DDB Fall Market Keynote: ELLE Decor - What is luxury?

One of the highlights of the Decoration and Design Building’s 2012 Fall Market is getting to hear some of the industry’s thought leaders talk about what they see going on in the design and decor business. This year’s opening keynote was one of the best we’ve heard. ELLE Decor’s editor-in-chief, Michael Boodro (photo below), shared the findings of a survey on luxury completed by 400 interior designers across the United States. The goal of this survey was to define the question “What is luxury?”

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Jenny's Sublime Kitchen

When wandering through a local house tour last spring, we stumbled upon one of the most amazing kitchens we've seen in a long time. The kitchen belonged to Jenny, an artist, who also dabbles in interior design with her kitchen decorator/friend, Amy Goldy. Jenny lives in an older home that had a smaller kitchen than she wanted for her family of five. So she went to task to bump it out, giving it more room and light as well as bringing in the white and grey palette she had been eyeing for some time.

The family's eating space is anchored by an 18th-century English gate-legged table, a family heirloom (you know we love heirlooms!), intermixed with stools from Pottery Barn and lit by a Martin chandelier by Julie Neill Designs of New Orleans. The kitchen's custom cabinetry was imagined and brought to life by designer Susan Obercian. We love her use of the marine edges on the marble countertop.

The first thing you notice in Jenny’s kitchen is the serene, light filled room that invites you in to stay a while and eat a fantastic meal. We attribute it to her marble countertops and backsplash (honed statuary). Beyond its amazing looks it's also quite practical with its marine edges (so things don’t go splashing off; quite genius, no?).

The attention to detail didn't stop there. All of the stainless appliances found throughout the kitchen are a combination of some of the top brand names in the industry- Wolf (range), Miele (dishwasher), Sub-Zero (refrigerator/freezer) and Range Craft (hood) - and play off the rivers of grey in the countertops. It gives the kitchen a calm and inviting feeling that was exactly what Jenny was going for.

Hidden in the windows that frame the verdant view are ingenius roll-down screens from Norwood Windows. And when the sun fails to shine, the sink area is lit by nautical-inspired sconces from Urban Archaeology.

The luxury of being able to custom design a kitchen is not lost on Jenny and she feels very lucky to have had the opportunity and to now have this amazing kitchen. It is truly the jewel in this incredibly beautiful house. We talked to Jenny about how she went about designing her dream kitchen and her reflections on the process and outcome.

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Decoration and Design Building’s 2012 Fall Market: Bloggers on the Scene

We are excited to be part of the Bloggers Lounge again this year for the Decoration and Design Building’s 2012 Fall Market taking place October 10th & 11th in NYC. It will be our third time covering the market’s events, launches and general happenings all focused on the “culmination of pure design - and how it relates to the home.” Every season the market brings the best and brightest together to share, learn and collaborate on decoration and design.

The keynote agenda for Fall Market is filled with interesting panels and discussions in support of this market's theme, "Design Across Disciplines." With marquee designers and prestigious print publications, they are all sure to be informative and inspiring.

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Removing Paint from Brass Window Hardware

So I have been a bit quiet on my homefront due to many different projects going on all while traveling to and fro the past three months. I have had several ongoing projects (repainting entire first floor, redecorating den, updating kitchen, buying fabrics for various projects, etc.) and it’s just been a big decorating tizzy over here at Chez Moi.

But before I do any big reveals (and that’s because nothing is fully complete yet), I wanted to share with you one handy little tip I picked up while I was painting. For our home interior, I really wanted to use a zero toxin paint and loved Mythic Paint for my exterior so it was my go-to choice for my interior; plus it’s from Mississippi, my home state! This required special painters who are good at handling this paint and I’m so glad I chose to go with them because boy were they thorough!

Once my painters started to paint, they removed all of my original (read 1917) window hardware off my original (read 1917) windows. Some of these locks and latches may have been replaced over the years but the condition they were in would lead me to believe that they had never been removed before to allow for a proper paint job. So once the painters removed them, they asked if I wanted to replace them as they were looking a bit rough.

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Installing Interior Doors

It's been a while (over a year, but who's counting?) and I can finally say that my not-so-little interior door upgrade project is done! After extensive hemming and hawing over the door specifications, laboring over the door hardware decisions and surviving a vanishing handyman, I finally have new bedroom and closet doors.

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