::surroundings::2

testing

2009-11-20T15:12:00.001-05:00

Barbies' Happy (Birthday) Chic new digs - Page 2

2009-03-09T12:39:00.001-04:00

Continued from Page 1

Closeup detail of the room screens

Closeup detail with the Barbie Hair Chandelier by Project Runway's Chris March

When I was a little girl, I used to carry my dolls around by the hair. Too bad I didn't think "lighting fixture!"

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Dining by Design Boston 2008

2008-12-22T03:01:00.000-05:00

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Fotene Designs

Dennis Duffy Design Group

This display by Benjamin Moore was done with thousands of paint chips!

Benjamin Moore designed by David Stark

Vivienne Tam

Ilex Designs

Marcus Gleysteen, Mark Christofi & Jim Catalin

Marc Blackwell

Deseño Bos

Janus et Cie

Creative Events Inc. Designed by AJ Williams

Winston Flowers, designed by Marc Hall and Kate Kennan

Ilex Designs

Leslie Saul & Associates

Mike Witt Design

Doug Wilson| The New York Times for Design Within Reach

Kravet

Click here to see professional photographer Nika Boyce's Flickr set. Amazing photos!

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Festival of Wreaths - Continued

2008-12-15T03:01:00.000-05:00

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.

Karyn Koulopoulos of Silver Beech Studio
Winner of the "Designers Award"

Loved this custom painted floor cloth.

Charise Perkett-Glasson - Interiors with Distinction
"The Mad Hatters Tea Party"
Winnter of the Editor's Choice Award

Okay- how cute is this White Rabbit peaking out of the tiny door in the fireplace!

Michael Ferzoco - Eleven Interiors
"Weaving old with new - a comfortable and relaxed space"

Christian Boyer - Boyer Interior Design
"Not just a room - but a dream fulfilled"
Winner of the People's Choice Award

And, since I'm one of the people, this was my personal favorite as well! I love the sophisticated color palette and not too overdone decorations.

Teresa Burnett - Willow Designs, Inc.
"Traditional New England Holiday Style"

Rebecca Wilson - RW Interiors
"Visions of Sugarplums"

I love the unexpected touch of the exotic in this space

John Maciejowski - JM Interiors
"European Old World Elegance"
John's room was very dark so my pics don't do it justice at all. It was such a warm, comfy space, filled with a lot of sparkle and unexpected moments such as these angles playing from "on high" aka the chandelier!

Michelle Mordis - Michelle Mordis Interiors

"Sugar 'n Spice and Everything Nice"

And so, that's the tour! This wonderful holiday tradition supported the wonderful works of the Room to Dream Foundation.

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IMM Cologne 2009 Trend Report - Continued

2008-12-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

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Contributed by Susan Schultz

Near and Far

In nature we see a system, which appears to follow a perfect design—a system of unbelievable complexity, which only works due to its focus on the essentials—on self-maintenance. It is able to able entirely self-sufficiently—nothing happens needlessly, no movement is carelessly undertaken, no form created unless a need exists. The whole is what interests us and we are aware that the whole represents the sum of the detail, after all everything is interrelated—near and far, micro- and macro-structures. And this is exactly how we aim to design—as accomplices of nature—the grand system designer.
Includes:
Self-Sufficiency
Our products need to be self-sufficient, efficient and self-satisfying. This gives them autonomy and character and consequently makes them independent and incredibly desirable.
Ephemeral Appearance
We know that everything we create is transitory so why not base design on this premise right from the start? Longevity is the potential to build modifications into the design. Design becomes an accessible system, which can be modified to suit our requirements.
High-Low
Simple materials meet high-tech structures and vice versa. The thrill lies in combining opposites. What counts in design is efficiency—we weigh up expenditure and income.
Natural Systems
Recycling was just the beginning. Sustainability, on the other hand, is another issue. How can nature help us with design and production? The answer—we need to think systematically in everything we do.

