The Calming Affects of Candida Höfer

As a designer so many images come across my screen on a daily basis it takes one extremely special to make me stop and stare! Well this is EXACTLY what happened when viewing photos from Kips Bay Showhouse. This dining room designed by Elissa Cullman and Tracy Pruzan of Cullman & Kravis is just stunning! The piece that literally drew me in, craving for more, was the larger than life photograph by Candida Höfer. Just one look at "Palacio Nacional da Ajuda Lisboa VII" and I was a serious fan.

Yes the Biedermeier Chairs are gorgeous and the color palette whispers serenity but it's the wall decor that captures all my attention. In this room I would have to strategically seat myself facing away from the piece as to not be completely distracted by it. The way she photographs her pieces makes one feel like they are actually standing in the space and with this particular room, an enormous sense of calm comes over me. Isn't it amazing when a piece of art can engage all of your senses?!

Höfer's work has been described as "psychology of social architecture", quite appropriate I would say!

 

 

 Another touch by the designers I love is that they did not feel the need to mimic the long tables in the art work. The round dining table works perfectly as it moves your eye around the room to include all of its aspects!

(images from Washington Post,  Contemporary Forum & StyleBeat)

Home Typography Tuesday

Still recovering from this weekends festivities this is the perfect bright room to wake up this weeks "Home Type Tuesday"!! I love the repeat circle pattern on the sunglasses and the accent pillows. The neutral base palette allows you to brighten up or tone down with your mood! Imagine the possibilities?!

You can find similar Orangina Giclee Prints over at Art.com starting at just $60

My Tuesday just got even better as I see Design*Sponge has an entire post on the Home Type Topic!! Pop over to indulge in even more type love!

(image from Family Circle)

Monday Morning Happy....

...a day late! Why is it you feel extra exhausted after a wedding weekend? Is it from being constantly "on" as the host to your house guests (which I love) or could it be from the 6hrs of constant dancing? The last 4 days were the most fun filled with lots of great talks with family and time with friends! Having Vog with me as we not only celebrated my brothers wedding but also our own anniversary made the weekend even more special!

 

I promise after I get through my overflowing email box I will upload and post a few pics! 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

(Image from House and Home via Made By Girl)

Wedding Weekend!!

I am signing off a day early this week as family is starting to arrive for my big brother's wedding! My excitement is just bubbling over, I am so happy he found such a special girl to spend his life with.

The bash is sure to be one to remember. He is a firefighter who has always loved music and she is a theater loving girl who will have on her bright red dancing shoes! Add in over 200 family and friends (with Italians on both sides), and well let's just say it's going to be INCREDIBLE!!!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here on Tuesday!

(images from Style Me Pretty)

The Fabulous Sherrill Canet

Sometimes I view a designers portfolio and it just speaks volumes to me! This is what I have found with interior designer, Sherrill Canet. You can hear from this statement below she truly listens to her clients and creates timeless rooms for them! I love it!

"Her designs start with the architecture and develop based on the clients' interests and lifestyle. While offering a range of choices, the interiors are generally based on a clean, traditional style with distinctive objects and details."

As you can see in these photos the base of her designs start with a solid color or fabric which than lets the one or 2 strong patterns in the room really take center stage!

That wallpaper says it all and is just the right amount of pattern for this space!

Could this room be any calmer? I love the idea of sticking to a 2 color scheme!

As you can see the colors don't necessarily need to be a neutral to get this same look you can work with a bright green and throw some Zebra pattern in for that wow affect!

Hop over to Sherril's website, I am sure you will be just as inspired as I am!

(images from Sherrill Canet)

Thank You Modern Bird Studios!

The always hilarious duo over at Modern Bird Studios asked me to participate in their Monthly Interior Designer Interview and I was so happy to accept!

I know you have always wanted to know the answer to questions like:

Why Interior Design?

If you could design a home for any celebrity, who would it be and why?

For regular folk, where is the best place to get home accessories?

Do you think the "tuck in and roll pants" pants will ever make a come back and how do you see them translated into home decor?

What is your best quick/inexpensive fix idea for someone to redo a room?

What are you must read blogs?

