Happy Holidays 2024!

As we wrap up 2024, I send warm holiday greetings to all my clients present and past, followers, and regular readers.

And Happy Winter Solstice--the shortest day and longest night of the year--which takes place this Saturday, December 21st!

Happy designing and Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays 2023!

As we wrap up 2023, I send warm Holiday Greetings to all my clients present and past, followers, and regular readers.

And Happy Winter Solstice--the shortest day and longest night of the year--which takes place this Thursday, December 21 at 7:27 PM!

Holiday décor in the Cotswolds cottage of Luke Edward Hall & Duncan Campbell
Photo by Mark Fox

Happy designing, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and I hope to see you in 2024!

Happy Halloween 2023!

Happy Halloween to all my clients, subscribers, and regular readers! Here's a bit of inspiration for your spooky decorating urges...it's not too late to conjure up some atmosphere!

I hang cut up black trash bags in a fringe, as shown here. I also have a giant spider I hang from the eaves of my front porch. Colored lights go along way to conjuring up a mood of unease...use green tinted lights for a sickly tint. And ghosts cut out from translucent tracing paper taped to windows offer a chill.

You can use old frames from a thrift store painted black and glue on peat moss and twigs; tie branches and ripped cheesecloth to a chandelier; place a realistic looking skull on a pile of old books; drip red wax on white taper candles to make them "bleed."

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2022!

Happy Halloween to all my clients, subscribers, and regular readers! Here's a bit of inspiration for your spooky decorating urges...I like to hang cut up black trash bags in a fringe as shown here. I also have a giant spider I hang from the eaves of my front porch. Colored lights go along way to conjuring up a mood of unease...use green tinted lights for a sickly tint. And ghosts cut out from translucent tracing paper taped up in windows offer a chill.

Have a wonderful, fun, and safe holiday!

Happy designing and Happy Halloween!

Happy Holidays and Happy Solstice 2021: A Celebration of Wreaths!

As we wrap up 2021, I send warm Holiday Greetings to all my clients present and past, followers, and regular readers. And Happy Winter Solstice which takes place next Tuesday, December 21 at 7:58 AM.

Let's celebrate with a selection of lovely Holiday wreaths!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Halloween 2019

Halloween is just around the corner and it's not too late to spook the place up a bit!

Use old frames from a thrift store painted black and glue on peat moss and twigs; tie branches and ripped cheesecloth to a chandelier; green light bulbs cast a sickly glow; place a realistic looking skull on a pile of old books; drip red wax on white taper candles to make them "bleed."

Happy designing and Happy Halloween!

The Non-Traditional Holiday Tree

Don't want to bring a dead (or living) tree into your house? Hate plastic fake trees? Try one of these superbly outside-of-the-box holiday trees! Like this minimalist tree below--so minimal that the tree part isn't even there, just a mechanism for hanging glass ornaments!

A cascade of Asian lanterns in green makes a stunning display!

A coiled felt helix and an Arne Jacobsen egg chair say "modern cool."

If you are spending the holidays at a cabin, this antler tree would be spectacular. But please note that the candle bulbs are wired through the antlers which means they are likely made of life-like resin, not actual antlers. For the record, I approve of naturally-shed antlers only.

Off-cuts of tree branches can be upcycled into a tree which can be used year after year!

A fluorescent tree by avant-garde British fashion designer Gareth Pugh.

An unexpectedly beautiful bonsai holiday tree...delicate and spellbinding. Of course the things that truly make this tree so successful are the tiny Japanese lantern ornaments, the finches lining each branch, and, brilliantly, the flocking.

A plethora of Brooks Brothers neck ties make a geometric pattern in silk!

And another minimalist tree: wall-mounted branches and white lights still capture the holiday spirit.

With a little bit of imagination, nearly anything can be coaxed into the service of a holiday tree.
Happy designing and Happy Holidays!

Extraordinary Mirrors by Tom Palmer

These exquisite mirrors are not only decorative interior accessories but sublime works of art in their own right. Tom Palmer, located in England, uses glass, resin, and hand-silvered mirror set in steel, brass, or wood to fashion his stunning wall creations.

His double Aqua Alta Mirror uses layered glass and poured translucent resin, with hand water-silvered mirroring, framed in a worked and polished black gesso frame to evoke a drowned world.

For Ghost Mirror, a slice of silvered cloud is caught between a sheet of low-iron glass and a slab of thick clear perspex, with frosted edges that diffuse the light though the piece. Held with dark patinated brass clasps, and float mounted from the wall, the otherworldly piece suggests another shadow world behind the mirror.

The Iris Mirror behaves rather like a fun house mirror: a convex glass is filled with translucent tinted resin, layered over a hand silvered panel, set within a hand-carved and gessoed frame. This creates a unique optical effect, magnifying and distorting the relocation though the colored lens.

And Palmer invokes the wonder and mystery of the night sky with his Nebula Mirror. Water-silvered glass, layered with tinted resin is set within a hand carved wood and polished gesso frame.

For more information about his work, please visit his website here. He takes commissions and I would love to create some bespoke pieces for a client--his work has sparked some fun ideas I'd love to see brought to life. If you're interested, contact me and we can make a truly stunning, one-of-a-kind piece for your home!

Happy designing!