BlogFest 2013: Day 1

So on Monday and Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending BlogFest2013- a conference of Interior Design Bloggers brought together for some fun, learning, networking, touring, lots of laughs (and some food and drinks...and gifts!). Over the next few posts I will share all the wonderful things I took away from this whirlwind of a time!

The first day started bright and early with an opportunity to tour the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse privately with the other bloggers (sans the public!). The Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse has been around since 1973 when it was started to benefit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club after school programs for NYC kids. It was such a treat and truly inspiring! I took some pictures but the professional ones on the Kips Bay site are much better so here are a few teasers compliments of Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse site:

This dining room was probably one of my favorite spaces. It had laquered blue walls, yellow-ochre curtains, a deconstructed metal buffet and the one gem you can't see in this photo....a gold-leaf wallpapered ceiling that was hand-painted over. I COULD DIE! It was amazing! And the designer was in the room to greet us and she was so lovely. Kudos to Kristen McGinnis- you killed it! 

 

 Dining Room by Kristen McGinnis

 I believe this room below is the Lounge Suite by Garcia/Maldonado, Inc. It was such a gorgeous and serene sitting area. I loved the unique color combination...so pretty!

Garcia Maldonado Lounge

Here is the Master Suite compliments of one of my favorite designers, Kathryn Ireland. It was a beautiful combination of antiques and her always unique play on patterns and colors.

Master Suite by Kathryn Ireland

AMAZING Laquered powder room on the main floor.....love the play of two-toned turquoise and gold!

Foyer/Powder Room by Andrew Suvalsky Designs

I have to say- the outdoor areas in this Decorators House were unbelievable...each one more enticing than the next. I don't have a photo of the sitting area on the first floor but it was serene and sophisticated done by Nievera Williams Design....and then take a look at this....imagine bathing right outside in NYC! The fifth floor terraces featured amazing work by West Chin Architects & Interior Designers.

Fifth Floor Terrace by West Chin Architects

We were also treated to a lovely breakfast compliments of Doodle Home in this amazingly sophisticated yet rustic kitchen by Christopher Peacock. The wood can't be appreciated in the photos but those cabinets and the hardware were just divine. And Doodle Home had the most delicious breakfast set up for us to start off the day. For those readers who are designers- definitely check out Doodle Home- it is the wave of the future in how you will run your business and purchasing!

Kitchen by Christopher Peacock

After touring the beautiful Kips Bay, we headed on buses over to the Hearst offices which sit high up in NYC for a festive lunch and speaker time! Ok, you've been reading long enough...I think you've earned something....how about some HGTV goodness?

HGTV was so generous in offering the bloggers at BlogFest and our readers a 69% discount on a subscription! Just visit subscribe.hgtvmag.com - I am already a subscription but make sure you visit to be able to get your own monthly treat in your mailbox! Stay tuned for the next post on the HGTV lunch and the hilarious speakers.....

Kathryn Ireland: a class act

Some of you may have read my little post about Suzani prints where I talked a little about the background of the pattern and share some examples of some of my faves....high end and low end. If you missed it...check it out here.

Kathryn Ireland

One of the high end examples of Suzani that I included were those amazing fabric prints of the ever-amazing Million Dollar Decorator Kathryn Ireland. I am always in awe of her fearless mixing of patterns and colors...her designs always look effortless. I truly enjoyed watching her on the first season of Million Dollar Decorator on Bravo....from that show I learned that she is a really dedicated designer and hard-worker and hysterically funny! In fact, if I wasn't an interior designer, the second best job would be to be Kathryn Ireland's housekeeper...she is privy to great clothes, great booze and lots of laughs for sure!

Kathryn Ireland

Anyway, I received a package in the mail last week and it came from Kathryn Ireland Studios in CA. I opened the package to find a beautiful box...too pretty to open...in fact, I didn't open it for a few hours because I am a sucker for pretty packaging! When I finally did cave in and open it, there was the most beautiful fragrant candle inside with a hand-written note from Kathryn thanking me for the fabric piece. I almost fell on the floor...ok, I did fall on the floor. My kids had to revive me and kept asking "what is so special about that candle?" Then I explained to them that when you admire and respect someone and their body of work and then they turn around and give you even the littlest acknowledgment, the feeling is just overwhelming. (That was my parental teaching moment...what I really wanted to say was "Shut up people...this shi* is from Kathryn Ireland bitches!!" But I realized that would have been totally inappropriate!)

The beautiful box and the handwritten notecard had pictures of Kathryn's three boys in a sunflower field as yougins' and on the inside..there was a photo of them all grown up.

Here's my little note...which means so much to little old me!

Truth be told, one of the reasons why I didn't pursue Interior Design after studying it at FIT was that the industry (at the time) was full of stuffy, pretentious people...at least that is how it felt. It seemed the better you were, the meaner you had to be. Those times have changed a lot since the HGTV era- design is more accessible so there are a wider variety of people utilizing the services and providing the service...not just the uber wealthy. Anyway, Kathryn Ireland renewed my feeling that you can be a super success, top in your field and still be nice to the little people.

I understand that Kathryn Ireland is not sitting up at night reading my blog, but somehow it came to her attention that I mentioned her and she took the moment or an employee of hers took the moment to recognize that. And for that, she is a class act. Sorry for the long post over a little candle but it meant so much more than just a candle. Plus...it smells RIDICULOUS.....as Kathryn states in the card included "La Castellane...handcrafted fragrance inspired by my Farm in France....basil, verbena with notes of lemon" it is absolutely divine! Thank you, Kathryn...I am infinitely inspired by you!