Holiday Decorating Trends

Thanks to Karen Mills for her post "Holiday Decorating Trends for 2009"

Ready to create a “wow” factor with your holiday decorating? Let me share some hot trends and tips for success. When I start a holiday decorating project for a commercial client, I begin by selecting a great color combination and theme that fits with the existing design style and architecture. So why not do the same in your home?

Wall pocket wreath by Karen Mills

Some great color combinations could be raspberry or purple with brown and green, red with a lighter green and copper or a blue and green combo. And if you like something more contemporary that’s a kickback to the 80s try combining blues with silver. Woodsy natural decorations still rule as the most popular theme and when I’m decorating, I often take a stroll through the woods to find just the right items whether its pinecones or tree boughs.

However, if you don’t have access to fallen items in the woods, you can still invest in quality lifelike greenery and place it around your front door, chandeliers, mantels or bannisters to start. But if you’re looking for a theme that’s a little more unique, bring out a favorite collection of items and use them as your starting point.

Barclay Butera's nutcracker collection

You can also create drama in your home by hanging an upside down tree from your ceiling or by adding an arched tree over an entrance. If you’re strapped for time, focus on two on three key areas such as the front door/entryway, fireplace and dining room table instead of trying to decorate the entire house. Not only will it be less stressful, but by using all your decorations in specific areas, you’ll add more of a “wow” factor to your decor. To learn more about holiday decorating trends and tips for this year, don’t miss Living Large on News Radio 980 KMBZ this Sunday at 10am Central as I talk about Holiday Decorating with nationally known interior designer Barclay Butera, floral designer Craig Sole and other experts in holiday decorating along with actress Lauren Braton who’s currently starring in It’s a Wonderful Life radio play. Or check out Living Large on Saturday at 10:30am on Classical 1660 KXTR on Holiday Decorating too.

Barclay Butera's bowl of Christmas ornaments

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Links to interview on Living Large here.

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ONE Design Competition from Maitland-Smith

Over 800 Entries Received In Maitland-Smith's Design Competition

As the ONE Design Competition enters its final week, Maitland-Smith announced that it is celebrating the early success of its 30th anniversary promotion. More than 800 entries have been submitted so far, with the bulk of those coming from individuals who are not existing customers.

“One of our goals with this contest was to make Maitland Smith better known among designers and retailers who have not worked with us before,” said Glenn Yelvington,design director for Maitland-Smith.

“The other goal was to get people to try our ONE Customization tool so they could get a feel for how easy it is to create custom pieces for clients. If early results are any indication, we have succeeded in both Participants in the contest are encouraged to choose from one of the more than 700 silhouettes available at www.maitland-smith.com (ranging from decorative accessories to lighting to furniture) and customize it with finishes, inlays, hand tooled accents, etc. to create their own masterpiece.

Designs submitted to date range from a $270 candlestick lamp to a $50,000 bar.

“We’ve received some really interesting entries,” said Yelvington. “Of course designers and our customers know first-hand how intricate our work can be, so they’ve submitted pieces that require a lot of detail. But there is definitely an overall trend toward the more dramatic – we’re seeing a wide use of black and gold, as well as animal prints such as zebra and leopard, which puts a real modern twist on our more classic forms.”

The entries will be reviewed and culled down by a panel of judges that includes designer Barclay Butera, Maitland-Smith historian Howard Shattuck, president of the American Society of Furniture Designers (ASFD), Steve Hodges, ASID national board member Tim Schelfe, and Interior Design magazinesenior editor Mark McMenamin.

Three winners will ultimately be chosen, one in each of the following categories: “Best Designer Submission”, “Best Retailer Submission” and “Best Consumer Submission.” A fourth winner will be named the popular favorite – that’s the design that receives the most votes via anonline public poll that takes place at www.maitland-smith.com January 4-13, 2010.

Individuals have until midnight December 16th to submit a design. The winning pieces will be hand-crafted by Maitland-Smith’s artisans, displayed at the company’s showroom during High Point Market in April 2010, and given to each of the winners.

By: Furniture World Magazine
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Black & White and Stylish All Over

Thanks to Homefurnishings.com

and Margie Monin Dombrowski for her post "Black & White and Stylish All Over".

Black and White and Stylish All Over
Use this contrasting color scheme to make a statement in your interior.

Nothing’s more classic than black and white. Forever in style, they remain favored among designers to bring a certain je ne sais quoi to a room. One thing’s for certain: a black and white room always demands attention.

Pops of Color
Black and white can be striking, but also severe. That’s why interior designers like Barclay Butera, president and CEO of Barclay Butera, Inc. in Los Angeles like to incorporate pops of other colors. For example, Butera designed a city loft with black and white as a base, but added a deep navy to the color scheme and paintings with a variety of blues. “You need some color to help soften the severity,” says Butera.

Details, Details, Details

Infusing black and white accents in your interior is easy, and draws your eye to the details. Butera includes black and white in the tiniest of details, from kitchen appliances and tile designs to Greek key motifs on draperies. McGowan likes mixing in neutral colors like grey or beige to tie in better with stark black or bright white. She also recommends natural and shiny elements— whether it’s accessories or flooring—to make the space come to life: “Beautiful pieces of driftwood, iron sculptures, gold, brass, silver or chrome are essential,” suggests McGowan. Black and white can be overdone easily, but how you choose to interpret the scheme and inject variety is what makes it exciting.

