With the holidays behind us it’s time to hunker down and treat ourselves to comfort food that will carry us through the chill of winter.

This make-ahead All-in-One Ham Casserole is great for a weeknight dinner. Once the prep work is done, everything is in one dish and ready to cook. It just needs to be heated through and dinner is served. It’s perfect for days when you’re looking for something quick and hearty.

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We shared a lot of food and great wine with a huge gathering of friends and family over the long holiday. This year in Albany New York the temperature was a balmy 58 degrees! What better way to enjoy the holiday than sitting around the warm glow of a patio fire pit? Whether you’re entertaining a group or having a romantic evening for two, a fire pit provides the warmth and soft light needed to extend your time outdoors in comfort. Evenings and fire pits were made for each other.

A fire pit makes the perfect centerpiece for any outdoor living area, providing a natural gathering spot for guests. Surround it with comfy patio furniture or create built-in seating from coordinating materials. Even a short retaining wall built around your fire pit can double as built-in seating.

Vasto and Son will be at the at the Times Union Home Expo Fedruary 19-21st located at booth 134A, they offer a variety of  landscape plans, patio material and fire pit designs in a range of sizes and styles that make it easy to build your outdoor living space. And their selection of materials and colors will ensure that your new space blends beautifully with your existing landscaping. The great thing about a stone patio is that the options are endless. There’s a wide range of materials, designs, and features that can be incorporated. You can build a stone patio that’s small and simple, large and elaborate, or anything in between. If you prefer small, intimate gatherings, a simple stone patio with enough space for your grill and some seating may be perfect. Even if you already have a concrete patio, replacing it with a stone patio can drastically improve the aesthetics of your outdoor space and make it feel more inviting.

During the winter months, landscaping is all but forgotten as the grass and plants go dormant and temperatures drop. But this can actually be a great time to think about your hardscaping. By starting now, you will have ample time to thoroughly plan and design your projects. You’ll be ready to begin construction as soon as the weather warms up and be enjoying your new hardscaping while your neighbors are still in the planning stages.

So Stop by and start planning now!

Stay Tuned for more Adventures at the Home Expo 2016, I will be blogging every day in January and February highlighting Events, Vendors and special guests!!

XOXO

M

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Gothic Architecture

I came across some of Minty Sainsbury’s drawings, She has a passion for architecture, it’s a subject which consumes her. Not only are they very precise architectural renderings of classical buildings they are also very beautiful and intriguing. The use of the empty space in her street views is arresting and unusual. She contrasts the intricate complexity of cathedrals and gothic churches with nothing but a thin outline of the buildings in the foreground.

It’s not surprising that this artist and illustrator studied architecture at Cambridge “because I loved drawing historical architecture”. At university while others were using computers Minty drew every plan by hand, graduating top of her year and winning a Royal Institute of British Architects prize.

In the architecture world, there are a handful of persistent debates that arise time and time again: the challenges of being a woman in the field of architecture is one of them, for example; the problems of a culture of long hours and hard work is another. But one of the most enduring arguments in architecture – especially in the academic sphere – is the battle between hand drawing and computer aided design. Both schools have their famous proponents: Michael Graves, for example, was known as a huge talent with a pencil and paper, and came to the defense of drawing in articles for the New York Times, among others. Patrik Schumacher, on the other hand, is famous for his commitment to the capabilities of the computer.

Personally there are valid arguments on both sides, in the debate about how architects – both present and future – represent our ideas, it is easy to find a lot of articles supporting both sides. I love the freedom of hand drawings, although they are not easily modified as computer production generated images and my not be practical, to me there is nothing prettier than a well done hand rendering of a project, they are truly works of art.. I would enjoy having any one of these framed and on the wall in my home..

Stay Tuned…..The Home Expo 2016 is coming to the Times Union Center, watch for dates…I will be blogging again for The Home Expo with HGTV as our special guest this year! See you there!

