Interior Design With no Surprises

Drawings and Photo Realistic Renderings Show Exactly What Your Designer Has in Mind

A Guest Post by Keren Blankrot, Upstage Montreal

In the world of interior design a picture really is worth a thousand words. A client of mine who failed a solo attempt at redesigning her living room confided, “Keren, we made an effort to do this by ourselves, and I know what I like, but I just can’t seem to visualize it in my own space. This is not working for us and we need your help.”

 
While she put a great deal of thought into the design, and inspiration was not lacking –she has a Pinterest account with plenty of pictures defining her “For the Home” style – she needed a designer to pull it all together, and she benefited greatly from visual aids that allowed her to see the end result beforehand.

Through the wonders of technology, designers can show clients - via perspective drawings, photo realistic renderings, and mood boards - what the end result is meant to look like. These tools are something that I employ regularly. Not only do they establish clarity between the client and the designer in terms of the desired visual aesthetic and goal, they are great for working with clients remotely. For instance, the office drawings pictured below were created for a Manhattan client. All of the items were purchased online, and the installation was carried out with specific direction.

Clients put much trust in their designers and one of the reasons they hire designers is because they covet that designer’s signature aesthetic. As much as a client loves the designer’s taste, however, she is still looking to create a space that reflects her own personal vision and so being able to collaborate with a designer that can show you exactly in what direction they are headed in, with the help of technological tools, is invaluable.

Upstage Montreal works with clients looking to completely update their residential or commercial space, as well as those wishing simply to refresh it. To know more, please visit their website by clicking HERE.

Guest Post by TheModernCool

This week, I invited Magda from TheModernCool to write a guest post. As a London blogger, who better to give us a little insight into the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee? Enjoy this fun post about dressing for the races! Cheers, E. 

Yesterday, 2^nd June, marked the 60^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. As part of the Jubilee Weekend celebrations in London, the Queen attended the Epsom Downs races. This marked the beginning of the summer social events calendar.

So, not only did you get invited, you have accepted and now you have have your ticket too! Great! But what are you going to wear? If you are lucky enough to be at the Queen’s stand (Epsom) or the Royal Enclosure (Ascot), there are some very strict rules regarding what you can and cannot wear.

First of all: the dress! While there is quite a lot of liberty in terms of dress styles (and at the races you can surely spot some really odd ones!), there are some dos and don’ts that you need to be aware of. Any type of formal day dress or a tailored suit will be fine, as long as the dress is “modest” length (no more than 2 inches above the knee). Straps are fine too, as long as they are more than one inch. Strapless dresses or string strap are not allowed. If the dress has cut-outs, they must be covered by a pashmina or a jacket.

Probably the biggest thing is the hats. There is almost full liberty when it comes to hat styles and in fact you can spot some really outrageous ones around  - eccentricity is rather welcome in this regard. If you are going to Epsom races, you may wear a fascinator (as long as it’s quite substantial), but from this year onwards fascinators are no longer allowed at Ascot: a hat it is, then!

Men are required to wear either black or grey morning suit with a tie (no cravats!), black shoes and of course a top hat.

All sounds great, but you still don’t know what to put on? Why not try this outfit:

Mikael Aghal short sequin cocktail dress, $208

Casadei high heels, £670

Alexander Mcqueen handbag, £1,195

Lisa Freede vine ring, $98

NIGEL RAYMENT feather hat, £155

Tom Ford gold nail polish, $30

Vincent Longo ‘Wet Pearl’ Lipstick Olympia Rose One Size, $23

And don’t forget – you are in England – so you may want to bring a fancy umbrella with you to.... unless you like your hats soggy, that is.

Love xx

M. from TheModernCool

Guest Post: A Royal DIY

Hi! I am Geneviève, a Quebecoise archaeologist currently based in Chicago where I study the material history of taste, hospitality and food in the British Empire. As such, I am obsessed with design, manufacturing processes and everything that touches the aesthetic of everyday objects.

I also love making things. And today, we are going to make fascinators! Fascinators are diminutive hats made famous in the 1940s and 1950s, but that find their origin in eighteenth century wig toppers. The lovely chapeaux are currently finding their way back into our wardrobe, no doubt thanks to the double influence of Madmen’s costume design crew and the ever-elegant Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

Image via

I absolutely adore fascinators: they are elegant, whimsical, and overall more manageable and versatile than hats. The following tutorial is inspired by a fascinator I made for a dear friend's wedding in Oxford a few weeks back (Warmest congratulations to Emily and Andrew!). It sounds like a lot of work, but it is actually quite straightforward.

To make a simple fascinator, you will need:

·       A base -- I used a ready-made round straw base but you can substitute any material that is stiff enough to holds its shape under the trimmings, like plastic, foam or even cardboard, in any shape you like.

·       Trimmings -- ribbons, feathers, flowers... I used 50cm of sinamay ribbon (a kind of stiff woven straw) and 50cm of wide nylon ribbon; wired ribbon would also work well.

·       A means of fastening your fascinator -- I personally like the polished look of concealed combs, but you could also use clips or a headband.

·       Heavy thread and needle or glue

(Step 1) Sew the comb to the base.

Check that your stitches are loose enough to allow the comb to move slightly outward when gripping your hair, otherwise it will bend the fascinator out of shape when you wear it. If sewing is not your cup of tea, you can buy fascinator bases with the comb already attached, or glue your base to a headband.

(Step 2) Add trimmings to the base.

I strongly suggest pinning the item in place and trying on before sewing or gluing your trimmings in place permanently: that way, you can see whether you like the way the fascinator looks or whether you want to make some adjustments. Keep track of the location of the comb (or headband) as you assemble your delightful head topper. The comb has to sink into your hair teeth-down to be fastened securely, and this determines how your fascinator sits on your head. For my fascinator, I was inspired by Kate Middleton's iconic Epsom Derby look; I wanted something understated but still worthy of an English wedding, so I simply shaped the ribbons into loose loops.

