Tuesday, June 29, 2010

MM's Top 1 Liners

Musically Inspired Terraces

"There's nothing more that screams cello to me than Venetian plaster" in regards to Court's vibrant interpretation of the cello...

"Show me where it is" in regards to Trent's feeling of energy and fun he gets from the piano...

Ouch, my sarcasm was at an all time high this last episode, must have taken a double dose of my sarcastic pill that morning!

Court's 1 Liners were so much better than mine this episode:

"Less Christmas Tree-e-e" ha ha, in regards to Trent's, well, Christmas tree.

"Alex's voice was muted" CHEESE FACTOR ALERT, I heart me a good pun though, nicely played CB!

Terraces, Turrets, and Tasty Treats...


Well we did it, we got ourselves to elimination thanks to our terrace with a slight case of Turrets! Ah, whatever, cohesive blah-blah, I still liked it, thought it was super creative. But here's the thing, the team leadership from the last challenge that Tom kept blaming for our loss, in my opinion, was not the case at all... On the Redbook challenge the leadership formula broke down like this: I took a strong lead with furniture and accessories, I know the New York shopping scene, I have a strong grasp on decoration and styling, and for the most part I was not questioned on my contributions to the design. Courtland took the lead with the layout of finishes and architectural styling of the room, and it's no secret, he did a great job... And in the end that leadership formula worked out and helped us win the challenge, this time, not so much. I piped down a little bit (a bit being the key word) this time around. I really don't want to come across as overbearing or bossy, well at least this soon in the competition. I got lost in my art piece, focused a lot on my "sly" injection of humor with the use of accessories, and was concerned with more my own inspiration than anyone elses... Court got caught up in his little piece of Arizona, Alex and Tom really focused their efforts on the furniture and how/what it spoke to, and Trent, well sadly Trent was losing steam... I think we all put on blinders and no one stepped back to look at the big picture! So, with that said, maybe if Court was driving, actually scratch that, maybe if I was driving and Court was sitting shotgun (that'd be cuter) we would have won! But whatever the case, I had a blast and stand behind my design and my team!

OK, now more importantly, what the hell am I doing in this photo???


As a New Yorker, I know all to well how urbanites covet outdoor spaces. Without having the luxury of backyards and outdoor space being so hard to come by we rely on seeking refuge in a restaurant's sidewalk seating, a beer garden, a hotel rooftop, anywhere really that we can take in some fresh air (well as fresh as NYC can offer). So where are my favorite New York outdoor oases, here you go:

The Poetry Garden Terrace at The Library Hotel
Madison Ave. and 41st Street
The perfect place to throw back a glass of Champagne with a hot date prior to indulging him or her in a romantic summer night.



Yaffa Cafe
St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and A. 
This eccentric back patio makes our patio's Turrets pale in comparison. The distinct East Village eatery offers a lot of tasty cheap eats perfect for getting some food in the stomach prior to barhopping your way through the Lower East Side. 


My Moon
N. 10th Street between Driggs and Bedford Aves. 
This industrial factory turned restaurant's outdoor garden demands attention as it prominently lends itself to a grand entrance into the space. If you're unable to get a seat outside no worries, the trek out to BK is worth while as the interior boasts the space's original boilers converted to booths, wood ceiling beams,  and vast architectural proportions.

I'm brewing on a few more spots to check out, I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, get out there and try some of these... 

Friday, June 25, 2010

MM's Top 1 Liners

Design Star Redbook Challenge:

"She blew away like a feather" in regards to Julie getting eliminated.

"I think we should try them on" in regards to our inspiration outfits. I really wanted to see Dan in those jammies...

Fashionably Fashioned Apartments

So I chose the "Lovely Lady in The Leopard”. While she was not my first choice she was clearly the match for me given the slim pickens. And after choosing the outfit I thought, I’m OK with this, she’s fun and flamboyant, sound familiar??? I could build a scheme on blacks and neutrals punched it with the pungent berry color of her lipstick, and bring in some excitement with animal prints. Wow, that sounds more like Garanimals than Vern thinks…. And most importantly, as made clear, I thought, I could fit in this, I mean if I have to paint I may as well do it in someone else’s clothes and not ruin my adorable jeans, and look stylish at the same time!

What was my first choice? Well, predictably the handsome Dapper Dan in the pink blazer that Emily snatched up! Thanks Em, that could’ve been my future husband, but now we’ll never know! I was thinking we were selecting the person as our client, and the outfit as our inspiration, and let me tell you, after being in that penthouse for almost 2 weeks at that point Michael needed a little flirtation and who better to do it with than Mr. Pink. Yes, Courtland is cute and all, but he just isn’t into me like that, um, maybe because I’m not a woman.

Overall I thought the boys team worked really well with one another. Not to bag on you girls, but you just let personal emotions get the better half of you. We really worked as a team to accomplish a task. While we may have not agreed all the time (me to Alex’s outfit, me to Trent’s styling) well, I guess I did not agree all the time, you could not loose sight of the big picture… A feature in Redbook! Which you will find us in, I’m thinking next month’s issue but I’ll keep you posted.



Now what fashion designer would be my dream inspiration for a place: John Varvatos. I heart you Johnny! His edgy, gritty relaxed vibe always coming across as the epitome of urban sophistication, yes please! Now I just need the client to do that for… Hello future hip urban client, are you out there???




MM's Top 1 Liners

Design Star White Box Challenge, Episode 1:

"People are getting pissed" in regards to, well, people getting pissed!

"Just throw it up on the F*^-ing walls" in regards to getting the spilled paint off the floor and on the walls.

My “Portland” inspired room for Emily

OK, so  I know Emily for a whole 10 minutes, never been to Portland, and am shopping from an Asian Market, um yeah, the word challenge comes to mind. This was a blast, it was sort of surreal… I got used to the cameras pretty quickly, just did my thing, kept my mind in the game, and busted my butt to finish this room. When I kicked the paint can over, I had some sort of outer body experience. I felt like I was looking down at myself saying “Don’t loose it, but what the hell are you doing? You’re on a competition reality show? Is this for real Michael? Are you going to wake up soon?” But I did not wake up… So I made the conscious decision to bite down and let the games begin!

Things you may have missed:

  1. We only had two cans of paint, notice I have 3 colors in the room… That white is the primed wall bleeding through the blue. I painted the entire graphic in negative space… Yeah, painting the blue around the white was a bit more challenging than anticipated, but I got it done!

  1. Unsuccessful wall sconce hiding behind the headboard, I couldn’t finish it in the last minute so I chucked it behind the bed when time was called.

  1. That’s Emily in that green lantern. I cut her face out of her picture and stuck her in there, she looks cute in there, like a big fish in a little lantern. Hi Em!

  1. A very precarious console. This thing was so flimsy and broke twice when putting it in place. I prayed to Flo (my grandmother) that this thing would just stay up until after the judges came through. It was literally held together with tape…

  1. Feathers, yes, feathers were my artwork, not my rug... Crazy conceptual Julie!

  1. My collection of collectibles. Um, while eclectic and maybe a bit hazardous, my goal was for it not to look Asian, I think I accomplished that at the very least!

  1. Feathers, yes, feathers from Julie’s rug kept blowing over from next door!