Please come over for a visit!! You would be doing me a huge favor as I don't want to be the guest who doesn't bring anything to the party!
Thanks a bunch Gregg and Megan for having me, these were fun questions to answer!

Home Typography Tuesday!

Welcome to another Home Type Tuesday! This is just one of those subtle bits of Type that I love to see in home decor. I wish there was a straight on view of this piece as I am intrigued, is it a fashion painting? An ad that is blown up? Regardless it is fabulous as is the entire room!

 Click here to catch up on past Home Type Tuesday posts!

(Image from Greige via Anora Grey)

The Birdhouse Night Table!

Wake Up!! How adorable are these birdhouse night tables? Well I guess I can not actually call them tables but you get where I am going with this. For us city dwellers with limited space these are the perfect solution for tight quarters. Just big enough for a glass of water, a book and possibly a small alarm clock all nestled together. Either hanging on the wall or on a skinny stand the birdhouse adds just that bit of whimsy that every bird....um I mean bedroom deserves!

(Images from Living Etc Magazine and Ferm Living via Huset)

Monday Morning Happy

Morning All! How was your weekend? Did you work on any creative projects?

For me it was a weekend filled with catching up on magazines and preparing my house for some very special guests! This week is going to be so exciting as it is my big brothers wedding and I am about to celebrate a very special anniversary of my own! Nothing makes me more happy than to have my fabulous extended family all in one place especially since they live all across the country and it is rare to have us all together!

Part of my weekend was preparing for the rehearsal dinner. I decided to surprise (I don't think my bro and SIL are daily readers so I am safe here...) the bride and groom with these glitter letters that will hang above the buffet. With the dim lights and candles flickering I think it is going to pick up the orange and gold sparkles perfectly! Thanks to Paper Source it was an inexpensive and super easy project!!

Have a great new week!
Jul
(images from Jace Interiors)

Popping over to West Elm with Etsy

West Elm in Boston has leaped onto the Pop Up Shop wagon and I for one could not be more excited! They have partnered with Patch NYC and Etsy to highlight a few of our local artists.

Below is an example of local Etsy artists who will be at West Elm tonight!

You will find local artist Leah Giberson and Ripe Goods showing off their paintings and jewelry!

One of the best parts of these type of events is meeting people I have only talked to online! Jennifer Hill of JHill Design is one of those people! Her "Toast of Italy" above is one of my favorite pieces in her Etsy shop!

If you know me at all you know I am always looking for inspiration or scouting for a clients space so while I am at West Elm tonight these are a few pieces I will be checking out!
The Bull's Eye Silk Pillow in Blue Smoke, this fantastic looking turned leg mirror top table and the new Ellery Wingback Chair!

Hope to see you at the pop up store tonight but if you are not able to make it check out What's New over at West Elm by clicking here!

(images from West Elm, JHillDesign, Ripe Goods, Leah Giberson)

Reading with Sacramento Street

Today I am guest posting over at Sacramento Street with my favorite fall books! As it gets colder all I want to do is snuggle into the sofa under a cozy throw with a book and a cup of tea so I was even more excited when asked to talk about my current reading list! Please stop over and check out the other 4 bloggers who are also sharing what is on their nightstand right now! I promise you will find at least one or two new books to add to your own list!

(image from Sacramento Street)

Color Time - Valspar Aspen Gray

Welcome to another Color Time post! This could be one of the those perfect gray colors. The tone would work with many different room styles. Valspar's Aspen Gray is both bright and warm, perfect for the cold fall days ahead of us! Would you use this gray in your home?

**Note: As you can see above the paint chip sample online looks different than what is in the actual room photo. When choosing paint for your own home never go by what you see online, the color will always be a tad different. I suggest picking up a small paint sample at the store and paint a color swatch in the actual room, than you will never be disappointed! 

To see past Color Time Paints click here!

(Image from Canadian House and Home Magazine)

My Weekend of House Envy!

What an amazing weekend I just had!! It was a belated birthday celebration which started with tickets to see "WICKED" at the Boston Opera House. I have no words, this space is just incredible. In the last 10 years it was restored back to its original glory and let me just say as amazing as the show was I was enthralled by the details of this "house"! Walking out I said to Vog how lucky we are to live in a city with such rich history, they just can't afford to build places like this nowadays!

