5 February 2009
february newsletter
Dear friend of furbish:
Happy New Year! We are wishing you a beautiful 2009.
I am SO excited! We have our first newsletter for the new incarnation of furbish ready for you! Every month you will receive FREE decorating advice from YOURS TRULY, as well as some musings on design and its place in our lives.
I was listening to Brian Lehrer on NPR today and he was interviewing someone from the National Endowment for the Arts. The quick snippet I heard really resonated with me. Art matters. Beauty matters! The presence of art increases our ability to learn. It reduces the rate of violence. It stimulates the economy too! All this in addition to the usual benefits of elevating our thoughts and inspiring us.
Interior design is the way we bring art home and make it part of our daily living. It does matter and that is what I will be writing about for YOU every month.
Please be sure to come shop furbish on TUESDAY, February 10, as it will be the first day that we will be donating 10% of proceeds to the Essex Habitat for Humanity. We will be doing this the first Tuesday of every month for the rest of 2009 in addition to some exciting fundraisers. I will be sending more information soon.
Be well!
Uma
in this issue
quick links
here's what you picked
The top three items you craved, raved, and bought so fast it made our heads spin!
SUNFLOWER MIRROR in Antiqued Gold
Retails: $375.00. Order now for ONLY: $318.75
This convex mirror is such a fabulous statements piece. The high end designers who visit our store vied for it. A lot of bang for the buck.
HORN NESTING TABLES
Retails: $850.00 for set of three. Order now for ONLY: $722.50
This is a glamorous, rich, sophisticated set of tables. The colors range from white with green undertones to grey green to carmel to black. The table tops have a polished surface, but the natural color variation in the horn also gives these tables a feeling of texture.
GARDEN SUITE
Retails: $198.00 each. Order now for ONLY: $165.50 each
These giclee prints are a beautiful way to bring a zen feel to your home. The colors are so soft and meditative. Use them to add a bit of air element to a space in your home that needs to lighten up!
Call us at 973.761.0311 to order, or for more information.
feature: earthy sophistication - a new design genre
Back in June 2005, just before I launched my first design business, I tore this picture out of Architectural Digest. It has been a touchstone for me ever since. Taped to my bedroom wall, I look at it nightly and dream design fantasies. This interior is so simple, yet so rich. A layering of neutral texture against a fantastic architectural backdrop, I continue to find it very inspiring.
On the very first day I opened the new location of furbish in Millburn, a new mom shopping for a new home in the area came in and noted that the store had a very earthy feeling to it. Sophisticated, yet earthy, she said. I was a bit taken aback. Earthy wasn't what I was consciously going for. Design for me is a bit of a subconscious process, so I couldn't tell you in exact words what I WAS going for, but in my head it was very textured. A lot of wood, natural colors, natural materials. So, in fact, the look IS earthy. I just had never thought of it that way.
Over the past few weeks since I've been reflecting on this. I realize now that my Architectural Digest photo has an absolute earthiness to it. The natural fiber rug, textured fabrics, pottery, wood. I have decided to wholeheartedly embrace this idea of earthy sophistication. I'm an earth sign and I have always gravitated towards pieces that have a rustic feel, things made of reclaimed materials, wood and stone surfaces. Of course, you CAN go overboard with this, which is why I have some design tips below on balancing elements in your home. And that is where the sophistication part comes in. We are not talking about turning our homes into lodges (please no!), but about a FEELING of earthiness in a space that also feels more cultivated.
Earthy may be the look of our moment. People seem to be searching for some grounding, a way back to earth, and a way to reinvest their lives with meaning. We want a few pieces in our home to carry a feeling of history. We want some pieces to be green, organic, or made of recycled or renewable materials. And we want a touch of natural materials and forms from nature. Texture has been a design buzzword for a couple years now, and I think that ties in. But click here for some evidence I've been collecting that "Earthy" is everywhere.
quick tip: balancing elements in an interior
What makes a space feel good? A certain level of balance. You need to do this with color, light, and scale, but the MOST important way I do this is with material choices. For example, I recently did a bathroom remodel for a client. We selected mosaic tiles in ming green and unpolished porcelain tile in a taupe color for the floor. Both of the tiles had a soft earthy feeling to them so we counteracted by doing a gleaming white marble countertop, and dark wood with a glossy top coat for the vanity. If we had opted for another marbely surface for the countertop and a more rustic or flat wood finish for the vanity, the room would have looked flat. Think SHINE. That is the easiest way I can describe what for me is otherwise very intuitive. If everything in the room has a flat or earthen finish to it, think about where you can inject a little bit of shine. Maybe you need a mirror instead of a
painting. Maybe you need a polished metal bowl on your painted wood coffee table. Maybe you need a chandelier with a little sparkle to it. Or side tables with polished surfaces like glass, marble, or lacquer instead of a flat surface.
Bonus point: In some cases white or other pale colors can act as "shine" in a room with a lot of dark or middle tones in it.
dish: shiitake ragout on bucheron crostini paired with rosé
This month's food offering comes straight from our grand opening food and wine tasting. The theme of our party was "we love thinking about how things go together." Eden Gourmet catered some wonderful bites which the Wine Library paired with wines. I do not eat mushrooms, but I could not stop eating this wonderful appetizer paired with this rosé. Delish!
Special thanks to Eden Gourmet for sending us the recipe.
Crostini
8 thin slices baguette
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Sea salt, to taste
Ragout
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup sherry wine
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 lb Boucheron Goat's milk cheese
For the crostini, preheat oven to 350°F. Brush baguette slices lightly with butter. Bake until toasted and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Lightly season with salt.
For the ragout, heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot and cook until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let garlic brown. Add half of the thyme and all mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Let mushrooms cook over medium-high heat without excessive stirring so they will brown.
Once mushrooms are browned and tender, 5 to 7 minutes, add sherry vinegar and reduce until the pan is dry. Combine cornstarch in sherry wine, mix until dissolved and add to the pan. Cook until reduced or until there is very little liquid left in the pan.
Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Place a tablespoon of ragout on each crostini and spread to cover the entire toast. Garnish with Boucheron and remainder of thyme.
Can be served at room temperature.
Try with: Vignerons De Tavel Lauzeraies, 2007, France. "Fresh cherry, strawberry and red currant notes."
Compliments to the Wine Library for this great pairing.
upcoming events
- February 10: Habitat for Humanity day -- Shop next Tuesday and have 10% of profits go to the Essex Habitat for Humanity chapter.
- February 16-20: In-Store Tasting! We will be offering my favorite snack in store: chai tea with some spicy snacks. Nibble some, shop some, nibble some, shop some...
Back to top
|
