Jennifer shared her favorite thing about the holidays, saying, “One of my favorite December traditions in Dallas is having holiday cocktails with friends at the Library Bar in the Warwick Melrose Hotel. The bar always has a fabulous crooner at the piano. It’s so cozy and inviting – the perfect place for gathering together, kicking back in a leather chair with a hot toddy or something sparkling.”

Great idea, right?! And right now the Library Bar is helping you warm up with one of their December seasonal specialties. For only $7 each, sip on the scrumptious Baked Apple Pie Cocktail, with Malibu Coconut Rum, apple pucker liqueur, topped off with apple juice, shaken and served straight up with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry. Or savor the Ginger Man Cocktail ,with Level Vodka, Dekuyper’s cinnamon and buttershots schnapps, shaken with Bailey’s Irish Cream and served straight up with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry. Don’t these look delicious?

With only two days left to do your Christmas shopping, Jennifer has come up with a great gift list, which includes perfect ideas for everything from stocking stuffers to “The Big One.” Check it out!

1. Glamorous Rooms by Jan Showers // Jan Showers
I have a copy personalized to me by Jan that I will treasure always!

2. Set of 24 Mini Croissants // Williams Sonoma
Yummy!!!! A little taste of Paris on Christmas morning!

3. Ambition vase // JANUS et Cie
Glazed porcelain in white. Available in 3 sizes.

4. Alexander Girard Wooden Dolls // Design Within Reach
Collectable and addictive!

5. Jo Malone Candles // Available online or at Neiman Marcus & Nordstrom locations
Lime Basil & Mandarin is my favorite.

6. Kelly Wearstler Dinnerware “Mulholland Collection” place settings & gold charger // Dahlgren Duck

 Tonight marks the beginning of what promises to be the hippest new decor trend in Dallas. Dwell With Dignity’s Thrift Studio is a pop-up shop created to provide financial viability and fundraising for Dwell with Dignity through the sale of gently used furniture, housewares, accessories and high-end designer finds to the public.

Open bi-annually for one month, Thrift Studio is making its debut in the Dallas Design District. Open from October 1st through October 29, the public is invited to stop in and shop Monday-Saturday 10:00 am t0 5:30 pm.

Though it doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, you are invited to get a sneak peek of their fabulous wares tonight at Thrift Studios’s preview party. Located at 1616 Hi Line Drive, party goers will enjoy sips, bites and get the chance to check out five specially designed vignettes from dazzling Dallas designers, including:

• Beth Dotolo & Carolina Gentry, PULP Design Studios
• Samantha Reitmayer Sano, Style/SWOON
• Abbe Fenimore, Studio Ten 25
• William Baker, JonesBaker,
• and Emily Johnston Larkin, EJ Interors and Material Girls Blog

Lower Oak Lawn businesses who have joined in to support Dwell with Dignity in their latest fundraising venture include David Sutherland, Jan Showers, Peacock Alley, and David Cadwaller.

Tickets are $25 at the door and all proceeds go to benefit Dwell with Dignity.

This Saturday, June 26, the shops of Slocum Street are opening their doors to the public for a one-day only shop & stroll event. From 10:00 to 5:00 pm, guests are invited to browse the street’s unique showrooms and antique galleries. Participating shops will display a blue balloon, making them easy to spot!

Participating showrooms include:

• Adele Hunt’s European Collectibles | 1007 Slocum
• B Gover Limited | 1426 Slocum
• Banks Fine Art | 1313 Slocum, Ste. 103
• Brendan Bass Showroom | 15150 Slocum
• Country French Interiors | 1428 Slocum
• Ellen Holt |1013 Slocum
• Jan Showers & Associates | 1308 Slocum
• The Kitchen Source | 1544 Slocum
• Joseph Minton | 1410 Slocum
• LDF Silk |1229 Slocum
• Newport Collection | 1415 Slocum
• Pittet Architecturals | 318 Cole
• The Whimsey Shoppe |1444 Oak Lawn

{Photo by: Vadim Zaliva}

Jan Showers is synonymous with exceptional taste and this week only her ENTIRE glamorous home collection is on sale at her Slocum Street Showroom. In the past, she has hosted the sale for clients only, but this year she decided to open the sale to the public and mark everything down from 30 to 70% off. What a steal!

Check out Jan Showers Facebook Page for pictures of the inventory they still have left. Read more on the sale on FD Luxe’s Facebook Page and Jan Showers Blog.

Jan Showers & Associates
1308 Slocum Street
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 747-5252
www.janshowers.com

Busy with all the Celebration of Design hullaballoo last week, I asked my co-worker, Ruth, to make a run over to Neiman Marcus downtown to check out the Jan Showers book signing for her new release entitled “Glamorous Rooms.” Ruth is the style maven of the marketing office so I had no doubt she’d represent LowerOakLawn.com fabulously.

