Ah so….Grasshopper…a shade of yellow is the Ben Moore color of the year…
I just heard that LEMON SORBET is the 2013 Benjamin Moore color of the year….It made me think of this nook I designed in a Hamptons playroom to highlight a fun art piece the owner had purchased years ago. Although she loved it, it didn’t have any real relevance in the home. I felt it needed a yellow backround. Setting the grasshopper in a color scheme and space where it could be appreciated reminded me of this quote from the movie KUNG FU.
Po: GRASSHOPPER, BE YOUR SELF. AND NEVER FEAR THUS TO BE NAKED TO THE EYES OF OTHERS. YET, KNOW THAT MAN SO OFTEN MASKS HIMSELF. THAT WHAT IS SIMPLE IS RARELY UNDERSTOOD. THE DUST OF TRUTH SWIRLS, AND SEEKS ITS OWN CRACKS OF ENTRY. AND A TREE FALLING IN THE FOREST, WITHOUT EARS TO HEAR, MAKES NO SOUND. YET IT FALLS.–KF
Although I am not a Kung Fu movie fan, some of the wisdom is inspiring to me……what is art without appreciation?
TONI SABATINO toni@tonisabatinostyle.com 516-972-5455
Thanks HOUZZ………Best Of 2013 for Customer Satisfaction
TONI SABATINO STYLE of New York Receives
Houzz’s 2013 ‘Best Of Remodeling’ Award
Annual Survey and Analysis of 11 Million Monthly Users
Reveals Top-Rated U.S. Professionals
Long Island, New York — January 21, 2013 – Toni Sabatino of Long Island, New York, has been awarded “Best Of Remodeling” 2013 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design. Toni Sabatino, an Interior Designer, who’s new firm Toni Sabatino Style specializes in Kitchen Design and Architectural Detailing, was chosen by the more than 11 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community.
The Houzz “Best Of Remodeling” award for 2013 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the community of 11 million monthly users, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 124 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app.
“I find Houzz to be such a brilliant concept and was thrilled to meet owner, innovator, CEO and self described ‘design junkie’ Adi Tatarko at an event in NYC,” says Sabatino. “This site is not only an online magazine but a community, a forum for learning, sharing your knowledge and exposing your work to the worldwide masses. I am thrilled to be recognized with the “Best Of Remodeling” 2013 by Houzz and to be a part of the HOUZZ community.”
“Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “We’re delighted to recognize Toni Sabatino among our “Best Of” professionals for exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”
With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Toni Sabatino, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.
About Toni Sabatino of Toni Sabatino Style
My design aesthetic comes from many years of appreciating the New York experience and ALL it has to offer. From the old time grandeur of the tea room at the New York Palace, to the Art Deco beauty of the Chrysler building to the cutting edge style of the triangle atop the Citibank Building at 53rd and Lex, New York has it all. I like to create spaces with contrasting elements and color, rich in architectural themes that invoke a mood of playful sophistication and intimacy. Like my favorite city, within each space is a blend of elements. With an eye for visual array, I place each element to complement the whole and create a context for the life within. I love design and the challenge each space brings. Be it a home in the Hamptons, an office in Las Vegas, a Palm Beach golf house, a mountaintop retreat or a Manhattan apartment, I truly love it all.
About Houzz
Houzz (www.houzz.com) is a leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, ‘advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.5 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc
Family Jewels……….
We live in this crazy world of media. Instant digital photos from your phone capturing all those special moments…….Finding a place in your head and your heart for all that accumulated stuff is hard enough, but how about your home?
This Hamptons hallway needed a feature. Sure a piece of art would work but what about some of that media?
This collection of random photos declutters some lateral surfaces, inspires memories and warms the heart………….
516-972-5455
Window Seats
Window seats have always held a certain charm to me. They remind me of a childhood I would like to have had! There is some unexplained expectation the outside world offers from the comfy safety of that vantage point. Awkward walls, due to doorways and traffic flow that cannot hold a couch or pair of chairs can become a focal point by adding some shelves and creating that cozy extra seating that is perfect for sitting and dreaming on a rainy day…………
516-972-5455
HOUZZ.COM ……SLIDE SHOW
In an earlier post, I noted that HOUZZ.COM is not just a website, but an interactive community dedicated to decorating, design and remodeling. I am thrilled to share this slide show widget. I created my first HOUZZ "ideabook" of ventilation ideas as the area above the range is often a kitchen focal point. It is a collection of kitchens I have done featuring various ideas for what we commonly call hoods. Use the arrow tab to see each of my ideabooks. Some are my work and one is photos I enjoyed so much, I saved them in an idea book I called "FUN STUFF", followed by other groups of products for future reference. I hope you enjoy it and are inspired to create your own idea books. Happy HOUZZING!!!! It is truly addicting.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Her Room For Everything………….
