I took a very focused approach this trip, seeking new sources in three specific categories: upholstered furniture, outdoor furniture, and accessories.

First, I am happy to announce our new relationship with C. R. Laine, one of my favorite makers of high-quality furniture in America. Their workmanship is excellent, their fabrics are phenomenal, their taste level is perfect and their comfort is unsurpassed!

Tufted-back coral club chair from C. R. Laine.

Sweet orange armchair from C. R. Laine.

Graphic fabric and chair from C. R. Laine.

Seeing C. R. Laine's quality for myself.

A popular modern sectional with integral chaise from C. R. Laine.

C. R. Laine's selection of high-quality upholstery fabrics is wide and deep.

With Holly Blalock, the very fun marketing exec from C. R. Laine.

I also visited another of my favorite suppliers—New York’s own Harden—to see all the new and special items in their line.

Small armchairs like Harden's are scarce!

Traditional and modern at once, from Harden.

Harden's modern sofa is one of my best sellers!

In addition, I filled a gap in our line by opening up conversations with Barcalounger, the world’s most famous maker of recliners. Like all manufacturers, they’re becoming more designer-friendly. This is because so many important consumers (like you!) now buy from decorators, not furniture stores.

Sleek modern lines from Barcalounger.

Not your father's Barcalounger!

Since a decorator can never have too many  nice, affordable chairs in her line, I opened up new relationships with Selemat, Sunpan and Safavieh.

A great selection of chairs from Sunpan.

Small table and chairs from Sunpan.

On the outdoor furniture front, I am proud to welcome Summer Classics, Barlow Tyrie and Whitecraft to the Red Shutters family of preferred suppliers!

Classic, genuine teak set from Summer Classics.

Beautiful and durable, from Summer Classics.

Incredible Barlow Tyrie outdoor chaise.

Excellent lines on this bamboo outdoor set from Whitecraft!

I love this U-shaped outdoor sectional from Whitecraft.

There was an abundance of great accessories available, and I renewed our relationships with great firms like Global Views, Barbara Cosgrove, Mottega, Visual Comfort, Made Goods, Vintage Prints, NDI Floral Arrangements, Port 68, Carvers’ Guild, ChinaWind, and many others!

Great French-style tables at Global Views.

I love these orange accents from Global Views.

Chinese Chippendale for your spa towels!

A beautiful play on rustic style with this Global Views "twig" table.

Silhouette wallpaper from Julian Chichester.

Great new lamps at Barbara Cosgrove.

Nice red lamps from Mottega.

Mottega allows you to choose shapes, colors and shades!

I can never get enough blue & white lamps!

Loving all this B&W from Port 68.

I love this Asian chest!

Great candy-colored ceramics from Asian Loft.

New theatrical lighting from Barbara Cosgrove.

Stacking cases from Studio Globe Wernicke.

Sweet ferns in any size for any room!

One of the many important mirror shapes preserved by the geniuses at Carvers' Guild.

Nice lattice pattern from Safavieh rugs.

Hermes-style mirror at Made Goods.

ChinaWind is my new source for handwoven tapestries and tapestry pillows.

Full and fun silk flower arrangement at NDI.

Well, that’s the recap for my trip to the High Point market. If these pictures (or words!) have inspired any ideas for your home, office, hotel, museum or spa, please e-mail me at Marina@TheRedShutters.com, or click the Shop Now! link near the top of this page to visit www.TheRedShutters.com.

XOXO,

Marina

This entry is a summary of my visit to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show on March 19, 2011. It’s New York’s largest and most important design expo. I attended workshops on style and color, and saw a lot of great things, many of which appear in the photos below. Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear your comments!

I attended on Saturday, when the show is open to the public. I like to see how people react to everything!

My first stop was the color seminar hosted by Amy Lau, Jamie Drake and James Rixon.

I love how Amy Lau does her color concept boards.

Jamie Drake uses color to create lines and angles that move your eye around a room.

In this city flat, James Rixson used low furniture and wide steps to create the illusion of a high ceiling.

