When A Friend Decorates

This week's When A Friend Decorates features party planner extraordinaire Kate from Party Resources. Whether Kate is planning a party, pulling together an ensemble or decorating her bedroom, she has a sophisticated sense of classic style with a hint of modern day lady.   

I was immediately drawn to the symmetry and lack of clutter in Kate's bedroom. The mongrams, the foo dogs lamps, the pop of color on the bed and the black and white image makes for a wonderful place to unwind before calling it a day.

The lamps are fabulous and add visual interest to the space. Love how she adds beauty to her bedside tables in the form of flowers.   

I'm a huge fan of mixing a little animal print into every space. Phyton plus tray equals perfection. Don't you think orchids add sophistication to a room?    

Thank you to Kate of Party Resources for sharing her lovely space. 

If you have a space that would be great for a When A Friend Decorates post, e-mail your images to me at lisa@hamptontoes.com.

Power outage lights

I live in a community where if you sneeze the power goes out, so it was no surprise that we lost power on Saturday with the 8 to 10 inches of snow we received...yes, in October, just outside NYC.

Thought this would be a good time to share one of my "tools" for keeping a home. I have power outage lights in every bedroom,every living space and the foyer in my home. When the power goes out these lights turn on automatically and become flashlights for me to get around the house safely. Highly recommend!

Google power outage lights and select from the various ones offered. They aren't attractive, so I plug them into less conspicuous areas...behind sofas and chairs, in the kitchen behind the Keurig coffee maker, behind the dresser in my foyer and other out of sight spaces.

What tip can you share that helps to keep your home running smoothly?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! I love blogging...thank you for being "treats" in my life!

Last night I baked four dozen cupcakes for my children to share with their classes. I signed up for snack duty in September not knowing I'd be without power due to a snowstorm! Despite the snow, I got the job done.

I'm hostessing Halloween dinner for ten, these Two's Company candles will add a festive vibe to the table.

Bags were filled so that my children can give their classmates a special Halloween treat. The Two's Company python tray is available through the Zhush.

Every year I set a special place setting on Halloween and Valentine's Day for my children. A place setting that isn't elegant like at Christmas, but rather kid focused with stuff that won't have me invited to the queen mum's for tea, but will have me receiving huge hugs and kisses from my kids. The "bat banana," skeleton straw and wind-up toys are joy, for kids!

 My son and daugther will have a special note waiting for them at breakfast. 

 What's on your Halloween agenda? Have a fun filled day!

When A Friend Decorates

This week's When A Friend Decorates features fabulous elements of a Manhattan apartment belonging to a friend with a super cool job in television.

When she first spotted this chair, she loved the clean lines but not the original textile, so she had it reupholstered to give it this fab look. The chair, the textile and the rug...city chic all the way!

This city gal was resourceful in taking two old bench seats and recreating them...love the textile and the nailheads, not to mention the herringbone hardwood floors. 

The picture rail adds detail to the space. I like how she pulled together the colors in her apartment through the abstract artwork she showcases in matching white frames. Such a clean, crisp look.   

Anyone who has resided in NYC knows that maximizing space is essential, often times by tricking the eye. She customized her Parsons table with the same stone as her kitchen countertop, creating a seamless flow from kitchen to eating area. The bright red cafe chairs are a perfect punch of color! 

I am especially fond of how her space is practical, functional and clutter free (and she has two kids!) What are some of the ways you've revitalized old furnishings?  

Want elements of your home to be featured in a When A Friend Decorates post? E-mail me details and images of your space.

Nature Center Carnival Birthday

One of my son's absolute favorite outings is to visit the nature center. It was without question that his third birthday party be all about turtles, chincillas, lizards, ferrets and bearded dragons!

A nature center carnival made for a fun and festive theme. I used a red textile for the tablecloth and for the polka dot runner I rolled wrapping paper right down the middle of the table. The bumble bee, snake, spider, butterfly, ladybug and frog face masks were enjoyed by all! The table was set with lizards, frogs and all things creepy crawly. Party gifts were given in red and white striped gable boxes.

My favorite son (and my only son!) is already talking about his next birthday party. While he considers whether his next theme will be airplanes, robots or Dino Dan, I continue to wonder where the time goes?  

Stickable wall art as framed art

With my son having recently turned three, it was time to take down the baby photos on the wall in his room. Keeping in mind that little kids have fleeting interests, I wanted to do artwork that looked good yet was affordable enough to switch as his interests change.

I took wall art (the stickers that you peel and put on a wall) that I purchased at HomeGoods for $7.99 and framed it to create this new artwork catering to my son's love of robots!

To give it a clean, crisp look I took remnant wallpaper (from the Ralph Lauren wallcovering that I used below the chair rail) to affix the robots to and then framed it all together. 

I am a firm believer in it taking a lot of time, effort and energy to design spaces. I like to create spaces that grow with the child instead of the child growing out of the space. Over the years these frames will play host to my son's various interests making it the perfect transitional aspect to his room.

I think it is very important that a child's room have elements that allow one to believe that a child happily resides within. What are some ways that you incorporate your child's hobbies/interests into his/her room?

Friday Fun - South Africa

What is your dream travel destination? Have you gone? My dream travel destination was South Africa, and  still remains my favorite place ever visited. Here I posted about how one's sense of adventure can correlate to their sense of pushing boundaries/thinking out of a box/being bold in their interior design choices.

Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge is a study not only on indigenous animals, but in being environmentally aware of one's surroundings...being "green." The very long dirt road through the bush to arrive at our lodging, no paved roadways, instead respect for the environment.

Look how the accommodations are built into the side of the landscape.  

After walking around the small hill and seeing this, I immediately had respect for how Sabi Sabi seamlessly mixed the lodging with the environment.  

A fallen tree made into a headboard in the presidential suite. Fabulous! 

Look at how the counter and column are made out of fallen trees from the bush and the Sabie River.

Besides the grand size of the bathroom, I love how the large the window is above the tub.  

Here's to an evening sans electricity. Al fresco dining, candlelight and hoping a lion isn't on the other side of the hill!

It was amazing to visit Sabi Sabi, a place where nature has not been ruined by infrastructure and superstructure. In what ways are you "green" when designing/decorating your interior spaces? Have a wonderful weekend.