Her “room for everything” is a room that incorporates attractive storage for the “stuff” that just happens……..a desk to keep the clutter of catalogs, recipes and scrapbooking projects out of the kitchen, a place to sew, a place for toys to amuse the granchildren, a place not far from the kitchen to print emails, new cooking and entertaining ideas, a place for household files, a place for post cards and notes………well, simply “everything”. We chose a rich dark walnut wood complemented by happy light teal fabric corkboard and wallpaper to create her soothing space. The innocent looking desk consists of custom cabinetry that incorporates a rollout printer station, a place for the sewing machine with it’s own hidden rollout table and plenty of other storage. We also incorporated lots of open shelving for family photos, trophies, figurines, momentos and books. Our finished product is visually inviting and super functional.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Kitchen Cohesiveness
I like to think of decorating as creating an outfit for a room. Of course, it does have to be an outfit you will not mind wearing for a good, long while. Seriously, though, the care one takes to coordinate an outfit is quite similar to room decorating. Just because you “like it” doesn’t means it works! Too many accessories, more than one large bold pattern and colors that are not complimentary will take down even the best of the individual items being used. Cohesive design where each item has not only a purpose but is in proper scale and has a good relationship with the other items in the room, will make a room inviting no matter what the style. The selection of flooring, cabinetry, counters, backsplash, and wall color can really be done in any order as long as each element builds upon the last. Take into account colors and themes from adjoining rooms as well. This will help to create a flow in the home that really shows off a sense of style. Kitchens require special attention as plumbing and electric codes as well as appliance clearances all have to be taken into account while creating a visually pleasing, functional space. It is my opinion that a good ” kitchen designer” will guide you to find your style and showcase your unique treasures while creating that cohesion that makes a room really special.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
The pallette to the left incorporates soothing neutral tones of cream for walls, tile flooring and cabinetry, while adding color and texture with the gold stone for the counters and stone and glass linear mosiac for the backsplash.
Butler’s Pantry
You can almost hear him pouring the champagne and slicing the strawberries……this butler’s pantry is used to store wine, glassware and serving pieces, as well as preparing canapes and hors d’oeuvres and all the luscious bits of “tipple and snack” that make for truly opulent living…….. ah,salut……la bonne vie!
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Transitioning to the Suburbs
This kitchen was part of a major home remodel. The new homeowners wanted to create an open, airy environment that would enable them to meld their eclectic tastes and the furnishings from two homes in the boroughs of New York City. The desire for an island and an eat-in kitchen led us to open a wall and create a dual level island to serve as work space and table. The addition of white glass tile and a fabulous contemporary chandelier balanced the wood floor and traditional chairs. The result is user friendly for cooking and entertaining alike.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Art in the Kitchen
Collaberating with Judi Green of JUDI GREEN DESIGNS, Huntington, New York, to create a kitchen for this home was a joy. The home owners, Jan and Dave, have been collecting art and distinctive furnishings for many years. It is displayed throughout the home and the kitchen was to be no exception. The kitchen had to serve as a quiet backdrop to the collections of copper and ceramics and the handpainted tiles the clients had collected on various European excursions. I created a floorplan for the room from a purely functional standpoint, using simple maple cabinetry with clean lines, allowing Judi to create focal points with the color and texture of the floor, accessories and wall tiles. The result is a fabulous feast for the eyes that functions superbly for creating culinary masterpieces as well.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
R & R…..A Reading Room
Amazingly, this entire library was built and prefinished by a “factory custom” cabinet manufacturer some 2000 miles away from it’s suburban New York location. On this project, I was working in the capacity of designer, salesperson and project coordinator at delivery and installation. After the initial approval of the design concept (furniture placement, closed storage capacity, book display, lighting and panel detail), by the homeowners came measuring, measuring and more measuring, as well as tight factory communication and verification. Every piece of millwork floor to ceiling, including window sill and door, had to fit together like a New York Times crossword puzzle. Even the electrical outlet covers were crafted in matching glazed maple wood. We pressed the “factory custom” mentality of Dura Supreme Cabinets to manufacture something special for us by creating our own custom pieces to coordinate with the facory standards. The result is an American made, warranteed, cost effective piece of design and a happy, relaxed homeowner.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Component “Cupboards”….Family Media Center
Cabinets, cupboards…………Isn’t it all really just built in furniture?
The coordination of audio-visual equiptment to be integrated into a “smart house” system requires some serious forethought as well as good communication by all represented parties. Aside from the components there was also a massive amount of programming to create the full experience desired by the client. To do justice to this commitment, the cabinetry, or in this case, built in furniture, had to be beautiful, practical and versatile. Working with size, weight, wiring and ventilation requirements for the various components involved, this media center was designed to hold the audio-visual “rack system”, (with two empty spots for future technological advances), speakers, cd’s and dvd’s, games and controllers, and display space with room to spare for other storage. The clean lines and glazed maple wood give this family room warmth and style as well as fantastic storage so it always looks clutter free.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
tonisab 