Vivacious Valances

A quick preview of a few of the hundreds of valances I drew for my book, The Design Directory of Window Treatments. I will show off a small collection of renderings every week until the release of the book in September. Hope you like them!

Educated by Rita

I've been an admirer of Rita Konig since I first saw her apartment in Bright Young Things London and her cute little book Domestic Bliss but recently it seems like she's everywhere!

She has her blog, Girl About Town, on Domino and now you can tour her apartment in New York on their website as well. All the Best has a great profile of Rita this week as well.

For those who don't know, Rita is the daughter of renowned British interior designer Nina Campbell. Her London flat is pictured below. I love the pale turquoise walls that would certainly cheer me up on a grey and dreary London day.

Nina Campbell also has a full line of products available on her web site including a few things I've seen in Rita's apartment like colorful match strikers and file boxes. She also has a collection of fabrics, wallpapers, rugs and carpets.

The wallpaper below in Rita's New York apartment looks like it might be Nina Campbell. But hey, if my mother had a fabulous line of products, I'd hit her up for some too!

Photos by Francesco Lagnese and Angela Moore

Closet Confidential

So what's a girl to do on a rainy Sunday in the city when her plans to go to the beach for the weekend have been cancelled? I decided some serious closet cleaning was in order. This is the time of year when the fall clothes are starting to arrive in stores and I get tired of my summer wardrobe and it got me thinking about those whose closets I envy.

Although I have a big closet compared to most in NYC, I think Aerin Lauder's closet/dressing room/office is bigger than my entire apartment!

Not only is her closet huge and ridiculously organized, look at those jeans, and I thought I was anal, but it is lined in ridiculously expensive hand painted wallpaper from Gracie. It is beautiful though and apparently very popular, Tory Burch also has it in her entry foyer.

Vivre owner Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti's closet that has been featured in Domino among others, is a bit more reasonable in size but no less well organized. I love the mirrored doors on her eveningwear closet. It's a great idea for less worn items.

Sally Perrin's closet in LA that was recently featured in Bazaar looks more lived in and less styled to death. I love all the personal items and photos on her dresser.

Photos by Anders Overgaard, ?, and Dewey Nicks.

How I Spent My Weekend Recap

Here is the step by step process for the cork boards. I'll post pictures of some of my more elaborate boards later.



This is my daughters board. Very subtle! It used to be cute before she crammed it full of all of her photos. At least it keeps her from taping them all over the walls.

I have my carpenter make these frames for me with a crown molding topper. They look a bit more substantial than a flat board. They make a great headboard for a kids room. This one is
5' H. x 3' T. I like them big!

How I Spent My Weekend

In accordance with my recent decision to concentrate full time on writing and speaking I have recently moved my office. I left my 3000 square foot Interior Design showroom for my home office which is 18' x 20'. Needless to say it's a bit cramped. I have had these two cork boards laying around and thought I'd put them to good use in the new room. I love cork boards because they make my very messy office look a bit more organized by throwing everything together within a formal frame. I love to hang my favorite things close to me, pictures of the family, friends, dogs jobs, etc.

I wanted to stack them on each other to create some depth to this part of the room and to soften the look of the larger board so it didn't look so huge. My first step was to hang some stuff on them to see if it was the look I was going for.



Once I figured out it would work I went through my thirty million pieces of fabric ( I never throw fabric away much to my husbands dismay) and chose two that I liked. I draped them over the boards to see if they balanced one another before I went any further.



I thought this looked pretty hot! Kind of a French Watermelon if you will. The iridescent silk damask is a nice foil to the deep red of the toile.



I use spray adhesive ( 3M Super 77 spray adhesive works best) to attach the fabric to the cork. Just spray the cork well with the adhesive on then apply your fabric. I make these for most of my clients and they hold up very well. I hot glue decorative trim around the edges and secured it with decorative nail heads. If you'd like you can add criss crossed ribbons to make a ribbon board. These were way too large. The big one is 6' x 4'.





Voila! The finished product. I like to hang small frames and mirrors as well as other do dads on these boards. Fill them up with anything special to you. The picture in the red matte at the center of the red toile board was drawn by my daughter.




Here is a close up of the trim and nail heads. Both boards took me only about 5 or 6 hours to complete. It's a quick and easy solution to managing some of your clutter.

More San Clemente....

Miss Angelica at Erba Home Interiors....




Another cute shop we browsed through in San Clemente was Erba Home Interiors run by Lisa Rodarti & Marina Goffredo. 103 Ave del Mar, 949-361-1902. My gorgeous 17 year old daughter Angelica ( above) loved it. They had a lovely selection of products from vintage sea life prints to custom bedding and furniture. Here are some fabulous silk embroidered pillows they had for sale. I loved the tiny knife pleated ruffles they used - so sophisticated! Of course the mark of a good pillow is a quality, feather / down, overstuffed insert. Erba Home passed this test with flying colors.



Check out this ultra comfy chaise lounge. It just screams beach house to me. If I had one you'd have to pry me out of it with a crowbar. ( might be a tougher job than you think!)



Great ceramics and an eclectic collection of books and stationary flowed through the store. My sister bought a great set of white porcelain salt and pepper shakers with a little caddy. Considering the fact that she won't eat or cook with salt I would say they were pretty darn cute.

Mix it up!

I'm not sure which is worse, my obsession with House and Garden or my obsession with Domino. I think Domino edges out H and G because they have more photo galleries on their website.

