PANTONE’S 2011 Spring Colors are the perfect prescription for a much needed fresh start this season. Even the color-timid can capitalize on the natural serenity these colors bring by emphasizing neutrals like Silver Peony, Silver Cloud, and Peapod.  For the bold and adventurous there are an abundance of vibrant options like Honeysuckle, Coral Rose, and Beeswax.  No matter how trends change over time, the 2011 Spring Palette is based on colors found in nature and that is always timeless.

Honeysuckle is a major player this season in everything from home textiles to runway fashion – I’ve even spotted menswear ... Read More »]]> by Christy Biberich

PANTONE’S 2011 Spring Colors are the perfect prescription for a much needed fresh start this season. Even the color-timid can capitalize on the natural serenity these colors bring by emphasizing neutrals like Silver Peony, Silver Cloud, and Peapod.  For the bold and adventurous there are an abundance of vibrant options like Honeysuckle, Coral Rose, and Beeswax.  No matter how trends change over time, the 2011 Spring Palette is based on colors found in nature and that is always timeless.

Honeysuckle is a major player this season in everything from home textiles to runway fashion – I’ve even spotted menswear featuring this bright, energetic pink!  It’s a relentlessly optimistic color and has always enjoyed a place in the decorating world on small accessories and printed patterns. This spring, take it above and beyond by drenching your bedroom walls or a romantic oversized headboard in this sweet color for an uplifting experience.

Peapod is the perfect accent for any bathroom in need of a clean, natural statement. Bring it into linens and accessories or paint a horizontal band of this serene green along the main wall for majorly modern zen appeal. Any room in search of a calming effect will benefit from pops of Peapod, so use it liberally in guest rooms and nurseries with soft, sumptuous textiles and upholstery.

Brown and Blue have long been staples of living room color combos so Russet and Regatta are a natural choice for your sofas, chairs, pillows and flooring. Throw in an unexpected seaside splash of Blue Curacao for a cool concoction that is sleek yet soft.  For a masculine energized office mix Russet, Regatta and Coral Rose.  The brown, blue and orange hues are traditional and complimentary, but far from boring!

To make the most of PANTONE’S 2011 Spring Colors, use them boldly and keep these tips in mind:

1.  Paint can be easily and inexpensively changed so don’t be afraid to go big, but do remember that colors usually end up darker on the wall than the color swatch.

2.  Opt for neutrals like Russet and Silver Cloud on large, expensive items for maximum versatility.  These brown and gray toned colors build the foundation for you to experiment with the more flavorful pink, orange and purple accents.

3.  Fabric can be creatively re-purposed over the years so even as your tastes change you can still enjoy the colored patterns you choose today: drapes can become cushions, cushions can become pillows and so on.

Just think, your space represents you, and who you want to be this year. Choose the colors and designs that make you happy!  Embracing the colors that we connect with and displaying them in our living and working environments creates an extension of ourselves that can inspire and energize us daily.

Christy Biberich is a Space and Design Therapist based in Los Angeles. Her company, Interior O.D. uses organization and design to create synergy between people and their spaces.  She works one-on-one with clients as well as offering virtual design services and organizing coaching to people all over the world.  Visit www.interiorod.com

Photo credit:  Scavolini

I am no exception to that rule thankfully I don’t smoke because I have a hard enough time with getting fit, eating healthy, and good Lord…. organization at times is as painful for me as some describe quitting smoking.

Monika McIntyre of Checkmark Concierge in Tulsa, Oklahoma is brilliant! She is the picasso of organization. She can paint anyone a clear picture of what their life can look like under the rubble. Monika, shows me how ... Read More »]]> We all have our resolutions outside of getting fit, eating healthier, and quitting smoking, getting organized is one of the top resolutions made every year.

I am no exception to that rule thankfully I don’t smoke because I have a hard enough time with getting fit, eating healthy, and good Lord…. organization at times is as painful for me as some describe quitting smoking.

