Merry Christmas

I wish you and your loved ones very happy, blessed, safe, joyous Christmas and fabulous New Year!
I want to say a big thank you for stopping by - all your comment, kind words , encouragement and emails have been such a pleasure.

Please take care and I look forward to seeing you next year.

Have a wonderful holiday break.

God Bless you all .

Love Viera

A Merry Red Christmas Eve

I am planning my virtual outfit to wear on Christmas Eve. This year has been very special and there is much to celebrate and to be thankful for. Red seems appropriate and just feels right for this time of year. In a perfect world this is what I would love to have in my closet and jewelry chest. What do you think?

Lida Baday silk skirt & Donna Karen turtle neck

Cartier "Le Basier du Dragon" 18K white gold & ruby earrings based on Art Deco style. The lucky thread is tied, as when making a wish.

Manolo Blahnik shiny red sequin heels trimmed with satin piping

         Cartier Ruby & Diamond Ring                       Cartier Classic Diamond Watch with red crocodile strap

And to finish off the outfit Cartier Delices Perfume

Wishing you all 'Sweet' dreams for a Merry Red Christmas!

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

The Ultimate Hostess Gift

The wax is comprised of a unique blend of soy, maple and palm waxes. The vessel is inspired by the organic floral structure and elements of art deco design.  The packaging is stitched in Burmese silk.  The satin ribbons are imported from France and the tissue that wraps each bowl is hand pleated and imported from Switzerland.  And the scent is pure heaven:  French Tuberose against an earthly and delicate scent of Woodland mushrooms.

D.L. & Company candles available from Griffen Trading.

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

Inspirations

Sourced from Ralph Lauren Home

Source Traditional Home- Caroline Rhoem

Traditional Home Susan Harris

Traditional Home - Victoria Hagan

Photos Eddie Ross

Point Click Home - NeimanMarcus

Outdoor Living 2 - Ludo Dierckx

While searching for the ideas for my backyard I came across the web page of Ludo Dierckx from Belgium. His work is just amazing!

Outdoor Living

Photo Flamant

After the "Brisbane Cyclone" our garden furniture was totally destroyed. Glass ! broken, one chair not found, yet.
We love outdoor eating so much here in Australia and I have to make the decision very soon. Its already late. I want something heavy, sturdy, nice. My preference for a now goes to a stone table with iron chairs ( carvers maybe synthetic wicker?). Any suggestions?

Yardware

Posi

Paul Bangay

Papaya
Bertwistle Imports

Early Settlers

VT Interiors

Complete Garden

New addition to our backyard - Watter Dragon
Buyers guide to outdoor furniture

Beauty is as Essential as Bread

There is an old french adage that says: 
"If you have a dollar, spend fifty cents on bread and fifty cents on flowers."

 

Photo via Cote de Texas    
Jeffery Bilhuber Designer

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design,
as well as sneak peaks of her work.. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.

Christmas Traditions

11 days to Christmas .. I managed 'first stage' of baking, finally! Hurrah. Cooking and baking in my culture is a big part of Christmas celebration. Its much harder to concentrate and be focused here in Australia. So hot, sunny and more hot. Today was 34 degrees C and it would be much better on the beach. But because I am a very traditional girl I stayed in the kitchen and baked and baked and baked... house smells heavenly!

...not this traditional .

Photo Eva Lindh (traditions from Scandinavia)

Photos Sweet Paul

...now I can put my feet up.

Deck out your Holiday Home like a Pro

A display of nutcrackers at the home of interior designer Patricia Gray

Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun 

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, who better to ask than local interior designers who have decked out their own homes in style?

Avoiding stress at the holidays is the main point for interior designer Patricia Gray. Her secret is starting early in the season in order to enjoy visiting with friends and family throughout December.

Gray typically picks the last weekend in November to haul out the decorations and gets her tree up by the first week of December. Although she was tempted to get a seven and a half foot artificial tree this year she opted to stay with a real Douglas Fir tree - mainly because the fake tree wouldn't fit into her car.

"I don't mind artificial trees. A lot of my clients in condos are not allowed to have live trees. The one I wanted looked so realistic," says Gray, adding the Home Depot tree was a bargain at $299 with 1,000 lights on it.

She suggests using clear white mini lights and plenty of them in order to make the ornaments stand out on the tree.

"My tree is decorated with silver and red balls and 10 strings of mini lights. I find the more lights the prettier the tree. I stuff them into the depth of the tree close to the trunk then bring them to the outside," she says.

Gray has become somewhat of an expert at tree decorating after completing one for the Canucks Children's Hospice fundraiser at Sutton Place Hotel. For that tree she and her staff, at Patricia Gray Design, began making gingerbread cookies in August representing children from around the world holding their country's flag. To make the icing long lasting, they used glitter glue instead of using real icing.

"Making your own gingerbread and hanging them on the tree is quite a nice thing to do. You don't have to go to the extent we did. You could do something simple and just have the glitter embroidery glue on the edges [of the gingerbread man]."

Keep it simple, keep it fun and just enjoy," she says.

Postscript December 12th, 2008
My partner in the tree decoration at the Sutton Place Hotel was Linda Sale Interior Design