Happy Holidays

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle

and WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.

2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Luna Faucet

Luna Faucet 

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle

and WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.

2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Patricia Gray's Tips for Making Colour Work in Your Interior

 

Don't be afraid to use colour. Have fun and use colours you love in the accessories,  

which don't cost a lot to change out. If possible, change them seasonally to keep 

        your interiors fresh.  

 White is a wonderful colour for kitchens. Just as simple white plates are a beautiful 

 way to display food, everything looks delicious against white counters, cabinets and 

        walls.    

 Before you commit to a colour, try many. Buy sample pots and large poster boards 

 and paint the boards. Move them around the room so you can see how the colours 

        change in different light depending on the time of day. 

Two perfect blues: Heaven on Earth and Under the Big Top, both by Benjamin

Moore. 

 Choose original artwork you love and then look to that artwork to create layers of 

 colour. Pull different shades and vary them in throw pillows, accessories like blown 

        glass, flowers and fruit.  

 Keep accent colours in a single family for a unified, sophisticated result. Editing is a part of the process.  With too many objects in a room, you don't appreciate any one thing.   

Accents of citron and ultramarine blue pop against a neutral backdrop of beige, taupe and brown in the family room. Photo: Patricia Gray Inc.

A soothing shade of warm taupe on the walls is a perfect backdrop for art and accessories in the den. Cushions pull a shades of brown from art by David Edwards. Photo: Patricia Gray Inc.   

The master bedroom, painted a delicate shade of pure summer sky, imbues the room with a relaxing atmosphere. A vintage Louis chair received an update with silver paint, white leather upholstery, and nail heads. Art is by Karen Lorena Parker. Photo: Patricia Gray Inc.

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Patricia Gray's Tips for Making Colour Work In Your Interior

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle

and WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.

2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Patricia Gray Shaw TV Interview

Patricia Gray Shaw TV Interview 

What a week we had. Last Friday I was contacted by Shaw TV to be featured on a segment on their Dream Homes show. Tuesday morning Shaw TV showed up with camera crew and shot for three and a half hours to get approximately four minutes of air time. Although it was quite exhausting with many retakes it was a lot of fun and the weather that day was perfect. Here is the link for the preview of the segment as it aired on Shaw TV Channel 4 yesterday. There will be a another segment airing next week. Stay tuned!!!

YouTube link Patricia Gray Shaw TV Interview 

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle

and WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.

2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Let There Be Light

Have fun with accent lighting. Finding just the right lighting is one of the most difficult things for me as an interior designer, but when it happens it is magic. I think of the room as the perfect little black dress with the perfect cut, the one that dresses up or down according to the occasion, and the perfect lighting fixture is the jewelry that finishes off and compliments the little black dress.

I have written an article for West Coast Homes and Design, a supplement in the Vancouver Sun Newspaper,on how the right lighting is one of the most important aspects in achieving atmosphere in a home. Lighting is a discipline all to itself and often is one of the most important parts of an interior. Bad lighting can ruin a good interior: good lighting can almost salvage a bad one. For example….. (more)

In kitchens it is particularly important to get the lighting right as food preparation along with the eating and social aspects that go on in this room are a vital part of our lives and involve all of our senses. Kitchens need to be well lit with good overall ambient lighting and task lighting over islands and countertops. Add a little fun and pizazz with accent lighting as I did over this island.





Lighting in a bathroom and bedroom needs to make you feel refreshed and energetic in the morning, ready to face the challenges of the day ahead, but at night should engender a feeling of relaxation and harmony. In a bathroom, good lighting for putting on make-up should come evenly from either side of the mirror so shadows are not cast on the face. The rest of the room needs to be lit evenly from overhead, but be careful of placing recessed pot lights that are directly over your head when standing in front of a mirror or else you will have shadows under your eyes. I put the lights for the make-up lights and the overhead lights on different switches to further enhance the options to create different moods.



Left: Wall mounted LED swing-arm lamps were used in this bedroom for task light.

Right: Candles can add to the mood and ambience in a room and make a dramatic statement.

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PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel. 2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Living etc.

HOUSE TOURS

I volunteered at the "Living etc. House Tours" at Whistler Street in North London on the 16th March 2012. My job was to guide visitors through the inspirational home of architect Phil Coffey. After the shift I was able to visit some of the other homes in North London and see for my self the cutting edge designs architects were using today.

Living room at 56 Whistler Street, North London

http://www.coffeyarchitects.com/

The light well in the ceiling and the open staircase allowed day light to move through out the house making it feel spacious and airy. The patio doors opened up completely so that the living room joined the outside space. The light weight bamboo trees in the back garden once again added to the airiness of the space.

Polished concrete and resin floor of the living room was heated with under floor heating. I really liked the corner fire place which added a cosy feel to the contemporary interior. There were plenty of storage through out the house designed to create a feature against the walls or mimic the contours of the walls.

This small terraced house had plenty of day light flooding in through light wells strategically placed in the ceiling. The white walls created a perfect backdrop for art work and the exposed natural features of the house. It also made the house feel spacious and airy. The glass staircase on the first floor added to the spacious feel of the house and the mirror placed against the wall reflected the light back into the house. It was a very successful design as it made the house feel larger than it was.

Other inspirational homes in North London were designed by :-

Architect Dominic Mc Kenzie designed a gold kitchen

Interior designer Jo Barryman designed a living room

Architect James Wright designed a bathroom

Artist Rory Dobner designed a dramatic bedroom.

