L’Amant by Elitis brings vivacity and softens the strong horizontal lines of a modern kitchen. It’s a contemporary take on embroidered ikat in a fun color palette.

“He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been,” Paterno’s family said in a statement. “His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.”

I bleed blue and white by marriage. From my first game at Penn State with my then boyfriend, now husband, I was hooked. The crowds were unbelievable, the excitement palpable, the love and adoration of Joe Paterno heartfelt. I can’t count how many games I went to over the last 11 years. Each fall was taken up by countless weekends in the long trek out to Happy Valley. Only this past year did we give up our season tickets, recognizing that it was getting harder for us to make all of the games.

No matter how you feel about what happened last fall and his subsequent ouster by the Penn State Board of Trustees, Joe Paterno was the embodiment of humility, class, and integrity. He gave money not to build a new stadium but to the library. He lived and breathed Penn State and no doubt a part of him died the day he was fired. His family was and is Penn State and his legacy will live on long after all of us.

God gave Joe Paterno one last white out. May he rest in peace.

We are…

Well I know I do!

If you are a design blogger and have not yet signed up, Modenus and the sponsors of BlogTour 2012 are offering an opportunity of a lifetime. Click on the BlogTour logo above and brag about why you should be considered for BlogTour 2012. It’s that easy.

BlogTour 2012 will kick off in New York City in March around the time of the Architectural Digest Show. It will then be making stops in Milan in April and London and Paris in September. Can you imagine any better opportunity, as a lover of all things design, than to go to one of these design capitals and see firsthand the latest and greatest and then to tell all of your social media friends, colleagues and clients about it?

While you are there, if you haven’t already, check out Modenus, the brilliant brainchild of the ever dazzling Veronika Miller. Modenus is an amazing resource of endless interior design inspiration. Enjoy!

As seen on the Modenus site:

Modenus is a networking platform and resource catalog for the interior design community.  Design professionals and anyone else passionate about interior design can connect in our forums, find inspiration in our daily blogs, Before & After submissions and live event coverage.  Modenus is free to users and very easy to use.

So wondering where I have been? Let’s catch up.

We sold our house in Norwalk in late July and had exactly 60 days to clean out, organize, pack, find a mover, find a new home, find an apartment in case we couldn’t find a new home…well you get the idea. Something had to give and it could not be my family or clients.

First task, find a real estate agent. We chose Phoebe Leask, of Emmy & Co. from Higgins Group to help us in the search for a new home. She and her team are incredibly knowledgeable about and connected in Fairfield and I didn’t have a minute to waste. I met Phoebe through my BNI Merritt Madness group and really liked her balance of warmth but ‘get it done’ business sense. Selling a home and then buying a new one is a highly emotional decision. I needed someone who understood what I was going through while simultaneously acknowledging that I had a long list of needs and wants for our new home and had to move fast.

Phoebe insisted that we have a needs list and a wants list. Our top three on the needs list were an open floor plan (something similar to the one above), master bath and back yard. Our daughter still has a playground and we love to entertain outdoors. Oh and it had to be close to our daughter’s school - that was non-negotiable. Ok, so we got down to four absolute musts. On the wants list were a 2 car garage, finished (or finishable) basement and a place to “live” during the renovation.

Phoebe and I looked at 40 different houses in two weeks – not the above 40 – but now I think I want this book. My husband saw only the ones we really liked. I knew what he wanted – a man cave – we are a good team that way.

We went round and round on negotiations for three houses over the course of five weeks. I was just amazed at dealing with sellers who didn’t really want to sell their homes. Really? All of those people tromping in and out. I couldn’t wait to be done! I was ready to throw in the towel and just rent a beautiful Avalon apartment for six months. The process was so stressful that I signed up for an exam prep course for the LEED Green Associate with Bill Janhonen. I plan on taking the exam in the next month. It was wonderful to go to class and think about something other than the move. But that’s another post.

With Hurricane Irene’s imminent arrival, we rushed to batten down instead of heading off to our much-needed vacation. Knowing that we were moving out mid-September, we did not have many groceries and the batteries and flashlights were already packed, but our generator was ready. By candlelight, I continued to organize and pack boxes. We were very fortunate to only have one downed large tree branch. You can imagine how concerned we were with a contract for sale.

Monday dawned bright and sunny. We packed the car and hit the road for Fenwick Island, DE.  While on the road, we received word from a lovely family at our church that we could rent their apartment close to school while we continued to look for our home. I breathed a momentary sigh of relief and then my husband said “I just want to move straight to our new home.” I realized that at that point it no longer mattered what the home was like, my husband was not willing to move twice.

There wasn’t a whole lot I could do – after all we were headed on vacation, so I simply put it out there to the universe “find me a new home that I actually want to live in.” The one we were negotiating on had so many problems – causing us too many sleepless nights before we even moved in.

It was the most relaxing vacation ever. Maybe it was just sheer exhaustion from the move, but I was in full vacation mode by Tuesday morning. We had important decisions to make each morning – beach? pool? boat? mini-golf? Every single day was absolutely glorious – it was hard to imagine that mother nature had just slammed us with a hurricane. I didn’t spend one minute thinking about where we would live when we got back home. I was much too busy having fun!

By Friday morning I had my answer. Phoebe sent me an email about a home that had just come on the market. It was the perfect size, the right price, a lovely little backyard and only a mile and a half from DD’s school. The catch? We wouldn’t see it until the following Wednesday because we were on vacation! We drove home that Tuesday in the after-effects of Hurricane Lee. With all of the rain here in CT, a tree fell across the Merritt Parkway so instead of seeing our new home we were left waiting some of us more patiently than others on the highway…

When we saw it Wednesday, we knew it was a perfect fit for us. From there, the entire process was so easy, we just knew it was right. We had a 10 night stint at a hotel in between closing dates, but it was fun and we had a kitchenette so we did not have to eat every meal out.