Monika McIntyre of Checkmark Concierge in Tulsa, Oklahoma is brilliant! She is the picasso of organization. She can paint anyone a clear picture of what their life can look like under the rubble. Monika, shows me how to take control of my office and I am proud to say since summer it has stayed that way.

Monika is the owner of a personal concierge service. You name it she does it. In fact, name the one thing you hate with a capital h and she does it with a smile. It’s just not fair someone this pretty also has it all together too! I take great pride in introducing her to you. If there is anything you need help with just give her a buzz she will get you whipped into shape in no time.

www.checkmarkconcierge.com

Jill Solomon is a successful entrepreneur.  She has launched several businesses in design and photography.  She is currently enjoying helping others do the same through Jill Solomon Creative Branding Solutions.  Jill loves to connect with other like minded individuals.  You can find her on facebook, @jsophototulsa on Twitter and www.mygabbygirlfriends.com.

Every year, many people lose their tax information.  I am not talking about receipts or files, I am talking about the simple statements at the beginning of the new year that are sent to you such as: w2’s, property tax, year end IRA statements and the list goes on and on.

A lot of you will just put them on your desk or leave them on the kitchen counter along with the newspapers and children’s school work.  Before you know it, it is April 14th and your scrambling to get your tax return completed and you can’t remember where half of ... Read More »]]>

Every year, many people lose their tax information.  I am not talking about receipts or files, I am talking about the simple statements at the beginning of the new year that are sent to you such as: w2’s, property tax, year end IRA statements and the list goes on and on.

A lot of you will just put them on your desk or leave them on the kitchen counter along with the newspapers and children’s school work.  Before you know it, it is April 14^th and your scrambling to get your tax return completed and you can’t remember where half of the statements are located…you end up searching high and low ripping the house apart looking for them before you finally concede they are lost and call to have them resent  to you.  That won’t take long, waiting on hold for the government at tax time!!!  HELLO!!!

Here is an idea, why not just grab a large envelope or gallon size Ziploc bag and EVERY tax document/statement that comes in the mail between now and tax time you PUT EVERY piece of paper in the envelope/Ziploc bag until you are ready to prepare your taxes.  Do I think a file folder in your office would be better under the tax file for 2010, yes but let’s be realistic if you don’t have one now, you aren’t going to have one.  So I am asking you to grab something that is easy and place it where you can find it immediately.  My suggestion…how about next to your dinner plates in the kitchen?  Why not the countertop of your kitchen or next to the phone?  Too many papers are around or worse yet someone will grab it to move it.  If you put in next to the plates, you will be able to find them immediately, you will see it almost every day and when you bring the mail in the house you won’t have to go far to “file it” in the Ziploc bag!!

Sometimes organizing isn’t about having everything labeled it’s about knowing where something important is and being able to get to it immediately.  Make this suggestion work for you and your family either way, have a game plan for the tax statements that are coming in the mail as we speak

Author Michelle Lehman of Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter” Michelle is a Professional Organizer in the Tulsa area. Her articles have been featured in the Tulsa World, The Oklahoman, Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Post-Tribune.  Michelle appears on TheNewsOn 6 KOTV and Fox23 News This Morning giving organizing tips and recommendations.

Photo credit © Jonathan Eastland | Dreamstime.com

When I married I discovered I had a wonderful mother-in-law who made June Cleaver from the television series Leave It to Beaver look like a slob. When she came to my house, I had to take her coat and, with the others, throw them on the bed. Even though my house was temporarily picked up for entertaining, I certainly wasn’t going to let her or any of my other guests ... Read More »]]> Do you really need to hire a professional organizer to clear your clutter? Clearing household clutter can be as simple as one, two three!

When I married I discovered I had a wonderful mother-in-law who made June Cleaver from the television series Leave It to Beaver look like a slob. When she came to my house, I had to take her coat and, with the others, throw them on the bed. Even though my house was temporarily picked up for entertaining, I certainly wasn’t going to let her or any of my other guests look in my closets!

