Category Archives: All Blog Posts

It was a successful afternoon hunting through the local granite yards for slabs to use on a current design project. We have been searching for just the right stone for weeks, and here it is! It’s Spectacular… no really, that’s what they’ve named it. Can’t argue with that though- these dramatic, bookmatched slabs will look spectacular installed on our project- I can’t wait!

At the end of each year as we look forward to the next, the design world is always abuzz with predictions. What colors, patterns, styles or trends will shape the new year? How are the needs and preferences of our clients going to change? What functional and aesthetic qualities will most appeal to consumers’ changing lifestyles?

Not surprisingly, predictions about color tend to garner some of the greatest buzz. After all, color impacts everything we do! Pantone, widely recognized as the leading authority on color, forecasts that Emerald Green will be front and center in fashion, interiors, and beauty in 2013:

“The perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. It’s also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity – no other color conveys regeneration more than green.”

As a designer, I wonder how extensively we will see emerald cropping up in interior product offerings in 2013 as a result of Pantone’s announcement, and is emerald a fluke or does this signal a reappearance of other rich jewel tones next?

Finding that perfect rug can be a challenge. One hot- and very versatile- style I’m loving right now is the vintage patchwork rug, in all its many pattern and color variations. Oh, the possibilities! From naturally sun faded to vibrantly overdyed, I love the wildly different looks that can be achieved with this kind of rug.

Need a non-standard size? A vintage or antique patchwork rug can be made in custom sizes in a much shorter amount of time than a new custom sized rug. So many reasons to love this style!

Below: Espresso Black vintage Turkish patchwork from Istek, Orange overdyed vintage patchwork from ABC Carpet & Home, Cadiz from West Elm.

(Or, “Ouch! How I Got My First Sunburn of 2012″)

Two of the beautiful glazed pots we selected

Today I visited a fabulous garden center in Venice with a client. We’ve been working together for about 8 months designing her family’s beautiful new home set in a lush, tropical eden. Now interior construction is wrapping up, furniture is being delivered, and it’s time to work on the finishing touches that punctuate the design, like house and patio plants.

We had a dizzying variety to choose from at the garden center and (with a little help) hand picked about a dozen large plants for the interior and patio. We ended up with yucca, areca, fan palm, white bird of paradise, and some kind of bamboo I’ve never seen before. Selecting pots was like walking on a glazed ceramic rainbow. The section for pots alone was the size of the entire garden center at some big box stores I’ve been to. This place is no joke. Each aisle of planters and pots is heaped by color family. Aside from making it easier to find what you need this way, the visual effect is just gorgeous! I’m inspired now to design a whole interior around one of these aisles of azure pots…

I love to incorporate live plants into the spaces I design. They can bring color and texture, be contemporary or classic, link the indoors to a great view outside, anchor an empty corner or a tall room, naturally improve indoor air quality, and never go out of style. What’s not to love?

For some of our clients whose answer is the maintenance, one way to get them the natural vibrance a live plant brings to an interior is to make creative use of succulents. As long as the room has enough sunlight, succulents can be perfectly happy indoor plants with just a light watering every couple of weeks. There are so many kinds to choose from with different shapes and colors, and many without any sharp needles to watch out for.

I’m constantly on the lookout now for interesting glass containers to turn into offbeat terrariums. With different kinds of tiny succulents, soil, sand, rocks, moss, and a great container, the style possibilities are endless. Larger arrangements are great on a coffee table or as a dining table centerpiece. Small groupings can be cool on a windowsill, kitchen island, or corner of a desktop. Here are pictures of some I’ve made recently. I think my next succulent project will be a long copper trough full of these little guys all lined up for my dining room table.

A mini succulent garden I just made for a client

Closeup of the one I just made, sitting on a walnut burl console table behind a linen sofa, beside a small vintage clock and a pair of simple crystal candlesticks

A recent vintage find is now the home for these succulents in my own living room

I also really like these unusual terrariums and vessels for succulents from West Elm…

Campaign desks were made for traveling in style. Designed to be folded and transported by travelers on safari and military officers on the march alike during the expansion of the British Empire, campaign furniture was often very finely made.

Traditional characteristics of these desks are durable wood construction, flat front drawers, flat brass hardware, and often folding bases and flip-tops. Today’s campaign-inspired furniture has been reimagined and still invokes a spirit of world travel with masculine military-chic details. Whether in traditional mahogany or a glossy mod lacquer (check it out- fabulous!), I just love the strong style statement these desks make in a room…

Just a hint of safari chic in this traditional campaign style desk from Hickory Chair

Campaign-inspired writing desk from Tommy Bahama. I love the texture of the turned wood x-base.

1940's Ebonized finish campaign desk, Sentimiento Antiques, NYC

I'm coveting this 1970's Modernist campaign-inspired desk in white lacquer and polished nickel hardware, Gallery Vermillion

This campaign reinterpretation is all modern strength in black and chrome, Lexington Home