I opened an account for customers of The Red Shutters with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

Welcome to The Red Shutters, Mitchell + Bob!

As usual, I had my eyes open for chairs in great taste of all shapes and kinds.

This cool red lucite chair makes great fun of an ancient Chinese design.

This leather club chair from Willem Smith was the most comfortable at the show.

I loved Grange's easy chair in this incredible plush pink upholstery.

Dorothy Draper fabric on a classic Chippendale-style lolling chair at Kindel!

These architectural forms in resin-stone and metal added outdoorsy flair to an indoorsy show.

Lighter than stone, but just as tasteful.

Hard to beat this Eiffel arch for impact!

This Suzani-inspired embroidery is tribal and modern at the same time.

This sauna-inspired natural wood planking would look great on a wall or a floor.

Art, including glass and mosaic treatments was in abundance at the show.

This beautiful mosaic pattern reminds me of the way the Aegean sparkles.

Silver glass forms give this wall energy.

Hand-blown glass from Kanik Chung.

Nice water hues in this acrylic artwork!

Classic images meet modern colors.

Finally, I saw great hardware and fixtures of many different kinds, all in great taste.

Beautiful bronze hardware.

Compact stainless set from Miele.

Sorry, I couldn't resist this Lefroy Brooks tub!

E-mail me at Marina@TheRedShutters.com for more information about anything you have seen here or elsewhere, or click the Shop Now! link near the top of this page to visit www.TheRedShutters.com.

XOXO,

Marina

…

This entry is a summary of my trip to the October High Point Market, the nation’s most important home furnishings expo. I opened a lot of key new accounts for customers of The Red Shutters and other designers in our network, and saw a lot of great things, many of which appear in the photos below. Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear your comments!

It was great to chat with Mariette Himes Gomez about our mutual friend artist Daniel Mack, and Mariette’s new designer line at Hickory Chair.  As you may know, I love chairs, chairs, chairs!

With Mariette Himes Gomez.

Great color from E J Victor.

From Mariette's collection at Hickory Chair.

Going Tribal at Lee Furniture!

At Duralee Fine Furniture, one of my favorite fabric sources expands its adventure in the wild world of furniture.

Modern in white!

Nice tight classic lines (on the chair!).

A nice lean Parsons dining chair.

Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

A great sofa or sectional is one of the key starters in a room, be it Traditional, Tribal, Modern or Fun.

Fashionable wide stripes make this loveseat Fun!

This Modern sectional can really cozy up a room.

This flame-stitch fabric conveys a cool Tribal flair.

My favorite saddle color on a Traditional leather sofa from Ferguson Copeland.

Great pillows can bring any style of sofa to life.

In the true spirit of blogging I sneaked into the very Fun press conference and luncheon announcing the launch of Lilly Pulitzer’s new furniture collection from HFI Brands!

Fun sofa and Fun fish!

I love these big slipper chairs!

Palm Beach Princess bed!

Press pass? What press pass?!

At Visual Comfort: Great Hinson-style lamps and a new table from the John Rosselli Studio Collection, plus it was nice to see Alexa Hampton!

Hinson-Style Lamps at Visual Comfort

Alexa Hampton at Visual Comfort

A gilt metal table from John Rosselli at Visual Comfort.

These framed botanical plates and ornament prints from Soicher Marin add classic elegance to any sort of sort of setting!

Botanical prints at Soicher Marin

Ornament Prints at Soicher Marin

In addition to my usual rounds through the furniture showrooms, I made a point this time of visiting new stores specializing in neat accessories for indoors and out.

Fun colors on these tables, pillows and mirror!

Love this Modern gothic lantern!

Frames of all types to show off your gorgeous kids!

Traditional acorn urns bring architectural pop to any fireplace mantel.

This antler mirror from Halo is the fairest of them all.

Celtic shapes make great mirrors!

The designer's private cork collection makes this old tub a Fun table!

There's nothing like evergreen planters to spruce up your outdoor space.

