Petite Terra

In case you didn't know, terrariums are all the rage. Leslie Goldhahn, the designer behind Petite Terra, crafts delicate and artful miniature ecosystems in beautiful glass vessels. We are lucky enough to have several of them for sale in the shop. Maintenance of terrariums is very simple, the succulent varieties require only once a month watering.

I love the filament bulbs in this one!

Paris Loot

Every time we incorporate antiques in the shop they are quickly snatched up. Especially when we put a little work into making them fresh and modern. I decided to up the ante when I took a trip to France last summer and shopped at the Paris flea markets. I picked up a mix of vintage and antique pieces that are all stunning. They have finally arrived and you must stop by if only to admire them!

Vintage leather club chairs and brass side tables with glass tops

19th century chandelier from an Italian church atrium

Lamps made from ceramic electrical posts by Aline Bachelier

Vintage table with a beautiful patina used for cigar rolling

KC Taste Maker's Dinner

Below is an article written for the KC Star Magazine that tells a little about the dinner party we were so lucky to be a part of. The idea was to round up some taste makers of KC and host an intimate dinner where people could share ideas and their thoughts on trends in their field of profession. The result was a spectacular evening that the guests are still talking about! I will be posting pictures from the event soon, so be sure and check back for them!

I am a novice at real entertaining. I have the basic guidelines for a successful party down: keep drinks and music flowing, and most guests stay happy for several hours. But throwing an actual dinner party where insightful conversation and idea-making ensues? Well, that is a bird of a different feather.

Recently I had the honor of co-hosting such an event. Kelly LaPlante, the editorial director of Standard Magazine, approached me about having a Kansas City Taste Makers Dinner at my store, Urban Dwellings Design. Kelly and her crew are traveling the country and hitting up hip cities to discover what the movers and shakers are up to. K.C. was the second city (the first was L.A.) to make the cut for this intimate and interactive approach to a dinner party. The party was a smashing success, and here is what I learned along the way about making the evening especially memorable.

Carefully curate your guest list. Decide how many people you can manage to entertain, which in our case, was 20. Our focus (the theme of the party) was on taste makers, but we wanted a variety of creative professions represented. Guests at our dinner included writers, general contractors, chef/restaurant owners, stylists, boutique owners, social media/branding specialists and, of course, interior designers. Also, it was important that not everyone already knew each other, so guests could take away a few new friends after the evening. Most important, choose people that you think will have good synergy together.

Do pre-planning legwork. Our evening was catered, but finding out guests’ dietary needs in advance was helpful. If you will be preparing the food yourself, make sure it can all be made in advance so you’re not tied up in the kitchen as guests arrive. I have seen more than one host become bitter after slaving away and not getting to actually enjoy the party itself.

Set the mood. Admittedly, we have pretty good resources in the store for creating an inviting atmosphere. Our table was adorned with a row down the center comprised of an interesting mix of objects d’ art, bud vases with fresh flowers and tea lights. Make sure to dim the lights or only use lamp lights and candles. Bright or harsh overhead lighting is really just the pits for creating an intimate mood.

Play music. These days, creating a playlist on your iPod or selecting a swanky station on Pandora is easy, and greatly adds to the party atmosphere. We chose the Pink Martini station on Pandora for cocktail hour and then switched to Billie Holiday for dinner.

Use place cards. I once thought place cards were snobby. But in a situation like this it is helpful to position guests where you think they will be most comfortable but still have the chance to meet someone new.

Create a warm welcome. Try to greet each guest as they arrive and let them know how special it is to have them join you for the evening. Having pre-made drinks to hand out upon arrival is also nice. We had a warming urn full of a spiked apple cider that smelled and tasted delicious, and added a quick warm up to the cold night.

Consider conversation starters. For our Taste Maker Dinner, guests were asked to fill out cards on their trend predictions for 2011. After dinner, we would share our ideas at the table. This gave guests something to talk about and bond over the remainder of cocktail hour and into dinner. The concept can be adapted for a party at home by correlating it to the theme of the evening. A few of the noteworthy predictions from the taste makers:

“America will continue to produce artisan products. European-style butchery will continue to grow. Pigs, hogs, pork, bacon, fat!” Michael Smith, chef/owner of Michael Smith and Extra Virgin restaurants.