This was my view from our front door on the day we moved in. I didn’t ask for a sign, but I believe I received one anyway.

Now, we are negotiating piles of boxes, creating a rudimentary kitchen setup in the second kitchen downstairs (how great is that!) and interviewing contractors for the renovation. We are so happy in our new home. Sometimes, I can’t even believe it is true.

Stay tuned for posts on the renovation process…

Whether you are at the beach…

In a parade (or watching)…

Having a party…

Enjoying the fireworks…

Or just staying home…

MyNiceProfile.com

(photo credits: TripAdvisor.com, Tremaine Photography, Skip To My Lou blog, Pinellas Peach, Country Living, MyNiceProfile.com)

Love the products from Livingglass, decorative laminated glass in luxe, light and curves. All Livingglass products are made of impact resistant safety glass with elements sandwiched in between. They are Class A, Class I fire rated, antimicrobial and UV, water, and chemical resistant. Light and Curves are 100% recycled resin and real glass and are LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) eligible. Above Light is shown back-lit.

In this retail store, River Rocks is used as a shelf.

Livingglass can be used as a dramatic way to separate a private dining space in a restaurant, allowing light to enter but providing a sense of privacy.

Livingglass can even be used to create unusual doors. This is Dynasty part of the Luxe line, which is impact resistant safety glass with elements sandwiched in between.  Wouldn’t this catch your client’s eye as they entered your office?

Just one of the many applications for healthcare, this is the Curve line of Livingglass backlit and ceiling mounted.

Another way to use Curve in a creative corporate setting. Can you imagine your clients waiting in this dramatic space?

While this makes a dramatic statement in a residential bath, the application would be equally effective in a corporate bath, kitchenette or corporate cafeteria.

I love to hear from you, where would you use Livingglass in your space?

If you are interested in hearing more about unusual materials for your office design, please contact me for a complimentary consultation at Avery Design Interiors.

(photo credits: Livingglass website)

Edgy Black Leather

Love the look and lines of this bed, but is it even comfortable?

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Red meets Black meets Texture

Love the texture of these tiles. Sold by Dolphin in the UK. Anyone know where to buy them in the U.S.?

White with Dazzling Gold

Riflessi

High gloss white lacquer and bright gold - I would use this console in a navy or eggplant dining room for dramatic contrast.

Black Sequins – Glam

Again, I am not sure if this would be the most comfortable chair but it sure is glamorous.

I love to hear from you…does fashion inspire your interior design?

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Yes, I know it sounds like a bit of an anomaly – a beach fireplace – but our weather has been rainy and dreary for so many days and all I can think of is will it dry out in time to go to the beach tomorrow morning or should we just break out the s’mores tonight?

This interior design project entailed lightening up a open plan living area in a beach house.

The fireplace was black painted brick with a dark stained wood mantel and stood out in the room like a sore thumb. The walls were wood-paneled. First the client added a skylight and a lighter carpet. Then she painted the paneling a lighter color and still the room did not give her the beach feel she was looking for.

It’s an open floor plan so we pulled the taupe color with warm pink undertones from her kitchen cabinetry and counter. Then we took the wall color two shades darker for the fireplace. It still stands out but in a warm sink your toes in a sandy beach kind of way. And the colors speak to the two-tone stripes in the chairs and ottomans.

A great new look for the room with just a change in paint color.

I love to hear from you, if you could change the color of one room in your home, which one would it be?

Baffled by how to choose your colors? Contact me for a complimentary color consultation.

I would love to understand the mind of a hacker, wouldn’t you? Excuse me hacker, we never know who you are, so where is the joy in messing up a whole bunch of people’s websites? You’re not the guy (or gal) fixing them, to the best of my knowledge, so you’re not even making money on this. I just don’t get it – perplexed at my desk.

Well, forging on…

I came across this amazing furniture company and had to share even one piece from their collection with you. Stay tuned for a more lengthy post on Izzy Design at a later date.

Izzy is all about people, about sustainable practices and about “re-humanizing the workplace”. Isn’t that what great office furniture design should be all about?

Audrey Storaqe

Did I mention it’s not only good-looking, modular and moveable (function, function, function), but also reasonably priced?

If you need help re-humanizing your office space, please contact me at catherine@averydesigninteriors.com, at least until the website is back up!

Wishing you a happy day at your office,

Happy Father’s Day to all my male readers! Today is all about designing your man cave so that you are super comfortable in it, but your wife isn’t breaking out in hives because it still includes the sofa you had in college in the 1980s.

My husband already has his man cave, but I am thinking it’s in need of a “fantasy” update. Hey, you guys have fantasy football…

Charcoal grey with accents of red, this “dream” room includes all of the things my DH loves. The architect’s desk can be raised up because he prefers to draw while standing (I do too) – just add that unusual lucite lamp by Joe Colombo from 1st Dibs.

I would cover one wall with a super sized guitar photo. He already has an amazing multi-colored globe, so I would add this sleek modern armillary.

The red “flight” chair by Design Within Reach is a great modern take on the recliner and the gear table is from Z Gallerie.

What guy wouldn’t want to play foosball after an evening at the drawing board? All that’s missing is a beer from the stainless steel refrigerator in a custom bar…

I love to hear from you. If you could design your dream ‘man cave’, what would your room look like?

(photos from  Z Gallerie, Design Within Reach, 1st Dibs,  Pink Floyd)