Our 9′ x 15′ design studio floor plan!

Interior Design is a process. It can be overwhelming, expensive and fraught with error. You can do it yourself if you are confident of you taste, have the resources, an infinite attention to detail, lots of time, love [...]]]>

Our 9′ x 15′ design studio floor plan!

Interior Design is a process. It can be overwhelming, expensive and fraught with error. You can do it yourself if you are confident of you taste, have the resources, an infinite attention to detail, lots of time, love decision making and more important problem solving, and a courageous heart. Or you can work with a designer that can make the process manageable and even fun with a splendid result.

The collaboration, and it should be that, begins with an initial meeting, where dreams and wishes, needs and function are discussed along with budget and expectations.

This is where you share the size and  scope of  your project, and your sense of comfort and style. Budget should be discussed. Some people think this will encourage the designer to take advantage of that amount, that isn’t true at all, it is essential to determine if the budget is realistic for what you want to achieve. If not, it is  your decision whether  to scale back, do the project in stages or increase the budget. I am happy to accommodate.  Discuss how you like to be charged. Options are hourly consultation and discount on purchases, or a flat fee that includes one fee for the hours estimated to provide  you with the “recipe” for your project. Both options include floor plans, selections of fabrics, furniture, carpet, paint color and drawings for custom built ins as discussed. Purchasing can  be done by you or a combination of  you and designer. The industry has been moving towards the flat fee model and our design firm has embraced that.  We are both then attuned  to budget and time.

I encourage clients to bring pictures from magazines and books, shows a sense of your style and likes . Can also show what you aren’t comfortable with. It is  a reference point to begin . You should also like your designer’s taste. While our clients’ rooms always look like themselves and not me as designer, there’s a sensibility that you embrace and a style with the designer you choose. You should also feel a sense of rapport with your designer and that should increase over time. I have clients that have come back for over 20 years and the relationship remains a joy.

The length of the project from concept to installation should be discussed and  realistic. It depends on manufacturers, and carpenters and installers and of course how quickly you make decisions. In design we are dependent on so many people and relationships to delver the project.  I like to install the project all at once, complete with accents and accessories. The client can then choose what they would like to keep but in the moment,  it gives them the sense and splendor of the finished room. Voila!

Green for all Seasons

As the season changes I reflect on my spring garden just a few short months ago,  all abloom and in perfect shades of green. My outdoor “room” is accessorized with an ancient iron trellis found at my weekly haunt, The Georgetown Flea Market, and placed behind our pond. [...]]]>

Green for all Seasons

As the season changes I reflect on my spring garden just a few short months ago,  all abloom and in perfect shades of green. My outdoor “room” is accessorized with an ancient iron trellis found at my weekly haunt, The Georgetown Flea Market, and placed behind our pond. It hosts roses in spring, flowering vines in summer and fall and becomes simply architectural in winter. It provides an anchor for all seasons. An antique lantern that was once the top of a city street light, also a Georgetown Flea find,  adds another dimension closer to the pond. Both are lit at night so the garden takes on an ethereal green glow after dark.

I love the different shades of green from top to bottom, the tallest trees, the meet your eye shrubs, and the carpet of  grass. I’m thinking green for fall too.  Time to bring the garden indoors in all those wonderful hues and textures, pistachio, lime and emerald, in silk, suede, velvet and leather.  Great accents for your rooms, and complement all colors. Consider grass green silk pillows,  lime cashmere throws, an emerald velvet chair or evergreen suede ottoman.

Then literally bring in the garden,  oak leafed, magnolia or hydrangea branches while they’re still green. Place them on your entry table, on your sideboard and on your living room console table as summer’s late memories. Soon you’ll  move to fall and Thanksgiving hued arrangements to complement your greens.

How does the process begin?

Interior Design for me is a process that begins with listening. What does the client need, want, think, feel about their project. Just as important is what they don’t want, and are not comfortable with.

I feel my job is to bring them enough of a selection that [...]]]> ‘

How does the process begin?

Interior Design for me is a process that begins with listening. What does the client need, want, think, feel about their project. Just as important is what they don’t want, and are not comfortable with.

I feel my job is to bring them enough of a selection that they have choices to make and are very much part of the collaboration. And then to add just the right amount of pop, whimsy and/or the unexpected that will take the project beyond their expectations.

When presenting to a client it is not unusual for them to say, “Well, I would never have thought of that” as though there might be a problem. And my response is to explain, that is just what we’re aiming for, something different, unique and a step further than the client would think of themselves. For what else is a designer for!