Teepee Culture

We have broken free of the urban jungle. Where shall we pitch our tent tonight? Somewhere we like of course—somewhere with a few animals to serenade us to sleep, somewhere, where we can wake up and experience the world around us in a totally different way—a real world we can touch, a world which exudes a feeling of well being. Out here, everything makes sense because nothing seems false or artificial. Everything has its place and an internal order. Every detail has meaning. It’s a perfect world. Nothing disrupts, pure self-certainty blows through everything.
Includes:
From Deco to Eco
For a long time, surfaces have provided the playing fields for our relationship with nature. That’s over now. We need to get to the hear of things if we are to improve the world.
Real Experience
What counts is real life, one with traces of functionality. We long for a new texture, a world we can touch, with cracks and scratches, edges and corners.
Comforting Values
Opposites attract, creating unimaginable experiences of form and space. We fell good in this world. This creates a new harmony of objects that know how to pamper us emotionally.
Meaningful Themes
We believe everything has meaning. There’s no such thing as a faceless chair, bed or table but behind everyday objects lies the designer’s burden of responsibility.

Re-Run Time

Has everything been here before? Unfortunately not! But it would be great if everything around us were so perfect that it would be safe to believe it had been here before. Our credo is: constancy instead of change, self-evidence instead or originality. Unfortunately, reality looks rather different. But we can change it. To the extent that as designers we concern ourselves with the commonplace, upgrading it to a level which does justice to its importance. With a bit of polishing and updating, we can reuse an everyday object with a good conscience. It’s so perfect that we ungrudging have to admit it has earned it.
Includes:
Saving the Planet in Style
We know we can design sustainable products but we understand sustainability primarily as a question of aesthetics. A good design shouldn’t wear out aesthetically.
Memory
Memory is the main element in our work. It is where our designs come from and what gives them their distinctive identity, enabling them to become an integral part of our everyday lives.
Sublime
What is simple is not ordinary just simple. It is to be celebrated, refined and enhanced until its true value is recognized.
Pure Form
We get closer to the truth when we pare down to the essential for ultimately we need to think about the future. Material? What remains is form.

Photos and text contributed by Susan Schultz

Click here to read all of Susan's posts.

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Meet The Artist: Michael J. Lee, Photographer - CONTINUED

2008-12-04T12:05:00.000-05:00

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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Happy Thanksgiving - continued

2008-11-26T10:28:00.001-05:00

Continued from Page 1.

1 package Pillsbury rollout pie crust (I don't make my own!)

In large bowl, mix together the following:
3/4 Cup organic sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/2 tablespoon flour

Peel and slice up a bag of apples (about 12 small/medium apples). I used Mcoun this year.
Fold apples into sugar mixture.

Fold in 12 oz. bag of cranberries ( I used local organic cranberries)

Roll out the Pillsbury pie crust - one round goes into the bottom of a 12" glass pie plate. Prick the bottom with a fork and fill with the fruit.

I use small cookie cutters to cut out leaves from the round that will go on top.Lay on top crust and crimp the top and bottom layers together to form a tight seal.

I add leaf spines to the cutouts with a fork. And lay on top of crust for decoration. I then paint on an egg wash (egg yolk with a little water).
Bake in a 425 oven for 10 minutes, and then reduce temp. to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Fresh from the oven!

Enjoy!

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A New York Minute (or, 24 hours in the Big Apple) Continued

2008-11-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

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We then taxied over to Rockefeller Center - where there is the lovely Christmas tree - covered in scaffolding. But, of course!

And the standard shot of the skating rink...

... while a toy soldier looks on.

And finally, our quick 24 hour trip (not including travel) to New York came to a close with a brief stop by Cafe Lalo - which was the setting for the first meeting scene between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail". (Blog post on this movie to come on SSS).

We stayed at the very lovely Lucerne Hotel in the Upper West Side. I highly recommend it. The room, though small, was spotless and very pretty, the location was great and the price was excellent.

Hope you enjoyed my 24 hour NYC trip!

