Recently I was hired to design and manage a Master Bath renovation in downtown Manhattan. In this post, I’d like to share with you a bit about the front end of the design process – the before. In another post, I’ll review the end stages of the project – the after.
Read MoreAs I draft this post it’s Monday, January 26, Blizzard Juno time here in New York City. The streets outside my windows are fairly empty except for a few quiet dog walkers and a few loud snow plows. The news keeps saying the worst is yet to come. The kids will be home from school tomorrow.
Read MorePeople often ask me about rules for area rugs – size, layout, patterns. There are a number of guidelines that exist. However, each space, each home owner, each project is different and these rules don’t always apply. When working with clients I DO consider general guidelines. But I also like to create unique spaces, personalized for a place and person, and sometimes this means ignoring the rules and allowing for inspiration.
Read MoreSoul Satisfying...How’s that for a title? I’ve been using a lot of blues in my recent designs. Mostly that slice of the color wheel from yellow-green, green, blue-green, and blue – with a heavy concentration on blue-green. I started writing this blog post with the intent of exploring the concept of this color in the bathroom.
Read MoreI’m a bit of a material junkie - I love a mix of different colors, textures, surfaces and fabrics. For me, an interior design project starts to come to life when I begin to source materials – stone, tile, paint, floor covering and more. For our North Fork weekend home renovation project, this is when I got really excited.
Read MoreIt’s no news that brass is a hot material and finish in residential interior design, and has been trending for the past year or so. Last week I sourced some accessories and decorative objects for a client’s Master Suite and stumbled on a few very swoon worthy items.
Read MoreFor the past year I’ve been collecting some of my favorite examples and uses of mirrors. It started when I was searching for – and found – a fun and elegant option for a client’s entryway. Along the way, I came across others I loved, so I started cataloging the mirrors, saving them for a rainy day, for the perfect project. Looking through my collection the other day, I was struck by the many positive ways a mirror adds to a space. Here are a few...
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The home was a split-level ranch. There are many things admirable in ranch-style homes, but our weekend place seemed to have developed many of the negative qualities instead of the positive. At some point I stepped back, and asked, is there any way to reimagine our home that achieves all of our goals? Is there a ranch style that works with our lifestyle and connects the outside with the inside? Can I learn to love a ranch? I finally turned to inspiration and validation by revisiting the California Eichler homes I knew from my youth.
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As I mentioned in my North Fork prologue, there were lots of things that were right about our weekend home. We spent many weekends and weeks there throughout the years – entertaining, hosting family and friends, visiting the beach, riding bikes, swimming – in complete relax mode. My ten-year old daughter would say chillaxing - which is the perfect term for our time on the North Fork of Long Island. Much of our time was spent outdoors, and when we were inside, we basically ignored the interior. (A tough thing for a designer to do.) But there were some serious design, décor, and layout issues that were always in the background,
Read MoreLast week I spent some time sourcing wallpaper for a client project – a burst of color and pattern for a small hallway within a master suite. Perfect and space changing. Every time I source a wallpaper, I am inspired by the potential it can bring to a room. I am also impressed by the variety of wallpapers available today – from traditional designs from historic companies to new colors, patterns and printing methods from small, artist driven firms. A few things I think about, when thinking about wallpaper…
Read MoreArt helps to fill out and finish a space. But for some of us, we hesitate, we wait, we don’t want to spend the money, we don’t know what “counts” as art. Here are five of my favorite tips for finishing your space with art.
Read MoreI love red in the kitchen. To be honest, I just love kitchen design, always have, and always will -- The mix of materials, functionality, the easy gathering of friends and family, creativity, and food and laughter. Red is special. It can be used in small amounts or large and can be used to illustrate and highlight all of the things I love about kitchens.
Read MoreBathrooms are small but they need to address many, many varied needs. There are, of course, the obvious functional needs of a bathroom. But then there are so many more needs a bathroom may serve – it can be a space for relaxation, a space to create yourself each day – check to see if a tie is on straight, or to try a new lipstick. When my kids were very young, it was the only place where I asked for (and occasionally received) a moment of privacy.
Read MoreThere's nothing more exciting — or more challenging — than managing the renovation and redesign of your own home, and that's just what I did a few months back. My family and I loved the finished product, but it's been especially validating for publications like Inhabitat to feature our home.
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