Happy New Year from Palm Desert

Wishing you a Happy New Year and All The Best for 2011.

Image R.Nichols

A Dog's Rules for Christmas

#1 A big man with a white beard and a very loud laugh may emerge from your fireplace in the middle of the night. DON'T BITE HIM! Believe it or not, he comes bearing gifts.

#2 Don't pee on the tree.

#3 Be tolerant if your humans put decorations on you. They seem to get some special kind of pleasure out of seeing how you look with fake antlers.

Wishing you a happy holiday season filled with love and laughter with your dear ones two-legged or four!

Courtesy of Barking Babies

Patricia Gray Inc is an award winning Interior Design firm in Vancouver who blogs about Lifestyle and WHAT'S HOT in the world of Interior Design. 2010 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Home for the Holidays Christmas Tree

 

Patricia Gray Inc is honoured to have participated along with Linda Sale Interior Design in their 3rd Annual “Home for the Holidays” fundraising initiative benefiting Canuck Place Children’s Hospice at Sutton Place Hotel. This festive fundraising initiative partnered with local Vancouver businesses to create signature trees that are showcased in the lobby of The Sutton Place Hotel for the month of December.  Please drop by and feast your eyes on the beautiful trees and cast your vote for your favourite.  Thank-you to everyone who voted for their favourite tree and helped us raise proceeds for this important cause.

   

The tree is decorated with handmade Canuck Jerseys for each team member, and Gingerbread Cookies to represent the Children of the World dressed in their native costumes with each holding the flag of their Country. Click here to see more pictures of the decorations. For more information, please visit Canuck Place Children’s Hospice or Sutton Place Hotel Home for the Holidays.

Photos top left to right: Patricia Gray with clients Arnold & Audrey Armstrong; Patricia Gray with client Linda McGibbon; Patricia Gray with Sara Tye, Creekside Tile; Patricia Gray with Hanan Arabatlian, Aura Interiors.

Patricia Gray Inc is an award winning Interior Design firm  in Vancouver, Canada who blogs about Lifestyle and WHAT'S HOT  in the world of Interior Design.
2010 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter

Patricia Gray Inc is an award winning Interior Design firm  in Vancouver, Canada who blogs about WHAT'S HOT  in the world of Interior Design.
2010 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Happy Valentines Day

 

"Laughter is the closest distance between two people" --Victor Borge

Photo Credit: Colour Me Happy

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, "What's HOT" in the world of Design, as well as sneak peaks of her work.

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.

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.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving

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

Santa Baby - Get a Head Start on Christmas

Good Books Make Great Gifts

A brand new book is slated to hit the bookstores just in time for Christmas - The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
with a Section titled: THE BLOG REVOLUTION IS HERE! (but we know that already)

 
This book refers to Blogging as "the advent of a new form of human communication - one that is more
interactive, more democratic, and just more FUN than what has come before."  But we all know that 
Blogging and Blog Surfing is  fast, interactive, and totally cool.....and I will add that it is also extremely
informative.  News, Ideas and inspirations take mere seconds to share. And to prove that Blogging travels
at the speed of lightening Liberty Post has also just talked about this book on her Blog.

 

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

My Style Resolutions

I have been quoted in this month's issue of Canadian House and Home on my Style Resolutions for the new year.
Click on image for a larger view

Thanks for all your supportive comments!! I plan to do more posts this year on how I use green and environmentally friendly products in my Interior Design for clients. It is such a timely concern and if we can each start in a small way in our own environments it can go a long way to doing something positive for our world that we all live in.

Merry Christmas to One and All

This is a picture of Inigo, my client Elizabeth's beautiful son.

2008 Your Best Year Yet - Write it Down Make it Happen

For those of you wanting to get a head start on making 2008 Your Best Year Yet. I highly recommend this book - Write It Down, Make It Happen . I am deliciously writing in my new Moleskin notebook with my yellow Lamy fountain pen all the wonderful things I want to happen in my world in the New Year. Make 2008 your "Best Year Yet" by getting clear about what you want to happen.

Update Dec 27 2007
A reader has just informed me that there is a Blog devoted to the "Moleskin.
If you are so inclined you can check it out here.

Red Inspiration for Christmas 2007

Christmas is by far my favourite time of year. It is the time of year that I am stimulated both emotionally and visually. I love the decorations, the lights, the spirit of giving and receiving, and most of all this time of year makes me attracted to the color red more than any other time of the year. So in the spirit of the season and the mood I am in, following are some of my favourite red rooms and objects of decor. I wish to you all a season filled with the spirit of love, happiness and time spent with family and friends.

What a great use of a modern stripe on a traditional chair and the other touches of red in the room echoed in the roman shade and flowers.

Brian McCarthy Elle Decor Dec 2007

What about just one touch of red in your room in a wonderful and ornate mirror frame?

World of Interiors March 2007 James Mortimer

My favourite Interior Designer, Albert Hadley in front of his famous red bulletin board

A door covered in red felt that I adore by the fabulous Suzanne Rheinstein

A masterful use of red in this room. The touches of black in the bureau, art frames and accessories ground the space and act like punctuation marks.

Ward Denton and Christopher Gardner Elle Decor 2002 via Peak of Chic

The name John Stefanidis says it all. A brilliant combining of checks and geometrics in this monochromatic color scheme. And the dimensions of the room are so grand...to have the space to float a table in the center of the room. A perfect place to pile stacks of books.

John Stefanidis
A classic Chinese Bamboo chair painted bright shiny red is complimented perfectly with the matching red trim on the draperies.
Richard Mishaan Elle Decor June 2007


Check out the red piping on this sofa and the detail on the skirt, and of course you all know my fixation with zebra carpets.
Martyn Lawrence-Bullard via Cote de Texas

I love this beautiful ornate armoire juxtaposed with the clean lines of the contemporary chair. And of course the well photographed coffee table book - Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. 2007 might well be dubbed as the year of Red Coral and this book may go down in the Guinness World Book of Records as the most photographed book.
Picture source unknown


Everything is perfection in this room. My favourite chairs by Phillip Stark-The Ghost Chair
Elle Decor Nov 2006

Another classic chair by Harry Bertoia shown with a red leather cushion. A 1950's Chair designed for the Knoll Group

When I saw these dishes while driving by, in a window display at the Hermes store, I was so taken with them that I circled the block to find a parking spot and went into the store to check them out. What is there not to like about anything that Hermes does?

How cool would this be hanging in an entry foyer?

Neptune lantern by Vaughan Designs.com

A lacquered & stainless table by Vincente Wolfe for Ralph Pucci.net

Red lacquered candle sticks from Gumps.com


And last but not least my favourite sofa of the year designed by the late John Hutton and appropriately named the "Touche Sofa". Available through David Sutherland Showrooms

A Merry Merry Christmas to one and to all !

Click here to see other posts on Color

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 alot to celebrate and to be thank-ful 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 jewellery 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

Sweet dreams of a Merry Red Christmas

For another post on colorful Red for the Holiday Season visit Me, Myself & I