Orange Crush

Design by Gil Schafer

Orange has become one of my all-time favorite colors. Without conscious intention, this cheerful hue slowly permeated my home in the form of pillows, throws, urns, and mats around favorite pictures. Before I knew it, orange was the color I was turning to to brighten up every corner of my home!

Vignette by Suzanne Kasler

Apparently these designers feel the same way, as they have brought orange to a bevy of their own design projects. Suzanne Kasler seems to especially favor the color, using it as an accent in many of her elegant spaces.

Foyer by Suzanne Kasler

Living room by antiques dealer Angie Warwick - Photo courtesy of Country Living


Whether used as an all-over wallcolor or just in touches throughout a room, I think this color brings a cheerfully modern warmth to any space.


Design by Jay Jeffers



Bedroom by Amelia Handegan

I love the apricot undertones of the happy wallcolor above.


Great room by Kemble Interiors


Here, citrusy pops of color from the accessories brighten up the grays and blues of this cushy seating area.

Foyer by Tom Scheerer

Tom Scheerer chooses a bold red-orange shade for this foyer....

Living room by Todd Alexander Romano

.... while Mr. Romano selects subdued, rusty tones for the upholstered pieces in this arrangement.

Design by Cathy Kincaid

Living room in home of Eric Cohler - Photo courtesy of NYSD

Whether used in spaces that are metro-modern or tastefully traditional, this color is at home anywhere!

Dining room by Timothy Whealon

I always like to end with a photo that, for one reason or another, stands out to me. I absolutely love the room below. You can just tell that a creative force lives here. There is something so bold and yet so comfortable about this space, making it one of my absolute favorite rooms.


Living room in home of hair guru John Barrett


Here's to a great week ahead!

Everywhere I look.... Zebra!

Foyer by Luisa Olazábal - photo courtesy of Nuevo Estilo

I thought I would start a series that features finishes, styles, and items that keep popping up everywhere. I can't really say these things are trends, as design seems to be a big, swirling pool of ideas, where things come and go and come again. These are merely things I see and that I like. I hope you like them too!

Living room by Deborah Lipner

I love the look of layered rugs, and, here, Miss Lipner has done it beautifully: laying the exotic hide (the only pattern in the room) over a neutral Stark rug.


Living room by Keith Johnson of Anthropologie

Ever the fervent collector, it is hard to imagine Keith Johnson not having a zebra hide in his home!


Living area by Eric Cohler

I like how stately, yet warm and serene, this living room seems to be.

Design by Cindy Witmer - photo courtesy of Cote de Texas


I guess the same could be said for the room above. I love how zebra gives such traditional rooms a twist, and keeps them from being too formal or fussy.


Design by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

 Love the banquette, love the wingback chair, love the wall color... love the zebra!

Design by Ethan Feirstein and Ari Heckman

Totally cool!

Bedroom by Hernán Arriaga

Totally exotic!

Sunroom by Todd Alexander Romano

How many textures and patterns can you fit in one room? A lot! Romano shows us that plaid and florals, wicker and chrome can all live happily together in a sunny room like this one!

Design by Eddie Ross and Jaithan Kochar

From fresh to modern or cozy to grand, zebra can run the gamut of styles!

Classy clutter

I am finally getting moved into my new place and am beginning to realize how many random furnishings and accessories I really have. However, I am going to see this challenge as an opportunity to incorporate all my favorite things into one space. I think it can be done with elegance (and a lot of pizzazz), just like Eric Cohler does in this fabulous room below (one of my all time favorites).

There are so many colors, styles, and textures in this room, but isn't it just perfect?

Rooms to inspire

Design by Eric Cohler


I am a bit short on time today, so I figured I would just post a few pictures that I have been pouring over recently. Whenever a photo makes me stop in my tracks, I will spend countless hours staring at every inch of the featured room, trying to figure out what exactly makes it so great.

I am a big fan of Eric Cohler. His style can range from Park Avenue ladies-who-lunch traditional to misunderstood-and-underappreciated-artist eclectic. He is a native New Yorker, and you can see his lifelong exposure to, and passion for, art in his home. (I will post more pics from his home featured in NYSD later.)

Eric Cohler's living room

I also love his perspective on a home: "I want to feel enveloped and cosseted. To me that’s the ultimate luxury: to feel not only secure in my own space but enveloped, with wonderful things around me." I totally agree.


Entry by Eileen Boyd


There is something so warm, yet modern and artsy, about this entryway. I love the pattern on the chairs and the arrangement of the artwork, but there is something else there, something that makes it not just good, but great.


Bedroom by Phoebe Howard

I love this little vignette by Howard: the delicate bamboo stool, the tiny nautical painting, the gorgeous lamp, and shimmering bud vase.   


