Pink & Reds

We're playing with a classic Valentines Day color palette this week but next week we'll switch it up with some not-so traditional expressions of love...so stay tuned

Twilight Christmas Tours at the Vanderbilt Mansion

Every Holiday season, we volunteer to decorate a room or two at Centerport's beautiful Vanderbilt Mansion.  We love creating in a place of such history and splendor right here in our own backyard.  This year we chose Rosamond Vanderbilt's dressing room and created an appropriate decoration for such a space...

Our Christmas Dress built upon Mrs. Vanderbilt's dress form for the Vanderbilt Museum Twilight Christmas Tour.

Constructed of chicken wire,  greenery, pine cones, crystals and Christmas ornaments.  A blue velvet mannequin cover was created to match the colors in Mrs. V's dressing room.

The fireplace in the Mrs. Vanderbilt's dressing room was topped with a simple green garland and draped in crystals to compliment the chandeliers in the room and on the necklace on the Christmas Dress. 

Holiday Decorating at the Vanderbilt 2014

Every year we volunteer to decorate the historic Vanderbilt Estate, "Eagles Nest", in Centerport, NY.  This year we decorated "The Arcade", a stone hallway with huge arched windows that connects two wings of the mansion.  We chose a "Woodland Garden" theme using all natural materials, most of which were foraged from the estate's grounds.  Mosses, Pine cones, greenery, holly, ferns, mossy rocks and flat cedar were some of the materials we collected.  Greens were used to construct sprays for the hall's 10 stone ledges, the live Christmas tree's garland and the asymmetrical wreaths on the entry doors.  Greens and berries were also used to make 3 kissing balls that were hung from from the 3 iron lanterns in the space.  Small birch trees were placed on either side of the entrance to the mansion with small decorative birds in their branches.  In a dedication to the estate's name, we placed a decorative eagle amid some greens in the elaborate stonework above the main entrance.  If you live locally, stop by and take a tour!