Brian Boitano Decorator

It's two months today since Alberto is gone. I have been keeping busy. Each little milestone like today is hard. Let's face it, every day without Alberto is hard. So many of you are going through the same thing of missing someone you love. My heart goes out to you.

In the spirit of keeping busy, I am trying to do more decor posts. Back to the new normal.

Brian Boitano goes back to his roots in Italy to renovate a ruin of a family home

A few weeks ago I chanced on an HGTV show called The Brian Boitano Project. From HGTV: "On a recent vacation to the old country, Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano discovered his Italian family, and the town his relatives migrated from. He also discovered, and ultimately purchased an old family home in desperate need of repair."

The house was a more like a ruin with some old family furniture. The Italy Boitanos really didn't know their famous American relative, and it is sweet and funny to watch the bonds of family connect. One funny episode involved two aunts selling Brian the furniture in the house. He was very excited about this, not only for the sentimental value, but also for the help it would be with his limited budget. He went back to the USA after making the initial plans to renovate, and when he returned to Italy to work on the project found that the aunties had taken all the furniture. Something was definitely lost in the transaction.

The show aired in January. It was hard to find. Then there was a marathon of episodes on the sister channel DIY Network one Saturday. I wish HGTV would stop all the House Hunter spin offs and the constant rerunning of them and get back to more shows like The Brian Boitano Project.

Enjoy this round-up of images I culled from the Internet.

The kitchen before

The kitchen and dining area after - Brian spray painted the chairs lacquer green at his uncle's auto body shop

The chandelier was made from a huge wind jug that was found on the property - a fixture from Ikea was put inside the glass

Installing the wine jug chandelier

So cute

All the walls were washed with color to maintain an antique patina

The master bedroom

Detail of nightstand

Little niches were carved into the walls all through the house

The master bath

A vintage table was used for the sink base and old stone was left revealed

Another bedroom - Brian shopped at the local Ikea

Ikea pillow

Another great bathroom using ordinary fixtures to maximum effect and anotherr great exposed stone wall

Another niche cut into the stone

Another cute bedroom

I love these niches all over the house

And another great little bathroom

Old shutter hardware

Brian Boitano did a great job renovating his new villa in Italy

And please indulge me....

Beautiful Alberto

David Bromstad Art

HGTV star David Bromstad had a successful show, Color Splash going for a few seasons. It's a well known fact that even though he is a great TV personality and decorator, his first love is being an artist. In every episode of Color Splash he would create a work of art that he custom painted for the home owner. Now you can afford and own this art work too!

avid Bromstad designed this room on Color Splash, and did the painting of what he called a grandfather clock

Grandinroad has the David Bromstad Collection, and it is pretty cute, featuring seven of his best loved paintings reproduced as giclee canvas art.

David Bromstad grandfather clock art at Grandinroad

David Bromstad also did a cuckoo clock on Color Splash that you can get at Grandinroad

He did a pair of dogs on Color Splash for this fun dining room - He owns two French Bulldogs who were his inspiration

Here's the dogs from Grandinroad (they come on other colors too)

David Bromstad did this lounge at Art Basel in Miami and also did the painting of the deer head

You can have this David Bromstad painting called "12 Point Buck" from Grandinroad

These are original David Bromstad paintings

And here are the reproductions of Ovals I and II by David Bromstad at Grandinroad

This is a David Bromstad room from Color Splash - He did the  painting over the couch

This giclee painting called "Riptide" by David Bromstad is from Grandinroad and would look great over a couch

Here's another room from Color Splash, with a large flower painting over the mantel done by David Bromstad

And here's a large flower painting by David Bromstad at Grandinroad that also comes in pink

I would use any of these in a nursery or kids room for sure. What about you?

David Bromstad working in his studio with his two muses Dozer and Bon Bon via Dog Milk

photos of David Bromstad interiors from his site

Hover over any image to Pin it.

Please add my NEW address to your blog list:

http://thevisualvamp.blogspot.com
And please become a Follower again (or for the first time) on this newer VV blog

Would You Like To Audition With Me For HGTV Design Star?

Well the new season of HGTV Design Star kicked off this past week. And as we all sit and watch and judge the contestants, I wonder how many of us would have the courage to audition. The people who actually make it onto to show have already proven that they can stand out among thousands of entries.

The winning room on the first episode of HGTV Design Star

The format of the show is pretty much set, so it was no surprise that the starlets had to decorate the house they were moving into. It's a big old ugly McMansion and they got three days to do the project.

