Erin Gates, Elements of Style - Book release party!!

Today, I am BEYOND excited to share my dear friend Erin Gate's fabulous new interior design book, Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life, from Simon & Schuster. The book was released on 10.7.2014 and is available to purchase here.

Erin and I go way back. We met at our first design job in Boston, that was over ten years ago and we have been friends ever since! Over the years Erin has built a wildly successful design blog, business. and now has released her first book.

Elements of Style : Designing a Home and a Life, beautifully mixes cohesive designs, practical advice and her witty voice/stories. The looks are attainable and fabulous. Each one layered with amazing details and the perfect amount of glamour. Erin also chronicles her own home renovation which you can also read about on her blog. I highly suggest this book for yourself and as a gift for the upcoming holidays. Trust me when I say you'll gobble up every bit of it!! 

I'm so proud of you Erin, it has been a joy watching and sharing in your journey! You deserve every bit of this fame, my beautiful, talented friend....Much love, Julie (I  just teared up) xoxo

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the book release party at West Elm in Boston. Here's a peek inside Erin's book and some photographs from the event! Enjoy! 

Images 1 & 2: Elements of Style, shares both fashion and interior design tips and advice!

Erin signed over three hundred books for her friends and loyal fans!

A picture of Erin and I!

A signature Cocktail was served - Yum!

Chive of Beverly, catered the event.

This image is from left to right architect, Derek Bloom , Laura Burned of LB custom projects, my boyfriend, Matty. 

Also, I wanted to congratulate the following on their part in the book: Amazing job!

Photography: Sarah Winchester (who also takes my interior photos)
                      Michael J. Lee, Eric Roth, Danielle Moss

 Congrats to: Kathryn Beaumont Murphy (Erin's agent)
 Illustrations in the book: Anne Harwell McElhaney
 Book design: Jennifer K. Beal Davis

Book of the month

I must confess, I am a bit of a design book junkie. The more design details and images the better! I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of designer Markham Robert's: Decorating the way I see it by The Vendome Press. I'll be displaying my edition with the cover off. How chic is the python cover? 

Markham has the ability to beautifully layer both modern and contemporary styles. The book is uniformly laid out using the step by step interior design process. Beginning with the floor plan, and each subsequent step: background, scheme, furniture, collecting, art, custom designs and finally discusses the importance of the interrelationship between the interior and exterior design of a home. Below I've shared a peek of some of the beautiful interior images. Purchase the book here. 

Enjoy! I hope you have some time to enjoy a good read this weekend! 

image via La Dolce Vita blog.

These walls? Stunning!

September - Book Of The Month

Don't be fooled by the warm weather; scarf season is upon us. I'm sure by next week it will drop to a 55 crisp degrees in Boston. If you read my blog with any regularity then you probably know I love to layer my outfits with scarfs from time to time; that coupled with the fact that I am teaching retail design this semester, I am quite fashion store and design obsessed right now. Hence, my choice for this month's "recommended read". The Hermes Scarf, History and Mystique. It's a visual collection and history of the Hermes scarf. {plus it will make a statement on your empty coffee table, I'm especially loving the cover of the "limited" edition book pictured below}

and the limited edition version.

forget my neck, purse candy or belt option, I may have to run out and purchase a piece of silk for my wall..{it's cheaper then most of the paintings I am drawn to but still a piece of fashion history, right?}

{love the idea of framing a scarf for my bedroom wall!}

Picture Perfect - Room of the week

Often all white rooms can feel flat, the key is to vary the shades of white and texture in the space! Mary McDonald has done so beautifully with this bedroom...the gorgeous canopy bed is fit for a queen! I am anxiously awaiting the release of Mary's new book, The Allure of Style. It's set to release on October 5th! A couple of weeks before my Birthday, so this one's officially on the "wish list"

ONE WORD

Dreaming

of where I'd like to be right now.........{can you guess in which moment in time?}

Most of you have probably heard of or love {like I do} the work of photographer extraordinaire Slim Aarons. He is best known for capturing beautiful people enjoying the "good life". His use of light, attention to detail and architectural backdrops are stunning. His three books listed below are on my wish list! I'm always looking to build my design library!

Image: from the fabulous Mrs. Lillien styling house

THREE BOOKS - JUNE'S RECOMMENDED

I have a love for food, cooking and entertaining..there's something about creating food with your own ideas and hands and enjoying the outcome with friends and family that feeds the soul. I thoroughly delight in sipping a glass of wine, while planning and preparing a meal for simply my family or a party of twenty..{although I will admit that's a bit more stressful}. Besides during the holidays, I seem to entertain more throughout the summer, so I couldn't settle on one fabulously, inspirational entertaining/cook book, so I've opted to share three!

The always perfectly pulled together designer Joe Nye has taken his talents to the table this Spring with a wonderful book on table settings, flowers and amazing party planning ideas with his recently released book Flair. The divine cover is just a hint of what lies inside this jem of a book.

My second choice is from caterer extraordinaire to the stars, Lulu Powers, her simple, beautiful, straightforward creations will inspire you all year long. I love the fresh, clean ideas in this book!

{click to enlarge - yum..i love million dollar anything!}

This U.K. born former model and chef has created a brilliant {like that} mix of delicious recipes organized around the four seasons!

Enjoy, Bon Appetite + Happy Weekend!

Julie

Images: All images from the listed designer's site.

Can you imagine?

having seven children and the time for a thriving design build business in New York City and beyond? no I can't either..pretty impressive. Bob and Cortney Novogratz have just that; I've previously posted about this amazing family and the release of their book "Downtown Chic" here. Now you can follow Sixx Design undertake their design projects over the course of six months in an eight episode series. Some of the rehabbed spaces include a Hamptons farm house, an East Village townhouse and their own home. Sixx Design

9 by Design premieres on April 13 at 11 pm on Bravo and moves to 10 pm ET/pt on Tuesday April 20

here's the family and some snapshots of their own home!