These photos are from their editor Tori Mellott's apartment and I love what she's done with a bland little studio and how she's mixed tradional and modern elements. This is a similar vibe to my apartment and my favorite designs always have a mix of different elements. Designers who stick to one style bore me. Good thing the designer I work for knows how to mix it up!

Photos by Annie Schlechter

Shopping in San Clemente

During my week away from work I spent a lot of time doing what else - working! I scoured southern California for unusual and unique finds and came across quite a few worthy of note.

Our first stop was the quaint little township of San Clemente. Hugging the coast just south of Dana Point, it is a tiny bit of somewhat unspoiled old California. Many of the old architecture remains and it still has that laid back slow Cali atmosphere familiar to anyone as old as I am ( I'm not telling but it rhymes with forty seven - ughhh).

The main shopping boulevard is the Avenida Del Mar. It is packed with a number of quality shops, restaurants, and antique consignment stores. One I would highly recommend is CHRISTOPHER / LEE LTD, at 158 Avenida Del Mar. Among the lovely items you would expect to find in most home decor stores they have found some real gems - and when I say gems - I mean GEMS!!!



These spectacular pieces are from a local Laguna artist - Philip Kiluk. I am told that Mr Kiluk was a sought after muralist and oil painter who traveled the world practicing his craft. In the course of his travels he collected vintage jewelry and mementos which he now crafts into stunning works of art. I apologize for my bad photos. They do not do justice to the superb craftsmanship of each piece.




This gilded, bejeweled bird is the centerpiece of a magnificent crucifix. Many of the components that Kiluk uses in his creations are everyday objects such as vintage jewelry, belt buckles, watch findings, etc. His frames contain small collages made with items such as vintage postcards stamps and trading cards.



For more info contact: Christopher / Lee Ltd 949-369-0265

Laguna Beach Then & Now

Just got back from Laguna Beach and it was beautiful as always. Great weather, perfect temperature and some rest & relaxation. More about that later. For now I thought I would share these pictures of Laguna circa 1889 courtesy of the Orange County Library and the beach today. Check out those snazzy bathing suits. Looks refreshing - Yes?

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight

I spent this past weekend in Southampton and the old adage "red sky at night, sailor's delight" really is true. We saw the most amazing sunset Saturday night and on Sunday the weather was just gorgeous!

I need to work harder so I can afford a beach house on Meadow Lane with a view this spectacular!

Photos by Moi

Chic Getaway

It's almost the weekend which makes me think about getting away. I'm going to the Hamptons this weekend but one of my favorite places for peace and quiet is Maine, where many chic New Yorkers also go to getaway. One of those chicettes is Patricia Herrera Lansing and her family.

I love how the outside of the house looks like an old fashioned barn with antique wicker furniture on the porch, while the interior is open and modern with a mix of antiques and contemporary furniture.

I love how the antique farm equipment, painted in bright colors by Patricia's mother-in-law, looks like sculpture outside the entrance to the main house. What an original and creative idea!

Photos by Eric Cahan

Calling all Boudoirs

As I have mentioned, I am currently writing and illustrating a book on bedding & bedroom furnishings. If you have designed or come across any interesting bedding, pillows, headboards etc. Please send them to me, I would love to include them in my illustrations.





Here is a set of bedding I did for a clients pre-teen daughter. It looked like a yummy assortment of Italian ices when it was finished. I wish all of the beautiful beaded trim showed up in this picture but you can barely see it. I need to invest in a better camera.

One of the keys to specifying beautiful pillows is to always use 75/25 down and feather pillow inserts (unless you have allergy issues). 90/10 inserts can be too feathery and the quills can poke through the pillow face. Order your inserts 1 to 2 inches larger than your finished pillow size for optimal firmness.

You can never have too many pillows !!!!

White Done Right

I dream of marrying an architect like Derek Sanders. An amazingly talented architect who not only creates beautiful spaces but also co-owns one the chicest restaurants in NYC, La Esquina. Too bad he already has the perfect wife in Michelle Kessler Sanders, the newest head Miu Miu USA. Sooo not fair!


The Sanders loft reminds a little bit of Sally Hershbergers home in California with the white backdrop to the warm brown of the furniture that create the perfect tranquil hideaway.

I love how sleek chrome plays off the warm brown in every room. I think this should serve as a great example of what you could do in a plain white rental if you weren't allowed to paint.

Photos by Jacques Dirand

Pleasing Pillows

I've been doing a lot of illustrations this week and I'm well into my section of throw pillows for my Bedding book so I decided to count the total so far. 252 !!! uniquely beautiful pillows for all of you fellow pillow freaks out there to make. My books do not include how to information, only simple explanations of the design. Most of the designs are made from very basic elements and can be easily made by any soft treatment workroom. Here are a few you might like from my section on Pillows with Bows or Ties. They are only in black and white at this stage but I will post them again once I do the color version.

Absolutely Beautiful

I'm a sucker for anything blue and orange and over at Absolutely Beautiful Things today, Anna has posted photos of a bedroom she has just completed in St. Lucia, Australia.

I love this look so much that I think I might be inspired to wallpaper my bedroom too!

Secret Chic

I recently stumbled upon this great article, The Secret Source is Out, in the New York Times online edition, about how regular people are now able to access great design resources that were once only available to the trade.

One new "decorator" profiled was Cheryl Guibone from Connecticut who decorated her entire house herself and is now being hired to help out others. I love her inspiration board and living room! I'm a sucker for a zebra skin rug though. Her style is very clean and she has a great sense of color. You know it's only a matter of time before she's in Domino!

Photos by Thomas McDonald for The New York Times