Holiday Decorating: What's It Worth To You?

Worked with an interior designer before?  If so, what would you be willing to pay them to do your holiday decorating for you?

The New York Times published an interesting article highlighting the services of certain interior designers that take on the holiday "zhooshing" (love that word!) for select clients.  It left me wondering if I'd ever be willing to let someone else do my decorating for me?  Sure I'd love some advice, fresh ideas, different perspective, but pay someone else to decide and install?  I don't think so.

Tree by Rick Garofalo; mantle by Scott Salvator
Photos by Robert Wright and Trevor Tondro for The New York Times.

The act of decorating for the holidays can be physically taxing and time consuming.  I've confessed before that I don't do all the decorating I'd like to do and only end up doing a portion of what I'd planned to do.  But the truth is that I love decorating for the holidays.  I love pulling out all my decorations, sifting through what I'd like to use again, searching for the new tidbits here and there to freshen things up, digging for new ideas in magazines or on the internet.  It's fun for me.  And it's personal.

How about you?  Would you let someone else do your decorating?  Click HERE to read the article and HERE to view the slideshow of various designers and their "zhooshing" for clients.  Maybe just the outside? :)

Arrangement Assistance

So, you've begun your collection of art and photographs, purchasing those pieces you love and framing your treasured photographs, but you're stumped on how and where to hang them.  Sound familiar?  How about hanging a piece or a group of pieces and deciding something's not quite right?  Believe it or not, art placement is an art in and of itself.  My Museum Studies seminar in graduate school spent a great deal of time on where to put what, exploring how to create a mood, hanging in multiples, dramatic effects, and the intent behind your display.  In other words, hanging your art collection is no simple matter.

David Hassel of ILevel
image from nytimes.com

Rather than leave your treasures propped up against your walls or in the closet, get them up, but maybe get some help in doing so.  NYTimes.com cast a spotlight on David Hassel and ILevel, his art arrangement and installation consulting company, showcasing one of his most recent projects and quite a challenge at that.  What I found most surprising about his company is how affordable their services really are, so affordable that the article appears in NYT's "On The Cheap" section.  For a few hundred dollars (on average) clients are provided one or two consultants, face-to-face meetings, and actual installation (hanging) services.  When you consider what you may already have invested in your art collection, the professional touch could be the answer to doing it justice.

Google art arrangement or installations companies in your area.  I found Axis Fine Art Installation here in Atlanta, but don't let the name fool you.  They are just as happy to help arrange and install your family photographs as your they are your $3000 fine paintings.  For as little as $145, Axis will send two skilled design consultants to take care of you.  Additonal trips to your home will cost a bit extra, but if your project is small solo consultants are available for an even lower rate.

If you still can't wrap your head around paying for art arrangement services, take the do-it-yourself approach seriously.  Search websites for art arrangements that you find appealing, consult design or decor magazines for images of successful arrangements, dig through books on the topic.  My go-to guide is The Art of Showing Art, by James K. Reeve, available on Amazon.com.  Reeve discusses everything from protecting your art, installing your pieces, and documenting your investment.  After all, your collection is an investment, and should be treated as such.

Lonny Magazine at Your Fingertips

I recently stumbled upon a NYTimes article about Lonny Magazine, an online shelter magazine.  Bear in mind that I am a print magazine kinda girl.  I like to hold my glossy pages in my hands, dog-ear pages, rip out inspiration, and hold onto them for dear life.  But let's be realistic.  Print magazines add up in cost, and if I truly indulged in every issue of Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, or Veranda, I would be broke.  Intrigued by the concept of a design/decor magazine that hosts its content strictly online, I decided to check it out for myself. 

I was pleasantly surprised!  The brainchild of Michelle Adams and Patrick Cline, formerly of the defunct  shelter magazine Domino, Lonny has the look of an actual print magazine.  You can flip the pages back and forth and the pages themselves are laid out much like a print magazine.  Click on an ad and you're automatically directed (in a separate window) the advertiser's site.  I especially enjoy the how-to bits, the "know your lingo" blurbs, and the Market section that highlights decorative accessories for the home.  Adams and Clark believe that good design can be affordable and are determined within the pages of Lonny to show you how.  I believe their goal to "reopen the doors to accessible design" has been reached!  Click here to check out their August/September issue.

