Do you know what today is? A year ago today I packed my bags and headed North from DC to NYC!  Well, for me the best way to celebrate my year anniversary in my newly adopted city, was to check out my Favorite singer Alice Smith who played at City Winery last night. I’m talking desert island favorite singer.

Alice is probably the only reason I would be out past 10PM on a Sunday night, when clearly I have work the next day. But, as always, she was totally worth seeing. With an awesome vocal range, she makes singing seem so effortless and Alice ALWAYS has a good time on stage. With 3 great girlfriends in tow and seats so close that made us feel like we would be called on stage to sing backup any minute, it was an amazing way to ring in another year in NYC.

Alice also mentioned that she has a new EP, entitled “She” coming out soon. I can’t wait because I’ve been bumping “For Lovers, Dreamers and Me” since 2008 like it just came out last week. Plus I need a new NYC soundtrack!

In Be Your Own Decorator, author Susanna Salk wants you to be confident when you are decorating at home. After all, after a successful career as a design writer, that same confidence has served her well, when decorating her home. However, if you are looking for a “how-to” book, she mentions early on that this is not that book. It’s actually about the “why-nots” of decorating.

The book, filled mostly with inspirational interiors and sprinkled with tips from A-list designers, surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Mostly because, with chapters like, Color, Mix, Whimsy and Rule-Breaking, I found myself asking “why not” instead of “should I” when it came to decorating my own space. For me, it’s so much easier to tell people what to do design-wise. However, by nature, I edit myself sometimes. Instead, this book reminded me that trusting my instincts serves a better guide than being shy about my tastes at home. I mean, if it works for the likes of Mary, Miles and Bunny, then, “Why Not” me?

And, as I hosted my first brunch at my NYC apartment, my home, still a work in progress, garnered much acclaim from my guest. Thank God I didn’t go with all those neutrals in the name of “good taste”, instead choosing a more adventurous palette with colors and patterns that are beautiful, rich, fun and, dare I say, me. Even designers need reminders now and again.

© Be Your Own Decorator by Susanna Salk, Rizzoli New York, 2012. Received courtesy of Rizzoli New York.

Of course, as a reader of design books, I always want more words, but again that is not the point of Be Your Own Decorator. As a decorating enthusiast, you should take this book, and see each chapter’s introductory essay as Salk’s personal decorating pep talk to you. She  may give you a few parameters such as, ” Whimsy should never forget it’s place.” Then, she pretty much tells you to get some inspiration, read the tips, be empowered and decorate. It’s definitely worth a good read or ten, especially over the weekend.

Speaking of…I’m out of here!

image via a note on design

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to talk to a group of students about careers in interior design and share personal stories of my professional experience. I still consider myself an interior designer, even though what I do is much more specialized. However not a day goes by, when I feel like I do not use my design training. When I was a student, I didn’t realize that there were other jobs in the design community, until I saw a job posting for a Material Librarian. Based on the description ( I would be floating to different commercial architecture firms), it seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn about materials and also learn about different firms in and around DC.

When I was in school I had a very different  vision for my career and thought there was only one path for me, Interior Designer. Over time, with my experience working in different firms, I realized that commercial design wasn’t for me. Healthcare wasn’t where I belonged either. High-end Residential was an amazing experience and to actually work on projects, from concept to installation was invaluable. I’m a people person and to really get a feel of how people lived was amazing. I began to understand that trusting relationships with contractors and vendors was a necessity as they were more like team members. While a designer’s style may be the reason for the initial contact, I learned design is really client-driven. Also, I loved the mix and level of materials that I got to work with on a day to day basis. In contrast to my commercial job, this experience taught me about the high-end materials that I would reference everyday in my current work life.

image via lonnymag

Seven years later after my first job in design, I didn’t think materials would be my niche, but  I am always thankful for the experience. It helped me survive the recession when many designers were being laid off and an already competitive market became VERY competitive. It helped me get a very unique job in a specialized sector of design. And you know what? , Even on the most stressful days, I feel like I belong in retail design.

I say all of this to you because, in design it is really important to try it all. See where you fit; see where you don’t.  If you are a career changer (I was), you can bring your strengths and previous workplace experience to a design job. It’s invaluable, because you may already how to work in a team environment or address the unique things that come up in a work environment. However, by far the best thing I did was find a niche. I found something that made me unique in the architecture and design world. Of course specializing in materials, may not be for everyone, but it worked for me. For instance, I’m not cataloguing materials everyday. I have to know who to call when I need something beautiful produced. And, while  my knowledge of materials continues to grow, I know way more about glass, natural stone and textiles than I could have ever imagined in design school.

