Glen Magna Show House: After Photos

Yvonne Blacker Interiors // photo credit: Eric Roth

The summer issue of Coastal Home magazine features beautiful photos taken by Eric Roth of the design transformation of the Endicott Mansion at Glen Magna Farms. Above is the picture of the lounge I designed, and below are the adjoining two spaces that I tackled for the Holiday Show House in December. Currently, Glen Magna is booked most weekends for special events and wedding celebrations, while during the week they host boxed lunch garden tours. Have you had the chance to visit this North Shore gem lately? I would love to host a family party here, as it feels so much like home to me! 

Yvonne Blacker Interiors // photo credit: Eric Roth

wedding photography: Elizabeth Wertz

Yvonne Blacker Interiors // photo credit: Eric Roth

Yvonne Blacker Interiors // photo credit: Eric Roth

faux finish by Mary Taggart

Taggart Studio

Coastal Home Magazine // summer issue 2014

cover photo: Rob Karosis

Glen Magna Farms designers at Coastal Home Magazine

launch party at Country Curtains on July 29, 2014

Left to right: myself, Donna Terry, Diana Kennedy, Elyse Parkhurst,

Caitlin Flynn, Candy Weston, Jenifer Dunn Coen, Linda Hentschel

(missing from photo: William Ralph and Michael Carter)

photo credit: K + M Photography

pick up the summer issue of Coastal Home

to view the entire feature story by Katie Curtis

a sneak peek of the article is online 

via Coastal Home

photo credit: Yvonne Blacker

groomsmen at Glen Magna // photo credit: Elizabeth Wertz

visit the Glen Magna Farms website

Designer at work ...

“A Designers Before and After”  photo credit: Eric Roth

{my space at the Wenham Museum North Shore Design Show, 2010}

This time of year is always very busy for me. With the Wenham Museum’s North Shore Design Show just around the corner, I have lots to take care of before the gala event on May 11th. In previous years, I did not have a full-time day job vying for my attention. Fortunately, I have found a way to include my position as Marketing Director at Designer Bath into my vignette for the 2012 show. I have a great team of businesses that will also be a part of the space. Read more about what I have been working on here ...

A Northshore Magazine Launch Party

Flowers by Petros of Ipswich, Massachusetts

I admit it, I love a good party! Seriously, who doesn’t? And when business and pleasure intersect, well sign me up! I recently attended the launch party for the Home issue of Northshore Magazine at Lucia Lighting. Designer Bath has been advertising with Northshore for years so a few of us from the Beverly showroom were there to toast the latest issue.

The March/April issue of Northshore Magazine

With my friends from Designer Bath: Beezee Honan and Sharon Hunt

Our most recent ad in the magazine features the work of Finn-Martens Design. Patricia Finn incorporated items from the Designer Bath showroom in her vignette for the North Shore Design Show held at the Wenham Museum last May. As the Marketing Director at Designer Bath, one of my goals is to support the work of local design professionals. We loved how Pat created a spa retreat with her favorite items from our showroom, and I knew this professional photo taken at the show by Eric Roth would look great as a full page ad. I plan on showing off more designers work in the future ... click here for more details!

Leon Martens and Pat Finn of Finn-Martens Design

Pat was at the launch party with her husband Leon. Our mutual friend, Mary Donovan, who is now working with Landry and Acari, was also among the invited guests. Mary has helped me find the perfect carpet for many of my design show spaces.

Mary Donovan of Landry and Acari

with Leon Martens

Lisa Amore of Lucia Lighting with
Kelly Schetzsle of Northshore Magazine

Along with being a fun place to host a party, Lucia’s has the most amazing selection of classic and on-trend lighting options. I have bought items from them for my own home and have sent many decorating clients their way over the years. In the works is a collaboration for the next North Shore Design Show as well as a special event that we will announce at a later date. 

Selections for the home from the March/April issue of Northshore Magazine

Timothy S. Hopkins Catering of Essex, Massachusetts

While the Lucia showroom dazzled with its ambient lighting set against a backdrop of historical elegance (the showroom is in a multi-story renovated Victorian mansion), the event itself was beautifully coordinated by my good friend, Laura Gifford of Gifford Events. The food presentation was beyond gorgeous ... click here to see mouth watering photos of the entire menu (plus launch party guests) taken by Barbara Lynch Photography. I really wish I ate more when I had the chance but as usual I was too busy chatting. Here are a couple more photos that I took (and some that I borrowed).

Suzanne Roche of Northshore Magazine with event coordinator Laura Gifford

photo credit: Barbara Lynch Photography

Sally Wilson of Wilson Kelsey Design with

Kathy Keegan of Northshore Magazine

John Kelsey of Wilson Kelsey Design with Debra LaPorte

of Debra LaPorte Communications

See this Wilson Kelsey designed space photographed by Laura Moss

in the current issue of Northshore Magazine.

We all left with a full bag of goodies (above are just a few of my favorites) including Designer Bath guest soaps (they smell like lavender and have our logo embedded in them) that I ordered through Sweet Soaps, a great company that I discovered while on Twitter. This is what they looked like before sending them off to the Northshore team ...

