Bulls Eye On The Big Apple...A Good Thing?

First, let me preface this post by stating my love for Target for its brilliant selection of trendy and quality merchandise. It truly is one of my favorite stores. However, I live in Sacramento, California. It is not a town with the same retail history of major cities like San Francisco and New York City that have specialty shops and department stores that are a vital part of their culture and sets them apart from suburbia. Today, there are still no Target or Walmart stores in my hometown of San Francisco. The nearest Target store is about 10 miles south in Daly City. Their absence is why many of the city's specialty stores continue to survive. I can't help but think Target's arrival in New York may be the demise of many retailers that contribute to the city's unique urban environment. This is a prediction I hope to be proven wrong. Time will tell.

Celebrities Swarm to First New York City Target Store

From Style Bistro
New York may be the center of the American fashion industry, but it doesn't have a Target—well, until now. Tar-jay, as it's fondly called, has opened its first Manhattan location, in East Harlem. StyleBistro guest editor Selita Ebanks, Gossip Girl Michelle Trachtenberg and comedian Jerry Seinfeld all flocked to the new store to scoop up limited-edition designer collaborations by Stephen Burrows and Isabel and Ruben Toledo.
[Complete Story]

Guest Blogger Jabbour Linens

Guest blogger Aleya Bamdad with R Jabbour & Sons Linens
has graciously offered to share her expert advice with Beaux Mondes Design's readers on how to imbibe your bathroom with a tropical ambiance.

The company was founded 79 years in ago in New York City by Ralph Jabbour. The company expanded over the years to its current location at 108 Forest Avenue Locust Valley, NY 11560.

R Jabbour & Son's is in its fourth generation of family ownership and offers goods for your linen needs in the bedroom, bathroom and dining room.


How to Use Tropical Inspirations in Your Bath Decor
By: Aleya Bamdad/Jabbour Linens


Your home’s bathroom should be a place of serenity to start a fresh, new day or a place to wash worries
away at day’s end. It’s a place where you, your family and your guests visit often and take notice of your
surroundings. There are many ways to decorate a bathroom and bring in a feeling of tranquility. However,
in this blog, I’m going to concentrate on how to decorate a bathroom using tropical influences.
For your walls, choose a warm, soft color that reminds you of summer days and the tropics. Colors such
as a Seafoam Pearl or White Willow consist of light blues and greens that can be found in nature and
give a feeling of serenity and open space. Pinks and oranges are beautiful and warm, but they tend to
make the bathroom appear smaller and are better suited for rooms intended to promote excitement and
conversation.
If you have the option, add more light to the room. High hat lighting fit nicely into the ceiling and deliver a
lot of light to make your bath décor more luminous.
Making the transition from heavy-looking, dark hardware to lightly-colored, smaller pieces of hardware
can make your bath appear more spacious and cleaner. Smaller, lighter hardware doesn’t stop and
capture the attention of the viewer the way darker, heavier pieces of hardware would. Faucets, handles
and racks are decorative, but more importantly, they are intended for functional use. For this reason, it is
best for the rest of your bathroom stand out and let your hardware do its job.
You don’t want an overwhelming amount of color in your bathroom décor, so a clear shower curtain works
best. However if you choose to have a colored shower curtain, return to the basics of picking a serene
color that matches your towels and walls. Shower curtains that have pictures of flowers and seashells can
be a nice choice as well, but your use of patterned shower curtains should fit the context of the rest of
your bath décor.
Towels for personal or guest use can be fun, inspiring and the perfect accessories to decorate your
bathroom. Stick to one or two different colors. Any more than two will make your bath décor appear
disheveled and messy. If you wish to use towels with prints, you can either display two towels with the
same pattern and in the same colors, or place one patterned towel between two matching solid ones.
Embroidered towels with summery patterns can add a touch of elegance to your bath décor.
The color of your bath mat should complement the rest of your bath décor. If you find that you only like
certain colors in your bath décor, then your best bet would be to match your bath mat to your towels. You
can usually find bath mats to match your towels, keeping your bathroom décor looking clean and unified.
Place a plant on the windowsill. The greenery will brighten the bathroom and instill a feeling of life.
Add additional accessories such as candles, potpourri, seashell or flower shaped soaps or a bowl of
shells in your bath. This provides additional color to your bath décor as well as bring in a stronger sense
nature that we find ourselves surrounded by during the tropics.
Get inspired, be creative and don’t forget to have fun experimenting.
Using tropical influences in your décor is an easy way to make your bathroom one of the more welcoming
and tranquil rooms in your home. Soft colors, nature inspired accessories and fresh scents all blend
together to give you a feeling of calming, peace and the kind of joy that you can only feel on a beautiful
warm day on a tropical island.

