On Set at BBC

What a exciting time this was, taping the episodes for the upcoming BBC season of House of the Year. Thought I’d give you a glimpse of the goings on behind the scenes. This is when we were taping for the beginning  of each series where they’re introducing us as the judges. I had to stand extremely still for about two minutes (felt like days) while the camera panned from the top my head down to my feet.  When you blink your eyes you need to do it very slowly because when they edit it into the actual series they speed up the tape – that makes it look as if you’re blinking normally.

The producers of HOTY are Carol O’Kane  and Feargal O’Kane. I’m so fortunate to have them as the producers of my first show on BBC. The show was Feargal’s concept and vision, which you can tell immediately by his passion for the show. Here they are:

Our host, Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen, is an incredibly talented presenter and knows his craft well. It is an honor to work with him. This was his normal position when we were not taping. I told him he looked like a mink coat thrown over a chair.

One of my co- judges Des Ewing  is an incredible architect who has built some of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen. I’m happy to be able to call him a new friend. My other co- judge is  Suzanne Garuda, an incredibly talented designer and  artisan. Here we are caught in the bedroom, told to wait quietly while Lawrence was taping his segment. It was tough not to keep laughing, and we were scolded by the director at least once.

Here’s a photo of me discussing with Lawrence the differences between the term “throw pillow” and “cushion”.  Stateside of course we call the little ones throw pillows and the big ones cushions, but in the UK they call the little pillows cushions. Tomato – tom-ah-to, we finally just called the whole thing off.Just for kicks I took a moment to see what it would feel like behind the camera – see me below standing in for one of our camera crew and as the director in the booth. I think I’ll stick to what I’m doing right now and save all of this techie stuff for another day.

Below, a sneak peek at the set for the finale. We’re just getting ready to go on. This is taped live in front of all of the contestants. It was very exciting – everyone was on pins and needles.

I’d like to thank everyone at BBC and in Northern Ireland for making me feel so welcome and so at home. I hope that those of you who can see the series will enjoy it asmuch as we enjoyed making it. The show is premiering on January 9 on BBC1 and on January 12 on BBC2.  At the present time it’s only available in the UK. But I’m hoping it’ll come to the US as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Color In The Sky

Here’s a little something from my Interior Design portfolio that shows how you can take inspiration from the setting or surroundings of your home, and echo it inside. In this post I’m concentrating on showing you how I prepared the space using surface colors and textures designed to serve as the foil for extremely colorful furnishings and fabrics.

The East-facing living room/dining room of this Manhattan apartment gets glorious sunrise views over the East River. The rich oranges, yellows and graphic black outlines of the New York city’s architecture inspired what I did inside the space as well. The upholstery is mixed vivid shades of daffodil, saffron, tangerine and crimson, with burgundy, gold and butter tones, too. Accents of black create that urban landscape feel.

The best inspiration for designing in color is sometimes a completely blank canvas. I started by painting the entire apartment with Benjamin Moore (super white) in a high-gloss finish. I know some of you are probably saying, “All White? How boring.”  Boring it is not!  By painting all the walls in a high-gloss it reflected the colors not only in the furnishings but from the light outside – including that gorgeous sunrise.

Then, I added structure by painting all of the the doors and the fireplace in black, also in a high-gloss finish. There was very little architectural detail in this apartment, so painting the doors and fireplace black allowed me to accentuate the architecture that was there and make it feel more substantial.Even the dog was in style with his own silver tray and fancy bowls. It didn’t hurt that he matched the apartment, but you can never go wrong with black and white.
In the adjacent dining room area there was a pass-through into the kitchen which I didn’t care for. I disguised it with a multilayer treatment. Closest to the wall is a deep burgundy velvet drapery panel which I overlaid with floor-to-ceiling golden aluminum bead chain. Between the fabric and the bead chain I placed a row of tiny lights channeled in the ceiling that at night creates a wall of shimmering gold.

By not using a carpet in this area, I opened up the expanse of the floor making the space appear larger.

In the bedroom, with those same white walls,  I went with shades of deep robin’s egg blue, new leaf green and  deep royal purple. These are all colors drawn from the the cityscape and evening sky you see from the West-facing windows as you gaze at the Empire State building.

I hope you enjoyed this quick little glimpse and that you come away with the knowledge that having white walls doesn’t mean you have to live without color, and that your great views outside can be the inspiration for what you do inside.  Sweet Dreams!

 

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Truly a Bespoke Gift

I love creativity!

Lloyd and I received this gift from our  dear friend Jan  MacLatchie who is one of the most creative people I know. She presented us with this bottle of Manhattan’s  that she had made with vanilla beans and cherries floating gracefully in the bottle. Is was accompanied  by a bottle of cherries.  I can’t imagine anything more personalized, since I love the Manhattan.  This is a perfect combination of creativity, thought and ingenuity that creates a lasting memory. Not to mention a relaxing evening or two.

