Design, Food and Charity: DIFFA Picnic by Design Summer Event 2014

Images from DIFFA Picnic by Design 2013

Design, Food and Charity is a great combination for a summer event. It will be my third year participating in DIFFA's Picnic By Design. This event rocks and this year I was able to workbehind the scenes on the steering committee. What an awesome event 2014 will be.... amazing sponsors, donations and designers! Picnic By Design redefines the concept of a traditional picnic where 40 designers come together to create innovative picnic basket experiences that are sold online in advance with proceeds benefiting DIFFA. Guests who purchase a basket  will enjoy a dinner, wine and desert for two under the stars on an urban rooftop. They will be amazed by a truly unique picnic setting! 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 6:30-10:30pm

Midtown Loft & terrace 267 Fifth Avenue @ 29th street

Purchase your picnic basket for two here


Designers are sharing their designs on DIFFA's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Check out some inspiration!

Here's a sneak peek of MoD Design Guru's picnic.... Farm-chic represents the wheelbarrow to table/picnic experience.  The mood will be set with reclaimed oak, Robert Allen fabrics ( one of the key sponsors) and firefly LED lighting. 

Event is Sponsored by Bolon, Robert Allen , Poggenpohl,
Canard Inc., Interior Design Magazine & New York Design Center

Participating designers include: Antoinette Loupe _ Aesthete & Tastemaker, Archives ID, Atelier nnd/Nicole Dufour DuRocher, B+N Industries, Barbara Fina – Fina Design LLC., Brad Ford ID, Bryon C. James for House of Oasis, Cheryl Umbles, CRD Associates, Dan Mazzarini and Brian Humphrey of BHDM Design, Danielle Colding Design, Dustin & Paris, Gensler, Hollymount Ltd., Homestories,HUBLEY DESIGN INTERIORS, HUX HUX Design, Inc.Architecture & Design, Jennifer Flanders Inc., Jeremiah Brent, Johanna Barger,Jonathan Berger Interior Design, Julie Schuster Design Studio, Kristen Guerrero, Lindsey Coral Harper Interior Design, Matthew David Celebrations, Maurice Assouline – Creativa Design, Mee Tran Studio, Michelle Slovak, Design and Decoration, Mod Design Guru,Nile Johnson Interior Design, Patrick Mele, Richard A. Baquero Interior Design Inc., Samantha Knapp for Tigerlily’s, Samuel Masters,Simple Dwellings by Elizabeth Braha, The 3rd Floor Lab, Think Fabricate, Tina Rachmandani Creative, VANESSA DELEON, West Chin, and Workshop/APD.

Thank you to all the terrific sponsors for the event! Woot woot!

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DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Chic Interior Designer Nina Magon

One of my new fave interior designers is Nina Magon, Creative Director of Contour Interior design based in Houston. She is known for her signature contemporary meets glamour style recently seen on Nate Berkus' NBC's American Dream Builders. On the show her memorable spaces were sleek and tailored emphasizing layered detailing. She has impeccable style and I'm giddy to share an interview with Nina today:

laurie perez photography

YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE

CLASSIC MODERN MEETS GLAMOUR

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION

GOALS YOU SET TO BECOME AN EXPERT AT DESIGNING LUXURY CHIC SPACES

DELIVER UNPRECEDENTED DESIGN

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ON AMERICAN DREAM BUILDER

ACCOMPLISH HIGH DESIGN, ORDER & INSTALL IN A VERY SHORT TIME FRAME

LESSONS LEARNED ON AMERICAN DREAM BUILDER

YOU MAY THINK YOU ARE THE BEST, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO IS BETTER, SO BE HUMBLE.

