A Very Diva Christmas Gift Guide: A Few of My Favorite Things
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. A dream come true for me: my two favorite vehicle design styles combined to create a perfect blend of SUV roominess (the roomy trunk fits two golf bags perfectly and there’s plenty of back-seat leg room for the tall people in my life!) and fun-filled, sun-in-your-face, wind–in-your-hair freedom that’s synonymous with convertible driving.
Le Chic Cocoon by Jennifer Duchene is the ideal book for discovering and setting free your inner diva and creating the space you deserve.
A chic, elegant and very luxurious living room dressed up with SNUG furniture. Actually, I can easily visualize a SNUG piece in each room of my dream home!
The Loom from New Ravenna Mosaics’ Ikat Collection, is the most beautiful and divine mosaic I’ve seen in quite a long time. It’s artistic design work such as this that makes my heart sing, and fills my soul with light and joy.
Ecoya French Pear Pillar Candle is all natural, eco-friendly, has a divine fragrance and burns clean for up to 100 hours. This is a personal favorite I like to burn when I’m working-helps relax and focus me when I need it the most.
Method Peppermint Candy Cane Dish Soap is absolutely FABULOUS! Love, love, love the fragrance. I typically don’t do dishes-impossible to have perfectly manicured hands otherwise – so I have an amazing dishwasher that tackles that nasty chore. But ever since getting this holiday candy cane scented dish soap I’m finding myself wanting to get my hands wet and sudsy while unleashing that delicious candy cane fragrance as I wash dishes. I guess my dishwasher will get the holidays off, for now.
Samuel Heath’s Fairfield Bath Faucet. I’ve written about this magnificent faucet in the past, and it still holds an emotional grip on my heart.
Elegant metallic, chevron-patterned drawer liners with a touch of fragrance, from Hammocks and High Tea. Sophisticated and pretty, these liners set the tone for those who take style and fashion seriously.
A Daily Dose of Design Goodness from interior design and project management hub, Modenus. Love this site, written by design lovers for design lovers. This is one to stick in your virtual stocking and reference throughout the year for inspiration, project ideas, and for all things design.
The Agatha Suspension Lighting from LZF. My top Global Lighting pick this fall. It’s graceful, gorgeous, and diva-worthy.
A weekend ( hopefully one of those delicious 4-day holiday weekends! ) shopping expedition to the Irwin Feld Design gallery in Connecticut. This is a must-visit design shopping destination for those who appreciate exquisite mid-20th century furniture and decor.
Holiday Gift Guide Resources
- Modenus
- Samuel Heath
- Irwin Feld Design
- Le Chic Cocoon
- Method Home
- SNUG Furniture
- Hammocks and High Tea
- NISSAN Murano CrossCabriolet
- Ecoya Candles
- Global Lighting
- New Ravenna Mosaics
Visual Poet: An Intimate Glimpse into the Artistic Genius of Architect Alberto Alfonso
Leonardo DaVinci, the great Renaissance inventor, artist and visionary once wrote ‘Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.’ Nearly 600 years from DaVinci’s birth, a modern interpretation of the Renaissance man, who encapsulates those same artistic values, emerges in the form of Cuban-born, Tampa-based architect and artist, Alberto Alfonso.
Alberto, a renowned and award-winning architect known for his well-honed ability to bring a resonating soulfulness to every architectural project his firm (Alfonso Architects, Inc.) has signed its name to, is a bit of a delightful anachronism in today’s modern design world. A world of sterile digital signals reigned by computers and graphic design programs which have sadly created a chasm between the intimate, almost spiritual, relationship between the designer and his design vision. Alberto embraces the technology (he’s a visionary after all) that bring his projects to life, but before that first mouse click occurs or the furious taps of a keyboard echo through his studio, he draws out his vision on paper.
Drawing and painting his architectural visions are his first steps-long before sitting down in front of a computer. He strongly believes that we are all creators and that there’s a certain spirituality associated with the act of creating. His architectural projects, works of art birthed from an exquisite play of shadow and light, are potent testimony to that fact that true beauty and art must first emanate from the soul. When asked about how he creates the unmistakable aura of spirituality in his designs, he replies, “I am a man of faith, and my beliefs permeate my work both consciously and subconsciously. I will always be drawn to the intricate balance of shadow and light to create sacred spaces because it is the mystery of the unknown that inspires participation. Kahn said that “light is sacred” and I believe that in both painting and architecture, that the play of light has the potential to connect us to divinity.”
