"It's A Wonderful Life" Redux

It's that time of year again when there are repeat showings on TV of the great Frank Capra film, "It's a Wonderful Life."  I'm surprised that there are still people who have never seen the film.  It's such a classic.  All my husband, Abe, has to do is watch the last five minutes and he's in tears.

                                                               Photo courtesy of variety.com

If you haven't seen the film, here's a quick recap: Jimmy Stuart plays George Bailey, a hometown boy in Bedford Falls, New York.  Unlike his brother, Harry, the war hero, George's life is circumscribed by his small town roots.  George grew up in Bedford Falls and it's where his mother resides; he's married to his hometown sweetheart and together, with their three children, they've made Bedford Falls their home; and it's the location of George's family business, the Bedford Falls Building and Loan.  Due to a memory lapse, George's Uncle Billy fails to make a critical deposit that puts the solvency of the Building and Loan in jeopardy just as bank examiners are conducting their audit.  George sees his whole existence turn upside down.  Believing everyone would be better off without him, he decides to take his own life by jumping off the town bridge.  George is rescued by his guardian angel, Clarence, who shows George what Bedford Falls would be like if he hadn't lived.  George realizes how many lives he's touched, and with Clarence's help, sees the light.  It's a classic story of good triumphing over evil and of personal salvation.

Aside from the film being one of my husband's favorites, I have other connections to the film.  I learned last year, when I took my youngest to see some colleges in upstate New York, that Frank Capra's inspiration for the locale of the film was fostered by passing through Seneca Falls, New York.  There are many similarities between Bedford and Seneca Falls, and the townspeople of Seneca Falls have identified and memorialized them in a local museum and in town-wide events.  This past summer, after dropping our daughter off at college in Geneva, New York, just about 10 miles from Seneca Falls, we felt bound to pay a visit to the "It's a Wonderful Life" museum.

We've also felt like we've had a little George Bailey existence in 2015.  At the beginning of the year, my father-in-law passed away after a battle with Parkinson's Disease.  Four months later, I developed CIU (chronic ideopathic urticaria) which is still plaguing me.  In June, my mom had a heart attack and spent the summer in the hospital and rehab.  And in September, the advertising agency at which my husband worked lost a key account that generated about half its revenue and laid off about 40 people, including my husband.  It's hard not to wonder at times, what did I do wrong that this is happening to me all in one year?

Thankfully, so much else in my life is good: my mom survived the heart attack and our immediate families are all well; my kids are great and doing so well in their chosen paths; and I've probably had the best year I've ever had in 15 years of business.  

So I just want to thank, like George Bailey, my "Clarences," -- the clients, business associates and readers who have been my supporters and friends in 2015.  I have to believe that those who do good for others will reap what they sow.  May this holiday season bring joy into your lives and may 2016 bring you and your loved ones good health, happiness and to the world, peace. 

Revisiting Black Kitchens

Almost a year ago, I wrote about black kitchens in one of my Trend Watch Tuesday posts.  I'm revisiting that post to add a kitchen I saw in April at the Junior League of High Point, North Carolina 2015 Designer Showhouse and featured in this month's Traditional Home magazine.  If it's in Traditional Home, why include it in the blog?  Because the kitchen was designed by my friend and super-talented designer, Lisa Mende, with whom I shared the Brizo Fashion Week experience in September 2012.

Ever since designer Steven Miller did a black kitchen for the 2014 San Francisco Decorator Showcase (it was also House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Year), black kitchens have been taking the kitchen and bath industry by storm.  Black is as basic and as versatile as white, inviting ample opportunities for mixing in other colors, patterns, materials and textures.

Lisa Mende's black kitchen was a home run for numerous reasons.  The black cabinets and range hood maintain focus, but the white glossy subway-tiled walls keep everything in balance.  I love how Lisa punctuated the walls with black window trim.  That's an important takeaway: trim doesn't have to match the walls and doesn't have to be white.

 

The mix of black and white patterns in the space is a textbook example of how multiple patterns can be harmoniously used.  Lisa used the large pattern on the window shades sparingly, balancing it with a small print on the counter stools and a geometric wallpaper pattern on the ceiling.  Adding interest, the ceiling pattern is not so bold as to distract one's eye-level perspective of the space.

Another awesome feature of the design is the use of mixed metals.  Appliances are stainless, hardware and light fixtures are brass, faucets are copper.  Yet they all work perfectly together.  Note the contemporary drawer and cabinet pulls paired with the vintage-looking swing-arm wall sconces.  Another great lesson: mixing periods is good design!

As great a design as the kitchen was, so too was the adjoining breakfast room.

                        

Walls clad in cobalt blue grasscloth, green leather chairs trimmed with nailheads, a settee in a striped pattern with a Greek key motif and a mid-century inspired chandelier all harmonize to create a cheerful family gathering spot.  Congratulations, Lisa, on a superb job!

High Point Fall Market Preview

October 17th through 22nd marks Fall Market days in High Point, North Carolina.  I'm not going, but have received numerous invitations to view new products that will be unveiled at Market.  From these invitations and press releases, I've detected a trend. 

Metals have been prominent for several seasons now (see my post Heavy Metal from 2012).  What I'm noticing is a new way that they are being integrated into furnishings.  I'm seeing an edgier, almost futuristic display of metals in some of the Fall Market introductions. 

Two pieces that illustrate this trend are the Zhin Cabinet from Currey and Company (below left) and the Butterfly Floor Lamp from the Phillipps Collection (below right).

   

The metal decoration on the cabinet, although geometrical and symmetrical, is abstract, referencing none of the motifs or geometries we typically see in furniture hardware.  Similarly, while the stand of the floor lamp mimics butterfly wings, the lack of a solid base is unconventional.  It's as if the lamp is tentatively balanced.

