A Holiday Punch Party!

I'm perhaps a bit late with the plethora of holiday decor suggestions and party ideas already out there. But I propose that this post is a bit different than what is already out there - some quick tips below on how to update your existing holiday decor with a few inexpensive additions and how to throw a mostly make ahead holiday party. 

Although I love decorating for the holidays, I try not to purchase new items unless it's for something meaningful and timeless. The holidays come only once a year, and I don't have the storage space to accumulate a ton of things. And frankly, I would prefer to save money for gifts!  

I have a good foundation of ornaments and table decor that are mostly white, gold and silver, a base of neutral metallics that I've accumulated over the years. See below! 

Everything on the tree and the stockings are things I've collected gradually through the years. The $5 garland allows me to create a mantle on our mantleless fireplace. Thanks to Morgan for taking a break from her nap, sort of, to pose for this photo. 

A creative way to update your existing holiday inventory? Add some colored ribbon! Seriously. I love all our holiday items, but I like to change it up a bit each year and I've found a $12 investment in some ribbon spools can help make your things feel fresh and new. This year, I chose black ribbon accents. I wanted something a bit more modern and unexpected.  I love how it turned out, especially on our staircase.  

All I did was get a wider black grosgrain ribbon and tied it with a striped black/white ribbon atop a green garland, creating this beautiful yet simple bannister decor. If you scroll below, I also carried accents of black onto to the tablescape using slate serving platters. I'm already thinking about what accent colors I will be bringing in next year.  

We also hosted a holiday party this year which was incredibly fun. Hosting 40 people is no easy feat. I'm the first to acknowledge that I often get caught up in making sure that everything is perfect that I don't talk to my guests as much as I would like. So this time, I tried to make almost everything beforehand, which worked out so well! This allowed me to catch up with friends instead of tending to the table and bar, well most of the time at least.  See below for photos and recipes! 

Yes, that's a huge bowl of punch. I wanted to serve a drink that was fizzy, pretty and delicious, this punch did all of that and more. It is the holidays and for the holidays, it's always nice to have something special and unexpected. 

I know, that's an enormous container of popcorn. I have to thank my sister for making it for me. It's difficult to see in the photo but the popcorn has sprinkles on it! Amazing. It also had white chocolate drizzled on it which elevated popcorn to new levels.  

We also had egg salad and curry chicken mini sandwiches. Since we weren't serving dinner, I wanted to make sure we had more substantial food items to set a good base for all that punch! The egg salad and chicken salad we made the day prior, and stuffed them right before the party. Also pictured above is a pea, fava bean, and burrata spread. If you're averse to vegetables, this dish will change your mind. Promise. 

There is no party unless there is a cheese plate, charcuterie and olives in our house! And for dessert...

A tower of donuts! Those may look like normal donut holes, but they are hidden bites of sheer joy.  I'm on the fancy donut bandwagon, no doubt. We went to this donut store in Oakland at around 9 am on a Saturday morning to pick some up for the party, and they had already sold out on many of their options!  Since I do everything but bake, this was a great option to fill out the sweet end of the table. 

This was the beautiful photo of our bar, and I'm glad I took photo before it got a little crazy.  Not pictured is the keg, which I insisted on keeping outside. Yes we had a keg, my high/low philosophy doesn't stop at design although admittedly the keg was full of fancy IPA for our fancy California beer palates.

Almost everything on our table was made the day before and assembled right before the guests arrived. It was hectic just before people started arriving, but I'm so glad I did almost everything beforehand which allowed me to spend time with our guests! If you're holding a last minute holiday gathering or any party really, I highly recommend the small bites we served, so you can make everything ahead of time and enjoy your own party. 

Our home was bursting at the seams in the best way possible. Happy Holidays! 

Recipes:

Pomegranate Punch

Egg Salad

Curry Chicken

Pea, Fava Bean and Burrata Dip

Party Popcorn

Rediscovered Flatware. A remix.

It's almost Thanksgiving, which is hands down my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving dinner is often one of the few times a year where people dust off their best dishware and flatware. Below is my argument for why you should be using your best everyday and specifically, why you should use silverplate flatware to spruce up your table. 

Yes, my newest obsession is vintage silverplate flatware. Confession, I still have Ikea dishware and flatware. Not a big deal, completely serviceable and practical. But I did imagine by my 30s I would have upgraded from my dorm days at Cal. I know, #firstworldproblems. I have been slowly replacing my Ikea dishware when I have some extra spending money. But Ikea flatware has been a constant companion of mine for too long. 

After using and admiring some vintage silverplate flatware at my most recent Airbnb stay, I decided I wanted a set of my own!  Silverplate flatware is really beautiful, the patina and detail can't be found in anything new.  I knew I could not afford a sterling silver flatware set which runs into the thousands. I was happy to locate and purchase an affordable vintage silverplate flatware set for our everyday and special occasion use. I was looking for a "Z" monogram for our family's surname. Do you have any idea how hard a "Z" monogram is to find for a vintage item?! Almost impossible. So when I found a set that seemed like a fair price, I bid quickly and won. Below is the before photo as posted by the seller. 

As you can see the set looks to be in fairly rough condition. I was keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that once I received it, some elbow grease and a lot of silver polish would help bring this set back to life. It turned out well, I think.

So pretty right? It took a lot of time and effort. I understand now why Downton Abbey had a staff to polish their silver. I think vintage flatware is such a great way to mix old and new into your everyday or special occasion table setting.  Vintage dishware is often very fragile and not dishwasher friendly. It's also difficult to find vintage dishware in mint condition. In contrast, you can still find vintage flatware in very good condition that still has many years left. 

