StyleWhipped

Table-Top Revolution

I love to have barbeques outside and invite family and friends over to eat and hang out (can it please get warm enough this week for that?!), but the last thing I want to do is to bring nice linen napkins outside -- it just doesn't seem appriopriate for a barefoot day with food on the grill and lemonade. Paper napkins work for me, especially in the great colors and prints that companies have out now, but if you want something a little nicer you are kind of stuck.

Enter the affordable, alternative to paper napkins...Mydrap cotton napkins and placemats are available in 5 sizes and dozens of colors and patterns! They come in a roll, much like a roll of paper towels (a space saver and stays nice and neat!), and you can either toss them after each use, or throw them in the washing machine for up to 6 times to extend their life! They also have fabulous coasters and placements that come in the same great roll. 

Super cute for your upcoming Mother's Day celebration if you are cooking for BBQ'ing, a backyard birthday, shower, or any other gathering that is casual but you want a little something more than your average paper napking from the supermarket. Affordable, pulls your table and decor together, and most importantly, makes your life and clean up easier!

- Danielle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Rivera: Painting a Room Black

When a client hires me, one of the first things I tell them is that I’m going to take them out of their comfort zone when it comes to some of the things I want to do with their space. Let’s be honest, why would you pay for a designer if they’re going to give you something you could have done yourself. One of my favorite things to do is watch my client’s reaction when I tell them I want to paint a room black. I cant even tell you how much I love seeing their face knowing that in their head they’re saying “IS HE JOKING!?”

Most of them are under the impression that making a room super dark will make it feel small, which in New York City where apartment sizes tend to be more like cruise ship cabins, making a room smaller is a reasonable concern. While it doesn’t make a room larger, what painting a room black along with the ceiling (which is KEY in this process) does is it eliminates your depth perception. When you can just barely see where the walls meet the ceiling and where the corners of the room are, the room appears infinite. It’s an illusion that many clients after hearing about are still hesitant. Once I even had to go as far as doing the work behind their back and when they came home to find it done, I got a phone call telling me how much they loved it, and thanked me for being so bold (and...never to do it again...haha!).

Another thing I love about painting a room black is the opportunity to utilize contrast as a key design element. Using vivid white is a great example. The white accents will pop like there is no tomorrow. It’s a trick I use a lot in bathrooms where the client doesn’t want to invest in a whole renovation, because most bathrooms I walk into have the standard white subway tile. This is a great way to use black because you have your contrast already built in. A lot of other colors will do this too...hence the prevalence of the black and red color schemes (which I tend to try and stay away from because it can get rather tacky very quickly). Black rooms have an inherent chic, expensive, and intimate vibe to them. Take a look at some of the examples below and see what you think of these spaces. 

Until next time, live well, and live with style.

- Matt

Matt Rivera: Finding Your Style

I often find that one of the first things every client tells me is that they can’t sure what their “style” is. They always think it’s important to identify with one category, “Am I modern or contemporary” is the one that I get most. What I tell every one of them is that it doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you LOVE it. Go on HGTV.com, pick up magazines like Elle Décor, NY Spaces, Luxe, Dwell etc… and rip out everything that you like. Even if you hate a room, but you see a table that you just would die for, pull the picture out (and if it’s for an item, cut it out so you’re not distracted). That’s always what I have my clients do for our first and second meeting because it’s more important to know your style then try and settle into such vast categories. I mean hey, you can love musicals and hate Phantom of the Opera!

Now I can’t tell you how exactly I piece together someone’s individual style but I can tell you that to a trained eye, looking through the clippings gives me a real sense of that my client wants. Somewhere there are always some specific themes going on, for example the client may love texture; rich fur pillows and luxurious rugs, or they may be all about color; neutrals with pops or eclectic vibrants. So even though I can’t tell you here what your “style” is, try this exercise and see if you can find some consistencies with what you are pulling out. Then, choose three to five adjectives to describe what you see. There are so many great ones to choose from, for example I would describe my style as glamorous, chic, sophisticated, clean, and balanced. Place the words in order from most to least important to see what attributes you want to focus on. Then when designing your own space, don’t focus so much on being “modern” focus on being glamorous and then things will fall into place.

Till next week, live well, and live with style.

- Matt

Stockings and Silverware

For everyone setting the holiday table this year for Christmas, I came across a great idea! Go visit a Christmas Tree Shop, Home Goods, Target or any other local store that has all the abundant Christmas stuff-we-definitely-don't-need-but-want. Snag a bunch of miniature Christmas stockings, one for each guest, to add a little color and holiday cheer to your dinner table. They double as cute little pouches for your silverware! I love this! Leave them on their own, or get fancy and top off the look with a sprig of holly, evergreen, mistletoe or even a candy cane. If you get the little stockings that are really tree ornaments, then your guests have something great to take home and use on their tree for next year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crate and Barrel has really cute modern ones right now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the no frills version, Party City sells the 5" classic red stockings in a pack of 6 for $4.99! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to plan ahead and try to be prepared for next year with a more personalized version of this look, check out this Etsy shop that makes custom stockings just for this purpose...you can even add a monogram!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful holiday dinner!

