Holiday Tablescapes KISS Theory!

For the fast switch , KISS is the name of the game – keep it simple and sensational! The Thanksgiving weekend creates a great opportunity to get a jump on Christmas. Yesterday neighbors were out precariously placing lights along their rooflines, lining walkways and blanketing shrubs. We noticed this as we were out walking, observing, not quite ready to dive in to the next holiday ourselves.

But I did think that this was a great opportunity to illustrate a continuation of my favorite seasonal design practices and that is going outside to nature to get inspiration and actual elements for my creations. And the most remarkable aspect of this exercise is that it is all in our own yard. Look around and you will be amazed at what is out there!

For Thanksgiving I had been inspired by the blazing colors of the Bradford Pear that was – is still – screaming with color at the front of our house. 20151126_093537The rich maroons transitioning to corals and rosy tones into brilliant golds and even bright yellows  were irresistible. It’s similar to a maple tree with its magnificent range of fall colors but with precious little round heart-shaped leaves. 20151126_093558

20151126_095436 - CopyI created a tablescape using short-cut branches in a pair of squatty square glass vessels flanking a large square hand-blown glass platter. In the center on the platter, I gathered acorn squash which we will be enjoying baked with brown sugar and butter later this week, and added some ornamental gourds for their interesting shapes and colors. 20151126_093945 After scattering some of the leaves around the arrangement on the neutral linen table runner, the result was boldly colorful, organic and spicy scene bursting with autumnal warmth.P1110503So as I pondered this setting this morning, two days later…the leaves on the table were getting crunchy, the branches were dropping leaves and the water in the containers was a bit cloudy…time to clean it up! Since it seems that everyone is already transitioning to Christmas themes, I thought why not do the same?! The alternative of merely cleaning it up and leaving it barren was a bit anticlimactic after enjoying the spectacular beauty of this recent  holiday table. So here again nature was calling to venture forth and scour the yard for the next seasonal statement.

Now remember, this is just a quick transition…I can take it leagues and layers further as the weeks progress by adding holiday runners, ornaments, some bling and other accoutrements. But for today, the switch is quick. I ventured out into the yard and cut some bushy mugo pine and smoky blue spruce branches,  P1110558 a few holly sprigs from the bushes in front and jammed them into the same freshly refilled square glass vases. In the center, the neutral linen runner remained and on the glass platter I kept the acorn squash, traded the gourds for electric green granny smith apples and a couple of pomegranates ( I had bought three last week and had already picked my way through the many juicy morsels of one – leaving two to do the red thing in my centerpiece today).P1110556

I scattered a few pine cones and Voila – my instantly transitioned tablescape said “Christmas is on its way!”

 

Random Colors in Nature’s Eggs

 

When I opened this cartoon of eggs given to us by friends the other night fresh from their chicken coop, I was amazed by the soft rich color combination that  burst forth.  And color is so a part of my design sensitivity that anytime I encounter an unexpected scheme, the inspiration is incredibly stimulating. So much so in this case that I created today’s story!  20151114_085947

My friends have a ridiculously chic chicken coop.  By that I mean being beautifully white-washed and accessorized including having a crystal chandelier complete with a dimmer—for the rooster and his women to “get into the mood.” chandalier in coop

I might have thought that this contributed to the glorious soft colors that they produced—mood colors…but I actually do know better. I know that it is the breed that produces the color of the shells and not eating carrots for peachy/orange shades or leafy greens for the soft aqua and celadon tones.

These colors though—grouped all together in this random collection, looked like intentionally dyed Easter eggs. The artist of this collection was nature and random selection of hens and collection of eggs and unconscious placement in the carton. I did not rearrange them and they did not arrange them in advance of sending them home with us. It is truly random beauty created by nature. 20151114_085930

Meet Handsome Boy the rooster of this coop. rooster  His women are a fine group of chicks named simply Hello Ladies as that is how they are collectively greeted daily.  hens in coop  They represent the breeds Ameraucanas which produces the green/blue series, Buffs Orpington for  peachy/light brown and Wyandotte for the darker orange brown shell shades. The combination is a color scheme that is so wonderfully balanced with complimentary opposites that it is one of pleasing perfection.