Ultimately the finished project will look just like the client, the very best of that client. That should always be the result.

The process continues.

Cool and Crisp and Clear.

These are our gorgeous fall mornings.

As I walk through the garden early morning I see the light as it reveals the slight changes occurring each day as the new season progresses. Some leaves already turning  amber,  green leaves beginning to take on a different hue, and [...]]]>

Cool and Crisp and Clear.

These are our gorgeous fall mornings.

As I walk through the garden early morning I see the light as it reveals the slight changes occurring each day as the new season progresses. Some leaves already turning  amber,  green leaves beginning to take on a different hue, and all have a more transparent quality. I bring some indoors.

Indoors, I notice the light as it appears to catch particular areas.  Take a walk and find those areas in your house.  You can  then enhance the glow by adding more reflection, a gilt mirror, lovely crystal candleabra and your silver tea set on the dining room buffet.  Add the garden you’ve brought inside. In a more contemporary setting you can use sleek  silver or crystal tall candle holders, and a modern shaped vase or large crystal bowl.

Near a window, on a table,  you can add the last faded roses in a crystal vase, or a single drying oak hydrangea branch or even a fresh green oak leaved one that may have fallen to the ground as the squirrels madly pursue their fall stock. The key is to add sparkle to reflect more light and add contrasting textures by bringing the garden indoors.

If you love coming home, so will your guests. A welcoming entry sets the stage, warm and inviting, the first glimpse of what’s inside and the invitation to see more. It begins with the wall color, a lovely paint or wallcovering. Do include an interesting rug beneath your feet, a small vintage [...]]]>

If you love coming home, so will your guests. A welcoming entry sets the stage, warm and inviting, the first glimpse of what’s inside and the invitation to see more. It begins with the wall color, a lovely paint or wallcovering. Do include an interesting rug beneath your feet, a small vintage Persian or a contemporary graphic a good choice even a textured sisal. A mirror always vital in even the smallest space, it  reflects light as one steps inside and serves as a practical self check when you’re leaving. A table for keys and mail and a  pretty lamp that is set to automatically be on when you enter in the evening. Doesn’t have to be a very practical lamp here since its function is mood, a small  old glass boudoir or a single gold girondole could be just perfect to set the tone. Flowers on a table,  a potted orchid always lovely and lasts so long. I like to “upholster ” the pot with a bit of fabric twisted into a rose, for some texture and color and to reflect a change of season. In my own entry it sits on an Italian pedestal gilded and painted, with not much of either left over its long history but cherished nonetheless.

In an entry that isn’t separate, walking right into the living room for example, you can “create” one using a mirror on the adjacent wall,  a small decorative chair beneath  that can hold mail and your handbag as you enter. In an apartment entry that is frequently dark and narrow, a mirror really can expand the space. A full length one adds interest, or below a small mirror  the narrowest of shelf that can hold mail and keys will create the atmosphere that welcomes.

An entry is not always considered to be important but I find it crucial. I think it is an opportunity to give yourself some creative freedom, where you can make something lovely with a minimum of time and expense. Look around and you’ll probably find most of the components right there. Or head to your nearest Flea Market.

The Versatile Ottoman

Need a place to serve drinks, somewhere comfy to put your feet up, extra seating or a moveable feast ?  That would be a custom ottoman. We love to design custom ottomans for clients for all of the above uses.  Large or small, round or square, rectangle or even more [...]]]>

The Versatile Ottoman

Need a place to serve drinks, somewhere comfy to put your feet up, extra seating or a moveable feast ?  That would be a custom ottoman. We love to design custom ottomans for clients for all of the above uses.  Large or small, round or square, rectangle or even more than 1 in different shapes and sizes. The creative opportunities are endless. Suitable for every room.

This one designed for a client in her Connecticut living room filled with colors of the sea. Foamy blues and greens, with many textures of fabrics, silks and linens and velvets. And this oversized square ottoman is placed right in the center the seating area. Upholstered in a zebra style print, in a heavy duty needlepoint texture. We created the legs with a bit of a whimsical curve to complement the straight lines, and painted them in a metallic silver car paint which adds just the right amount of shimmer to the light filled space. Silver accents are repeated elsewhere in pillows on the sofa. This ottoman has a simple self welt but we’ve used fringe or tape or studs to vary the affect.

At the end of the bed, between 2 chairs, in front of your favorite reading chair, in your guest room, master bedroom, family room and library. I have one in all of those rooms.

