First Impressions/Entry Ways

You know what they say about first impressions. Since the entryway is what your guests' will see right away — make sure the furniture, paint color, and seating that you choose send the right message.



Designer Betsy Burnham used a bone sunburst mirror from Blackman Cruz, a Murano dresser from Mecox Gardens, and an upholstered chair covered in Tashkent silk.



France meets California in this foyer designed by Stephen Shubel: A Louis XVI-style chair sits next to a petrified tree trunk. Horse photo by Susan Friedman.



Cathy Kincaid's clients already owned the heraldic crest. The bench is upholstered in Dashwood and the two polka-dot pillows are in Brown Mu, both from Madeline Weinrib.


"The floor in this entrance hall was black and lifeless. It needed a shot in the arm. I had it painted to look like marquetry, which is elegant without being too fancy," says designer Ashley Whittaker.

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Bath Ideas

The architectural element in this powder room is definitely unique. A floating vanity with under lighting is used to create a dramatic effect.



Travel back to an age of grandeur in this Old World master bathroom. Warm wall colors and ornate wall sconces provide a feast for the eyes, while a marble shower and tub are ready to rejuvenate the body. Deep red and marigold yellow accessories accent the space, while a marble sink and dark cabinets make the room as functional as it is beautiful.



Nothing says country like plaid prints and flowers mixed together. For a touch of sophistication, choose bold prints with a strong ebony accent color.



This updated bathroom features a contemporary look with more storage than it had previously.



Natural stones, Tatami tile and dark woods contribute to the Zen-like experience in this sleek bathroom. A frameless shower door was used in this small guest bathroom to give the illusion of more space.


Custom sconces and oversized crown molding give character to a square bathroom. Photo by Mayer & Bowden Photography.



The custom concrete floating vanity with a Nakashima integrated sink brings the outdoors inside this contemporary bathroom.

I totally love, love, love this sink!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Open and Airy Rooms

In Venice, Calif., this living and dining area opens up on three sides: to the lap pool on the west with sliding glass doors; to the north courtyard with pocketing glass doors and to the south garden and guest house through pivoting metal doors.



Architect Scott Joyce designs a chic Hollywood Hills home with an entire rear facade consisting of glass walls that accordion open to create seamless outdoor/indoor living room.



A unique Palm Springs home features a white living room designed by Luis Ortega. The interior contains a mix of contemporary materials and natural elements, playing homage to American modernism.



Architect Max Strang designs an outdoor living room with a panoramic 360-degree view. Featuring "ipe" wood floors, an amazing ceiling of rusted industrial steel and furnishings from Bali, the space feels like a high-style tree house.



This Malibu great room with its eye-catching smooth stucco fireplace has a wall of bi-fold doors, which open to make the indoor and outdoor spaces feel like one. The glass-tiled pool is surrounded by a teak deck featuring a concrete BBQ and Viking appliances.



In Newport Beach, designer Mark Cutler creates a room that was designed to make the most of its waterfront location and enjoy a cottage-like feeling with a European flair.



Architect David Hertz designs an amazing glass-walled beachfront home in Venice, Calif., with an incredible roll-down window that opens the living room completely up to the outdoors.



Designer Mark Cutler creates a loggia at a Beverly Hills estate featuring an outdoor living and dining area in yellows and greens inspired by a Tuscan villa.

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Black and Bold

A classic palette of black, white and navy blue combines the glamour of old Hollywood with the richest of bold neutrals. If black walls aren't your thing, consider white walls paired with black furniture and accents of blue. This will keep the overall look dramatic but give the room a much lighter feel.

As you well know, if you follow my blog, I love the black pallette with splashes of color. This is a winner for me although blue is not a color of my choice. It does look great in this setting.

