Just a quick note to say that I am taking a short break from blogging. My dear Daddy had a heart attack and is in the hospital, so it’s all about family time right now. We’re hanging in and so is he. If you can, give your parents a call and tell them you love … Read more
Okay, sorry for that headline! In reality, Carleton Varney, president of Dorothy Draper & Company, has been tapped to create the Architectural Digest Academy Awards Green Room. This is the space where the winners and presenters go to relax after their big moment. I saw a quick piece on television – I can’t event remember … Read more
I received an email today from artist Allison Malinsky sharing with me her amazing work – a group of four works titled “Grand Hotels, Quite the Circus”. She is currently profiled on Phillips Art Expert as an Emerging Artist. Click here to read “Quite the Ringmaster” which showcases these pieces inspired by the amazing lobbies … Read more
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m co-director of the Boston chapter of the Downtown Women’s Club. We had a very fun event this evening – a Shop & Spa – at the fabulously decorated District Restaurant & Lounge near South Station in Boston.White tufted patent leather banquets and real birch tree wall treatments created a perfect … Read more
The White House. 2008. Architectural Digest. The March Architectural Digest has an excellent spread of photos and an article on First Lady Laura Bush’s renovation to some of the rooms in the White House. I thought it would be fun to honor President’s Day by looking into how some of these famous rooms – in … Read more
THE YELLOW OVAL ROOM The Yellow Oval Room ca. 1890. Courtesy Library of Congress. The Yellow Oval Room ca. 1930. Courtesy NARA Yellow Oval Room, decorated by Sister Parish for Jackie Kennedy, 1962 Courtesy White House Historical AssociationThe Yellow Oval Room AD’s book Private Views: President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan’s White House. Architectural Digest THE … Read more
On Thursday, February 21st, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on blogging and business. This event is sponsored by the Downtown Women’s Club. The Boston chapter, of which I am currently one of this years’ co-directors, has a regular monthly brown bag lunch held in Boston. The subject? Is Blogging for You? There are … Read more
Here’s a great project from Painter Girl, a decorative painter. With magnetic paint and a trompe l’oeil border, this is a great DIY project that is totally customizable to your own design scheme. From an elegant stencil such as this damask pattern to something more modern, it’s both decorative and functional!
Goil on Trading SpacesNote the scale model – he’s got to be one of the only TS designers to do that! As I wrote last week, Goil Amornvivat whom we met on BravoTV’s Top Design is now one of the stable of regular designers on TLC’s refreshed Trading Spaces series. Goil was nice enough to … Read more
Since it’s Valentines Day, I thought I’d post the pink pics I took while at Maison et Objet. Here are some amazing displays by Designers Guild: Isn’t this flocked wallpaper just to die for? Little tip: click here for Designers Guild US sales! These lucite pieces were amazing. But I can’t say who the manufacturer … Read more
One of my favorite French furnishing companies is Grange . Their furnishings and accessories cover a wide range of design styles from Directoire to Shaker. I neglected to take photos of their stand at Meubles Paris (running concurrently with Maison et Objet), so am attaching images below from their website. In France, Grange has retail … Read more
One of the big trends I noticed at Maison et Objet was the presence of white. I have to admit that I love the clean, bleached, feeling of this look. Two of my favorite stands were Guadarte from Spain and Woestijnroos BVBA – WR Collection – from Belgium. The bust above – surrounded by soft … Read more
Original art created for the event by Gary Nisbet. One of my favorite local organizations that I’m involved with is the South Shore Conservatory of Music. The school, one of the largest schools of music education of its kind in the country, held its annual major fundraiser last night – “Chase Away the Winter Blues”. … Read more
The annual Winter Juried Show is a tradition at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA. Eli Cedrones’ painting, Autrefois, was one of 100 works, selected from over 500 entries for this highly competitive, exhibition. The festive opening reception was held on February 2nd. The exhibition will be open to the public until April 13th, … Read more
Goil Amornvivat – one of the viewers favorites and top four finalist from Bravo’s Top Design Season 1 – makes his official debut on TLC’ s Trading Spaces on Saturday at 9:00PM. Goil’s architecture background will most certainly be an asset to Trading Spaces. His penchant for modern design and out of the box thinking … Read more
Marie Fox, a noted folk art painter, has launched her “A painting a day” studio on Etsy and also has a new blog. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging, Marie! These small scale oil on board paintings are so sweet!Check out Marie’s shop here.