“Tampa Covenant “(Architectural project by Alfonso Architects.)
Even as we speak during this interview he thoughtfully draws out the relationship between himself and his siblings on paper. Slowly and deliberately creating a visual illustration of the warm and close relationship he shares with his two brothers. All the while he continues to talk as his drawing takes shape. His love of family and tradition is evident in his words and works. His father Carlos Alfonso, Sr., the famed Cuban architect, fled Cuba with his family to start a new life in the United States. Moving first to Miami, Florida and subsequently setting familial roots in Tampa. When talking about his late father, Alberto’s eyes sparkle with pride and love, and then a bittersweet moment as he recounts working on a recent project, Airside/Terminal C at Tampa International Airport (his father was on the team of architects that originally designed the award-winning Tampa International Airport.) – a beautiful project that stands as a loving tribute to his father. Alberto’s mother has also been an integral influence. As he relates, ”She’s the great loving and fun support of our family, the biggest cheerleader of all her sons. We are a very close family and my mother believes in unconditional equality between her sons. She, of course, is thrilled that we all worked together with my father and she continues to be the maternal center of our family.”
Tampa International Airport Terminal C/Airside C (Architectural project by Alfonso Architects.)
As he continues to talk about his family, not once does the pen lift from the paper – his words and drawing coming together to create a story that words alone seem so woefully inadequate to describe. Alberto’s artistic spirit guides the movement of the pen and later the DaVinci brushes he carefully swirls in pots of richly pigmented Russian watercolor paints as we continue our conversation.
Friend and fellow architect, Santiago Calatrava, figures prominently in Alberto Alfonso’s artistic renaissance. About a year ago, Alberto and Santiago had a conversation that would deeply impact Alberto’s artistic life. After a fundraiser, both men met in their hotel lobby to discuss the arts. As Alberto recounts, “Santiago brought down a bag filled with his art supplies; We sat in the lobby and talked for three hours about Matisse, Rodin and several other great artists.” And while Alberto did draw and paint for his architectural projects, Santiago later pointed out, ‘you have to paint every day…it is a discipline’. Those words resonated with Alberto. Fate also played a small part in the birth of the daily painter. Two days after his conversation with Santiago, Alberto received a call from poet, close friend and Cortona, Italy neighbor, Edward Mayes.
“St. Francis and the Angel in Church of San Francesco Cortona, Italy”. (Painting by Alberto Alfonso that graces his studio office.)
Mayes was contacting Alberto about a new personal endeavor he was about to embark on. After a bit of a dry spell, Ed was moved to write a poem a day, and Alberto replied to him, “If you do a poem a day, I’ll do a painting a day”. Thus began the intertwined journey of the painter and the poet. For 11 months the two communicated via email. Ed would send the poem, Alberto would interpret the poem as the spirit moved him. He held to the boundaries he had set: to use watercolors as his medium; to paint within a four inch by four inch square (Later works evolved into larger formats and mediums.) and to paint for only 20 minutes each morning. Setting those boundaries gave him the freedom to paint without the pressure for the paintings “to be great, bad or good…[the act of painting] was all about discovery”.
As their already close friendship deepened through this artistic endeavor where each bared their soul, a collection of moving poems and paintings was birthed. In December, 2010 Alberto and Ed held their first US exhibit, to tremendous admiration from the art community, at the Moreon Center for the Arts in Saint Petersburg, Florida. I remember the exhibit’s opening night: beautiful music set the mood for the poems and paintings that made my soul smile, cry and swell with love.
“Water”. Painting by Alberto Alfonso and Poem by Edward Mayes from the “Painting the Poem, Poeming the Paint” collection.