The event was hosted in Neiman’s Couture Salon — which Jan transformed into a “glamorous room” from the pages of her book. High fashion models adorned in fine jewelry and fur coats flanked the doors, amping up the glam factor.
Ruth described the event as “casual” and said that Jan was very friendly to all her fans that came to meet her and get their books signed. Models in fur – not something I’d necessarily call “casual”…“Neiman’s casual” maybe?!

Even though I didn’t get to attend the event, I did score a copy of the book and had the opportunity to spend some quality time reading it over the weekend. Jan’s writing style is simple, personal, and glamorous, just like the rooms pictured in her book. She gives insight on how to create luxurious rooms while also maintaining livability.

The forward is penned by none other than famous fashion designer, Michael Kors. Kors gives a glowing review of Jan’s personal style, writing about his first impressions of her in the 1980’s: “I loved Jan’s style, which was particularly American: restrained, smart, and always glamorous; she was never a fashion victim at a time when that was nearly impossible.”

This is a coffee table book worth reading and not just flipping through the pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed “Glamorous Rooms” and am  of course, completely inspired to use her decorating tips to make my space a bit more glamorous…any volunteers reading this? Donations accepted!

Jan Showers Showroom Staff

Jan’s “Glamorous Room” will be on display in the Couture Salon at Neiman Marcus downtown until November 7 (that is this Saturday!) so make your way down there soon to check it out and get your own copy of the book!

See more pics on Flickr:

[flickr album=72157622595708999 num=10 size=Square]

• Buy “Glamorous Rooms” on Amazon
• Jan’s Notebook (Jan Showers Official Blog)
• @JanShowers (Jan Showers on Twitter)

Since the first step is the doorstep, that’s where I started when exploring Dallas’ “next urban neighborhood.” From the old, rustic doors of the antique shops on Slocum Street to the modern, glass showroom facades of the Decorative Center, the doors of the Design District are effortlessly chic.

Evolving from an industrial warehouse hub in the 1950s and 1960s to a center for antiques and decorative showrooms, the Design District is known internationally for its high fashion decorative fabrics and furnishings. It has become a reliable resource for decorative arts professionals who enjoy exclusive access to the area’s showrooms and stores. Interestingly, the economic downturn has led many showroom owners and artists in the Design District to re-think their designer-only policy, and many have opened their doors to the public.

Lately, the biggest door that opened for the Dallas Design District is the new exit ramp to Oak Lawn from the Dallas North Tollway. Dallas real estate development firm PegasusAblon, in anticipation of this new doorway, has invested heavily in its vision to take the Design District from a trade-only decorative destination to a vibrant, distinctive urban neighborhood.

Just a couple of years into the redevelopment of the Design District and the entire Lower Oak Lawn area, (now known as LOL), PegasusAblon’s team has effectively re-purposed and given new dimension to a treasured Dallas neighborhood.

Over the past week, I’ve been stalking LOL, touring the new apartment complexes and window shopping at the various furniture, lighting and antique shops and showrooms. The carefully crafted design of the new apartment communities is beautifully apparent. Both the Alta and Alexan Design District have developed home spaces that are unique and warmly livable for the urban professional seeking affordable style and premier proximity to Dallas’ hottest urban locales. I fell in love with the stained concrete floors, granite countertops and breathtaking skyline views.

Both communities are equally lush in amenities, including state-of-the-art gyms and A+ pools. Special features such as decorative tile back splashes in the kitchens add a custom home feel. The main difference between the two lies in the floor plans. The Alta units have a loft-like feel with open floor plans and exposed ventilation. While studio style units are available at the Alexan too, this community also offers more traditional apartment layouts.

The old saying goes; choosing a place to live is all about location, location, location. In that same vein, LOL is all about proximity, proximity, proximity. By car, LOL and the Design District are less than one minute from the Dallas North Tollway, two minutes from the AAC and Victory Park, five minutes from Downtown, six minutes to Uptown and just seven or eight minutes to West Village shopping. And with the current buzz about four new restaurant ventures planned for the LOL area, soon enough it will be the place to be — not just the place to live.

Doors are opening to a new community in Dallas — a community that is simultaneously rich with heritage and steeped in authenticity, yet artfully punctuated with a hip and ultra modern aura. The doors to LOL and the Design District are wide open with possibility and potential, giving Big D a new perspective on urban renaissance and redevelopment.

Tip: Ready to explore LOL but don’t know where to start? Check out Furniture Your Way showroom on Slocum Street, one of the oldest leather manufacturers in the DFW region. This week they hosted a massive sale, opening their doors to the public. With over 100 leather styles to choose from, you can find the look you want to achieve, whether it’s Hill Country Rugged or Dallas Modern Sleek. While I was out taking photos to chronicle the doors to LOL, the owner of the store walked right out the door to introduce himself to my friend Renee and me. He welcomed us through his doors and invited us to take a look around. Now this is a door worth gracing!

Find the Doors

View Doors of the Dallas Design District in a larger map

For more photos please see Doors of the Design District in our photo album.