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1,000 Thank You's! (continued)

2008-11-20T04:00:00.000-05:00

In Year 2 (2006) I had no posts until July and managed only 31 through October. During this time, I launched my own Etsy Shop and did my first reality tv related post - an homage to the just completed season 3 of Project Runway where I compared fashion and interiors in Fashion Is as Fashion Lives. I must have been doing something right, as the lovely folks at Littman Bros. Lighting contacted me with an interest in advertising on my site. I'm proud to say that they are still sponsors two years later!

I also travelled to Florence at the end of November 2006 and wrote several posts from there. My first posting on location experience!

My interest in reality tv was peaked with the announcement of the then new BravoTV Reality show Top Design. I had really enjoyed getting the know the gang over at Blogging Project Runway and TLo of Project Rungay and decided that I had a unique voice to share in the coverage of the show and jumped on the reality tv blog-wagon. I have since covered both Season 1 and season 2 of Top Design and because of it, I've had the opportunity to get to know:

TD judge Margaret Russell, editor in chief of Elle Decor who listed ::Surroundings:: as a favorite click in Elle Decor in 2007
And several of the contestants including the hot new blogger Eddie Ross and the lovely Andrea Schroder and my fellow musician Wisit Prapong - whom I chatted with via podcast on Blogging Top Design, along with all the Season 2 contestants.
I've also gotten to know some pretty amazing, funny and insightful bloggers who also covered TD including Eric3000, Ms. Place, and Becky Harris, and many others.

At the end of 2006, I wrote a few New Years Resolutions, including the launch of a new series called Get That Look . My first official GTL post was on the movie Something's Gotta Give. Well, I had no idea that I was starting with the Mt. Rushmore of inspirational movie houses. I soon started receiving hits from all over the world from folks looking for every detail of this fantastic movie set. I've received emails and even a few phone calls with requests for advice on everything from the floors (my guess - painted concrete) to the floor plans, the glassware to the artwork. Along the way:

I was interviewed by The Washington Post and Renovation Style Magazine
I've gotten to know the amazingly talented Joni Webb of Cote de Texas who has also covered SGTG on her blog.

I met Tricia Mitchell, owner of Avolli Scandinavian Antique Furnishings when I referenced one of her Mora clocks in my SGTG Get that Look post. I also got to know Jerry Krull of Aspen Carpet Designs whose blue and white striped flat weave rug has been a big hit among SGTG fans.

Started a new blog spin-off called ::Silver Screen Surroundings:: where I profile only movie and television set decor. My post on the Sex & the City movie made it into The Washington Post's Blog Watch column.

Highlights from 2007 include:

The launched of another spin-off blog Master of Your Domain which focuses on decorating for the single man. I write this blog (semi-regularly, admittedly) with my great pal Peg McGuire.
I started posting on my little town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, most recently as part of Julia's Hooked on Houses Fall House tour.

Started a new series called Travel Tuesday where I profile some of the worlds most amazing hotels.

I covered my involvement in local tv station WHDH Room for Improvement show and also my Mini Man Cave makeover project for Marcus, an 11 year old cancer patient, a project done in conjunction with WBZ-TV, Homegoods and the Dana Farber.
I got to know fellow blogger Susan Serra, CKD, aka The Kitchen Designer. Susan shared her tips with my newsletter readers on the important of patience when designing a kitchen.

I started posting on some of my DIY projects. My Decoupage Wall Tile project made it to the pages of Craft Magazine's Craftzine.com.
In July, Holly of Decor8 kindly showcased ::Surroundings:: as her Blog of the Week.
I've been lucky to be able to interview several notables in the design industry, including Elle Decor's Margaret Russell, Domino's Dara Caponigro, Pierre Frey Fabric House owner Patrick Frey, designer Celerie Kemble, and met Thom Felicia.

I attended Dining By Design in Boston and took many photos of the beautiful table settings.

And this one even ended up appearing in Elle Decor!

Highlights from 2008:

My trip to Maison et Objet in Paris (which I won in a Boston Design Center drawing!)
When my Dad was hospitalized in February and I had to take a brief break from blogging, I received some of the kindest comments and emails. The support of friends whom I've never met in person meant more than I can say!

