He Said He Said - Brian Patrick Flynn Versus Bryan Batt

The new Winter issue of House of Fifty just came out, and it's a nice big fat one. This issue is dedicated to color, something we all need in these last months of Winter before Spring finally comes.

In my Advanced Decor column in House of Fifty this month,  I was lucky to get two hot guys together that have a lot to say about the subject of color: Brian Patrick Flynn (Uber designer, TV personality, and blogger who is known for his originality, wit, and sass), and Bryan Batt (star of stage, cinema, and TV, most notably as the beloved Sal on Mad Men, and also the author of the decor book Big Easy Style, and co-owner of the home accessories shop Hazelnut). They are totally honest, funny,  spirited, and they don't always agree, but they hug it out. Be sure to read it.

How hot is this? Brian versus Bryan in the 2013 Winter issue of House of Fifty

The rest of the issue is spectacular, with a feature by the queen of color,  Tobi Fairley. There are stories on decorating tips, fashion, and food, and art too. It really is a terrific issue, so download it today HERE.

The 2013 Winter issue of House of Fifty is fabulous

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Revamp Your Home Like Mary McDonald

I did a post about abut the last episode of Million Dollar Decorators where Mary McDonald revealed the revamp of her very own home.  I said I would follow up with a post about where to get some things that might give you the feeling of what she did.

I love the way Mary McDonald layers things like the large temple jars under the console - I also love that she uses carnations

Mary has the talent and the stash of stuff to pull together rooms like no one else, so I am not saying that we can copy anything she does. But we can take inspiration and add a few things to our homes to get a little of that Million Dollar Decorator feeling.

My Guest Picks this month at Houzz

Mary has luxurious expensive things, but in my Guest Picks at Houzz this month, I found a ton of affordable things that evoke a luxe feeling, the look for less.  It's all about smoke and mirrors, something I know you all understand. I concentrated my picks on her living room revamp.

Mary uses a lot of green, so maybe the update in your room might just include touches of green.

Mary McDonald loves green and uses a lot of it in the revamp of her home

So go on over on over to Houzz and check it out and tell me what you think about what I found.

I picked over 30 things to help you get the look of Mary McDonald's revamp

You can find  the look for less of most of these items at Houzz

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The New York Apartment Of Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel, is the New York Housewife who wasn't a housewife, who propelled herself into two spin-off shows on Bravo, Bethenny Getting Married, and bethennyEver After. She also took her cooking skills and vision of creating something called Skinny Girl, and moved from offering free samples of her home made food products in the grocery store, into a massive commercial success with a line of low calorie pre-mixed cocktails and wines. She's paid her dues, and now she's a mogul. Sadly her well documented marriage has ended, and she's a single mother getting ready to launch her own talk show in the  Fall.

Bethenny Frankel in her new apartment - I spy a Missoni bike in the entry hall from Target - I think Bethany got every item from that flash sale because she wears the stuff, and she dresses her daughter in the cute kid clothes too

One of the story lines in Bethenny Ever After, was the purchase of an expensive apartment bought with the fruits of Bethenny and Jason's labor in developing and ultimately selling the Skinny Girl line of liquors and wines. It was the dream come true of girl who had a childhood wrought with financial insecurity brought on by her father's career as a professional gambler.

The living room area in the Tribeca loft - The star burst chandelier was something Bethany had in her clipping file

The design firm of Mariette Himes Gomez was hired to do the honors of renovating and decorating the space. Bethenny had been keeping a binder filled with clippings of things she collected way before her recent success. She says, "I made this book 15 years ago of things I wanted but could never afford".

The dining area in the Traditional Home feature on Bethenny Frankel

Traditional Home Magazine features Bethenny's apartment in the February/March 2013 issue. The article is written by Cathy Whitlock, photography by Joe Standart, produced with Jo Ann McVicker.
Pick up the issue so you can see the images in all their glory, and read the fascinating back story.

Another view of the living room area

A view of the kitchen and the breakfast area - For all you Bethenny fans, what is the name of her dog?

Bethenny had Mariette Himes Gomez build a huge bar in the living room complete with Skinny Girl logo - Bethennysaid the wealth from Skinny Girl built the apartment and she wanted to pay homage to that - There's a dedicated office in the loft

The bedroom is soft and romantic  - Wallpaper by Ted Tyler

Of course a closet fit for a queen

Bethenny's daughter's bedroom

You can catch past episodes of Bethenny Ever After  on Bravo.


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Martyn Bullard Lawrence Revamps His Sister's Place

I miss Million Dollar Decorators. The season is so short and goes by so fast. In the last episode Martyn Bullard Lawrence revealed the project he was doing for his sister Tina (and her husband Alan) in Chislehurst, England.

Martyn takes on Napoleon

Martyn says, "After years of owning various fashion apparel stores and a beautician business, my sister and her husband Alan decided to make an enormous change to their lives and take over a 215-year-old pub in the local historic village of Chislehurst. I have to say this has come as enormous shock to me. The pub world, even though a centuries old tradition in England, has been suffering greatly in the last few years from the recession and changing tastes of the public. In fact, pubs are closing down like wildfire all over the country, so for my family to suddenly decide to become publicans seemed both shocking and foolhardy".

Martyn Bullard Lawrence and his sister Tina

The task came to Martyn to help turn a rundown, smelly, and badly reviewed pub into a beautiful spot that the wealthy local clientele could once again love, and provide his sister and her family with a successful business. Martyn's thinks a pub should "be old school, cozy, sexy, inviting, and should always feel like an old friend -- familiar, welcoming, and there to give you support and comfort".