BIGGEST DESIGN IMPACT

LIGHTING 

MOST IMPACTFUL SPACE THAT INSPIRES YOU

OZONE BAR IN THE RITZ CARLTON IN HONG KONG

BEST DESIGN ADVICE YOU FOLLOW WHEN YOU ARE UNDER THE GUN

KEEP IT SIMPLE. FOCUS ON ONE DESIGN ELEMENT AT A TIME

MANTRA YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING BY LATELY

DON'T FIND FAULT, FIND A REMEDY. ANYBODY CAN COMPLAIN - HENRY FORD

Thanks NINa for the interview!

image credits: nbc, laurie perez photography & contour interior design

You can connect with nina magon on her 

WEBsITE, FACEBOOK, pinterest, twitter

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LG STUDIO + NATE BERKUS: Kitchen Renovation Contest

"Life's good," and so is the contest for a complete kitchen renovation with Nate Berkus and LG Studio appliances, the leader in stylish and innovative home appliances! To enter, tell Nate in a video what your personal inspiration would be to incorporate into the design and what you love about LG Studio appliances!  LG Electronics is the leader in stylish and innovative consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications. I think this contest is so sweet that I have to enter to win too! Good luck!

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Modern Botanical Innovations

Vase & Leuchte by Dua Shop

The 2014 market has some really cool modern botanical treasures to define and enhance our spaces, walls, and furniture with greenery. On the popular blog Spacesculpt, I guest posted today an article called "Five Clever ways to Style your Home with Plants." The products range from the beautiful Woolly Pockets living walls to Danielle Trofe's organic planters made out of mushrooms. These innovative greenery products promote style, warmth, and wellness for our homes.

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DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Dann Foley Lifestyle

There's something about Designer Dann Foley. I felt like we hit it off as soon as we met at High Point Market this past Spring and that I had a friend for life.  His magnetic and energetic personality is compelling and any client would be lucky to work with him!  The world got a glimpse of his charisma and talent on the Nate Berkus' reality hit show American Dream Builder. He was awesome on the show and I got to hear some behind the scene stories from him too. Sorry,I don't kiss and tell....

Kim Salter of DesignThoughts, Dann Foley, Beau Stinnette 
and me at High Point Market 2014

World-renowned for residential and commercial/ hospitality design, Dann is unique and so are his collections: Phillips accessory collection, Loloi rug collection and Skyline Outdoor furniture collection are all fresh and sophisticated. 

Phillips collection Broken Egg wall art

Phillips Collection, a leading manufacturer of high end contemporary and creative furnishings launched Foley's broken Egg wall spheres. I right away fell in love with their organic form and craftsmanship. My face was almost inside the egg when Dann's marketing agent Christi came over to me and asked me if I liked the design? Embarrassed as I pulled away but I got to meet Dann! Each egg is different and makes a great focal wall for any space. 

Dann brought his modern eye to outdoor rugs for his Palm springs collection for Loloi, a family owned rug company. These striped patterns and bright colors are as dynamic as Dann's personality.

Skyline chair: Hancock Chair

Inspired by Southern California outdoor living, Dann designed a luxury outdoor furniture collection for Skyline design. I really liked his collection. The scale of the furniture is bigger than anything I have seen on the market. I can attest to its comfort as I sat in his Hancock chair. Designer Dann's message is clear which is to consciously choose to live well in comfort and sophistication.  


I'm excited to share an interview with Dann Foley today:

YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE

I am known for my use of color and layering of pattern.  My signature style is truly unique to each client.  I create interiors that are meant to look layered, collected & timeless, not decorated. 

WHAT IN DESIGN FIRES YOU UP

I get jazzed by unique products.  They don't have to be the most expensive, they just have to speak to me.  As well as fabric, fabric, fabric!  I LOVE working with fabric!

Skyline: Hollywood Collection

GOALS YOU SET TO START YOUR DESIGN LINES 

I did not want to just lend my name to products.  I wanted to actually design them and I refused to allow anything that I didn't love go into production.

Loloi: Palm Spring Collection

ANY CHALLENGES WHILE DEVELOPING YOUR LINES  

Design is challenge.  I wanted to create products that I loved and wanted to have in my own home and at the same time, they still needed to be appealing to everyone.  I believe I found that sweet spot!

