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Personalities

Personalities

Jeanne’s a Genius!

Jeanne Paints in Paris

Jeanne Paints in Paris

Last year we introduced you to blogging bestie, Jeanne, the creative genius behind I Dream Of, when she launched her own Instagram challenge to paint a sketch every day.  Since then, this artist, illustrator and dreamer has been very busy, working with a super talented team including brand guru Fiona Humberstone (we actually introduced her to Fiona via this post!), website designer Rachelle Saevil and photographer Katie Mitchell to re-brand herself and launch her online gallery and shop, Jeanne McKay Hartmann.

Ready to Paint

Ready to Paint

Parisian Sketches

Parisian Sketches

Having been through the process ourselves last year, we know how much time and energy goes into creating a new brand and website and we couldn’t be more happy for Jeanne.  Her new online home embodies the dreamy and whimsical quality of her paintings and captures the happy essence of her work.

Pink Zinnias

Pink Zinnias

Happy Hour!

Happy Hour!

Best of all, Jeanne will be adding some original work and prints that can be purchased through the site…  perhaps just in time for the holidays (hint, hint!)  In the meantime, you can buy Jeanne’s watercolors at her two favorite stores, Seattle’s Watson Kennedy and Nest Inspired Home in Rye, and she’ll be taking on a few new custom commissions at the beginning of 2017.   Want more loveliness?  Check out her Instagram page!

All We Need

All We Need

Congratulations, Jeanne, and thank you for making our world more beautiful!

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Personalities

An Ode to Margaret

Margaret Russell and Jamie Drake

Margaret Russell and Jamie Drake

We’re back!  Thank you, dear readers, for giving us this time off to spend with our families and recharge our blogging batteries!  We’ve had a busy two months of parties, graduations, regattas and travel and boy, did the magazines pile up.  So we spent the holiday weekend on the terrace reading each and every one of them…

A House in Greece - May 2016 Issue

A House in Greece – May 2016 Issue

Versace Wallpaper

Versace Wallpaper

The last issue of Architectural Digest edited by the amazingly talented Margaret Russell is out and we’re not the only ones who are very sad to see her leave.  We’ve come to know Margaret over the years through many of the projects we’ve done with designer Michael Smith and were honored to have our designs featured in the pages of AD (most recently in the March 2016 issue.)  Her move from Elle Decor almost six years ago was welcomed by all and we love what she did with the redesign of this iconic magazine and website.

The East Room at The White House

The East Room at The White House

Needless to say, we’ll miss Margaret’s exquisite style and look forward to following her on Instagram.  Whether she’s capturing her travels, her friends or her flowers, we know that we can still live her life vicariously through her pretty pictures.

Peonies from L. Becker Flowers

Peonies from L. Becker Flowers

Sweet Peas from L. Becker Flowers

Sweet Peas from L. Becker Flowers

Thank you, Margaret, for six years of beautiful inspiration at Architectural Digest!

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Personalities

Divine Design: Nina Helms

Brises de Printemps at the Loews Regency - New York

Brise de Printemps at the Loews Regency – New York

It would be hard not to feel joy when coming across one of Nina Helms’ works of art – she captures the beauty of nature so perfectly in plaster that her blooms almost seem real.  When our friend, Julia, shared some of Nina’s recent works with us, we were truly in awe.  While European wall relief sculptures have existed for centuries, Nina took this traditional art form and added her own a modern twist.

Fleurs Blanches Triptych

Fleurs Blanches Triptych

Kips Bay Showhouse 2010

Kips Bay Showhouse 2010

Nina’s imaginative designs are filled with the little subtle details that can really only be seen up close – the curve of a petal, the bark on a stem.  While flowers seem to be her forte, Nina’s animals are just as graceful and enchanting.  Who wouldn’t want to wake up with lovely, delicate butterflies floating above your head?

Farfalinas

Farfalinas

Since many of Nina’s commissions are private, you won’t see them in a lot of public places…  yet!  But we have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of Nina’s work on walls and overhead – she’s come out with a collection of light fixtures that is just gorgeous.

Brises de Printemps - Detail

Brise de Printemps – Detail

Flower Detail

Flower Detail

How do you spell relief?  N-I-N-A, that’s how!

brise / fleurs / kips bay / hallway / farfalinas / brise detail

 

 

Personalities

Behind the Lens of Claire Grummon

Les Fleurs

Les Fleurs

If you’re a long time reader of The Buzz, you might remember an intrepid twelve-year-old fashionista named Claire who wrote a couple of guest posts for us (you can read them here and here.)  Four years later, Claire is a budding photographer and has recently launched a website featuring her collections.  Not only is Claire very good with a camera, she’s equally talented with a pen; her artist statement is the perfect complement to her pictures.