After getting over my irrational fear of my tidy and well-organized mother-in-law, I decided she was onto something. Her closets, drawers, and everything else were clutter free and well organized. She had time for her priorities–her family, her friends, and her golfing. My fear turned to admiration. How could I cure closet chaos too?

Here is a secret from Professional Organizers:

Primary, secondary and tertiary space and stuff. You can think like a professional organizer in your own home. I teach this organizing principle to my students. This organizing rule of thumb is: Primary stuff goes in primary space. Secondary stuff is kept in secondary space. And, tertiary stuff in, well, you get the idea.

Primary space is space that is easy to get to. Primary stuff is stuff you use frequently. In a kitchen, primary space is from waist to shoulder height. That is why the silverware drawer, which is used several times per day, is in primary space. Primary space is prime real estate—choice locations you use all the time because they are easy to reach and you spend your time there. The kitchen counter is prime real estate—only utensils used daily may live on the counter. Secondary stuff like dusty crock-pots, stand mixers, and infrequently used bread machines move elsewhere.

Secondary space is less accessible. Reach up into a kitchen cupboard for a platter or bend down and take a pot from a lower cabinet to access secondary stuff stored in secondary space. If you use that crock-pot or bread machine weekly, they may live in secondary space.

Tertiary kitchen storage includes the cabinet above the refrigerator or the dead corner of a base cabinet. I used to go crawling in on my hands and knees into our base cabinet dead corner with a flashlight to look for my crock-pot and other “fun” surprises hidden there.

The problem was tertiary and secondary stuff creeping into my primary space. The bread maker I hadn’t used in months lived on my kitchen counter! I wasn’t using it, but I regularly had to move it to clean under it and wipe it down. I even had the audacity to complain about not having enough counter space.

I wasn’t the only one complaining. My husband complained that his shirts were overcrowded on his side of our small bedroom closet. I discovered they were crushed together and bent at an angle on their hangers because his high school trombone was sitting at one end of his side of the closet. The trombone crowded his shirts and prevented them from hanging straight. I moved his trombone, which I know he will never part with, to a basement storage closet. He didn’t notice the trombone was gone, but he quit complaining that his shirts were jammed in and wrinkled up in the closet.

I tell my students that I hope they won’t find my husband’s trombone in their closet. But, seriously, I do ask them to go home and look for their own “trombones.”  Maybe it will be the bocce ball set that crowded the boots all winter in the entryway closet. Maybe it will be the doughnut fryer in the kitchen cabinet that limits space for everyday pots and pans. Find your trombones. If you aren’t willing to toss them, at least you can move them out of your primary space. You can think like a professional organizer to improve your living space and free up time and energy for your priorities!

Barbara Tako is the author of Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, & Reclaim Your Life (O Books, 2010), a seasonally organized book that provides a variety of doable clutter clearing tips that readers are encouraged to pick and choose from to fit their personal style and needs. Go to http://www.clutterclearingchoices.comto sign up for her FREE monthly clutter clearing tips newsletter.

Sisters Barbara and Monica Abbatemaggio reflect European panache in every aspect of their lives. Natives of Florence, Italy, the designers/stylists have used their world travels for inspiration for fashion and styling clients such as Bette Midler, Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire) and Phoebe Cates, among others. It is their old-world charm layered with modern sensibilities that put the duo’s Tribeca shop, Sorelle Firenze, on the map in 1997. The popular boutique provided scores of women with chic, eclectic fashions designed by the sisters and emerging brands like Florence favorites, ... Read More »]]>

Sisters Barbara and Monica Abbatemaggio reflect European panache in every aspect of their lives. Natives of Florence, Italy, the designers/stylists have used their world travels for inspiration for fashion and styling clients such as Bette Midler, Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire) and Phoebe Cates, among others. It is their old-world charm layered with modern sensibilities that put the duo’s Tribeca shop, Sorelle Firenze, on the map in 1997. The popular boutique provided scores of women with chic, eclectic fashions designed by the sisters and emerging brands like Florence favorites, Quelle Tre, Patafisic and Gorilla. Running Sorelle Firenze also afforded Barbara and Monica the opportunity to work one-on-one with patrons, offering fashion tips and styling select clients for special events.