Homeowners with a flair for the dramatic may find black and cherry red an ideal color combination for their interiors. Painting walls is an inexpensive and easy task. So, if you want to audition these colors in your home, it's best to use red on walls and black on pricey upholstery. Because black goes with virtually every color, upholstered pieces will fit in perfectly should the red be swapped for another hue later on.

While many designers consider teal and lime green to be two of the most difficult colors to work with, when used together, they create a look that is fresh and inspiring. Experiment with this high-energy pairing in a small space where you don't spend much time, like a bathroom. Because the blue-green tone of teal is less intense than the electrifying citrus color of lime green, it's best to use teal as the dominant tone and lime as an accent.

Pumpkin, medium gray and dark brown is an excellent combination for orange lovers too intimidated to use red-orange or tangerine for their interiors. Adding medium gray to the mix prevents the otherwise autumnal palette from being labeled as seasonal.

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Markus Johansson’s Cirrata Lamp

Who knew that a behind-the-scenes look at design could reveal a process as multifarious and complex as that of making a major film? And a Tim Burton film at that. The comparison holds in regard to Markus Johansson's Cirrata Lamp, especially when one sees the dozen or so miniaturized prototypes that culminated in this over-sized lightpiece that resembles a gigantic octopus.




The large lamp’s name refers to a suborder of octopi characterized by an internal skeleton and a set of two fins—unusual qualities in an octopus and ones which actually make it more vulnerable to predators. Perhaps Johannson chose the name for this reason, because Cirrata’s increased vulnerability prompts it to favor deep, dark spaces.



In such depths the creature can avoid predation, and one imagines Johannson’s imaginative vision of Cirrata profited from this biological fact. It seems likely as well, that the designer chose the hard—and heretofore less malleable—material of Corian for similar reasons, not the least of which is the intriguing way in which it absorbs and reflects light.



Using a high-heat forming process in which he molded Corian around wooden boxes, Johannson was able to stretch the material out into the luminously-long and many-appendaged parabola of Cirrata: “a body with many arms which sweeps along and lights up the depths.”

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Instant Room Part 1 0f 2

Interview with Joe Nye

Los Angeles-based designer Joe Nye creates a room inspired by florals from Manuel Canovas's latest collection, and McKinnon and Harris furniture: "Using outdoor pieces inside — in a sunroom or even a living room — is fun and fresh."

Curtain Lining:
"I chose VANESSA'S FOLLY to line the striped curtains. Most people get lazy and just do white lining, but a contrasting color has a more finished, couture effect — like you thought about it."
Chairs:
"BEAUVOIR is the key fabric in the room, the starting-off point. You can pull lots of colors from it. But you have to be careful not to overwhelm the room with it — it's not a timid pattern. I see it on a pair of duVal Club Chairs."
Sofa:
"BRASILIA is a divine color, a wonderful mucky green, and the texture is really cushy. It's comfortable to sit on, even when you're in shorts, so I'd use it in a big way, on a sofa."
Curtains:
"Striped curtains are always a winner, and a turquoise lining would really kick off the bright raspberry. With a bold stripe like ELOI, I wouldn't do much in the way of trim. You want to keep it fresh, not fussy like silk curtains."

Beauvoir in Fuchsia

"These colors are loud and brash — but in a good way!" Nye says. "The pattern is a new take on an old standard, the Jacobean tree of life. It's fun, but it's busy, so it could get dizzying if you used a lot of it. The trick is to use it in a restrained way. On a pair of chairs, it would look special — it would be the focal point of the room."

Cotton Club II in Framboise

"It looks like a coarse sailcloth, but it's so soft you want to put your head on it. I would make two 22-inch-square pillows with tiny French pleats, one for each end of a sofa."

"I'm crazy for animal prints, so chic! They never seem to go out of style. I'd use this for a skirted table. It's a stylish way to add punch to a room

Eloi in Fraise

"Because it's all cotton, Eloi looks informal and canvasy, like a tenting stripe. For curtains in a sunroom, it's exactly the right look

Vanessa's Folly in Turquoise

"I use this all the time to line curtains — it comes in so many colors. I'd do pillows with it, too. Repetition is good — it ties a room together

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Designer Notes

Vibrant hues against backdrops of deep black and bright white add an energetic, futuristic flair to your living room.