Circle Flowers

Circle Flowers

“Life happens quickly.  Any given moment begins, changes and ends, sometimes before it’s even noticed.  Light shifts, shadows move, dimensions reveal.  And in today’s hyper-digital world, so many opportunities to notice these moments are completely lost as our attention is pulled from one “source” to another.”

Alice

Alice

“As an artist, I use photography to stop time – to capture moments – and to prolong the opportunity to see, explore and immerse oneself in what would otherwise be a transient moment or one altogether unseen.  These moments can be serene, jolting, perplexing, funny and beautiful.”

Barnard

Barnard

Gravity Doesn't Apply Here

Gravity Doesn’t Apply Here

Float

Float

We couldn’t have described Claire’s work better ourselves and we hope you take some time to immerse yourselves in the moments captured by her lens…

Photos: 1 – 6

Personalities

Divine Design: Kerry Hanson

Colorful Kitchen

If you browse through Kerry Hanson’s online portfolio, you can’t help but be enchanted by her light touch and refreshing palette, then fall for her youthful yet elegant aesthetic.

Bright and Beautiful

We first discovered Kerry’s work in the pages of a local magazine – her own home was profiled in an article written by our next door neighbor, Judy Ostrow, and photographed by the super talented Stacy Bass.

Bedroom Blues

Pantry Perfection

We love Kerry’s bold patterns and tailored touches and the fact that each one of her rooms has personality.  From a bright and colorful kitchen to a more refined dining room that mixes the old with the new, Kerry’s interiors are warm and welcoming.  Perhaps that’s because she learned her craft in sunny California at U.C. Berkeley and with Edward Lobrano.

Dining Delight

With four girls of her own, Kerry knows how to decorate for a busy family and create cozy spaces for quiet downtime.  And who wouldn’t want to sleep like a princess in her charming girls’ rooms?

A Princess’ Pad

Now, if only we could channel some of Kerry’s talent and get our own decorating done!

Photos 1, 2, 4 and 5 by Jane Beiles and 3 and 6 by Stacy Bass via Kerry Hanson Design

 

Personalities, The Latest Buzz

Young Talent

Beleza

Our adventures in New York on Wednesday led to many encounters with wonderful designers, some established stars and others, rising stars.  Having been fans of Young Huh’s work ever since we saw it in the pages of Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, we were so excited to actually meet her in person at the TradHome party.

House Beautiful “Kitchen of the Month”

A local, award-winning, talent with (her Scarsdale, NY home where “Marie Antoinette meets Jean Michel Frank” won her an Innovation in Design Award in 2011), Young’s style of mixing the old with the new allows her to infuse a fresh creative edge to her interiors.  And as a mother of three, Young understands the need to balance chic design with kid-friendly furnishings.

Young’s Home

A Serene Scene

Juggling both career and family life is no small feat for Young, especially since some of her projects take her to places beyond the tri-state area…  We don’t know how she does it all with such grace and humor and perhaps that’s why we connected so well with her!

Crisp and Clean

Whatever her secret is, Young is definitely shooting for the stars and we’ll be looking for more of her divine design…

Fabulous in Florida

Rumor has it Young is designing one of the 18 bedrooms for the Ronald McDonald House in Long Island with good friend Nick Olsen this fall…  Who’s up for a road trip?  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Photos via Young Huh Interior Design, House Beautiful and Connecticut Cottages & Gardens

 

Inspirations, Personalities

Freeze Frame

House & Garden - Creating Tablescapes

Do you ever open a magazine and just sigh over a picture?  We do, all the time… and when we do, we tend to look up the photographer to see what other pretty things he or she has shot.  We’ve come across some wonderful talent this way and we’ve just added Carolyn Barber’s site to our favorites bar.  Her portfolio is a delightful blend of fun and lovely things.  Whether she’s shooting fashion for a mail order catalogue…

Bombay Duck

or cakes for a bridal magazine…

Conde Nast Brides

and flowers for a reference book…

Dorling Kindersley

Carolyn truly captures the moment.  She also makes paint swatches look pretty…

Homes & Antiques

Even her Christmas cards are truly unique and beautiful.

Christmas '05

Do you have any photo ops planned for this weekend?

Photos via Carolyn Barber Photography

 

 

Inspirations, Personalities

Blue Hues

A Vision in Blue

The cold and rainy weather has persisted here in the Northeast but we’re not singing the blues (despite what you may have thought after Monday’s Mood!)  In fact, we’re basking in the beauty of them with this Sydney home of Nellie Tilley featured in the March-April issue of Vogue Living Australia.  It’s hard to believe that Nellie lives here with her three young boys – how does she keep the textured velvets and bright silks so spotless?!

A Friendly Family Room

Kitchen Love

This talented designer’s vision of her future home went something like this: a gorgeous, classic structure but rundown so that she could make it her own.  A 1890’s “terrace” in the Sydney suburbs was exactly what she was looking for.  “I walked in and thought, ‘This is my house'” explains Nellie, and she bought it the same day.

