Outdoor dining oasis

Loving Garden Designer Judy Kameon's outdoor dining area in Los Angeles. Many of the Designer's works are featured in the Spring Design Issue of The NY Times Style Magazine. Wishing I was in the picture and not in cold, windy, rainy NYC!

Things I'm Loving Right Now

The Coral red on my nails

The Gardenia perfume from Miss Kubelik I picked up at The Society Inc while in Sydney

This caramel colored leather jacket from Vince

And just about anything from John Robshaw!

A Latte in Paddington

Ahhh, Sydney, how I love thee! I thought I had found my perfect place in NYC's West Village, that is, until I visited Sydney. While I loved the city as a whole, Paddington left me wanting more! Paddington, like the city as a whole, is mostly comprised of townhouses, like the ones pictured above. From the street, they leave much to the imagination....behind these facades you will most likely find a beautiful garden and possibly a pool, similar to the pic below.

I was very surprised how modern the city was - especially the interiors, which were mostly very fresh feeling with white walls, minimal architecture, and lots of glass - real no-fuss living, taking advantage of the ability to live inside and out.

I really loved how Sydney seems to come alive on a sunny day.....not only are the homes made for al fresco living, so it seems are the shops and restaurants. Below is the courtyard of Jackie's restaurant in Paddington - I love how the courtyard dining area is shared with it's sushi bar neighbor to the left.

 courtyard @ Jackie's

 Jackie's

Sushi Bar neighbor

I love how everywhere in Sydney opens up to the outdoors with big sliding glass doors that seem to disappear when opened entirely. Just imagine....perfectly blue sky, birds chirping, sitting in this courtyard and sipping on the BEST latte....Ahhhh Sydney, take me back!

A girl with a passport

G'day blogger friends! I'm sorry for being MIA for so long. I've just returned from an adventure from the land-downunder - Australia and New Zealandand - and can't wait to tell you share my experiences with you! For now, I'll settle in and recover from my jet-lag, but I'll be back soon to tell you all about it!

Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Buccan Opens It's Doors!

As you may know, I've been working on the design for a new restaurant in Palm Beach, and last week Buccan officially opened it's doors! The restaurant is the vision of Chef Clay Conley, and described as a "progressive American grill" with an extensive and delicious menu of small plates with flavor influences from Clay's travels around the world.

We designed the interior as clean and modern yet simple, comfortable, approachable, and warm with nods at traditional Palm Beach design and organic touches. 

Above, the bar is a fun and lively atmosphere for a drink or meal.

Above, the communal table seats 12 and will be reserved for walk in guests. Though the idea of communal dining is common in larger cities, this is a new and exciting concept for Palm Beach!

The "Living Room" is a cozy spot to settle in with friends, a date, or a book and enjoy the many flavors on the menu and wine list.

Above, owners Piper Quinn, Chef Clay Conley, and Sam Slattery stand in the main dining room, where we used copper topped tables and rustic bistro chairs.

Buccan is located at 350 South County Road in Palm Beach and will be open for lunch and dinner.

Don't miss the Tuna Tartare or Butternut Squash Ravioli!

For more information on Buccan, please visit their website and check out the article in today's 

Palm Beach Daily News!

Better late than never - A Vintage Christmas

image courtesy of Papyrus

Just as in Interior Decorating, decorating holiday packages is best with a mix of old and new.  For the past few years, vintage wrapping paper and antique-inspired gift tags have been a welcome throwback in place of the sparkly and metallic wrapping and ribbons of recent years.

image courtesy of Etsy

Authentic vintage gift wrap can be found on websites like Etsy and Tias, but Etsy also is home to numerous artists who have recreated papers and package tags to give your special gifts a truly vintage flair.

Just a few favorites that I found:

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Tias

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Etsy

image courtesy of Etsy

Happy Holidays!!!

Over the Top

Image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

And I mean actually over the top, as in the ceiling.  There are rolls of great reasons to apply wallpaper to the ceiling.  Although it is a revival of an old trend, wallpapering a ceiling is a creative and unusual way to give character to a room.  Continuing the use of wallpaper "over the top" of a room can lower high ceilings, unify an oddly shaped space, cover up cracks, or dress up drab.

Above, designer Elizabeth Bauer goes into wild with a zebra-inspired wallpaper print.

image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

In order to make a smooth transition between wall and ceiling where the line is somewhat undefined, designer David Cafiero wraps the room in wallpaper from the floor, up...

image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

...and into the attached bathroom...

image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

...but sometimes, he just sticks to the ceiling.  Cafiero uses a retro wallpaper to spice up the ceiling space and coordinate with the minty-fresh paint.

image courtesy of Elle Decor

Again, where there is no clear line between the walls and the ceiling and therefore the designer of this bedroom in Normandy applied vertical stripes to streamline the unusal space.

Image courtesy of Elle Decor

Designer Muriel Brandolini uses a playful wallpaper on the walls and a different,  but coordinating eclectic wallpaper on the ceiling of her Manhattan bathroom.  The wallpapered ceiling gives the impression of lowering the height of the room, and making the space more defined.   

It takes confidence to splash a pattern over the entire room, but when its done right, the results can be wonderfully creative and beautifully unifying!