Festive Floral Arrangements Are Just Moments Away

Punch up your Pink Carnations with holiday greenery!

I wish that I was better organized and in my “new” approach to that end, I will be better organized in the coming year. But for now, suffice it to say I am slammed as usual preparing for Christmas! Having just returned from a tropical escape on the 12th and hitting the ground running to get caught-up at work, receiving a dear friend as a house guest as he visits for a few days on business, I am running out of time.
I have given myself a “bye” to NOT put up a tree this year, allowing the two wreaths on the front doors to honor the season, but inside it is not beginning to look a lot like Christmas. However, yesterday my dear husband arrived with a bouquet of pink carnations.
I now have pink carnations – not the bright bold poinsettia plants, the noche buenos of the Christmas season, but pink carnations. So what does one do? Get creative. My husband loves carnations. They are a very happy flower, sturdy and durable, long-lasting and come in a variety of colors and sizes. They might not say “Christmas” at first glance – but what does are the pine branches that grow in our yard. We have fragrant mugo pine, spruce and juniper. We even have a couple of holly bushes and the photinia that I enjoy using in every season.
So my point here is that if you venture outside, you might have just the right filler needed to create the perfect holiday centerpiece! If you don’t have a yard from which to harvest these treasures, go to your local Christmas tree lot and ask for scraps – for free or at small cost. Maybe approach a family buying their tree and ask if you could snip some of the lower branches – something most people end up doing when they go home in order to make room for the skirt and presents.
Don’t panic, festive floral arrangements are just moments away.

Simple Ornaments Make Signature Style Design Statements

We are greeted by a Caribbean Christmas season in the tropics! This is how one McDonald’s decorates for the holidays – their signature Happy Meal boxes dangle from a palm tree! What better ornaments than these happy red boxes – a brilliant contrast of eye-catching red marketing material and the fresh green of nature. Environmentally visual – those little cardboard art pieces dance in the breeze.
During the summer months, we created a play area beneath our large blue spruce tree. The low branches provided an eye-level decoration area just the right height for the smaller kids. So we drew images and colored them with crayons and cut them out and laminated them between two pieces of waxed paper – like you would when pressing fall leaves in autumn. We then punched a hole in each and tied them to the branches with a loop of ribbon. They created a lively, colorful personalization art exhibit in this secret hiding place and defied the weather there in the protection of the big tree for a remarkably long time.
We have wild gourds in our area of the high desert in New Mexico. They are nearly perfectly round and about the size of tennis balls. After the magnificent white blossoms have passed, the new gourds each harvest season are hard and fresh, but the previous years’ forgotten fruit nestled amidst vines are in varying stages of drying out. These dehydrated orbs are perfect for painting, decoupage, or applying decorative embellishment. I preferred to paint a simple red poinsettia on them –using fast-drying and easy clean-up acrylic paint – leaving the background color of the natural gourd exposed and then glossing them with gel gloss medium. Drill a hole in the top and glue in an eye screw and Voila! The finished ornament weights practically nothing and is quite durable. I’ve even used a hair pin – not a bobbie pin, but the old zigzaggy hair pins that when squeezed together and forced down into the drilled hole spring back with just enough tension and held by the zigzag of the metal make an even easier hanging mechanism! An ornament hook or a ribbon and you’re ready to hang!
What creative homemade ornaments might YOU create as your signature style?

Posted On December 5, 2011 By pattisays In art as gift ideas, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, seasonal interior design, travel and design /

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure – Refinishing

My cousin loves this tedious, but very gratifying work. For years we have seen the results of his patient attention to detail as he peels away and rubs clean the layers of film that obscure once fine pieces of wood furniture. From family pieces passed down to antique finds brought back from Scotland after a memorable Navy tour and even yard sales in the neighborhood, he has labored over these pieces resulting in exquisite finished products.
Recently while visiting our historical family village of Youngstown, New York we were invited to dinner at the home of friends who excitedly exclaimed how they had restored their antique family dining room furniture to a luster that was quite amazing. We were impressed with the soft eggshell finish – not shiny with inappropriate application – still retaining the soft patina of age but clean and very much refreshed from years of life’s layers.
Wabi Sabi, the Japanese word for things of beauty that have been worn with use…a softness that shows the age and years of employment and often enjoyment is a compliment to old things. The same could be said of this fine furniture. These hand crafted pieces purchased by my friend’s grandmother during the depression (“a lot of money for that time – she earned the money by selling live chickens to hotels and restaurants in Niagara Falls and up at the market”) – two pieces, a buffet and a china cabinet, had been used for ages through generations of a large family’s gatherings and maintained well through the years. But despite the good care, age had taken its toll on the finish obscuring the fine wood and leaving a film that was not necessarily an asset to the character.

