Saturday, April 25, 2015

Hutton Snellings Exhibit at Neiman Marcus Atlanta




Hutton Snellings had a showing of her art on Thursday night April 16th. Neiman Marcus was the venue that proved a great backdrop for the artists abstract art. If you are unfamiliar with Hutton's work, might I suggest you take a look. While her career is ascending quickly, you can still purchase one of her pieces for $5800, like my favorite, titled “Character” 54 x 54, and less. Hutton's pieces are substantial in size and content; she uses a soothing color palette, and her use of the brush leads the eye all over the canvas.

What I find most refreshing about the artist as I get to know her is that she is very humble about her work. She surrounds herself with family, she is one of eight children, and a group of loyal friends. Her manager, Catherine McGahan, of Rumson Gifts and Home Furnishings, has the same philosophy and has been crucial to Hutton's recent boost in her career.

I recently spoke with a couple who commissioned Hutton to paint a personal piece for their home, and they said the experience was enjoyable. She can convert to canvas, the client's vision.


Take a look at some of the photos from the event.


A painting from Snellings' "Instinct" series


"Character" also from the "Instinct" series


Snellings with her family


The artist with her sister


With friends


Snellings' Grandfather


Catherine McGahan, Snellings' manager


Attendees learn more about the pieces


Snellings with another work from the "Instinct" series

For more information about acquiring one of Snellings' pieces 
call Catherine McGahan at 404-441-3599.

To see more of her work visit:


Monday, April 20, 2015

Renovation of the Month


If you haven't seen the May issue of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles its not too late but I am going to give you a sneak peak.  Featured in this month's issue is the kitchen renovation completed by Ryan Duffey, of J Ryan Duffey Architect, Nancy Duffey of Scout For The Home Interiors and Cameron Thurman of Phoenix Millworks for a Brookhaven family.


 A view of the dining area in the kitchen/keeping room.  The iron doors were fabricated by Dave Quinlan, the walls throughout are stucco applied by Vali Lazar.


All wood in the kitchen is lime washed including the kitchen island with a marble top, the same marble was used for the counter tops.  The lime wash is from ROMA.

I was able to visit the project myself when it was completed and want to share some of the photos I took.  I am not a professional photographer so my images will look nothing like Lauren Rubenstein's in the above article.


A close up of the kitchen island.


A close up of the marble back splash and the stucco range hood.


The view looking from the kitchen to the dining and keeping room.


You can really see the texture of the stucco walls and ceiling.


View to kitchen from keeping room.  The arched opening leads to the wet bar and the living area.  Straight ahead behind the closed pocket doors is a spacious mudroom and ladies office.


Another view through the arched opening.  The use of iron windows and doors throughout provides plenty of natural light.


The living area off the kitchen/dining keeping room.


Wooden beams were added for interest, they were sourced from Willis Everett at Vintage Lumber in Gay, Georgia.


Detail of stucco and wooden beam.


The wet bar connects the living room and the dining room.

The builder on this project was Mike Hammersmith.

Stay tuned for the next installment where I talk more about the extensive work performed by Cameron Thurman of Phoenix Millworks.

Thanks for reading!!



Wednesday, April 15, 2015

"Pinterest is the new Google"

I came across an article on Social Media Examiner today that said "Pinterest is the new Google".  That got my attention!  My clients don't all use the same social media platforms, but I have encouraged adding Pinterest into the mix for years now because of the exposure.

This article was a recap of the recent "Social Media Marketing World" event, and the article goes on to say "more people are turning to Pinterest as their primary search engine, combining the power of search with visual content."  We all know plenty of people who turn to Pinterest, whether they have a Pinterest profile or not, for party planning ideas, etc.  Now a lot of businesses are using Pinterest because of its power.  In your free time, go to Pinterest and type anything in the search bar and see what you find.  You will probably be amazed.

Another very important point the author of this article made was about the longevity of a pin.  "What you pin today may turn up in a search a day, month, year or many years from now."  That is powerful!!

I can't help but agree with another piece of advice given in the article, "Be wary of using hashtags". I have been the hashtag police for a while now because of the widespread improper use of the hashtag.  According to MCNG Marketing, a Pinterest Marketing Agency, "Just because you put a hashtag in a pin’s description doesn’t automatically mean that it will show up in search results for that hashtag. Pinterest operates very different from Twitter."  Read more about using hashtags on Pinterest in their article, "Best Ways To Use Hashtags on Pinterest".

Get busy pinning!!!

To learn more about the important takeaways from the Social Media World event, read their article.  Click Here!