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Tobi Fairley on Barclay Butera: Day 5

Thanks to Tobi Fairley for the fifth in her week-long series of posts on Barclay Butera!!

Friday, December 4

Barclay Butera

It has been such a pleasure featuring Barclay Butera , his book, and his amazing product lines this week. I hope you have gained a little more insight on Barclay’s inspirations and design philosophy.

Barclay and I are trying to connect to bring you a podcast interview so you can learn even more about what’s next for this talented designer. He is a busy man and a little hard to catch up with, I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

I will be back at noon CST with winner of an autographed copy of Barclay’s book, Living in Style. You still have time to enter by sending an email to me at tobifairley@gmail.com. And if you are not the lucky one who wins, visit my amazon recommendations in the right sidebar of my blog to buy a copy of your own. Up next week, Suzanne Kasler and her fabulous new book, Inspired Interiors.

I leave you with some images of Barclay’s Wing Chairs as they are some of my favorite furniture pieces in the world.

Davis Chair in Cream Teal Floral Linen

Grant Chair in Savoy Tobacco Velvet

Wyland Wing Chair

Davis Chair in Slubby Basket Sky

Tobi Fairley on Barclay Butera: Day 4

Thanks to Tobi Fairley for the fourth in her week-long series of posts on Barclay Butera!!

Thursday, December 3

Barclay Butera and Kravet

Barclay Butera is known for his signature blue looks. Clean,classic, traditional and timeless, Barclay’s blue rooms often layer florals, geometrics and stripes in the perfect combination.
So it is only fitting that Barclay’s new fabric collection for Kravet has a plethora of blues including Ikats, stripes and more.

And though I love Barclay’s new blues, there is so much more to the collection. In fact, Barclay’s approach to his fabric line is not unlike his book or even his interiors. Like the chapters in his book Living in Style, Barclay uses the categories of Beach, Town and Country, Mountain, Desert, and City to distinguish between colorways of his collection.

So the cool blues and rich navy’s are representative of the beach.

Chic and sophisticated neutrals are the hallmark of the Town and Country category.

The desert collection includes dusty tones. Both the Mountain and City looks have rich colors and textures and even a few novelty prints.

To see more of the Barclay Butera fabric collection, visit the Kravet website. And to see Barclay’s beautiful versions of Beach, City, and Mountain interiors, check out his book, Living in Style.

To enter to win an autographed copy of Living in Style, send an email to tobifairley@gmail.com with the subject line “Barclay Butera Book Giveaway”. Only one entry per person please.

The drawing will be held tomorrow at noon Central Standard Time.

Good luck!

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Tobi Fairley on Barclay Butera: Day 3

Thanks to Tobi Fairley for the third in her week-long series of posts on Barclay Butera!!

Wednesday, December 2

Barclay Butera for Hearst Castle

Designed to be one of the World’s greatest showplaces, William Randolph Heart’s 165 room castle with 127 acres of gardens and pools, is certainly one of the highlights of California. A true palace, Hearst Castle, located in San Simeon, was designed by famed San Francisco architect, Julia Morgan and was completed in 1947. It is now a California historical monument and state park.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hearst Castle, Barclay Butera, known for his knowledge and understanding of historic and glamorous old Hollywood Style, was asked to design a room at the castle. Barclay was the first person to design at the Hearst Castle since the publishing giant Hearst lived there himself.

As a result of this new partnership, Barclay was asked to design a furniture collection inspired by the collaboration of Julia Morgan and William Randolph Hearst and their architectural masterpiece. The Barclay Butera for Hearst Castle collection Debuted in 2008. Here are some of the pieces from the collection that are truly representative of the Castle’s interiors.

The handsome San Simeon Wing Chair

The glamorous Helena Chaise in a rich velvet damask, perfect for the Castle.

The charming Regency Chair with great tufted detailing

The sleek Del Mar Chair reminiscent of old Hollywood

And the Lucia chair with great rolled arms and nailhead detailing

To learn more about Hearst Castle go to their website. It is truly a fascinating story and you can also pick up a copy of Victoria Kastner’s Hearst’s San Simeon book through my book recommendations in the sidebar of my blog.

And for more of Barclay Butera’s style, check out his book, Living in Style. To enter to win an autographed copy, please send an email to me at tobifairley@gmail.com with the subject line, “Barclay Butera Giveaway”. One entry per person please.

The drawing will be held this Friday, December 4th at noon central time.

Good luck!

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Barclay Butera Radio Interview on 'Living Large'

Tune in this weekend for an interview of Barclay Butera by Karen Mills for Living Large.

The interview with host and designer Karen Mills will air twice this weekend: Saturday, Dec. 5th at 10:30am CST on Classical 1660 KXTR; and again on Sunday, December 6th at 10am CST on News Radio 980 KMBZ.

The interwiew will cover a wide range of topics, including holiday decor. You can listen live by streaming off the websites.