-Danielle

Matt Rivera: An Introduction

Editor's Note: I am so thrilled to introduce you to our newest columnist, Matt Rivera! Matt is an incredible NYC interior designer who is the CEO/Owner of Matt Adams Style. Matt will be dishing his take on what "interior design" really means every Wednesday right here on Stylewhipped.com. Take a look at who Matt is and enjoy reading about his philosophy below...!

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There are two types of interior designers, the million dollar decorators who you pay insane amounts of money to create a space so you can tell your friends you have a “Jonathan Adler designed living room,” and then there are the designers that you bring in to work WITH you to help refine your style (even if some clients don’t really have much of it). When I was going to school, I found an inherent ignorance being plugged by the teachers, who seem to be from the old school thought that interior designers existed only for those who could afford the extravagance that is a true “custom” home.

To be fair, I love when I get the opportunity to spend the day in the D&D or the NYC Design Center picking out the perfect fabric and finish color story, knowing that what I will inevitably produce for my client will be a true reflection of my creative vision. However, I am proud to have been branded as an “accessible and affordable” designer. My clients may not all be in the top 1% but you can be damn sure that I believe everyone of them, as well as everyone reading this, deserves to have a home that is well designed, functional, and that they are proud of. One of the things that I tell every client of mine is that my job isn’t just to pick out the things I like and tell them to buy it; I also try to provide some sort of explanation of why I am purchasing each item. I want my clients to start thinking like a designer themselves. One day I will not be on retainer and thus they will eventually begin purchasing things for themselves without my input. With my time here at StyleWhipped I hope to provide you, the reader, with some real life examples of things that clients have asked me, and how an interior designer approaches different situations that arise. Further more, as readers I encourage you to utilize me as a resource, a sounding board if you will.

So leave your questions in the comments and my next entry could be about you! Until then, live well, and live with style.

- Matt

Yuletide Cheer

Happy holidays! As I am gearing up for holiday celebrations and the weather is very winter-ish this week, I wanted to share a warm, cozy entertaining must for this month. Although the majority of holiday and New Year's guests come to your house to stuff their face with naughty comfort food and drink wine, champagne, and egg nog (ok, maybe not egg nog...I've actually never seen egg nog served at a party I've been to or thrown...), a good host should also always have something non-alcoholic to serve that goes with the theme of the party for kids, expectant mothers, and for those that just don't drink alcohol.

What better drink to serve than a cup of warm apple cider? Top each mug off with a cinnamon stick for presentation and have them already in their mugs and out on the drink table (make them hot so when your guests take a mug it will still be warm). Buy the cinnamon sticks at your local grocery store, or snag them online in bulk from My Spice Sage (free shipping!). White mugs are visually effective but if you want to snaz up your cider, check out Crate and Barrel's modern red and white striped holiday mugs for $4.95 each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you really want to go the extra mile for presentation, pick up Crate and Barrel's glass vanity tray and snowflake napkins to serve your cider on.....A+ presentation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers and happy holidays!

-Danielle

 

Let There Be Light!

I had no power for six days, so naturally my mind has been on candles, as that was my after-6pm savior besides my trusty flashlight. One of my favorite party decor materials for all things illuminated is mercury glass. It is great for votive holders, pillar and taper holders and even vases. It adds shine and dimension to the usual flat clear glass and is very elegant. It also adds a little bit of a romantic, vintage-y feel to your party or tabletop. Another great thing about it is that it hides all fingerprint smudges, soot, wax drips, and other blemishes that usually plague clear glass votive and candle holders...and since I do have a very OCD nature, anything that allows me to skip the Windex but still looks perfect is on the top of my list :) I love this set of three candleholders from Front Gate (an AMAZING online home store!) for $59.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a more glamorous party, these "bling" mercury glass votive holders are special and affordable from Save-On-Crafts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I know no one wants to think of Christmas yet, BUT it's around the corner! Pick up these mercury glass Christmas ornaments for your holiday party. I love a chic, metallic Christmas tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope everyone is safe and sound with Sandy behind us. Hopefully we all won't need our candles again anytime soon!

-Danielle

 

Letter From the Editor: To NY & NJ, With Love

I grew up in New Jersey. I have lived in Manhattan for close to 11 years. I have a house on the barrier island of Long Beach Island, NJ. My high school boyfriend's family was originally from Breezy Point, Queens. Everyone has a story to tell about an area that Hurricane Sandy has devastated, and everyone in the country has seen footage about the horrifying conditions that some people are still living in (and will be facing for too long to come). So what does this have to do with our little style magazine?

