HAND SKETCHING ANYONE?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently did some hand sketching, something I very rarely do these days, and I found it so fun and quite relaxing. I fear such hand sketching in design is becoming more and more of a rarity as computers slowly take over for our hands. I used to sketch elevations and plans on a regular basis even 2-3 years ago, and now I often do all drawings in CAD. How I miss the days I spent wandering museums sketching furniture and decorative details... I think I will try to hand sketch more in the future.

 

 

 

 

MY NEW FAVORITE LIGHTING COMPANY

I seem to fall totally in love with one lighting manufacturer at a time, go through several months where I only use their fixtures, and then move on to someone else.  Kind of like an exotic affair in a foreign country that one eventually wakes from.  Well, my latest love in lighting is Hinkley.  They are well priced, have a great 'updated tradition' look, and are also good quality.  Some of my current favorite lines are-

The Hampton series which were just installed in a project, the great thing about this line is that you can use the series without everything feeling too matchy-matchy, there is plenty of variation the sizes and shapes which is so important-

I also love the Ion, going into another project soon, this one can be extended or collapsed to suit the size required in the space and available in 3 cool finishes-

And a few others I just love for their design...

FRANCOPHILE & NEOCLASSICAL HEAVEN

 

 

 

 

 

I subscribe to a number of design magazines, and every once in a while I see a project that just mesmerizes me.  It does not happen too often, and when it does, it usually involves one or both of these two things- 1. France 2. Neoclassicism.  The recent project in Architectural Digest by Jean-Louis Deniot has both. 

 

This wonderful renovation in Paris by an American couple speaks to me on so many levels.  Not only the basic fact that it is in my all-time favorite city, but also that it is decorated in the most elegant and refined neoclassical style, and that it is done completely in subtle shades of grays and taupes, with accents of blacks and whites (my favorite color palette), but it also seems the couple who purchased and renovated the property has acted out my own future (or so I hope).  After having loved Paris from afar for many years, the couple finally decided to retire to Paris, purchase this wonderful place, and enjoy their golden years in the City of Lights.  Of course there was a time I hoped to move to Paris in my youth and stay for the rest of my life (while I did move there in my youth, I was not quite blessed enough to stay longer than one year), now I would be overwhelmingly content with a week in Paris every year or so and the prospect of retiring to the grand old city one day in the future.  Sounds a whole lot better than a retirement home in Florida to me!  Anyway, I hope one day I may be able to create such a jewel of a space in such a jewel of a city!  Thanks for publishing this beauty, AD!

 

 

And I have to say, my all time favorite room in the place has to be this lovely bathroom!

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAND CENTRAL!

It took an afternoon of reminiscing about one of my all-time favorite interior spaces to get me out of my blogging funk.  I have not been in much of a mood to write the last month or so, but thinking of this beauty turning 100 gave me the blog bug again (not to mention the NYC bug). 

There is no feeling like pulling into grand central, walking out of the bowels of the earth into the light-filled, almost too cavernous and grandiose space that is Grand Central Station.  The complete opposite experience of entering Manhattan from Penn Station, with its low ceilings and grubby 70's tiled walls.  I get almost as much joy out of Grand Central as the island itself.  I could sustain a NYC fix for many a month with just a few minutes in this space, even without actually stepping onto a Manhattan sidewalk.  Sigh.

BACKSPLASH TRANSFORMATION

I really dislike the standard 'builders' style backsplash of 4 inches of countertop.  Really?  That is the most boring thing I can think of to do with a backsplash... you might as well not do one at all.  Backsplashes are such a great opportunity to bring in color, texture and design. 

Well, I have a client that really wanted to do something with her standard 4 inch backsplash in her kitchen, both for functionality and looks.  She had a great kitchen to begin with, so we were able to pull some great tones from her countertop and cabinetry and came up with this beautiful backsplash which was simply installed on top of her existing 4" granite backsplash already in place.  I think it turned out great, making this a real focal point in the kitchen and also allowing my client to easily keep her kitchen wall clean.

Yes, the tiles are iridescent... love!

And since this tile was so beautiful, we decided to tile the powder room wall as well!

Thanks again to Melissa McCafferty for the great photos, and Gene Paskett for a great tile installation!