Mostly what I believe, that you, as a future designer, have unique talents. Over time, a combination of those talents and experience will direct your career path, which as I know well, isn’t always a straight line. Just be open to trying new things and your design life will be better than you imagine.

I’m in a colorful mood and my home is starting to reflect that. Below, are two images that are currently inspiring my decorating style, which my mom deemed in a very Emily Henderson way, “refined bohemian.” That pretty much means that my style icons, Audrey Hepburn and Lisa Bonet are starting to converge in my living room. But the color thing, yeah, that’s all me.

image via delight by design

image via la dolce vita

The color of this library is serving as major inspiration. It’s feminine, but not girly because it has a lot of depth. Is possible that you may see this color a again. So, at this very moment, color, global prints and classic pieces are making me very happy.

A recent phone convo with my mom, CC went like this:

CC: You’re home early.

Me: Yeah I left on time because my chair is being delivered.

CC: [excited tone] OOOOH text me when it arrives.

Chair arrives and I send text to CC of the front and back of aforementioned chair. “I love it!” she exclaims. “Everything you have looks just like the way you dress!”

I heart my mom for saying that!

So my chair has returned home with a makeover. You will remember that I sent it out to be upholstered and chose a certain fabric from Dwell Studio for Robert Allen. Just a reminder, here  is the before pic.

And the back..

For the makeover, I chose Dwell Studio’s Aravali  in Amethyst from their Robert Allen Global Modern Luxe  line.

The geometrics of the pattern juxtapose the curving lines of the chair.

For a complementary pop of color, I chose  Robert Allen’s Showtime CottonVelvet in Tulip for the back. Aravali has accents of this color in the fabric.

I love the back of the chair. I didn’t want to distract from it with a busy pattern and it  seem that Tulip was a fun color choice. I also had enough fabric to make a little pillow that is currently residing on my sofa.

Everything seems to be coming together and I’m pretty excited about it.

Slowly, my living room is starting to come together. I have developed my design direction and decided on a palette and my newly upholstered chair will be delivered this week. As all of these things have started to become a cohesive room  (at least in my mind), recently I was given the opportunity to review a rug from RugsUSA. I had been perusing the site and had my eye on one. So which one did I choose? Well, I chose the  Radiante Lanterns Ikat Rug in the color Sundance.  On screen, I fell in love with the modern take on the ikat pattern, but how does it’s good looks stand up in my apartment?

First of all, the color is fun and happy and upon unrolling the rug, it was a great pop of color. Next, I decided the best way to begin testing a new rug it would be to lay on it. Does that sound strange?  I live in a world where wool and silk carpet and rugs are the norm and I was a bit wary of how soft its hand-tufted polyester fibers would be, so laying on it seemed like a reasonable option. And just like a quality rug should be, it was really soft both under my head and underfoot even without a rug pad.

So what else do I love about it? A bonus is the way the pattern fades in and out as if it was hand-dyed as well as the oversized ikat print. Definitely a contemporary take on a traditional pattern. The color in the faded areas was a bit brighter than I expected, but for me it was not an issue. Also, the area rug I am reviewing is 5′ x 8′, which is a great size option for my narrow and awkward living room.

As you can see, I don’t mind spending time on the floor and I often spend time there, scheming.

So here’s the big question…Would I buy a rug from RugsUSA? Absolutely. The rug arrived really fast and I was impressed with the quality, the richness of the color and the construction. The bonus is that RugsUSA always has a sale going and a ton of merchandise to chose from, along with free shipping. Since I am already looking for some plush goodness for my bedroom I have a few options bookmarked.

 I thought today, June 1st, would be the perfect day to introduce a new monthly series for the blog, The Petal  Pusher. I have enlisted the floral talents of my friend, Tina, interior designer extraordinaire and now our resident floral design expert for this series. I know you will enjoy it as much as I do! I’ll let Tina take it from here…

Being an Interior Designer by trade and a self proclaimed Petal Poser by night; I was super excited and honored when Jessica asked if I would like to do some floral collaborations for y’all.  I thought what better than to start with Pantone’s color of the year – Tangerine Tango as an inspiration!  According to the executive director of the Pantone color Institute, the color is “Reminiscent of the radiant shading of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

With that in mind, I remembered the sunset I’ve seen this past winter on the beach in Cape May, NJ.  It reflected these various shades of reds, oranges, yellows and even violets; it was a sight hard to forget.

