I'm a Guest on the Fabulous Brooklyn Limestone Blog Today.....

Today I am a guest on Stefanie's wonderful Brooklyn Limestone blog. Check it out! I wrote all about furniture arrangements to promote conversation and intimacy ~ a dilemma at times ~ I know. I had a wonderful time writing the post. Thank you Stefanie for having me!

BTW, your Monday & Tuesday posts are beautiful ~ Happy Anniversary!

Kreativ Blogger Award Nomination

Wow, thank you so much Sarah for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger Award! I am so honored that you thought of me :-)

Sarah Klassen is the fabulous author of one of my favorites blogs ~ Haute Design. I attain so much inspiration from Sarah herself and her wonderful work ~ it never ceases to amaze me.

I have been asked to tell you seven things about myself that folks don't know and nominate seven wonderful blogs for this lovely award. No problem!

Seven things about me.....

1) I am first generation American. My mom is from Chile; my dad was from Poland.

2) I dance to the music in stores (my daughter does too!). Never pass up an opportunity to dance :-)

3) Design is my second career. The first was in the psychology field.

4) I choreograph dances and direct music videos in my mind.

5) I was a card carrying cat person.... until we rescued Millie, our beloved pooch.

6) I started design work at the age of four along side my mom.

7) I ended my spelling bee competition in the 6th grade by misspelling the word design (oh, the shame of it).

Now I have the pleasure of nominating seven blogs that I enjoy. That will be difficult as I enjoy so many. Here goes.....

1) Boulevard Interior Design

2) Brooklyn Limestone

3) YellowGoat Design

4) Sara Baldwin Design Blog

5) Faith Sheridan's Blog

6) JLDesigns Blog

7) Karen Davis Design Raves Blog

There you have it ~ seven things about me ~ seven fantastic blogs to read!

Thanks again Sarah; you always make me smile :-)

Fun Friday ~ Lovely Clusters

One night while twittering away, I came across a link. It lead me to the Facebook page of Lovely Clusters ~ an online store created by Rachel Follett.


Rachel is an interior and graphic designer who lives in Maui, Hawaii. Maui, what a wonderful place to live and be inspired. She seems very inspired. After a bit more digging, I came to her blogs. Both wonderful. First there is the Lovely Clusters blog affiliated with the store and Design Lovely.

Here is how Rachel describes the Lovely Clusters Store ~

I have always wanted to create a website that would be a place for people to go where they can easily find really beautiful creations. Etsy can seem so overwhelming with its vast amount of shops and it can sometimes feel like a flea market where you are rummaging through to find the special shops that you can relate to. I noticed that there are quite a lot of people out there that were having the same issue and so starting up a site that links to my favorite sellers existing etsy or dawanda, etc seemed like the way to go. I wanted to have at least 20 sellers before I announced this exciting new venture and now it is finally here to share with all of you lovely readers!

I also want to mention that I am fortunate enough to be working with a dear friend of mine Vicki Dvorak from Simply Hue. Her taste is really similar to mine so we will be curating different artists from around the world to be featured on the site. We have been fortunate enough to have these lovely artists sign up to be on the new site so far!

How wonderful!

Here are a few products I gleamed from their shop.....








Lovely jewelry, pillows, clothing, art, photography, trinkets, and other assorted goodies.

Then I perused Design Lovely. What fantastic inspirations.....




Thank you Rachel for these lovely sites to visit. I think I know where I'll be doing some of my Christmas shopping.

BTW, Happy Belated Birthday!

Enjoy your weekend!

The Outdoor Kitchen

Kohler has a full array of information to offer the interior design enthusiast. One email they sent that caught my eye was on outdoor kitchens. I know that it has been raining a lot in parts of the country, not here luckily. I wanted to help those affected see there is light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps considering an outdoor kitchen will be just the therapy needed.


I am not going to reprint the information here as you may read it directly from the source. Watch the video done by Brian Gluckstein at the end. It is short and good.

I also came across a blog I did not know before. Susan Serra does a blog devoted to kitchen design. It is very informational and fun.

There is much needed planning when completing an outdoor kitchen ~ location, weather, functioning and overall design. Kohler recommends that one receives professional help when undertaking this task. I agree. It will save money and heart ache in the long run and one will have exactly what is wanted and needed. Work with someone who specializes in outdoor kitchens or kitchens in general. Designers that specialize in kitchens are learning more and more about the outdoor ones due to their increasing popularity and products now available.



I must admit, almost anything tastes better to me when cooked on a grill so these pictures are actually making me hungry. Time for a snack!

Modern Day Cinderella

I have been learning so much about fashion from the blogs I've been reading. There are some really talented bloggers out there who's in the know.... there are also bloggers that have an amazing eye for interpretation ~ The City Sage comes to mind for that. So I decided I'd try my hand at the fashion -> design interpretation with my very own fantasy....

Clearly this is the modern day glass slipper.....

I first came across this hot little shoe number on Apartment #34.....