Dale Chihuly, the greatly respected glass artist, entrusted Alberto with the creation of the Chihuly Collection building in downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida. Friends for over six years; the two came together to create an intimate gallery to showcase Chihuly’s stunning glass sculptures such as the “Mille Fiori” pictured below. At one point in the project there was an unexpected design obstacle- the space they were to use for the collection was reduced. Alberto didn’t let that hinder his vision for the building. He took the smaller space he was given to work with and created an architectural masterpiece, all the while reassuring his friend that it would all turn out well. And it did. I commented to Alberto that although the Chihuly Collection building is quite a small space that it didn’t feel small. The experience was airy, and visual enticing. It felt just right. And in pure Alberto fashion he commented back, “ It’s interesting, in fact we’ve been told that the experience is so wonderful that visitors like to come back for more. It’s like a good desert, where it’s just enough to satisfy but not to overwhelm.”
Dale Chihuly’s Mille Fiori installation at the Chihuly Collection in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
As the interview draws to a close, I’m invariably transported back to a moment in which Alberto Alfonso the architect and the artist reached iconic status in my eyes. During the interview an extraordinarily important architectural partner called about a project that he and Alberto were working on – one that had run up against some design issues from outside forces. Alberto was passionate as he defended his reasons for leaving a design element in place. The room came alive as I saw his spirit rise to the battle to maintain the wholeness and integrity of his design vision as he boldly replied to the other party, “The minute you compromise [on your ideals], you’re finished”. I didn’t understand at first. I thought it would certainly be easier and less stressful to compromise – after all we are taught to compromise at an early age. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than I looked up to see Alberto motioning to me to follow him. We worked our way down to the building’s darkened, basement floor. An architectural model lay in the center. Alberto flipped a few switches, and the model lit up – slowly coming to life. At that moment, tears welled in my eyes; my throat was tight with emotion – it was a spiritual experience seeing such beauty. I finally understood why he fought so hard. Any changes to the design would destroy the beauty he had so carefully created. I later asked Alberto about this and he eloquently remarked, “If I were to ever compromise, there would be no going back. There would be no way to undo that single act. I have created a consistent body of work. It is an organic process in that every project is connected to its predecessor, so there is neither room nor reason to falter in my convictions. I ask myself with each project: What would my father say? What would my professor and friend, the late Charles Gwathmey say? I need to be able to hear their answers in my mind, and they hold me to an exemplary standard of architecture. “
I, for one, I’m happy that this modern day Renaissance man will not compromise his architecture nor his art. And, you know, I think if DaVinci were alive today he’d feel the same way.
Design Resources:
Alberto Alfonso’s architectural endeavors are given great attention in author Saxon Henry’s book, Four Florida Moderns
Bathing Elegance: Samuel Heath Fairfield Faucet
One of the many design infused stops along the BlogTour 2011 London journey was a visit to the world-class Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. Our first showroom visit of the day started with a delightful champagne welcome at Samuel Heath. There I found quite a few exquisite design gems that would add luxury, glamour and elegance to any bath. The first I’d like to share is the Fairfield sink faucet fixture. Its classic design, subtle curves, and striking black crystal handles captured my attention and heart almost two years ago at the New York International Contemporary Fair. And when I saw it again, gracefully poised as an elegant centerpiece on a table dotted with sparkling crystal flutes filled with effervescently shimmering champagne, I fell in love all over again.
London Design Festival Day Two Highlights (BlogTour 2011 London)
My dream kitchen at luxury kitchen brand Poggen Pohl’s showroom. I think this kitchen was designed with me in mind! I do look at home in it, don’t I?
My fantasy bath designed by Jaime Hayon for Toto- two words: Modern Elegance.
Stunning and vibrant textiles by Boehme at Tent London.
At Origin I fell head over heels for this wool felt hand-crafted necklace modeled by the designer, Danielle Gori-Montanelli. Simply amazing!
Terence Conran’s Butler Wharf penthouse (now turned into an office suite) outfitted with some of the pieces from his new collection for Mark and Spencer (including the blue sofa pictured below). Terence lived there for ten years before moving on to another home. This place has the most amazing views of the Thames.
At Design Junction I spied this super sexy chair with a slit in the back. Paul Anater and I couldn’t resist giving the chair a try. Turned out to be as comfortable as it was sleek. Here’s a more detailed view of the chair’s design:
Related: London Design Festival Day One Highlights
Read More »London Design Festival Day One Highlights. (BlogTour 2011 London)
Nigel Coates Lounge at Victoria and Albert Museum for London Design Festival.