There is a fine line between refinishing beyond recognition and restoring with historical reverence. Practicing the many options in-between is where most people find themselves. Knowing what you have is an important first step. Sites like this Refinish Wizard at http://www.refinishwizard.com offer helpful information for getting started. For example, it would be unfortunate to irrevocably alter the finish of a piece that has priceless value if properly addressed.
My friends’ method was very simple and with a little care and concentration using steel wool with a cloth (and good ventilation), the results were fantastic! Visit http://www.howardproducts.com/restora.htm for details of the process.

I’m a saver – not a hoarder, thank you – but I value old things, family things, and I believe that there is much to be said, felt, and shared by knowing that certain items have been passed down through the generations by one’s very own family. And if not YOUR family, to find something that has endured through the generations in varying forms of survival causes pause to wonder about where it started and where it has been. When consulting with clients, I am the one to retrieve the piece they left out on the curb for pick-up, the one who pulls something from a closet or storage shed to be re-purposed in a more prominent place in the home. I thoroughly enjoy showing people the potential of forgotten pieces, rearranging to emphasize different things and alter the perception of interesting older pieces.
In another direction, it might seem a sacrilege to some to paint a piece. Even in the most contemporary settings, if the original finish isn’t desirable, painting an old piece can be a creative solution. Whether a glossy bold finish that allows the form to speak through from the past into the design world of the most progressive interiors or a layered, sanded paint process that leaves the piece rendered in a shabby chic-type mode, the options are many.
I hesitate to relate these decisions to an economic reality, however, the practical aspects of saving cost by protecting rather than destroying, refurbishing versus neglecting, renewing instead of replacing, saving rather than tossing…are popular mantras when things get tough. Yes, there are real cost-saving economic reasons to practice these salvaging solutions. But beyond that – I see the value regardless of one’s economic situation. Please take away from this the value, charm, history and sensibility of caring for old pieces.
The design space between the old and the new is where you’ll find the art of successful eclecticism – a place where everything can work based upon the proper balance and context. Watch for that in an up-coming rant!

Posted On September 11, 2011 By pattisays In DIY design, furniture finds, recycle, recycle design /

Oil Cloth and Lots of Color!

Table dressings priced right with plenty of color

Oil cloth – that vinylized – coated fabric with the brilliant colors – 50ish in nature, it is still available in running yardage! Yes – you can still buy it by the bolt, use it for upholstery, cut and hem the edges for placemats, use pinking shears for a no-sew solution to table toppers, etc…Here we have a festive table setting where the gerbera daisies pop with happy faces from their squat water vessels.
What once was a decidedly lower economic material – is now the fabric of choice for those folk-art, camp, tablescapes! Choose your favorite – will it be cherries or branches of apples, bouquets of flowers or spilled baskets of mixed fruit? Everyone of them will be bursting with fresh, crisp, bold color and opportunities for coordination with you flowers, plates, napkins and the entire scheme of the party!
So dash down to your local fabric store and inquire about these fabulous oilcloth treasures! Have your own fiesta!!!

Posted On August 16, 2011 By pattisays In DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, seasonal interior design, table dressings /

Don’t Be Afraid to Paint Wood!

Really gotta love red – it is passionate, fun, vibrant, warm and here are some cabinets to illustrate all of that! We recently completed an installation of custom cabinets that we designed for a busy family with two kids needing a work area for homework and craft projects. The upper cabinets were in place along with part of the lowers…but they were golden oak…So we designed the completed components and painted the whole thing a brilliant, semi-glossy red! The work-surface is a manufactured material – a durable engineered product, “Caesar Stone,” in a dark charcoal color. The cabinet “jewelry” is a handsome pewter pull with an Asian bent. They read as punctuations accenting the bold color.
Who wrote these rules? Painting wood is a sacrilege! Yet, I can appreciate the natural beauty and integrity of any organic material – oak is a richly grained wood – cut/sliced many ways – rift or quarter, the character changes completely. But to paint a course-grained wood, one gets the details reading through the painted finish and it is almost like a moiré fabric – water-marks dragged through the surface – but in this case reading through with a wonderfully dimensional quality.
Don’t be afraid to paint wood – it’s just another beautiful way to celebrate its magnificent character!

Posted On July 17, 2011 By pattisays In color and temperature re: interior design, design trends, DIY design, furniture finds, interior design /

Inventive Spirits Have No Boundaries as Lady Ga Ga Makes A Design Statement for Teen Girls!

Glitzy Teen Party Theme – We’re Ga Ga for a Good Party!

