did you know?

Yesterday, my friend, Jennifer, passed along an exciting do-it-yourself redecorating website called Homage. It is filled with wonderful ideas that are not only attainable for the masses, but actually doable in the DIY sense--perfect! One of my favorite stories featured on Homage happens to be about one of my favorite textiles, burlap. The warp and weft of this distinct material is just so... honest. I love it! There is something very natural and basic that is beautiful in burlap, and I'm fascinated by all the fresh ways to use it as suggested by Homage. Among their many exciting ideas, this set of chairs upholstered in screenprinted burlap are at the top of my list! I must say, however, that I've never considered using burlap as a seat material for one reason: comfort. I can't help but think to myself "OUCH" when I look at those ridiculously cool chairs. I have been using burlap all along though... on the bottom of the seats of every allora.custom and signature chair! I love a good surprise, so what could be more fun than discovering a delightful and bright color hiding on the other side of your seat? Can you guess which chairs go with these swatches from my burlap scrap drawer?

it's my party

Well, its official! allora reaches the one year mark this month! Who could have known all of the exciting things that allora.signature.RUTLEDGE would get me into just a short 365 days ago? Things do change in a year... but not as much as I would have expected! I'm still mentally "moving," as I break in the new apartment, but as I said before, things don't change that much. I'm still on Rutledge. There are some exciting things coming in the next year... magazines, blogs, websites, and of course--more chairs! I'm going to be sure to keep all of the surprises surprises though! Just be excited--its good to be a year old!

a new month

Looking at the blog, it is oh-so painfully evident that I have neglected allora for quite sometime now... one post all month! Unbelievable. T.S. Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month," but I do beg to differ. My vote is firmly for September. On a brighter note, I'm so happy to have a clean start for October: a month of football, renewed commitment to boot camp, and several fun weddings. Ladies and gentlemen, its going to be a great month!

Now, back to business. I'm so excited to share with you that allora has spread to the far-reaching lands of Georgia--even to the big city of Atlanta! Lulu Interiors featured several of our favorite chairs on their design blog! Check it out and stay tuned for the multitude of posts to come!

my dearest readers,

PLEASE pardon the absence! It was not without good reason (well, a few of them...)! Some of you may know, but approximately 20 days ago I was confronted with the disappointing and shocking news that a. the "big house" in front of my carriage house had been sold and b. I needed to be out as soon as possible. Given the fact that my weekends exist in a perpetual wedding season and with football starting up, I realized that "sooner rather than later" meant immediately and set out to find a new place and move all of my possessions in the time span of one week. Add to that a big interview in Columbia for work, and I was down to the three day mark when I finally got looking. Luckily my mom and sister-in-law were able to do a lot of the ground work for me, and we found the perfect place! Coincidentally, it is only 2 blocks north of where I was before... and still on Rutledge! There is plenty of room for all of the chairs, which is exactly what I've been needing. Though the walls are all boring beige, the ceilings are a soaring 12'. Needless to say, I won't be painting them... sigh... but I'm already working out other ways to brighten the place up! SO, I wanted to share some images of the new NORTH{rutledge} studio (basically what I've been doing after work instead of blogging)!

I'm not quite sure if its the time of year or my new favorite lamp (from the Habitat ReStore) but wonderful, bold, beautiful orange has quickly set itself aside as the color inspiration for the new pad. I've always been partial to coral, the lovely and delicate relative of orange, but perhaps the Auburn girl in me has come out at long last--I am now full-fledged in the orange camp! You'll recognize some items from the old place--i.e. my trusty old NY map (which will help integrate a whole pallette of great colors!) as well as some new items, like my awesome new coasters (complements of hip city chic Corona). I also couldn't resist throwing my CADC 100 book out on the coffee table for just a little more of that bright orange pop. War eagle. Now that I'm feeling a little more settled, I'll get back to working on some chairs! Jimmy & Logan, you're up next! Have a great weekend everyone!

allora on facebook!

Did you know that allora is on Facebook?? Before the website, before the blog... allora was participating in this wonderful social media. allora has her own profile, so you don't have to join any groups or fan clubs--just search "allora home" in Charleston. You can find updated albums of allora.signature and custom chairs as well as other updates and access it all via your favorite website! Lets be friends!

what's in a name?

Allora, for the meaning of allora. I have loved this wonderfully ambiguous Italian equivalent for "so..." or "what now?" since its first melodic roll off my tongue as an eighth grade student ambassador in Italy. On consequent trips, I only grew to love it more, and while studying architecture in Rome, it was permanently adopted into my vocabulary.

My friend (and roommate on Via Candia), Elizabeth, and I would let out exasperated "allllooorrraaa"s after a long day of sketching in the city. Similarly after long days of work in New York, my favorite resident Italian, Stefano, would look at me sympathetically and say "allora, Miss Kennedy" before misting my face with Evian from an aerosol can. And of course, my sisters shares the same love for this wonderful word, which perfectly summed up our sentiments about my new Charleston apartment last fall. Allora. "What now?" in an idle, carefree tone.

That "allora" from Lauren (via a chair from my mom) translated into my refurbishing allora.signature.RUTLEDGE, and when we needed to give this hobby a name, she reminded me of "allora" once more. Va bene.

See what the official people have to say about what this word means, here and here and here.

allora.custom.RUTLEDGE

So, I'm new to this phenomenon that is blogging and not exactly sure where to start. I suppose, however, that the beginning is a pretty safe place. Ergo, the chair that started it all.

When I moved to Charleston from New York last fall, I decided to rent the second floor of a carriage house downtown and immediately set about making it my own. After painting and arranging and rearranging and antiquing and thrift-storing and all of these wonderful things, I felt as though my little home was complete, but I soon realized that I was lacking one key element: seating. I intended to make friends and knew that I would eventually need somewhere to put them; so naturally, I went to my parents' house to go shopping in the attic. I returned with an old dining room chair recently purchased at a neighbor's yard sale. I wasn't a huge fan of the dingy fabric or the peeling finish, but nonetheless, I had solved my seating crisis. The chair remained in this beaten state for days, until one evening, sitting directly across from it, I spotted my golden yellow tea kettle and all of this began...