As word got out about Sorelle Firenze’s expertise in wardrobe consulting and closet organization, the business expanded to meet the new demand. In 2005 Barbara and Monica introduced home styling and event staging to their list of services. Encouraged by the new direction the business was taking, the Abbatemaggio sisters made a bold decision to close the boutique the same year. The strategic move enabled them to focus solely on their styling business and raising their infant children.

Reborn as a fashion/home styling consultancy, Sorelle Firenze now helps busy women (and men) sort through their wardrobe to create looks that are unique, elegant, fashion forward and appropriate. Barbara and Monica incorporate an international flair into their work that stimulates the senses and appears effortless. They customize looks based on a client’s lifestyle, taste and need. Whether someone is dressing to fit their post-pregnancy body, is looking for the perfect date outfit, is starting a new career, or has a flurry of social engagements, Sorelle Firenze will create the perfect look.

Sorelle Firenze, which means “Sisters of Florence,” has earned their reputation styling discerning Park Avenue women, socialites and celebrities. Their relationships with boutiques and high-end department stores allow them to deliver the right mix in order to create a client’s total personal fashion statement.

The Abbatemaggio sisters operate from the premise that women should exude femininity in all aspects of their life. “Women are so busy these days that they forget to dress in a way that will make them appear and feel beautiful, sexy and powerful”, says Monica Abbatemaggio. “We see closets filled with designer labels but clients who are clueless about how to put things together.” Adds Barbara: “We empower women to be stylish whether they’re going to grocery store, the gym or a black-tie gala. It’s about finding the proper silhouette to flatter the figure, incorporating trends and mixing and matching textures and the right accessories.”

Barbara and Monica’s comprehensive approach to style was recently captured on the Italian lifestyle reality television show, Cortesie Per Gli Ospiti, where the Florentine sisters’ fashion and style aesthetic were one of the 2010 winners.

Recently our friend Haasan Morse at Morse Code PR sat down with Barbara and Monica Abbatemaggio for an interview.

Q) Why would someone hire a stylist?

A) The reason to hire a stylist is because you are looking for personalized attention in order to create a look that is authentic to your lifestyle, taste and need. We review your wardrobe, organize your closet and find unique pieces that can be utilized to fill in gaps. We also teach you how to bring your sense of style into every aspect of your life. With our know-how you can look great at the office, at the dog park, at the gym or at a black-tie event.

Q) Sorelle Firenze was a well-known and highly regarded Tribeca boutique. Why did you decide to close the store front to focus on wardrobe styling?

A) Owning and operating a fashion boutique in New York City was a dream of ours ever since we came to America. It was a platform in which we could sell our designs and feature other top international designers. As the business grew, we discovered our clientele increasingly craved styling consultations, which naturally lead to closet organization. Closing the shop in 2005 provided us the balance necessary to raise our infant children while meeting the needs of women who desired our expertise.

Q) How do you approach styling clients?

A) Clients come to us to solve a fashion issue. Here’s our process:

Closet Assessment: We remove everything from the closet so that clients can try items on in front of us. We then create a pile of clothing to donate to charity of items that are ill-fitting, in poor condition or don’t flatter the body’s silhouette. During this process we educate people about the importance of knowing their body type and shape. We devote special attention on the selection of undergarments, which is the foundation of a good wardrobe.

Closet Makeover: Finding clothes easily is half the battle in putting together a killer outfit so we makeover the closet and arrange things by color or category.

Create a shopping list/Go shopping: Once the closet has been organized the items that need to be replaced or purchased become clearer.

