Design on a Dime... Housing Works

 Dering Hall Booth

Every year, Housing Works whose mission is: "a healing community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Our mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy, the provision of lifesaving services, and entrepreneurial businesses that sustain our efforts." presents New City most popular interior design benefit. 50 of the world's top interior designers create vignettes with merchandise that is donated by vendors and then sold 50 to 70 off retail.


Interieurs always participates and this year Dering Hall set up a booth and Steven Gambrel put his magic touch to it... As a member of Dering Hall we donated a double chaise sofa as the anchor piece. This will (hopefully) sell at 20% of its value!!


It was a packed event which resulted in poor quality pictures from my iPhone... But otherwise a great fun evening. I shopped, met fellow designers returning from the Design Leadership Summit in Marrakech, where we all had such a fabulous time, chatted with designers manning their booths... I think next year.... I will set up booth myself.


For full details, pictures of designer's booth, check out Habitually Chic

Interieurs sofa waiting for its new owner...

Dering Hall Booth

I have the same beds on my porch

and then, colors, colors and more colors

My favorite Tyler Wisler Home, we might even do a booth together next year...

Loved the ceiling, this booth felt as I were back in Ibiza, on a hot afternoon.. 

Colorful dreams

A Bientot

Francine

Design Leadership Summit, Marrakech 2012

I tend to shy away from large groups, trade parties and large social events, but ever since reading about the Design Leadership Summit in Ronda Carman's blog: All The Best in 2010, I have been intrigued by the quality of this Summit. 


I applied for membership this fall, was accepted and off to Marrakech (a city I have a great love affair with). At first, I was incredibly shy as I am more of  a "behind the scenes" type of person and putting myself out there is a strange and constant battle for me. This being the 7th summit, groups were already formed, people greeting each other, so glad to meet again. I had no idea of what to expect nor how to navigate a large crowd. Needless to say, I was rather nervous.


It did not take long for me to see known faces, old industry friends whom I had lost contact with and meet new fascinating people. Over cocktails, dinners, tours, I talked with such interesting and talented members of our industry. I met fellow wanderlust travelers and trekkers, talked about gardens, cities, arts, loved seeing Marrakech through Mitch Owen's eyes who has lived there for a few years. I was thrilled to meet fellow blogger Maryam Montague whose blog My Marrakech I have been following for a couple of years. I made new friendships, kind of instant connection type of friendship, met Architects and Landscape designers who actually are my neighbors and was enthralled by the talks and lectures of amazing leaders in their industry.


I left Marrakech on an incredible high, filled with promises to push myself more outside of my comfort zone, to reflect on the experiences and analyses of others and implement changes in the way I think, by pushing forward. Most of all, I felt empowered to drive my business in the direction that will suit best my clients, my lifestyle, my associates, to give clarity and value to my INTERIEURS brand and communicate with the tools of the new media.


In a nut shell, these are some of the key elements that I took in:


Communicate the value of your design or product: your value is your pride and soul which need to be communicated through your story,your talent,  your designs, your products and services Spend money, time and energy into communicating your value rather than cost cutting, which will results in deteriorating your perceived value and your brand


Technology: The age of brick and Mortar is becoming obsolete. Adapting to the new media is a must.


Websites are critical and must be clearly reflect the brand, with easy navigation, professional photography, clear interesting layout.


Twitter: is a powerful broadcasting tool as well as the extension to your brand, your personality and in 140 words is a gateway to your website or your blog.


Visual sites: Pinterest and Flipboard have opened the doors to a worldwide presence for your designs or products.


Megatrend: Mobile applications. Apple projects sales of 600 millions ipads in the relatively near future. Shoppers want instant gratification and are shopping from their mobile devices.


Philosophy: Be very clear about what you are communicating, how you package the information, and how you deliver it.


The bad news is the U.S. real estate market: Be ready, the worst is yet to come with 1/3 of real estate sales being distressed sales, a 34% decline in housing sales and lowest recorded mobility in US history. Twenty-five percent of home owners in the US are under water on their mortgages! The 2nd home market is faring the worst. The bright light in this mess: The home improvement market is the largest sector for growth.


Editor at large was at the conference and I suggest you check out their post here.


Alas, I did not have any free time to absorb the scents, colors and beauty of Marrakech. At a glance, I noticed how the city has evolved, it exploded outside of its fortification and golf courses  are appearing where once the desert was...in a midst of a terrible drought.

Here is an older post I had written on venturing into the Moroccan Sahara.

A bientot,

Francine

Guest Post: DH SHOPPING WITH INTÉRIEURS

Hello all:  Francine is in France on a visit with her parents after spending an intense 4 days in Marrakesh at a design conference sponsored by Dering Hall. She'll be back on the weekend and I'm sure she'll have lots to write about  - probably at 4:00 AM due to the inevitable jet lag [GROAN...].

