for the voyeur in you

Admit it. You would just love to nose around someone else's home and evaluate their decorative choices.

Me, too. But all too often, decorum and politeness (read: my mother's voice in my head) prevents me from saying, "Hey, could I see the upstairs?" Once I was at a work-related party in the department head's home. There were maybe 30 people there, the thing was catered, it was great but also was obviously a lot of work for the hosts.

I was among those staying to the bitter end, waiting for a ride from another guest. As the last people left, one guest said, "Hey, could I see the upstairs?"

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de-stress the wedding

Okay, we know that no matter how much love and support you have from family and friends, and no matter how you simplify your planning, a wedding is going to do everything it can to stress you out.



Well, here's an idea for de-stressing: what if you have the wedding on a weekday? For one thing, halls and religious venues will be easier to book. Bands will be much more available. Florists will have more time and attention to devote to you.

Wedding planner Claire Goodman came up with this idea. You can read more about it here:

http://www.weekdayweddingcompany.com/

Entrance with Pizzazz!

Previously, I discussed about giving life to a humdrum hallway by providing unique furniture. Here’s another way to give that old hallway some pizzazz! At the Kips Bay Designer Show House interior designer extraordinaire, Larry Laslo, showed us his flair for drama.

At the penthouse suite, Mr. Laslo covered the entrance walls in a red and gold velvet animal stripe fabric – called Magnetism, part of his new fabric collection he designed for Robert Allen fabrics. Doesn’t it just mesmerize and pull you in? He then proceeded to add an oversized Jansen sunburst mirror that just radiates “look at me!” in a very elegant way. A simple bench upholstered in a jeweled striped fabric called Aquavite completes the picture.

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photos galore

If you're reading this blog, chances are you're a little bit obsessed with design. And if you're a little bit obsessed with design, chances are you spend way too much time looking for and at photos of design.

To help support you in your addiction, we suggest you visit the design blog, Design To Inspire.

This week they're featuring the work of design photographer Graham Atkins Hughes.

Here's a little sample:

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speaking of recycled weddings

Speak of something and it appears on a blog. Wedding Planner Claire Goodman has a posting up on green design for weddings. Check it out at http://charlottesvilleweddingsblog.blogspot.com

Claire has a lot of good ideas, many of them green.