There is something exhilarating about unexpected color.

And exhilarated is just how I felt when I came across the elegant yet flirty dress pictured below.

It immediately called to mind an ad I saw recently for the new Martyn Lawrence Bullard collection for Schumacher. The collection was inspired by Bullard’s “passion for exotic travel, luxurious materials as well as unexpected color and scale.” And it shows. The collection is brimming with playful patterns, iconic ikats and copious color!

As we head into the weekend, break out of the beige, take a cue from the ever chic Kate Spade, and remember to “live colorfully!”

View the entire Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Schumacher Collection online or drop by Schumacher’s Dallas Design Center showroom.

Photos via Schumacher.com and Pinterest

Today, I was delighted to see a new take on the chevron pattern in my inbox from Kelli at Pindler & Pindler. Rhythmic, their new signature exclusive print, brings a softer look to the edgy chevron pattern, adding zig zags to their zig zags!

The print comes in several fresh color ways, including periwinkle, lilac, sky, stone, natural, and citron.

Have you joined in on the chevron craze? How do you like to incorporate this geometric print into your home or wardrobe?

Rhythmic is available at Pindler & Pindler showroom in the Dallas Design Center.

“We’ve really hit the ground running since entering the Dallas market,” says Daniel Ocasio, vice president of franchise development for LED Source. “We’ve been working with several area businesses and plan on continuing to work with a good mix of large and small entities. We’ve positioned ourselves in the Design District for that reason. There is great design in Dallas and we are excited to be a part of this truly innovative and forward thinking community.”

Today LED Source will host their official grand opening celebration with an open house from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. They will be serving Jason’s Deli for lunch and celebrating with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Guests are invited to stop by to say hi, browse the showroom, meet their team of LED lighting experts, and see the latest fixtures and lamps from LED manufacturers such as Philips Color, Kinetics, EcoSense, Toshiba, Cree, and Lighting Science Group.

The LED Source showroom is now open at 154 Glass St., Suite 108 in the Dallas Design District.

Can’t make it today? Worry not — they’re not going anywhere! In addition to today’s grand opening festivities, LED Source will host an open house for entertainment LED lighting on Jan. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for house of worship LED lighting on Jan. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with special guest Camron Ware of Visual Worshiper.

LED Source is located at 154 Glass Street in Suite 108. Stop by and tell ‘em we sent you!

The Design Center Sample Showroom features 20,000 square feet of designer offerings at sale prices.

The Dallas Design Center is home to some of the design industry’s most adored showrooms and brands, both national and local. Offering custom designer furnishings in styles ranging from traditional to contemporary, the center represents a wide array of design options.

In the spirit of cooperation and to make room for new inventory, several Design Center showrooms have teamed up to fill an ongoing sample sale showroom, offering their furnishing and accessories at drastically reduced prices. Spanning over 20,000 square feet of space, the sale features sofas and seating, rugs and tables, accessories, and more.

Ruth Woodling, Leasing Director for PegasusAblon, has been active in helping the tenants take the sample showroom from dream to reality. “The Design Center tenants have been extremely proactive with the sample sale and we truly appreciate all the time and effort they’ve put towards the project. The sample sale allows for instant gratification and immediate access to Dallas’ finest luxury furnishing brands — a very rare and valuable opportunity,” says Woodling.

Showrooms participating in the sample sale include Abrash Rugs, Baker Knapp & Tubbs, Edward Ferrell & Lewis Mittman, George Cameron Nash, ID Collection, J.H. Minassian & Co., J. Robert Scott, and Murray’s Iron Works. Click the thumbnails below to get a peek inside the showroom.

The sample sale showroom is located at Suite 200 in the Dallas Design Center and is open weekdays 10 am to 4 pm to the trade.

