2012 Christmas Decorating at the Vanderbilt Mansion

Our Christmas decorating project at the Vanderbilt Mansion, Eagles Nest is complete!  It was our second year working on this wonderful project and we were thrilled to be invited back.  Our El Morocco room was such a hit last year, that we were asked to re-create it again this year.  This room will once again host the mansion's holiday dinner on December 8th, 2012.  We were interviewed by the Vanderbilt staff for their press release and this is what they had to say.

"Mary Schlotter and her daughter, Krishtia Lindgren, who operate the design firm Harbor Homestead & Co. in Centerport, have recreated a piece of the famous Manhattan nightclub El Morocco in the Northport Porch. The Vanderbilts socialized with their famous friends at El Morocco in the 1930s and 1940s. 

Schlotter –one of the designers invited to decorate The White House in 2009 and 2010 – made Art Deco white-paper palm trees and decorated them with silver ornament balls. Using the nightclub‘s navy, white and silver colors, she created an El Morocco banquette and reproduced the club‘s sign and distinctive lettering. Seated at the banquette are William K. Vanderbilt II and his wife, Rosamund – in a life-size enlargement of a vintage newspaper photo of them, taken in El Morocco. 

Schlotter smiled and said, "When people attend the museum‘s annual holiday dinner, they can dine with the Vanderbilts."  To complete the atmosphere, Schlotter‘s selection of Christmas songs from the 1930s and '40s plays during tours."

See this blog post for details on the El Morocco room Christmas At The Vanderbilt Part II

We made these 8' tall white palms and the El Morocco sign,
Both reminiscent of the original nightclub's decor.

Willie K. & Rosamond Vanderbilt sit at their navy & white striped zebra banquette.

The table is set with vintage champagne glasses, a milk glass ash tray, silver mint-julep cup, a jewel-encrusted cigarette holder and a vintage beaded evening bag and gloves.  Of course, Willie K. has given Rosamond a trinket from Tiffany's, her favorite.

Palm fronds adorn the massive iron sconces that flank the doorway to the room.

The El Morocco tree was decorated with vintage black and white photos of celebrities that frequented the nightspot back in the day such as:
 Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart.

The second room we decorated this year was the Lancaster Room.  This room will be used to serve dessert at the holiday dinner.  The primary component of the decorating here was vintage Summer 2012 dried hydrangea's.  We saved tons of them and used them everywhere in the room.  They were used in the mantle, tree topper and wreaths and adorned with chocolate brown and Tiffany blue decorations.  Some vintage some new. Here are the photos:

The ornately carved door leading to the Lancaster Room

The Lancaster Room Tree
Decorated with Tiffany boxes (Mrs. Vanderbilt's favorite), handmade paper cones filled with dried hydrangea, berries and pears and chocolate and Tiffany blue vintage-inspired ornaments

Handmade hydrangea wreaths hung with taffeta ribbon grace the 4 French doors in the room.

The gorgeous chocolate brown marble fireplace is topped with a hydrangea garland dripping with ribbons, ornaments and berries.

The copper, chocolate brown and aqua blue tones are a nod to the colors in the hydrangea's and the drape's in the room.

The spectacular results charm hundreds of visitors between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The Vanderbilt offers its very popular twilight mansion tours, scheduled this year on the evenings of Wednesday-Friday, December 26-28, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission: $10 for adults, $9 for students and seniors (62 and older), and $5 for children 12 and under. Hot chocolate and cookies are included. 

Holiday season hours: Open 12:00-4:00 on December 22-23 and 26-30. Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. 

Giving Thanks

About a month ago, a very good friend had been working on organizing a corporate event.  The theme was incorporating happiness into your life.  There were gift bags given to the attendees with various items intended to promote happiness in one's life: instructions on how to effectively and efficiently meditate, a paperback titled "14,000 Things To Be Happy About", organic chocolate.  After the event, there were extra bags and she gave me one.  One of the items was a small orange book meant to be used daily to jot down things that you are grateful for. I decided to use it.  

