FROM THE HOME FRONT
Susan Martin: At Show House, details make a difference
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At Decorators’ Show House 2009, it is very important for the windows to be clean. It is one of the details I noticed while touring E. B. Green’s Wallace Estate in Eggertsville earlier this week, in preparation for today’s story.
Smudges and dirt won’t do in beautifully decorated rooms. So shine, shine, shine is the name of the game here.
At my own house, cleaning windows is an ongoing project. Our dog barks at any two-or four-legged creature that walks, rides, runs or scooters by.
A barking dog means messy windows. Wiping them down is as much a part of my daily routine as retrieving the mail.
But back to the Show House. One of my favorite parts of touring this fundraising event is to check out the details.
“Details do make the difference,” reads the flap of House Beautiful’s “The Finishing Touch: Details that Make a Room Beautiful” –a copy of which recently landed on my desk.
Here are some other details I noticed while touring Decorators’ Show House, which opens Saturday and continues through May 17:
• Real plants: The Solarium is filled with them –so many that room designer Mark Taylor said that he isn’t just a decorator, he’s also a gardener.
In his care are ficus trees, a giant philodendron, Norfolk pine, banana palm, lots of ferns and succulents, exotic orchids, and more. He even used hanging plants at the windows instead of window treatments.
• Cool tea kettles: I’m crazy about black-and-white anything, so upon entering the Show House kitchen, I could not take my eyes off of the black-and-white tea kettle done up in big checks. Every kitchen should have an eye-catching tea kettle. Even if you do not drink tea. (I just made up that rule).
• Pillows: What a difference great-looking pillows make in a room. And the ones at the Show House are gorgeous, beginning in the Grand Foyer, which was decorated by Ellen Markel (of P. L. U. M. Works) and Fann Markel (of the Floristry).
• Family photographs: Decorators often find a way to sneak them into their Show House rooms. I especially enjoyed talking to Michelle Peller White, of Chochkey’s, who complemented 1920s artwork in the third-floor study (themed “Modernism Movement”) with photographs of her mother, Marjory Peller, who worked as a fashion model.
•Lampshades: I learned long ago what the right shade can do in a room. It can upgrade an ordinary lamp. Change the look of a lamp from one style to another, and it can serve as an eye-catching accessory.
Tip: Always take your lamp with you when shopping for a new shade. You wouldn’t buy a new hat without trying it on, now would you?
• Artwork: The Show House focuses on local art and artists; seeing how decorators display it is always fascinating. Artwork adds so much to a room – even if it is a framed child’s drawing.
• Color surprises: I love it when designers paint the insides of bookcases, curios and display cabinets a fun color. I’ve done this in my own home, as a way of breathing new life into an old bookcase, for example.
It makes me feel as if I have accomplished something. Now, back to those windows…
smartin@buffnews.com
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