Podcast, Ep. 39: Clothing Designer Ann Mashburn

 

We’re huge fans of stylemaker, shop owner, and clothing designer Ann Mashburn, so we were thrilled when she stopped by for an episode of the podcast. She tells us about starting her and her husband’s namesake stores in Atlanta (which have now spread all over), raising 5 girls, decorating their homes and retails shops, and she shares some outfit ideas for holiday parties.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• Ann tells us about how they started their shops Sid Mashburn and Ann Mashburn
• She tells us about her real life Devil Wears Prada experience
• She talks about how the interior design style of her stores reflects the style of their homes
• She talks about her philosophy when it comes to buying furniture — buying what you love and not necessarily things that ‘go together’
• We talk about lots of pieces that used to be in their homes ended up in their stores
• She tells us the story of the iconic horse painting in Sid’s flagship Atlanta stores
• Ann talks about why each store they open has an inspiration board in it
• Ann and Sid’s living room was featured in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles years ago, and if you’ve been on Pinterest you’ve likely seen her pair of hot pink roll arm sofas
• We ask Ann about her daily ‘uniform’
• Ann and Sid raised 5 girls all of whom have great, unique style
• We ask Ann about dressing for the holidays and her go-to outfits for holiday parties

Decorating Dilemmas:

Hi guys! I’m a big fan of the podcast and have a decorating question on behalf of my mom. 

My parents have a living room where the furniture/seating arrangement is floating, which looks great. But it leaves one wall looking a bit awkward. On this wall there are two windows with space in between for art to hang. The piece art looks great between the windows, but because there’s nothing underneath it (like a chair or demilune), it looks a bit weird, like it “lost its pants,” as my mom’s friend says :). I attached pictures so you can see. 

Unfortunately because there are two big armchairs from the seating arrangement floating in the room, there isn’t room for anything to go under it without cramping the walkway between the back of the chairs and the wall. What would you suggest? We were thinking maybe three paintings up and down would look better than just one and less like there should be something underneath…but she really likes that piece of art there. Any suggestions?

Thanks and keep up the great work on the podcast!

Best,

Jackie

Jackie,

We have a couple of suggestions for you. First, we suggest lowering the piece you already have at least 4 or 5 inches. That way, when you’re looking over the back of the chairs, it hovers just a little bit above the chair. It won’t look so much like “you’ve lost your pants.” We love that description by the way! After you’ve lowered the piece, if you feel like you need something else, add a small mirror or maybe a bracket with a vase or sculpture on it. Something three dimensional will help fill that emptiness.

Another option is to place something there like a pedestal with a sculpture or pot. It’ll help fill the space but won’t be as intrusive as a console table. That being said, you may be able to fit a narrow console in that space. You really only need 24″ of walkway if this isn’t a main traffic area. A narrow console like our Lola Demilune would work well because it’s not a heavy piece and is visually light.

Thanks for sending in your question and good luck!

Show Notes:

• Karen’s Volcanic Ash Riser that we use for the podcast
• Karen’s new media cabinet, the Greta Sideboard
• Ann’s current favorite green dress
• Wall mounted bracket
• Lola Stone Top Demilune Console

Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, please subscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you never miss an episode. Of course, you can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone.

Happy Decorating!

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