Funny how themes spread across popular culture…okay, not so funny, just fact. From what’s in Vogue to passing trends, we see the elements and wallow in the offerings. So have you noticed the cupcake craze? Designer cupcakes for crying out loud!! And you ask, why not? They’re little art pieces, individual confections of expression – and so much fun!
Cupcakes remind us of childhood and yet today are not just used for little girls’ birthday parties – they’re wedding sensations! Tiers of colorful cakes in cups – it just says fun! Once holiday opportunities, something to sprinkle jimmies on for special occasions…lick the frosting off first…orange and black for Halloween, pastel for Easter, red, white and blue for 4th of July – they now transcend mere holidays and have come into their own as spectacular presentations of creativity – gifts of decadence – simple, yet sinful nonetheless.
So we have joined the ranks with our indulgent collection of confections by Susan Roden who renders these delicate temptations in soft, swirling pastels beautiful enough to eat, offering the viewer an escape into amorous indulgence. We even have colorful cookbooks on the subject, flour sack dish cloths adorned with dripping frosted cupcakes and many other representations of this sweet timeless trend!
Can a trend be timeless or does it then become something else? If it is timeless then it transcends the suggested timeframe of a trend. And as I write this, I firmly believe that inasmuch as cupcakes are currently being re-evaluated, redesigned, and appreciated beyond their previous niche – they are NOT a trend – merely their newfound appreciation appears as though a trend…when in fact, they are a delightful little delicacy that perhaps is redesigned and improved with age and rediscovery.
I’m surprised that we haven’t seen a little Volkswagen dressed up as a cross-country touring cupcake…maybe it needs to be attached to a national name – like Sarah Lee or something…flash on the LED lights of Times Square…too bad Ben and Jerry don’t branch out into cupcakes…their Jane Mansfield cups could really run-ith over!!! “Get a load of those knockers!” Oh what Duff Goldman could do!!! That’s enough!!!
Celebrate the cupcake!!!
Dormant Months Provide Planning Time For Garden Designs
They’re not dead, they’re just sleeping!! Dormant yet quite alive, gardens are begging for attention with plans for the next season’s excitement!! We know all the recommendations about planting bulbs in the fall and pruning roses in late February, but now is the time to begin your master plan for the outdoor living spaces that will be so important and exciting in the warmer months! Plan NOW!
I have just completed three studies for a “Fantasy Garden.” The distillation of these plans into one more consolidated design will be a master plan for many years to come…it is the story of a garden comprised of an intimate series of zones and spaces ever growing, changing with the seasons and coming years. It is not static. It is a living, breathing work in progress.
This particular garden was requested by the owner to include many features such as a soaking tub, pomegranate tree, storage for bikes, cactus garden, vegetable garden, breakfast patio, party patio, meditation garden…and more…their love of art invites plans for placement of various pieces currently owned and to be acquired. Does this conjure up a picture of an enchanted maze of discovery and wonderment? It should.
Creating outdoor spaces for expanded living enjoyment can be done on a postage stamp sized piece of property (a rooftop maybe) or sections of a larger whole. Don’t hesitate to explore the possibilities for creating the pleasurable environments of an intensely manicured Japanese garden, wild xeric scene or a multi-faceted collective like the one described here. In any case, it is YOUR space and should be so very inviting that you are drawn to be out there – irresistibly drawn to the magic that is provides.
Use your imagination and envision breakfasts outside, water features providing subtly refreshing sounds, nature in the air of bird songs and soft fragrances, evenings under the stars, parties with festive lighting, outdoor kitchens, fresh air and the ever changing blooms and growth of seasonal plantings. And there’s more! Just imagine!
So, start thinking now! Gather you ideas, make a wish list and begin planning your landscape design in these quiet months, preparing aspects that are not dependent upon warmer days, so that when the time arrives, you are ready to plant, critique, sit back and enjoy!
DESIGN YOUR NEW YEAR’S PROGRAM
I keep thinking that I have finished eating with gusto – holiday fashion – and then another fabulous opportunity presents itself. We have now entered the New Year of 2011 and veal marsala was offered irresistibly tonight and I selected braised spinach instead of the accompanying pasta. Do I get points?