This weekend, my friend threw a birthday party for her 16 year-old daughter. The theme was Lady Ga Ga and she pulled out all the gaudy elements that would put it over the top! An enormous party tent, DJ, virgin cocktail bar, white draped yard furniture, bouquets of roses, candelabra, glitz and bling! Today’s Albuquerque Journal addresses encouraging your teen to participate in the design/décor of their room. Go to Pottery Barn and you will find an entire section devoted to this market niche. Those teen consumers are proving to be a very significant segment in today’s economic demographic. They discriminate, set trends, follow trends, and buy trends. You gotta know what’s hot.
So they’re all of sudden Ga Ga for Ga Ga!! From her live concerts to creating chandeliered dance tents and disco dance floors for the party scene – she’s hot and they buy into it!
We study trends and try to determine which will stick and which will fade away…which will stand out as bon a fide contributions to the stream of design movements and/or individuals that/who make historical impact versus those that/whom are passing fancies. Rock stars and movie legends make their mark. Some provide a greater design statement – influence design trends more than others. Lady Ga Ga is out there making statements to get the critics’ attention in a powerfully demonstrative, creative and artful manner. To emulate her would be foolish. Yet she herself has had a springboard to her design style from Madonna’s earlier influence marking the outrageous in her singular fashion – now furthered with Ga Ga’s ooh la la ga ga creativity.
Imagination – from hard science to art and design – imagination fuels the unique, the original, and the newest discoveries. Inventive spirits have no boundaries. Art cannot be described by limited frameworks. It is ever-evolving, ever stimulating and evoking – it is imagination, experimentation and expression set free. Yet even the tightest realism is an intense form of imaginative expression as the artist delves into their interpretation of the finest, accurate detail that they can perceive and project. It’s all about being aware of, and open to so many possibilities. Just imagine.

Posted On June 26, 2011 By pattisays In design trends, DIY design, table dressings /

The Price of Personal Style…is Perhaps Priceless?

I came upon an article about weathervanes. It was about Massachusetts artist Edwin Waskiewicz and his 20 year old practice of hammering custom copper and brass art pieces into animated creations to indicate wind direction or just for the charm of them as a decorative embellishment. You can imagine the twinkly shine and patina of these manipulated materials perched atop shingles spinning their eclectic forms into the skies. But how many people are in the market for these fine pieces of art and at what price when layered with other retailers’ representation? By that I mean mark-up – or in the case of a gallery, the sharing of the selling price to cover the cost of said representation. After exploring these channels of selling his work, this artist recognized that he could do better with direct representation – this direct market approach has been the basis for entrepreneurialism for artists (and other manufacturers for that matter), since time began.
People looking for unique pieces of anything are willing to research the myriad sources to seek their private find. Exclusive at the least, these treasures are often regarded as private due to the buyer’s opportunity to intimately create with the artists to achieve one’s desired and very custom results. What is the price of personal style? This is true in Interior Design as well when you strive to create combinations of fabrics and furniture that nobody else has – your own personal statement for your environment. Fashion – look for the finds or create your own – it’s all about personal style.
What a contrast custom commissions are to commodity production. Yet, the mass produced items that flood the marketplace every season to emulate these custom pieces still constitutes a treasure hunt – just not as expensive or exclusive. Whether searching retail firsthand – the tactile and seemingly old fashioned way versus the seemingly limitless offerings available when scouring cyberspace – the hunt is on!
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” says it all as relates to this experience in relativity. Perfectly good wing chairs sitting on the curb for pick-up…NOT because they are no longer useable or even presentable – but merely because there is no room for them. Donating is good – and it’s interesting to see what treasures can be found from curbsides to Goodwill stores, junk shops to antique boutiques. It’s fun and exciting – it’s challenging and satisfying – regardless of the price-range, budget and scale, maybe we’re all just a little bit “pickers.”
The price of personal style…is perhaps priceless?

Posted On May 31, 2011 By pattisays In art as gift ideas, DIY design, fashion and design, furniture finds, interior design /

Easy Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Patio – NOT!

