About Theresa:

Theresa is a key-industry merchandising strategist with a 25 year track record of strategizing for companies like Macy’s, where she was vice-president of table top and housewares and as Senior Vice President at Pottery Barn. Theresa lives in both, San Francisco and Chicago, with her husband and two dogs, Norman and Maci. Once again, for the full, and rather impressive, extent of Theresa’s global branding , marketing and merchandising experience, please hop over to Brand Wave to learn more about this incredible woman.

Martin Miller - Bon viveur and maker of Martin Miller's London Dry Gin via www.luxist.com

I’m sitting in front of the fireplace right now. Also in front of me are over 15 bottles of Artisanal Gin. My new favorite is the London Dry Gin from Martin Miller’s Gin. This is truly exotic stuff. The London Dry is in a low, squat bottle. Upon opening the handsome bottle I detect immediately the scent of cucumbers. Not just any cucumber but an especially aromatic variety. This Gin doesn’t need to be mixed- it’s got all the stuff right inside. I’m absolutely blown away by the softness of the nose- coupled with that unmistakable aroma of the cucumber. I got to thinking- when was the first time that I smelled this quality of Gin? Hendrick’s does a cucumber scented Gin that I like, very much. This Gin from Martin Miller is a very sophisticated and dare I say sensual slurp of liquid pleasure. The cucumber is right there in the foreground. You cannot miss it. I’m almost shocked by the depth of the vegetable aroma and flavor. White flowers follow up immediately- those little Tobacco flowers. Then the attack of herbs and spices come quickly into view. The initial distillation happens in England. The blending occurs in Iceland with pristine glacial water as the adjunct. I’m just blown away by the finish- it goes on and on and… on .

I thought I introduce a new cocktail to Modenus this week. Gin and Citrus come to mind. Charred grapefruit juice, Maraschino Cherry liquor and a chiffonade of Thai Basil. What? Fresh herbs in a drink? Why not?

To make this cocktail you must be ready to take your palate to another place. In this case, the drink is Martini-like but not a Martini. Sure it has Vermouth, but Carpano Antica is the Sweet Vermouth (instead of dry) and there is the slightly charred grapefruit bringing up the rear.

I love working with great ingredients and you should too!

The Gin Twist

Makes two invigorating cocktails for whatever you desire at the end of the day.

Ingredients:

Martin Miller’s London Dry Gin

Carpano Antica

Cucumber chunks

Bitter End Thai Bitters

Lime hunks

Grapefruit chunks

Fresh mint

Seltzer water like Perrier Pink Grapefruit

Chiffonade of Thai Basil

Preparation:

To a cocktail shaker filled ¼ with ice add some charred grapefruit. (sear grapefruit segments in a sauté pan until nice and colored on all sides, then muddle with fresh mint and the cucumber, lime and grapefruit chunks until they release their essence about 3 minutes or so. Add to the shaker the Carpano Antica Vermouth (about a shot) Roll the Thai Basil into a cigar shape, and then slice on the bias to release the aromatic oils. Add to the shaker.

Add the Martin Miller’s Dry London Gin and the Maraschino Liqueur. ( 1 shot)

Shake and strain into a coupe’ glass and garnish with a flamed peel of orange peel. Top with a home cured cherry. Add a splash of seltzer water to finish.

Slurp away to a freezing cold and wet spring in old England.

http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com

Welcome to part two of  Carmen Natschke’s 25 top finds from Maison et Objet in Paris. And if you missed the first five finds from  The Decorating Diva you had best get hunting for part one!

Interesting use of materials was another trend on show at Maison. This Now’s Home coffee table sports a tiled look of leather strips combined with diamond shaped metal inlays.

Missoni Home wows with their interesting patterns and makes use of several of the color trends evident at M&O: pinks, purples, green and hues of orange.

Kenzo demonstrates that the trend and desire for home couture continues unabated. On show here two colors that captivated the Spring/Summer 2012 runways: silver and deep purple.

Dome Decor’s vignettes were well accessorized and highlight a trend that has been growing stronger and stronger. Grouping of hanging ceiling lights/chandeliers – instead of using one large lighting fixture. I find it interesting and visually appealing.

Elegant bath sink faucet by Lalique for Pierre Rochon. Again it’s the elegant details that make this a couture piece for the home. And I adore the mix of materials.

And that’s your lot for now. Our thanks to Carmen for parts one and two. Guess what’s next!

The very wonderful Carmen Natschke, founder and editor of The Decorating Diva  generously offered to share her 25 top finds from Maison et Objet 2012. While we tend to agree with Mae West that too much of a good thing is wonderful, we are opting to prolong the pleasure. So here are Carmen’s top Parisian picks – part one of five.  And part one starts with shades of saturated pinks which had a strong showing at Maison et Objet. Paolo Murani Design highlights this color trend in multiple hues of fuchsia.

