by webmaster on December 29, 2008

POSH LIVING, LLC is a charming, old fashioned design shop in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Owners Layla Altman and Kerry Ann Dame specialize in homes that are warm, personal, stylish and practical.

Our philosophy of Substance & Style places an emphasis on stylish but relaxed living, keeping in mind practicality and sustainability. We are proud to feature natural flooring, recycled products and American made furniture in our store. Slipcovered furniture is our specialty. Our fabric department focuses on the classics - cotton solids and prints, linen and silk.

Posh Living was started in 2001 with the name Bungalow Heaven, by the Dame family. In spring of 2008, we decided it was time to grow. Happily, Layla Altman decided to join us and we changed our name to Posh Living.

We hope you’ll take some time to read about our products and services shown at right.

We’ve added some other links we’d like to share too.

Expand your knowledge of design by reading our blog articles. The most recent are below, and there are more in our searchable archive.

To see pictures of our work, just click on the Flickr widget.

On the lower part of the page, you will see links to our product lines. Search for product by clicking a link and we’ll be more than happy to place an order for you.

Thanks for visiting, and we hope to see you in the shop soon!

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Do It Yourself for Budget Friendly Interior Design

by Kerry Ann Dame on December 29, 2008

Living room with vintage and new; custom slipcovers on old and new furniture, vintage oriental rug, custom pillows from designer fabrics

WE’RE ALL LOOKING for ways to make our budgets go further these days, and decorating is no exception. The most fun way to save on your interior design projects is to become an avid do-it-yourself-er. Tackling new skills can be intimidating, but many projects are easy to learn. As interior designers know, planning and executing design projects is not only fun, but it can be rewarding in many ways.Instead of purchasing a pre-conceived look from a shop, do some research and put some effort into developing your own style. Putting your own stamp on things rejects the theory that there is a right or wrong way to decorate. It quiets that critical voice in our heads that tells us to follow the crowd. You’ll end up with a room that expresses your personality and has a more timeless style. No matter what the trends are, your house will always be primarily a reflection of you. When your home is constantly evolving, it will never need an expensive, top-to-bottom decoration again.

Decorating for yourself is also a lot easier on your design budget. [click to continue…]

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What is Chinoiserie?

by Kerry Ann Dame on December 7, 2008

Le Chinois Toile

CHINOISERIE is a French word that means “in the Chinese taste”. It describes a European style of decorative ornament that was wildly popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and still looks great today. Scenes of the Orient abound on textiles, wallpapers, pottery, porcelain, and lacquered and painted furniture. Owning a piece of Chinoiserie (or, “japanned” furniture, as some pieces were called) was the height of fashion. The interesting thing about Chinoiserie is the tremendous range and variety of Oriental scenes and fantastical decorative details - Chinese people in elaborate robes with coolie hats, long pigtails and mustaches; intricately detailed pagodas with layer upon layer of fretwork, tassels, and bells; or monkeys, lions, and elephants in costume. Our endless fascination with exotic locales gives the designs relevance even today.

Antique Mulberry Plate

Why Chinoiserie at all? Europeans’ fascination with the Far East began in Marco Polo’s day, in the thirteenth century. At a time when few people traveled the world, exotic goods such as silk fabrics, carpets and porcelain reached Europe via a trading route known as the Silk Road, which carried goods by cart and camel across the entire continent of Asia. This ancient road was a bridge connecting the major cultures of the world. China and Japan were sophisticated and complex cultures at that time, with a long history of art. (In fact, in the 8th century, when Europe was in the Dark Ages, Chinese artists were inventing Impressionism!) For wealthy Europeans, owning artifacts from the Far East was a status symbol. With these artifacts came stories from the traders of the amazing temples and pagodas they had seen and the strange costumes and appearance of the Oriental people. Cultures from Persia all the way to China were called “Oriental” by the Europeans. They made little effort to distinguish one people from another, and the fanciful designs of Chinoiserie often blend Chinese, Japanese and Persian or Indian elements. Today we know that the “Orient” at the time was really the current-day Middle East, and “Asian” is the only correct term for the peoples of the Asian continent. But because of this long-ago misnomer, it is not uncommon to hear some people still refer to Chinoiserie as “Oriental” art.

