Frequently Asked Question : What color paint is that?

Another one of our most frequetnly asked questions:

 What color and paint brand did you use in this kitchen ?

Answer : It's actually a mix (50/50) of two colors by Benjamin Moore

As a designer I often need to tweak colors....

my secret formula for this perfect shade of rich Navy.... 

 HC-154 Hale Navy and  HC-155 Newburyport Blue

Keep in mind that lighting plays a BIG role in selecting paint color.  This Kitchen has a lot of natural light which brings out the richness of the blue.  Also the trim is painted Grey not White which adds a softness & sophistication to the navy walls.   

 Please feel free to leave your comments below.

Glamour and Glitz Brizo Fashion Week Part 2 : Jason Wu Fashion Show

Fashion week went by too fast ! It's so true that time flies when you are having fun..... I was having a blast !  Thanks to Brizo who sponsored me and 18 others (a.k.a Blogger19) to NYC for fashion week .
Now for part II of this amazing 2-1/2 day Brizo Fashion Week event.  The last day lived up (+ so much more) to the glamour and glitz one would expect at the Mercedes-Benz fashion week in New York.

Friday morning started with a lovely Champagne Brunch and round-table discussion with Brizo. This was again another favorite part of this event. The exchange of ideas between designers and the Brizo team was effortless and engaging.  I was very impressed by how receptive and open to feedback the Brizo team is,  it really allows for an on going relationship.  The conversation, Food and Champagne were flowing.

Brizo ended the session by passing out another gift ( they were full of surprises). In this box was a limited edition,  signed and numbered lithograph.  Lastly they handed us our personal invitations for the Jason Wu 2012 Fall runway show for later that afternoon.  Of course that meant wardrobe change # 2 for the day.  One more to go.... 

The rest of the day flew by !
Rolling VIP in our black tinted window suburbans, we arrive at the Jason Wu 2012 Fall Fashion show.

The show was spectacular.  Best 12 minute show ever!  Yeah, that's how quick these runway shows are.  (see video below)  It was a dramatic entrance through the large gold studded red doors.  Fog rolled out through the doors as they slowly opened and drums began to sound.  Out came the first model trotting down the runway.  It was all about rich reds, black, gold, military green, studs, fur, belted jackets inspired by his Chinese heritage, with a strong military influence and Qing Dynasty opulence.  Oh and high slick ponytails ! The ending was exhilarating and powerful , beautifully orchestrated with the models marching out in rows . See video below.

  

 

Jason Wu taking a bow for his incredible Fall collection

(All photos by Jayme Thorton)

click here for Video (via JasonWu)

The after party at the MPE Penthouse was intimate and sweet.

(photo by Jayme Thorton)

Which allowed for a Q and A with the talented and witty Mr. Jason Wu.

(photo by Jayme Thorton)

  The views were spectacular...so we took Lot's of photos....

Erika Ward , Michelle Workman, Lisa Ferguson

Shane Inman, Ronique Gibson , Niki McNeill

Michelle Workman and Me (Erica Islas)

Back row: Nicole Zeigler ,Cynthia Hernandez , Ronique Gibson,Erika Ward, Shane Inman,Shay Geyer , Lisa Ferguson, ChrisLaumer-Giddens

Front row : Michelle Workman,Amy Dragoo , Jill Seidner, Lisa Smith, Liz Joy , Erica Islas , Niki McNeill, Jason Wu , Jennifer Duchene, Carrie Leskowitz, Ann Maxwell Foster, Gretchen Aubuchon
(photo by Jayme Thorton)

Jason Wu and me talking about his dress.   (photo by Jayme Thorton)

Jason Wu and Erica Islas (me) in Jason Wu Dress ( love the pockets! in this dress)  (photo by Jayme Thorton)

I couldn't be more thankful to Brizo for Flying me out to NYC on this all expense paid trip.  They were so attentive and so amazing.  I am happy to be part of their family ( Blogger19 alumni).  I had such an incredible time !   Thank you Brizo.

Until next time.....

The Amazing Brizo Team!   (photo by Jayme Thorton)


More photos on my twitter & facebook  pages ....be sure to follow if you don't already. 

Brizo Fashion Week Part 1

Last week I was having the time of my life in NYC with the wonderful people of Brizo and 18 other incredible design mavens.   It was an amazing educational and inspiring trip sponsored by Brizo.

Besides making amazing faucets, Brizo sure knows how to cater and host a bunch of designers.

