Christmasy

So if I were to be honest, I would admit that I designed this room to look good at Christmas.  It is basically a white room with red accents.  Add green at Christmas and poof - Christmasy.

Every year my kids have asked for colorful lights on the tree and I have always complied.  This year, I got my way and used white lights and they love it.  With the white lights, you can really see the ornaments - all in reds, silver and gold.  A cleaner look and I love it.

Finding an Inspiration Piece

People ask me to help them design a room because they have no idea where to start.  Do I start with a paint color or the rug or the drapery?
Well, it varies. The function of the room of course is most important.  Assuming you already know what you want to do in the room and how it will be used and who will use it and when, now you can get to designing it.

Let's talk about some common inspirations.

1.   You may be stuck with a piece.  Aunt Mabel's sideboard, your husband's favorite chair, an area rug you bought for another house that is way too expensive to replace.  You may find that being forced to design around something yields surprising results.

2.  You may want to design around the light.  When is the room used?  If you are only in it at night then you might need to account for lack of natural light - perhaps you see the sunset from that room and the rose tones that come in are so wonderful that you design the room for that time of day.

3. Pay attention to what is going on outside the windows.  I had a room that had lush greenery on 3 sides once so painting it anything but green seemed wrong.  So often you see rooms in blue and white by the ocean because of this.

4.  Maybe you have a piece of art you want to showcase (btw - designing a room around art is fine - buying art to match your sofa is considered poor taste) and you design around that  - even a set of plates or the design or colors of one piece of pottery can be a inspiration.

Gina Lollobrigida from Come September

Gorgeous chandelier - looks like Gina.

5.  Look to the world of fashion, clothes designers, or the style of an actor from a movie - A room could be Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Annie Hall.  Recently I designed a room around
Fellini films from the late 1950s.

Set in Rome - Fellini's La Dolce Vita 

Design for a room based on the modern Roman feel of Fellini's 1960's glam

A Justification Involving Home

I met with an old friend last night whom I have not seen in many years.  18 years in fact..  She was surprised, I think, to find I was not teaching English anymore and a bit surprised that I was redesigning houses.  And I started to think about other people who have known me and have always associated me with words, poetry and acting -  and some people, I think, have trouble accepting that I have moved into the visual world of houses.

 I wonder or worry at times that it all seems frivolous in comparison to my former pursuit of theater, poetry, and writing to express the human condition - and helping teenagers do the same.  But then I think about what Ryan, another designer I know, said so beautifully once - but when I asked him to repeat it, he said, "What, what did I say?"  Well, he said something like this:

It matters where people live because it shapes who they are and how they feel about themselves.  And helping people create that space is important because it helps them be the best they can be and achieve all the things they want to achieve.  Home is more than shelter or a place to keep your stuff. Home is a place to recharge and gather with your loved ones, to gain comfort and be fully yourself. And that all seems pretty important to me.

Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West, Florida - the room where he did a bit of writing.

New Mirror!!!!

I fell in love with this mirror and bought it even though I was not sure where it was going to go.  I do not really recommend this sort of action unless you KNOW it will fit several places.  Turned out that it fit perfectly next to the fireplace and replaced a small antique wash stand that I really love... but the room needed a lift and this mirror was just right.  I may move the mantle mirror after the holidays but we'll see.  I don't have anything I like as much.  Uh-oh.  Might need to go shopping.

Christmas Light

I finally made those scones I told you I would make.
Cranberry walnut with an orange glaze.  So pretty.  And very yummy!

Boston

Early one snowy and very cold New Year's morning in Boston.