As I recently spoke about “cleansing the color palette” of design and seasonal decoration in the face of the New Year – I recommend that we do the same for that over-taxed gastronomic palette that has been painted with all manner of food extravagances this past season.
Pass those silver platters with crisp leaves of endive topped with olive tapenades or celery stalks stuffed with lighter fare of herbed goat cheese. Chase that martini with lots of water and get out there and walk it off!!!
I was in TWO homes today – unrelated to each other and BOTH of them had two – not just one – but TWO enormous plastic orbs – yes, Pilates balls – smack dab in the center of the primary living area!! I asked each owner how and when they used them – both were shy about admitting that they were NOT employed to the extent to which they were designed and initially brought into the homes. Yet, there they were, front and center in the interior of these otherwise quite well composed living centers.
I’m thinking – put them right by your bed so that you trip over them upon arising and have to face the decision right then and there whether to do the deed and take up the task before the events of the day interfere.
Design your exercise program around a realistic living schedule. IF you can discipline yourself to set a standing appointment away from home before, during or after your day’s activities, more power to you…if jumping into something right out of the sack insures better commitment and continuity – go for it!! But design this new year’s regimen in your home, out of your home, or whatever it takes to burn off the last months’ ingested temptations and get a new start!
Happy Healthy New Year!!!
The Cleansing White of Winter
The window at our shop has just been transformed from the Christmas scene of ornamented tree and colorful gift ideas emphasizing lots of reds and greens to our winter scene of startling white and silver. It seems that after the bright colors of summer transform into the warm oranges and golds of autumn’s leaves falling leaving the enduring evergreens and contrasting rich reds of the Christmas season, we’re ready to cleanse our color palette and start the New Year with the “clean crisp white” as Votivo has aptly named one of its more popular candle scents.
Our feature statement, for the kid in all of us, is a fanciful prancing white carousel horse on a white blanket of snowy fabric surrounded with sparkling reflective cast pewter serving pieces, picture frames, candles and a spectacular bouquet of pearly and bejeweled white branches all contributing to a stunning display of white and silver brilliance.
As we settle into the next few weeks of winter, the crisp white and brilliant metallic of silver suggest snowy nights entertaining friends for cozy evening gatherings with sparkling serving pieces of pewter, sterling, crystal and firelight. Food enters my field of vision with delectable hors d’ oeuvres on those silver serving pieces, warming drinks in crystal glassware, lively conversation, smiles and good cheer.
In the design world, the conversations surrounding “white” are always interesting. Not only are there endless colors of white – put one next to another to test this fact – one will tint pink and the other lean yellow…some have a blue cast and others grey…it’s all about contrast and context. What one identifies as white changes dramatically when placed next to another version of the same – or supposedly the same. Yet, they are distinctly NOT the same.
When an interior – a tract home, for example – offers “white” walls, more often than not, they are an off-white, warmer yet still perceived as “white.” To that scene, in that context, the walls probably seem un-done – a non-color. They appear to not have been addressed and beg for color attention. However, white can also BE a color. If it is an intentional color in the Interior Design scheme, white can be as powerful as the most brilliant red or the most complex black. Save this in-depth discussion for another time.
Now, just nestle in for the cold winter days ahead with an eye on a fresh start for colors to come…light some candles, burn a fire and set out some silver trays of tasty treats, and sip from a crystal vessel finding warmth, contentment and promise in the start of this coming New Year.
Let There Be Light
Ho Ho Ho one week until Christmas – are you decked for the holidays? Light up your life!! The bonus of shorter days this time of years is the dazzle and pop of twinkly lights! Everyone customarily puts some version in their front yard – whether you choose the white lights or the multi-colored the festive illumination is magical – but have you ever considered putting them in the back of your home too? Often our evenings are spent oriented to the back of the house – adding lights out there brings dimension and delight to your evenings! Leave them up all winter – who wrote these rules?
Think green! Did you know that LED lights are now available at most major retail and warehouse stores? They use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save you up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season!
