A minimalist fall planter

I love the harvest-in-abundance aspect of fall decorating, but this season I am going with a more minimalist look on my front porch. I chose to fill a pair of planters with small-scale boxwoods, some scattered hay for texture, and for vertical interest I added miniature stalks of cat-tails. This will look seasonally-appropriate right through Thanksgiving, so I will not have to change it again until December. For the winter holidays, I will replace the hay with evergreen clippings and some red berries, both taken from my backyard. I will come up with something ornamental to replace the cat-tails. In the summer, I will move the boxwoods to the backyard where I am creating a small boxwood garden. I always try to use perennials in my container gardens, so that I can reuse them and get more design out of my landscaping dollars.

Total cost for fall-to-winter
planter makeover: $40

I have officially crossed #9
off my top 10 to-do-list!

Kona Chair at the High Point Market

Kona Chair at Century Furniture by designvignettes
on Polyvore.com

Today is the first day of the High Point Market in North Carolina where over 2,000 exhibitors will present some of the newest design trends in the furniture industry. It is also where the winner of Project UDesign – the first crowd-sourced eco-friendly wing chair – will be announced at the Century Furniture showroom. Three designs are in the running and I have already announced that my favorite is the Kona Chair designed by SCAD student Emily Carpenter. There is still time to cast your vote on the BiOH facebook page up until
the contest closes on October 19th.

Click here to read more about
the final voting process.



Screen capture from Project UDesign video on YouTube


Even though I will not be able to attend the
6-day long event at High Point, I will be in the
showroom “virtually” by means of a really cool
video that features the three finalists along with
the blog posts created to spread the word
“that sustainable design is beautiful design.”

Ash Entertainment Credenza


So in honor of the Kona making it into this final round, I have chosen some pieces from the Century Furniture line that have the same laid-back vibe as the original room that I designed for Alluminare. I can definitely see the Kona being featured in one of these gorgeous room settings for Century or paired with some
of their nature inspired accent pieces.



Water Hyacinth Sofa

New Traditional Display Cabinet

Table Lamp with raffia shade



“X” Bench from the Metro Luxe collection

Console Table with antique white-wash finish

Inlaid Capiz Shell Mirror

Oscar de la Renta Occasional Table

Vote now for The Kona Chair
by Emily Carpenter



“What I like best about the
design of the Kona chair is
that it can easily fit in with
today’s modern take on the
traditional. It looks both
comfortable and solid,
while still being fun.”


Tune in to twitter on Monday, October 18th
starting at 5:00pm EST for a tweet-up with
the Project UDesign finalists and the press!

Use hashtag
#ProjectUDesign

I am in Coastal Home!

This past summer at a preview party/press event
for the Danvers Historical Society design show Reflecting on Danvers History through Interior Design, I had a nice conversation with Coastal Home publisher Keith Lemerise. He liked the room I designed and I mentioned how I knew some designers that had recently been featured in his magazine (Nicole Yee was in the summer issue). Upon leaving, he gave me his card, so I began to follow this fairly new magazine on both Facebook and twitter.

One day, CH editor Lynn Felici-Gallant posted on Facebook that they were looking for some inspiring photos and design ideas for the upcoming fall issue.
I sent over a list of content ideas that I knew I had photos to (I always try to use my own photos on my blog) and guess what? Lynn looked over my ideas and then my blog, and chose an image from one of my posts to feature in the current issue!

I took the photo above (top right hand corner) on one of my trips to the Boston Design Center, in one of my favorite showrooms, JANUS et Cie. Read my “Must Do” article in the online version of Coastal Home by clicking here. For my full post with photos from the JANUS et Cie showroom, click here.

And to subscribe to Coastal Home magazine,
click here.

Just another cool example of how easy it is
for social media to connect people with ideas –
and opportunities!

10 weeks, 10 projects

I figure I have about 10 productive weeks left of 2010. My goal is to finish at least 10 projects that have been on my to-do list.

1. Finish master bedroom. I know I have been talking about finishing this for some time now. We are down to just having the hardwood floor installed and then we can move in!

2. After we move out of our existing room, have hardwood floors repaired and then refinished before giving this space to two of the boys (we never did this floor over, just put a wool carpet on top). This room will then be complete (which means all walls are new, trim is new, electrical has been updated, walls are insulated and painted).

3. Finish painting closet and trim in existing boys room and add a new light fixture. We are so close to being done in here, but I just haven’t been willing to get in there, move furniture around and paint. It is much easier to tackle now that the guys are in school for most of the day. I did get the beds painted black like I had planned, but haven’t put together the finishing touches so have yet to post after pics!

4. Paint interior of front door high gloss black and paint new trim around door. Such a small project. Have all the paint. What am I waiting for??? Oh yeah, again I had to wait until no one was home and going in and out for most of the day. If I paint at 9am it should be safe to the touch by 2pm (when they start to arrive home). I know I could paint at night, but by the end of the day all I want to do is sit on the couch and catch up on my reality TV or design shows!

5. Turn the smallest bedroom into my office once they move out to the bigger room. This will be the best reward for all our hard work (at least for me it will be!)