Cakes for Occasions of Danvers

Another favorite from the goodie bag was a sprinkle covered chocolate cake pop which was promptly eaten as soon as I got home! Thank you to the team at Northshore Magazine who put together this fabulous event and to Lucy Dearborn at Lucia’s for being such a bright and gracious host!

Click here to see the online version of 
Northshore Magazine Home section.
(I am quoted on page 27 : )

A green point-of-view

Designer: Lisa Kauffman Tharp : Window Treatments: Acorn Interiors

Photo by Eric Roth: Design New England Magazine Jan./Feb. 2012 p.82

Have you seen the latest issue of Design New England Magazine? This lovely space designed by Concord, Massachusetts designer Lisa Kauffman Tharp was featured inside, plus the equally gorgeous bath from this eco-friendly home made the cover.

Lisa, an expert on incorporating green choices into her interior designs, was one of our eco-links in the April issue of New England Finery Magazine. She was actually brought to my attention by Paula Bakies of Acorn Interiors, who has done window treatments for my own design projects. Paula did the treatments in the above photo. I love the clean, quiet, textured look of the space.

Enjoy reading the entire article by clicking here. 

New England Finery Winter Issue!

New England Finery Winter 2011 : cover photo Michael J. Lee Photography

The winter issue of New England Finery is now online! Filled with inspiring images of entertaining at home, it is my gift to you this holiday season. Since we are all so busy at this time of year, it is a mini-version at about 50 pages.

New England Finery Winter 2011 p16 : photo credit Yvonne Blacker

fabrics available through Calico Corners

Bold images and graphic patterns are paired with minimal text, because who really has time to read between gift shopping, package wrapping, treat baking and party hopping?!

New England Finery Winter 2011 p30 : photo credit Yvonne Blacker 

And in the event that you need a secret “easy” recipe to serve up this weekend, consider giving my “Confection Cake” a try. It is so simple to make (the little ones can even help) and I think it looks really pretty! The recipe is on page 30.

New England Finery Winter 2011 p25 : photo credit Eric Roth

Design: Gerald Pomeroy Design Group

Florist: New Leaf Flores 

Happy holidays, everyone! Whatever you celebrate, I hope you get to spend lots of quality time in the presence of your favorite people. Enjoy!!   xoxo  yvonne

Mentoring others in design

Ted and Kim Goodnow of Woodmeister Master Builders receive

their Cumar Marble & Granite designed award from publisher of
Design New England, Steve Twombly, and editor Gail Ravgiala

While the design/build field may appear to be a competitive arena, it actually is very much about creative collaboration and the sharing of information. Every feature story that is shown in a major shelter magazine has been touched by teams of professionals who bring to the table their specific set of talents. When these industry experts take what they know and share it with those around them, encouraging others to do the same, the design community as a whole benefits. Last Thursday evening, at the Cyclorama in Boston, a number of design field professionals – who by their very nature make a point of mentoring others – were celebrated and honored with Mentors in Design Awards presented by Design New England Magazine.

Read about the honorees here
Distinguished Mentors: Lynda Onthank, Steve Durkee, Estelle Bond Guralnick Mentors of the Year: Ted & Kim Goodnow

Annabelle’s Garden, oil on linen, John C. Traynor
Fine art and flowers at the 15th Annual
Boston International Fine Art Show

Linda Merrill, Estelle Bond Guralnick, Michael J. Lee, Eric Roth
(Click on links above for their reviews of this event)

Design New England chose to pair this award ceremony with the celebration of their 5th Anniversary in print and hosted it during the gala preview of the Boston International Fine Art Show. Writers, photographers, designers, architects, builders, artists, and editors mingled amidst a backdrop of eye-catching, conversation-starting works of contemporary and traditional art. While networking and socializing with my friends and sometimes co-workers was the highlight of the evening, my only regret is not taking more time to really study the impressive galleries at this show. One of the comments made during the awards presentation was that all of us there were artists in some respect. Whether that art involves dedication to a craft, creation or appreciation, the words rang true.

While I do have a background in fine arts, I haven’t produced an oil painting since college (and they weren’t anything like this one!) At one point in the evening, I was told by Robert Brown and Eliza Tan that I should have my photo taken in front of it since my sweater complimented the colors so nicely. They know what they are talking about, so I obliged : )

Design New England, Nov./Dec. 2011
Cover photo: Jim Westphalen

Design New England, Nov./Dec. 2011, p. 47

If you haven’t seen the 5th Anniversary issue of Design New England yet, it is now available online. Turn to page 47 and you will see one of the first ads I designed as the new marketing director for Designer Bath in Beverly, MA. In this role, I handle all of their ad placements, the design of the ads, plus social media engagement like twitter, facebook and their new design blog.

How does a decorator/magazine editor end up as a full-time marketing director? When I was researching ad sponsorship for the summer issue of New England Finery Magazine, I visited the website for Designer Bath since they were incorporated by designer Pat Finn in her vignette for the Wenham Museum North Shore Design Show last May – one of my feature stories.