Sophisticated Black and White colorways lent an elegant timeless appeal.  Jean Boggio for Franz upped the style quotient of this white buffet with a interesting materials mix of lacquered woods and inlaid porcelain.
Imaginative lighting was one of the most interesting highlights from Maison et Objet. This Murano chandelier looks ethereal, yet it makes a substantial style statement.
Pergay Jacques table and chandelier highlight another trend – mixing the hard, unrefined, rough with refined, elegant pieces. The interesting mix of crystal, salvaged/aged woods and metal create an interesting aesthetic that defies being pigeon-holed into one style category. I also love that they used delicate white china dinnerware – again a striking, yet pleasing contrast against the rough texture of the table top.

Black quilted claw foot tub from Aquamass illustrates a more couture approach to bathing. The trend for the sophisticated black and white colorway is evident in this tub and several others Aquamass had on display.

Please check back tomorrow for your next “Fabulous Five” from Paris.

My personal highlights included both big, well established brands and the smaller producers. Perhaps unsurprisingly I found myself drawn to the very sort of people we like to see on Modenus, companies who combine quality of production with wit and innovation. I was delighted to be a guest of UK PR agency Murray Weir Willats and their clients who include Ligne Roset.

  Ligne Roset furniture doesn’t look like anyone elses. The pieces are all the work of established or up-and-coming designers. They have stories. Here are a few of my favorites from the show. One of the chairs above is Fifty,  by Icelandic designer Dogg Gudmundsdottir and owes much to the classic Flag Halyard chair. It works well indoors or out and is irresistibly comfortable.

The other is the Derive2 rocking chair, (I seem rather keen on rocking chairs these days and that is worrying me) is the result of Ligne Roset deciding  to produce the chair originally given to renowned musician Pierre Boulez by Claude Pompidou. I love its flowing simplicity and I’m also in love with  the vase you can see in the background below.

  Asira by Aurelie Tu is made from hand woven felt, hand crafted and a fun contrast to all those sharp geometric shapes we keep surrounding ourselves with these days. And talking of Felt, the chair by Fabien Cagni and Laurent Matras, otherwise known as Delo Lindo, is called Felt. There is something comforting about its almost traditional shape. We really cant get away from the 50′s, can we?  The whole chair is clad in a removable natural wool felt cover giving it visual impact and making it is a very pleasant place to sit.

A couple of other big brands to mention – hiding behind a curtain in its iconic stripes, Missoni Home continues to delight. And not just because of fond memories of my favorite ever tie – the only tie I have ever worn out. It’s all about the combination of wit, quality, style and the confidence of having created something so iconic and knowing it will always be loved. One look and you know it’s Missoni.

Lots of other companies and designers caught the eye. The ever wonderful Doreen Westphal was showing her extraordinary concrete lace along with a range of leather bags she started when her range of bags made of bicycle inner tubes sold out. The world is by far a better place because Doreen is part of it. Sorry about the bald bloke who seems to have snuck into the picture.

Objekto are a French firm with a focus on Brazilian design. I was rather taken by their Gavota rocking chair, apparently inspired by the designer, Richardo Bonzon, looking at his body print in deep snow in the French Alps. And to think the rest of us would be wasting our time making snow angels. The light, Nuala, was designed by Renaud Bonzon and is made from plywood. It is over two meters high and, well, rather elegant.

Rina Memardi has already featured on the Modenus blog but that won’t stop me showing it again.  Wonderful Italian porcelain with such a freshness and simplicity that I just wanted to hang around their stand and breath in.

Ok, so much for the good – how abut the bad and the ugly. Well, I tend to be a fairly liberal sort of person who believes that that there is a market for most things, but a stuffed dodo and a humiliated and preserved lion?

And that’s my thoughts from Maison et Objet. Except the highlight, which was meeting and spending time with some lovely entertaining people. I am sure there is a lot I have missed. What would be great would be if someone organised a whole group of lifestyle and design writers to give the place the once over. Some sort of Blogtour maybe? Now that would be sweet!

We want to note that no cabinet was harmed in the making of this remodel, and salute Linda for avoiding the temptation of choosing light colors to make the space appear bigger. On the contrary, Linda refinished, painted and distressed the cabinets – herself – in two shades of blue which contrasts beautifully with the copper accents on the pot rack and roman shade. New, stainless appliance offer a bit more reflective surface and updated appeal and we’ve spotted the addition of much needed recessed lights. We also love the accent of white bead-board that covers the walls in what is now a classically romantic french provincial style gem of a kitchen. New countertops and plumbing fixtures complete the design and a skirted sideboard hides kitchen gadgets with charm and style.

We love great design that’s done on a budget and with love and attention to detail. Our thanks to Linda for sending this to us. If you would like to see you project featured in Modenus drop us a line at beforeandafter@modenus.com. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Rebecca’s solution was to turn the room into a study  complete with built in shelving and file cabinets, wood flooring a writing desk and plenty of places to lounge.