Loved being picked up at the airport by a personal driver who wouldn't let me carry my own bags :) (felt very VIP)  I Arrived at the Eventi Hotel with just enough time to check in, make a couple calls, tweet about how amazing my hotel room view was and off to meet the fabulous Blogger19 group at the Brizo Welcome reception in the Eventi Suite.

Meeting everyone was so FUN !  There is nothing like meeting your twitter "friends" in person.  Some of us were deep in conversation, that we continued the party at Bar Basque  (Thank You Judd @Brizo who also picked up that tab) ....It was so lovely meeting everyone and getting to know them .

Second day was all about learning about the Brizo brand and products.  Their design process is very much like most designers , which is why I found it so fascinating.    I was very impressed by their hard work and dedication to the product, it really made me appreciate the Brizo brand much more.   The amount of research that goes into each product design and the innovative technology details blew me away.  It was a great experience to see and hear about product development in that setting.   Next thing you knew it was lunch time.   

After lunch we were broken up into groups where we also got to see and offer feed back on new prototypes.  This was my favorite part as a designer who loves to talk shop !  Most of the new products we got to preview won't be out until possibly 2015 !  SO I can't talk about what new great products they showed us.   But it was SO fun to be part of that .

(photo by Jennifer Duchene)  Liz Joy, Me  and Shane Inman

We also saw a lot of new product that just launched which I am able to talk about.  One of my favorite new Brizo faucets is the Charlotte.  The Cocoa Bronze and Polished Nickel finish is incredible.  This faucet is not only beautiful but is is eco friendly too. The spout features water-efficient, hidden laminar flow aerator and has a flow rate of 1.5 gpm versus Industry Standard ASME.A112.18.1/CSA.B125.1 of 2.5 gpm

This faucet is great because it has a classic foundation in terms of design which can be used in both a traditional setting or a contemporary setting depending on which finish you select.  It is "Opulent, Poised and Poetic".  The matching accessories are great too, check them out here.

Of course there is also the new and exciting Jason Wu for Brizo Collection for the powder room which is also another classic timeless design. Learning about their collaboration was very inspiring .  Both Jason Wu and the Brizo people are so passionate about their work and it really shows in their product.

Okay, So after the brand and product sessions, Brizo generously gave us all a Kitchen Faucet !  Woo Hoo !  I can not wait to install mine.  I picked the Solna Faucet by Brizo in Stainless for my kitchen .  This is also one of their new products which features a completely new “hidden” pull-down spray wand held in place with MagneDock™ Technology, allowing Solna to maintain its clean, modern form when the wand is docked .
 But wait , that's not it.....it also has SmartTouch® Technology  which lets you turn the water on or off just by touching any part of the handle or faucet. It’s more sanitary, and it lets you save water by stopping it momentarily when your hands are full and you don’t want to reach back and manually turn the handle.  I LOVE this feature.  And hey guess what....Brizo is so awesome, they took us to Sur La Table to experience these faucets first hand while enjoying a cooking lesson.  This was such a treat !  We made pasta, got dirty, used the Smart touch faucets and ate our delicious creations.



In Photo on Left : Lisa Smith, Lisa Ferguson and Carrie Leskowitz getting into suburbans, we were rolling deep!

 In Photo on Right: Cooking with Friends Jennifer Duchene, Shane Inman , Carrie Leskowitz and me.

   

 

Of Course a NYC trip is not complete without a little sight seeing, so a couple of my new designer friends and I got a little fresh air every night by stepping out to the BIG City where I even enjoyed a little slice of NYC pizza !  Yum.

View From Top of Empire State Building 

Sharing this experience with the 18 other designers , bloggers and architects was a gift in itself.  We have made some amazing connections and these new friendships are sure to last a lifetime as will the memories from this trip.  I posted a lot of pictures on our Twitter and our Facebook page too, so be sure to follow us and check those out.
And Just when you thought it couldn't get any better !  Stay tuned for Part 2 .....Wait till you hear about the Third day : Jason Wu Fashion show, after Party and much more !  

Latest news !

Yup , I'm up late ! Working on some last minute project details, and just finished packing for my trip! I'm so excited ! Excited about the trip (Brizo- NYC) BUT Also super excited about a call I received today from HGTV producers. I've been hired to work on a new upcoming show House Hunter Renovations ! I'm excited because this show is right up my alley. I will be designing and building ,exciting right ? Okay I Can't say too much else right now, more details to follow in the next couple weeks about that. In the meantime .... Let's get back to my NYC Fashion Week trip courtesy of Brizo , I fly out in the morning , and will be posting trip details thru Facebook & Twitter so be sure to "follow" us and "like" us if don't already.