NEW YEAR'S IN ASPEN

Perched overlooking Colorado's Roaring Fork River, a New Year's Eve celebration awaits guest's and homeowners alike as they look ahead to a bright and prosperous New Year 2009!!
A simple and fuss free little pied -a terre, the style of Swiss and Austrian hotels and chalets have influenced this little warm and cozy Aspen home. A very simple mix of 18th and 19th - century horn furniture were mixed with traditional and french furnishings the homeowner already loved. Antique trophies and vintage paintings hang on the paneled barn siding walls. Sit back, relax and enjoy a bit of Ahhhhhhh............ as the quiet and tranquility of Aspen TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT AND ENJOY THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM A PERCHED WARM GLOWING HOME OVERLOOKING THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS AND VALLEYS. Have a healthy, happy and hopeful NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Stag horn themed decorative elements such as candleabra and the flatware, William Yeoward stemware and the deer themed porcelain dress a velvety tablecloth and buffet for a New Year's dinner celebration.

3 game hens with currant berries and citrus seasonings lay restfully in an antique pewter dish awaiting a carving with stag handles fork and knife. Accompanying the hens, a timbale of broccoli, risotto with crepes, an endive and Strilton cheese salad, poached pears with a toast to new experiences and a New 2009!

A wreath of staghorn with lighted natural beeswax candle tapers the glow of candlelight is the only natural light around the table.

Rattan tray of deer themed porcelin from Austria. The deer head trophy motif transfered to the creme ware cups, teapot and sugar container.

A refreshing zoom into the centerpiece of fresh fruit and fine greenery. All natural decorations were used in the homeowners holiday decor. Greenery, fruit and ribbon.

A berrie's and almond crusted torte garnished with sprigs of pine and 3 acorns. A pewter charger with stag horned knife for slicing.

A silver trophy cup filled with greenery, grapes and apples sitting atop a antique oak sideboard. A silver bee skeep to the right and a wonderful old world globe that lifts off and conceals the spirits for this evening's festivities!

A entry hall with more stag horn furniture, cypress, and pine as well as antique mountain inspired furnishings.

These are antique trophies mainly from Austria & Czech, but many faux as well as real trophies can be found at Antique stores, estate sales and even online. Love the small sprigs of greenery and satin olive green ribbon adorning the horns.

The passway is decorated with whimsical furniture made from horn. The oak and horn desk is 19th - century Austrian and the one of a kind chair comes from Scotland. The faux fur seen here and around the home is very realistic fakes from Pierre Frey. Decorative horn furniture has become so popular that very fine resin reproductions are available in the marketplace today. I myself have several "realistic"looking horn trophies.

One of the guest bedrooms carrying the stag horn theme and collection of natural insect's in a print collection over the bed. The petit sidetable boasts a boquet of English heirloom roses.

The living area of the home's apartment boasts plenty of Aspen's sunshine and a warm cheery blend of Pierre Deux fabrics, faux furs, and stag horns and furniture. The two petit toile coffe tables balance the masculine feel of the stag furniture and accessories.

The bedroom is a welcomed retreat to a day of skiing or hiking up and down the Independence Pass. This luxurious bed which is dressed out in Pierre Deux cotton fabrics gives a hint of luxury in an understated and comforting manner. The iron bed frams is also Pierre Deux as are all the fabrics. Look up to the rough hewn contrasting ceiling with rustic timbers as a ceiling treatment. Perfectly complementing the polished feeling of the room. I love the gilded miror.

Awake a new, sit back in this 18th Century Gustavian chair and table to reflect on the old and dream of the new year to come. The subtle striped wallpapwer is also echoed in the drapery as well as the blues pulled from the pottery and bedding. Equestrian themed accessories can also be seen throughout the home.

A welcome morning in 2009 complete with your own tray of homemade scones and English breakfast tea......all served on a toile du joy patterned kerchief with stag saucers and teapot. A look ahead to a bright and prosperous New Year!

Welcome 2009!!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Greetings from Christmas in Breckenridge, Colorado. Wishing you a happy holiday and a joyous new year to come in 2009!
L
see everyone next week.

BURN BABY BURN!!

Red Hot Idea........
This fireplace idea came from a Summer trip to Dallas for a quick shopping extravaganza with myself and 2 teenage girls. I wanted to stay somewhere a little different than usual so when researching a hotel I stumbled upon NYLO Hotels.....there are only two here in the states. It turns out that my friends & owners of Empire Optical Tulsa's Premier Optical Store had stayed there & were friends of the owner. I had googled NYLO Hotel and booked a suite immediately. The walls of the suite were concrete, Ikea inspired lighting, galvanized metal, fuzzy bedding, and wonderful lounge and artwork! I was sold, I came home and finished the outer wall of my son's room in a concrete mixture...(top secret) for us Interior Artist's! The rest is history, the fireplace was another client's home and a wonderful addition to their already great style! Be sure and check out the NYLO website and look at the amazing pics!

