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Monday, July 29, 2013

Jamie Drake



  Hey Everyone,
         Had another busy and exciting week!  Went on a great first interview for a prospective job, wish me luck.  Very Exciting! Well, this post is going to be dedicated to a designer that I love to follow, had a brief meeting with him at our initial Ronald McDonald House brunch to launch the redesign.  It is none other than the fabulous Jamie Drake.  Jamie is amazing in my book, he is fearless with color and his book New American Glamour is amazing. He is wild with imagination, use of texture and diversity of style.  You can see how his style has progressed and changed over his career with plenty of text to guide you along his journey.

Lets take a look!
 Here is a rug Jamie designed for Roubini, he was in a way honoring the circular pattern of the onyx table top by creating the circular pattern on the rug.
 In this design I am taken back by the choice of artwork (Jasper John's "0 through 9") in contrast to the furnishing and lighting.  Yet it works!


 

Jamie claims he never had "Yellow Fever", looks "Pretty Hot Here"!!!
The "King of Color" 


 
Again the artwork is from a different time and place, color pallet is right on and he melds the two together perfectly!

This is a test of texture, mixing the high polish of the flooring and this fluted pedastal table.  The photo in New American Glamour shows even more contrast - It's worth the purchase!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Rustico Cooking School

  Hey Everyone!

This weekend my 3 sisters and I tried something a little bit different.  We all do a fair amount of cooking, but my sister MaryAnn takes the prize for most time spent behind the stove. Rossana has 4 boys, her style is more -  get it on the table fast!  They never stop eating there!  But in this story, the 4 us were in fact out celebrating the 50th birthday of my 3rd sister Donna.  Donna and I are not only sisters, we take it to the next level, we will truly just think of one another, and the next thing you know the phone rings, we watch TV together while talking on the phone, clean house on the phone, cook on the phone, speak every morning until we go to work, (she owns and runs a hair salon), and so on. (yes, this would make a good comedy skit, that our boys would actually dress in drag to have the opportunity to play us in) For all of my Italian followers, we are often referred to as Carboniere, the Italian police, which always work in pairs!  Well, Donna loves the cooking channel, and we were out honoring her on her day, to do this the 4 sisters attended the Rustico Cooking School in midtown Manhattan, owned and run by Micol and Dino.  Micol and Dino, are wonderful instructors, our kitchen was top notch, immaculately clean, well organized and the group which consisted of some 22 students all walked away with many new ways to prepare some foods we only wondered about. 

Our menu consisted of:
Cannelloni made with homemade pasta, mozzarella and prosciutto in a Bechamel sauce-OMG!
Chicken Cacciatora in a light tomato, red onion and anchovy - so good!
Roasted Fennel - quickly boiled then roasted - delish, who would have thought!
Polenta - with cream and chives - a great substitute for mashed potatoes!
Orance Scented - Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti- so worth the calories!

This was so much fun!  Even if you do not spend your day watching the cooking channel, this is still a great way to spend a afternoon in the greatest city in the world.  I  love learning new things and experiencing something different,  this was definitely worth doing again, a very enjoyable day spent with my 3 sisters and 18 new found friends.  Dino and Micol are having a pizza class this August that I am sure I can talk Donna into attending!  Here are some shots of us just for giggles.


 MaryAnn, Lisa, Donna, Rossana

 Micol and I


You must knead that pasta dough!


 Donna is in her glory! lol!

 Micol and MaryAnn

 Finally, we eat!

 Chicken Cacciatora, Polenta, Fennel

MaryAnn somehow ended up with all of the wine bottles, hmmm....


Next post, back to my true love, Interior Design. :)





Saturday, July 13, 2013

Miles Redd

  Hey Everyone,
           I have been SUPER BUSY, but it's all good!  I gave some real thought as to what I wanted to blog about today and being that I am in the midst of changing my two living room sofas I decided I would talk about that.  I love color! My walls are faux finished in a yellow and brown venetian plaster, much like the pallet Bunny Williams used on her Connecticut job a few months back in AD.  Just my luck that it's so similar, looking through that spread made me actually like my choice again.  I have decided that my sofas would be yellow as well.  Just go with it, embrace the color and stand behind it.  I am like most designer, self doubting.  Too many options, so many ways to go - all work out beautifully, but until we commit we are in distress.  I am no longer in distress and it is going to be fabulous!
        That is my point today, Commit to your Color Choice!  I will admit that I have made more than my share of mistakes, mostly with the color pink - but that does not change my love for color.  I have a few favorite designers that are bold and fearless with color.  Mary McDonald, Jamie Drake, Martin Lawrence Bullard and of course Miles Redd.  Miles Redd is my choice for today's blog.  This current month of AD was an absolute joy to read,  Miles use of color in the Bahamas vacation home was delightful to say the least.  Yes, blue is on my color radar so maybe I am partial, but he certainly knows how to put a smile on my face!  Here are a couple of snippets for you to enjoy as well.  :)




This month in AD - Take a Peek!

 Love the China Seas fabric on these sofas, bold and beautiful
 I know you can't see it in this small image, but Miles has taken a set of vintage rattan/wicker chairs
         at the dining table, painted them a light shade of blue and made us fall in love
 with them all over again
Simply Beautiful!
Bravo!

Here are a few more from the past that I believe deserve mentioning. :)


Daring

  


I could totally see myself in this kitchen!

  
This is a color I could never get my husband to agree to, but I LOVE IT!

I should explain something about myself, I don't want to just create beautiful interiors for other people, I want them for myself - always have.  My poor husband has had to put up with quite a bit over the course of our 20 years and unfortunately for him, no matter how busy I am I always find time to paint and redecorate our home. It is so important to me to wake up in the morning and have everything the way I want it.  Many people can live with things not just so, I am not one of them.  That explains a lot of who I am, to those who know me.