(Step 3) Stitch or glue the trimmings in place.

Voilà! Easy peasy.

What do you think? Have you included a fascinator or two in your wardrobe rotation lately?

TGIF

It’s Friday! How great is that? I’m pumped for this weekend as my dear friend D is coming to town and we are off to yet another bachelorette! Par-tay! It shall be a fun-filled weekend. What are you up to?

On a side note, I’m sure you were impressed by yesterday’s guest post by The Yummy Pixel (how talented is she? Profiteroles with Mango Mojito Sauce? Come on! How many people can whip that up?). If you would be interested in guest posting for PartyMixTape, or if you know of an awesome artist, designer or blogger who would like to be interviewed, please contact me via partymixtape@gmail.com.

Happy Friday!

E.

Guest Post: The Yummy Pixel

My name is Miljana and I started The Yummy Pixel as a food photography blog where I share my adventures in the kitchen and behind the lens. Incidentally, these are the two places where I’m happiest and most inspired, so what a better way to put those two together than to share them with the world!?

I love desserts that are light tasting and fruity - especially in the spring. Everything is in bloom, the brighter weather has started - the energy of the spring is here! The brighter weather makes you want to dress in your pretty colourful clothes that have been buried in the back of the closet for what seems like eternity! It makes you want to party!

My friend Emily has generously offered me a guest post on her very popular blog about fashion and all things pretty - PartyMixTape.   She said... make something fun, spring-inspired, something that makes you want to party!

So I thought about fun, bright, light-tasting desserts, and the first one that came to mind was Profiteroles with Mango Mojito Sauce. How can you party without Mojitos? And best of all, it's in a dessert!

These little babies I found in my favourite cookbook - Bon Appetit Desserts, and I was very intrigued by the mojito mango combination.

The timing was perfect because this last weekend was also the Orthodox Easter, so I told my mom not to worry about dessert - I would be bringing two!

The dough follows the typical profiterole/cream puff instructions - melting butter with milk, adding dough and cooking it on the stove for a few minutes before adding eggs. The dough should come out soft and sticky. If you have an ice cream scoop, it would be the best way to drop these onto a cookie sheet. They will come out even. Make sure to dip the scoop in hot water between each so they come out easier.  The recipe for the puffs may look a bit involved, but the whole process takes less than 1.5 hours, because you can do the filling and the sauce while the profiteroles are baking, and the assembly is done just right before eating.

I should mention that this dessert also takes a bit of planning - case in point - mangoes. At least 6 mangoes are required and they have to be soft and sweet. So, buy your mangoes well in advance if you can't find soft ones. Because the profiterole dough has no sugar and the filling very little, most of the sweetness should come from the mango, so it's even more important that they are ripe and sweet.

The profiteroles puff up when they bake, but stay hollow in the middle - perfect for filling. They can stand for 2-3 days but the longer they sit, the harder they get, so they should really get eaten in the first 1-2 days for maximum freshness.

The second recipe I picked was the one I found on Epicurious, and it left me quite intrigued. Avocado. In a pound cake? But, after discovering the delicious avocado pudding a few weeks ago, I decided that it was worth a try.

The recipe makes a double batch, and I believe the dough can keep for a few days, or be frozen.

Until next time, happy eating!

Toodles,

Miljana

RECIPES

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Avocado Pound Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ripe mashed avocados
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add avocado and beat for another 2 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed. Beat in vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Add the buttermilk and the remaining flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Remove bowl from the stand mixer, and finish incorporating the batter with a spatula.

Divide the batter between the pans and bake on alternating racks for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, rotate racks and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cake will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

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Mango Profiteroles with Mango Mojito Sauce

Ingredients:

Puffs:

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Filling:

2 cups 1/3-inch cubes peeled pitted mango (from about 4 large; see Test-Kitchen Tip below for details)

1 cup chilled sour cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
Spiced Mango-Mojito Sauce:

2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted, diced

6 tablespoons plain whole-milk yogurt
4 tablespoons (or more) sugar
3 tablespoons spiced rum
1 tablespoon fresh Key lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons (packed) finely chopped fresh mint

Preparation:

Profiteroles:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring milk, butter, and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until butter melts. Add flour all at once. Reduce heat to medium and stir with wooden spoon until dough forms ball and some batter films bottom of pan thickly, about 4 minutes. Transfer dough to medium bowl and cool 5 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat in eggs and yolks 1 at a time.

Drop dough by generous tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto baking sheets, making about 24 puffs. Smooth tops with wet fingertips.

Bake puffs 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and bake puffs until deep golden, about 10 minutes longer. Make small slit in side of each puff. Return to oven, turn off heat, and let dry 15 minutes. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Filling:

Stir mango and sour cream in medium bowl to blend. Beat whipping cream and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mango mixture. Cover bowl; refrigerate filling at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Cut cream puffs horizontally in half. Spoon heaping tablespoon filling into each bottom half; cover with tops. Sift remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar over.

Divide cream puffs among 8 plates. Spoon sauce onto plates and serve.

Spicy Mango-Mojito Sauce:

Purée mangoes in blender or processor until smooth. Transfer 1 1/2 cups purée to medium bowl (reserve remaining purée for another use). Mix yogurt, 4 tablespoons sugar, spiced rum, fresh lime juice, and chopped mint into purée. Sweeten sauce to taste with more sugar, if desired. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

This loaf is the perfect way to use up your ripe mushy avocados (if you don't want guacamole), and you can use some on top for decoration. My favourite thing about this loaf is that it's lime green inside - so pretty and so much fun! It's very moist - perfect for having with tea.