Porch planters

It was a rainy day in Lambertville, NJ, but that didn't stop us from wondering in and out of the shops. If you have never been there or to New Hope, PA (which is just a quick walk across the bridge), it's filled with quaint boutiques and galleries.  And, if you walk a few blocks off the main street, you can find some beautiful Victorian homes. These are the places where it's easy to find home and garden inspirations.  I noticed this buttery yellow stucco home with black shutters and lots of iron work.  What really drew my attention were the plantings. 

They did not have a lot of planting space in the yard, but they made the most of it.  They alternated two plants against the house and a continuous row of impatiens along the fence. What I really like about this garden is the color scheme and how the plants in the ground relate to the plants in the planter.  All the flowers are white and some of the plants have green and white variegated leaves.  Also notice that the plants are in terracotta pots, which relate back to the stucco finish of the home. The great part about using pots is that the homeowner can easily change out the plants depending on the season, month, or even their mood.

It has the three components of a great container garden -- range of heights, color, texture.  The topiaries lead your eye up, while the ivy and vines bring your eye back down. Most plants look good together, but a good color scheme appears more thought out.  This monochromatic palette of white looks modern and sophisticated.  And, finally, the similar shape of all the leaves gives a soft relaxing feeling.  All of which add to an eye catching planter and a welcoming front porch.

Outdoor dining

Eating al fresco is one of my favorite things to do in the summer, assuming the humidity is not unbearable.  I know people that use their outdoor dining spaces more than their indoor ones.  Yet, many people don't take the time to make them as inviting or interesting as their indoor ones.  People feel that it's a casual space and they are not going to be out there that long.  But if the company and the weather are good, you could spend hours chatting, playing games, and just enjoying the weather.  If you are going to sit at your dining table or picnic table, you should have something beautiful to look at, not just the ketchup and mustard bottles.  The outdoor table is the perfect place to get creative with your centerpieces. 

A few weeks ago I had to display a set of outdoor dinnerware in various locations. When I need to do more then one lifestyle display, I always try to make them different in style and feeling. I could have easily made up a floral arrangement for each table, but I wanted to be more creative and match the locale we were shooting in.  Our first scenario was a beach house.  Once again, we built this in the studio.  As you can see, I mixed pieces of drift wood, white coral, starfish, and shells down the center of the table.  The neutral colors of the objects mixed with the black and white dishes, add a subtle formality to the casual nature of the beach. What a great way to use what you have collected over the years.  A fun variation would have been a long pile of sand with shells, sand dollars, and little tea lights.  You can really have fun with a beach theme.

Next we went to a local home with a beautiful raised deck overlooking an expansive lawn and garden.  I tried to bring the backyard up to the table. I used a low container and filled it with faux grass.  I then added the croquet stake, wickets, and balls. The mallets and other balls are casually arranged on the table runner. I love this idea of the grass container.  You could easily plant real grass and keep it watered and trimmed.  It becomes the base for your summertime centerpieces. Cut flowers, fruit, or other garden objects could be changed out for each gathering. To make this even more modern, do not add anything to the grass or substitute the grass with small succulents, such as sedums, hens and chicks, or jovibarbas.

Finally, we went creek side and had a picnic. I kept this scenario all American with reds, whites, and blues.  I did a simple arrangement of white gerbera daisies in a red watering can grouped with birdhouses. A rustic box with the flatware and simple condiments become part of the centerpiece grouping.   A small container of fresh flowers from your garden grouped with candles, terra cotta pots, or even clean garden hand tools could also make a fun casual table.  If you just want to just have flowers on your table, try splitting your arrangement into smaller mismatched containers or a grouping of mason jars.





All three of these arrangements were very inexpensive to create.  They were made with found natural objects and things you probably have in your garage or garden shed.  If you don't have many flowers in your garden, purchase some while you're at the grocery store picking up the rest of your meal. Also, notice I kept them all fairly low to the table.  You do not want to be moving from side to side, dodging a tall vase of sunflowers to hold a conversation with the person across from you.  So next time you are enjoying dinner outside, take a few minutes to arrange a centerpiece, you're guests will love it!

Day at the beach

Over the past few months, we have had to shoot a lot of lifestyle footage for bedding items. And that usually entails creating all types of bedrooms.  Some are modern, some are traditional. I've built dorm rooms, little girl's room, and tween's rooms.  Urban lofts and country cottage rooms. For a recent sheet set, we were asked to showcase the blue set in a beach home. Since we were not able to travel to a true beach home, we had to recreate one. I think beach houses tend to overdo the beach theme.  Just because you are at the beach does not mean you need to hang flip flops and "Life's a beach!" signs on every wall.  There are sophisticated and subtle ways to tell a beach story.  I came up with this:

I think of this room as relaxed traditional.  The paneled headboard, french doors and mantle with fluted moldings, are the traditional architectural details. The matching night tables, lamps, and curtains are some of the details I added to keep the traditional theme.  I also used a duvet cover that matches the curtains.  If you are having custom window treatments created for your home, why not purchase extra fabric and have it made into a duvet cover. This will give your bedroom a great custom, yet traditional look.  Because I needed to use the steel blue sheets, I picked a fabric that would keep the room light.  The floral fabric was perfect since it had some of that blue in it and I could use the coral color as the accent color for the room.