Hundreds of years before photography, Marco Polo was the first well-known westerner to travel all the way to China, returning to Italy seventeen years later and describing architecture, art and costume that sounded like fantasy. When his accounts were published in 1295 they were known as “the million lies”. Europeans simply did not believe his stories, but because China closed itself off from most foreigners several years later, Marco Polo’s vision of Asia was, for nearly two hundred years, the only commonly known information, and it became deeply ingrained in the western mind. In the sixteenth century, when trade routes opened up again and sparked a craze for Oriental goods, it was Marco Polo’s China on the minds of Europeans.

What most people don’t realize about Chinoiserie is that the style doesn’t come from China at all. [click to continue…]

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January Clearance Sale!

by webmaster on November 3, 2008

40% OFF

STOREWIDE

Bring your swatches for expert design advice

Now through January 31

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What is Hollywood Regency Design?

by Kerry Ann Dame on November 3, 2008

Low curves and and exotic paisley would be right at home in Old Hollywood

Low curves and and exotic paisley would be right at home in Old Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD REGENCY is getting all the buzz in interior design nowadays; it’s a style that looks fresh and can incorporate modern pieces, with some old-fashioned wit and vintage flair thrown in. Hollywood insiders know it when they see it; the movie industry not only permeates every aspect of the city’s culture but has directly influenced furniture and interior design for decades now. The glamorous looks of Hollywood set and costume designers have long trickled out of the studios, into the imaginations of designers and magazine editors, and eventually into retail shops across the country. For those outside the Hollywood culture, however, it can be difficult to recognize. What are the elements of Hollywood Regency design? To know this, we must first look back at Hollywood’s heyday.

Hollywood Regency incorporates the glamour and personality that movie stars displayed in their homes at a time when their stardom depended heavily on their personal image. Stars had to be seen at parties and having parties. Centered on entertaining, in particular the cocktail party, the style focuses on clean-lined, small-scale furnishings that let the people in the room stand out. [click to continue…]

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Five Ways to Stretch Your Design Dollars

by Kerry Ann Dame on October 1, 2008

With the real estate market at a low point, most of us won’t be moving anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge our desire to beautify our surroundings. Here are some tips. [click to continue…]

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Window Treatment Design Solutions

by Kerry Ann Dame on August 26, 2008

Decorating windows in your home involves much more than just finding the right color fabric; a well-chosen window treatment provides insulation, light control, pattern and color, softness, and can even improve the proportions of a room. In most of today’s new homes, large walls of windows have become popular; it is not uncommon to see French doors with transom windows above, and another bank of windows above that. A room doesn’t have to be a sunroom anymore to be flooded with light.

All of this sunshine, however, creates its own set of problems. In addition to privacy issues, large windows flood bedrooms with too much light at sunrise. They can cause furnishings to fade in strong afternoon rays and reduce usable wall area in a room, making furniture placement and window treatment design difficult. Large windows are quite fabulous, however, and most of us feel blessed to have them.

Today’s extensive array of window treatment designs offers choices that address all of the problems above, while adding personal style and charm to a home. [click to continue…]

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A Passion for Blue and White

by Kerry Ann Dame on July 31, 2008

Shades of blue and white in interior design have enjoyed almost a cult status since Egyptian times. From the blue lotus-flower murals of Queen Nefertiti’s palace, to the flower-rich cultures of Persia, China and Mughal India, the aristocracy has always been fascinated by the color blue. Despite being rare as a flower color, blue has a rich cultural history derived from the use of blue flowers in medicine and myth. The Romans believed blue flowers were created by the gods as a gift; irises were a symbol of the Virgin Mary, and she is usually depicted wearing a blue cloak. Violets were a symbol of Christian humility, and the pale blue flowers of rosemary were thought to ward off black magic and the plague. Even today, brides traditionally wear something blue, as the belief persists that it is a lucky color. [click to continue…]

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Posh Living Coupon $25 Off $100

by webmaster on July 18, 2008

Receive $25 off your purchase of $100 or more of any

in-stock, regularly priced merchandise at Posh Living.

Just print this page and fill out the form below. [click to continue…]

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Posh Living Coupon 25% Off Fabrics

by webmaster on July 18, 2008

Posh Living Logo

Receive 25% OFF a single in-stock, regularly priced fabric purchase in our store.

Just print this page and fill out the form below. [click to continue…]

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