Oriental

Oriental, North CarolinaOriental, North Carolina

The sailing capital of NC, it’s said that in this sleepy, southern town sailboats outnumber residents three to one.

Below: photos of the recently built River Dunes, a community of vacation homes, boats and cottage rentals. The design inside and out has a southern, nautical feel.

River Dunes 1

River Dunes 2

Recently covered by Coastal Living. Their photos below.
River Dunes 3

River Dunes 4

River Dunes

River Dunes.

Get the look at www.katiemaennle.com

Get the look - pillows and accessories at KatieMaennle.comGet the look - custom stationery at KatieMaennle.com

Get the look - pillows and accessories at KatieMaennle.com

Wild horses

A recent article in Our State focused in on the wild horse on the outer banks nearby. Quite amazing. http://www.ourstate.com/

Wild horrses

Sailing, seafood boils with friends, and the sea…

are good for the soul.

Good for the soul

Happy Mother’s Day!

Above: my mom and hero…

Below: my favorite photo of my maternal grandmother. My mom has often said that she can seldom remember her saying anything negative. And as I think of it, sure enough I can’t think of one either.  I don’t know that I can think of a more stunning legacy that one could leave. Below her is my sister who so amazes me in her new motherhood and who has mothered me along the way too.

Above and below: Neal Reynolds. Graceful, strong and demure are qualities I so adore that she passed to Nina…

I love this photo of my friend Abby and her mom because it so sums up one of my favorite qualities in Abby: a killer sense of humor sure to lighten any situation. She cracks me up all the time…

Christen and her mom after our college graduation. They both have a discipline that I truly aspire to!

My friend Katy’s maternal grandmother. I love these old photos – so free and fun-loving. No question where Katy got it!

Above and below: photos of Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato’s travel with their mom. The twins so inspire me with their ability to prioritize. They somehow manage to keep their greatest loves (family, friends, design and travel among others) at the forefront of all they do.

David Hicks


With the anticipation of the royal wedding at a fever pitch it’s only fitting to pay homage. The famed British designer, David Hicks is no less than design royalty and his daughter India (seen above and below) was not only a bridesmaid to Princess Diana but has become her own force in the design world. Below a look at the work of the king of British design.

“My greatest contribution as an interior designer has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new.”  – David Hicks

You may have seen this famous pattern of his around…or everywhere.

Hicks inspired shelves in the Katie Maennle design studio.


Above, the David Hicks store. Long live the king!

Merrilee McGehee

You may know her as Buddy Garrity’s wife on the hit show, Friday Night Lights. But take a closer look and you’ll see there’s more to Merrilee (McCommas) McGehee. Here you’ll find a sampling of her work and a few of the reasons we love this Austinite.

Below, a few of her interiors.

The floors above she designed, taped off and painted!

Along with designing the interior below she also created the hanging map piece. Mixed media and glitter.
We’re in love with these. Literally thousands of objects perfectly placed.
“word PLAY highlights the relationship of a word within a word and utilizes it as a thread to explore specific materials pertaining to their union as a whole. In addition, these particular materials are exercised with a labor intensive, obsessive ritual to provoke thought and intensify the observers experience”.

Good Fortunato

Above, at the trunk show at Kick Pleat

Below, pages from their Fall 2011 lookbook

A shot I took of the twins on an inspiration trip we took to Roundtop, Texas a couple of summers back.

My first trunk show in Atlanta years ago.  We did a collaboration on a tunic I designed.  Each front had different beading that Lizzie created .  From left, Sarah Thorpe, Kathryn Fortunato, Maria Sodini, me, Lizzie Fortunato.

Below, where it all began: styling and photographing in their college apartment.  Friend/model Catherine Phillips and some of their first collections.  Yes, this is what they were creating in their spare time while at Duke.

www.lizziefortunatojewels.com

The Age of Aquarius

This weekend there will be a Katie Maennle trunk show at Aquarius, a favorite San Antonio Boutique. Co-hosted by Tidbits, the show is Friday evening and all day Saturday. Here a look back at the opening of Aquarius. Katie Maennle was proud to be a part of it, designing the store logo and a custom chair for the boutique interior.

Store design by San Antonio based interior designer Katy Pasqual.

Katie Maennle and jewelry designer turned store owner, Sara Ash Jessop

Dressing Rooms

Above: a chair by Katie Maennle designed  for the opening.

Join us!