To give the room a more relaxed beach feel, I added two sisal rugs that overlap. They bring the look of the sandy beach indoors.  The weathered wooden beach chairs replace more expected club or wing back chairs.  The coral colored pillows on the chairs help to balance the colors in the room.  The wooden stool acts as a small table for the chairs since a large coffee table would not fit and is nice contrast to the night tables.  The weathered wooden star-burst mirror brings the relaxed feel to the bed wall.

For the traditional mantle, I could have hung a nice piece of art, and created a nice vignette of books, candlesticks and other objects.  But to keep the casual beach feel, I simply lined up books from end to end.  I faced the spines of the books against the wall.  This kept the mantle neutral in color and would not distract from the bed.  Would I do this in a real beach house? Why not?! You are heading out to the beach to relax and you just grab a random book and go.

The best beach accessories come from nature.  I used a lidded glass urn with sand and shells and piece of driftwood on the mantle. A large clam shell on the table and a starfish and conch shell on the night tables. I also added some small potted grasses to mimic dune grasses.  These simple items turn this bedroom into a beach house bedroom.  So rethink the boardwalk accessories, and take your beach house up a notch.

Tie it together -- Part Bow

One of the trends this year, is the bow tie.  It's making a comeback! The great part is that it's moving beyond formal wear.  The bow tie can be worn with a suit, jeans, khakis and even a polo shirt.  Now, I will admit that I don't know how to tie a bow tie, but I've always loved them and I know YouTube has some tutorials. But there are also pre-tied bow ties that come in many different patterns and colors. And, follow the same "rules" I outlined before about pattern and colors when coordinating the rest of your outfit.  So if you are feeling a little more daring or want to bring your summer BBQ look up to the next level, try a bow tie.

Image courtesy of Faux Tie

Tie it together

I was in a local department store the other day, passing by the dress shirts and ties, and noticed a man with several shirts in his hand.  He was looking at ties, picking one up, laying it on the shirt, and then putting it back.  I thought of asking him if he needed some help.  But since I didn't work there and didn't look like I did (I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, not super stylish), I thought I would seem a little creepy.  Now, if I was looking for ties myself it may have been easier to strike up a conversation and help him out. So I thought I should post a few tips about ties.


First off, a tie instantly dresses up a man's outfit. They are not just for suits anymore.  A shirt and tie with a pair or jeans is a great look.  Secondly, it can date an outfit just as easily.  To keep your look classic and put together, there a few things to considering when choosing your tie: width, pattern, and color.  If you haven't bought a tie since the '80's, you're in luck, because skinny ties are back in style, sort of. The trend now is about 2 inches wide. To be safe, buy ties in the 2-3 inch range.  

Now for the fun part, choosing the colors and pattern.  Most suits and sport coats are black, grey, navy, or brown, which are neutral colors.  Most shirts will coordinate with these neutrals.  A  navy coat with a white shirt and red tie are perfectly acceptable and look fine.  But a mix of patterns and colors will look more "high end".  I found two internet examples of what I mean. Notice how the blues, oranges, and browns all tie together. Blue and orange are complimentary while the brown remains neutral. The pinstripe in the coat relates to the orange stripe in the tie, and the tie's blue relate to the shirt. The patterns are a lesson in scale; one large, one medium, and one small.  The pinstripes are thin and far enough apart and subtle in color that the suit appears almost solid. The medium grid pattern becomes the background for the larger striped tie. If all the patterns were the same size it would be visually confusing.

In this second example, there are four patterns --  plaid, a stripe, a pin dot, and polka dot. The scarf and jacket are roughly the same size but the jacket reads as solid due to its more subtle colors. (This outfit would look just as good without the scarf.)  This time the tie is the smaller pattern on the medium striped shirt.  The polka dots of the pocket square are slightly larger and then the plaids.  There are several shades of purple with fairly equal tones and values but they all work in this basically monochromatic outfit. And, then the coat is the neutral background for your eye to rest. 

Believe it or not, but most colors go together.  Think back to the color wheel with its primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. When in doubt, think of colors that you see together in nature and trust your instincts.  If you really want to delve into color theory, here is a link to help:  color theory

If you don't know how to tie a tie, there are plenty of knots to try and online videos to help you out.  And make sure you tie it so the tip  hits the top of your belt.  Any longer, and your pants look high waisted, any shorter and you start to look, well, ridiculous.

Men's fashion is not that complicated, but that does not mean you cannot make it sophisticated.  Go ahead and experiment with your ties.  And if you really get stuck, ask the sales associate, most can help you out.  Or, I'd be happy to go with you.