Spring Bulbs, and less clutter!

The display platform this month in Details of Design, in Annapolis got it's inspiration from the divine weather we have been having. Jennifer and Corey have started their display with the new drop leaf desk we had trucked in. It is a beautiful distressed painted finish with a driftwood interior. The pairing with a driftwood framed french chair was absolutely perfect. Keep in mind the idea behind a drop leaf desk is the ability to hide all of that stacked up paperwork and clutter. If you are a hoarder consider the drop leaf concept.

The artwork behind the desk is two hand painted Spring botanicals on linen fabric. The pale violet bulbs have a fresh, crisp look. This is one case where art can provide a wonderful backdrop for a furniture grouping without having to be a serious piece of art. Go for the fresh appealing look the group evokes!

We have a 4 x6 rug on the floor that just angles under the desk. The round french wire garden table completes the grouping with it's antique painted finish.

Take in a photo of a corner in your home and get in contact with Jennifer if you would like to brainstorm some ideas. Freshen up this Spring!   Jennifer 410-269-1965 

The Best Seat in the House!

While the weather outside is stormy...Why not cozy up your house? Find an area in your home to use a chaise! It is the best piece of furniture made, in my opinion. I have installed chaises in so many of my client's homes and they always tell me later on that it is the one piece of furniture that the family members fight over. I can just  imagine the clever ways one might outsmart another to claim the prized seat as your own.
Starting with,"The phone is for you!" all the way to "I think someone just hit your car!!!". The posibilities are endless!

Also, when you are creating this cozy cocoon-like area, be sure and hang a nice piece of art that you love. It can be an original oil painting like we have here in our vignette. I like to use landscapes the best. It is always easier to gaze off into the distance while looking at a landscape.

And the third and final thing is buy a nice lamp. It should have a three way bulb in it for when it starts to get dark when you have wiled your day away reading the latest novel. Come on in to our store and we can help you select the basic three items that you need for the best seat in the house!


Here are some other photos of  some of my favorite chaise placements in my client's homes.

Here are some other photos from some of my favorite placements of chaises in my client's homes.

This Chaise was positioned in the Master Bedroom especially for reading next to the window.

A chaise can be part of a sectional grouping. Here it is next to a console table for an accessible drink landing

Chesapeake Cozy Christmas Dinner

Chesapeake Cozy Christmas Tabletop

Well, here it is, the long awaited, little bit nautical, little bit Christmas, Chesapeake Cozy Tabletop!!! We finally pulled our of our selections together. It's amazing how well it turned out!

We have used the Martini Glasses for the desert compotes and layered them up on a pure white plate on top of some silvered carved wood chargers. The florals for the table we used the most beautiful roses by each place setting in a small antique looking bottle. We used our new Coastal Wine Stems for the Sauvignon Blanc. Did you see all of the sealife handcrafted on the others on our website for sale? Go to detailsofdesign.biz to see them! The Jelley Fish is incredible!

Here is a close up of the table. We used handmade gift tags as the place cards. We took the large red bowl and filled it with a combination of shells and silvered pine cones for that festive look!

Have a great Holiday and we hope this has inspired you to be creative!

Annapolis Interior Designer STILL Doing Tabletop!!!!

Deadlines are always fun! We are still cogitating on the perfect tabletop to impress all of our loyal followers! Here are some more accessories that we are considering for the story in Annapolis Home Magazine on the three Interior Designers doing a Christmas Tabletop for the Holidays. We still haven't gotten much further. We are considering the Martini glasses with the big chunk of glass at the bottom (they are perfect for your tipsey friends!), or we are still thinking about the Coastal Wine stems (Did you see the Jelly Fish?)

Then we have the centerpiece to select! We have it down to 2 or 3 pieces. The Seasonal Basket of Hydrangeas, the Christmas Gladiola Arrangement in real live water, or the Red Centerpiece bowl.