I'd wear them with this....
I found this first on Design Fabulous.... yes, I know it is a bit much together but it is my fantasy....

I be sipping Dom Pérignon sitting in this room....

I saw this first on his website and then found it again on Made By Girl. This room was designed by, of course, the great Geoffrey Bradfield. He knows how to do glamorous just right.

The clock would strike midnight and I would have to run back to my ~ not so bad home ~ give my daughter a kiss on the check while sleeping and climb in bed next to my loving husband.

I would not, however, lose a shoe. I would never lose that shoe ~ seriously!

So ~ how did I do?

Juxtaposition ~ What?

A couple of weeks ago, my family had the pleasure of seeing Riverdance at Wolftrap Performing Arts Center. I have posted about Wolftrap before ~ a beautiful outdoor venue perfect to breath fresh air and fill the senses. Once again, my daughter enjoyed the show. She tried her hand, or should I say feet, at the traditional Irish tap dancing. It was precious. There she was dancing away as proud as can be with a glowing smile ~ never mind that she was just skipping around and trying very hard to keep her arms straight at her sides. "It's harder than it looks, mom, but I'm good at it," she said. I, of course, mirrored her and said, "Yes you are my love," with a glowing proud smile on my face.
Riverdance was stunning. My favorite part was the dual between the traditional Irish dancers and the jazz tappers that graced the stage. They were wonderful. They danced by themselves and then against and ultimately with the Irishmen. They even mimicked each other ~ that was hysterical! 'What a wonderful juxtaposition this is,' I thought. The show's director and/or choreographer, of course, knew this.
Naturally my mind wandered a bit to design. The term juxtaposition is used in interior design but really, what does that mean? Let's consider Taoism's Yin Yang for a moment ~ a classic juxtaposition. A portion of About.com's definition for Yin Yang is:

"What's great about the Yin-Yang symbol is that the smaller circles nested within each half of the symbol serve as a constant reminder of the interdependent nature of the black/white "opposites." It reminds the Taoist practitioner that all of relative existence is in constant flux and change. And while the creation of pairs-of-opposites would seem to be an aspect of our human software, we can maintain a relaxed attitude around this, knowing that each side always contains the other, as night contains day, or as a mother “contains" the infant that she will, in time, give birth to." Lovely.

Dictionary.com defines juxtaposition as "an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast." So true in quality design. But how does this translate into interior design? Let's look at some photos....

This is a Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller design published in Traditional Home. I see the juxtaposition here as the traditional window treatments partnered with the more rustic table and chairs with the table illuminated by an antique metal swing arm floor table. So we have three 'opposites' coming together to form one beautiful vignette. The window treatments nicely 'hold' or frame the furnishings. The mixture of materials adds wonderful interest. Here is what the designers say about their work, "Our work is very much influenced by the harmonious mix of old and new that we experience everyday in New York. We like to soften crisp, new architecture by introducing the patina of a few, unexpected antique pieces, or vice versa, interject some contemporary art into more traditional homes. It makes a space timeless as opposed to a time capsule. " Well said and implemented.

This room is by Julio Quinones. I like this example because of the unusual tables he paired with the chairs. For harmonious interest, he adds color, shape, and form with a contemporary flair and yet does not go overboard. He keeps the pairing symmetrical to aid the organized feel of the room.

This design belongs to Vasi Ypsilanti and Margreet Cevasco. A wonderful example of green design and juxtaposition. Note the architecture, the incredible use of traditional arches and molding, next to contemporary bamboo and glass cabinets, next to traditional columns and glazing of the sink area that uses modern fixtures, next to the antique table base topped with clean, smooth, modern steel.... wow! The remarkable contrast is soothed by the earthy hues that compliment each other in nature every day. This room is an abundance of harmonious interest to me. I keep saying that, harmonious interest... but I believe the principle of harmony (unity and diversity) is paramount in good design. Another room....

This is room that I found on delight by design, a blog I follow. The writer of design by delight loved the farm table she found at a showhouse. She had the smarts to take pictures and I am very happy she did as this is another excellent example. Note the streamlined upholstered chairs contrasting with the table. Beautiful. Again, the soothing use of a neutral hue for the upholstery keeps the contrast in check and pleases the eye. Last photo, my own design....

In this transitional design, I used a traditional federal style sofa. The arms of the sofa mirrored by a traditional roll armed daybed. I paired them with mirrored and chrome contemporary tables and wood and chrome lamps. The latter selection served to lighten and brighten the deep hues and heavier furnishing.

So there you have it ~ juxtaposition 101.

Tell me about your juxtaposition designs; send pictures too! I'd love to see your interpretations!

Habitually Chic

Habitually Chic is a blog that I frequent. Heather Clawson does a wonderful job. I am enjoying her series so much on Hickory Chair I am linking it here so hopefully you'll take a look. Hickory Chair manufactures exceptional furniture with style and functional longevity. Heather's blogs on Hickory Chair read like a well executed documentary. Brava Heather! (Picture taken by Ms. Clawson.)