I love how those home improvement shows always make it look so easy. One that I came upon the other day created a flagstone patio with a stacked stone retaining wall and voila! All during the course of a half hour or maybe it was a full hour – regardless, this is an invitation to disaster.
“Be prepared” is what I must say first. As I spoke to a friend of mine who found a “great deal” on some demolition flagstone on Craig’s List, she personally hefted over 3,000 pounds into the back of a pick-up to begin her own flagstone patio! “Get OUT – three thousand pounds by yourself?!!” I exclaimed! And also offered that perhaps she might not have to go to the gym for the next 3-4 years!!!! But as she further delved into the details and mention of “anyone with high heels best remain on the paved portion of the patio” this now momentous project, I felt it worth a blog…
On TV, they clear and carve the area, level the surface, cut the stone with a wet saw…well, you can imagine – maybe. But in REAL TIME with one or two novices, it becomes more than a challenge. They WILL get finished – and barring anything unforeseen, before the summer is over so that they can actually enjoy the fruits of their labor…Patience and perseverance – one step at a time…one stone at a time…
Often on EXTERIOR design projects, it is not uncommon for the homeowners of the residential plans to want to “help” with the process. It sounds like fun. This is great. It allows for an investment of more than money when one actually participates in the work. So I never discourage this involvement. But I have rescued clients from trying to do it all themselves – when the tension is so thick that you can barely cut it with a garden spade! They say that building a house together can ruin a marriage…the stress can be tremendous – so too can be the landscaping projects and remodels that seem so manageable – until reality strikes! How heavy, how even, how flush…the exacting details…this place is a mess…how much longer is this going to take????? If you survive, it can be satisfying – but at what price this prideful satisfaction?
I shot this beautiful stone path at the Acropolis in Athens a couple of weeks ago. It was so perfectly casual. Stone against plantings is so welcoming – especially meandering through a garden. It provides texture, color, contrast and all with the harmonious sense that it’s a natural occurrence…with a little help from patient and capable hands.

Inviting path in the gardens of the Acropolis, Athens

Posted On April 19, 2011 By pattisays In DIY design, environmental design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design, travel and design /

A Happy Scene on the Island of Mykonos Inspires Exterior Designs.

At first glance, this looked like a sacrilege. After encountering so much graffiti in Athens , (see the photo album on PATRICIAN DESIGN’s face book page) anything remotely related in appearance took on that “read.” To see the colors applied to, what was actually large local stone embedded in a plastered wall – which we often found painted all white in the Greeks isles, sometimes with white plaster leaving the natural stone exposed and then this – I was startled. But upon viewing this wall the other day in context on the beautiful island of Mykonos, I appreciated it as a happy scene.
When planning your exterior design it can be fun to release some of the norms associated with restraint. The beauty of the conventional use of materials in the built environment is not to be discounted – but neither is the bold expression of other possibilities.
Garden art can take on many forms. When you punctuate your exterior design with a bold red metal sculpture, dangle a glazed ceramic or glass wind chime or add a painted wooden door or furniture, you are making a colorful statement within the context of your exterior design. More on this later…
For now, know that there are many possibilities – and have a little fun creating a happy scene in your exterior design.

A Happy Scene

Posted On April 9, 2011 By pattisays In architecture, context of interior design, design, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, landscape design, travel and design /

Spring’s Bevy of Bountiful Floribunda – Prune It and Bring It Inside!

What’s the first sign? We had purple leaf plum trees at the entrance of the parking lot across the street from our shop for years. They always “popped” on a chosen, surprise day in late February/early March with an explosion of pink flowers. Then the trees died due to a change in the irrigation system – it was cut off! We missed our cheerful “first sign” of Spring.
But thankfully, a couple of years ago, the Mayor answered our request to re-plant the areas with new trees and Voila! Yes, it’s that time again – Spring is springing and it’s time to go out and prune those flowering trees and bring them inside for spectacular sprays!
Now, we don’t prune these City trees – and they’re still too small to prune anyway – but look around…in all regions of the country when the time comes that those early buds can be cut away from mature trees without harm to the tree and brought inside for incredibly brilliant displays – do it!
So Purple Leaf Plums are early as are Bradford Pears…apples, peaches – forsythia come along…there are so many wonderful colors and blossoms that at urban floral shops they are sought-after treasures of the season! The idea is to cut them early so that they are not yet opened and bring them inside where the warmth and natural progress of the water wicking will force the buds to bloom and bring Spring inside a bit early – connecting your interior design with nature’s renewing seasonal change.
So Edward Scissorhands – get out there with your pruning shears and have at it – in a good way – go attack those trees and bring in a bounty of bouquets! Share with friends and take an armful for a hostess gift (making sure that you bring a bucket so as NOT to impose upon your hosts at their moment of receiving guests to tackle this beastly beautiful bevy of floribunda!).
The photo here is from one of my favorite furniture companies – Pearson – celebrating their 70th anniversary!!! They brought these incredible pink flowering branches inside for their celebratory photograph!
So we’ve sprung forward…the days are getting longer…Happy Almost Spring!!

Posted On March 15, 2011 By pattisays In design, design trends, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, interior design, seasonal interior design /

DIY design