Assemble the looks: We put outfits together for a variety of occasions—work, dating, casual weekends, working out, cocktail parties, weddings, black-tie events, etc. Then we take digital pictures of each look so the client has a roadmap to follow.

Q) Who are your typical clients?

A) Our clients range in age from 25-60. We style women (and men!) with full social calendars. Celebrities, socialites and executives make up some of our client list. We also style folks whose lives are in transition. We service people post pregnancy, during career changes, after significant weight loss and daters looking to attract Mr./Ms. Right.

Q) What are the biggest mistakes women make when shopping for clothes?

A) The biggest offenses we’ve noticed women make when shopping for clothes include:

1. Not starting with the right undergarments. The right undergarments are the foundation to a well-fitted wardrobe.
2. Being unaware of what items reside in the closet. This can lead to purchasing multiples of the same thing or making a purchase that you discover later you have nothing to pair with.

3. Not paying attention to fit and knowing your silhouette. People often react to a color or fabric without considering how well the garment fits or if it’s flattering to the figure.

Q) What does Sorelle Firenze mean? How do you split up the work?

A) It translates to “Sisters of Florence” We work together on designing and styling. Barbara brings a laser sharp focus to design details and Monica lends her organizational skills to closet reorganization and home styling.

Q) What are your backgrounds?

A) Monica has an extensive background in merchandising and buying for Benetton both in Italy and the Pacific Islands. Barbara studied at the Unversita` di architettura in Florence. We have more than 14 years experience designing and styling in New York City.

Q) What are five essential items every woman should have in her wardrobe?

A) These staples are the building blocks to a great wardrobe:

1. Great pair of jeans
2. Well-fitted bra in various colors
3. Tailored blazer
4. Black pumps
5. A lint brush

Q) How did you start styling homes and events?

A) Home and event styling evolved quite naturally for us. We firmly believe that style should permeate every aspect of your life.  We showcased this not only in our personal appearance but with the décor of our store and homes. As people began to see what the complete package could look like requests started to come in for home styling. Later friends asked us to style/stage home events. As visual consultants we felt it was a natural extension of Sorelle Firenze’s service offerings. We have styled parties for Syrup advertising agency, Tata Harper and numerous private clients.

Q) The Sorelle Firenze store carried its own label of sexy, feminine dresses, blouses, pants, sweaters and coats. Do you still design clothes?

A) We still design, although our limited collections are dictated by what we’re inspired by at the moment. Sometimes we’re moved to design beautiful evening gowns, other times it’s a travelling collection full of safari wear. Everything we do is feminine, comfortable and chic.

Q) Where do you find inspiration?

A) We get inspired by our travels back to our homeland, Italy as well as trips around the world. We also draw stimulation from our day-to-day lives—spending time with our children, friends and exploring the city. You can be stylish in every part of your life, not just for special occasions.

Q) Who are your favorite designers? (Special events and casual)

A) Some of our favorite designers include: Isabel Marant, Rick Owens, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin and Valentino.

Q) What is your price range? Can you accommodate different budgets?

A) We work with a range of folks and have packages to accommodate any budget. Typically our clothing and home styling services range from $150-$300 per hour. Custom wedding gowns start at $2500.

Q) What are five essential items every man should have in his wardrobe?

A) 1. Well tailored suit
2. Great fitting pair of jeans
3. Crisp white shirt
4. Cologne that matches your personality
5. Dress socks

Q) What are the biggest mistakes men make when shopping for clothes?

A) 1. Men typically don’t pay attention to their shapes and tend to buy clothes that are oversized.
2. Men buy something they like in every color, which can make a wardrobe stale.
3. Since many men are color blind they have issues distinguishing what shades go together.
4. They spend too much thinking this is a way to achieve style. We teach men that fit is key in looking debonair.

To learn more about Sorelle Firenze, visit www.SorelleFirenze.com.