For President's Day, I did a series of posts of The White House throughout the years. There is a lot of current interest in the decorations of The White House as the Obama's prepare to take occupancy and I feel like I was a bit ahead of the curve. Click here and here for my posts.
Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge brought her Biz Ladies Meetup to Boston. I was happy to be able to connect Grace to several local business women, including my friend Susan Hammond, who could lead seminars in business and legal issues. That night I also met blogger Christine Chitnis who writes the lovely Lavender and Limes blog out of Providence, RI.
My e-decorating services were profiled in The Washington Post.

I am so honored that four talented design experts were willing to share their talents and experience with me at ::Surroundings:: They add so much to the blog - new voices and a broader range of coverage.

Lori Dolnick - writing on products and general decorating issues
Susan Schultz - who writes on decorating trends, products and international trade shows
Janet Perry - who contributes her thoughts on how to achieve high style on a budget
George Evans - founder of Bond & Bowery who writes on antique and vintage furnishings

I am also honored to have a group of wonderful sponsors whose support is so important to keeping the blog going. A big shout out to:

Littman Bros. Lighting - going on two years!
Robert Abbey Lighting
Terry's Fabrics
Tracy Glover Studios

There are so many blogger-friends whom I've gotten to know and admire greatly for their contribution to the conversation about interior design. Please check out my blogrolls on both sides of my blog for links to countless fantastic sites. There's something for everyone out here in blogland.

As I said at the top of this, when I started blogging, I thought of it as an electronic filing cabinet of ideas yet it's turned into so much more! With the slow trickle of hits that became a daily stream of visitors and commenters, I've learned so much about the field of interior design - more even than I learned in design school!

So, a great bigto all the design bloggers and readers, my team of amazing writers and supportive sponsors. I hope to learn as much from my next 1000 posts as I have during the first.

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Color Q: Gray and Yellow (con't)

2008-11-14T00:30:00.000-05:00

Summer Thornton design via Design*Sponge

Smoke grey palette for a retro-living room via Retro Renovation

Maureen Footer's design in a living room at Manhattan House, site of the 2008 Kips Bay Decorator Show House via Point Click Home.

Preston Lee - Top Design Season 2 Finalist

Eileen Kathryn Boyd via Decorati

Ashley Citron Bedding via All Pretty Little Things

Sherwin Williams paint visualizer

via Coco & Kelly - I think I like the color combo better when there is another color added, such as the pink in this room.

Click here to return, vote and comment.

Bungalowize Your Sixties House

2008-11-10T23:40:00.000-05:00

The house, pictured above, is very typical of the style, and we’ll use it as our example. It presents the garage as the major element facing the street; the windows are plate glass, not divided into panes; and the door is flat. Although there is a mix of materials (stucco and brick), ornamentation and landscaping is minimal.

Seems like a big challenge, right?

Let’s start by changing the garage door. It’s one big flat white thing; even standard issue garage doors are usually more attractive than this. A door like this is the equivalent of having a blank wall going across half the house, facing the street. And, on top of that, it's painted a different color to make sure people really notice it! Begin by picking a garage door which isn’t flat and which has windows in it. I like these from Overhead Door. On their site you construct your own door; the one I like is called Ribbon, which comes in insulated and non-insulated versions. I recommend selecting a white door, so you can paint it to match the house, and adding windows. The two styles of windows which look most bungalow are Stockford 1 and Stockton 1 (about 2/3 of the way down on the decorative trim option). Put them at the top of the door, not one panel down. Just this one change has added style to the house.

Now we need to address the front door. Exterior doors come in so many styles, materials, and colors, it can be hard to figure out what to do. But Arts & Crafts style doors share certain characteristics that should be present in any door you choose. First, wood is better than paint and oak is the recommended wood. For this house, a wood door will add another material to the mix. Second, during the Arts & Crafts period, doors almost always had windows, often with stained or leaded glass. Third, the typical door of this kind is divided vertically into two or three panels. Finally, if you do select a wooden door, oak, especially golden oak, is the characteristic wood of this period. Having an oak door will be perfect. I really like these Bungalow and Craftsman doors. They come in a wide variety of woods and windows. The door above, which is a stained oak, echoes the garage door windows and makes for a lovely entry.
A good wooden door is more expensive, but having a warm and welcoming entrance can really make your home special.

