I’m so honored to be asked to create a vignette for the Simpson’s Gallery Fall Auction coming up next week!

We’ve been busy down at the gallery, choosing our pieces and getting our space pulled together. I love doing projects like this, and I’m so excited to share my plan with you today.

I won’t be sharing the overall pics until after, because I want you all to fly in from hither and yon to visit me, attend the auction, and buy some of these glorious furnishings! :-) (Although you can bid remotely, of course!)

I did a quick walk through and meet up with Hanah Mizrah and Ray Simpson III, third generation owner of Simpson’s Gallery, toward the end of August. I immediately spotted some interesting pieces, not knowing for sure everything that would be available to use. I basically had my choice of items that were in this auction, while being able to select a few small pieces from other inventory and, perhaps, bring in a few items of my own to accessorize.

Here are some of my favorites:

There was such a wide range of styles and furnishings, it was hard to begin. However, just as I begin all interior design projects, I began this one the same way...

With the givens.

This is one of the things I preach when it comes to picking paint colors. People that pick paint colors first on a project are going about things all backwards because there are an infinite number of choices of paint colors out there. Literally, a jillion. Instead, what you do is start with the items in the space that have the least choices, the least number of options, the things you sort of have to work with in the room. That’s where you start. That’s your “given”.

Here were mine:

1. Space size and location

My space is, basically, a 12’ x 16’ space, with a backdrop of a tall wall. When you walk in the doors for preview day, my space will be directly across and highly visible. Therefore, a high impact on the wall was critical for me, and some kind of delineation of my space was also in order.

2. Wanting to be different

Everyone expects to buy antiques at auctions. Everyone expects to find traditional period furniture — most particularly, case pieces. So, while I loved some of those pieces, I just wanted to be different. Plus, I had another given: the rug.

3. Cover the carpet and delineate the space

I really wanted to cover the commercial carpet in the space with a rug to tie my space together and to separate it from the other furnishings which would all be displayed in the same room. The best way to do that is with an area rug, and there was only one rug in the collection that was the size I needed.

Because of its tribal style, I felt it dictated our design direction and...well...I was totally happy with that. So I went with a collected, traveled look — a globally inspired aesthetic. I looked up images from the movie “Out of Africa” for inspiration. Although this house has traditional English-style furnishings, there are some locally made pieces here and there that add character, and we certainly had some pieces at Simpson’s that fit that bill.

*Karen and Bror in the living room "from Out of Africa"*

Yes, I was on to something here and, best of all…we had a giraffe!

(Okay, I’m channeling Ken Fulk here. :-)

Now back to that wall...

So I had the rug and there was the perfect large piece of furniture to go with it that could make a statement on that back wall. This:

One more organic “Out of Africa” - inspired piece for the center of the space was this table:

*Karen and Beryl Markham in "Out of Africa"*

Now let’s talk art.

Oh there is so much good art to be had here. You should see it all! Auctions are a wonderful place to buy art. It was really hard to choose. So, back to my givens...

I had that tall backdrop of a wall in the space, so dynamic, strong art was important to me. Since I had this collected, textural, “Out of Africa” -inspired look going on, I thought that I really needed something contemporary. I wanted something boldly different that was unexpected and graphic. I found two of these:

I will hold off on the rest (for now) because I want you to come by on Sept 8th for the preview and have a look online at all the wonderful pieces going up for sale on Sept. 10 & 11.

Click here for the catalog.

I also must say that yes... There will be a silver tea set and a globe in the space. (In my mind, I’m speaking in a British accent. ;-)

Oh, and wine, too — there will be wine. ;-)

What Does A Giraffe Have To Do With Interior Design?