What fun! Crab season is almost here! Megan and Corey have put together a great vignette for the beginning of Spring and it is not floral! The driftwood  finish wicker chairs are just perfect for a grouping in your great room across from your sofa.  Another place to use them would be as host and hostess chairs in your dining room. It would be nice to make the dining room a bit more casual, you know, the way you actually live!

These original Oil paintings are so perfect for a den or anywhere in your Chesapeake Home. They are nicely framed in wood frames and at $688.00 each, you can afford two of them!

Our boathouse red and white picture frame is perfect for that picture of your Dad out on the water in his yacht or the shot of your niece at the beach. We are “Coastal Ready” at Details!

If you need a wedding gift this Spring, keep in mind our silver and gold leaf platter for the lucky couple! It’s a nice size to display on a bookshelf with a plate stand.

If you need a lamp to shed some light on the subject, this lamp in the background is like a crusty old piling from the local dock. The shade is in a tan burlap with a very smart bright white piping around the bottom edge of the shade. Very reasonable in price, it is $323.00.

Our Starfish on Stand is a unique little accessory for a tabletop grouping or on a wall of books on your bookcase. The Starfish is a mere $37.00.

The large red Charger really adds that splash of color to our display. Take a look around your home and if you are suffering from the beige blahs…. come in and pick up some color!

At $75.00 our driftwood lantern with glass insert can hold a large pillar candle for a dinner al fresco out on the deck. The glass will keep the candle from blowing out. What a great piece to add a little bit of that Chesapeake cozy to your evening at home!

Our new woven vinyl mats (on the left) are perfect for your wood floors in the kitchen. When you drip water on them, they  will  protect your floor finish. They are very easy to wipe up with a sponge. We have several sizes and patterns. Check it out!

Details of Design on Forest Drive (extended towards Bay Ridge) is brimming with new accents to punch up your drab interior spaces. We invite you to stop in and take a peek at what is new in  the design market. We will guide you through accessorizing that dull corner, that bland mantle or that newspaper covered cocktail table. Bring in your photo of your room and Megan can suggest a couple of solutions for your design dilemma!

This will enable all the people that wanted to visit the Show Home but have had trouble with Hurricane Sandy and other holiday issues to still be able to go and show support for the two great charities, The Chesapeake Hospice and The Make a Wish Foundation.

The Show House is open on Thursday- Sunday, 10-5, except Thanksgiving Day.

The admission price is $20.00 per person

We at Fitzsimmons Design have really had the best time designing the Living room and Kitchen area of the Show Home. We have met so many fun people that volunteer for these two charities. Also we want to say a few words about the builder, Mike Baldwin. He is one of the most dedicated people we have met. He turns out a beautiful home with top knotch quality with his easy going personality.

It’s always easier to have a starting point, let’s start with a colorful piece of art. When you start with a large enough piece of art you can sometimes just skip painting the walls. That’s called instant gratification!

To highlight the new focal point for your Family Room let’s install a pair of rope wrapped candlestick lamps to shed some light on the subject. Going with this “Chesapeake Cozy” grouping we can throw in some pillows in signal flag motif in bright reds and blues. Now you can see where we are going with this. The nautical look is bright and gender neutral for the whole family to enjoy. We have utilized a great 36″ round coffee table that is a sort of inlaid compass rose detail in the driftwood finished top. Our new baracuda in a nickel finish can sit on a console or actually hang on the wall. Charlie the tuna has nothing on him!

To complete our vignette we have propped up a ship’s wheel in our shot that can hang on an adjoining wall.

The Annapolis Home has never looked so good! Stop in at our retail Store, “Details od Design” in Annapolis if you are going to attend the boat show and take home a souvenir that you can really use in your home.

To give you an idea of our pricing on some of the items in the photo, please see below:

• Canvas Signal Flag Pillows $88.00-$125.00
• Nickel finished Baracuda $598.00
• Ship’s Wheel $288.00
• Rope Wrapped Candlestick Lamps @233.00 ea.
• Bone Ice Bucket $213.00
• Distressed White Tray $238.00
• Driftwood Finished Cocktail Table $498.00

If we have missed out an item that you have your eye on, please give us a call at 410-269-1965 or email us at gina@fitzsimmonsdesign.com

Robert Andrew’s kindly donated make-overs for the designers before they had their headshots taken by Jason Putsche for the brochure. “It really was a fun morning of being pampered” said Gina Fitzsimmons.

Kymberly Taylor and Robert Haywood from Annapolis Home magazine were interviewing the designers as well as Mary Ann Treger from Annapolis Lifestyle. All of the Designers had their concept boards on display in their rooms and were ready to give insight into their “green” spaces.

Above: The counter tops are very Green and are made of recycled materials and are called ECO by Consentino. The sample on the bottom is the counter top. Very natural colors as you can see.

The Kitchen Area on Walk Through Day

We, at Fitzsimmons Design have stepped up to the plate and agreed to design and furnish the kitchen and eat-in area as well as the Living Room after a designer had dropped out of the Show House.

We met with Mike from Ferguson about the cabinetry they are providing and also stopped by their show room to select the door style. The counter tops are very Green and are made of recycled materials and are called ECO by Consentino.