This Bernhardt credenza, debuting at Market in a similar console, strikes an almost brutalistic tone.  Made of a nickel silver alloy clad exterior, its form is massive and heavy feeling.

      

Patterns found in nature are re-interpreted in some new introductions.  Abstractions of tortoise shell and hexagrams surface here in the Langkawi Outdoor Table by Jonathan Charles and this credenza from Studio A.

            

When metals are combined with woods, the effect is almost raw.  Woods appear in a natural state or in an organic, dimensional form.  And the accompanying metal details seem similarly rough hewn.

             

Both the bases above -- of the Taracea coffee table and the Villiers Armoire by Alfonso Marina -- are sculpted yet rugged.  And both are paired with wood left in either its natural state or carved into a dimensional geometric form. 

These designs signal an interesting development: a turn away from resurrecting forms and patterns from the past (like mid-century modern or neoclassical) and a movement toward the creation of something new and novel.  I like it and am excited to see more!

Wired + Inspired: Behind the Scenes of a Virtual Showhouse

I've done four actual designer show houses.  But when the opportunity arose to participate in a virtual show house sponsored by DeringHall.com -- entirely digital and only viewable online -- I jumped at the chance.  After all, participating in a designer show house costs big bucks: there is the investment in carpentry, electrical work, custom furnishings, etc. that is borne, to a large degree, by the designer.  But here was an opportunity to create a space that only involved an investment of time. 

Dering Hall set the parameters: create a room inspired by a movie with furnishings sourced from the Boston Design Center.  Dering Hall assigned me the Entryway.  I completed the project in May, and Dering Hall just launched the project to coincide with Boston Design 2015, a two-day event at the Boston Design Center.

 

When I selected the movie Shampoo as my inspiration, I thought it would be in keeping with a trend toward 1970s decor that I've been seeing.  I expected to see high gloss and mylar finishes, polished chrome and glass.  But the interiors in the film were nothing like what I expected.

The photo below is the home of Julie Christie's character in the movie.  It's very traditional with large-scale continental furnishings and stark contrasts of darks and lights.  Hardly the 1970s decor I envisioned.  How I would furnish my virtual show house room would have to change dramatically.

     

Luckily, the salon where Warren Beatty's character worked gave me a starting point.

     

Notice the latticework . . . An opportunity to use one of my favorite wallpaper patterns: Lyford Trellis Wallpaper from Quadrille.  The contrast of darks and lights and merging of interiors and exteriors so prevalent in California design at the time were my further inspirations. 

Here are the furnishings with quotes from my Wired + Inspired page from Dering Hall.

Balustrade Console by Formations

Marlboro Side Chair by Hickory Chair in White Cotton Duck Fabric by Kravet with Samuel & Sons blue cording

Portico Lantern by Powell and Bonnell Home

Taj Brown Rug by Bunny Williams Home

Forbidden City Mirror by Bunny Williams Home

Making a Grand Entrance

Because the entry foyer is the space that every invited . . . and uninvited . . . guest will see in your home, it's the space where you want to make a grand design gesture.  It may set the stage for, or be the only glimpse that some will see of, what lies beyond. 

For function, an entry foyer needs some sort of table to toss mail and keys, a place for coats, a mirror to check for lipstick smudges as you're walking out the door, and if space allows a chair or bench.  Where I live in New England, that's a must!  Who wants to track snow and slush into the home!

With such a small footprint, there's ample opportunity to be dramatic.  Take your walls, for instance.  I loved the paint treatment Jamie Drake used in the foyer he did for the 2015 Kips Bay Decorator's Show House.  Onto a specially treated painted surface, his painters sprinkled mica dust.  The effect was sparkling!

For form, Jamie added this sculptural console table.

                

Notice how the metallic accents -- the wall sconces, ceramic stools, gilded mirror and brass fireplace screen -- also add sparkle and illumination to the room.

Equally dramatic is the treillage, or latticework, that designer Amanda Lindroth installed in this home in the Bahamas.

           

                                                                    Photo courtesy of House Beautiful

In addition to the wall planes, don't forget the ceiling, oft cited as the forgotten plane in design.  I know I've said that I'm not a fan of a lot of pattern on the ceiling.  In large spaces where the design is focused at eye level or below, I think a patterned ceiling draws the eye away from the room's focus and distorts the composition.  But in a small space like a foyer, where you have to pack a lot of punch in a small footprint, adding pattern to the ceiling may be just what the design needs. 

I love adding metallics to the ceiling to augment illumination.  (I did this in my space for the 2012 Junior League of Boston Designer Showhouse.)  The foyer below by Lilly Bunn Interiors is one of my most pinned pictures from my Pinterest boards.

                  

                                                           Photo courtesy of Lilly Bunn Interiors

Topping off those amazing teal lacquered walls is the gilded ceiling beautifully illuminated by cove lighting and a stunning pendant.  The small scale of the X-benches is perfect under the grand mirror.

As Lilly's foyer illustrates, another way to add drama to the ceiling is with a sculptural light fixture.  Jamie Drake installed a magnificent cloud-like flush-mount fixture to his foyer in the Kips Bay Show House.

                            

Something that adds color while addling light is another great design element for the foyer.  This traditional chandelier, done in red, is the perfect example.

                                           

                  Interior by Kim E. Courtney Interiors & Design, photo courtesy of New York Cottages & Gardens

Lastly, don't forget accessories.  A mirror is essential, but if space allows, a dramatic piece of art or sculpture.  Or even a potted plant in a sculptural planter adds volume and form to an otherwise boxy space.

   

                                                  Interior by Candace Barnes, photo by Patricia Chang