Visit Jabbour Linens more information and products offered.

(All images courtesy of Jabbour Linens)

Déjeuner pour deux dans un cadre provençal

Greetings and welcome to my tablescape contribution to Tablescape Thursdays hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.

I am also announcing my first give-a-way to readers that offers a chance to win one or more subscription(s) to your favorite magazine(s). Click here for further details and on how to enter.


The beautiful backdrop is the front entrance to the house of our neighbors Nancy and Heino. The home's impressive 4 foot tall stucco wall with custom iron scroll work was designed by Nancy.

She hired Adolf, a native German craftsman to use the old world technique of heating and forging iron by hand.

The vine covered walls are atmospheric in the sense they remind me of the entrances to homes in France, Italy and Napa.

Nancy and Heino used salvaged vintage bricks to capture an old world look. Nancy designed the intricate pattern for the brickwork.


Patterned table linen by April Cornell.


Sterling Flatware by Barton & Reed-Francis I

Lunch plate by Gorham- Lady Anne Signature Gold pattern. Salad bowl by Royal Scotland.

Here is a view of the scroll work on the front gate.

Clearly, Nancy gave great thought to every detail and researched all her options to ensure originality and quality.

The decanters are by Waterford. The colored jewel shaped glass toppers on the decanters were purchased separately from an unlikely place....the gift shop at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, California (I was relieving stress with some shopping therapy while visiting Dan's sister in the hospital)

Dan was a tiny bit upset that I could even think about shopping, let alone in the hospital gift shop for myself and not the patient.

I defended myself by pointing out they were 40% off.

Byron, a Jack Russel Terrier, watches in confusion as his neighbor sets a table in front of his gate blocking the view.


An aerial view of the table.


The alstroemeria flowers were arranged on top a mini cake compote plate.

I used grapes with green and gold miniature pears as delicious embellishments to the floral centerpiece.

Crystal Stemware by Ralph Lauren-Garland


The yellow gold upholstered chairs are from Dan's office.



Finally, the homeowners beautiful custom wood doors to the backyard.

slideshow of tablesetting with inspirational images courtesy of thundafunda.com and music by Raquel Bitton.

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to enter for a chance to win 1 of 3 give-a-way prizes. Just click on the Little American's image on the right for simple details.


Also, please be sure and visit Between Naps On The Porch's Tablescape Thursdays to view more creative and unique table settings.

Beaux Mondes Design's 1st Give-A-Way

(The little American)

Bonjour!
Over the last couple of years or so, many of us have learned about our favorite periodicals closing shop. One of the main reasons attributed to their impending demise is the decline in advertising sponsors. Crain's New York Business reported 367 magazines shut down in 2009. Many of our favorite design bloggers shared their great disappointment over these losses.



In a small effort to support my favorite magazines (okay, and to promote my blog too) I would like to give my followers the chance to win subscriptions to their favorite magazines from the selections provided above. I will randomly select 3 lucky followers to win one of the following gifts:

1st prize: win two twenty four month subscriptions of your choice from the list
2nd prize: win two twelve month subscriptions of your choice from the list
3rd prize: win one twelve subscription of your choice from the list

Here's how to enter:

1) Simply click on the "follow" button on the sidebar to publicly follow Beaux Mondes Designs.