You will also need to add an entry set and there are many options for Craftsman style sets, such as this one from Handlesets.

Note the repetition of the squares which are also in both doors. The coppery-bronze color and restrained ornamentation has the rustic look we want.

Almost done with the entry. Now we need to add a light. I don’t see a light in the picture, so I’m thinking adding a light to the brick wall to the right of the door would work well. Once again look for a Mission or Craftsman style. Go for something bigger than you think you need; too often people pick lighting fixture which are too small. This light from Lamps Plus is just perfect. We’ve got the squares again, it hangs down and is fairly large (11”). Add some craftsman style house numbers from housenumberconnection.com and we’re set.

The next major issue is the windows. These sliding aluminum plate glass windows are very typical of the Sixties ranch. If you are thinking about replacing them you might be tempted to go with the same window but double-paned and in vinyl, the current material of choice. Don’t. If you pick something that divides your window into panes, you will get a look which is less dated and which gives your house some nice style. A period house would have had wood windows, generally double hung. If this is an option, it’s a classic choice. New wood windows are a splurge, but might be well worth it.

Navigating the world of window websites can be difficult, so I’m going to tell you what to seek. The windows you will buy ultimately depend on your location and budget. The windows on this house are sliding windows. You can replace them with sliding windows or with casement windows that crank out. You will also want windows with panes, these days often sandwiched between the layers of glass. Look at books with pictures of bungalows (my favorite is 500 Bungalows) and see the many kinds of windows there. Use this as your guide when looking for windows.

We have come a long way towards fixing up our Sixties Ranch to make it look like a charming and distinctive bungalow. The elements we have chosen have added some more materials (the wooden door and metal on the light) and we have added some rustic ornamentation through the repeated small squares on the different elements. You could add a bit more ornamentation by framing the window on the right with flat (not moulded) boards about 4-6” wide.

In my next column, I will talk about options for porches and columns as well as how to add in some additional materials to a single material façade.

Already in this house we have the brick, which is a material often found on bungalows, though not particularly in California, where this house is located. But it makes our work of painting easier because we can leave it as it is. Bungalow paint schemes are based on natural colors and are often somewhat muted. They are darker than the colors typical of the second half of the 20th Century and duller in value. Several companies, such as Sherwin-Williams offer specific color collections by style, including the Arts & Crafts style.

There are also bungalow collections by Pittsburgh Paints and Valspar in the Eddie Bauer Collection. Here’s a great blog article about bungalow colors. An inspiring book is Bungalow Colors Exteriors. Changing the trim and stucco color (the garage door should be painted the same color as the stucco) to a more natural color scheme will add distinction to the house.

Don’t you feel as if we have ignored the elephant in the corner?

No matter what we do with the house, the landscape (or lack of one) needs to be addressed. The shaped conifer pretty much blocks the one window on the right. Remove it. If you want a tree there, which isn’t a bad idea, go with something less solid and a more interesting color. I love Japanese Maples for this. They are small, open trees with a wide variety of leaf colors and shapes. The maple leaf is a very iconic shape for bungalow style, so it would be perfect here.

You also need to remove the solid block of a concrete walk and replace it with a stone path. This accomplishes several things. It echoes the stone mailbox (which is perfect) and brings a new material into the façade. It looks lighter because it is not solid and by being a path, not a slab, an area to the left of the door is opened for more planting, making a balanced yard. Add another maple here for balance.
Take out the dead bushes in the front of the yard as well as the dead grass. Turn the area with the dead bushes into a small flower garden with plants typical of the period. Bulbs and irises in the Spring and day lilies throughout the Summer can be a great look. Add a ground cover, some leafy perennials, and replace the plastic landscape board with smooth rocks to provide continuity from the pathway to the mailbox.