XOXO

M

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From the Rustic Barn Revival to tried and true traditional interiors, I’ve decided to take us on a cruise through some beautiful homes.. Paint colors seem to still be in the neutral pallet, while the glamorous mirrored furnishings stand strong in transitional spaces. The rustic statement returns with the HGTV Series Fixer Upper with Joanna and Chip Gaines. The popularity of this series is very prevalent in design right now. Lets get started!!

                                                                 Rustic Finishes

Reconditioned barn-siding floors ground this Rustic kitchen, where the island is crafted from similar materials.

                                                                       Before and After Photos Ghent Goat Farmhouse

This gorgeous Farm House is in Ghent NY, near where we live. The transformation was nothing short of a Wondrous.. loved the Wine bottle chandeliers, and the length of the farm table.

                                    Family Friendly Living Room, Comfy sectional’s are back!

Lets Talk shall we?? Sectional ‘s the stuff family rooms circa 1987 were made of, but they are back in a big way! Living rooms have become more relaxed places where our families live, we have less need for formal sofas and more use of a place to gather together, lounge and play. This sectional, dressed in elegant tan linen upholstery, invites us to grab a warm throw and a good book or game.

Paint colors, Traditionally, blue has been a calming color. We think people like the idea of cozying up in the hues of the deepest sea. Blues both light and darker continue to be used in design, as well as the tans and greys.. see below.

The curved sofa adds an architectural element to this space, with pops of blue the neutral pallet resonates with warmth..

Blending the Rustic elements with more modern furnishings, is a popular look. By pairing two things that don’t seem to go together, you are actually emphasizing the best qualities of both.

I’ve enjoyed our visit… as always,

Stay Tuned!!

XOXO

M

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Natural Linens and sisal rug give this charming bedroom and unfussy look…

Our eye takes in the Draperies and Wesley Hall chair in King Textiles matelassé. Corsican iron bed. Pillows and bedskirt in Jane Churchill floral. Bedspread in Chelsea Textiles cotton. Visual Comfort lamps. William Crutchfield botanicals. Halo Styles bench in muslin.

Steve Giannetti, share pictures of their home in CA, Outdoor spaces blend seamlessly with interiors. Lantern, Troy Lighting. The lantern seems such a little detail, but in this design its a focal point…

 The Greenwich, Connecticut, home of former Sony executive Tommy Mottola . For Mr. Mattola, things are never done half way..He believes “Great returns require great investment and the devil is in the details”.  “It’s the little things that matter,” says the man who guided the careers of Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, and his former wife Mariah Carey, among others.

This apartment is located in the Upper East Side in NYC. The renovation by Steve Gambrel. Gambrel’s efforts at “younging up” the traditional interiors, as the designer playfully puts it, he made strategic use of high-gloss finishes, including on the ceilings of the living and dining rooms. “The millwork and plasterwork were so elaborate they could have been perceived as fussy,” he says. “Our solution was to lacquer the extravagant details to give the rooms a more modern feel.”

If Beauty is in the eye of the beholder than I say that the most liberating thing about beauty are the details, they empower us to find beauty where others have not dared to look….

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Sheepishly, I admit the garage door is one of the last things I think about when it comes to home updating projects. (although my husband has been bugging me for 15 years!!)  If it’s not broken, why fix it? Which leaves us with standard inexpensive doors that look exactly like the one the neighbors have. But there is a world of modern garage doors that not only increase your curb appeal, but may I inspire you to use your garage as another living space.

Glass and aluminum garage doors not for you?

These gorgeous wood garage doors camouflage with the rest of house’s wood façade and feel luxurious.

In this modular prefab home, a garage door serves as a floor-to-ceiling window that can be raised to create an al fresco dining experience.

Many people are bringing this industrial chic element straight into their living spaces. Not one but two super tall garage doors create a comfortable and airy indoor/outdoor living room.

Do you have any ideas for how to design a space with a garage door??

As always I’d love to hear from you…

XOXO

M

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