Mormor Blue Bowl Large, $72.50, from Normann Copenhagen, Beach umbrellas in red or blue nautical stripes, $34.95, from Shade USA, Blue Enamel Coffee Mug, $3.99 each, from Coleman (We use these all summer long outside because they can’t break!), Reusable Napkins on a roll, set of 50 for $12.50, from Crate and Barrel, Wooden Oar in red, $29-69, from Pottery Barn Kids (I just found a vintage oar exactly like this red one to put in my pool house & I love it).
Paint can make everything look so fresh. If you look at this picture and are a bit overwhelmed at how to achieve a look like this, let’s start with the porch itself. They painted the porch floor, ceiling, everything white. Most furniture then is also painted white for a great neutral base. The coffee table could be that old table sitting in your basement handed down from your grandparents house…dust it off and paint it a crisp white. Or at your local flea market look for any table that might do… at a great price. As long as the table … Read more
Happy 4th of July! In honor of the 4th I thought I’d share this wonderful wedding photographed by Liz Banfield and designed by Isabella Boyer Sikaffy of Florabella. The groom is from Australia and the bride from California. So as a nod to their nations shared colors they choose a red, white and blue color palette for their wedding. They chose a red and blue monogram that carried throughout the wedding, starting with the invitations. You can make custom stamps on zazzle.com, a website I’ve used numerous times for custom printed products. Zazzle even lets you use a … Read more
This year I have a lobster theme threaded through my 4th of July picnic. But this color palette and the following details can really work all summer long- for any party. I found these paper lobster placemats (pictured above) from Carrot and Stick Press, and fun lobster lollipops from Ju-C Suckers, (minimum 12, and they come in lots of different flavors, I selected their ‘bay breeze’ flavor). I added the red, white and blue ribbon to each one. Watermelon wedges soaked in a little vodka (pictured below) and served with flag picks are refreshing shooters for the adults. Continue … Read more
This week’s color palette will be in keeping with our Nation’s 4th of July holiday and summer entertaining outdoors. I thought I’d try this recipe from Sunny Anderson (Food Network Magazine) for my 4th of July Picnic this Wednesday. Here is the link for the recipe. It yields 8-10 servings and on top of prep time you should allow for the trifle to refrigerate for 1 hour. Every year during the week of July 4th my family comes to stay with us and we have our summer family vacation. We have a house by the beach so we spend … Read more
This is one of my favorite inspirational photos of a bathroom in Nantucket featured by House Beautiful and photographed by Francesco Lagnese. It’s painted in Farrow & Ball’s, ‘Borrowed Light’. Here are some other favorite blue paint colors from the editors and designers featured in Elle Decor and House Beautiful that I pulled together for you. Elle Decor’s Favorite Blues: House Beautiful’s favorite blues: Waterside by Parker Paint 7573M, Verditer Blue by Sherwin-Williams, Electric Blue 225 by C2 Paint, Sassy Blue by Sherwin-Williams, Chinese Blue by Farrow & Ball, Heavenly Blue … Read more
This is one of my favorite prints by John Dolan. It hangs in my entranceway and it makes me so happy all year, especially during the winter months. Believe it or not this photo was not taken in the Caribbean- which is where I think of when the phrase ‘sea blues’ is uttered. It was taken at a lake in Ireland, where coincidentally, generations back my father’s family lived. I love that the sea has so many shades of blues in the warm months and moves into grays when the clouds become overcast in the colder months. For the … 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
The exclusive residential community and club, The Lyford Cay Club, was recently re-done by Tom Scheerer (photograph by Pieter Estersohn). The layering of coral/peach with pink and accents of yellow is great example of how to pull this week’s color palette together. Visit Mr. Scheerer’s site to see his residential projects for so many inspirational decorating ideas! He uses a lot of striped and patterned rugs in his rooms and layers colors expertly.
Peter of Peter Callahan Catering has shared with us a whimsical cocktail for summer entertaining…the bubblegum-tini! Peter is known for his creative presentation and this is a great example. Peter fills his signature lucite trays with orange/coral, pink, yellow and white bubblegum balls to bring whimsy and creativity to serve this fun cocktail. (see recipe below) A colorful signature cocktail is an easy way to keep your wedding color palette going through the cocktail hour. Be sure to communicate to your caterer your color palette and interests and I’m sure they’ll be able to suggest a cocktail that could … Read more
