Paris - delights for the palate & the eyes

January 27, 2010 in Thoughts

I accompanied Wendy Lyn from 'The Paris Kitchen' yesterday on a walking tour in and around the blvd St. Germain area of Paris (5th arrondissement). We visited some exquisite establishments such as the famous boulangerie 'Poilane', which had the most gorgeous window display of bread leaves, the master chocolatier - Pascal Caffet, a trip through the very feminine but utterly gorgeous interior of Laduree (of the macaron fame), and the uterly modern & sublime 'La patisserie des Reves' by Phillipe Conticini. Finishing the day off with a glass of wine and tastes at L’Avant Comptoir. All were visual delights and I can assure you, all had the most delectable things to taste!

Paris - Jan 2010

January 23, 2010 in Thoughts

Im in Paris at the moment for various trade shows & events such as Maison-Object and the new annual event 'Paris Deco-off'. Last night I visited some of the showrooms on the 'Paris Deco-Off ' route and happened to snap a few pics of the beautiful window display at Nobilis showing some of their latest textile collections. I particularly liked their embroidered linens that play the matte linen base off shimmering threads in the embroiderie achieving a gorgeous & subtle effect.

note: not great photos as they dont really do justice to the beauty of the fabrics - hopefully I'll get some better ones today or tomorrow!

Sneak peek - The Beach House

November 10, 2009 in Thoughts

Heres a sneak peek from my beach house project. My clients recently re-landscaped their backyard, taking a tropical approach to their beach house theme. I was asked to selected some outdoor furniture and design a firepit for them. The furniture is from Brown Jordan and features all weather faux wicker and outdoor fabrics.

We also have a large custom designed outdoor lantern in the works - it is going to feature a glorious hand blown, colbolt blue irredescent glass globe and intricate copper metal work for the body and hanging system.

The design is based off a pineapple - which adds a touch of whimsy & fun, and plays to the tropical theme. The lantern will be the focal element above the dining table which takes center position under a large pergola which also houses the outdoor kitchen. The metal work is being crafted by the talented artisan Ed Fickbohm and the glass blown by Rob Adamson, both based in Washington state.

Heres a picture of Rob holding the glass globe soon after it was made to show the glorious blue glass work and just how big this baby is going to be!

Bathroom renovation - Classic simplicity

September 07, 2009 in Bathrooms, Completed projects, Projects, Thoughts

Sometimes the hardest project for a designer is their own. We are acutely aware of the bounty of choices out there and how satisfying any number of possible schemes or solutions could be. I recently renovated a truely aweful small bathroom in our 1929 fixer upper (it hadnt been touched since built and wasn't wearing well). A conundrum for me with this project, was that I have plans in the future to renovate & expand the house; at which time this particular bathroom will become a stairwell. So how to renovate a bathroom on a modest budget with as much bang for our buck, so that should we sell before my renovation plans are realized the bathroom adds value to the property but doesn't cost us an arm or a leg...

Thoughts: Engaging in a design project.

June 06, 2009 in Thoughts

I have found that unless you have a long relationship with a client, being given some specific constraints right from the start of a project produces better results than when you are given cart blanc or no direction. I always aim to design for my clients - giving them the home that they wished for but better than they could have ever imagined it could be. My clients house needs to feel like their home not mine...