That said, I am not a forwarder of emails that will bring me good fortune or something tragic will happen.  Nor am I a self-help enthusiast.  My husband read "The Secret" and I shunned him, he bought me my own copy and it collects dust on the shelf.  But I must say that adopting an attitude of gratefulness has undoubtedly bettered my life.  The more grateful I have become the more things to be grateful for appear in my life.  Life is so fleeting. There is no time to be anything but grateful.

Among many other things, I am thankful for this friend, thankful for this holiday to gather with my family and relax (after I am done cooking).

Artisan Marketplace

We had a wonderful time at Main Street Nursery's Fall Artisan Marketplace yesterday.  The weather was gorgeous, the quintessential Indian Summer day.

Main Street is one of my favorite places to shop and it was great to join them and other local artisans for such an amazing and successful event!

Our new line of 100% Soy Wax Candles: Beach Bonfire, Rustic Apple Galette, Ghost Pumpkin Spice & North Fork Vineyard

Team Harbor Homestead & Co.

Our Fall Themed Driftwood Signs...Order one from our site today! www.harborhomestead.com

Bonfire Season

It's October 1st and there's a chill in the air! The perfect time to cozy up by a beach bonfire. 

A family bonfire from the Summer of 2012

We're taking inspiration from Coastal Living's outdoor fire spaces too...

A Beach Cottage Renovation

We are happy to share with you some photos of our on-going beach cottage renovation!  Like many older homes, this house had its challenges but its breathtaking waterviews and private beach community are what drew the homeowner to this diamond in the rough.  And speaking of diamonds, half-way through the project, our client got engaged!  

The homeowner was out of college just 2 years when he purchased the home and therefore had a limited budget. He knew he wanted a comfortable, beach-style home that could be easily maintained with his busy schedule.  We started by knocking down a lot of walls, making an open floor plan that sweeps your eyes to the stunning waterviews of the Long Island Sound outside.

Have a look at some of the vintage finds we've incorporated into the design of this charming beach cottage on the North Shore of Long Island...  

We found these vintage wingback recliners in a consignment shop then reupholstered them in a sturdy navy blue stripe canvas.  They're comfortable & classy.

The fireplace facade was re-covered in river rocks and is flanked by a found oar which was painted with the number “12”,  the homeowner’s college baseball number.  

The wall’s were painted Benjamin Moore Montgomery White  which is very restful on the eyes.  We managed to save the heavily scuffed wood floors and stained them a rich dark chocolate color which contrasts nicely with the white/neutral tones throughout.

A Harbor Homestead custom-made round driftwood mirror was placed to reflect the water so that everyone seated in the dining room has a water view.

The dining room table is a Craigslist find.  Its worn, distressed patina is just what this young couple was looking for at a fraction of the cost. The industrial style galvanized metal pendant light is from Barn Light Electric evoking the look of old dock lighting.

Glass shelves float like water atop two vintage concrete corbels from an old New York brownstone.

There’s “Elton The Fish” whose tank is framed by a vintage ship's porthole sunk into a wall in the living room.

Here is a peek at the kitchen, a work-in-progress.  We are using Benjamin Moore Nantucket Fog on the walls with crisp white planked ceiling and bleached wood kitchen cabinets.  Hopefully the countertops will be here soon!

We will be posting more of the design as we near its completion in the weeks ahead including before and after photos.  The next phase is the completion of the entryway, mudroom and laundry room.  Maybe even a special wedding surprise for Ryan & Brenda from Harbor Homestead & Co. too :)

Last Day of Summer

On the last day of summer, I took a quick boat ride across Huntington Harbor to photograph a place called Puppy's Cove.  

 Blue

Escorts

This little trip had been on my  List of Things I Would Like To Do This Summer.  The late summer sun high in the afternoon sky provided great lighting to an already beautiful display of nature: lots of birdlife, fish & flowers everywhere.

Bee's & Goldenrod

Flower/weed...not sure of its name

White Egrets

Everything is still lush green but the yellow tips of the sea grasses are always a sure sign that Fall is in the air.  

What I really want to photograph is the Lefferts-Van Wyck Tidal Mill which is situated at the end of the cove on a narrow strip of land that separates Huntington Harbor from the tidal pond beyond it.  

I've admired its old, weathered grey walls from the boat many times and always wanted to hop off and get a closer look, today was my day.