Chic Galleria » Artie Vanderpool

Tulips Regrets

Artie Vanderpool — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:04:49 +0000

I took the time this fall to plant tulip bulbs around the property of CdlV, with the hopes that Spring would breath new life into the landscape that (as of right now) was covered with feet of snow. I must have spent hours planting each one in groups with allium, and Peruvian daffodils, and snow drops only to see squirrels digging them up each day, carefully avoiding the daffodils. I regret not forcing them in the house this year, and now it looks like I’m too late.

Remember my orange tulips last spring?

Orange tulips are my favorite flower, hands down! I planted these in our zinc urn and they did very well in the living room until the early summer. Forcing tulips isn’t difficult (so I hear) but I believe you have to start very early (November) to get a beautiful tulip in the spring. If I’m wrong here, please let me know!

But since I figured I wouldn’t have orange tulips this year, well – at least forced orange tulips, I’d spend some time looking at how beautiful they look in other rooms:

Yes, orange tulips … these pictures only make me love them more, how about you? What’s your favorite flower?

Summer Inside Out

Artie Vanderpool — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:04:00 +0000

The calendar tells us that summer officially begins June 21, but for many people throughout the country, the warm weather has ushered summer in a bit early. With all of the time that you’ll be spending outside this season, are you looking to eliminate the borders between your interior and exterior spaces? I’ve assembled 3 no fail solutions for you to do just that, all while staying in budget, and making investments that will last many seasons through.

1. Outdoor furnishings are the most important piece, when constructing an exterior room. If you want to bring the inside out, match the lines of your outdoor furniture to the lines of your interior décor. For instance, if you have fun modern decor, find fun modern exterior furniture with the same clean lines and linear details. If Eclectic or Shabby Chic is more your thing – the juxtaposition of completely different lines might be more your thing. Think about twig and wicker rockers mixed with wrought iron benches can easily be tied together with coordinating cushions and confidence. It will be a sophisticated match that’s comfortable, too!

2. Accessories and Art are just as important to the exterior rooms of our homes as the interior rooms. Don’t have weather temperate accessories? Why not use plants? With such a variety of colors and heights – there is a plant for every design style. No place to hang art? Try the floor! A few cans of “oops” paint from your local hardware store and free time could land you a beautiful hand painted rug atop that old concrete patio. Remember to give it a coat of waterproof sealer! Are you lucky enough to have great floors that don’t need painting? Look up! Porch roofs are a great place to dabble in fine art. With stencils readily available – you can achieve just the look you’re going for, and a wow-factor your friends will rush home to copy!

3. Engage the senses. Just as we rely on soft lighting, candlelight, or a fireplace glow to give ambience to an indoor room; or the sound of soft music, the smell of fresh flowers, the feeling of soft cashmere throws to tempt the other senses – our outside rooms shouldn’t lack that quality. A fountain can provide a wonderful buffer to the noise of the neighbors or inside traffic, and wireless speakers connected to your home entertainment system or computer can provide you access to your favorite playlist without the bulk of a radio outside. Citronella candles now come in a variety of scents – providing a fragrant, bug-free oasis to enjoy, and weather-sensitive, fabrics are carried at every home-town fabric store.

So get out there, and enjoy your summer, it will be fall before you know it!

Six Easy Spring Decorating Ideas

Artie Vanderpool — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Now that Spring has Sprung, people everywhere will scurry about looking for ways to brighten up their homes. Luckily you’ve scurried over to Chic Galleria, where I’ve assembled 6 fail proof tips to get that fresh spring look you’re after, without spending a lot of time or money!

1. Let the Light In!

Every winter we bury down in our homes, layer the drapes, and close the windows. Spring is the perfect time to take down those heavy curtains, and replace them with sheers or bamboo tortoise shell roman shades!

2. Breath Some Life Into It!

Add life in your rooms with flowers and plants. Flowers are arriving at home centers, florists, and even grocery stores everywhere in droves, as the winter greenhouses ship out their big spring batch. Arrange your own flowers and save hundreds: Find small containers and cut the stems short, and always buy twice as many as you think you’ll need. A full low arrangement can add color, spice, and life to any area of your home!

3. Paint!

Get out the brush and touch up those scuffed spots left from Christmas Tree boughs, and Uncle John’s electric scooter during this year’s New Years Eve Bash. Don’t forget the baseboard, moldings, and crown too!

4. Exchange, Please!

In my house, I have a closet filled with pillow covers, throws, and slips (slipcovers) for almost every mood. Spring is a great time to switch out those dark red velvets, with light linens and cashmeres, and slipcover those dining room chairs! Take the opportunity now to change out the dark and cozy, for the light and comfy! You’ll love the difference it makes!

5. Take a Trip!

Need a tip on what’s popular this year? Take a trip to your local home design center, clothing store, or mall! Spring is alive and well this year, and you’ll see the colors of spring: vibrant sun shades – yellow, tangerine, and red mixed with beautiful cools: aqua and linen.