Dale Chihuly Chandelier.
Dress created by Murray Moss (of MOSS gallery fame). His inspiration piece was the fireplace mantle and mirror.
BLANCO: The Serious Business of Kitchen Design
BLANCO Stainless Steel QAUDRIS Kitchen Faucet.
High-end kitchen sink and faucet manufacturer BLANCO captured my attention with their stainless steel QUADRIS kitchen faucet which is decidedly modern and minimalist in design, and sports a strong square profile (almost as in homage to the great cubist artists.) . The QAUDRIS faucet is more than an attractive kitchen faucet, it’s also highly functional: stealthily hiding a powerful pull-out sprayer. Love that it gives the kitchen sink a visually long, lean feel with no abrupt interruptions which is often the case when the sprayer is installed next to the faucet.
BLANCO PRECIS Multi-Level Kitchen Sink.
Though I rarely cook at home anymore due to my busy travel and business schedule, when I did in the past I would often dream of owning the “perfect” kitchen sink; One that could accommodate large pots and pans, while at the same time offer up the convenience of an easy to use food staging and preparation area, cutting board and strainer. Imagine my delight when I happened upon the BLANCO PRECIS Multi-Level Sink at the 2009 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Atlanta. I so loved that BLANCO had made available such a great chef-inspired kitchen sink that the PRECIS made it onto our list of “10 Hot Trends in Kitchen Design for 2009”.
This year at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, BLANCO offered up a great new range of high-performance kitchen sink and faucet products that are as beautiful as they are functional. I’m looking forward to seeing BLANCO’s kitchen design products again next week while in London for the London Design Festival.
I will be publishing design updates live from the London Design Festival and Decorex via Twitter and Facebook.
Disclosure:I’m thrilled that BLANCO is one of several fabulous sponsors of BlogTour 2011 London. I am one of several design, lifestyle and travel bloggers and writers that have been invited to participate in BlogTour 2011 London.
Read More »Samuel Heath: Old World Craftsmanship meets Modern Technology
Fairfield Exposed Shower.
Samuel Heath’s name, in the interior design world, is synonymous with quality, elegance, and a stunning combination of intricate craftsmanship and advanced technology in all of the bath and architectural hardware products they design and produce.
I first learned about Samuel Heath at the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and was immediately smitten with the beauty of their plumbing fixtures. Surprisingly, given my affinity for contemporary design, I was drawn to the Fairfield sink fixture shown below:
Though traditional in design, there was something that captured my heart about this bathroom faucet. Normally, I wouldn’t give a more traditional design a second thought, but the design was so well crafted – it was like a beautifully sculptured work of art. I thought to myself, this is a bathroom fixture that my style icon Coco Chanel would certainly have had gracing her bathroom sink. It wasn’t hard at all to imagine Mademoiselle standing at her lavatory spritzing herself with Chanel No. 5, with her strands of pearls,and gold and silver chain necklaces elegantly draped near the Fairfield’s classic black levers.
I was delighted to learn that Samuel Heath is a sponsor of BlogTour 2011 London, and that I would be getting to see their bath and hardware collections, again, during the London Design Festival next week. I’m looking forward to sharing their beautiful bathroom fixtures with you over the next week or so. I will be publishing design updates live from the London Design Festival and Decorex via Twitter and Facebook.
Disclosure: I am one of several design, lifestyle and travel bloggers and writers that have been invited to participate in BlogTour 2011 London.
Read More »BlogTour 2011 London Edition
Designer bloggers and writers are social creatures by nature. We love attending the numerous markets year-round from the traditional stomping grounds of High Point to the luxe high-end design mecca of Design Miami to Manhattan’s sophisticated Architectural Digest Home Show. You’ll see us milling about at swanky cocktail parties and laughter-filled dinners at chic restaurants, oohing and ahhing over the design fixtures, furniture and various other decor – it’s our passion- we love beautiful design; our very worlds revolve around it and we love talking about it, and writing about it. So it really didn’t come as too much of a surprise when I found out that fellow design lover and friend Veronika Miller, of the popular interior design hub, Modenus, had conceived the idea of BlogTour 2011 London over one of those many dinners we attended during market.