The Imperial Arms pub in Chislehurst, England

The tension that comes of working with family, the biting cold, the crumbling walls, and an escalating budget got even more complicated.

The wallpaper Martyn chose put husband Alan on edge, but I think it came out great

Love those monkeys! The wallpaper Martyn chose looks like

Cole & Son FRUTTO PROIBITO GOLD 77/12044.CS

Martyn thought his biggest problem was convincing his sister's husband to trust his choice of paint color and wallpaper,  and tells us, "there also seems to be a deeper routed problem. The pub is haunted by Napoleon's lover Charlotte who used to live in the pub in the nineteenth century when her lover was exiled to Chislehurst. The pub was then an inn and apparently she lived there for years and must have eventually died there of a broken heart."

Besides rot and leaks Martyn found a ton of old stuff in the basement, including Napoleon memorabilia that he used

The pub, The Imperial Arms, came out very glam glam, but still homey enough to not scare the locals away. I'm sure Martyn's family will make a great success of it, and Martyn will drop in when he is in England. He  shares that he is also filming, producing, and starring in his own design show in England. I hope it gets shown in the USA on BBC TV!

Cozy corner table with banquettes with glam glam velvet tufting

The bar and a bust of Napoleon

The Imperial Arms has been nominated as one of the ‘best pubs in London‘ in The London Pub Crawl Guide, it stocks perfectly kept real ales, such as Doombar and Harveys, along with chilled lagers and a very interesting, well priced wine list.

Tina's husband Alan behind the bar - He loves what Martyn did

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How To Use Emerald Green According To Colin Cowie

This morning on the Today Show Colin Cowie did one of his regular occurring segments on home decor. He talked about 2013 trends, color, artsy mirrors, and vintage finds.

He said that he has been using Emerald Green for the past six months, and said for you to get current by painting an accent wall with the 2013 Color of the Year.

Here's Colin's little room set up showing the green accent wall - He says to use an arty mirror

He used vintage bottles and a vase of anemones, and a turquoise Buddha on the sofa table

Here in this office set-up - Colin covered an accent wall in black plaid - It looks like fabric to me  - He also used a giant green clock that I am sure he made (and wished he would have talked about) - He lined the desk drawers in green paper

Here's the mirror Colin used from cb2

cb2 Perspective mirror

It comes in 24 inch squares

You can arrange them any way you like

Are you ready to paint an accent wall or make a giant green clock?

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How To Use Emerald Green - The Table

Okay, so every year we get the word about the color of the year. No one is going to change their entire home decor or wardrobe to accommodate this pronouncement. But if we like the color we might decide to add a little of it into our lives.

The dining room table is set with Emerald Green - The "tablecloth" is white cow hide

For me the table setting is the easiest. You can add a charger, or a napkin, or some glassware in the color of the year and be done with it.

Green charger,  antique Limoges plate on top of that, and a vintage plate on top of that with a Carnival motif

Green is a color used in New Orleans in conjunction with Carnival season and Mardi Gras, so I set the table for a Carnival lunch.

The grape napkin ring calls to mind Bacchus, an important entity during Carnival

I had just about everything in the cupboards. I just added the green charger that I got on an after Christmas sale for only 49 cents each. I doubt they will last, but they should be good while Emerald is the color of the year.

I added ribbon streamers to the in line chandelier

Purple, green and gold ribbons

I also bought a set of wine glasses from Overstock. I love the pretty gold floral motif.

I mixed glasses with gold embellishment - The wine glasses are from Overstock, the champagne coupe is vintage, and so is the rocks glass that I use as a water glass - It has a gold medallion embossed on it that says "Rex", which is another Carnival reference - The small vintage plates each have a different Carnival figure on them - Moroccan tea glasses are used for candles - A simple white linen napkin looks clean

My table is set for Carnival, but if I edited a few things, it would be perfectly fine for any occasion where Emerald Green might be featured.

Using Emerald Green for a table setting

How would you use the color of the year on your table?

Emerald Green the New Orleans way

I am starting the new year off over at Susan's Between Naps On The Porch to join in on the 228th (!) Tablescape Thursday. Go check out all the wonderful tablescapes and join the party.

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The Best Of The Best - Ann Holden

It's always a thrill when a New Orleans designer and architect get national recognition. I think New Orleans has an amazing talent pool, and some of the best design work is done here. So it is with great pride that I share the work of Ann Holden (and architect William Sonner) featured in the January/February issue of Veranda. In fact Ann got the cover.

You can read an in depth article about Ann Holden at Cote de Texas. Joni Web does her usual thorough well researched round-up and history of Ann's career, with lots of big gorgeous pictures.

For my part I share the visual...

The Italianate house on St. Charles venue was taken down to the studs and the original 1884 footprint, and then rebuilt and replicated, with a huge addition added at the back, b architect William Sonner

The front hall - You can see the new addition at the back of the house - Love the lantern

The modern addition features metal cased windows (LOVE them)

A stone fireplace in the addition mixes trad with mod

A breakfast area

The dining room

The new sleek kitchen

A snug library/den

One of the bedrooms

Ann Holden on the cover of Veranda

Please pick up the issue so you can read the article by Sallie Brady and see the gorgeous photos done by Paul Costello. And do read the fabulous back story about Ann Holden Joni did HERE.

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