Inside the Boston Opera House! Can you believe the size of those chandeliers and marble columns? So glamorous! The combination of Italian and French styles is stunning!

Saturday was the epitome of the perfect New England Fall day so we decided to head out for a little adventure not really knowing where we would end up. Above is the mansion at Elm Bank, it was AMAZING. Most people would see a beaten down house but I saw it's potential and felt like I was thrown into a Pride and Prejudice novel. It was boarded up but peaking through the windows I could see fireplaces in every room, chevron floors and tin tiled ceilings. You know I wanted to win the lottery, move in and bring it back to it's glory days! Ahh a dream!

The mansion is situated with the Horticultural Society of Boston and the grounds were gorgeously manicured with so many flowers and plants! The "Goddess" Statues were brought to the property from their former home in downtown Boston. I can't really express how magnificent they were in person...they were HUGE!

Than if that was not enough interior design inspiration I came home to an email from the sweet Will of Bright Bazaar announcing I had won his blog contest! Well let me just say I was doing the happy girl dance all over the house!! Seriously people, I WON THE LIVING ETC MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION! For a girl that never wins anything and is a lover of magazines, this is the best type of win! Thanks Will & Living Etc, you made my birthday even more special!

To view more photos of my weekend click here!

Twelve Chairs Boston

Tuesday night Stacy Kunstel and I joined a group of  30 creative ladies at the Design Salon Boston for a chat on twitter and how it can help your business! It was such a fun night and in a gorgeous new shop, Twelve Chairs. Owners, Miggy and Roisin are a great new addition to the Boston Interior Design community. Their store is in an old loft space which immediately welcomes you in as if you are walking into their own living room!

 

Their focus is on sustainable vendors which include Cisco Brothers Basal Living, Jenna Rose, Bold & Noble and my favorite girl Karen's company, Hammocks & High Tea!! I can't wait to have more time to pop in again and really look at all their products. Below are just a few that caught my eye!

This is a wow piece I would add to a clients sofa, it is interesting enough to make you stop and take a second look!

This print from Bold &Noble is all about ME! I literally tripped over my feet running over to get a closer look!

My friend Karen owns Hammocks & High Tea a company with gorgeous tabletop textiles. When I saw her napkins paired with cookbooks on the front table I jumped for joy! Below are 2 of her fun patterns!

Thanks to the Design Salon, Twelve Chairs and all the ladies who came out for the chat. Not only did it feel great to share my own experiences, it was a wonderful night to meet new twitter friends!

Walking into Gorgeous!

This dressing room is just lovely..so serene and beautiful. It's a space that makes me just want to be quiet...so I will!

Shutters made from Antique Indian Screens

(image from Elle Decor - Designers Jeffry Weisman & Andrew Fisher)

Big Inspiration from Hearst Designer Showhouse!

This is one BIG inspiration/memo board. Some might call it too big but I could fill that in an instant! Now if only I could see a bit more of that desk, from the peak at its legs I think it would be gorgeous!

I found this image over at Design Calendar and from the sounds of it three Hearst Magazines Veranda, House Beautiful and Town and Country are part of the "Designer Visions Cinema Style" program in NYC. A place where the movies and design come together by paying homage to iconic New York movies . The photo above is inspired by the movie "Six Degrees of Separation"!

Hooray For The Weekend & An Invite To "What The Tweet"!

It's the weekend, hooray! Thanks for chiming in this week on all my NYC and Boston posts, it was fun to share them all with you!

Next week we will be back to regular posts like "Color Time", "Home Typography Tuesday" and "Scouting". I will also give you a sneak peek into the items I have found for the beach cottage I have been working on, I am dying over how cute the kids room is!!

I also want to extend an invitation to all the local ladies for this coming Tuesday night. Stacy Kunstel (yes you know her as @stacystyle on twitter and the founder of Dunes & Duchess) and I will be over at the Design Salon chatting about twitter and how it can help in growing your business. Please join us, I promise it will be a fun and inspiring night! To RSVP to "What The Tweet" click here!

Enjoy your weekend!
(image from Christian Sarramon via Dress, Design, Decor & Haute Design)