A Merry Red Christmas Eve

I am planning my virtual outfit to wear on Christmas Eve. This year has been very special and there is much to celebrate and to be thankful for. Red seems appropriate and just feels right for this time of year. In a perfect world this is what I would love to have in my closet and jewelry chest. What do you think?

Lida Baday silk skirt & Donna Karen turtle neck

Cartier "Le Basier du Dragon" 18K white gold & ruby earrings based on Art Deco style. The lucky thread is tied, as when making a wish.

Manolo Blahnik shiny red sequin heels trimmed with satin piping

         Cartier Ruby & Diamond Ring                       Cartier Classic Diamond Watch with red crocodile strap

And to finish off the outfit Cartier Delices Perfume

Wishing you all 'Sweet' dreams for a Merry Red Christmas!

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

The Ultimate Hostess Gift

The wax is comprised of a unique blend of soy, maple and palm waxes. The vessel is inspired by the organic floral structure and elements of art deco design.  The packaging is stitched in Burmese silk.  The satin ribbons are imported from France and the tissue that wraps each bowl is hand pleated and imported from Switzerland.  And the scent is pure heaven:  French Tuberose against an earthly and delicate scent of Woodland mushrooms.

D.L. & Company candles available from Griffen Trading.

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

Beauty is as Essential as Bread

There is an old french adage that says: 
"If you have a dollar, spend fifty cents on bread and fifty cents on flowers."

 

Photo via Cote de Texas    
Jeffery Bilhuber Designer

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

Deck out your Holiday Home like a Pro

A display of nutcrackers at the home of interior designer Patricia Gray

Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun 

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, who better to ask than local interior designers who have decked out their own homes in style?

Avoiding stress at the holidays is the main point for interior designer Patricia Gray. Her secret is starting early in the season in order to enjoy visiting with friends and family throughout December.

Gray typically picks the last weekend in November to haul out the decorations and gets her tree up by the first week of December. Although she was tempted to get a seven and a half foot artificial tree this year she opted to stay with a real Douglas Fir tree - mainly because the fake tree wouldn't fit into her car.

"I don't mind artificial trees. A lot of my clients in condos are not allowed to have live trees. The one I wanted looked so realistic," says Gray, adding the Home Depot tree was a bargain at $299 with 1,000 lights on it.

She suggests using clear white mini lights and plenty of them in order to make the ornaments stand out on the tree.

"My tree is decorated with silver and red balls and 10 strings of mini lights. I find the more lights the prettier the tree. I stuff them into the depth of the tree close to the trunk then bring them to the outside," she says.

Gray has become somewhat of an expert at tree decorating after completing one for the Canucks Children's Hospice fundraiser at Sutton Place Hotel. For that tree she and her staff, at Patricia Gray Design, began making gingerbread cookies in August representing children from around the world holding their country's flag. To make the icing long lasting, they used glitter glue instead of using real icing.

"Making your own gingerbread and hanging them on the tree is quite a nice thing to do. You don't have to go to the extent we did. You could do something simple and just have the glitter embroidery glue on the edges [of the gingerbread man]."

Keep it simple, keep it fun and just enjoy," she says.

Postscript December 12th, 2008
My partner in the tree decoration at the Sutton Place Hotel was Linda Sale Interior Design

Get a Head Start on Your New Year's Resolutions

 

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

Modern Kitchen Design in Vancouver

What's Hot - Fumed Wood Veneer

Fumed Wood Veneer - Indian Apple

I am excited about this new product that I have just been shown by The Vancouver based Dragonfly Surfaces.  The color and graining in this line of fumed wood veneer is amazingly beautiful.  The trees used are from sustainable-managed forest. 
Some of the fumed wood veneers that have captivated my attention are:
Fumed Red Gum, Fumed Olive Ash, Fumed Acacia, Fumed Sweet Chestnut, Fumed Wild Cherry, Fumed White Ebony, and Fumed Indian Apple 

What is Fumed Veneer?

Dark woods and stains are in high demand these days. The process used in creating fumed wood veneer turns light colours into warm rich chocolate browns.  The wood is placed in a special chamber where it goes through a “fumigation process”. There are only certain types of wood that are suitable for this process; they are tannic acid containing woods such as oak and larch. The reaction of the acid in the wood with ammonia is what is responsible for the darkening of colour. The light and shadow effects creating a patina in the wood veneer are due to different levels of tannic acid in the wood giving the veneer a truly unique look.

When woods that are not fully hearted are fumigated the result is a light splint zone. This gives the Smoked Wood Veneer its distinctive look that is not attainable through other processes.

The colour that the fumed wood takes on due to the fumigation process is to a large degree non-aging and is far more stable to light compared to many other coloured wood types. The fumed wood veneer is also more elastic and less brittle.

Environmental Story
During the fumigation process of the wood there are no waste products produced. The ammonia that is required for the manufacturing process is routed by the fumigation chambers directly into a washer and is neutralized. The resulting nitrogenous solution is then used in farming as fertilizer.

 
Fumed Wood Veneer - Macassar

Fumed Wood Veneer - Smoked Oak 

White Ebony

Patricia Gray is an award winning Interior Designer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who blogs about
"WHAT'S HOT" in the world of Interior Design: New and Emerging Trends, Contemporary Design, Modern Architecture and Travel,
as well as how your surroundings can enhance the world around you.

© Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™ 2009

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This week I decorated a Christmas tree in the Lobby of the Sutton Place Hotel, for a very worthwhile fundraising initiative benefiting Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. Canuck Place is a story of courage and vision and offers a continuum of care to over 350 children and teens with life-threatening illnesses and their families throughout British Columbia. I am very honored to be a small part of making a difference in the lives of these children and teens. The trees (9 in all) will be on show in the Lobby of the Sutton Place Hotel through January 2, 2009.

It all started in August of this year when I teamed up with my buddy and fellow Interior Designer, Linda Sale, to collaborate in the decorating of this tree. What happens when two creative minds, and two 'Type A' personalities come together? 

We decided to make the decorations, with the theme being 'Home for the Holidays', represented by Children of the World made of gingerbread, dressed in their native costumes and holding the flag of their Country. Our first batch of gingerbread in September crumbled and we then tried a Martha Stewart recipe and it was a success.  The holes to hang the gingerbread were formed with a straw and we put an egg white glaze on the cookies.  After they were baked they were cured in a 200 degree oven for hours. That Sunday we were well under way with 7 dozen cookies prepared. We then spent the next three months creating costumes and the flags for these little treasures, as well as Jerseys for the entire Canuck team. (Insider Scoop: 7 of the Canucks are currently living at the Sutton Place Hotel, so if you are a fan, you might by chance see one of them walking through the Lobby as we did the day we were decorating the tree.)

 

Before decorating - Linda & me                                   After decorating

  

 

  

The presents were wrapped with the greatest of care....

  

Canuck Jerseys were hand made to hang on the tree.....                           

 

   

   

Opening night and the unveiling of the tree.......

  
Alexa, Linda & I standing in front of the decorated tree

    
                                                                         My nephew Sean

  
Fellow Blogger Maria Killam, who I officially met for the first time that evening

                                                                                  Interior Designer Colleen Jamieson

Every vote for the best tree costs $5.00 and all proceeds go to Canuck Place so if you are downtown, be sure to drop in and place your vote!
Or go on-line to get your ballot.......we are tree #3.

 

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.