In March we were all in New York City for the Architectural Digest Home Show and as has become our tradition we all met for dinner. Still fully energized after attending the AD/DIFFA cocktail party we headed out to an intimate after-party dinner at the exotic Barbes’ restaurant off of 5th Avenue. There we chatted about the wonderful design discoveries we had come across as we walked the show. The conversation eventually turned to the impact Social Media had on our respective businesses and on the design industry as a whole. During dinner Veronika spoke with Cynthia Bogart, the Editor of The Daily Basics, regarding the high energy buzz on Twitter and Facebook that had been generated by design bloggers.
Inspired by her conversation with Cynthia, the success of her Architectural Digest Home Show sponsored Tweet-up, and a very encouraging conversation about duplicating that success on an international scale with MMPI’s (Merchandise Mart Properties Inc) Troy Hanson provided the spark that gave birth to Veronika’s concept for BlogTour. Veronika’s idea was to create design tours powered by the social media influence of a select group of passionate design, lifestyle and travel bloggers. So Modenus, in collaboration with MMPI and MyDeco, organized BlogTour 2011 with the first event to take place in London during London Design Festival.
BlogTour 2011 is being sponsored by several prestigious design companies including Blanco, Samuel Heath, Victoria and Albert Baths and Wallunica . The event will be covered by The Decorating Diva along with the following distinguished contingent of UK and US design and lifestyle bloggers:
- Paul Anater of Kitchen and Residential Design.
- Stacey Bewkes of Quintessence.
- Bob Borson AIA, LEED AP, of Life of an Architect.
- Michelle Carangi of Holley & Gill.
- Leslie Carothers,social media maven, of The Kaleidoscope Partnership.
- Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo (ABCD!) of ABCDdesign.com.
- Andie Day of Design for Life™ and Andie Day’s Blog.
- Mae Hacking of Here in This House.
- Meredith Heron of Sashay.
- Michelle Jennings Wiebe, ASID, of m{pression.
- Elise Jones of Here in This House.
- Jonathan Legate’s blog.
- Mollie Magill of Robin Baron Simplifying Fabulous!.
- Tamara Matthews-Stephenson of Nest by Tamara.
- Susan Serra, CKD, CAPS, of The Kitchen Designer and Scandinavian Kitchens.
Floored by Inspiration: Beautiful Flooring Gives Birth to Divine Design
Shaw Floors invited a group of ten design writers and bloggers to North Carolina for the launch of the new HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw collection. As part of the launch event, Shaw asked us to design a room from the floor up using products from the HGTV HOME collection.
The HGTV flooring collection has been in the making for over five years, when Shaw approached HGTV to collaborate on a product line. The environmentally friendly flooring collection ranges from: laminate floors that look so good that many mistook them,upon visual review, for hardwood; beautiful hardwoods that are so easy to install (click installation) DIYers will swoon; carpets in a gorgeous spectrum of textures, colors, designs and piles; and area rugs that can easily and affordably transform a room from blah to amazing.
My design partner, Ethan Hagan of One Project Closer, picked the flooring selections for our design project prior to my arrival. He selected a warm and visually rich laminate wood flooring and a multi-colored and multi-patterned area rug. Our design challenge was to create a design concept incorporating those two elements. We had a little over two and a half hours, while we traveled from Asheville to Greensboro, to create a mood board to communicate our design vision. We were provided with a plastic bin filled to the top with fabric, trim, an HGTV HOME for Sherwin Williams paint deck, and magazines ranging from design to fashion to beauty. Ethan and I quickly decided we wanted a contemporary, sophisticated, livable, elegant and subtlety glamorous design that was also soothing and calming. We wanted to design a room that was beautiful and inviting, and that would allow the homeowner to immediately decompress and quickly forget the stresses of the outside world as soon as they entered through the door. Our vision was a sophisticated sanctuary-all the comforts, glamour and luxury of a five-star hotel-at home. 
When we arrived at Tribuzio-Hilliard Studio, Ethan and I were assigned Loura ‘Lou’ Lockwood to assist us to bring our design vision to life. We couldn’t have been more thrilled to have her on our design team. She took one look at our design board and immediately knew what we wanted to create.
