Room To Talk Blog

Trends might die for a time, but the really great ones (and some not so great) usually make a comeback later on. With the hype around the new release of the Great Gatsby movie a couple months ago, there's been a renewed interest in art deco design & the roaring twenties.  The art deco style embodies luxury, glamor, exoticism & lavish ornamentation.  Originating in France in the 1920's, it made its way to America boasting rich colors, geometric forms, clean shapes, and plush comfort.  

Do you want to introduce elements of this larger than life style into your home?  Think mirrored furniture, glass, stainless steel, exotic woods, geometric designs, lacquer, gold, ebony, marble, chevron stripes, sunbursts, iridescent fabrics & luxurious crystal chandeliers.  And now, for a little art deco design inspiration (some retro, some modern) to get you started....

via Fresh Design Pedia

via Interior Holic

via Interior Holic

via Fresh Design Pedia

Happy Pioneer Day!  One hundred and sixty six years ago today, on July 24th, 1847, Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley after a long and difficult journey across the plains.  They had suffered sickness, death, hunger and disease, and when they finally stumbled upon the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young said, "This is the place."   Free from persecution, they were finally able to stop and make this desert place their home.  How's that for a lesson on Utah history?

In honor of my state's great pioneer heritage, today I thought I'd post one of my very favorite pioneer recipes- Homemade Taffy!  This stuff is AMAZING.  Kids love to help pull it, and adults love to eat it!   Enjoy!

via Jamie Cooks It Up

LION HOUSE TAFFY

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup white corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons glycerine (available at drugstores)

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, water, corn syrup, salt and glycerine in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until temperature is 258 degrees. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted. Pour candy onto a buttered cookie sheet. Cool until lukewarm and taffy can be handled comfortably. Wash and dry hands thoroughly. Take a small piece of taffy and stretch and fold repeatedly until the taffy turns white. Form taffy into desired shape. Place on a piece of waxed paper. Makes enough taffy for 10-14 people to share. — Lion House Classics

I get an itch to re-decorate, re-paint, or buy something new for my home all the time.  I feel like my taste is always evolving, plus I never want things to get boring or stagnant.  If you're in the mood to get a little pop of color, but don't want to do something too drastic or pricey, look at some of these fun home diy project ideas!  For the most part all it takes is an hour or so and a can of paint or a roll of wallpaper, and you get big, colorful, dramatic results!  You can find me wallpapering my closets this weekend....

via Apartment Therapy

via Better Homes and Gardens

via Better Homes and Garden

What do you when you need to freshen things up at your house?

In my opinion, one of the very most underrated and underused shades on the color wheel is violet!  Violet is a conflicted, complex, and unique color.  It's got the energy of red, and the stability of blue, giving it quite the personality.  

Violet symbolizes wisdom, spirituality, dignity, extravagance and power.  Throughout the years it has been associated with royalty, creativity and magic.  Violet is an easy, restful color to be around, and it looks good on everyone!  Certain shades can be bad when there is too much red or blue, but for the most part, you can't go wrong with violet!

via Eclectic Living Home

via Ivy Newport

via Home DIT

Tell me you don't love it!  

Last month, RC Willey and The Huntsman Cancer Foundation partnered up with 13 of Salt Lake City’s most renowned artists to help “make cancer take a back seat”!  To start off, RC Willey gave each of the artists a blank white chair to use as a canvas.  Inspired and motivated by their own personal experiences with cancer, each artist then transformed their chair into a unique & original work of art.  

The Chairs for Charity auction was held on June 19th at RC Willey’s South Salt Lake location, where Paige Davis and her husband Patrick Page auctioned off each of the 13 beautiful chairs to the public.  All of the proceeds from the night went directly to the Huntsman Cancer Institute!  

Special thanks to our generous donors, and especially our incredible local artists for the time and effort they put into this project.  Their charity will go a long way in helping a lot of people.  To meet the artists’ and hear about their experiences creating the chairs, visit our Chairs for Charity page!  

Floral prints are EVERYWHERE!  I went shopping the other day, and honestly I don't think I've ever seen so many beautiful floral pants, swimsuits, handbags, blouses and wallets in my life!  With florals on top in the fashion world, it shouldn't be surprising that they continue to be hot in the home decor side of things this year too.  

There are floral patterns for everyone's liking: watercolor and embroidery inspired florals, abstract modern blooms, and bold and bright vintage botanicals, to name a few. In addition to artwork that you can hang on your wall, be on the lookout for floral printed wallpaper, sofas, chairs, curtains, tablecloths, rugs and pillows!  Don't they just make you feel happy?  I would love any of these cheery rooms in my home!

via Interior Collective

via At Home in Love

via Odds and Ends

via Better Homes and Gardens

via Ideal Home

One of the great things about technology in this day and age is that we usually have a camera on our person at all times.  Documenting every day life has never been easier!  There's facebook, blogs, twitter, instagram, and google+ to boot!  And we can access all of these things right on our phones!  Personally, I'm an instagram girl.

While I like looking at my photos online, I love them even more in real life.  I have a photographer friend who suggests printing a big batch of photos at least every 6 months- because while technology makes picture taking/storing convenient, there's something pretty magical about a tangible photo that you can touch and feel in your hands.  That will never get old.  I love the idea of putting together a simple wall collage and switching it up every few months to keep pictures fresh and updated in your home.....

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via houzz

via houzz

via houzz

via a beautiful mess 

domino magazine via decorpad

How often do you print actual photos these days?