried to use as much of the barn as possible. Old stones thrown in the back of the bar were cleaned and brought out on to the tables. The bar was one of my favorite things I had done at a wedding. The pictures just don't do it justice. I painted some old frames a teal white-wash to show the menus and placed them on an old wooden ladder that was already in the barn.  We created a menu out of their fav drinks and had too much coming up with names. They love martinis so there had to be a martini section. Every juice in them was fresh squeezed that day.

and the vintage guestbook...

the place settings matched the purse she gave me to design the wedding after. Light golden peach, crochet, teal. No flowers except for dried wheat in vases.

rustic, dainitly, elegantly, vintage...

..and finally some organic, vegan, homemade blueberry jam by the Mother of the Bride.

tuesday shoesday

gone vintage...leave a note.

RoniKantorVintage