MixMaster

Green: Color or Lifestyle?

Green--the word is thrown around a lot these days by almost everyone. Yet, most people don’t realize what the word means. Is it a color or a lifestyle? It can be both, but seldom is. “Green,” we need to understand, is not the same thing as saying a product is organic or natural.  Dictionary.com offer 33 definitions for green, and it is only number 12 that defines the word as “environmentally sound or beneficial.”  The American Heritage Dictionary defines green as a noun—as in a supporter of global environmental protection—and this is last in a listing of the meaning. Organic is defined as a class of chemical compounds whether from plants, animals or all compounds of carbon. There is nothing among 15 entries on the site listing organic as a lifestyle or product. The American Heritage dictionary has a buried reference to organic as “close to nature: an organic lifestyle:” but that’s the entire definition of this adjective.  Only after an exhaustive search did I find organic listed as “simple and healthful and close to nature; an organic lifestyle;” and that was on WordNet.

Living with Dogs

Julia Szabo, the author of Animal House Style: Designing a Home To Share With Your Pets; dog expert and columnist--read her "Nose To The Ground" blog on www.fetch.com, had this to say about living with dogs...

Lost and Found

I recently spent a frenetic Saturday in an IKEA on Long Island. I had only planned on driving to the store to take a look at children’s bunk beds for a model apartment I’m designing, however I ended up getting lost in the store and staying most of day. The store is designed in such a way that one needs breadcrumbs to find the exit. After finally finding the beds...

It's A Doggie, Dog World

A journalist that I know, Stephen Milioti recently adopted a young Husky mix named June and had this to say about bonding and living with man’s best friend:

Clear Air Turbulence

“Jerk chicken or vegetable lasagna?” asked the flight attendant on a recent late night flight. I had spent the previous weekend a continent away installing the interiors in a client’s new home. As the aircraft was relatively empty, I was miraculously upgraded to business class as was the couple seated behind me. As we were about to taxi from the gate, they were asked to move back to the main cabin as there was not enough food for “revenue” passengers. The horror that registered on their faces was palpable...

Sebastian modeling his winter wardrobe

I can’t think of life without my dog, Sebastian. He puts a smile on my face every morning when I wake up, and at night when I go to sleep. Living with him is always an adventure, and to make my home pet friendly, I’ve installed Armstrong laminate flooring (specifically American Duet Hartford Maple) in my kitchen which is impervious to his muddy paws when coming in from the snow or rain and easy to wipe up at meal time his and mine.

Clearing Holiday Clutter

Sears has superb, well-priced woven leather-like baskets that are perfect for stacking magazines and all of those holiday catalogues that we just somehow can’t live without. They are available in several designer colors and are just as good for stacking logs by the fireplace, boots in the mudroom, laundry, toys and recyclables. Lined with a blanket or sheet, they make the perfect pet bed. See the Whole Home Faux Leather Storage Collection and the Whole Home Strappy Storage Collection.

A London Whirl

I recently spent a whirlwind 72 hours in London shopping with clients, and through 14-hours days, I never tired once. 

To quote Samuel Johnson: “When a man is tired of London he is tired of life.”

Day One: The Voyage Out

The Virgin Atlantic flight touches down at 7:55 a.m. – only 10 minutes late.  I make it groggily through Heathrow in a record 30 minutes.  I am not so lucky on the way into London – rush hour gridlock; still, I manage to check into my hotel and get settled in less than an hour.

My clients are to arrive the next morning so I set off to do my homework.  I am hunting for furniture to fill their house, and begin with dining chairs.  First stop: Pimlico Road (with 20-plus antiques shops) to check out some of my favorite dealers.  I need a set of 10 in the Sheraton style and find everything from Regency to Chippendale (not period) to six carved oak Aesthetic Movement chairs – but no Sheraton.  Next I look for a large period lantern for the stair hall of my client’s house in Scarsdale and I find a wonderful brass and ormolu one.  The only problem is that it’s on hold.  “What’s done cannot be undone” – or can it? I leave my card.