In the meantime, here's a link to a great piece about Interieurs on Dering Hall's website: DH SHOPPING WITH INTÉRIEURS.

Enjoy!

Posted by Luke

Designing for small space: Bedroom suite

Armande canopy from my Interieurs Collection

Designing a small space can be challenging and one common mistake is to think "small" in terms of furniture pieces. I would rather place larger but fewer pieces and  keep a tight design theme. A small bedroom can be inviting, soothing in dark colors and antique furniture, fun and bright, or light and airy.

I finally gave a "new take on life" to what used to be a maid's room and bath. I could not even bring myself to show the "before" as this small bedroom and bath was beyond any help and had not been touched in more than 20 years. The bathroom received the occasional "cosmetic" touch but was in dire need of a total gut job. No longer a maid's room, this bedroom now functions as an occasional guest room.

The room faces East and North, the floors and walls were painted in different tones of Benjamin Moore whites. Some doors were removed and walls added to create a small entry of sorts and give this out of the way space, its own identity.

This back bedroom received its first guest last week end...

This bedroom, once a maid's room is at the end of a corridor, and I felt it needed an entrance to give the small space its own identity. Jose Esteves  sconce and sculpture frame the entry.

Entering the bedroom from the small hall-The fabric for the shade and curtains was handwoven in Majorca, Spain and the blanket came from Guatemala. This blanket kept me warm many cold nights in the very high hills of Guatemala and Belize.

Jose Esteves chandelier, unique piece created for one of his first collection for Interieurs

The bathroom

The bathroom was done entirely in white as its size is minuscule.The fixtures were all purchased on line, with modern Philippe Stark deep tub, contemporary faucets and traditional subway tiles with pencil details. The floors and tub surround are pure white marble.

On to the next project...

A bientot,

Francine

Dering Hall

A new online market place? you may ask... The design field seems overloaded with daily emails from online stores, flash sales from immensely successful sites.... so much so that I've become somewhat wary of these glamorous flash sales sites, having been burned for the second time in a row quite recently. Caught in an impulsive moment, I purchased 2 pieces of furniture for a small guest room. Let's just say that the old saying "you get what you pay for" is too often accurate. Being non refundable these 2 pieces will find their way to Goodwill.

Then came Dering Hall. By way of background, last summer, I received an email from Peter Sallick asking to set up a meeting. Having just relocated Interieurs to 58th Street in midtown New York, across from Waterworks, I assumed the meeting was related to Waterworks.

Five minutes after we sat down in my showroom, I said: "count me in!  His timing was absolutely perfect. I was, at the time, working on a marketing strategy for IDS, the interior design component of my business. How does one strategically promote an interior design business, outside of advertising? Interieurs' showroom is part of 1st Dibs, Interior Connector, Newly Wish, etc.... These sites are great vehicles to promote Interieurs' showroom and products, but they are not the venues for promoting my interior design business.

Peter was so enthusiastic about his new venture with co-founder Steven Gambrel,  I knew that his latest brain child Dering Hall was bound to become a success. As explained by Peter, "Dering Hall is the first market place for designers, architects, artisans, top dealers to offer the product they have historically offered to their private clients."  It also is the only site that offers a platform for designers to showcase their work. Dering Hall is a market place for unique products as well as a venue for clients to look at Designers' portfolios, meet designers in a virtual space and communicate directly with artisans.

Come in and browse; I'm certain that you will be thrilled by what you see....

And when you surf through Dering Hall's offerings make sure to stop by Interieurs' pages. I would love to hear your feedback.

Interieurs Design Studio on Dering Hall here

A Bientot,

Francine

The village I call home

This month, "By Invitation Only" members are learning about each other hometown.

Do you really want to know about my home town?

My village, Clermont Dessous

I still and will always call home my village of Clermont Dessous, still standing since the 12th century, with 500 inhabitants, overlooking the Garonne valley and surrounded by vineyards, wild poppies  and sunflower fields.

Image by candy2nd's photostream

I grew up on a vineyard and fruit farm and our lives were closely linked to the rhythm of seasons. At a very early age I went to boarding school to the main city in Lot et Garonne, Agen.
Agen is famous for 3 things, its prune trees, its museum and most important of all, its Rugby team

To this day, I love to watch a good rugby game. Both my sons were on their Harvey school's rugby team

Growing up in the countryside was just wonderful. I lived in a rather large house with my parents and grandparents and during the summer, Easter and Christmas vacations, the bedrooms would fill up with all my cousins, their parents, our friends. The house was noisy with kids running everywhere, chasing the cats and the dogs. The poor cook could not keep up with our insatiable appetites. I had my own share of the vegetable garden with a tiny attached cottage and started to play house at a very young age.