Decisions, decisions! We just need to DO IT!!!!! We have all of these great pieces and we just need to START!!! It will all come together in the end. We want it to have that Christmas Sparkle, to incorporate our Annapolis point of view; the Chesapeke Cozy angle and to be fun and inviting. I am going to go select a table to set this up and Jennifer, Corey and I are just going to get this done. It is so busy right now, if we wait any longer we will be behind the eight ball. The next time you tune into our blog you will see the results of our brainstorming session! See you soon!       Gina Fitz

Annapolis Interior Designers Do Tabletops

A wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our design abilities has presented itself! Kymberly Taylor and Robert Haywood from Annapolis Home Magazine have asked Fitzsimmons Design Associates to design a tabletop setting for the Holidays. They are going to have the article in the November 15th Holiday issue! We will be one of three Interior Designers in Annapolis, all with the same goal in mind, to wow the readers!
What should we do? Well, we do have a whole store full of accessories and accents that we can put to use. Details of Design is chock-a-block full of new things since Corey and I got back from the International Home Furnishing Market trip. New merchandise is coming in every day.

In Details we have always presented the Chesapeake Cozy approach to Christmas. Maybe we should follow through in the same vein? The new nautical ornaments this year include jelly fish and mermaids sewn and stuffed with filling in all the right places, if you know what I mean.

Maybe we should start with a centerpiece? I should go and look around the store and see what I can use in the middle of the table and then work outwards from there. But, maybe I should decide what table we are going to use first. This is a little more complicated than I thougt. I do like the Chesapeake angle on this story and I would like to have it bright and cheery for Christmas. Maybe I should add a bit of bling!!!!

Let me bounce this off of Corey and Jennifer and see what they think we should do. I'll get back to you soon, We don't have that much time till the photo shoot.

Gina Fitzsimmons, ASID

Fall In Love With Our Design Blog!

I love Fall! All the trees are so beautiful and the leaves are cascading to the ground. The weather could not be better here in Annapolis!
If not, just wait a day.


Jen and Corey have set the scene for this month's vignette as the beginning of indoor entertainment. With the change of season we need to get creative and pull together the perfect food and wine and be a bit social. They began their display with a pub height table and barstools. Your friends will love getting together in your eat-in kitchen or your Great Room with the new pub set; it makes you feel as though you are out for the night. I'm sure it's the altitude!


The red and black color scheme is set off by the carved wood tree panels that they used as a backdrop to their grouping. The panels are easy to hang and suprisingly very light weight. If you are frozen with indecision on how to start your next project; try our ebony tree panels and go from there. Corey and Jen then accessorized with the red pottery, the hand knotted oriental rug on the floor, and the hand etched fish glasses. These glasses are for all of your friends that drink like fish! (Keep that in mind for Christmas!) Oops, Christmas,...that slipped out, it must have been my inner voice!


I guess I have the color of red on my brain this month. I just finished a design for a Master Bedroom for a client in downtown Annapolis. This is the grouping in front of the TV. See below:

I love taupe so much, I used to tell people it was my middle name. (No one knew what the heck I was talking about.)  So, anyway when we settled on the taupe and red color scheme it was right up my alley! We added the moldings on the ceiling and painted, reupholstered the ottoman, installed new window treatments, added a new sofa, pillows and end tables, and installed some wall units. The wall units are my favorite. They hold a lot of books and on the wall that you can not see there is a three piece wall unit for the TV.

There now you can see it! I apologize for the dark photo, I'll try and do better.


 I hope that you liked our Fall in love with our design blog issue. Please click on become a follower on the left column of this page and also feel free to contact us for your next project. Call Jen and Corey if you have a smaller project and call me if you have an out and out, design dilemma! Gina

Permanent Florals will Prolong Summer!!!


Interior Design in Annapolis has really picked up as we come to the end of summer. It is sad in a way, everything is going by the wayside. The gals in Details, Corey and Jennifer have come up with a great display to prolong summer!


The display that they tackled for this month incorporates many permanent floral arrangements to perk up your interior spaces now that the fall is fast upon us. They used a  drop leaf table that can be set up with one leaf up to give you plenty of hobby room in a tight space in your home. Over top they used these very cool galvanized tray shelves with brackets for extra storage. I love the chairs that they used. Some people call them butterfly chairs; they are really from the Bedemeier style.


We are most proud of our Permanent florals. We hunt through 15-20 different manufacturers on a regular basis to find the most realistic looking florals. We are really picky!!! We find the best pricing as well! If you get a chance please stop in and pick a fresh arrangement for your table. See below for some of our favorites!


On another note.....September 17th is the big once a year blow-out Tent Sale. We have had people call us everyday since August trying to find out the date so they will be in town. If you are not on our mailing list please give us a call or email me with your info at gina@fitzsimmonsdesign.com


And remember to stop and smell the roses before they are all gone!