As it says on the bottle in  shimmering crystals, Cheers!

 

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The Clinton Foundation

Recently my friend  Neal invited my partner Lloyd and me to a fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation. Neal’s Boston-based catering company  Max Ultimate Foods was one of the sponsors for the evening. They are the premiere caterers in Boston!

Here I am with my friend Roger at the event.

It was an incredible evening and I found myself very moved to the point where I’m now going to become involved with the  Clinton Foundation. Their global humanitarian aid is awe-inspiring. As a public speaker he’s as riveting as people say!

Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton make me proud to be an American. Watch this video to learn why:

This was a very exciting evening for Lloyd as well because he actually got to meet President Clinton. Here they are:

Happy thoughts,

Michael

 

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My new TV adventure


I’m so excited I can’t stand it! I leave tomorrow for the UK to start
taping for a popular TV series on BBC. It’s called “House of the Year,” a
home design competition where individual homeowners submit their homes to
be judged by very strict guidelines. There are three design experts
judging the entries, and I’m one of them. I’ll be gone for 3 weeks taping
episodes throughout Northern Ireland. Then back to the UK in December for
the finale, a gala event where we’ll announce the winning home! The series
will broadcast starting in January 2012. I’ll keep you all up to date
along the way. Menwhile, I’m contemplating getting new business cards with
the title “global television celebrity”. Hee hee.

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Editor at large TV

If you’re not familiar with editor TV at The Editor at Large it is a great place for insight and updates on the design world. Take a look  at the video clip from 41 Madison.  And well you are there and look around. Have some fun.

Header-image

Happy thoughts,

Michael

 

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LUXE, 41 Madison and Me

This year for the New York international tabletop market at 41 Madison,  LUXE magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief, Pam Jaccarino, and Publisher Jennifer Matthews asked me to design the special lobby displays for them.

This involved creating three vignettes with some sort of theme. In the past it has  just been dining tables, but to me 41 Madison (the tabletop building) is much more than just tabletop. It is Mecca for home accessories. So I decided to create three vignettes with the feeling of Alice in Wonderland. As if she’s falling down a rabbit hole into a very, very chic home. I achieved this by playing with scale, form and color.

The first vignette was a bar. This is something I could see set up a living room or foyer. The furniture came from BDDW. I love the clean, sleek lines and earthy look of their designs. The rug is from Carini Lang. It is a vintage  hand-woven cashmere rug. (Yes, I  did lay down and roll around on it.)

The decanters are from Cristal Saint Louis and are extremely glamorous. The metal pieces are from Michael Aram and the glassware is from Donna Karan and Orrefors‘ new collections. Let’s talk about the stunning flower arrangements. These were done by event wizardress Jes  Gordon‘s team from ProperFun. Simply brilliant.

These fabulous embroidered goldfish cocktail napkins  and coasters are from Dransfield and Ross.

Let’s talk about these crazy  fabulous papier-mâché flowers created exclusively for this event by Alpha Workshops. I went to Ken Wampler, Alpha’s Executive Director asking for larger-than-life flowers and they came through 1001%.

They were so big they would not fit into the van so they walked them through the streets of New York and right through Madison Square Park. What a sight!

The next vignette was a dining table. I love this combination of the rough-hewn table, formal China and fantasy centerpiece. The table and ladderback chairs are from BDDW. The tangerine dream of a hand-woven rug, two  handmade benches and spire in the center of the table are from Odegard.

The fabulous mesh fabric hanging from floor to ceiling is from Barbara Barry’s new fabric collection for Kravet Fabrics.

The colorful China is from Hermes.  It  has my favorite things going for it; color, whimsy and traditional elegance.  The luxurious yellow-stemmed crystal wine goblets are from Moser.  The flatware is from Reed and Barton.

The gold leafed mesh bowls are from Michael Aram. They come in numerous sizes and are a great statement piece on a coffee table or runner.  The gorgeous orange linen napkins with gold leaf finish on one side create an incredible contrast when folded.   Those and the enamel frog napkin rings are both from Dransfield and Ross.

The last vignette represented a space you might see in the kitchen, living room or den.

The two dynamic armchairs covered in a bold orange and yellow Ikat are from Michelle Nussbaumer.  This lady has a great eye.  This fabric, which is also from Michele’s fabric collection, is what inspired the entire color palette!  The bookshelves from Lillian August are filled with objects of art, thoughtfully curated.

The Ikat coffee cups and saucers are designed by Jasper Conran for Wedgwood.  This really shows how right on  trend Jasper and Wedgwood are. Hot! Hot! Hot!

