Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Summer Entertaining & Installing a Water Garden Fountain in time for a family party


Nothing says summer like a big family party – made all the better by celebrating more than a few Leo birthdays.

Did you know there are more Leo’s than any other zodiac sign? 
Hmmm, let’s see.  Counting back nine months, it must be that woozy, Thanksgiving food coma or its key nutrient tryptophan or snuggly cool November nights!

All the more reason to pause and indulge in enchanting Summer entertaining because we can celebrate outdoors – with nature. In the garden.

The only thing disrupting this Eden-like utopian dream for us was that our garden was a lot less verdant; pre-party.
The sad reality was it was still more of a modified construction site. 

In fact, we just had the front walk I designed installed for Independence Day. 

The newly-installed turf had taken, it was true, despite no irrigation system, and all was a vast improvement.
But there was that hard to ignore, pesky blob of sand, weeds, wood planks, and useless plastic protecting this junkyard, er, our yard.

Regardless, family was in from Arizona, with their extended family; to celebrate the 80th birthday of my dear cousin’s mother/my aunt/my late father’s last surviving sister. 
Got that? 
Whew!

Take away? 
It was a special family event that begged for an elegant menu to celebrate and honor my beloved father’s sister. 
I naturally collaborated with my cousin for the celebration and while he attempted to keep it “simple and not a big deal or fancy – truth is that any really special, memorable party indeed cries out for a glamorous, delicious, homegrown menu.

Seriously. 

If everyone serves hamburgers & hot dogs from the supermarket (with all its attendant corporate, disease-laden frights – not only is it Boring!  (
Recognize this communication: “Ok, you bring the potato salad and noodle salad and I’ll get the dogs and burgers and steak.”
Voila—there is the weekend menu. 
No.  That is code for: “I don’t really know what to make and am scared to serve my guests something else – and I daresay, much like politics and its code, learning and trying and making more than the average menu is not “Code” for “fancy.” 
I have listened to too many people say, “I don’t do fancy.”  “I’ll just have burgers and dogs and….” 
Sigh
How utterly boring.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a Wimpy.  I LOVE, LOVE, Love a burger more than most.
I could eat my way through any region just on burgers.
But the key -- moreover the point that I share with my Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook fans and anyone else who is committed to good food --  is that if one is hosting a party, let’s PLEASE make it as special as the guests you’ve invited and the reason for the party to begin with 
Yes, it takes work to come up with a menu.
Yes, it takes work to make the food.

But food is love – just a four-letter word spelled differently. J

The code for “I don’t know what to do or to serve” or “I don’t do fancy” really means no one wants to take the time to lovingly produce a menu they can make, or at least one that a local caterer can make. 

How to remedy this ill?

Take a deep breath. 
Inhale the beauty of family, love, and spending time with those you care most about. 
And if you don’t want to cook and prepare the food – no problem. 
You who are all things glamorous and homegrown – can produce the menu.
You can have a local caterer or local garden center foodie court prepare the food.

I am so trying to encourage you to move away from the fear of having more than a few people over for dinner or lunch or brunch – and just serving “Safe Food”
The honest to god’s truth is that that stor-
 bought corporate stuff is waaay less than safe in the long run. 
Burger patties already cut?  Yikes. Who knows where that came from.
Hot Dogs that are predisposed to icky and only more so when the corporate scraps are swept up.

Don’t do it.

You who wouldn’t give your family any less than the best shouldn’t feel intimidated by the honor of producing a family dinner or lunch party that is Homegrown, delicious, local and seasonal.

Here is my menu for my aunt’s 80th birthday party. 

Aunt Anne Birthday Dinner

5:00 pm cocktail: Beer, wine, martini, garden-harvest mint iced tea.
Nuts, pretzels
Club Sandwiches – w /flag toothpicks
Cherry Tomato Gazpacho from my Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook from The Lake House: Chef Matt 
Antipasto 
Grilled BBQ Pizza  - my idea
Tzatziki Yogurt Spread: low fat yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, olive oil, salt

6:00 pm to 9 pm Dinner followed by Birthday cupcakes

Entrees

·      Pretzel-Onion Crusted BBQ Chicken with Pretzel Latkes, Corn, and Mustard – Chef David Burke 
    Cookbook
·      Meatloaf Bundt Cake – Chef David Burke Cookbook  
·      Potato Salad with Dill – Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook
·      Butternut Squash Saltimbocca with Burrata Cheese – Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook   from Kitchen A Bistro, Chef Eric

Dessert

Aunt Jeanne desserts
Homemade ice cream – Garden State peaches (wooahh!)
Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes  - Martha Stewart recipe- Mother made and lucky strike extra?  Niece and budding pastry talent, Tara, made her version for the big birthday surprise party two days later.
See how good food inspires and begets yet more good food?!

Menu
The menu was sourced from my just-released book: “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook”  and from my soon to be released New York City Homegrown Cookbook that features David Burke and recipes from his cookbooks, plus my own favs, such as classic club sandwiches. 