Lot et Garonne is one of France's best kept secret. It was home to the famous and notorious King Henry IV, and it was there that the "french mousqueteers" were born. They have become over the centuries, heroic figures in literature and on the big screen. The villages of Lot et Garonne are still unspoiled and one can still appreciate life in the french coutryside as it was once.

The tiny village of Port Sainte Marie where one would buy all groceries, newspaper, have a coffee, since Clermont Dessous does not have any shops, only an excellent restaurant.

Henry IV castle in Nerac

Beautiful Bed and Breakfast

From Paris, one can fly, hop on the TGV or drive to Agen. Discover the small street of that laid back city, lined with house still standing from the Middle Age. From there you can take a wonderful cruise on a Peniche (traditional boat that sails on the canal) all the way to the Mediteranean. This is life at its best, slow, with time for naps, great meals, for reflexion and appreciating the beauty of the countryside.

cruising on the Canal du Midi

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Would you like to visit? contact me.

A bientot,

Francine


See the home towns of By Invitation Only members

MARSHA HARRIS http://www.splenderosa.blogspot.com/ 

TISH JETT an American in France http://afemmeduncertainage.blogspot.com/ 

YVONNE PRATT USAhttp://stonegable.blogspot.com/ 

CHARLOTTA WARD in Sweden http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com/ 

GREET LEFEVRE in Belgium http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/ 

CATHERINE ROBINSON in London http://www.catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/ 

ANNIE BOUTERSE USA http://plumsiena.blogspot.com/
COTY FARQUHAR in Australia http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/
DEBORAH PETERSON between Houston & Scotland http://www.dumbwittellher.com/
DUSTJACKET ATTIC, Debra in Australia http://dustjacketattic.blogspot.com/
SHARI MILLER USA http://www.littlebluedeer.com/
TINA USA theenchantedhome@gmail.com http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/
MONA THOMPSON USA http://providenceltddesign.com/
JACQUELINE MUMFORD England http://home-biba.blogspot.com/
KARIN JANSKY France http://lapouyette-unddiedingedeslebens.blogspot.com
VICKI ARCHER an Australian in France http://frenchessence.blogspot.com/
CECILIA GONZALEZ Spain http://desdemventana.blogspot.com/
RENEE GRANIER & ANGELA FOSTER USA http://underspanishmoss.com/
LISA USA  http://amidprivilege.com
FRANCINE GARDNER a woman of the world in NYC http://interieurs.com blog
CHRISTINA FLUEGGE USA http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/
STACEY BEWKES USA http://quintessence.com
LEANN BROWN USAhttp://linenandlavender.blogspot.com/
LENE Norway http://theessenceofthegoodlife.blogspot.com/
SANDE CHASE Canada www.agiftwrappedlife.com
SHARON SANTONI France http://myfrenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/
KAREN MALAN UK Pas Grand-Chose Blog http://athousandmiles-k.blogspot
DEJA PSEU USA unefemme.net.
ISA CHANDLER http://isaslittleworld.blogspot.com/
VERONICA  www.tasselsandtwigs.blogspot.com  veronica clark

Fireplaces ...Urban Style

This fireplace was my inspiration for a current project

I am currently working on a fairly large space in Tribeca, downtown New York. It is about 6500 square feet with terraces and beautiful views. The living room is very spacious with 14 foot ceilings, open dining room, separate kitchen and library. The style direction is modern, eclectic with bright colors. Every piece of furniture has been carefully selected. We either designed the specific piece which would then be bench made in one of our workrooms, or imported it from Italy , England, France, or ordered it  from New York specialty shops or showrooms. The space did not have a functioning fireplace and I felt that the library absolutely called for custom cabinetry incorporating a fireplace. I researched the codes and the above image is the inspiration that I presented to our client. Six months into the project, we should be able to get the permits very soon and get started.

While doing my research, I found a great belgium fireplace purveyor:Metalfire which is ideal for modern urban spaces. I will share a few of my favorite styles. Meanwhile, i decided that our Interieurs Showroom could also use a little warming up. I contacted the Brasa owner and now represent the company in New York. I just love their collection, during our parties, we lit the tall pedestal at night and it gives such an intimate warm feel to the terrace. We hosted an event this November, the bar was outside and most of the guest sat , stood, drank and ate on the terrace, the pedestal fireplaces gave enough heat to keep the party going.

Brasa pillar fireplace. I also have them in white around my pool and terrace. They are just wonderful for outdoor dining and night swimming. 

Brasa tall white pillar in the background on the Interieurs terrace

Various Brasa fireplace style. Photo Brasa

Metalfire fireplaces.Image Metal fire

One of my favorite Metal fire fireplace

 Images above from Metalfire

A Bientot,

Francine