All can be viewed on www.housetohome.co.uk/house-tours/pictures

The Livingetc. House Tours continues on Friday 23rd March 2012 in West London

February snow

Couldn't help but capture the textures of the snow capped trees

Highlights from Paris - My Paris Restaurants

 

Café Campana at the Musée d'Orsay Paris

After an inspiring stroll through the new Impressionist Gallery on Level 5 of the Musée d'Orsay you arrive at the breath taking new new Pavilion Amont, the station's former engine house, and the Café Campana with futuristic décor by the Brazilian Campana Brothers. It is a provocative jumble of orange twisted coated wire fencing, sea anemone chairs by Edra, gold laser-cut lampshades resembling bells and the magnificent station clock as the focal point. This restaurant/cafe is not to be missed on a trip to Paris! Make sure that you sit facing the clock as you can actually see the hands moving and you have a beautiful view of the city of Paris. I had the most delicious salad – Comme une Niçoise with heart of cos lettuce, cherry tomato, anchovy filet, potato, tuna, hard-boiled egg and olives. See the menu here.

Cafe Flottes, 2 rue Cambon Paris

I fell in love with this Paris restaurant. It was close to my Hotel and it is on the same block as Chanel’s original store at 31 rue Cambon. Flottes serves the best home cooked French food in a casual atmosphere, and it is a favourite with the local Parisians; and rightly so. The atmosphere is bustling and friendly and the food is

  
simple, robust and excellent. I ate there three nights in a row and every night I had a glass of their Bordeaux wine with the special of the day followed by desert and an espresso of course. I had, respectively, the Beef bourguignon, Confit de canard, Piece de boeuf de Salers with béarnaise sauce and frites. For desert I had, two nights in a row because it was so good, tarte des demoiselles Tatin with crème fraîche - an  upside down caramelized apple tart. I wish I had taken pictures of my food but I was too busy eating it. You can see the menu here. They also have a cookbook which I wanted to buy but my suitcase was already full. A nice touch to the restaurant is that Mademoiselle Flottes was bustling around the restaurant all three nights I ate there.

The seafood bar at Flottes restaurant in Paris is on the sidewalk and you can watch the seafood platters being prepared the as you walk by.

Flottes restaurant cookbook features the dishes they serve at the restaurant that have made them a favourite with the local Parisians.

Le Grand Colbert, 2 rue Vivienne Paris

On my visit to Paris I wanted to eat at Le Grand Colbert in Paris because of the history of the restaurant dating back to 1637, and the name taken from Louis XIV’s finance minister, a man well versed in cuisine, and also because my girlfriend had her wedding dinner at this restaurant….and if that is not enough, it is Le Grand Colbert restaurant is in the movie with Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, and Jack Nicholson – Something’s Gotta Give. Well the food was not the best I had eaten in Paris, but I ended up having a great time, as I spent the evening in conversation with the German couple sitting next to me who were in Paris for the Chanel haute couture fashion show at the Grand Palais that very day. They have been haute couture customers of Chanel’s for quite a few years and get an invitation to the show twice a year, as well as going to the famous Chanel workroom on 31 rue Cambon the day after the show to choose the pieces from the collection that will be custom made to measure for Mademoiselle. I found myself living vicariously through them; their telling me about the show, the background of haute couture, the goings on behind the scenes, etc. The show this year (I don’t know how Karl Lagerfeld does it) tops all other shows. It was set in an airplane and there were two shows back to back – one for the haute couture customers (of which there are merely 200 in the whole world) and the other show for the press. You never know who will be sitting beside you when you dine in Paris. You can download an app to your iPhone or iPad of the fashion show here. Oh, and Mademoiselle has promised to send me photos when her haute couture gowns arrive!

 
At Le Grand Colbert restaurant in Paris I had Belle Sole “meunière style” and for desert traditional French Crêpe Suzette flambéed with Grand Mariner.

Au 35, 35 Rue Jacob

The restaurant Au 35, was recommended to me by the concierge at my Hotel at the last minute. I asked for something simple and easy as it was my last evening in Paris. Au 35 was a 5 minute walk from my Hotel. When I walked into Au 35 I instantly felt good about the place.  It was cozy and authentic, and featured delicious French food made with the freshest ingredients. The entree I had was probably one of the best seafood dishes I have ever tasted, and I mean seriously, it was superb. It was a piece of local white fish on a bed of the most delicious tasting potatoes. It is one of those dishes I will dream of at night and when I think of it, I will be transported back in time to that moment in Paris. My entree was listed on the chalkboard menu as: Filet de julienne à la pomme de terre ceraxi. For desert I had crème brûlée with salted butter fudge – yumm!

Filet de julienne à la pomme de terre ceraxi at Au 35 restaurant in Paris

 
Au 35 restaurant Paris

Au Sauvignon, 80 Rue des Saints-Pères

This wine bar, Au Sauvignon, was recommended by the concierge at my Hotel. He says it is a place that he likes to go to with his friends for a drink before dinner of going to the theatre. It is one of he busiest and most chic spots in Paris, thanks to its location in the heart of the Left Bank, nestled among small designer boutiques and art galleries, just a stone's throw away from Au Bon Marché and across the street from Hermes’ newest store. The specialties are its tartines, or open-faced sandwiches made from pain poilâne and a single page of the compact menu and offers whites, reds and a few rosés, either by the glass or bottle.

 
Au Sauvignon Wine Bar Paris staircase

A steep staircase leading up to the restrooms at Au Sauvignon displays a clutter of posters celebrating the arrival of new vintages of Beaujolais, cartoon, caricatures, and paintings of Paris, including one of the bar itself. Amongst all this it’s easy to miss an inconspicuous hanging metal sign displaying the maxim “Le prix attire la clientele, la qualité seule la retient” – The price attracts the customer; only the quality brings them back.

If you have had the pleasure of eating at any of these Paris restaurants, please let me know your experience by leaving a comment here.

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

My Paris by Night

 

   

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2012 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™