In my last Blog I explained that in our Living Room we are planning another Chesa-Chic interior for the “Tidewater” style Home designed by Cathy Porple Cherry. The Living Room will have custom built-ins in recycled wood and a rug made up from a patchwork design of orientals redyed . The fireplace wall wil be encrusted with oyster shells and wall washed with recessed lights. The whole effect will be tailored and comfortable as are all of the designs that Fitzsimmons Design is known for.

“Future Focal Point” the Fireplace wall

I am glad to report that Terry, my husband and I have begun to eat the oysters necessary to cover the fireplace wall. We were at our favorite Oyster Bar, “Fins” on Rehoboth Ave. in Delaware and downed a couple dozen. I asked Phillipe, our Oyster Shucker to save some shells for me for the next time I came. We left there with a box full of shells. We are trying to figure out the best way to make sure they do not have any odor when we install them on the wall. So far, we are soaking the shells in bleach. We will probably put them in hosiery bags and run them through the dishwasher a few times. This is going to be a lot of work!!!! Recycling can be labor intensive sometimes but, well worth the effort. All of the waitstaff at Fins want to see a photo of the wall when we are finished.

Next Thursday is Press Day at the House. We are to have our headshots done for the brochure. Robert Andrews Salon in Gambrills has donated a free style and blow out for each designer. It’s nice to be pampered. I will report in next week!

Reporter on the Scene,
Gina Fitzsimmons, ASID

This vignette is for all of the clients that are anti-floral! We started the grouping with our geometric metal wall sculpture. We sold it the minute the ad hit the pages of “Chesapeake Home and Living”

If anyone falls in love with it, we can probably custom order another. The featured chairs are in a faux grey leather with nickel finished nail head trim. They are very sharp looking! Pricewise they are $400.00 each and we are having them at 50% off for the time they are on disply this month. The bonus is they quite comfortable as well!

If there are other goodies in this display that you have set your radar on, please give us a call at 410-269-1965 or stop in to see the items in person! If it is after hours, you can also email us at gina@fitzsimmonsdesign.com.

Here is a close up of the Nickel Hammered Lamp. It Retails in our store for $460.00. It is a handsome tapered lamp!

Our polished accent table really adds a sparkle to any interior. You can use two of them in front of a sofa instead of a coffee table. They would be a great space saver!

This rug is from our indoor/ outdoor collection. It is a great casual rug that can be hosed off with a garden hose if you get it dirty! Moms love this collection! The punch of color and texture is what I love about it. A 4×6 will only run you $160.00!!!! You can’t beat that!

Our Champagne flutes are a work of art with cheers etched in the glasses in all sorts of languages….. Prost! Campai! What a great gift for the world traveler on your Christmas List this year at $13.00 per stem!

A trio of vases. The tall Ceramic Vase has a combination finish of Sea Green and Terra Cotta as the base of the piece. Priced at $98. The Hammered nickel Vase is so much fun with the hole in the middle and a deal at $48.00 . The last vase is the teal twist with it’s organic stem that is inspired by a piece of fruit. The cost of this colorful vase is $59.00. It is a bit of fun and whimsy to mix these three!

Our Aqua hand blown Sea Urchin inspired Lamp is a big hit with the geometric crowd and the Coastal people alike. The glass has a seeded appearance and is just one of my favorite lamps in stock. The $250.00 price tag won’t hurt your wallet!

The star of the show! Our Hammered Mini Drink Tables are flying out the door. Everyone has a seat in their home where you don’t have a reachable place for a guest to put their drink down. This is the answer at $173.00!

Above: From left to right. Michael McHale. Catherine Purple Cherry. Mike Baldwin and Mark McElrath cut the ceremonial ribbon marking the start of construction on the designer show home.

Maryland Green Designer Show Home – Living Room Floor Plan by Fitzsimmons Design Associates.

The fireplace wall wil be encrusted with oyster shells and wall washed with recessed lights. The whole effect will be tailored and comfortable as are all of the designs that Fitzsimmons Design is known for.

This month Corey has pulled together our display platform using some new arrivals. We picked up this charmer of a Pub Set in heavily distressed light wood that has been whitwashed. The seats on the stools are covered in leather and the legs are in metal. But, the reason this grouping spoke to me was that the stools have a small drawer in the base of each stool! Now, have you ever seen anything like that? The top of the table has a great inlaid pattern to it.

This is a great set for a tiny kitchen, as well. It would be a good place to sit and have a bowl of cereal in the morning or a quick bite at lunchtime. The table and two stools sell for $3362.00 and we have it at our store for $2690.00 for the set. Great Savings!

This is the top of the Pub Table

The Drawer in the Base of the Stools

The other pieces that are noteworthy are the Snail and the Turtle for those of you that went to Maryland!

The ceramic turtle would be a nice addition to any hearth in town at $70.00!

Our cute little Snail is only $18.00

Our hydrangea in a clear glass vase looks so lifelike! It even has a few rocks with clear acrylic water in the vase to fool even the close-up viewers. The price on the arrangement is $330.00 and you will enjoy it for many many years to come.

Our extra large stretched canvas provides just the right amount of color to spark up your room with happy colors. This abstract piece of land and sky costs $548.00

If there are a few pieces that I have not focused on in this blog, please feel free to give us a call for the price on them. Or… you can always email me at gina@fitzsimmonsdesign.com.