Divine Dining

Sitting Pretty

The end result is a light-filled space that is as elegant as it is child-friendly, a homey home filled with personality that must be the envy of the neighborhood!

P.S.  Enter our spring giveaway at With Love From Kat – you have until May 1st!

Photos via Vogue Living Australia

Inspirations, Personalities, The Latest Buzz

Olá, Ana!

Isn't She Lovely?

While trying to catch up after a busy week at the NY Gift Show (and procrastinating reading a backlog of emails), we came across the latest edition of Adore Home (which is so well-named since we adore this online magazine!) and flipped when we saw the lovely Lisbon home of Ana Antunes.

Ana at Home

Home Sweet Home Mood Board

Vignettes = Story of Her Life

Ana’s wide-ranging talents include writing and producing the only home makeover show in Portugal called “Querido Mudei a Casa“, appearing as the in-house decorator on her show and designing a line of furniture.  And oh, did we mention that she also writes a blog in her spare time?

On Set - Beach House Chic

Terrific Turquoise

Needless to say, Ana had us at “olá” and we fell her sense of style – from the bold and beautiful to the soft and feminine, she’s got it covered.  We dare you to visit her and not be charmed!

Photos via Ana Antunes

Personalities, Q & A

Q & A with Loni Parker (Adore Home)

We Adore Adore Home!

When we came across Australia’s first online home and lifestyle magazine, it was love at first sight!  After flipping through the pages filled with inspirational homes from “down under” and beyond, divine design from artists still waiting to be discovered and the latest home treasures (accessible with just one click), we were hooked (read our post here.) 

Lovely Loni

So it’s with great pleasure that the lovely Loni Parker, founder of Adore Home, accepted our invitation to be featured on The Buzz, especially since the magazine is celebrating it’s first birthday with a New York edition!

1.   What did you want to be when you were a child?
I actually have always wanted to be a pilot.  As a child I was fascinated by planes; when they would fly over our home (which wasn’t very often as I was born in a small country town) I would run out and just watch them.  When I got to high school I even enrolled in all of the subjects that you had to study if you wanted to get into the defence force.  Lucky for me, I was terrible at physics so I gave up on that idea and fell in love with art and design instead.

Lucy Fenton in Melbourne

2.   What is your necessary luxury?
Flowers.  To many people they would be a luxury item but I simply must have flowers in my home.  Every weekend I go to the local markets to pick up a fresh bunch or two.  My boyfriend thinks they’re a complete waste of money but I totally disagree.  Flowers add life to a home.

3.   What is your favorite decorating accessory?
Books and candles.  I like to make a little stack of books and pop a lovely candle on top or even a piece of coral.  Having a stack of three or so books automatically makes the pile of books a decorator piece and makes them look more visually interesting.  Great for putting on a console table or even displayed in a bookcase that way.  An excellent example of this can be seen in Jen Ramos’ home here.

Black and Spiro in Brisbane

4.   Where do you window shop?
Alannah Hill.  Only problem is I rarely can just stop at window shopping – I usually end up walking out of the store with a new piece.  I had to ban myself from going there for a while because I was like a kid in a candy shop!  Now that they have an online store, it’s even harder to resist.  For interiors, I love Brisbane stores like Black and Spiro and Magnolia Interiors.  Both have the most amazing pieces in store and showcase beautiful colourful furniture and homewares.

5.   What makes a house a home?
I think it’s important to add touches that have personality and that have meaning – otherwise, it just ends up looking like a display home that has no soul.

6.   What is the most enjoyable part of your day?
Receiving emails from readers who love the magazine.  It always brightens my day when I see that Adore Home brings someone else happiness to their day.

At Home with Melanie (Luxury Mongrams)

7.   What is your favorite flower?
Peonies hands down are my all time favourite flower.  They’re not always in season so I usually will have snapdragons or even chrysanthemums in a bright sunny yellow as they last for a couple of weeks and still look great!

8.   If you were a cocktail, what would you be?
Probably a pina colada.  Because it’s got that mixture of fruitiness and creaminess – not sure if that sums up my personality – but I think I’m a bit of a mixed bag so that’s probably what I’d be… plus I love the taste of pina coladas and my family’s emblem is a pineapple!

9.   If your life were made into a movie, what would be the title and who would play your part?
It would be called “Workaholic” and it would probably be a romantic comedy or indie flick.  I’d love for Zooey Deschanel to play my part, not because I think I look like her (although I wish I did) but because she’s a little bit quirky and not so mainstream which is what I love about her.

10.  Name one thing from your “Bucket List”.
Visit New York.

Summer Thorton's Home

Isn’t Loni fabulous and aren’t we lucky she didn’t become a pilot!  Thank you Loni for all that you do and when you come to New York, we’ll treat you to a pina colada…

If you can’t wait for the next issue of Adore Home to be published, check out Loni’s blog!

Photos via Loni Parker at Adore Home magazine