Modern decorating style you can steal!

I can’t help but be inspired by these pictures from the September issue of Martha Stewart Living. One of Martha’s chief lieutenants, Kevin Sharkey, had his apartment renovation chronicled in the magazine and I’ve been following his blog on the project for the past year. The overall color palette with the mix of vintage and modern furniture and accessories is stunning. Everything shimmers, too, from the use of mirrors, black marble table tops and velvet pillows. The final results are a look I would love to work with.

Sideboards from Bo Concept but personalized with black marble tops, an idea I plan to steal for the night stands in my bedroom.

Custom paintings in the style of Franz Kline. Love that idea! I'm thinking of hitting up a local art schools to ask one of the students to do the same thing for my home.

Flower gig: commitment ceremony

Arranging flowers for the dinner table is much different than coordinating arrangements for commitment ceremony, but I was up for the challenge when good friends asked for my help for their July celebration.


The couple wanted to balance the traditional with the masculine -- the sturdy but soft colored lily was their flower of choice and fit the bill.


The boutonnieres and corsages tied in with the blue and brown color scheme and complimented all the guests of honor. The couple was thrilled, the view was spectacular and the evening was perfect . Congratulations Christopher and Jim!

I love this: painted "wallpaper"

I am in love with this woodland wall pattern that, despite appearances, is not expensive wallpaper but a work of paint. Country Living’s September issue features this creation from rollerwall.com. As you drag the genius tool down the wall, the rubber roller picks up a thin layer of paint from the foam roller. My favorite motifs are the woodland print and a wood grain, but with the right color combinations the other options will work well too. The editors at CL have two good bits of advice: practice painting on scratch paper so you get the hang of it, and remove molding before painting and then reattach to hide any unpainted spots.