This is the adjoining room with kitchen , I love the comfortable, urban feeling in this kitchen.
The island also has a slab of concrete which ties into the fireplace.

A great little fireplace that was circa 1950-1960 brick and painted white. It is flanked with two wonderful onyx mirrors with cabinets below housing the movies and electronics. I had first been piling into a more modern look over the summer in Dwell, Elle Decor, & Architectural Digest for a fresh look to integrate with my son's .......childhood bedroom. He was 10 & still living with cowboy barkcloth, distressed furniture and Pottry Barn bunkbeds! So, while watching our son's basball game this Summer we got together and I refinished the homeowners firepplace to make the living area more mod & updated! I think it really changes the look of the room! I cannot wait to do this same look in my den! After the large flatscreen was installed, I refinished a boxy mantle with crown moulding to look 100 yrs old in a chocolate distressed finish! It really contrasts nicely with the sleek fireplace.

This was a recent project with a great client who, I turned on to the Habitually Chic blog. The home is a great loft like style with touches of traditional, Far East, and SoHo loft opened studio ceilings, a great glass garage door opening into the outside patio area.

I am off to brave the cold 9 degrees here to do some last minute shopping, I have a great post in mind. I had planned on blogging a number of doors with wreaths but Eddie Ross's site beat me to it! So, I will get something going later..........enjoy the day!

L

Clean Slate

WARNING: Enter at your own risk.... the holiday spirit is alive and well in the brimmingly white and all is bright Holiday Home! Be prepared for a wintery mix of cremes, whites and neutrals to clean the pallatte so to speak and inject a bit of unexpected color to your holiday viewing experience. Enjoy!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Enter the home greeted with festive wreaths, a cream crown, and a place to take off your snow shoes and relax in your slip ons and a warm cashmere throw. Come into a world of white and calming colors with just a few jolts of colors and hues that may be a bit unexpected!

When entering the kitchen you are geeted by this snow girl and the ivory cakestands piled with white chocolate truffels along with mints for the cocoa. I love the little snow girl, a Cody Foster design .

A box of vintage ornaments, shiny brights galore! Beaded snow bursts and snowflake beaded ornaments for decorating. Some snowcovered branches and garden angels for the winter festivities!

Presents, perfectly placed within the comfy shabby slipped armchair will leave with guests as the celebrating comes to an end! I love the greens, pinks, and luminous purple papers! Look to new colors to have an unexpected jolt of fun!

I love the resourseful idea of a vintage french smudge pot as a pot for the tree, a gardeners gathering basket is brimming over with fresh box wood greens and rolls of glistning ribbon are tying up packages quite nicely.

If your hostess is musically inclined, a wonderful sheet of music, or accessory for her / his musical instrument of choice would be so unexpected as well as thoughtfully used. The vintage stand, a wonderful gift and a reusable and practical purchase for a musician.

Unmatched chairs some slipcovered in linen, some left "naked" in their vintage found state. A different alternative for the old saying "Where do coats, gifts go"????? Pull up a chair in the hallway and pile the presents on!

The sideboard is flanked with topiaries, fruit in bowls as well as a tuscan urn filled with greens and flowers. The plaid seated chair has a seat full of a illuminated vase for a candlelight table feast.

Who says that old ceiling tin tiles, mercury glass, fruited garland wreaths and candlelight cannot be an exqisite back drop for a display of Holiday Greetings and photo's of loved ones?

The creamy & dreamy table settings are a welcome to guests as "WHITE" seems to rule the day for this brunch! I love the contrast of the french vintage sideboard with the vintage crystal atop the peeling painted sideboard.

Icy whites paired with acid greens not only say WINTER WONDERLAND but boast a peek at the springtime colors that will come quickly. The ivory heirloom roses are beautiful in the vintage creamware vase.

The adjoining sunroom is flooded with light and the amarylis bulbs are beginning to flower. I love the flowering bulbs of the winter season, such a contrast to the bleek gray skies that the winter brings. The gray chairs are vintage and contraste with a plaid seat cushion.

What a wonderful way to greet your guests at the table and send home a token of the time that you spent together. I love the bleached linen and acid green band with the pine needles wrapped in the vintage bone clasp ( used for a belt of some sort in some era).

A great little idea for a Holiday brunch! I love the clean slate and the neutral color scheme! The eucalupsis wreaths are great, and they are not the traditional greenery of the holidays.

Fun with Hostess Gifts!

I have enclosed just a few ways to wrap up a festive hostess gift! I like a fun and funky gift to bring to a brunch, party or soiree! Think outside the box and remenber that you do not always have to go with traditional colors of the season!

One more way to add some festivity, regardless of what holiday event you are attending. I love the use of non traditional holiday colors! So Festive!!!

A little hostess gift with the plain brown paper, added with sparkling silver ribbon, jewel toned tissue paper and a personal glittering name tag just makes it more special. Everyone loves a wonderful hand towel, a ornament or my personal favorite this year, the holiday set of Mrs. Meyers holiday peppermint soap & hand lotion set.

jUST A BETTER LOOK AT THE SNOWMEN, EACH FACE HAS SUCH A DIFFERENT SMILE!