6. Make temporary kitchen a little prettier. We gutted the kitchen and have been using the dining room as our new home central (cooking, eating, homework, you name it). Would like to add some shelving on walls and some fabric under temporary sink (which is starting to feel quite permanent!) Also would like to get a handle on the huge amount of recycling that we do since we are short on space these days.

7. Get 2nd floor laundry room under control. No need to show images, but our system is overburdened right now (started out looking very organized and GAP-like when the kids clothing was small, now it is more guys-college-dorm-room in appearance!) New bedroom arrangements with additional closet space should help.

8. Have stairway, 2nd floor hallway plus all 2nd floor doors painted (we recently replaced 7 of them). For this I will call in a professional painter with staging.

9. Add new fall-to-winter flowers on front porch. Maybe I will start with this??

10. Begin the process of replacing the missing kitchen and first floor powder room!


I figure if I put my to-do list online, I will feel more pressure to tend to these projects. Plus that will be 10 weeks worth of great home renovating content for all of you. Besides, I don’t want to go into 2011 with the same resolutions that I set for 2010 (why do I even bother putting “use treadmill” on the list???)
Wish me luck!

October ... think pink!

Pretty, yet practical.


Dazzling and delightful.


Stylish statement pieces.


Well-deserved luxuries.


All @ New England Fine Living

Open Wednesday – Friday, 10am – 5pm
Saturday from 10am to 4pm
Click here for more info.


Pamper someone you love with something
pink and pretty! For those of you who are
not local, here are a few pink items that would
look just right in a room of her own ...

Pink can be bold when paired with
a rich red and gilded gold.


pink, red, gold by designvignettes
on Polyvore.com

Check out these posts
that feature pink ...


Avery Design Interiors

Interior Concepts by Wanda S. Horton

Irwin Feld Design

Cynthia Mason: Exuberant Home




Susan G. Komen for the Cure

ShopKomen.com

Meeting and tweeting ...

Recent hosts at a design discussion on how to grow your business with twitter: Stacy Kunstel, homes editor of New England Home Magazine
(and the Duchess of Dunes & Duchess) with designer Julieann Covino of Jace Interiors, author of the design blog CreateGirl

Lately I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of talented people in the design industry. Along with the group of creative vendors at New England Fine Living, I have been joining some very cool designer chats led by design professionals who are quite savvy when it comes to social media. This week I attended a meet-up coordinated by The Design Salon and hosted at Twelve Chairs, a new home furnishings boutique in Boston that showcases eco-friendly merchandise and green design. In this beautifully decorated loft space turned showroom, a large group of talented, entrepreneurial creatives sat in on a between-you-and-me conversation on how to use twitter as a business building tool. Stacy and Julieann, both of whom I have followed online then have recently met IRL (twitter short-hand for “in real life”) shared tips and techniques for utilizing the collective energy of twitter.




{Images borrowed from Twelve Chairs blog}

Some of their recommendations? Find out who you want to follow. Start with friends, add industry professionals and then follow who they follow.
Twitter really is the ultimate in networking, where anyone can jump in and join the conversation! One of the best parts of twitter is how easy it is to share information quickly with a large audience. Be sure
to tweet about what you are working on, link to other tweets of interest, and always use your best twitter-etiquette and say TY (thank you) when someone gives you a shout-out, answers a question,
or provides a resource.


Here are some interesting design conversations
(or threads) that you can follow on twitter:

#IDzinechat
#intdesignerchat
#ProjectUDesign
#projectPINK
#DesignTV




TY @creategirl + @stacystyle 4 ur inspiring twitter tips!
And TY 2 @twelvechairs 4 hosting this gr8 event!


For more info on The Design Salon
and its members, click here.

What makes a kitchen beautiful?

Personal touches add character
to any kitchen, large or small.

This past Saturday, I spent the day touring some beautifully finished kitchens that were featured on the Wenham Museum Heart of the Home Kitchen Tour while dreaming about finishing my own remodel-in-progress. All of the homes were in the Wenham, Manchester, Beverly/Prides Crossing area of the North Shore. Each was uniquely special in its own way. I did not get photos of every home on the tour, but I did get some shots that illustrate what I think makes a kitchen interesting, often regardless
of budget or materials chosen.

Artistic touches and pops
of color are engaging.

Displayed collections add personality.

Painted cabinet interiors are a great
way to show off what is inside.

Remember this custom surfboard island?


Creatively styled spaces that are bright and
cheerful make for great conversation.

A well-edited color palette plus open shelving
for everyday items are easy on the eye.

Exterior views that are pretty and thoughtful
can compliment a kitchens interior.

Great lighting plus room to entertain
will encourage large gatherings.

Clutter-free counters and well-organized
storage both looks and feels good.





Well appointed spaces with equally enchanting
adjoining rooms create visual continuity.





Comfortable areas to entertain that are
filled with organic materials and natural
patina add warmth and charm.





Take home style tip: a simple bouquet
of flowers will dress-up any kitchen.




My favorite kitchen item seen on the tour?

A large stainless steel farmhouse sink.
This tops my list as a must-have for my new kitchen.
What favorite items are on your list?



Read more about this event
(and see some professional photos)
by clicking here.