My dear friend Beth gave me fabulous branches of twinkly lights that are definitely being added to my repertoire. Not just limited to the holidays, these delicate branches have tiny low-voltage lights that will add a twinkle to any scene. They can be embellished with additional greenery, foil, balls – whatever to fill the vessel if clear or equally handsome springing forth from a rustic pottery urn or slick ceramic piece. Come summer, I will mix them with deciduous greenery for a different seasonal sparkle!! We will be carrying these in the shop so watch for them on our website under “new products.”
Adding large format white lights deep inside your Christmas tree brings detail and depth to your tree. Whether you use small white lights or large colored lights by adding large white lights in by the trunk, the tree has greater presence and form.
Let there be light!!!
Aging in Place – When to Make the Next Move?
When the time comes to make the leap from total independence (if not waning) to a facility that offers a couple of meals a day, maid service, and close-at-hand medical response – what do you do? One of my favorite clients is at the cusp. Her home is perfect in so many ways. She only moved there about 5 or 6 years ago and after having lived in another home for a decade or so this was brand new and to which she added some handsome customizations.
As we worked together today to identify her primary pieces and evaluate the available space in her possible future digs, the crystal clear distinction occurred to me that there is an enormous difference in one who throughout their life has collected and valued things along the way. One who treasures the stories that come to mind with each painting, Indian pot or other memento…A house full of well placed and carefully displayed pieces that mean so very much.
It would be easier if there had not been so many memories kept alive in tangible things. If there had not been that sentimentality that tugs at the heart-strings when faced with the choice of what to take and what to leave behind. It’s not only leaving behind, its asking the family what they want and if they don’t, knowing that it will be discarded in an expeditious manner…without the memories, without the care.
Then the realization that this is so good right now…everything has a place…everything is here…everything that means so much, the elements of a lifetime are intact – but to break it all apart, distill into a minor rendition of the whole in a smaller, cramped space, what then?
It makes one jealous of those who can do without, those who can walk away and start fresh – but is that a fair trade? To wish for a lack of sentimentality or more specifically the attachment to material things that evokes the sentimental responses…
Making this major life adjustment when you still have your faculties and want to make intelligent, responsible decisions, yet aren’t sure that making the move is more a response to what others expect or think is best versus what is the best for you and your quality and enjoyment of life is more than tough.
After you have evaluated aspects of your home that can be improved by the many practical and actually amazing tricks to aid “aging in place,” the next step is often not easy to define or identify.
Without extraneous circumstances such as financial constraints, family being too far away, or loss of faculties – just age is being redefined all the time and each individual ages so very differently… Yesterday’s forty is today’s sixty – isn’t that what they say? The seventies are now what once the fifties were and the re-definition keeps morphing as we explore the possibilities.
Bottom line…as my friend said today – pray for the right path – give it up to a higher power – it’s often too over-whelming to try to rationalize it – it’s not that easy – not that rational to decide.
Personal Design Expression for the Holidays
Maybe it’s just me…because I know many in the design field who go whole hog for the holidays and any seasonal change for that matter. I however seem to do minimal personal modifications for these landmark opportunities of design statements in the home.
We’re in the fast lane and that might be part of it. Not having time to devote to such luxuries as removing a layer of life to make room for the seasonal layer of ornamentation – might be part of it -only to replace and re-do a month later…Or is it the busman’s holiday? Not so for some in my profession, but for me, I don’t focus on modifying my personal environment with the enthusiasm and objectivity – if not subjectivity that I do for my clients when it comes to holiday décor.
Retain my services to define your personal holiday statement and I can conjure up magnificent expressions for anything from starry nights of theatrical lighting, glitz and bling, pyrotechnics for New Years and /or the 4th of July all the way to pastel eggs and draping bouquets of French tulips as Easter approaches and Spring subtly announces itself. Don’t invite the idea of livestock into your request, as full manger scenes and pens of bunnies being corralled (try that) by a man-sized person in a costume assuming the Easter bunny role – is not out of the question – it can be over the top and very much fun!