I was at the most wonderful party last night. It was Christmas everywhere. I gave everyone in our dinner club a frosty snowman for their tree. This is a grouping of the snowmen. It was a wonderful party! I am taking on the candy making today, as anyone who knows me can say "The girl is not a cook"! I can make chocolate covered pretzels......I will let everyone know how well that goes....... Have a great Sunday!

A portion of collection of holiday gathered pictures are from a Holiday Magazine with photo credits to Country Living.

5 MORE DAYS TO GO !!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Soiree

Welcome!! The neighborhood of Lakewood Edition right in the heart of Midtown Tulsa, a few blocks from the shopping center, as well as private residences. A wonderful client of mine moved home to Tulsa in a blistering August, and chose the Midtown neighborhood which borders the Lake and is home to free roaming "peacocks"! It was a summer of updating as well as decorating the rooms of this rambling ranch home! Look for more to come, but as a gift check out the "Holiday Decor" in the photos listed below. Enjoy, I walked in this morning as the homeowner was preparing for a soiree the end of the week for friends and family this Christmas!

Another view of the midtown lake which sits in the middle of the Lakewood Edition in midtown Tulsa. It is not a rarity to see the free roaming peacocks, geese, and ducks which live in and around the lake. The neighborhood embraces the peacocks which are the resident birds of the neighborhood, the well known breed as well as a few albino birds as well.

Naughty or Nice this year????

The african mask was from a swap meet in the French Quarter brought home and purchased from a voo doo priest. The mask was handmade and blessed for prosperity and good luck.

One of the home owners peacock ornaments for the formal tree located in the livingroom.

A peacock ornament is placed at the top of the livingroom tree. The peacock ornaments are a collection of the homeowners and birds are added each year.

A marble topped coffe table is topped with a rustic european dough bowl filled with frosted pine cones as well as stag horns and antique bulbs. The base of the table was finished with a nubby linen paint in a crackled / crazed finish!

A creme shabby side table boasts a silver dish of silver and perdoit green bulbs, along with some creme shells in a smaller dish. The silver lamp is one of a pair from an estate sale.

A pair of striped slipper chairs are sitting on either side of the fireplace. The cute little small leopard package "pillows" were also added for pattern in the livingroom!

The wonderful leopard print stockings were sewn by moi, and it was my first attempt at sewing! I cannot wait for this winter to sew my own version! In the card are the home owners adorable labradors: Jack & Atlas!

When entering the livingroom it is hard to believe that one gallon of Pratt & Lambert "chamois" paint ago, was a gloomy and bleak livingroom! The fireplace mantle is original, but the moulding above it is an extension that needed to happen! The antique sunburst gilded mirror is flanked bt two antique Stafforshire dogs, leopard print stockings, and large glass vases filed with lemons and limes.

The chocolate hallway is so pretty and reflected with a stunning silver tree wrapped in light organza ribbon, adorned with vintage bulbs from family members past and present as well as recent flea market finds! The pinks, reds, silvers play off the bronze mirror in the background. The hallway is like an adorable box of truffels!!

Joy, Joy, there is a wonderful feeing as you enter the formal livingroom for the ladies topics of conversations .........

Of course no party is complete without the red tuille apron, a hostess with the mostest will agree......

The cut glass trays are perfect for a light fare they even have a recessed oval for resting your cup on as you converse through the buffet line. A much needed punch bowl will be filled with a seasonal limade / raspberry punch for those designated drivers!

The tartan plaid table cloth rests beneath a red tray of vintage cut glass punch bowl cups and the little trays for a casual buffet for friends and family.

In the center of the french dining table is a Japan vintage vase with of course "peacocks" as well as the accompanying tray in the fan shape of the tail of the bird. Resting atop of a silver tray which reflects the spectrum of colors in the feathers above.

This buffet is flanked with two guarding santos figures as well as a department store ring tree that was brought back from the east coast. Candycanes are a parting gift for visitors and gilded golden stars hang from the rings of greenery.

When adorning the diningroom it became apparent that somewhere peacock's had to rule the roost! Afterall the best place for a nesting pair would likely be on the header in the diningroom! A pair of peacocks has been handpainted to highlight and reinforce the fact that peacocks do roam the neighborhood here!

A pine wreth is clustered with fushia, red and silver bulbs resting on the french doors leading to the pool area in the backyard. The warm wreath colors play off the vivid blues and aqua's in the peacock's on either side of the header.

A gilded glass top tray highlights the purple, aqua and silver bulbs nesteled at the base of the mercury glass tree.

Finally, this large mercury glass tree is entangled with silver and glittering metallic star garlands as well as vintage shiny bright bulbs. Everything rests on a Duncan Phyfe table with metal candle sticks and adorned with golden candle trees.

Happy Partygoing!!!