With any room I do, I like to make sure there is a mix of old and new because the tension between the two creates something beautiful. The same holds true for the table. Vintage flatware looks beautiful in contrast to very modern West Elm dishware. See below. 

I know it's difficult to convey the patina of the vintage flatware through photos so I did a side by side comparison. Below is a photo of a vintage silverplated soup spoon adjacent to a stainless steel one. 

The luster of the vintage soup spoon is undeniable and I promise you it's even prettier in person! If you're not into the idea of purchasing an entire set, consider purchasing a couple of pieces and slowly building. You'll end up with the chicest collection of mismatched pieces. Or if you know someone who loves things with a bit of history, this would be the most perfect gift. 

For some very good girlfriends, I picked up a couple of vintage silverplated soup spoons with matching vintage French soup bowls. I can't wait to give it to them.

You use your flatware everyday all day. Upgrade if you also have Ikea flatware hidden in your cutlery drawer! It's the small things in your day that can add up to make it from an average to a great day. Trust me, these gorgeous silverplate flatware pieces will put a smile on your face as you eat your morning cereal. It's been said that using silverplate flatware daily prevents tarnish. Another excuse to`use your best pieces everyday! 

A Light Filled Sanctuary

It's still early in October but already this month has proven to be crazy busy. When it starts to feel a little overwhelming I conjure the image of this home I just finished. It's the epitome of serenity.

The client's home was a wonderful canvas to work with. It had an abundance of natural light, rich wood ceilings and beams. Even the entrance to the home was enchanting. 

Background. The client and her husband and moved from Brooklyn into this adorable Bay Area cottage earlier this year. She sought my assistance for her home because she just couldn't figure out how to bring it together. I do have my own personal style, but I sincerely believe that when I'm designing for a client, my job is to help guide and edit my client's style. That is what I have done here. This client is a true minimalist, and preferred to bring in color through plants and accessories. The less there is in a room, the better it has to be since the eye will easily pick out flaws. Here we go! Below is the before of the living area.  

This home has so many windows and gets the most lovely natural light throughout the day. The original plan was to replace the sectional. However, in the end, the client decided to get the existing sectional a facelift with a new cover and legs. Here is the after! 

The real challenge for me was to adhere to the client's minimalist preferences while making sure the house felt like a home by bringing in warmth and life. To achieve this, my plan was to bring a healthy number of plants, a variety of different textures and a neutral foundation. Like many of my clients nowadays, this client decided to forgo a traditional coffee table and instead opted for a fun pouf. The console table behind the sectional can also serve as a landing space for beverages. And there can never be enough plants - here is a closer view. 

When a room has a neutral palette, one way to draw the eye's interest is to diversify the textures in the space. This is something that is often overlooked in most homes. Look closely at the plant containers, we have many different kinds of containers (woven, ceramic, metal, etc.) all in the same color palette to keep things cohesive. I've done the same with the throw pillows on the section by including a number of different fabrics (velvet, textured wool, silk, cotton). 

Since we didn't have a coffee table in the space, I found this great side table ON WHEELS! So the client and her husband can move this around as needed, this table is functional and beautiful! 

On the other side of the living room is the TV area. The client already had a vintage dresser we were planning on using. To complete the area, we decided on a gallery wall which I installed. See below for the before. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, installing gallery walls are difficult and painstaking. But I've never been disappointed after finishing one, you can achieve so much impact at relatively little cost. Scroll down for the after! 

It's the ideal blend of vintage and modern. You may notice something different with this media area compared to most you see on the blogosphere where gallery walls are used to "hide" the TV. The TV here is not centered. The clients are not big TV watchers, actually they rarely use this TV. Instead of building a gallery wall around a permanent fixture in their room that they rarely use, I gave them the option of moving the screen completely when not in use. If I had hung the gallery wall solely around the TV, there would be large unattractive wall space when the TV was removed. 

The lamp was from a pair that the client had on her nightstands. The black frames allow the colors from the prints to jump off the wall and catch your eye. 

Let's move on to the console area. Here is the before, basically an empty canvas waiting to be filled with something great! Here is the before. 

Yup, a sad empty corner. Nothing really to say. Here is the after!

I love this landing space, it's practical and beautiful. The basket to hold whatever you need on hand. The blue velvet ottoman is perfect for taking your shoes on/off or plopping down your bag after a long day at work. We reused the second lamp from the bedroom here. A closer look below. 

And finally our last stop, the bedroom. If it's chaos everywhere else in your home, at the very least, your bedroom should be a sanctuary. I am a believer that your atmosphere truly affects your productivity and well-being and that rings true especially in the bedroom. Here is the before.  

Excuse the extra fabric on the bed, the client was showing me some additional bedding. As you can see, this room was craving for just a hint of color, a bed frame and a little bit of polish. Like magic, we were able to make things happen, see below! 

You can't go wrong with that rich navy bed frame, especially against the warmness of the wood in the nightstands and ceiling. The small bud print on the sheets bring in that little something, the extra detail that makes a room from good to great. To keep things airy and simple per the client's wishes, I chose prints that were smaller in scale as can be seen in the bedding here and the rug below. 

I know, how cute is this kitty? I believe his name is Crispy. His face may not say it, but he's a fan of the new bedroom. 

And one of my favorite parts of this house is this hearth. I added some plants to border it, bringing in some green.  I absolutely loved worked with this client and her home. In some ways, going over the top can be easy, there can be so much going on there is more to hide behind. When designing with the utmost restraint, everything must be placed with intention and thought. which is what we did for this light filled sanctuary.

Thanks for reading!