My latest purchase of a hardcover design book was “Black and White (and a Bit in Between): Timeless Interiors, Dramatic Accents, and Stylish Collections” by Celerie Kemble. I highly recommend it for your reference library. It’s full of beautiful inspirational photos and useful design information and resources. There are countless ways to combine black and white in your home interior and Ms. Kemble surely deliveries with this book which focuses on the classic color palette.
This black licorice cake is one of my favorite cakes. I thought it was so creative to use the string licorice to make bows. Wendy Kromer, a Contributing Editor for Martha Stewart Weddings, made this cake. Wendy has made hundreds of cakes for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, many of which you can see collected in her book she co-authored with Martha called “Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes”. I had the pleasure to work with Wendy while I was an editor at Martha Stewart Weddings. She is so genuinely kind, so talented and loves what she does. She also opened … Read more
I love calligraphy. I use calligraphed cards for dinners and parties whenever I can. I usually call on one of the best in the country to do my calligraphy… Gail Brill of Gail Brill Design. Gail has beautiful scripts and handwriting and most importantly Gail is very consistent with her lettering. I would always use Gail if I needed calligraphy on a photo shoot because I knew it would be perfect and all her letters would be consistent. Consistency is so important when you are lining calligraphed seating cards together in alphabetical order for a wedding or a party. … Read more
This beautiful photograph is by Scotch Macaskill, a photojournalist and editor living in South Africa. His wildlife photography is amazing. A few of his photos he has posted using a slow shutter speed look like paintings. Scotch (his real name is Andrew) shares details about the cameras, lenses and shutter speeds he uses. Are black and white colors? That seems to be a debated subject. Here’s a site that goes through different theories. It’s an interesting short read. www.colormatters.com.
This week Talbots introduced a new line for mother-of-the bride and special occasion dresses called “Aisle Style”. The collection includes 15 pieces in the option of 7 rich colors, as well as accessories. The market certainly needed a line like this and I’m sure it will make a lot of brides’ lives much easier! (Shades of lavender and blue are in this new collection that fit in with this week’s color palette. The exact yellow I posted in my color palette this week isn’t in this palette but there is a beautiful champagne color – so who can resist … Read more
In the height of the summer with all the blooming flowers and vegetables, I think sometimes I overlook the beauty of the lush greenery of the trees, privet, boxwoods, ferns and variations of hosta and succulents. All the shades of green from light, to a deep green (one that almost looks black) are a wonderful, natural palette, especially for your home. Combined with the neutral shades of hardscaping, like stone or black in railings and planters, shades of green appear to be so classic and crisp. Like this photo of designer, Barbara Barry from Town & Country magazine (and photographed … Read more
Interior designer, Darryl Carter, teamed up with Benjamin Moore Paints to create Darryl Carter Colors by Benjamin Moore. The paints start with DC-1 and go to DC-24. Darryl Carter frequently is featured in the major shelter magazines and has his own decorating books called “The New Traditional” and a new book launching this October titled “The Collected Home: Rooms with Style, Grace and History”. Both are available to buy and pre-order on Amazon. I wanted to include this paint collection in this week’s color palette of white, neutrals and browns because Darryl is an expert on these neutral … Read more
I had the privilege to speak with Dru Hilty, Trend Manager at Talbots, for an insiders special peak behind the company’s process of forecasting and selecting colors and styles for each season. Here’s our discussion… LB: Dru, How does a collection actually come together at Talbots? Where do you begin when you start researching for a new season? DH: A few of us work with the SVP of Design, Chris Jackson, to help create the concepts behind the collections. He leads the team, and ensures our seasonal concepts are both inspirational and support the brand-vision. Diane Basile, our VP … Read more
abc carpet & home in NYC is an amazing place for furniture and home accessories shopping. I usually start with breakfast or lunch with friends at Le Pain Quotidien on the first floor and then go floor by floor. The Silk Trading Company (fabric, drapes & accessories) used to be in the basement, but now Conrans moved in about a year ago. I snapped some shots of a few of my favorite finds. I love the tufted navy linen ottoman- I might need to get that as a new coffee table for our family room. (my house … Read more
If you liked wednesday’s post about the black cake stands we had made for elisa strauss’s anemone cakes…well you can find black cake stands at sarahsstands.com in a range of sizes and also a range of colors including white. Sarah started her company after she found it difficult to find a cake stand she liked for her own wedding. Don’t forget it’s always great to have cake stands on hand for birthday cakes or to tier them for sweets and cupcakes too for any celebration. Have fun with all these colors sarah offers!