Patrick Cline and Michelle Adams

Photo by Ruth Fremson for New York Times

The Emotional Value of Redecorating

Have you ever, at a crossroads in your life, found yourself redecorating, repainting, rearranging furniture? Something beyond the usual boredom with our decor and desire for something fresh to look at that we all experience from time to time.  I'm talking about anything to change your surroundings, to demarcate today from yesterday, present from past.  Following my divorce, I painted woodwork, turned my dining room into an office and a formal living room into my dining room, changed out kitchen cabinet doors-- something visual to make today's space different from yesterday's space.  How could I leave my surroundings the same when, in fact, everything had changed?

I came across an article yesterday in The Times Magazine that touched me and reminded me of that painful time during which I needed to rearrange.  Joan Parker, widow of the acclaimed mystery novelist Robert Parker, still resides in the home they shared-- albeit unconventionally-- in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The couple maintained separate living quarters within their Victorian 14-room house but were married for 53 years.  Although they attempted a divorce back in the '80s, it was a dismal failure as they could not bear to be apart from one another. So they bought a house that could accomodate their separate routines but still give them spaces to share when they so desired.  Following his death last January, Joan felt pain at every turn in her husband's first floor abode.  Mr. Parker's leather arm chair at his kitchen table was particularly painful for her to see...she often found him sitting in it, clearly not feeling well, but drinking her in visually as she fed the dogs or tended to other things in "his" kitchen. 

Her dear friend and architect, Adam Schoenhardt, visiting one day, whisked the "Sad Chair" as Joan called it out of sight and repositioned it an out-of-the-way sitting area.  In that one change-- simply moving a piece of furniture-- Joan found some relief and an escape from the reminder of Robert sitting sadly at his kitchen table in ill health.  Over the next few days, Schoenhardt rearranged several rooms in Robert's apartment and in this redesign was able to uplift his friend.

This is Joan, in the "Sad Chair" in its new space.  I especially loved her quote at the end of this article.  "My epiphany was, it was all about CONTROL.  I was powerless to prevail over the turmoil, fear, grief, and uncertainty following Bob's sudden death.  Still am, to a lesser extent, but I can control, with the help of my gifted friend, Adam Schoenhardt, the inanimate objects in my house.  So I move, lift, re-use, recycle, drag, discover things and in doing so actively transform my physical living space.  And hope to Christ it empowers me to transform my emotional living space -- at least I can control this part of my new life."

Click here to read the entire article and see a slide show of the Parkers' beautiful home.

Photos by Trent Bell for the New York Times

Grey Gardens

Yesterday I stumbled upon the 2009 HBO movie "Grey Gardens" starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.  I could not stop watching!  The fashion in the film is stunning.  The story of the crazy mother and daughter, who just happened to be the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, is riveting.  But it was the East Hampton mansion herself that absolutely captivated me.  And watching her demise before your eyes is compelling and heartbreaking, all at the same time, like watching a train wreck, unable to tear your eyes away.  Her scale is magnificent--10 bedrooms-- and yet, her exterior in its prime was a welcoming hulk of beautiful multipaned windows, exquisite millwork, airy front porch and grey shingles.  How did the architect capture that weathered grace--that of a dignified elderly woman-- in this summer home turned full time residence for Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Little Edie?

I had to do some digging to satisfy my own curiosity and came across a wonderful article in the New York Times from April 2009.  There I found a treasure trove of photographs of the house in her worst state of deterioration just after it was purchased by Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee.  But I was also treated to photos of the newly restored Grey Gardens, including her magical gardens. 

I invite you to watch the HBO movie to get the full story of this eccentric mother and daughter living a free spirited life as their home literally crumbles around them.  But you will also delight in visiting the NYT photo gallery and details of its restoration. 

exterior in the 70's

the famous grey walls-- how she got her name

gardens restored and enhanced

All photos via New York Times online