Here are a few color cards from a Benjamin Moore fan-deck of paint colors that represent the range of  complimentary hues and soft values in this earthen clay-like warm palette paired with and balanced by the cool water and flora reminiscent shades.  20151115_125439

Upon closer inspection, the range of tones from these cards closes in on the soft colors of the egg shells.

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Nature’s random beauty translated by the design-eye into paint colors and fabric samples for an inspired interior design. fabric 20151121_075630_resized

 

 

 

Redheads are Brighter – Even in a Chair

There once was a chair

quite bland, blond and fair.

A victim of the 80s

when pickling and white-wash went crazy.

But along came a designer

who sat down beside her

and painted her troubles away.

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Now she is sassy

coral red and quite classy.

And with her new flair

has inspired others bland and fair,

to make the change

that’s all the rage

to be bold over lighter

redheads are brighter!

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(My bright and creative friend, Lynn Platow has more sassy savvy exuding from her very brilliant core than anyone I know. Check out her site http://www.redheadsarebrighter.com/)

The Simple Beauty of an Olive Picker

Design can be so simple and be so exquisite. Yet sometimes what appears to be simple is extraordinarily complex. Take my recent blog about nature and fallen aspen leaves…simple. Yet the complexity of the leaf itself and its fingerprint-like structure and the complexity of the changing seasons and the stages of the growth of the leaf and its ultimate passing onto the ground amidst others,.,.it is a most complex, detailed lifecycle/design.

Fast forward…Planning a cocktail party takes a lot of attention to detail/design. You plan the food and the containers in which you are going to serve it.  You make it and/or order it out. You plan some hors d’ oeuvres and their little platters. You get some flowers and count your glasses. You plan your table settings and other ancillary things like candles and cocktail napkins. Then you  gather your beverages and make a dessert. Coffee in a pot or individual al la carte in the Kurig? Have enough cups and saucers or do we use mugs and if so—who wants cream and sugar and where will they put their spoons? Back to the cocktail napkins—with coffee mugs too?  Down now to the cutting of the lemons and limes and last but not least, the olives. Fritz Wood olive pick P1110322

Have you ever used an olive picker? Do you know what an olive picker is? How do YOU extract olives from their traditionally tall narrow jar (before we bought them in bulk, wide-mouthed jars from warehouse stores) into a bowl for the bar from which you will garnish drinks? VOILA –an olive picker. Hand-crafted of exotic woods and shaped as artists often say based upon how the raw material speaks to them. Like a stone carver who walks around and around a massive boulder prior to even considering the ultimate subject of the piece. It might be a crouched cougar or it might be seagull devouring a crab on the beach…walking around the stone allows the artists to let the stone speak. He sees the form and studies the possibilities until the moment strikes and the message is clear. It is what it is and cannot be anything else.

The same can be said of the woodcarver who studies a massive piece of wood, the enormous appendage, if not trunk of a tree, and practices the same studious evaluation to allow the wood to “speak” to him of its intended purpose—of its timeless statement or interpretation.

Ok, this is a bit more than the woodcarver experiences when he holds a raw piece of wood in his palm and intends to make an olive picker. But the principle is similar in that the artists all participate with the raw material that they intend to modify to express their talent and ultimate intended form of the material.  This artist is considering and intending a utensil at the outset. He holds the wood in his hands and allows the form to guide his hands to follow the contour as he caresses and carves the form in a fashion that is suggested by the raw piece itself. It becomes a smooth crafted interpretation of the original form. The results reveal  the unique characteristics and properties, form and shape, of elegant, hand-crafted, natural wood olive picks. Fritz Wood olive pick P1110323

Behold beauty and design in nature and nature modified. Beauty in seemingly simple things and yet quite masterful. Cheers  – we’re ready…will that be an olive in your martini or a twist of citrus?  Fritz Wood olive pick P1110320

This is my favorite olive picker by artist Fritz Wood in Bozeman Montana! My mother and I were at an art show several years ago and came upon this guy with these gorgeous, sensuous wooden utensils and among the spoons and  spreaders were these curious tools—olive picks! I bought this one for my husband who enjoys jalapeno and/or garlic stuffed olives in his gin.