Earthy browns and tans, reflecting the colors of rock, stone and soil, will be trendy for some time to come.



The living room is a place to de-stress and unwind, and color can be an important element in bringing together style and a playful sense of whimsy.



A focused color scheme of red, orange, tan and black transforms the space from bland and boring to vibrant and modern.



Add accent colors to a basic color scheme to make the room pop!

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Designer's Notes/Master Suites

Designer's Notes

A dark, rich, chocolate-brown accent wall sets the tone for this modern yet romantic master bedroom.

The master bedroom is a luxurious retreat that has a beautiful bed as the central focus. A silk carpet grounds the room, and a great piece of art balances the wall of windows on the opposite side.

Two structural columns in the master bedroom dictated the layout of the room. One of the two structural columns in the room was encased in a free-standing wall built to divide the master bedroom area from the office. The front of the wall acts as a headboard for the king-size bed, while the back of the wall has a built-in desk with shelving above.

The bedroom area is open to the atrium, sharing the light and allowing for views out in all directions. The stone backdrop to the bed unites the finishes with the other stone accents throughout the apartment.

This master bedroom suite is gifted with a great amount of space. The very dark brown, almost-black walls make this lofty room feel more intimate. The fireplace and TV wall was reinforced as a focal point with free form-painted horizontal stripes. The artwork, also in a horizontal format, helps maintain your eyes from perceiving the height of the ceiling. Such a bold combination takes a bit of moxie and faith in your designer's choice.

Imagine the perfect room-within-a-room for a master suite. This reading nook provides a cozy retreat, complete with a chenille-covered big easy chair and ottoman, adjustable reading lamp, and preserved Manzanita tree. The tree shelters the seating area and adds warmth and a sense of security as you relax into this cuddle space.

Warm neutrals with golden accents draw you into this warm, intimate space. The slight sheen on the drapery panels and bedding add a luminous quality, and the linear details of the fabrics and furniture are caught by the light from the wall mounted arc sconces on either side of this master bedroom. A true retreat within the home, this cozy spot will make for a memorable 'staycation'.

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Organic ChristmasTablesettings

Herb Centerpiece

Gather a selection of fresh, seasonal herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme and bay leaves, and use them to create an alternative table centerpiece.

Fresh Foliage Centerpiece

Pick a selection of whatever fresh foliage and winter flowers you may have growing in your winter garden for this variation on the evergreen centerpiece.

Individual Place Setting: Ivy and Red Berries

Fill an egg cup with sprigs of bright red berries and tuck in a few short lengths of ivy around the edge.

Individual Place Setting: Fresh Flowers

Cut fresh flowers from plants that flourish in a winter garden, such as Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis), or witch hazel (Hamamellis mollis). Put them in a small foil-lined box or pot and add a little water.

Terracotta Pot Candleholders

Turn three simple terracotta pots into stylish candleholders: line the base of each with recycled aluminum foil, put a beeswax candle in the center, pack sand around each candle and cover the sand with a pretty arrangement of fresh foliage and bright berries.

Decorated Chair Backs

These simple arrangements, made up of a few stems of trailing ivy (Hedera), mistletoe (Viscum album), and holly (Ilex), roughly tied together with natural raffia, and attached to the back of each chair, will lend a lovely rustic detail to your decorated table.

Dried Napkin Decoration

Make a simple napkin decoration by gluing together a dried leaf, a dried orange slice and a cinnamon stick. Rest it lightly on a folded linen napkin, or secure it with a length of natural raffia.

Gather a few short stems of fresh mistletoe and a sprig or two of bright berries, bind them together with some garden twine and rest the small posy on a folded linen napkin.

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