I do my own twist on servings too –so I encourage you to do the same.
The classic club sandwich I do is morphed into the BLT --  one of my favs. 

I make the homemade mayo with our homegrown garlic. 
We use the fresh bread from my mother’s weekly baking and use The best bacon, our garden fresh tomatoes and lettuce and punctuate with an American flag toothpick!
I tier these on those Martha green ascending cake plates.
Guests can breezily indulge from the moment they arrive!

All garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, mint tea were sourced and made from our gardens and “farmette.”  

Chef David Burke recipe for American Classic bunt baked meat loaf












Mixing up gazpacho with Homegrown just picked ingredients



The Kitchen A Bistro butternut squash planks ready for cooking up

Kitchen A Bistro's Butternut Squash Saltimbocca recipe: our homegrown squash & sage





























The Fountain Springs Forth

And once again, just like the front walk installation, the landscape design transformation for the water garden, was complete just as our guests were arriving! 
“Move that truck!” joyfully echoes in my head. 

I always work with Burke Honnold’s team for me and for my clients because they are artisans and do the very best work. 
It is precise, accurate, and well-- beautiful.
Due to cost, Burke had wisely suggested I go with a pre-made fountain rather than having the team make it, as we’d done for other clients.

And like magic, a fountain came into my life.
I found a tinkling fountain while on a nursery shopping trip for my client’ – filling in some container plants. 

Even now I’m not sure if the fountain was really for sale. There was no price tag.
I asked the sales person, Blanche --who was finishing up with another shopper there -- how much for the fountain, whereupon the shopper whipped her head around and quipped, “I’m going home with you!”
Ha.
After some back and forth, listening to the fountain – (my husband hates that full-on waterfall sound vs. a lovely trickle of water.)



And my garden design fountain was destined for outside the dining room so that the lovely, soft, sensual sound of water would be soothing. 
Further, I wanted to provide a garden destination for cocktails where we could walk around the fountain, sit on the side, float candles….
And listen to the sound of water while dining.

On the less dreamy side, there were also more than a few chips in the fountain foundation. But for the right price, I could work with it.
We were in negotiations…

I readjusted the water garden design, made the parterres work and called to say “yes.”

Within a few days, it was being installed.
First the space for the circular base was measured, and dug.  

The fountain was then placed within the space and very delicately, the fountain was assembled.
The fabric liner was placed over the space.  


The fountain piece were locked into place like a puzzle.
The rubber mallet tapped it together.   

Then the metal was cut and bent for the parterre borders.  


It was amazing to watch.  






The water plants were put in:  

and the Fountain started up: 



The water garden will be bordered by Skip Laurels, box and winter blooming camellia and micro buxus.
The parterres should be filled with easy, fragrant lavender border by box; the variety as recommended by Earthy Delights.


In the meantime, I asked that mulch be put in the parterre beds.




Further, the side garden walk was installed with the same decomposed granite that is the walkway around the fountain and on the side of the front walk and the transition walk.  


I like it very much.  It complements our home look. The DG is the walkway in Paris’s Tiuilleries gardens and Chicago Botanic Gardens and featured in Garden Design Magazine. 



What’s not to love?  
It's a great first start and bones to a good garden design/foundation....


Next up: getting the border skip laurels in and the plants for the parterre planting…




Friday, August 24, 2012

GLAMOROUS GARDEN WEEK-END RETREAT at HOLLISTER HOUSE



The stars are aligned.  
Hollister House and the Garden Conservancy have seen to it that some of the garden constellations’ celebrated experts, heart-stopping garden tours, rare and regal plant swag – er sales – and of course, food and drink, are  center stage this weekend.

There couldn’t be a better weekend to celebrate all things garden.

August 24, 25 and 26 at Hollister House, located in bucolic Washington, Connecticut  is THE place to be.  For the entire weekend. Or for select programs.  There is a sublime lineup of lectures, and garden parties to select from.

If "study" sounds too head-crunching, cerebral for you?  
How about garden indulgence? 
Or immersion?  
Or the luxury of enjoying a garden lifestyle that befits passionate garden enthusiasts?

The Third Biennial Hollister House Garden Study Weekend
Gardening Anew: Fresh Perspectives on the Garden: explore sustainable practice and creative inspiration in our environment and aesthetic.
The weekend begins with a cocktail reception and rare plant sale on Friday evening, August 24, continues on Saturday, August 25 with the symposium and round table discussion , concluding on Sunday, August 26 with a Garden Conservancy Open Day.
The weekend is presented by Hollister House Garden, Washington, Connecticut, and the Garden Conservancy.

Friday evening, August 24 6 p.m.
Gala cocktail reception and plant sale at the Washington Montessori School: 
an opportunity to mingle informally with seminar speakers and other garden enthusiasts, and to take advantage of early buying at rare plant sale.

