Holiday Greetings...

It's been a whirlwind of client and personal projects since my last posting on the 8th of November... where does the time go? Can you believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already? It's December 1st and I'm still full from that Thanksgiving meal... how about you?

Right before Thanksgiving I finished decorating a large house for some clients that I've been working with for the past 8 years and I'm so excited to share these photos with you...

Over 8' long, this mantle shows the Three Wiseman on their journey. It is decorated with glittered pinecones, gold branches and berries.

This is probably my favorite arrangement. A white container, bought specifically to reflect the texture of the white pinecones nestled in the mantle greenery, holds green apple sprays, winter flocked greenery, winterberries and white amaryllis.

This 24' foot tree steals the show. Containing 4000 lights, the tree takes 3 days to completely decorate and a few days to assemble. Decorated from the balcony first and turned as necessary, it is pulled to the center of this archway and finished with ladders.

Think the tree skirt is too small? You're right. What I'm not showing which arrived later are nine, large poinsettias which surround the base of the tree.

Stay tuned as I'm having some friends come and visit Design Guy University and share the holiday season with us. Some of them you'll recognize, some you'll want to know more about. All of them you'll love... just like I do. Keep tuned as my friends share the holidays with you.

Happy Holidays.

Scott

Flower Power

Even though we've been fortunate with great weather, I was feeling low last week hearing news about the not-so-great diagnosis and health of a dear friend's mother who is also a client of mine. To help cheer myself, I went to the wholesale flower market which is a quick, 15-minute walk from the house. With a little commentary, I'll share what I found. As you can see... Nature always sustains. Val was on my mind the entire time.

The photo turned out a little watermelon, but this Fresia was actually orange and yellow. Stunning and the perfect plant for Thanksgiving.

Christmas is around the corner which is usually where you see these lime-colored cyprus trees, but the rosemary topiary can be enjoyed all year round. In a terra-cotta pot, I could see this on any bountiful Thanksgiving table.

These are terrific by themselves in a huge bunch or as accents.

Commonly known as pincushion plant, these come in several colors... they also had gold.

Peonies are available here year round. These probably need black ants to open the blossoms (or so my grandmother would say)

I bought several of these creatures. Found in their natural form in either light pink or a natural color, these have been dyed. Quite large, it took only eight to fill a large iron container and I added some fill. I bought one in every color. Although one of the common names is a banana flower, it actually looks nothing like any banana flowers at all.

At the holidays, I love citrus fruit. These meyer lemon trees are fantastic in pots on either side of a fireplace, a single one in a bay window, or even in a kitchen. The lemons can be used; I personally would slice them and dry them for holiday decoration along with some orange slices.

This is just one of the greenhouses on floral row. Filled to the brim, this is a fraction of what was available. This shot doesn't reflect the huge selection just in this one area. Poinsettias are already available as Christmas is only 50 days away with me starting to decorate houses for the holiday starting the 20th of November.

Flophouse to Fab?

The Fairmont Hotel always amazes guests with lux surroundings found nowhere else but atop Nob Hill in San Francisco. But even the best needs a bit of refreshing now and then. Last week Champalimaud Design learned they won the category "Interior Design, USA" for the 2010 Americas Property Awards. Why? For the stunning and I mean STUNNING 'refreshing' of the 6,000-square-foot suite that spans the ENTIRE eighth floor of the hotel's historic main building.

Amazingly, the space was originally designed as a personal residence in the '20s by archeologist and expert on Persian art Arthur Upham Pope.

The three-bedroom extravaganza features a vaulted billiards room entirely covered in floor-to-ceiling Persian tiles, a sweeping two-story circular library featuring a gold-leaf rotunda and a dining room that seats ONLY 60 at full-capacity.

Flophouse indeed.