Archive for the ‘Greens’ Category

April 15th, 2013 No Comments

this week’s color palette: inspired by lilacs

This week’s color palette was inspired by our floral contributor, Michael George, and his garden in upstate NY (His arrangement on his table shown below). Once Lilacs are done flowering you should snip the blooms off. Then keep watering and fertilize so that each spring you will have very fragrant blooms. Lilacs need a period of cold to bloom. So if you live in a locale that is warm all year, you should stop watering after September to force it into dormancy. Note: As we do every week with our color palettes, the names and numbers above are from Benjamin Moore … Read more

April 11th, 2013 No Comments

interiors: 2 great paint color tools from benjamin moore

If you are planning on a renovation or just like to paint rooms, furniture etc. every so often, I find a very helpful tool to have on hand is the Benjamin Moore Color Preview Fan Deck. For $25 it can save you trips to your local store for swatches and keeps them all together by color family for years and years. Also available in Fan Decks are their Color Stories, Classics & Historical and Affinity collections. You don’t have to be a designer or set decorator to keep one of these on your desk! Another great tool is the … Read more

April 5th, 2013 No Comments

entertaining with victoria amory: introducing 4 new gourmet cooking sauces and sharing recipes for each every friday in april

I’m honored to know the effervescent and talented Victoria Amory. She is a celebrated cooking and entertaining expert. Victoria’s Spanish roots growing up between Madrid and Sevilla with her parents the Count and Countess de la Maza and their gracious way of entertaining certainly influences all her endeavors. Now splitting her time between Palm Beach, FL. and Greenwich, CT. with her husband and three boys she somehow finds time to contribute to many publications, do TV appearances and is working on her third book (really it’s her fourth book, since she was a co-author of Palm Beach … Read more

March 22nd, 2013 No Comments

citrus salad: susan spungen shares a recipe…and that she has a new book on the way!

Susan Spungen is unbelievably talented. Susan is a cook, food stylist, recipe developer, editor and author. I had the pleasure of working with Susan at Martha Stewart Living (Susan was the founding food editor for Martha Stewart Living). I even got a chance to collaborate and cover her brother’s wedding for the magazine at the iconic Rainbow Room- with a dream team of Susan, floral & event designer ,Michael George and cake baker Ron Ben-Israel. After MSLO, we kept in touch and I’d run into Susan here and there in the city and even on a set… like the … Read more

March 21st, 2013 No Comments

bored with a neutral room? citrus colored accessories & flowers are a fast, simple solution

Do you have a room in your home that all of a sudden looks really bland now that spring is here? Painting or purchasing a large piece of furniture can be timely and costly. And what if you realize on Monday morning that the green walls that took you all weekend to paint- just isn’t for you? If you are looking for quick interjections of color just try adding pillows, throws and even flowers in the color you’d like to test out. This is far less of a commitment and it’s a small step if you are afraid of making … Read more

March 20th, 2013 No Comments

weddings with peter callahan: 5 creative ways to include citrus at your celebration

1. (above) Hollowed out lemons filled with fresh squeezed lemonade and vodka with candy sticks and straws. “I love hollowed out lemons, they remind me of happy summer days and add a great flavor to any lemonade.” -Peter 2. Mini key lime pies with edible johnny jump up flowers. “Key lime have the perfect sour to sweet factor and I like them served chilled.” – Peter 3. Sgroppino bar with lemon sorbet, limoncello, vodka and prosecco served with citrus marigold garnish. “This is a classic dish from Italy that a client brought back from a pre-wedding trip. The action of … Read more

March 19th, 2013 No Comments

tabletop: citrus details bring a table to life

In continuation from yesterday’s post, I mentioned I would share more of the citrus story I created and styled for Martha Stewart Weddings. Above, a floral centerpiece incorporating citrus is the focal point, while a soft orange/yellow cloth lets it stand out.  White china, chairs and clear votives and glassware keep the table light and airy. Below, details of the table, like citrus lollipops covered in clear cellophane with a numbered round sticker to denote the table number. Attached to the lollipops with waxed twine are rectangular calligraphed place cards to personalize each pop (add a bit of … Read more

March 18th, 2013 No Comments

this week’s color palette: citrus- orange, lemon & lime…with gray

This week’s color palette was inspired by a story I styled for Martha Stewart Weddings about citrus. Photographer Sang An shot this beautiful image. We used a slightly pale gray background to allow the bright colors to pop. Which just as in a room, a neutral color is always a good base to allow bright colors to shine. These Benjamin Moore paint color selections are very true to the vibrant citrus. I chose Gray Lake because it has a slight green tint to it and works within this color family. I’ll keep sharing the citrus story I styled this … Read more

March 15th, 2013 No Comments

we’re loving the simplicity of click and grow- especially for basil

Ok- a “smartpot” that waters and fertilizes plants electronically so you don’t have to? We want it! I for one do not have a green thumb- so Click and Grow takes the guess work out of growing beautiful plants and vegetables. The design of the flowerpot is simple and clean white (which we love!), though you will be able to personalize your flowerpot soon. Then all you need after purchasing the flowerpot is a plant cartridge of your choice. I’m going to start with their basil starter kit. You need batteries and water to start, but after that … Read more

March 14th, 2013 No Comments

try an unexpected accent color on your patio, or keep it classic and green

Usually I think of classic colors like navy, red, blue, yellow, tan and gray for outdoor accents like pillows and chairs. But I came across this photo from Pinterest from a Spanish blog and it fit perfectly with this week’s color palette. Using a bordeaux color for accents outside is an great unexpected color. The outdoor greenery is our palette’s green while the gray furniture is the neutral and the bordeaux the accent color. And in my search for this color butterfly chair- who knew there’s an entire site called butterflychairs.com? They offer a lot of colors including this … Read more