Charity gets visit from Buddy the Cake Boss!

Well, the charity near and dear to my heart is St. Hubert's Animal Shelter. We are a no-kill shelter in Madison NJ, and North Branch , NJ that takes in dogs cats and eventhe smallest of creatures like chinchillas in hopes to find them good homes!  Well today we are lucky to have Buddy the Cake Boss filming an episode at our Madison facility and of course there will be cake!! I will be there with my daughter to support St Huberts and eat a little cake too. The episode will be airing in the Fall, check us out out on Petfinder for some of the greatest dogs and cats around!  I will be back to great design after this fun occasion have a great weekend everyone!

Mick De Guilio, Designer of 2012 Kitchen of theYear.

This years House Beautiful 2012 Kitchen of the year is designed by Mick De Guilio. Since I have been concentrating on kitchens the past few weeks, and the timing is perfect for viewing the 2012 Kitchen of the Year. It will be open July 16th to the 20th at Rockefeller Plaza and I am sure it will be something worth visiting! The kitchen itself is in a Pavilion with lots of natural light, surrounded by windows. I cant wait to see how Mick incorporates his 11 things a kitchen must have! According to Mick De Guilio all kitchens must have the following:

1. Natural Light
2. Comfort
3. Visual Texture
4. Stainless steel
5. Island-a great sink
6. Integrated Refrigeration
7. High performance appliance
8. A Hook- something that pulls you in!
9. Kitchen designer
10. A great sink
11. Ice cream

Here are a few examples of Mick's designs to get us ready for the big reveal! Enjoy!

Sink by Mick De Guilio for Kallista

2011 Hampton Designer Show House Revisited.

Well the unveiling of the 2012 Hampton Designer Show house is right around the corner. It runs from July 22, 2012 until September 3, 2012. I opened this month's Traditional Home and saw the spread on the 2011 Show House, and thought I would revisit it since it was such a fun house! The designers did a wonderful job at this particular show house and I cannot wait to see what's in store for the 2012 house! Please enjoy some of my favorite rooms from the 2011 Hampton Show House!

Credits to: Hampton Toes, Traditional Home, and Tobi Fairley.

Bob Bakes

Meg Braff

Skye Kirby Westcott

Suysel dePedro Cunningham & Anne Maxwell Foster

Joy Tribout

Eddie Lee

Patricia Fisher

Tobi Fairley

2012 Hampton Designer Showhouse, a little similar in architectural detail..cannot wait for the inside tour!

The Non-White Kitchen!

I will be searching for counters, flooring and backsplash today with my client. She and her husband are non-white kitchen lovers. They have chosen an eggshell instead of white and a warm caramel tone  for the island. Their dream kitchen designer is Clive Christian, and it's my job to help them achieve that English classic style and to edit some of the detail so "too much of a good thing", doesn't turn into too much of a good thing! I love white kitchens but do not have one myself, mine is deep cream and in NY I have parchment side cabinetry with a pewter island. I love some of the colors that kitchen designers are choosing these days. I thought I would pick a few of my favorite "non-white" kitchens for your viewing pleasure as I head out to search for stone. Enjoy!
Credits:Christopher Peacock, Coastal Living,The Enchanted Home, DecorPad and Dutch British Love.

Christopher Peacock Modern!

Not your typical Christopher Peacock, but he pulls off a great modern look! 

Clive Christian, I would like to achieve a toned down version of this kitchen for my clients.

Love the charcoal lower cabinets!

Ooh LA LA!!

Warm and inviting!! 

Sleek yet classic!

Driftwood finish is fun!

Palest of gray cabinetry and the backsplash is amazing!

House of Windsor now the House of Paltrow!

Gyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin recently placed a $10.45 million down payment, for an East Coast-style estate in Brentwood, CA.
If this home looks familiar, you probably saw it in Veranda as the “House Of Windsor” that was built fresh as a concept house by renowned So Cal designer Windsor Smith. The sprawling home includes rooms designed by a handful of amazing designers, including Candace Barnes, Peter Dunham, and Kathryn Ireland and Martin Lawrence Bullard. The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate is 8,000 square feet, which leaves plenty of room for the young family of four. The property includes horse stables, and paddock and the landscape is very traditional as well. This home definitely has East Coast aesthetic! This doesn’t surprise me because I think Gyneth is a New York girl at heart and as you know Chris Martin reigns from the U.K., so a East coast style design is right up their alley! Wonder if she will keep the decor as seen in Veranda, and if she does change it... who will do the honors? I cannot wait to stay tuned.Enjoy!

Credits: casasugar, and Veranda.

I love that Door!

The stately yet uncluttered design of this foyer suits this sprawling estate!

Love the bar!

The eclectic design of this space is one that I could definitely live with!

The floors!

Peter Dunham's design!

This ceiling is great!

One of my favorite kitchens.

Gray cabinets a breath of fresh air!

Design by Martin Lawrence Bullard.

Paddock by Kathryn Ireland.

Sunday Shop The Look!

I love when magazines let you shop the look. I thought why not try it myself, so I picked one of my favorite rooms by Steven Gambrel and gave it a shot! I have to say it was a challenge because most of Steven's pieces are either antiques or custom so I had quite the search for certain items, but it was fun none the less. Try this some time you would be surprised what a great look you can achieve if you are willing to really search! Happy Sunday all.

A bone white on walls, ebony ceilings and trim,heavy moulding makes the space! 

Gray/Blue rug by www.surya.com

Hickory Chair sofa available through Town & Country.

Lee sofa, in Green Parrot , or an emerald green velvet will do nicely.

Green velvet!

Crate & Barrel do in black leather add brass cap to feet!

1stDibs, Mid century cocktail table stain in light driftwood and add large brass tack detail over leg insert.

1stDibs French chair with leather and patina paint detail.

Vaughan red shade fabric

Again shade by Vaughan.

Column Lamp by Restoration Hardware.

Restoration hardware chandelier paint black and add leather shades!

Drapery Style

Foreign Word Art-www.decorwrite.com

Very hard to find that painting so instead I went with the colors and era and this can be made to any size and canvas wrapped, the greens work very well into the space.www.gallerydirect.com

This is Target!!

Concrete pedestal atwww.pedestalsource.com

Parrot from www.vandm.com