A creative outdoor version of the Traditional Chippendale bench!

Email me at Marina@TheRedShutters.com for more information about anything you have seen here or elsewhere, or click the Shop Now! link near the top of this page to visit www.TheRedShutters.com.

XOXO,

Marina

…

Traditional style is classic.

The Red Shutters takes a unique approach to decorating. While most designers use your home to tell their own story, we believe it should tell your story. So, our mission is to understand each client’s story, then articulate it with excellent taste. This approach results in highly personal interiors that our clients love.

Our design team is fluent in all four iconic decorating styles: Traditional, Tribal, Modern and Fun. Each client of The Red Shutters is a unique individual, and each room we create is a unique blend of elements drawn from one or more of these styles. To pull it all together, we use the art and science of color. As a result, the stories we tell are rich, deep and appealing on many levels.

Tribal style uses ancient patterns and materials.

Our approach offers great advantages for clients. First, it makes your interior highly personal, and therefore most comfortable. Second, it helps you to connect with a wider circle of people, because it allows any visitor to find something they love about your environment. Third, it’s “green,” because it welcomes the many good pieces you already own. And fourth, it’s cost effective, because it offers a wider range of choices for each key element.

The five sample boards shown here illustrate the four iconic styles, plus one possible synthesis. We’d love to hear your story, and to help you articulate it with great taste!

The Red Shutters, a third-generation design firm founded in 1950, serves clients throughout the United States and abroad. Our specialties include decorating, design, weddings, parties, colors, lighting, upholstery, blinds, draperies, carpets, antiques and custom furniture.

Modern means “form follows function.”

Fun style is fresh and unexpected.

Skillful use of color can connect many styles.

Neo-English Living in New York

The cover story of a recent issue of New York magazine featured interior design in a wonderful way. Entitled “The New Old,” the story is a series of segments on Neo-Country, Neo-Versailles, Neo-English, and several other interesting new-old iterations. The article is a perfect foil for this first blog post, because it neatly frames my own inclusive approach to design.

In the first fifty years of our existence, The Red Shutters (www.TheRedShutters.com) purveyed classic English-themed décor to the exclusion of other styles. But in the past decade, as our client base grew and became more diverse, I have revised our business strategy. Today, The Red Shutters adapts to our customer’s style without imposing any personal style of our own—all in good taste, of course. This means that while we remain experts in classic English décor, we also follow, understand and incorporate new trends and ideas every day, and in beautiful ways.

The best thing about a classic English interior is its purpose: to tell the story of a person’s life. Traditionally, the home’s furniture, rugs, objets d’art and other elements were things collected by the owner from beloved destinations and adventures, resulting in a grand yet very personal look. While my approach has grown ever more flexible, my goal has never wavered: to tell the story of my clients’ lives through the interiors I create with them.

In the May, 10, 2010 New York magazine article, I was particularly intrigued by an interior shot that ran within the article entitled “Neo-English.” (p. 74). The room is the creation of Rita Konig, designer and daughter of Nina Campbell, the grande dame of English decorating.

The room is noteworthy for its excellent balance of old and new. The possessions in the room have a “collected” Old World aura, but they are displayed in a modern white box. The fluffy, fussy too-often floral wallpaper integral to old school English living is blissfully waived. The colors are clean and solid, and the upholstery fabrics too. The light wood floors celebrate the older pieces. International touches flare here and there, elegantly: a Turkish Kilim, a French chair, an old European poster. The sleek Lars Bolander coffee table is mercifully uncluttered, in stark defiance of the olde tradition. The clean lines of the fireplace justify even the owner’s bitsiest collectibles. The Grand Tour clearly happened, it’s just impossible to say when.

In a word, the room is timeless. Even heavy elements such as the stacked books on the floor and the antlers on the wall dance and delight.

I applaud Ms. Konig’s accomplishments. It’s refreshing to see the old and the new get along so well, even in the city that never sleeps.

[Thanks to New York May 10, 2010 for the picture!]