No surprises. Nothing wow and really only one hideous room made so mainly by the designer from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi which is a bedroom community of New Orleans. Let's just say she couldn't let her Mardi Gras stay back home, and she made a huge mess with the cliches (purple and green and a Fleur di lis).

The worst room that looks like a Mardi Gras train wreck

One interesting contestant to me is Miera who is 63. Yay(!) for Design Star for including someone my age! I often think about competing, but I don't know if I could hack all that group interaction, DIY crap projects, time constraints, having to share a house, and being away from home. I guess I get enough validation sitting on my couch watching the show ha ha.

Miera - Stop saying you're old and just kick ass!

I don't think Miera will last long. Not because she isn't talented. She would not have made the cut this far if she didn't have something to offer. But she is already pulling the age card out. If it were me, I would never mention my age. I would let the work and my personality speak. I think when anyone whines about their age whether they are young or older, it is a huge turn off, and it slows a person down creatively.

Miera did this room with her assigned partner Jordan - I would not like to sleep in this room - Why did it take three days to do this?

Anyhoo, this coming Tuesday is the White Room Challenge. HGTV has another show just dedicated to that, and it is a pretty awful show. The flaw with home decor shows is the instant result syndrome. I remember the days when This Old House was the only design show on TV, and it took a whole season for a project to get to the final reveal. I don't understand why speed is thought to be a quality in the case of designers and decorators.

Emily Henderson, who won on another past season of Design Star, writes some great recaps of the show on her blog. She can't be snarky, because after all HGTV is her boss,  but she does tell it like it is, and her perspective of having been a contestant makes her reporting ring true.

And, sheeeeeeeeeeeee's back! Jenny from MFAMB is doing her Design Turd recaps, the most funny and honest commentary about the show. Don't miss reading them.

Why do we watch?  Is it the Roman Coliseum aspect? To get design and decor ideas? To be entertained? I don't know why I watch, but I do ha ha, and I enjoy it. Do I want my own design TV show? Do you?

Please add my NEW address to your blog list:

http://thevisualvamp.blogspot.com
And please become a Follower again (or for the first time) on this new blog

HGTV Does The Double D Season

What is happening at HGTV? Design Star continues to be a snooze and a loose. The Novogratz came on board at HGTV this Summer and if you like them, you'll like their show. But there have been some sneak peeks to a couple of new shows in the Fall line up.

One involves Donna Moss who got kicked off of a previous season on  Design Star, and now has her own show. Donna is from Dallas and calls herself "The Queen of Bling". Really.  I just happened to see the sneak preview and let's just say that HGTV must be trying to create a Bravo type Housewives decorating franchise. You know, rich, over done women decorating, complete with drama and lots of bling and bad taste for us all to ogle and love to hate. Clever programming, or just tacky disaster?

From HGTV: "Donna Moss, a former finalist from season one of HGTV Design Star, is the host of the new series Donna Decorates Dallas. Each week Donna works with her two daughters, Tiffany and Ashley, along with a team of skilled artisans and craftsmen to create unique and timeless home interiors. As a former professional in the travel industry, Donna brings a global perspective to her designs. Her favorite design motifs include elegant Old World themes with glamorous Gothic tones and lush Hollywood-inspired rooms."

It's funny how on both Food Network and HGTV that some of "the losers" end up with a show anyway.

In the preview episode, Donna goes to a bloated Dallas McMansion of a house to add some new bedding to the master bedroom. The decor is high end Steinmart if you get my drift. The Queen of Bling immediately escalates the project to an entire room do-over, complete with knocking out walls, and managing to cram in about $50K (or more) of high priced junk from some design mart in Dallas.

There was also a side trip to another client's house who hated some chairs that had been placed there by Donna Decorates Dallas. The Queen of Bling and her assistant fixed it pronto! They took away the offending chairs, and brought in two tufted throne like chairs more in line with the client's hefty taste. Then they bedazzled them with large fake jewels that were hot glued into each tuft point.

It is so awful, that it is almost a joke, like watching movies my friends and I used to call "pig heaven" (that usually starred Pia Zadora). They were so bad we loved them. Well this room is so bad I thought maybe it was a "pig heaven" joke. But sadly, it is not that lovable.

Room design on HGTV by Donna Moss, The Queen of Bling, on her new show Donna Decorates Dallas

Does HGTV have a hit on its hands with Donna Moss? Will we all tune in every week to see what bad taste she whips up, and then snark it to death on the blogs? Or will we really not care. Stay tuned.