LESSONS LEARNED ON YOUR AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS EXPERIENCE 

LOL where do I begin?  I loved my time on ADB and I would not trade the experience for the world!  I have not a single regret and I left inspired by my incredibly talented teammates.  Their individual abilities and expertise has made me a better designer and image some lifelong friends.

American Dream Builder -room designed by Foley

BIGGEST DESIGN IMPACT  

For me in my own design business, technology has the biggest impact.  From flat screen TV's to smart houses they have changed not only the way we live but, the way we decorate.

American Dream Builder - room designed by Foley

MOST IMPACTFUL SPACE THAT INSPIRES YOU 

If I am to choose only one inspiration I would have to say that old movies are my greatest influence.  From rooms, to stylish living, to product development, I am constantly inspired by great old films from Hollywood's golden age.  With today's technology I can do research anywhere I have my tablet.  MGM films are my go-to pleasure and first choice for inspiration.

BEST DESIGN ADVICE YOU FOLLOW WHEN YOU ARE UNDER THE GUN

Do what I know to be right.  When I am under the gun or feeling stressed about any decision in a project, my business partner, Beau always says, "you know what's right, just do that."  That advice has never once failed me. 

Thank you Dann for the wonderful interview!

You can connect with Dann Foley on his
WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST

IMAGE CREDITS: Beau Stinnette + Christi Tasker 

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Trending Hardware with Acclaimed Designer Eric Cohler + Amerock

In collaboration with the hardware manufacturer Amerock, this is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

Cohler sees the world through paintings 

(above Susan G. Komen Holiday house + Josef Albers via)

What an honor to meet Interior Designer Eric Cohler! Last week I was invited to an intimate luncheon at his beautiful Manhattan office where I had the favor of meeting him, the Amerock Hardware marketing team and six other well known design bloggers. Besides hearing him speak about his work, and upcoming trends and learning a ton about Amerock hardware and their latest partnership with Eric Cohler, I was able to get personal design advice from the "mix-master" himself.  I really appreciated speaking with him - he is impressive, personable, well spoken and  extremely knowledgeable. I walked away with the idea that I need to listen to what my client is not saying..... 

Mr. Cohler presented his work and I learned that he sees the world through paintings and translates his extensive education in art and architecture into a modern approach to interior design. He mixes contemporary materials in a classical way and dabbs a surprise of color like a brushstroke of an artist. Eric admits that sometimes his designs are also drawn from the subconcious - he layers his rooms like a Mark Rothko or Josef Albers painting and realizes the root of his inspiration after the room is done. See the Albers + Holiday house image above. Love it! 

Images of Cohler's designs using color blocking, and mixing of accessories from different centuries

   

His conference room was filled with Amerock hardware introducing his partnership with Amerock and allowing us to get hands on with their hardware. Amerock has an abundant collection and Cohler started his presentation by saying," Amerock can easily act as the consumers compass." To make it easy for the consumer to shop, Cohler broke them into categories from different regions of the country. Are you BiCoastal, NorthEastHome, CityBeat, PhoenixRising, LAExpereince, LondonUndone, or Lodge?  Its brilliant! Within each style, Eric showed us options for the consumer to mix and match for a coordinated look. For instance you can use copper hardware for the drawers and black hardware for the upper cabinets. 

 

Trends please....Cohler shared with the group that on his travels to the Maison et Objet trade show in Paris, the newest trend coming to the United States is copper, an organic metal because its almost like a living finish -the more you touch them, the more they change. The copper Amerock collections are gorgeous! You can easily mix them with macassar ebony or other warm toned woods. 

Eric also stated "Hardware makes great jewelry for a cabinet," which later translated into some fun DIY projects where we crafted some necklaces and mason jars with Amerock hardware after his presentation. So fun!

We all got a personal signed copy of Eric Cohler's new book Cohler on Design which I will treasure due to a wonderful experience. Thank you Eric Cohler and the Amerock team!

images credits: Amerock and all other images are mine

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