Patricia Gray Interior Design

This weekend I am dreaming of GREEN. I am craving Green. It has rained all week. Maybe by resting my eyes on beautiful images of green I will absorb some of it by osmosis. It's worth a try. Ferns and more ferns in these pictures. The color green signifies growth, renewal & health. I like the simplicity of the above arrangements - clear glass and light, airy, deepest green ferns & leaves arranged with perfection........have a great weekend!!!

Top photo Eric Piasecki Photography
Middle & Bottom photo Michael Van Valkenburgh Landscape Architects

This is a bouquet of Parrot Tulips I purchased this weekend while I was shopping at our local market. I was stopped dead in my tracks when my eyes hit upon them. Of all the myriad of flowers on display, these definitely jumped out at me and has been my inspiration for this post. Orange is a color that is mentally stimulating as well as sociable. Colorists say that it can be used it to get people thinking or to get them talking. What a good color to use in a dining room, library or child's room. I hope you find these pictures stimulating. These flowers will sit on my desk this week and it is my intention that they will hopefully stimulate my creativity.

Hermes orange is a word that conjures up an image in one's mind.  Who would not love to have a lacquered ceiling the color of a Hermes Box like this  room that Jeffery Bilhuber has created.

Jeweled Peach BM 2013-30 Try orange with a dash of fuchsia.
DKB Interiors, Pieces

Orange Nectar BM 2013-20 I love the shots of Orange in this otherwise White Room.  Notice the skirted table in the background.
Donovan, Elle Decor

per·sim·mon (pər-sĭm'ən)

Sometimes only the color of a fruit can conjure up images of a color. Persimmon is one that vividly brings to mind a
whole range of the color orange. How friendly and inviting to paint an entry foyer in this color.
Antonia Hutt, Tom Scheerer 

Adobe Orange BM 2171-30 warm and vibrant
Antonia Hutt, David Hicks

Soft Pumpkin BM 2166-40
Antonia Hutt 

Calypso Orange BM 2015-30
Mecox Garden

The oranges of India via Rangdecor Blog 

Mandarin Orange
Burnham Design, Jayson Home and Garden 

 
Outrageous Orange
KWID, David Hicks

blood orange (n.) A sweet orange having pulp that is red or streaked with red
Francis Elkins, David Hicks

Tropical Orange BM2170-20
David Duncan Livingston, David Hicks

I love the combination of a rich chocolate brown with white. There is something reassuring and comfortable about deep brown. It's not taupe or beige, it's espresso, chocolate fondue, buckhorn, willow, night owl, hedgehog, saddle leather, warm brownie, cocoa, earth, pumpernickel, root beer, auberge, java, mink, brown sugar, pine cone, bittersweet chocolate, mississippi mud, caviar, black bean soup (All Benjamin Paint Colors).

Photo Credits from top
West Elm Tribal Diamond Carpet
Patricia Gray Interior Design
Myra Hoefer
Southern Accents
Mary Macdonald
Bilhuber & Assoc
Nathan Egan Interiors
D Home Magazine via Cote de Texas
Patricia Gray Interior Design

banquette (n.) A long upholstered bench placed against or built into a wall

There is nothing more luxurious than banquette seating at your dining room table. It evokes images of dining in a fancy French Restaurant. Lingering at the table, good conversations, the family gathered together, taking the time to dine rather than snatch a quick meal at the counter, comfortable. It also serves as double duty seating in a dining room adjoining a living room. It makes the most of a small space and makes for a cozy seating area. Round tables, square tables, rectangular tables - all work. Seating for 2, 4, 6, or 8. Toss cushions or not. Curved banquettes, straight banquettes, L shaped banquettes, or U shaped - all are possible. There are so many possibilities. A suitable option for almost any room. Have fun and pick you favorite.

This banquette is particularly attractive in a corner bay window.
Celerie Kemble House Beautiful Nov 07

Chad Eisner House Beautiful June 07

In a high traffic kitchen area a cleanable, durable outdoor fabric could be used for upholstery.
Christopher Maya Inc

This kitchen has my favorite Kartel Ghost Chairs (I have nicknamed them the Cinderella Chair). They are so versatile and also very comfortable. They are particularly good in a small space as they visually don't take up a lot of space. They mix well in a contemporary or traditional setting. Elle Decor Nov 06

Notice the straight wings on the one side of this banquette. Frank Roop Design

image via Absolutely Beautiful Things

I like how Mariette Himes Gomez has used a tufted curved banquette in her NYC dining room. (picture above and below)

I particularly like the thick slab for the top of this table and the trumpet base. Kemble Interiors Inc

Harriett Maxwell Macdonald

House Beautiful

A sofa doubles as a banquette for dining in this room by Michael S Smith from his book Elements of Style.

Posh Design

Robyn Karp Interiors

Tenango

Vicente Wolf

I have used both of these designs for banquette seating. You can vary the length and the fabrics. You can do a tight seat bed like the one below, or have a down filled seat cushion as above. You can make it with arms or armless.

Michael Devine has just launched his new 2008 fabric collection at the prestigious Maison & Objet Editeurs, which is held in Paris twice a year (in January and September). Michael has been getting quite alot of press in Domino, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful & Veranda to name just few for his striking hand screened fabrics. This master bedroom of Aerin Lauder's in her Long Island master bedroom featured in House and Garden 2007 features Michael's fabric. Check out the interview All the Best has done on Michael Levine.

House Beautiuful

Domino Dec/Jan 2007