Tobi Fairley on Barclay Butera: Day 2

Thanks to Tobi Fairley for the second of her week-long series of posts on Barclay Butera!!

Tuesday, December 1

The Barclay Butera Collection

If you have spent more than five minutes on my blog, you know that I am crazy about Barclay Butera’s wing chairs. Especially the Hyland, 2 of which are in my very own living room.
But my love for Barclay’s furniture doesn’t stop with the wing chairs. I am equally crazy about several of his sofas, some of his gorgeous case goods and much, much more.

Here are some of my favorite pieces in the Barclay Butera Home Collection.

The Mulholland sofa is handsome. I actually have it in my gallery in chocolate velvet and it’s stunning.

The English Club is so inviting. Great when comfort is a must!

The Rene sofa and loveseat are feminine and glamorous. Can’t you just imagine this pink version in a dressing room??

The Paris Club chair is relatively small but is big on personality. The polished nickel nailhead detailing make it young, yet sophisticated.

The similar lines of the Sussex Chair are enhanced with great texture when upholstered in Raffia. It looks wonderful in both formal and casual spaces.

One of Barclay’s signature elements, animal print, looks fantastic on the Newport Chair and Ottoman.

The Bel Air Ottoman is urban and hip. The white patent leather on this version is very sexy.

This year at the High Point furniture market, I was especially excited to see some of Barclay’s new introductions that fill a void for my designs.

I am crazy about small benches and “floating” occasional peices that can serve multiple purposes. These new [Essex] benches fit the bill perfectly. I love the tufted top paired with the simple x base. It is the precise blend of traditional and contemporary elements that make these the ideal bench for any space.

Barclay’s new Manhattan swivel chairs are also very exciting to me. I often use swivel chairs in my designs because they are so versatile and functional. It is great when you can combine these features with a beautiful and stylish look. I think Barclay has done just that. And the bonus…these are AMAZINGLY comfortable. I sat in them for at least 30 minutes resting my tired feet and it was difficult to make myself get up.

You can find these and many more of the Barclay Butera Home pieces on their website. And I will be back later in the week with Barclay’s signature collection for Hearst Castle.
In the meantime, enter to win an autographed copy of Barclay’s book, Living in Style, by sending an email to me at tobifairley@gmail.com with the subject line “Barclay Butera Book Giveaway”. Only one entry per person please. The drawing will be held this Friday, December 4th at noon Central time.

Good luck.

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Tobi Fairley on Barclay Butera: Day 1

Thanks to Tobi Fairley

for the first of her week-long series of posts on Barclay Butera!!

Monday, November 30

Barclay Butera: Living in Style

I have had the pleasure of meeting many well-known designers across the country because of my blog. One of the very first was California designer Barclay Butera. About this time last year, I was writing about how much I loved Barclay’s Wing Chairs. I had barely gotten the blog post published before into my email inbox came a gracious email from Barclay. He thanked me for writing about his products and promised to send a copy of his new book, Living in Style, as a token of his appreciation.

Since that time, I have gotten to know Barclay much better and had the pleasure of meeting him in person many times at the High Point furniture market and at design events in New York and Los Angeles, and each time, Barclay and his staff are equally kind and gracious. So it isn’t any wonder that Barclay Butera has life-long relationships with his clients, including many who live high-profile and celebrity lives.

Barclay Butera grew up working in his mother’s design business who serviced clients world wide. After studying law, Barclay was drawn back to the design industry in his mid-twenties. It wasn’t long before Barclay was in the furniture business, designing his custom Barclay Butera Home collection of upholstery and casegoods.

Barclay’s approach to design combines his client’s heirloom pieces with “new classics” that are just a bit edgier. Barclay draws inspiration from couture fashion detailing and melds his clients’ style with his influence to create “Fashion for the Home”.

Aside from fashion, Barclay’s designs are impacted by his travels as evidenced by the European, American and Far Eastern traditional elements that show up in his rooms.

It was this idea of traveling to many different destinations that set the tone for Barclay’s book, Living in Style, and later his collection of textiles for Kravet Collections. As you will find when reading Living in Style, Barclay’s designs and his philosophies are broken into 5 categories: Beach, Town and Country, Mountain, Desert, and City.

And though there is definitely a common look to all Barclay Butera designs, there is also great diversity in color and style in each of the five categories of Barclay’s projects.

Over the next week, I will introduce you to Barclay’s furniture collection including my favorite introductions at this Fall’s High Point Furniture Market, as well as Barclay’s signature pieces for Hearst Castle Collection and his line of rugs and fabrics for Kravet Collections.

And this Friday, one lucky reader will win an autographed copy of Barclay’s book, Living in Style.

To enter please send an email to me at tobifairley@gmail.com with “Barclay Butera Book Giveaway” in the subject line. Only one entry per person, per week please. The drawing will be held this Friday, December 4th at noon Central time.

To buy a copy of Barclay’s book, or the other designer books previously featured here, visit my Amazon.com book recommendations in the right sidebar of my blog.

And stay tuned for a fantastic week-long look at California designer, Barclay Butera.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

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