6. Switch it Up!

My biggest tip for someone looking for a complete overhaul this spring: SWITCH IT UP! Move your Dining room into your Living room, and visa versa! You’re friends will wonder where you bought all the great new furniture, and you’ll be amazed at how different your house can be when you color outside the lines!

Plates With Purpose

Artie Vanderpool — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:01:00 +0000

We are lucky enough to have met several wonderful people, with large and warm, open hearts since our move to New York from Texas. One of our great friends gave us this plate (pictured above) from Plates with Purpose.

Plates with Purpose is the beautiful consequence of a design group (Riverside Design) looking to strengthen and support their community. 15% of the proceeds made from the sale of each Plate with Purpose is given back to the charity in which the specific plate helps to support.

The heart plate Scott and I received benefits Habitat for Humanity, a cause that is very close to both of our hearts, and what a great little plate for those petit fours? Each plate reflects the mission of these vital non-profits, and are made from recycled glass. Heavy, and beautiful – these custom glassware plates are the perfect gift! I know we are delighted with ours.

But what I think is most important about these plates, and more specifically the message of this post – is that one person can make a difference with their art that will greatly and positively impact the community around them. GO forth, and make a difference!

Designer Inspiration

Artie Vanderpool — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Melinda Ritz is the Emmy Award winning interior designer responsible for the set of Will & Grace, (among others) and one of my favorite designers. Her rooms are fresh, livable, filled with vibrant energy, and the proof of passion that Ritz has for interior design. Always cluttered, and never contrived, the interiors of Melinda Ritz speak in warm melodies, and prove that a home – is one of your greatest self expressions.

Note the cowhide rug and beautiful basket under the piano. Touches of character, charm and whimsy fill Ritz’s interiors. The collection of time pieces and books on the piano; the brass lamp and plant: Ritz is definitely not a less is more kinda gal.

One of my favorite Ritz spaces, this reading room with floor to ceiling stone clad fireplace surround and antler chandelier reads masculine, comfortable, down-to-earth.

Here in another part of the room, you can better see Ritz’s move to make this a gender-neutral space, with the wide weave hyacinth reed chairs (feminine) and their leather cushions (masculine), linear lines of stone and wood (masculine) paired with the round tables and accessories (feminine), she makes this a reading room that anyone would appreciate.

Here, in the magnificent yard and patio of this Beverly Hills estate, you can take a peek at the exterior spaces Ritz creates from afar. Exterior fixtures that could serve as interior pieces, patio furniture with the size and presence of interior furniture help create a separate space that is truly a part of the grand scheme, while still being a patio. (I love indoor-outdoor rooms!)

Inside of this magnificent home, Ritz pairs the uncommon with the traditional, a touch seen throughout all of her fantastic portfolio. Here, the lines of the armoire/cabinet stained and waxes in a beautiful sage green play nicely with the back of the twig chairs. The cream traditional sofa doesn’t feel out of place at all – in fact, it’s highlighted in this setting due to the darker touches in furniture and accessories. A lesson in mixing and coordinating – never matching, we all can learn from!

Here, on the opposite side of this grand and massive room, Ritz once again plays with the traditional and the unique. The side table, and industrial-look coffee table seem like they’ve been paired with the traditional sofa (a match to the sofa on the opposite side of the room) and those fantastic wingbacks since the dawn of time. Perhaps the greatest symbol of Ritz’s unique vision is the wealth of accessories used in her decor. Where in the portfolios of most interior designers, we see a sparce pairing of objects, or at most, an assembly of accessories that are beautiful – yet impractical, Ritz gives us layers upon layers of accessories and found objects that make a room feel finished, complete with personality and character, and best of all – real!

A note on the architecture of this beautiful estate. Note the flooring, the varied shades of walnut, and the direction of the planks. It’s hard to think of this beautiful room decorated any other way. The beams and dual fireplaces, built in benches, and bookshelves are most likely not the design work of Ritz, and rather the architect – but Ritz’s decor really makes these features sing. Note the firewood under the bench to the right of the fireplace in the background – beautiful, and functional, the very essence of this room.

In case you haven’t noticed before, all of the walls in this room are white. I’d be interested in how many of you realized that before now. With all of the beautiful things to look at in this room – you don’t notice that Ritz has decided to keep the walls in this space completely white, and almost bare.

So – how can you achieve the look of a Melinda Ritz interior? Start with your groupings. Pull the furniture out away from the wall, and make cozy conversation spaces. Play with angles – nothing has to be square. Bring in those cherished bits and accessories you’ve kept locked in curios and closets, and let them have their glory – atop tables, pianos, mantles, and floors. Remember that vignettes are nice, but it’s the personality of the room that makes for good design, not one space. Keep height and scale in mind when you layer in your accessories – and most of all, make sure your room speaks your name – with a personality and charm that only you can possess.