It’s a great solution converting a room the client knew they wouldn’t use into a much loved welcoming and comfortable corner of the house. That hardwood floor is by Anderson Hardwood, fabrics by Fabricut, cabinet fabrication by Western Wood products and the new furniture from Palecek, Riverside Furniture and West Elm. The Custom area rug is from Somerset House Carpet

Rebecca also has a blog which we enjoyed enormously and recommend you loiter over a little and if you want to say hi, you can find her as @rwarddesign on Twitter. If any of this has inspired you to submit your own project to be published by Modenus you can reach us on beforandafter@modenus.com

]]> http://www.modenus.com/blog/interiordesign/before-and-after-rebecca-ward-making-the-most-of-a-formal-living-room/feed 0 http://www.modenus.com/blog/interiordesign/before-and-after-meilin-bristiels-french-farmhouse-renovation http://www.modenus.com/blog/interiordesign/before-and-after-meilin-bristiels-french-farmhouse-renovation#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:21:41 +0000 admin http://www.modenus.com/blog/?p=11609  
This really is very beautiful. The year long refurbishment of a farmhouse in Vaison-la-Romaine by the talented Meilin Bristiel has created a building that is  distinctly French, and of its time, yet also modern, comfortable and fully functioning. It may be easier to talk about what she left alone.  And, in case you are wondering, that would be the peripheral walls except for the window and door openings. Just about everything else is new.

The former tractors and machinery garage, hay loft and cement wine casks have become a spectacular living/dining room area, which is now connected to the house by two openings in what once used to be a peripheral wall, it still has it’s oblique “foot inside of the living/dining area.

The dining room is a place to loiter, to enjoy good food and friends. The same could well be said about the terrace and indeed the whole house. The use of light and space combined with gentle hints of the old building makes the entire home stylish yet welcoming and livable.  On the ground floor, only the kitchen and the cellar remain in their original location, both with their original ceilings restored. The kitchen is at the south-west corner of the house, connected with the dining room by a pantry, or arriere cuisine’, as they say around these parts, and to both, the patio and terrace, for outdoor dining.

The narrow and dark staircase was replaced by a central staircase with a masonry hand rail and multiple visual openings to the kitchen, living/dining room and landings.

The former pigsty was connected to the main house and transformed into a TV room.

You can almost feel the sun in this space, can’t you? The bedrooms were kept large and few, all with adjacent or en-suite bathrooms and were distributed on the first and second floor. The guest bedrooms are located in the former stables, and a gym in a former storage room.

  There is a simplicity and lightness of touch everywhere. White walls and hard floors make the most of the wonderful light. Even just looking at these pictures lifts the spirits.

  Meilin tells us that, unfortunately, very few original architectural features were present, except for the “plafond à la Française” in the kitchen, which was cleaned and rebuilt with new plaster, and the stone vaulted wine cellar, which was also restored and closed in with an iron and glass door.

The fireplace and all cupboard doors were bought at antique and salvage shops and the plans were drawn around their respective sizes. Windows and window shutters were replaced by made-to-measure wood joinery in the original style.  That’s Spanish limestone on the ground floor of the main house, limed oak on the 1st and 2nd floor, reclaimed terracotta “tiles” in the guest bedrooms and waxed concrete in the gym. The roof was entirely redone, finished with a cover of reclaimed terracotta roof tiles.
The terrace and pool surround are covered in Luberon stone and it is hard to know which looks more inviting, that glass of wine and a slowly read novel or the fresh cup of coffee. We challenge our readers to look at these pictures, close their eyes, imagine the sun against their skin and not find themselves slowing down a little and dreaming of lazy days down by the Rhone valley.

Meilin, by the way, has a very splendid blog.  Meilin is a Chilean woman who was educated in France and is clearly a fascinating person whose story would justify a Modenus feature. Her blog is in Spanish, French and English, which leaves me feeling horribly inadequate but determined to improve. And we need to give special mention to Alexandre Motte  whose art is featured on the farmhouse walls and of which we hope  to show you more.

So our thanks to Meilin for sharing these amazing photographs. We hope to hear more from her soon. And if you have a before and after project you would like to see on Modenus we would also like to hear from you at beforeandafter@modenus.com

Our thanks to Linda Merrill for sending us details of her work on this lovely 19th Century Boston townhouse formal living room.  That beautiful walnut parquet flooring you can see on the right is also there on the left, it is just hidden under several layers of stain and varnishes. All credit to Linda for conserving this beautiful material rather than replacing it.  The red walls and stark white blinds did nothing to enhance the existing space so Linda replaced both with warm neutrals and soft but classic draperies, making the room stylish and welcoming.

The furnishings are formal but comfortable with highly durable fabrics, ideal for the delighted clients, a busy professional couple with a toddler.  There is a pair of sideboards flanking the fireplace by Theodore Alexander, Mitchell Gold arm chairs with toddler friendly washable velvet by Robert Allen; the sofa is  Baker “Dapha” with Stroheim & Roman chenille, the small round table by Milling Road for Baker and those beautiful tufted back arm chairs, just perfect for the room, are “Martine” chairs by Restoration Hardware. The rug is by Landry & Arcari and Linda made all the accent pillows herself. The only things which are not new are the chandelier and the sconce which is late 19 Century French gilded bronze with crystals.

And we think that’s a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin on the sideboard so we hope you’ll excuse Modenus Tim if he raises a glass of his favourite tipple in loyal salute to the British monarch and in thanks to Linda Merrill for sending these pictures and her excellent notes to beforeandafter@modenus.com. You, of course, are welcome to do the same.