Living room by Anthropologie's Keith Johnson


I can't even tell you how many times I have stared at this room by Keith Johnson. Cozy, layered, and elegant, this room encompasses all of what I want my home to be.

Here's to finding interiors that inspire you!

Listening to the fire crackle and the cat purr...

Design by William Hodgins

Just kidding. I have neither a cat, nor a fireplace, but this cool September morning is making me wish for the latter. I love, love, love lighting a fire on cool days, not just for the warmth, but for the glow and the ambiance it creates.

Design by Jay Jeffers

A fireplace, to me, epitomizes luxury and lounging (two of my favorite things!) and creates a cozy (or opulent) focal point in the room.

Steven Gambrel added this amazing deco fireplace surround in a bathroom. Oh, the extravagance! It is so unexpected and so perfect with that marble. Classic Gambrel style.

Alessandra Branca keeps it traditional in this lovely living room. Notice the way she manages the monumental scale of the room: accenting it with a tall mirror, bringing it down to residential scale with the large vases and floral arrangements, and arriving at human scale with the cozy seating surrounding the fireplace. 

Eric Cohler illustrates here, in his Charleston home, that he also knows how to manipulate scale in a room. I love the huge etageres standing guard on either side of the hearth. I also love the way he casually leaned the photos and artwork on the mantel, as opposed to hanging them, giving the room a more modern, breezy feel.

As usual, Melissa Rufty wows us with bold, playful colors that, here, act as a perfect contrast to the classic marble mantel.

As you can imagine, I love the color of this room in the home of Jared Goss, a curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I also love how the room, designed by Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman, has a fabulous blend of styles: the traditional portrait, the dark - almost Victorian - mantel, the antique mirrors, and don't miss those lucite "ghost" chairs!

Room by Kristen Panitch

Love the wallpaper, love the ikat, love the tiny lamps, and LOVE that roaring fire! Contemporary cozy at its best!

Of course, Charlotte Moss knows how to pull off cozy elegance. This room is so classic and even grand, yet, as always, Moss manages to make it a comfortable retreat, perfect for curling up by the fire.

Another fabulous example of the work of Eric Cohler. This room seems soothing to me, perhaps because of the muted blue and green palette, but there is really a lot going on: the checkered floor, the tufted settee, the ornate mantel, the collection of sunburst mirrors. I find his work is truly a treat for the eyes!

Well, the sun has come out, the temperature is back in the 70s, and so my fireplace fantasies must be put on hold for now. But I will leave you with one last superbly cozy fireplace....

Unknown from House Beautiful

Over the moon for overscale art

Room by Philippe Starck

Artwork says a lot about a person. (Like that they're a huge Dirty Harry fan perhaps?) I love collections of artwork (as you will see in an upcoming post), but, sometimes, one overscale piece makes a much bigger impact than even a hundred separate pictures could.

I absolutely love this room in the home of Victoria Pearson. It is cozy and earthy, and that wonderful picture of a hawk is the perfect addition. Although it is the only piece of art on the walls, the room doesn't feel like it's lacking in artistic expression. Between the wooden floor lamp and the oversized hawk, the room feels engaging and interesting, while keeping a calm, minimalist air.

Room by Todd Alexander Romano

Sometimes overscale art can be used to bring a new color into the space. The flowers in the picture above tie into the pale blue/lavender of the pillows, while the green in the background adds a new element of freshness and depth.

The black fabric panel and lampshades in the room by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard below add drama to what would be a rather neutral, airy space otherwise.

Room by Darryl Carter

Room by Eric Cohler

Overscale art can also bring a graphic element into a room. I love how the pattern in the artwork above contrasts with the ladylike bench and cozy pillows. The same effect is found in the living room at the home of Philip Gorrivan, below. The linear shapes in the photo by Michael Wolf complement the chevron striped curtains, but contrast with the plush sofa and classic console. I love the creative tension these pieces can create!

Rooms above and below by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

In this gameroom at the home of Windsor Smith, a polar bear overlooks the space, bringing some depth to the endless black walls, but creating a bit of playfulness as well.

Space by Miles Redd

Miles Redd and Peter Dunham both have a handle on playful. I love all of their richly textured and brightly colored work. Their creativity is endlessly inspiring!

Room by Peter Dunham

Room by John Saladino for Veranda

Even a traditional landscape painting can have the same impact as a more graphic piece when it's done in a super-large size.

Home of Charlotte Moss

Our last picture for the day features an artist I just love (and dicussed at length in a previous post), Massimo Vitali. His prints are always amazing in larger sizes because you can make out so much of the detail that makes his photos so fascinating. 

You don't have to buy artwork from a gallery to achieve this style. I took a photo from a trip to Italy and had it blown up to almost four feet wide! I had it done at FedEx Kinkos and it was not expensive at all! Perfectly artistic, but perfectly personal as well!

Here's to living large!