Segment produced by America’s Best TV

On their home page Designer Bath posted that they were looking for someone to coordinate photo shoots of high-end baths, design advertising materials, oversee production and placement of television and print media ... I thought to myself “I would love to do that!” When I met with them and shared my background in advertising and design, along with the fact that my husband is a trade professional, it just seemed like the perfect fit at the right time. But rest assured, I am still dedicated to my creative projects including this blog, decorating consultations and the direction of New England Finery. It is the sum of all these related parts that make up my creative whole, and each is essential to who I am as a designer, and an artist.

Working with professional photographers

Photographers Michael J. Lee and Eric Roth

working side by side at the North Shore Design Show
held May 14th – 22nd at the Wenham Museum.

Well the North Shore Design Show at the Wenham Museum has come and gone. *SIGH.* I went in on Monday to pack up my space, and say my thank-yous and goodbyes. A lot of the designers were there, and we were all feeling a bit sad to dismantle our very personal works of art.

On the upside, last Friday I was fortunate enough to have my space shot by professional photographer, Michael J. Lee. So even though many of the pieces have been returned, put away or put back in use (my foyer was looking decidedly barren without its skirted round table and one set of drapes) at least the design moment that was created for the show has been captured with some really great photos. I was actually quite spoiled this year because at the gala preview party, Eric Roth also took photos of my vignette (along with some great people shots) which he shared with me on Friday.

I am saving the professional images for the next issue of New England Finery Magazine, but I have plenty of snapshots of my own to share with you here on the blog.

I require all of my photographer friends to put down
their cameras and have their own picture taken : )

Michael shot a few spaces that day, and it was really fun to watch him rearrange the vignettes to get their best angle. Eric was doing the same, and there was a lot of back and forth between the designers and the photographers in order to represent the spaces in a way that would use color, light and scale to visually engage a viewer. When we design our vignettes for the show, it is for a slightly different interaction with an audience who is able to walk around the spaces and then look at the pieces up close. On “film,” depth and contrast is trickier to achieve, but these guys really know how to make the rooms come alive.

Michael has recently had his work featured in New England Home Magazine (May/June 2011 p. 58-60), Boston Common Magazine (May/June 2011 p. 80-83) and Boston Globe Magazine (5/22/11) and has shot most of the covers of Surroundings Magazine for South Shore designer, Linda Merrill. Check out Michael’s blog to see what else he has been up to (he is very busy!)

I actually heard a lot about Michael’s design process by listening to him on one of the Skirted Roundtable podcasts which feature fabulous interviews with members of the design field (Linda Merrill is one of the three moderators). During his interview, Michael offered a lot of great tips for those of us who are trying to take better photos of our own, along with sharing a bit about how he went from working in the interior design field to photographing it for others. Click here to learn more about Michael J. Lee and photographing architectural spaces.





I was happy to lend some of our more colorful props to Eric who was shooting for Marshall Whitman Design. I came with all kinds of additional items for my space (per Michael’s professional recommendation) including oranges, strawberries, cherries, croissants, more plates and serving pieces. I figured whatever we didn’t use we would at least have it to eat after the shoot, but Eric sent his lovely assistant/daughter Maddie out to get us some lunch in the middle of the day, so we were well taken care of. I had the best carrot ginger soup from Grassy Roots Gourmet which is right around the corner from the Wenham Museum. I highly recommend it! Yum!!




John Kelsey of Wilson Kelsey Design also brought a “prop” for his scheduled photo shoot with Eric. This cute little guy was one of the guests at the table that John and wife Sally set for the show.

His very elegant home away from home.

Packed up and ready to head home!

Our day of taking pictures was one of the highlights of my week at the show. While the process of figuring out and executing a design is satisfying in itself, being able to collaborate with other design professionals to record our combined visual thoughts requires action and engagement in order to produce the very best still life. Thank you, Michael and Eric, for sharing your creative talents with me! Be sure to subscribe to New England Finery Magazine (it’s free) and you will know right away when the professional images from the show are online.

Sunday Special: Last Day at the Show

Inspired by our photo shoot, I took this picture of the leftovers.

Today is the last day to view the North Shore Design Show. On Friday, I met photographer Michael J. Lee there and we were able to capture some great shots of my space and some others that I will share with you in the next issue of New England Finery Magazine. We incorporated some food onto my table and worked side by side with photographer Eric Roth. I promise to give you more of the behind-the-scenes details of our photo shoot later this week. It was so much fun!

Remember, if you see anything at the show that you would love to have for yourself, a lot of it is available for purchase. Several items from my space have already been claimed, however, the less inventory I have to pack up and take home on Monday the happier I will be : )

The Summer Nursery, part 1

“The Summer Nursery” designed by Yvonne Blacker
Photo courtesy of Eric Roth

“Summer Sky” by Mary Taggart

oil on canvas, 24 in. x 36 in.





Come back on Monday to see more photos of this nursery that I created for the Danvers Historical Society designer showcase, Reflecting on Danvers History through Interior Design. I will be sharing the inspiration behind the design, along with some
do-it-yourself tips and designer secrets!

Have a great weekend!
xo yvonne



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