I was lucky enough to have found these beautifully fragrant Sweetpeas at the flower district that were in the perfect shade of our muse.  In combination with the Peonies that are in season and being one of my favorites, and Tree Peonies that you don’t see often were the basis of my arrangement.

Together with accents of Clematis, Freesias, Calla Lilies, and the fun whimsical Nigella, we have ourselves the “Tangerine Sunset”. Perhaps that sounds more like a cocktail than a floral arrangement!

I had so much fun whipping up this idea from imagining to actually buying the flowers, then producing the end product.  I hope y’all enjoyed it as much as I did. ‘Til next time!

Hello Friends…I hope you had a good weekend. In the states, it’s after Memorial Day and the unofficial start to summer. With so much time spent outdoors this weekend, I decided to make this a special gardening week!

True Story: I harbor a not-so-secret fantasy of having my own farm. I’ve been talking about it for years (and a pickup truck to boot) to a few friends and family members. However, feeling as though I didn’t inherit the green thumb from my mom and my farm-owning great-grands, I approach few things with as much trepidation as I do plants. I have killed a few plants, people, a few. This weekend, I said “HA!” in the face of fear and bought some yummy herbs for my window sill.

Yeah I got this. Right?

I totally do. Here’s the gardening addition of  ”What’s in My Bag.”

These are my supplies for my  little adventure in indoor gardening. Also, can we talk about the Fab.com bag for a sec? I got it as ICFF last weekend and it carried home everything I needed for planting, including my organic potting soil. It was awesome. Oh, yeah, and I’m keeping a little gardening journal. My high school science teacher would be proud but it is years too late for that extra-credit I needed.

Oh, I’m being quite rude. Let me introduce my lovers. Say hi fellas!

Aren’t they pretty? A few of them I’ve been told will be hard to grow indoors. Actually, it was more like, “Man I hope you have a sunny window for that lemongrass,” followed by a sad-eyed head shake. Me: “Whatever, I’m a warrior. I harvest the sun.” By the way, a leonine sense of false confidence will get you everywhere. Especially with plants and people.

See the boys are very happy. So am I. Next stop urban farm (or community garden). By the way, shout out to the kind man who talked to me for 20 minutes about his gardening life. He convinced me that I do, indeed, have a green thumb. Thank you. Oprah was right; we are each other’s angels. I hope you bought that celery, sir.

As I mentioned,I previewed two sales for Gilt, so today, lets talk about the Man Cave Essentials. We can’t leave the fellas out! From my dad to my BFF’s hubby, every man I know has a man cave; you know, a little space to call their own. I like to think of the Man Caves as the grown up version of the No Girls Allowed sign, because no lady that I know spends an extended amount of time there. However, along with clubby furniture, huge TV’s and booming sound systems that blare Call of Duty, these men have style and sophisticated tastes. They appreciate a few accents that reflect their personalities. Here’s a essentials curated by Gilt Home to cozy up the cave.

The Throw:

The Pillow:

A Sophisticated Floor Lamp:

The Rug:

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to a  Gilt Home preview of two summer sales, Summery Brights and Man Cave Essentials. Well, today the Summery Brights Sale starts! So, I picked a few yummy faves that I saw from the sale.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been spending a lot of time doing two things, playing in the sunshine and decorating. I’ve found myself drawn to lots of  rich and intense color, which is why I loved more than a few things from this sale, including this Missoni Rug:

Yes, I’m totally in LOVE with this gorgeous rug. This adds a ton of personality to a neutral room. And here’s a few more pops of color  that I loved…

Art is a great way to add a touch color especially if you are a renter and can’t paint or are a little shy when it comes to full walls of color. I’ve been drawn to pinks lately, so you can imagine the joy this piece brings me.

Also, for me, a throw is an absolute necessity as I’m always cold. To snuggle under this bright throw would instantly bring me some warmth and happiness while reading or watching TV on the sofa.

Check out the rest of the sale ,where you will find a lot more summery brights, including more fun accents. Enjoy! And let me know if you pick up something bright from the sale!

Also, Stay Tuned: Wednesday  is all about the fellas with Man Cave Essentials!