On the prowl for a bargain? Be sure to stalk the other sales taking place this month in the Dallas Design District:

• Design District newcomer The SofaWorks is hosting a grand opening sale, offering 40% off of all custom orders placed before January 31, 2012.
• The Anteks Annual January Sale & Clearance is on. Get 20 to 50% off of all in stock inventory and 20% off any custom orders.
• BoConcept’s Super Sofa Sale features discounts on sofas and storage through January 31, 2012.
• Coming up soon is the Scott+Cooner Winter Sidewalk Sale. Hosted January 19-21 at Decorative Center Dallas, get great prices on a huge selection of contemporary furnishings.
• Now through January 31, 2012 take 15% off all purchases of Scalamandre’s stocked fabrics, trims and wallcoverings.
• Prime yourself for a clearance sale at Vintage Chic Trading Co., taking place this Thursday through Saturday January 19-21, 2012.

Fueling my ever obsessive wanderlust is Schumacher, who recently launched Côte d’Azur, their new French Riviera inspired indoor/outdoor fabric collection. With a color palette is inspired by the sand and sea, it’s impossible to take in these fabrics without conjuring visions of the Mediterranean coastline!

When searching for pictures, I came across the website for Villa Mauresque, a hotel located in the charming French town of Saint-Raphael on the French Riviera. (Pictured above.) Doesn’t it look like paradise?! And Schumacher’s bold chevron and stripe patterns fit right in.

While my next European adventure might be a ways off still, it’s never to early to start planning! So in the mean time, you can find me flipping through Rick Steves’ Provence & The French Riviera, pinning photos to my French Riviera board, and searching for airfare!

The Côte d’Azur collection is available at Schumacher in the Dallas Design Center. To see more fabrics from the collection, visit the Côte d’Azur page on the Schumacher website.

Photos via: Schumacher, Villa Mauresque, & Pinterest

Also new at Leslie Taylor is their website. Recently launched, the new site offers organized galleries with product photos as well as a new blog! Visit www.leslietaylorhome.com to check it out!

In addition to the sale, Mr. Esmaili is making his rare, family collection of masterpieces available for sale to the public. Click here to download a letter from the Esmaili team which details all the juicy specials. Print and bring the letter in for an additional 10% off!

Going on now, Murray’s end of the year floor sample sale features discounts from 25-40% off items including outdoor furniture, lighting and, of course, these gorgeous coffee tables.

Some hand-picked favorites are:

French Grille

Kowloon

Leo

Kirk

Orwell

Burton

These six are just a small sampling of the tables and other furnishings available. Head over to the Design Center to check out the rest of the stock.

Also note that some of these tables that are available off the floor are also available in Murray’s Quick Ship program, which can ship brand new from their Los Angeles workshop in 2 weeks. (That’s just in time for Christmas!) You can check with Britni at Murray’s to find out about other finish, size, and top options available for these tables.

You might recognize the English Home Look from one of the many TV shows or films in which their fabrics have been used to supply entire room sets, like Moulin Rouge (which won an Oscar for Best Set Design), Gladiator, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Notting Hill, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, The Other Boleyn Girl, Robin Hood, The Tudors and most recently Game of Thrones.

English Home’s fabrics focus on distinctive patterns and dramatic texture and color — from flamboyant high baroque velvets, to wool embroidery on jute. Whether the design is on linen, silk, velvet or sheer net, colors are thoroughly customisable to match clients’ schemes.

Don’t these fabrics just exude British luxury!? Just looking at them makes me feel a little more like Kate Middleton.

For the first time ever, English Home’s drapery is being offered in by-the-yard format fabric, offering a newly accessible and adaptable way for you to add a touch of A-list English glamour to your home. Available at Allan Knight in the Dallas Design District, this fabric is just the glamorous touch needed to finish off your room!

Colored in traditional colorations as well as colored neutrals and warm hues, this set of trims comes at exceptional price points. Plus, all styles come in 9 colorways.

Here are a few selections from the trim book as well as a sample of how they look when applied to a few lovely pillows. The trim really makes the pillow, right?! To view the entire collection please visit the Pindler & Pindler showroom in Suite 715 or visit their website at www.pindler.com.