Because this house is on a corner, more planting needs to be done along the side of the yard. Plant another small tree, maybe even a dwarf conifer in the corner as an anchor and make another bed planted with bulbs and flowering perennials in it. Edge this bed in rocks as well.

This house has sidewalk strips, those areas of dirt between the sidewalk and the street. Many cities require this, but it doesn’t have to be ugly or barren. Find a ground cover or plant which will spread and flower. My sidewalk strip is planted with Floral Carpet Roses (pictured above) and has a shredded bark mulch. The bark keeps it pretty until the roses fill the space. Although this rose is new, it’s a semi-double rose and so the shape works with an older home style. Other floral possibilities include lavender, chamomile, or low ground covers. Pick something that will cover, but not be dense you won’t want to walk through it. Be sure to leave space and rocks for walking through. Add new grass and you have a lovely front yard to go with your distinctive house.

By making these changes, you will be able to change what is a cookie cutter house into something special.

This is a picture of a 50's stucco ranch which has been turned into a charming bungalow. The porch has been added, but the garden and the other elements are similar to the changes suggested for this house.

Contributed by: Janet M. Perry

Click here to view all of Janet's posts.

Click here to comment.

Weekend DIY: Decoupage boxes (continued)

2008-11-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was helping my bffff Beth set up for a party at her house. She had to make a dump run and I was happy to accompany her. Our dump has a great section for usable discards known as the Duxbury Mall (humorous as we have no malls here), or alternatively the Knick Knack Shack. Our Mall is so popular that there is actually a time limit for "shopping". I have trash pick up service and don't have a dump sticker - so I never get to go there - which is why I was happy to go with her. Among the various "treasures" were this pair of white wooden shadow boxes that are meant to be hung on the wall.

Aside from a couple of paint chips, they were in perfect condition and I loved the scalloped edge. I wasn't sure what I would do with them, but I felt like there was an art project in the offing. After giving it some thought, I decided that these would make pretty fun decoupaged boxes for napkins or perhaps nuts or cookies - perfect for a hand-made hostess gift!

I found this pretty John Derian wrapping paper at Target - I love John Derian's decoupage! - and thought it was perfect. I was still hunting for some kind of paper when I went into a local shop, Octavia 's, that sells decorative accessories and gifts and thought I'd be able to pick up a unique wrapping paper that I could cut up. As it happened, they had none, but the nice lady did offer me some scraps of the paper they use for gift wrapping. Perfect!

I started by tracing and cutting out a background paper from a scrapbook pad that I have and glued it down using Mod Podge. I covered the four outside sides with the background paper. I then covered that with cutouts of the shells. I wasn't very careful with my layout as I prefer a more haphazard look. I also traced out and trimmed the leaf paper for the insides of the box.

For a bottom, I cut out heavy duty cardboard and stapled it to the back of the shadowboxes, creating a bottom.

I then applied the leaf paper to the outside bottom (covering the staples) and the inside bottom.

I painted the scalloped edge with acrylic paint in a metallic Champagne color. I just love that color that is neither gold nor silver.

One everything was glued down, the edges trimmed and the paint dry, I applied several coats (probably 5 or 6) of Mod Podge. I made sure to really fill in the spaces on the bottom with the Mod Podge to connect the cardboard base with the wooden sides, to make it as sturdy as possible.

There are plenty of uses for these boxes. While I would not recommend using anything more than a barely damp cloth to clean them - they would make a very pretty holder for nuts (either edible or gilded!) or some pretty paper cocktail napkins.

These boxes really didn't take too long to do and cost pretty much nothing. And, more importantly, they are personal and handmade. I don't know about you, but I love receiving and giving handmade gifts. They are always one of a kind and are often very gentle on the environment and your purse!

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Martha does Bats! (cont.)

2008-10-29T14:44:00.000-04:00

Brian did a launch party and reading at our local library last month. Here are some pics of the eco-friendly Bats Mobile and of Brian and a wrapt audience of kids and adults alike!

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