The Big Chill Inspiried Showhouse

One of my favorite TV design personalities is Thom Filicia. Not only because he's entertaining to watch and conveys a general fabulousness for life, but also because I LOVE his work as well. Equal parts masculine and feminine, layered with textures and mixed with interesting accessories.

I've been drooling over this extensive spread on House Beautiful's website of the Showhouse apartment he put together inspired by The Big Chill. One of his best, don't you agree?

Wouldn't you be happy to walk into this entryway everyday...

For all those who love the infamous Miles Reed room that was published in Domino, I contend that this one is just as full of style with a touch of guy-appeal as well. Am I wrong?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I run screaming in the other direction when a horse appears in front of me. But this large wall piece is so beautiful, I think even I could live with it.

How many friends could curl up on those sofas for a wine night?

There are no words for how much I love this rope banister.

See even more images from the Showhouse here.

Love ya, Thom!

Thursday Tabletop: Halloween Chic

What kind of holiday decorator are you? All out, or just a touch? Most holiday decorations give me hives. Too much kitch and not enough chic. Here's a short round-up of some Halloween tabletop items I've seen out on the world wide web that even I would gladly adorn my table with:

My white, glossy obsession extend to pumpkins as well. These little lovelys were spotted on Canadian House & Home. Of course their holiday tables are going to be chic!

Cute and glittery, courtesy of Ms. Stewart look even better on silver candle stands would look great for a simple dinner party or on a drink station at a blow out costume party.

Eddie Ross is the modern go-to guy for good holiday decorating. With detailed instructions on how to make the projects yourself, it's a DIY-ers dream. His best trick of the trade: keep it monochromatic.

This bat napkin ring project can be found right here. A Semigloss reader recently recreated at home for a Halloween dinner party and was nice enough to share her finished product! Looks great!

Oh, yes I did....

...wear this to work today for our office costume party!

Trixie the Stewardess

Sadly, I came in second to The OctoMom costume.

Weekend Update: Life rules and a fresh coat

I subscribe to 2 cardinal rules in life:

1) Be nice to others, it usually gets you what you want
2) A glossy coat of white paint fixes all evils.

Which is by no means to say this dining room table was evil, just a little ho-hum and the perfect piece for a project on a dark and stormy weekend. Luckily, I have a roommate who is up for a little DIY action. So last weekend, the paint cans got pop'd and the brushes started flying.

My brush was apparently flying a little too fast, as I had to go back and clean up all the drips! The original plan was two coats, but as you can see below, that didn't quite cut it, so we ended up with 4 coats in all.

There was a lot of help to go around. Mostly in the unhelpful variety that requires you to paint additional coats because there are nose prints all over everything.

These yellow cane chairs have fabulous detailing on the back and a bright and cheery color, but were in bad need of a recover.
Step one was to remove the the seat and the clean up the frame. The paint was in good condition and we loved the yellow color, so just a good cleaning with soap and water was all they needed.

Underneath the old fabric, was this even older fabric that I loved for the graphic pattern and the cheecky, resort feel. But it it was badly stained and very dirty on most of the chairs, so sadly it couldn't be salvaged.
Gray with a little stripe replaced it (why I didn't photograph this step, I don't know), along with some extra cushioning and they're just like new. All that yellow was a little much, so we mixed in some metal woven chairs that had been on the patio.

...and the glossy white makes me happy every time I walk through the dining room!

A Feather in your Wedding Day Cap

Another report from the "parties I didn't go to but loved anyway" files. A week or so ago my friend Ann flew up to Boston to serve as bridesmaid in her childhood friend's wedding. Over dinner she was telling me about all the handmade and personal details that made this wedding a special and fantastic day. Like any good friend, I immediately jumped on Facebook to stalk all the details. She was right, this wedding was one of the most creative and personal I have seen, with many friends and family creating different pieces. One of the details I loved the most were the adorable hairpieces worn by the bridal party.

The bride sportin' her hairpiece while tying the knot

Here's a close up of the beautiful bride, Julie, and her hairpiece, which looked stunning with her long dark curls.

