Trends from the Trenches

As a decorator and design consultant it is part of my job to study the trends and keep abreast of what is new in custom home furnishings and I love that part of my work because it allows me to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes - purusing design blogs and magazines.

A trend that I am thrilled is making a comeback is the use of wallcovering in interior decor. For years faux finishes have cornered the market on what to do with a naked wall but watch out my faux friends, the trend now is to use wallcovering in new and innovative ways.

Check out the July issue of Blueprint Magazine for these unique wallpaper applications and a handy guide for do-it-yourselfers:

Use the lines of a graphic wallpaper to create a silhoutte that serves as a virtual headboard.
Cover a wall in a grid pattern as a background and then apply a lush overscaled floral or tropical pattern as a mural.
Cut out a motif from a piece of wallpaper to make a backing plate for wall sconces or chandeliers.
Liven up a flat panel door with wallpaper insets.
To shop for wallpaper visit these vendors:
Thibaut
Blue Mountain
York
Seabrook
Jaima Brown

Birthday Dinner Menu

I love to cook and when my sister arrived last week for my birthday I treated her to a wonderful home cooked dinner comprised of rack of lamb, pan roasted asparagus and creamy mushroom risotto. I wish I could have shared the dinner with all of my readers but, alas, I couldn't fit you all in my house. Here are the recipes instead...

For Lamb: Marinate rack of lamb overnight in olive oil, garlic and fresh rosemary. Grill approximately 5 minutes per side. Slice between the bone into individual chops. Tip: I purchase the pre-packaged racks of lamb at Sams.

For the asparagus: Wash and trim the asparagus. Lightly toss with olive oil, garlic and sea salt. Roast in a heavy skillet until cooked but slightly crisp approximately 10 minutes.

Mushroom Risotto - makes about 4 first course or side dish servings
The key to this delicious, creamy risotto is to add the hot broth one cup at a time and stirring while simmering until the liquid is absorbed.

2 1/2 C low-salt chicken broth
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 C finely chopped onions
6 oz. crimini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 T fresh minced thyme
1/2 T fresh minced marjoram
3/4 C arborio rice
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
white truffle oil

Bring broth to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Cover broth and keep warm over very low heat.

Melt butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender a, about 10 minutes. Add crimini mushrooms; saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and both herbs; saute 4 minutes. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Ad wine; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot broth; simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Continue to cook until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 30 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and drizzle individual portions with white truffle oil.

Bon Appetite!!

Summertime

Ahhh...summertime! It's my favorite season! I love the way everything is a little slower, lazier. I love being able to go out to eat without battling the crowds. I love the afternoon and evening thunderstorms. I love floating in the Gulf. I love listening to the cicadas at night. I even love the humidity! Most of all I love all four holidays of summer. Four holidays? Yes, not only do we celebrate Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day, we also celebrate MY BIRTHDAY!!! June 27th, in fact, just in case you want to send me a birthday card :-).
Another reason to love summer is the fabulous sale Hunter Douglas is offering and installing energy efficient blinds is the way to make you love your electric bill this summer too!

Relationship Decorating

The relationship between an interior decorator and client is a very human one and while not always defined as "friendships" they are often intense and personal. Like a friendship, though, a good working relationship between decorator and client involves a commitment to respect, communication and understanding.

When working with your decorator keep these tips in mind:

You absolutely should expect your decorator to have

• The ability to listen.
• The ability to make the right product selections for your project.
• Creative ideas and solutions for your project.
• The willingness to work within your budget.
• Suggestions as how to improve a home's function.
• The attitude that this is your home and should reflect your style and personality, not the decorators.

But it is a two way street - your decorator expects you

• To Know and communicate how much money you have allocated for the project.
• To be able to articulate your style and preferences even if it is visually through magazines or books.
• To be willing to listen with an open mind.
• To have a realistic time frame
• To have thought about the function and desired mood of your space.
• To provide honest feedback.

And like a good friendship, if you haven't worked together in a few years you should be able to pick up right where you left off without missing a beat!

The Personalization Trend

A few weeks ago I wrote about the product personalization trend I had seen at The International Window Coverings Expo in Washington, DC. Seems like I was spot on with that one - Just look at the number of consumer products that offer personalization: How about your Mother's picture on your Kleenex box? Yup...she'll be there reminding you to blow your nose. For Father's Day give your Dad his favorite candy in his favorite colors with a cute message from you. I think I will really look forward to the gym if I wear personalized Nike's in MY colors and postage for first class mail is alot easier to swallow if your stamps have your picture on them. Personally (no pun intended) I like the whole monogramming craze and plan to monogram several other furnishings in my home besides my towels.

PS: I WANT THESE SHOES!

more on blogging

It is a long holiday weekend and despite the beautiful weather I have spent some time indulging in one of my favorite activities - purusing design blogs. Here are some of my newest favorites:

http://www.decor8.blogspot.com/, http://www.hueconsulting.blogspot.com/ http://www.desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/.

Check these out and see just how addictive design blogs are - you could get lost for days!

Trends from IWCE

Custom home furnishings are just that - custom - and one of a kind but the trend now is to take customization even further and make your interiors completely personal down to your dishware. A new vendor in DC was DePersico Custom Design Studio. This company is a group of graphic artists that produce custom designs that can be used on anything from fabric to walls to even your china. Imagine - your personal logo on your dinner plates. Love a fabric pattern but hate the colorways it is available in? Adaptive Textiles can not only design a pattern they can also change an exisiting one into different colorways or scale. How about seeing your favorite quotation first thing in the morning? Wall Words creates custom graphics and words you can place anywhere in your home. Wow - talk about motivation!