A peek inside ... Boston Design Center


Everyone always asks “what do they have inside the Boston Design Center?” Here is just a tiny sample of what I saw while visiting the showrooms yesterday to attend Design Boston. A couple of friends and I sat in on a number of design seminars (Recasting Historic Colors for Contemporary Settings sponsored by Farrow & Ball, Choosing Luxury Furnishings sponsored by Grange, but sadly missed Textiles 101 sponsored by Donghia since we were sitting in dreadful traffic on the way in to Boston.) Upon entering the building (filled with eight floors of the best luxury brands in the design industry) I couldn’t help myself from stopping to admire the landscaping ...


If you have empty spaces in your yard that you just don’t know what to do with, consider planting large groupings of perennial grasses. They are dramatic throughout several seasons and require virtually no maintenance. These also look great in containers and can be left out all winter to be enjoyed again come early summer. I love how they sway softly with the breeze.

The outside is in.

Had to post a pic of one of my favorite “I want to be in there” rooms at the BDC. JANUS et Cie has to-die-for quality outside furnishings. I found myself longing to take some home for my garden room.
Maybe next season???


Inspiration in a bag.

With registration, we each received a shopping bag full of product showroom brochures. Love the yellow and black graphics! Inside I found:



Cybele is the official magazine of the BDC. You can view it online or order your own copy of this quarterly publication that covers “the local design industry, special events, new products and design trends.”
Kinda like my blog, no?



Great textures and colors on a postcard
featuring pieces from Powell & Bonnell.




How cute is this complimentary pad of paper? I grabbed a pencil as well from the Osborne & Little showroom, who had their own bag of drool-worthy images from some of their product lines (Designers Guild and Nina Campbell were favorites of mine). I saw a lot of traditional settings covered floor to ceiling with BOLD colors, patterns and fabric combinations in the 2009 collections. Velvets, silks, pattern on pattern, and almost circus-like embellishments went from
“not difficult to imagine ...


Orsetti trims from Designers Guild

to “I’ll need time to think about that
...
but I think I love you.




Find these stunning images and more
like them at
designersguild.com


If you aren’t quite sure if you can handle this much juicy visual stimulation, how about adding a dramatic flower (like the one on the low cocktail table above) to punctuate a space as I did in this bath that I designed for my last home ...

Round, lavender alliums are a photo-stylists favorite.



This image on a brochure for Osborne & Little reminds me of a stylish bowl that I selected for a client’s home a couple of years ago ...



More graphic boldness from Villa Romo
through Webster & Company.



I had to smile when I saw Nina Campbell’s Sylvana Swan Lake collection ... it reminds me of my high school senior art project (now be gentle — I copied this painting from a card and my mom still has it hanging up for all to see) ...



Graceful style that anyone could live with
from A. Rudin at
M-Geough


Still feeling design shy? Try accenting a classic piece like the chair above with a brightly colored silk pillow like this one from Designers Guild (unless you have young kids, then just forget about the silk for a decade or so!) ...

Letourney Cocoa

Of course, walking through the soothing-design-magazine-like atmosphere of the BDC made us crazy with I-have-to-have-that-desire, and if I can’t have it, at least give me something good to eat ...


Gorgeous for fall: sweet potato vines, ornamental kale,
mums, and towering palms combine to create a
dramatic centerpiece under the luncheon tent.


Lunch was served al fresco by The Catered Affair (and sponsored by New England Home magazine — thank you!). The food was delish and the presentation was oh-so-stylish. I had orzo pasta with finely chopped vegetables, and an apricot chicken salad (yum!) on fresh greens. Both were served (separately) in these great double old fashioned cosmopolitan glasses. I am thinking of ordering a set or two for myself to serve small bites of great food or end-of-the-day cocktails. I think my kids would get a kick out of pasta presented in one of these ... and I will serve myself a lemon-drop martini while I am doing my back-to-reality dishes!


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