“Challenging economy + a desire to nest at home = SMALL LUXURIES. It’s the little things in life that matter MOST! (For example) A heartfelt hug when you walk in the door!” David Jimenez, vice president of store design for Hallmark Cards.

By combining basic party guidelines with thoughtful advance planning, you can create a great dinner party. But if you also engage your guests and open a forum for interesting thought and conversation, you will create a memorable and exciting experience for all involved.

By Jaclyn Joslin, Special to The Star

Winter Wonder Sale

We have smashing deals on furniture and accessories happening right now during our Winter Wonder Sale. Now through February 12th, please stop by and see us!

Edgy & Organic

I love this small accent table by Caste Design. It sums up my personal design philosophy-edgy and organic. I love the challenge of a project that requires me to step outside of my personal design preference. I recently worked with a couple that had very traditional taste and we were able to find a happy place in the middle. I updated their look but kept a traditional grounding to the design so they would still feel at home, along with their antiques. With that being said, I am ready for a client that gives me free reign on their design...I may just use this table when they do: )

Gray is not the only way

For the KC Star:

Every few years, there is a trend that saturates the design industry, and this year we were hit hard with one.

As I gear up for the furniture market held twice a year in High Point, North Carolina, I prepare myself for scouting new ideas. I schedule meetings with my most important vendors in advance. I prioritize what items I will be looking for based on customer demand. But mainly I am looking to spot The Next Best Thing, that trend that won’t hit the chain stores for a few years.

Right now everywhere you look is gray. The corporate retailers are doing it and although it has been a trend with designers for a few years already, it was still very prevalent at market in October. Most vendors I spoke to seem to think this trend will be around for another few years.

During my tour of the Global Views showroom, my rep informed me of their conscious decision to use gray with accents of citron in their front-room display. Just downstairs from them in the International Home Furnishings Center (referred to as IHFC), a 12-story building with 3.5 million square feet of display room, you could see traces of gray everywhere. A new line, Mr. Brown, a subsidiary of the designer line Julian Chichester, also was using gray with accents of green, citron and pink.

A trip to the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams showroom proved they had been influenced by shades of gray as well. MG+BW has its own 24,000-square-foot building that houses almost the entire collection during market. The showroom is known for a few things: an almost obsessively well-kept and presented showroom, impeccable service, men in black and the color white everywhere else. Mitchell and Bob (yes, they are real people) believe in letting their furniture stand out and creating the mood for the settings. The two-level showroom will typically have 13 to 15 vignettes on each floor of furniture set up in living room or bedroom environments showcasing new products and fabrics as well as current inventory. The first half of my appointment was going along business as usual. Then we took the stairs to the second floor and I was transported into moody, dark chocolate and gray surroundings. They had even painted the floors gray! After so many years of white floors, this trend was big enough for them to take note.

So while I appreciate the current trend, the thought started to cross my mind that it was being a bit overdone. I was on the hunt for something new and different. Gray was starting to downright depress me! After seeing this look everywhere I turned, I was now ready for something to stand out in the sea of gray.

Thankfully, my luck changed during my visit to the Oly Studio showroom. A hunch I had been having was confirmed: gold is the new gray. A new plush gold mohair had been introduced along with a stunning hand-carved hardwood chest encased in natural brass, illuminating a beautiful gold sheen. Gold is vibrant, brilliant and in my opinion, goes with everything. There were even “Solid Gold” dancers at the Oly after-hours showroom party.

If the big-box stores are doing it, you can almost guarantee I will do the opposite. Rather than coming home to KC riding the “gray train,” instead I felt inspired by the idea to infuse rich and vibrant pops of color that breathe life into a space. Not to worry though, I still have a penchant for gray and envision gold and gray among other colors living harmoniously together.

Reach Jaclyn Banash, interior designer and owner of Urban Dwellings Design in the River Market, 412 Delaware St., at info@urbandwellingsdesign.com.

A very merry and happy from us to you!