Perhaps it’s because I am “on” so much of the time. And as much as I LOVE the challenges of design, coming home is a quiet time – a place to renew and not to be so “on” that I need to go over the top. My canvas is all over the place in other people’s environments whereas yours might be exclusively your home – so paint it festive – decorate it dazzling for the holidays and the seasonal shifts that offer so much opportunity in the way of personal expression.
In recent years, I hate to admit, I have even given myself a bi on the exercise of putting up a tree when I know that we will be away for the actual Christmas day festivities or that we are not indulging the kids as they might be out-of-town…on those years a big poinsettia from Costo fits the bill. Seriously…that sounds terrible – but a big red poinsettia can make quite a statement – that with the wreaths on the front doors, white lights on the shrubbery and a token bouquet of red flowers in the vases…put on the Christmas music the entire month of December – Voila!
“Bah Humbug” you say. Yet, the satisfaction – the genuine pleasure derived can vary among people. Ok, this year I wrapped garland around the banister with bows and lights – that’s when I pull out the stops…but this year is different. We are here from the “almost” front of the month through Christmas without interruption – often we find ourselves leaving for two weeks and arriving back in time to screech into Christmas with no holds barred, frantically getting Christmas cards out (no doubt with a photos having been taken elsewhere on the 15th or 18th or 22nd of the month), wrapping packages and throwing them at the post office counter, paying a premium for expedited delivery, or not, in the nick of time – or maybe after Christmas – why not milk the fun for longer if possible? Sometimes I have actually been in the position of questioning a dual purpose Christmas card and Valentine greeting in one fell swoop!
“When do you bake cookies?” you say. Well, my grandmother, Dee Dee was the queen of cookie baking and as I said in this very blog as we approached Thanksgiving, my cousin has taken the lead in that department – I enjoy eating others’ confections – but time to bake cookies? Hello?
The Renaissance woman, the Anjolie (Did I spell that correctly? Well, you the reader either know the reference or you don’t.) model who can do it all…Really? I consider myself busy most days. I know we all pick our priorities and we often saddle ourselves with onerous projects that further impede our ability to function evenly at a comfortable pace – but do what you like and do what you can and splash some red and green about with the accents of your personal choice – shimmers of silver and gold – rich brilliance of jewel toned amethyst, topaz, garnet, emerald and sapphire – boil some cinnamon sticks or evergreen cuttings on the stove in lieu of baking or erecting a live tree for hours…define your holiday environment – enjoy – mix a Manhattan – Cheers!
Awaken the Neutral Schemes with Color!
I LOVE this statement…”The craving for color is a natural necessity just as for water and fire.” Fernand Léger – Pantone just posted this quote and it comes on the heels of two very coincidental client meetings that I had today.
One began early with discussions about an ongoing project in a newly transformed contemporary interior carved out of a rather ordinary traditional tract-style home. Big points go to the client, who in this case, knows what she wants and has a great eye for design and finding what she knows will make her happy. The basis however, is NOT about color, it is all about neutrals. We have designed a scheme specifically tailored to her requirements that is calm and serene, edgy and crisp, balanced with interesting fabrics for texture against the otherwise smooth hard elements of glass, wood flooring, painted walls and chrome accents -yet neutral (per her) thus far.
We discussed a possible painting that will bring bold color and from which accents will be derived. But even with that intention, it seems unlikely or unwanted that a boldly colored fabric be used on the upcoming chrome-framed bench along the dark chocolate coffee table, framed with brushed nickel of some metal inlay and framework, and across from the slightly iridescent simple cross-weave fabric on the custom settee with an open back up against the new, low to nearly the floor, uninterrupted fixed glass picture window. “Why?” you ask. Because the idea of the neutral is so her and the option to accent on the whim of a mood or change of the seasons suits her spontaneous tendencies.
So, accent pillows that can be tossed on the settee in any manner of color, pattern and texture, or as bold fuchsia orchid now sits in the center of the round glass dining table surface, a future woven throw draped as an accent – this is the way that the starved for color room will receive it’s lifeblood of color – like the “natural necessity just as for water and fire.”