Well, my message today is two-fold. First, there are obviously people who have lost literally all of their possessions. So this is a perfect time to clean out your closet and gather up clothing to donate (especially needed are winter coats and anything good for layering, so your summer tank tops will still be super useful!). You could also quite easily take $100 (or $1,000!) out of your Fall shopping budget and donate it to the Red Cross or any other disaster relief organization. One less pair of shoes for you could mean hot food or fuel for a generator for days for someone else. 

Second...yes, retail therapy is real and it makes us feel better. (I am guilty as well...seeing as I shopped just last night as a diversion away from watching the news for the 150,000th hour...) So why not use some retail therapy to make a difference and help rebuild our beautiful NJ beaches? There are two ways you can help:

Surf company Jetty has designed a t-shirt (and a very cool one at that...) whose profits will go toward helping those all over NJ who were hardest hit and also to emergency response units who need assistance. You can pre-order your $20 shirt (or shirtS! they are 100% unisex in design, so why not buy them for your whole family!) here: http://jettylife.com/store/Shop_item.php?id=1058&cat=1&sub=0&shirt=&photo=1 

And specifically for my little island of LBI, you have two options. Check out LBI Love here: http://www.lbisource.com/island-skinny/love-in-a-bag for an adorable, $25 tote bag (perfect to use once our beaches are restored...and they WILL be restored!). And if tote bags aren't your thing (or if you want to spend the same amount of money and spread the word even further), LBI Love is also offering $5 "window clings," to show off your love for Long Beach Island as you drive around in your car or as people pass the front door of your house. Five bucks, people...buy five of them!

Tomorrow, Stylewhipped will go back to our regularly scheduled fashionista selves...but today, this is what we'd like you to do ;)

~ Alison.

Danielle Aspromatis: BOO!

Halloween is and always has been my favorite holiday of the year. When I was little, it was all about the candy...lugging a pillowcase full of all my goodies was my favorite night of the year! And I always have loved dressing up...as a kid, I remember being Madonna, a genie, and a cheerleader. Then in my teens and 20's, Halloween became a vehicle to dress, uh, how should I say this? Um, a little provocatively (eesh!). I still love to get dressed up (maybe a little toned down though!) and being that I love to entertain, I am always looking for an excuse to decorate and host. But Halloween decor does not always have to be cheesy plastic decorations...if you play with different shades of orange and mix in black and white decorative items to your table, you can create a spooky and yet "adult" Halloween night for your guests.

I found this picture of a Halloween tablescape that is classy, festive and easy to execute!

The first must have (that is no secret to Halloween parties) is the cobwebs to cover the table. To achieve the look above, get cheesecloth and cut some holes and destroy it a little for the "cobweb" look. Don't have the time but want something unique? Purchase this spiderweb tablecloth on Amazon.com and drape it over your table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stock up on your pumpkins...the small ones are great and inexpensive so buy a bunch of orange and even some of the small white ones. 

For the black pillar candle holders, either buy cheap ones at Walmart and spray paint them black OR invest in a great trio like these from Amazon.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then arrange all your candy, snacks and desserts in black, white, or clear serving pieces (check out Target, they have great inexpensive ones!).

To get those cool black flowers you can either spray paint real flowers (the ones in the picture are Spider Mums that you can get from any local florist) OR you can buy some fake silk flowers online or at your local Michaels.

A really inexpensive way to achieve the look of that black and white printed vase and to not invest a lot of money is to take your regular old clear vase and line it with black and white pretty wrapping paper or craft paper (floral or damask works well).

Then pick up some cool extras like a black dove, black skulls and spiders. 

Who says Halloween is for kids?!

-Danielle

Danielle Aspromatis: Labor Day at the Beach

Techinically, Labor Day constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well being of our beautiful and free country. For most people, it means the official last beach weekend, and a yummy BBQ. For everyone heading down to the shore this weekend for fun with family and friends, I wanted to give you a great and EASY tabletop idea for an outdoor or indoor meal at the beach (Great for Memorial Day or 4th of July next year too!) Start with a natural fish netting over your tablecloth from www.save-on-crafts.com. You can easily find great red, white or blue placemats and cloth napkins at any local store...Walmart, Target, Pier 1...really anywhere and they don't have to be expensive! Then go to Michael's or A.C Moore and buy some great printed ribbon. You can pick up starfish at Michael's as well, or if you are already down at the shore, a lot of local beach stores will have starfish available for purchase. If you don't have time to shop for the starfish, check out www.qualityshells.com. Hot glue a starfish to a strip of ribbon, and then tie the ribbon around a folded napkin. So cute, and you can use these again and again once they are made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the idea but really don't have the time to make them? Buy this fabulous set of starfish napkins rings from Etsy, $20 for a set of 8.

Happy Labor Day!

-Danielle