All the bridesmaids wore different hairpieces, which looked gorgeous with the cranberry colored bridesmaid dresses and brought out all the fall colors in the outdoor setting.

The hairpieces all came from Etsy shop, Portobello. Ready to order and custom made hairpieces, veils and headbands are all available in a range of prices mostly ranging between $30-$90. I think the size of these is perfect, big enough to make it noticable, but not like you're wearing a bird on your head (I love ya, Carrie Bradshaw, I really do-but it was too big).

I want all of these. Buy the hairpiece and the parties will come to you, no? These photos are from Portobello's shop site:

Style is in the details, and this wedding was stocked full. The reception was held on a farm outside of Boston and the reception was all atwinkle in the farmstead's barn.

The bridal party chipped in their efforts in creative the handmade details. Here's Ann spending an afternoon assembling bouquets of sunflowers and boutiners for the men-folk. So much fun.

As favors the groom's mother made homemade jam in different flavors and the the bride made personal jar labels. Here are some bridemaids assembling the jam favors and tightening all those jar lids up tight!
The bride continued the handmade details by designing and creating all the printed pieces herself, including these adorable little cake markers.


Congratulations Julie and Tyler. I don't know you, but your wedding was beautiful! Thanks for letting me share it with everyone here at Semigloss Chic!

If you can't stand the heat...take a cooking class

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes. I had great day yesterday with lots of celebrating and good friends-just the way every birthday should be. I'm looking forward to every day of year #27. I capped off the day perfectly with a cozy dinner at my local neighborhood wine bar Sonoma. Communal tables with big benches give a relaxed feel, perfect for sharing food a trying new flavors.

This past year has been full of new challenges and endeavors (like this little ole' blog you're reading) and I'm looking forward to hitting my stride in a lot more to come. Including tackling old challenges, big and small....like my quest to finally master homemade pasta! Which will be much easier with the fabulous birthday gift I received of cooking classes at my favorite DC cookware store: Hill's Kitchen.

Hill's Kitchen is one of the true gems in my Capitol Hill neighborhood (directly off the Eastern Market Metro for the DC locals), and I've been a devoted follower since it opened about a year and a half ago. Stocked with an impressive array of cookware basics as well as fun and modern kitchen accessories and gadgets. Owner, Lean Daniels, is a local girl with a passion for cooking and a very good eye for retail display. Check out this Washingtonian article about her impressive head first leap into a store that has become a neighborhood staple. Truly someone I admire.

The first floor is devoted to the retail space and includes very well stocked sections for seasonal, baking, and grilling in addition to cookware. Stylishly modern aprons, oven mitts and towels, like the ones below always end up finding their way into my basket. I took some out of town friends this past weekend and stocked up on salt and pepper grinders.

The second floor space is for classes and demonstrations, and is fairly recently opened. Following the do what you love and do it well business model, the second floor is already a huge success. My pasta class will have to wait until December, as they're all booked up until then. Also on my list are a basic knife skills class and the farmer's market class. Many homemade pasta dinner parties in this girl's future!

Hill's Kitchen
713 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202.543.1997
www.hillskitchen.com

Photo Credits: Washingtonian, Elisabeth Grant for notfortourists.com, Gradually Greener (bottom 3 photos)

Happy Birthday to me!

Off blowing out candles and kickin' up trouble...

Thursday Tabletop: A table with an extra leaf

Today's Thursday Tabletop comes from The Special Event 2009, a wedding and special event industry professional event. You all should know me by now- a big bunch of white flowers and I'm a happy girl. I'm a little bit on the fence about the leaves, toeing the line on tacky, or totally avant-garde? Either way, the details of the tableware and just the fact their showcasing something creative gets kudos from me.

Table photographed by Barnett Photographers.

Judge a book...

I'm a sucker for good product packaging. There isn't even use in denying it. Don't worry Corporate America, your billions of dollars in consumer research don't go to waste on me. All images from The Dieline.

Does this come in gallon size?