Add a tray in clear lucite,  antique black painted tole, Asian laquerware or vintage silver tea tray and be ready for cocktails.

During our month of days in Italy we literally stumbled on this lovely restaurant on Sirmione. An old castle town on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Guarda, with a view of the lake on both sides. We were walking along the old cobbled streets when we spied this niche in the [...]]]>

During our month of days in Italy we literally stumbled on this lovely restaurant on Sirmione. An old castle town on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Guarda, with a view of the lake on both sides. We were walking along the old cobbled streets when we spied this niche in the ancient stone wall that was in fact the entrance to this splendid terrace. First impression is the very white of the terrace, against the very azure blue of the lake.  Detailed with crisp white umbrellas shielding tables multi layered in white linen cloths and  large white napkins to fill one’s lap.  White white railings and lanterns, even the floor was white marble. And so the setting for a most beautiful and delicious lunch and lovely wines.

Each course as well as each complimentary course was exquisitely presented on or with lovely old Italian silver plate,  not only the salt and pepper shakers but the bread baskets and tiny silver egg cups filled with a delicate whoosh of creamy cheese and tiny spoon on a silver tray. The final swoon was the coffee served and a silver tray presented with 4, yes four silver sugar bowls, each containing a different kind of sugar.

As I always say, presentation is king, it makes every meal a special occasion and great fun to collect the odd pieces and put it together on your table. With the sea salt craze now reaching its zenith, I’m serving different kinds of sea salt in different charming bowls collected on my travels. French Quimper, Italian pottery, Asian laquerware and blue/white porcelain for a start.

I love the entry into any house. The first welcome and peek into your home. Your guests will immediately feel the warmth and invitation to come in further.  Inviting and interesting, even if ever so small, it can host a tiny table with lamp and  mirror, and/or a chair, a [...]]]> The Entry

I love the entry into any house. The first welcome and peek into your home. Your guests will immediately feel the warmth and invitation to come in further.  Inviting and interesting, even if ever so small, it can host a tiny table with lamp and  mirror, and/or a chair, a tray for  keys and mail. And in a larger entryway, all of those things. The paint color as always is first and here in my own entryway,  a warm cafe au lait. It has the perfect size, narrow, Italian. painted,  antique console table found many years ago, and 2 diminutive chairs, also painted white, with gold accents. They are better for holding the purse, the tote or shopping bags, than people.  After our recent “move’ back home after years of living and collecting in Asia, I replaced a mirror with a very large laquer on wood Vietnamese painting that fills the space, in shades of gold and red. A pair of girondoles remain, and as always, lit to provide warmth and light for area and inadvertently for the painting.There is the tray for keys and always a flower arrangement, and “centerpiece” that change with the day or season. Dried white limelight hydrangeas, with a couple of large philodendron leaves from a houseplant and a platter filled with marble fruit make this a fall still life. Underneath the table are Burmese red laquer offering bowls of different sizes. I had a “gallery” for them in Singapore and Ireland but they needed a new home and found one there. As I mentioned in previous posts, inspiration, instinct and serendipity all played their roles in this one space. Years of collecting in different times and countries come together complimenting each other in unique and unexpected ways.

Serendipity, “happy accident” “pleasant surprise”, to my mind goes hand in hand with Instinct and Inspiration. It’s the moment when you’re working on a design project and suddenly it all comes together. The moment when the design process jells with the the plan, the inspiration and the instincts you’ve used to [...]]]> Serendipity

Serendipity, “happy accident” “pleasant surprise”, to my mind goes hand in hand with Instinct and Inspiration. It’s the moment when you’re working on a design project and suddenly it all comes together. The moment when the design process jells with the the plan, the inspiration and the instincts you’ve used to create a space. Here an antique wing chair gets a new fabric of the tiniest black and white check and then finds a home in this corner of my library. Works as a neutral with the botanical print Roman shade, and the colorful handpainted Tibetan chest, on one side custom bookshelves we designed and inserted the antique round window from an old house. On the shelves is the reproduction bust hand carried from Athens, and other the travel finds, plus old old worn painted finials, collected books and paintings and a dictionary and stand placed for easy perusal. Window sill and chest serve as display for Burmese offering bowls and Asian boxes, some collected in Burma and others at local flea markets. And finally against the cabinet doors lean 2 black and white photos of the Washington National Cathedral given to us as a gift, but had no place for a long time until suddenly, serendipitously placed there leaning against the doors and the corner is complete.