D #2 of The Double D Season, is none other than New Jersey Housewife Dina Manzo, who got out after season one on Bravo. She often told us she was an interior designer who also did event design HERE.

Dina Manzo interior designer and event designer

Her style is commensurate with her peers and her location and the environment they all live in.  I imagine in New Jersey, she is very successful.

Some of Dina Manzo's event design

And obviously so does HGTV. They snatched her up from Bravo. Tonight, she is a guest judge on Design Star, where the challenge is to create a wedding decor in two days. This appearance is a prelude to her new show in the Fall on HGTV called "Dina's Party".

The first episode on the new show is called: "A Big Pink New Jersey Wedding". Attention brides!

The weird thing is how Dina does her over-the-top event design in people's homes, turning a tacky home into a mini tacky catering hall.

A Big Pink New Jersey Wedding

This was the client's living room after Dina got done with it

Will  Dina bring back the ice sculpture?

The client's living room before it got transformed into "A Big Pink New Jersey Wedding"

Wowza! Excess and bling and bad taste!!!! Way to go HGTV! Your ratings will surely soar. I can hardly wait for Jenny and Nicole and Erica to weigh in!

A Question For You Stylists

You know a styling trend has arrived when it trickles down to New Orleans. Lately editors have been asking about styling that messy bed look for home decor stories and photo shoots.

The bohemian messy bed

It really is tricky to making an un-made bed bed look appealing and glamorous.

The modern messy bed

Do you start with the bed made up and then mess it up? Do you spray the sheets with water and crumple them by hand?

The romantic messy bed

Maybe you can get in the bed and kind off kick the covers around to achieve a natural look. You know if you fuss too much it will look stiff and fake, which is pretty funny when you think of it.



What does the messy bed say to the reader? Does it say something romantic?

The implied lifestyle messy bed

Does a messy bed imply a languid relaxed lifestyle that most of us crave?

All in the mix messy bed

Is there a devil-may-care off-hand attitude somewhere there in all the beautiful bed linens?

The boudoir messy bed

How would you style the messy bed look? Add some clothing? I think shots with a fancy pair of designer shoes and a Kelly bag/designer purse in it are so overused.

The Selby messy bed - Kate & Andy Spade at home

The Selby is a master of the messy look. He usually puts people in the messy beds.

The Selby - the reality of hip messy bed

There's kind of a swagger to it all. Some people hate it as being hipster and smug. Some people love it as being fresh and exciting, the antidote to all those perfectly made beds that have been in shelter magazines for years.

The Selby anti shelter magazine messy bed

Do photos of messy beds give us a voyeuristic sneak peek at the reality of the private life taking place in the home photographed?

The Selby

Would you allow your bed to photographed unmade? You've waited a long time to get a photo shoot of your project.

The Selby makes the stylist jump on the bed to get the perfect messy bed look

You've purchased new linens, and ironed them, You've fluffed and primped the pillows for hours to get just the perfect look, and the editor walks in and tells the stylist to mess it up. Could you handle it?


Is it easier on a fashion shoot then a home decor shoot? After all fashion editorial has been way ahead of the shelter magazines in presenting avant garde editorials.

Fashion model messy bed

I started looking at images of messy beds for inspiration. I love the ones with movie stars in messy beds.

Sophia Lauren and Carlo Ponti in their messy bed

Some of them are staged for movies, and publicity shots, and for magazine stories.

Sophia Loren alone in a messy bed
Love the whole styling job of this room

Since the movie stars are actors, they really know how to be comfortable in a messy bed. They know how to work it.

Marilyn - the master works the messy bed

No movie stars here at my photo shoot. Just an uptight home owner with a hurt puzzled look as I tear into her beautifully made up bed.

Marilyn

How do I explain that this is glamorous and au courant?

Catherine Deneuve - French style messy bed
The props inspire me!

Stylists! Tell me your tricks and secrets of how to make the messy bed fabulous!

Brigitte Bardot - French style messy bed 2

I practice every morning, by not making my bed. Alberto and I work all night to get just the right effect!

Audrey Hepburn - messy bed excellence
A sleep mask and a cat are so much better than a Kelly bag

Don't forget to watch stylist and blogger and Design Star winner Emily Henderson's new show Secrets From A Stylist which premiers on HGTV on this Saturday February 26, 9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central. Maybe she'll show us the secrets of styling the messy bed!

Emily Henderson secretly styles the messy bed