The large wood and glass vessels are from Donna Karan’s new home collection by Lenox. Leave it to Donna to make something so organic so incredibly chic.

The fantastic  boho-chic tie-dyed pattern china is from Divine Corporation.  The yellow glass vessels are by  Seguso USA.

This crazy, whacked-out Moose which you would normally see in a very traditional setting totally works in a contemporary environment. It is from Herend USA.  There’s nothing like a good cake plate. Who says it’s just for cakes? Add a few carefully orchestrated small plants under the dome and you now have a terrarium that’ll last for months. The cake plate is from William Yeoward  Crystal.

The white reticulated porcelain plates and  foo dog are from Julia Watts. I admire how they’ve created the perfect combination of matte and glossy finishes.  This project was great fun and well received and I was very honored to have been asked.

And the day is over.

All photography by Laura Barisonzi

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Red Cross-Red and White Ball

On April 30 I was  honored to take part in the Red and White Ball to benefit the Greenwich Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross. The honorary designer chair this year was Barclay Butera a guy well deserving the honor. My table was a red, white, burgundy and of course a touch of black Chinoiserie adventure. See more tables at Connecticut Cottages & Gardens .

The color inspiration I think is obvious, however, the theme is inspired by the turtle umbrella stand I found while surfing online. The thought of it conjured up a fantasy garden party with a talking turtle and all his ladybug friends.  The turtle was only available in a natural finish, so I a got can of white spray-paint and he now looks just like white porcelain.

For the tablecloth I wanted a clean, graphic look. I crafted a circular tablecloth from simple white linen, added a red ribbon trim, and then cut pagoda shapes out of red felt, and stitched them onto the skirt at regular intervals. (You could also glue them on to a standard, store-bought white cloth.)

When it came to placements I decided to stay with my theme of red felt.  Again just cutting out the shape, no stitching required.

I also ordered the umbrella online.  When I received it, it was burgundy and not red. Instead of panicking, I decided to combine the burgundy and red together.  I made tassels  out of grosgrain ribbon using the base of a drapery bracket to hold them together. I’m always taking things apart and using them to create something new and different.

For the centerpiece I started by laying plastic on the table to protect my tablecloth while I was working on the umbrella. To achieve this look, I started by wedging Styrofoam into the umbrella spokes as a foundation for the flower stems. Since this was a one night event, by using white orchids and a hardy flowering branch with deep green leaves and Burgundy flowers, none of my floral would need water. The paper Chinese lanterns were tied with ribbons to the spokes of the umbrella and I allowed the ribbon streamers to cascade down.

On to the table setting: To do something like this, first place the vessels of flowers and votives in their desire spots. Then, tear the wheat-grass and place it so it fills in around those elements, creating an undulating shape, like a great garden border.  I covered up the roots of the wheat-grass with black smooth stones. This pulled the black from chairs and napkins further into the table design. The napkins are tied with the same ribbons I used to make the umbrella tassels and I left super-long so they ended up cascading down the side of the tablecloth.

Oh, by the way, did I mention this entire event was staged inside an airplane hangar? At one point in the design process we even heard a jet take off right outside! Who says you need a formal dining room to make a formal dinner. The evening raised $750,000 for the Red Cross.

 

 

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I’ve Shown You Mine-Now Show Me Yours

Yesterday a friend Ruth e-mailed me this picture, explaining she was at someone’s house for dinner and immediately thought of me when she saw the centerpiece.

I now share it with all of you.

I think the combination of jam jars, single piece of ribbon and minimal amount of flowers can create an incredible impact.  BRAVO!

I thank you Ruth for sending this and inspiring me to ask all of you to send centerpiece photos that you think I will love.

Happy Thoughts.

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Even a Child Can Do It.

 

A few weekends ago our friends Lee & Liz visited us in the country for the day with their delightful children Zoe who is 3 and Max who is 7.

I was setting the table for dinner and brought the napkins out to fold.  Liz said “Max show Michael how you learned to fold napkins in Aruba”.  In a flash he grabbed napkins from my hand and started to fold. I was shocked, amazed, and excited!  A kindred spirit!  After the first napkin was folded and placed into the glass – his decision -  I grabbed my phone and had to share this video.

After we took the video he went straight to work and completed the rest of the napkins placing them carefully into each glass and gently pulling down the tabs on each side.  When the task was complete he looked at me and asked “do you have paper, scissors and a pen?” I gathered up the requested tools and sat him at the kitchen table. He started cutting out small squares paper one for each place setting.  Then he began writing something on each one.  He would not let me see what was written, even after they were placed with precision on each plate.  We would have to wait until we sat down for dinner, the suspense was killing me.  When we sat down in our seats here is what we saw.

And I wish the same to you!

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