The second meeting today that coincided with the theme of this observation was a humorous comment about a brilliantly colored open-weave Brazilian lace camisole that I was wearing today about which my client chided me – “I love what you’re wearing – must be the inspiration for the colors in our bedroom.” To which his wife smiled and chuckled because her desires for soft, restful colors of pastel to neutral have been decidedly expressed. The idea of bright, bold colors is in diametric opposition to her vision. Yet, with that in mind, her prized possession in her room is a boldly colorful and incredibly realistic oil painting of a larger than life bouquet of flowers screaming of hot pinks, blues and chartreuse (photo below is NOT that painting – but an illustration of another bold piece of white roses by Federico Leon de la Vega inserted into a neutral scheme) – like the “natural necessity just as for water and fire.”
It seems that even the most determined people wishing to create an interior environment of neutral colors and softer tones crave the undeniable exhilarating punctuation of bold colors. The calm must be awakened with the life affirming inclusion of color!
The Struggle, the Dance of Domestic Design
I’ve consulted in this house for many years. The wife patiently struggles against the architectural grain of her husband in his chosen profession that encourages clean-lined contemporary pieces over her family collectibles (and his for that matter). How to make it all work?
The recent acquisition of a Corbusier “Confort” sofa and chair – the clean lines of the chrome and leather placed upon a brilliant red oriental rug layered on top of burnt orange and yellow clay Saltillo tiles…it could work – yet it’s never done completely. The remnants of previous decisions do not harmonize. The struggle continues… She though compassionately concedes, they (architects) must own these before they die. Like the bucket list of purchases…possessions… She supports this newest statement – but still longs for her traditional environment…the struggle…
“Yes”, I assure her, “the Queen Anne wing chairs can work together with these new pieces.” It’s all about what fabric and what other things, textures, patterns (or not), it’s all about balance. “In fact, often the more interesting interiors do juxtapose disparate styles – but no to the point where it looks like trying and missing”. There’s the art of it all…how to MAKE it work – well.
The trick is to get everyone in the same room at the same time and make decisions that are not concessions so much as they are agreements as to what would look/work best to accomplish the end result – melding the crisp contemporary pieces of modern design and the classic elements of more traditional furnishings…including (from her position)an elegant draping crystal chandelier – well proportioned, this is a key piece around which she wants to create a fabulous new kitchen – in a completely opposite area of the house where it now resides and has for the last 20+ years. He is NOT in favor of this radical departure from the original layout. So this dilemma is not limited to the furnishings but also the architectural space-planning of the over-all layout of the home and how to live in it.
Stay tuned to hear more about the ongoing saga of real-life husband and wife styles and goals, forward steps and lateral moves – the dance of domestic design continues…
When is it Clutter?
I read an interesting article about clutter in the current 2010 December issue of the Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine. The gist of it was that the author was not a collector of things and she had even purged nearly every personal possession prior to getting married for the express purpose of starting fresh. She prided herself that she was not attached to things and found a few differences of opinion with the surprising sentimentality that she discovered with her new husband and his family.
As this young couple started their own family she promised herself and her new baby that he would not be encumbered by material things. But as the article progressed, she took a different tack and began to find greater understanding of the memories attached to things and the emotions that were fondly stirred by them.
Yet, clutter can be defined differently by different people from anyone who wants to keep family furniture and decorative accessories to a true hoarder. Like the T.V. shows that feature this compulsive disorder to accumulate just for the sake of accumulation to the extent that one cannot weed through a space piled high with stuff is frightening.
But don’t be afraid to collect things that give you joy, or save things that evoke sentimentality or fond memories. Savor the thoughts that come from handling familiar things, reminiscing about people, places and the things left behind…
Be a care-taker for future generations – a thoughtful custodian of things with special attachments – of monetary value or not – value is in the eye of the beholder – and often, sentimentality out-weighs it all!
Designing with the collector’s eye or with the love of family and history, the pleasure derived from the things that surround you, and maybe even help ground you are not to be dismissed. Things do NOT take the place of people yet are often the things that people cared for and therefore are a means of establishing their immortality – a tangible memory. It can be a form of respect to care for something that someone previously cared for and passed on…
Step back and see your “clutter” or lack thereof…rearrange, organize and prepare for the holidays with the comfort of the people and things that bring you joy.