2) Leave a comment and include your blog name or your first name only along with your 2 magazine choices. (If you already publicly follow my blog, then all you need to do is leave a comment)

The last date to enter is 8pm Pacific time July 31,2010.

The winners will be announced via a video footage of the actual drawing of the 3 names pulled by avid magazine supporter, The Little American (first photo above), on August 6, 2010.
The lucky winners will be contacted the following day to arrange and confirm subscription(s) and estimated(if available) start of shipping date on their first issue(s).

As always, thank you visiting the blog and for your kind words of support.

Inspiration For Traditional Living By McMillen Interior Design & Decoration

The classic design for this 11,000 square foot Manhattan penthouse was beautifully conceived and executed by Luis A. Rey & Dale Montgomery of McMillen Inc., a New York City interior design and decoration firm that has been in business since 1924.

This home was featured in Architectural Digest's December 1997 issue.

Thirteen years later, this design still maintains its timeless appeal. This is a great example of why I love traditional design.

For more information and photos of this firm's inspiring work, visit McMillenInc.com.


(Images from Architectural Digest-December 1997)
photography by Durston Saylor

Target Bids Auf Wiedersehen To It's Garden Center

I've always enjoyed my local Target store's garden section because I found it very shopper friendly and manageable. Unfortunately, the company announced it will be closing all of their garden centers to expand its groceries distribution. Although there is an enormous nursery very close to my home, for the fair weather gardener like me, it is too overwhelming. Target is the right size with the perfect selection and the right price. Oh well, there's always the Home Depot or Lowes garden.

Groceries are in, gardening out at Target
by: Sandra Pedicini, Orlando Sentinel

The Minneapolis-based discounter known for trendy clothes and stylish home decor now is beefing up its stores' supermarket aisles. Target is adding meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and packaged baked goods such as pies.

Target Corp. says it's feeding the demands of its customers, who want increased convenience.

The chain plans to spend $1 billion on remodeling 340 of its stores this year.

Other changes will take place as well. Beauty sections get a makeover with softer lighting and curved fixtures. The home sections will display decor in a way that allows shoppers to more easily envision them in their homes.

Meanwhile, Target is phasing out all its garden sections, planning to get rid of them by September. It says the garden areas are no longer profitable. A few gardening items will still be sold in other areas of the stores.

Target for a long time has offered basics such as macaroni and cheese and soda. It also has its own food brands, including Archer Farms and Market Pantry, for everything from eggs to maple syrup.

Adding meat, fruits and vegetables will lure existing customers into the store more frequently, said Mark Hamstra, an editor at Supermarket News. "They don't need new clothes from Target once or twice a week," he said.

[Complete Story]

Domino Magazine Back Online

by Amy Preiser
Fans of the beloved shelter mag -- rejoice! Domino has a new home at brides.com.

Forget those grainy scans off of Flickr and dog-earred mags stuffed on the bookcase -- the blogworld's favorite decorating magazine has finally (finally!) found a new home online thanks to the relaunch of brides.com. Julie Raimondi, Editor-in-Chief of the site and the accompanying local magazines says:
[Full Story]

Happy Fourth Of July !!!

Happy Independence Day 2010 from The Little American and family!

Wishing you all a very festive and safe holiday celebration.

(From PBS.org)

History of the Fourth

"WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS..."

Thomas Jefferson's Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence (Library of Congress)

"Taxation without representation!" That was the battle cry of the 13 colonies in America that were forced to pay taxes to England's King George III with no representation in Parliament. As dissatisfaction grew, British troops were sent in to quell any signs of rebellion, and repeated attempts by the colonists to resolve the crisis without war proved fruitless.

On June 11, 1776, the colonies' Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia formed a committee with the express purpose of drafting a document that would formally sever their ties with Great Britain. The committee included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. The document was crafted by Jefferson, who was considered the strongest and most eloquent writer. (Nevertheless, a total of 86 changes were made to his draft.) The final version was officially adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4.

[Full Story]

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