Home Design with Kevin Sharkey

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1 Pillows are a great accent to any space - indoors or out. They can really make any house feel like a home.

2 Plants and flowers inject life into one's home.

3 Brionvega is the name behind one of the most famous radio and Television manufacturers. Play your local radio stations while you unpack your new house! Check out their website: www.brionvega.it

4 Pets are great company in a new home.

5 The color of your walls and window frames are up to you - you can stick with the same color, or use two different ones - but one rule always holds true: walls get matte paint, while frames and molding get gloss.

Last Monday's Q&A post was so much fun to write, I decided to give it another go! I appreciate all of your comments and am fascinated by the wondeful questions I have received thus far. Please keep them coming. If I didn't get to yours today, stay tuned - I'm going to make Monday's my regular Q&A day. Enjoy! - Kevin

Q: I moved to a new state and home 18 months ago and I don't feel comfortable in my new home yet. What can I do to feel at home like I did in my old house? Can you give me some tips on feeling comfortable in my new home? - Michelle

A: Good morning, Michelle. Settling into a new home can be as challenging as the move itself.  Aside from unpacking and introducing yourself to your new neighbors, I would suggest putting some plants and flowers around the house, or a small garden outside if you have the space. Invest in some pillows for the living room, bedroom, or any other room that could use some softening, and use them to accent your space and make it feel more homey. Carpeting can have the same effect - turning a room from an empty vessel to a soft, warm space. Playing music throughout your home is also a great way to create ambience. Invest in a dock with speakers for your iPod, or find out what the best local radio stations are and tune in while you unpack! Last but not least, pets are a great accessory to any home. Whether it is a goldfish, cat or dog, it's always nice to have someone, or something, to come home to.  All of these touches are an expression of your individuality - exactly what your home should be. I hope this helps and you settle in soon!

Q: I was thinking of painting my window frames the same as my wall color. I currently have white gloss on the frames - if I repaint, should I do the frames in matte or gloss? -Pru

A: Hi Pru. A general rule to go by is: matte paint for the walls, and a coat or two of gloss paint for molding, door and window frames. While the color may be the same, the finish should always be different.

Q: I am curious to learn more about your ideas of window treatments for your new apartment. It looks like such an enormous amount of glass to deal with - I have a friend with a similar situation and we did sheers as not to block the view. Can you give us some alternate ideas? - Joe

A: Like anything else in one's home, window treatments are a matter of personal choice. From the start, I knew that I wouldn't be putting curtains up. I considered doing sheer panels the same color as the walls, which I'm sure would look excellent, but decided to hold off. Now I'm researching solar and black out shades. As the renovation of my apartment unfolds, I'll be sure to keep you updated on what I decide to go with, as well as provide several alternate options!

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1 Welcome to Bunny Williams! As soon as you walk in you are greeted with rich details and a layering of styles. I love the table covering - look at it's shaped edges.

2 The sign on her door

3 Her furniture's accessories line, Bee Line Home, named for a "busy buzzing wonderful home."

4 I love the two-toned stained wood floors.

5 The mirror inlays in the columns are fabulous!

6 Another beautiful moment in Bunny's world.

7 I love this fantastic bird doorknob on Bunny's office door.

8 This is Bunny's office and in it is her very own "Work Horse Desk" from the Bee Line Home Collection in use.

9 Another view of Bunny's office.

10 The "T42 Chair and Ottoman" (I love the name!) and the "Hourglass Table."

11 Bunny's beautifully decorated conference room.

12 Inside the conference room is a bookcase filled with marble samples.

13 What a pretty cabinet.

14 This is such a smart design - the "Tote Debris" waste can.

15 "Bottoms-Up Table"

16 The hand-carved "Garden Panel" hangs above a sofa draped with the "Naughty Miss Bunny Throw." So luxurious.

17 "Tambour Side Table".

18 I love the detailing on this "Nailhead Sofa".

19 The "Shadow Box Mirror".

20 Bunny's book has sold over 58,000 copies and is currently in its 10th printing.

21 Bunny's retail boutique, Treillage, specializes in home and garden objects from around the world and should not missed when in NYC. (Photo by Edward Addeo)

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The other day I had the pleasure of visiting my friend, interior designer and author, Bunny Williams, at her NYC design studio. Bunny has long since been an inspiration of mine ever since I wanted to get into interior design. She was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1996 and her work has been regularly featured in design magazines. She co-owns Treillage along with her husband, John Roselli (check out their online shop: treillageonline.com).

This year she launched her eclectic line of furniture and accessories named BeeLine home.  It is a collection of limited edition traditional and modern pieces that are sold worldwide - go to beelinehome.com for more info.  As Bunny says: "The collection is expressive and unique and as I've found in my design work, pieces often work together not because they are alike but because they are different."

Her style, as you will see from the pictures above, is timeless.  I hope you enjoy this peek into one of my favorite designers and her workplace.

Treillage Ltd.
418 East 75th Street,
New York, NY 10021

Phone: (212) 535-2288
Fax: (212) 517-6589

Hours:
Mon-Fri 10AM-6PM
Saturday 10:00-5:00 between Thanksgiving and Christmas
Sunday Closed

and,

Treillage Ltd.
1015 Lexington Ave. (at 73rd Street)
New York, NY 10021

Phone: (212) 988-8800
Fax: (212) 988-8810

Hours:
Mon-Fri 10AM-6PM
Saturday 11AM-5PM
Sunday Closed

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1 My office key. I received this Marc Jacobs key ring as a gift and I just love it. Come on in.

2 At first glance, everything looks pretty neutral until you see the rest of my collection of books.

3 An entire wall of color.

4 I like to organize my books by color. I can't always remember the title I'm looking for, but I always know the color of the book.

5 Organizing them this way is so beautiful and makes it easy to pull books for shoots and propping.

6 I think I may need more room already.

7 My new conference table came from Martha's old office. It has a stainless steel top that gives it an industrial feel.

8 I always have fresh flowers in my office because we are constantly creating new arrangements for our flower businesses.

9 Ready for their close-up.

10 A collection of writing instruments are always at the ready. I like to keep them in silver cups. Alexis, Martha's daughter, gave me the Sharpies, and Martha gave me the Le Pens in turquoise, brown and black. I have a piece of fool's gold under the glass dome.

11 Push pins and paper clips are always in demand to pin up and put together inspiration for meetings and presentations. I like to keep them out of my desk drawer and stored in pretty containers. The chain links are my paperweight.

12 I bought these wooden magazine holders at IKEA and had them painted faux bois (false wood in French). Martha says she wants them for her office, so if one day they're missing, I'll know where to find them.

13 These are some posters that I had my assistant put up for me. They're based on some vintage posters. I think they're great.

14 A wooden mask that I purchased while I was on a photo shoot in Ojai, CA.

15 More finds from my trip to China. They're on tables outside my office now, but I need to find them a better home.

16 This is the inside of my secret international candy drawer. It holds a collection of candy from my travels. It's a great pick-me-up during long days at the office.

In addition to getting ready to live through my apartment renovation, I also recently had my office renovated -- good practice, I suppose, for what I'm about to experience while living in my apartment during the renovation. The problem was that my office tended to feel cramped with just a few people in it. Since I meet with all of the various departments in our company on a regular basis, I realized that I needed to gain some additional space. I also wanted to add a large conference table to better accommodate my guests. I  was able to increase the space by having the front wall of my office moved out a few feet. A new glass wall with a sliding glass door was added to really open up the space. It's definitely a great place to be inspired and get some work done.