We were also ecstatic that HGTV design celebrity Lisa LaPorta really liked our design concept. Neither Ethan nor I are trained design professionals, we both come to the design and DIY fields from very different backgrounds. Ethan was a surgical videographer and is now the founder of the very popular DIY blog, “One Project Closer”. As for me, I’m a former software engineer with an incredible passion for beautiful design, and I’ve now made covering that industry for this publication my career. So to say it was a bit daunting to take on this challenge would be an understatement. Thankfully, Ethan and I both love a good challenge as much as we love design and DIY, so it was fun. And with Lou’s guidance I think we brought to life the sophisticated sanctuary we had envisioned. 
Decor Resource: HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw area rug (Oleander Breeze) and laminate (Crystalline Oregon Trail).
Next: Behind the Scenes at the HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw Design Challenge.
Read More »Brown Davis Interiors: Design Talk on Projects
I think one of the reasons that I truly enjoy viewing your design projects, from an editorial point of view, is that you can successfully tap into your clients’ design loves and create a completely unique interior – regardless of style, that reflects that clients’ lifestyle. I love that your portfolio includes such a beautiful and elegant representation of a variety of design influences from traditionally styled homes to contemporary designs. One of my favorite interior design projects was a Palm Beach villa. The use of blues and the overall color palette was emotionally captivating. Just viewing the photos I could sense the tranquility and serenity. Tell me a little bit about that project.
Living room in Palm Beach villa designed by Brown Davis Interiors, Inc.
Todd: We had designed this client’s home in Washington DC and when they decided to buy an oceanfront condo south of Palm Beach they asked us to design it. This client loved that blue color and the idea from the very beginning was to pull together something that was very soothing and calm. So Rob, who is amazing with colors, orchestrated the color palette for the project.
Brown Davis Interiors is known for its couture approach to design. Each design is custom fitted to the client from color selection to design implementation.
Todd: The color palette for the Palm Beach villa was very specific to that client, and that’s something we strive to create for all our clients. We consider our design work to be bespoke. For example if you go to Paris to have a dress made, it is made for just for you from the color to the cut to the fabric. In a sense, we create interior design couture for our clients.
With regards to your design projects for former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hilary Clinton, did you start with their home in Chappaqua or their home in Washington DC?
Todd: We did their DC home first. What happened was that we had a client, Barbara Harrison, who was a newscaster, and was friends with Hilary. Barbara said to us one day (we had done Barb’s house previously), Hilary needs a decorator, and I’m going to tell her that she needs to hire you. Around that time we had just been published in Southern Accents. So she took a copy of the magazine with her to an event at the White House that evening and she gave it to Hilary. Lo, and behold the next day we got a call and apparently, not only, had Hilary heard of us through Barbara, but she had been to the British Embassy and had seen what we had done there and she really liked it.
We then spent a lot of time with Hilary going around town looking at different places that were for sale. We found one that suited them; they bought it and we designed the interior. Bill was always a little bit iffy on us because he wasn’t quite sure what we were up to, but then he saw how well the house in DC came out and he asked us to help design their Chappaqua, New York house.
Todd: So we did the Chappaqua house and as a result Hilary asked us to design her Senate office.
Rob: It was pretty interesting in terms of, we never did, even though we were in DC, official government property- and this was a project that was tied to so much social pressure. We knew not to do anything outlandish; in fact we didn’t really order anything special it was all from the congressional inventory.
So they have a warehouse with official government purchased furniture?
Todd: Yes.
How was that- having to use “what they had on hand”? I know that you’re used to being able to source beautiful products from the very best collections, and even more recently you were able to utilize artwork from the MET that was part of a client’s impressionist collection.
Todd: You know there are some projects where the sky’s the limit and you can do whatever you want, but in reality there are few clients that will say do whatever you want. So for every single project it’s about figuring out the design parameters. I think that a lot of people can take a beautiful space or beautiful furniture and make it look great. The real talent lies in taking a really horrible space and not so nice furniture and making it look really nice. Being able to do that is a big part of the creative process – being able to create that magic. And creating that design magic doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money.
Previous: Brown Davis Interiors: Destined to Design and Brown Davis Interiors: The Creative Design Process
Related:
Brown Davis Interior, Inc. portfolio on The Decorating Diva.
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