Flower Design- Contemporary or Traditional?

What can I say about flowers except that I absolutely love the color, texture and vibrancy that they add to any space, big or small, fancy or basic. It’s my opinion, that without flowers, a wedding or event is unfinished and can come off looking flat. Flowers bring life to a room and are a fabulous way to tie in color schemes and add drama to beautiful linens and luxurious gowns, oh yes and don’t forget the tux! As a designer, I never limit myself and always push the envelope when it comes to creating new and interesting designs- and flowers are no exception.

I love to draw inspiration from other designers and gain new perspectives by seeking out talented people and seeing what they have to offer the world. On a recent episode of Oprah, she featured flower designer Jeff Leatham. Before this show aired, I had never heard of him and as the show progressed I really started to get inspired by his contemporary style of work. He takes seemingly ordinary flowers and transforms them into works of art using beautiful glass vases and nouveau ways of arranging flowers.

Using one color and variety of flower per vase, Leatham creates a thing of beauty by stretching the imagination with his many uses of flowers. In fact, he turned the Oprah show set into a luxurious floral wonderland by placing thousands of stems over existing structures like a pergola and what seemed like endless yards of lattice. The end result was a colorful floral marvel that was unrivaled by any set design I had ever seen.



Like Jeff Leatham, I order all of my flowers from Europe and Asia. This means that they are the highest quality and the freshest flowers available. It also means that I order in bulk which gives me more creative freedom when it comes to thinking up ideas and working with the client to achieve perfection for their special day. When the room is full of flowers it really adds that sense of romance and magic!


If traditional flower design is more your style, then look no further than Colin Cowie. Cowie is a world renowned interior and event designer and has catered to many famous people including Oprah Winfrey herself. With designs that spare nothing, Cowie incorporates fine linens and extravagant flowers as well as high end accessories into all designs. He drapes incredible fabric from ceilings and groups flowers together in exquisite arrangements.






Like Cowie, I love the traditional side of event design. I have been surrounded by this genre of décor for my entire life, so it only seems natural to draw from that experience and incorporate it into the craft. When I began event design last year (2009), I knew I wanted to use large amounts of flowers as well as good quality linens and accessories as the backdrop to my service. Obviously, most budgets are not going to be able to afford yards and yards of silk as a ceiling treatment and unlimited vases of flowers, however I feel it can be done to a tasteful degree and still be affordable for almost any couple.

Check out my full Weddings Portfolio by following this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123108&id=11602276205#!/album.php?aid=123108&id=11602276205&op=12

Check out my full Events Portfolio by following this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123108&id=11602276205#!/album.php?aid=155512&id=11602276205&op=12

Ceilings- The Often Overlooked 5th Wall

On a recent trip to Cuba I gained a huge perspective on color and was reminded of its’ many uses. Typically when I am designing a new home from top to bottom I recommend an off-white trim color. This is always followed by the client asking “should I do the ceilings in that same color?” As with many design scenarios, the answer to this question is never quite as simple as it may seem.

In the design world the ceiling is commonly referred to as the 5th wall. As you might imagine it can often be quite challenging to convince a client to paint the ceiling in a color other than white. In actual fact white ceilings tend to draw the eye up and deny focus to the rest of the room. Because there’s such an expanse of white and frequently a large contrast between the walls and the white ceiling, white is often not a good choice.

What color should I paint my ceiling you may ask? There’s a multitude of factors that come into play when making this decision such as wall color, accent color and overall feel you are trying to achieve in the room. This is a really good chance to accent your room and add a punch of color.

The room below was designed by Nate Berkus a few years back. Notice how Nate made the room feel very country inspired simply by painting the ceiling in a wonderful shade of green.




My recent experience in a Havana bar also provided an inspirational view point on this topic. Contrasted with deep reds and medium to dark wood tones was an aqua blue ceiling. What better way to cool off the warm color palette than with such a cool and refreshing hue on the ceiling. Although this scheme is very unexpected it works well and blends a conservative colonial style with relaxed Cuban flair.




Another gorgeous blue ceiling caught my attention while in Havana. I found the use of color in this historical building to be visually interesting. Again, we see the reds mixed with a blue ceiling and this time green is thrown into the mix to create yet another work of art. Notice how the rug pulls the blues into the flooring and creates a mirror effect with the ceiling.




I was reminded of a project from 2005, where I redesigned a historical B&B in Carbonear, NFLD. For this design we incorporated ceilings that were neutral and stayed away from whites. What a wow factor that provided! It really allows people to focus on the wall and trim color as well as other fine details of the room.







The rule of thumb for painted ceilings is to choose a color that accents the rest of the rooms' look and feel. Also remember that depending on what height your ceilings are- cool colors recede and warm colors advance. have fun with this and let your personality shine through!


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East Coast Living Magazine Article- Mulit-Function Spaces

Your Space Our Design is featured in the spring 2010 edition of East Coast Living magazine. The cover story entitled, Organizing Multi Function Spaces, offers designer advice on how to deal with this growing trend.

When I was approached by the magazine back in March I had a ton of ideas that I wanted to convey to the writer Jennifer Hatt. The main point I wanted to make is that any room can be multi functional if good solid space planning is executed correctly from the beginning; in fact this rule is true for all design projects in general.

What is space planning you may ask? Space planning simply refers to layout of furniture as well as ideas for current and future purchases in order to achieve the space the client desires. I use a computer program to show my clients exactly how spaces will function and look once completed. This program gives the client a space plan in 3D as well as 1D so the plan can be explained step by step and then executed.



If a client says they want a home office that doubles as a spare bedroom, I automatically ask myself: what multi-tasking furniture would work best to suit the needs of this project? One possible solution is a wall bed. These beds are fabulous because they actually fold into the wall and leave a seamless look. This means the office can truly function for work when needed and vise versa. To me, this is the best use of space imaginable. The fact that you can transform a room in a few simple steps with ease is very appealing. (Murphy's Wall Bed shown below).

If you have a little more space to play with then doing a seating arrangement in the office consisting of a pull-out sofa and 2 chairs is also a nice idea. This option offers a zone for seating and relaxing as well as the original office use.

Multi function spaces are best when they are kept simple. Avoid the urge to paint a feature wall. Instead focus on creating a monochromatic space as these tend to look larger because the eye does not stop in one particular area but keeps moving. Another error that people frequently make is cramming a lot of small pieces into a small space. Using larger multi-functional pieces not only looks better but it makes the room appear larger. Another design trick when working with tight spaces is to use armless and or backless furniture. This Parsons chair from www.allbarstools.com is a great example as it’s narrow, armless and is free from skirting on the bottom.

Transparent chairs are also a nice option in a contemporary space as they blend visually into a room and a result take up little space.

Designing a multi function space can be achieved if you follow these simple design rules and remember to pull the room together with a rug and co-ordinating drapery. Doing this, along with a monochromatic color scheme, choosing just the right functioning pieces and having a solid space plan will ensure a perfect design!


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