Saturday, August 25 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Seminar: Gardening Anew: Fresh Perspectives on the Garden
Saturday’s symposium takes place at the Washington Montessori School in comfortable, air-conditioned spaces with up-to-date lecture facilities. The day’s agenda includes a buffet luncheon, a sale of beautifully written and illustrated garden books, a plant sale featuring a select group of New England’s finest specialty plant growers, and a ‘show & tell’ plant talk.

Featured speakers:
Edwina von Gal, the seminar’s keynote speaker. von Gal is principal of her own celebrated international landscape design firm.
She will be joined by several outstanding professional horticulturists. All will address new ways to garden encompassing the knowledgeable use of native plants with attention to their form and function, sophisticated solutions found in the soil, and examples of fresh perspectives in the spirit of innovation and experimentation.
William Cullina, executive director, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine
Eric T. Fleisher, director of horticulture, Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, New York City
Bill Thomas, executive director, Chanticleer, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Stephen Orr, editorial director of gardening, Martha Stewart Living, and moderator of the seminar


If you haven't already secured your multiple copies of Orr's book, "Tomorrow's Garden: Design and Inspiration for a New Age of Sustainable Gardening," you can load up this weekend and get Stephen to autograph it at the Hickory Stick Book Shop!  
Tomorrow's Garden makes a perfect hostess gift and a holiday adventure for the garden lover on your list. 

Rare Plant Sale
A select group of specialty plant growers will sell rare plants throughout the day.
After 1 p.m., the rare plant sale opens to the general public. Before 1 p.m., only seminar participants will have access.
Buffet Luncheon

Garden Books Sale and Authors’ Signing
Garden books, many authored by symposium speakers and available for signing.

My book, “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook” will be featured for sale.  Because I was committed to attend the Harvest East End event: http://harvesteastend.com/ scheduled for Saturday and benefitting East End Hospice, The Peconic Land Ttrust and Group for the East End, Hollister House was kind enough to allow me to provide buyers my personally autographed publisher’s inscription card as the next best thing to being there. 
I hate to miss this very special weekend.  Drats to conflicting schedules. Why does everything good have to happen at the same time?  But on the plus side, I will be supporting a wonderful cause, will be showcasing my book and enjoying all the wonderful world from “my” local, incredible, Homegrown chefs and the growers who inspire them.

Show & Tell’ Round Table

Favorite plants for the late-season garden, with commentary by garden writer Page Dickey, horticulturist Marco Polo Stufano, and nurseryman Adam Wheeler.
Location for Friday reception and Saturday seminar: Washington Montessori School

Sunday, August 26
Early birds can choose to start the day with a champagne breakfast, 8 – 10 a.m., on the beautiful rear lawn at the romantic country garden at Hollister House in Washington, Connecticut.
The grand finale to the gardening weekend is Sunday, when the Garden Conservancy opens several exceptional private gardens, including Hollister House Garden and others in nearby Litchfield and Roxbury, as part of its national Open Days program.
Read more about these gardens – including descriptions, directions, and the hours each will be open – on the Open Days schedule for the Litchfield County Open Day. http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/open-days-schedule/openday/580-litchfield-county-open-day


TICKETS AND REGISTRATION
Friday evening: cocktail reception with early buying at the rare plant sale
Includes free ticket for door prize $75; members of Hollister House Garden and Garden Conservancy, $65
Saturday: all-day symposium $160, members $150
Includes breakfast and buffet lunch and rare plant sale 
Rare plant sale is open to the general public, free of charge, after 1 p.m.
Sunday: champagne breakfast at Hollister House Garden $25, members $20
A combination package is $245 per person, general admission ($230 for members of the Garden Conservancy or Hollister House Garden).
The combination package includes the festive Friday evening cocktail party, the entire Saturday program (with continental breakfast and buffet lunch) and Sunday morning champagne breakfast. Open Days gardens on Sunday are priced separately; read below.|
To register see below or mail payment to Hollister House Garden, P.O.Box  1454,  Washington, CT  06793
For further information call 860.868.2200.

 

The Open Days garden tours on Sunday are priced separately at $5 per person per garden.
Open Days tickets are available online (please allow time for shipping) or in person at the gardens on the tour.
Pre-registration is not required for Sunday’s Open Day tours.
Maps will be provided for all participants in the Hollister House Garden Study Weekend seminar.


Garden Conservancy Open Days
In addition to our normal schedule: open every Saturday from April 28 through September.
Garden tours are priced at $5 per garden - at the Garden Conservancy website, or may be purchased at the individual gardens on the day of the tour.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Nora Ephron Loved Food and Gardens and Home Decor


I miss her.
Nora, that is. 

This home renovation diary honors Nora Ephron.  

She brought laughter to us through her writing for the big screen and her books and blogs.   

I am still saddened for our collective loss.

Nora created authentic, inimitable, champagne-bubbly and martini-sophisticate narratives in her literary and cinematic work.

Further, I love that the New York Times championed her career as “a journalist, a blogger, an essayist, a novelist and a playwright, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a movie director.”
(What blogger and writer doesn’t like to hear that career hat noted?)

Nora was a dame. 
She was funny, smart and spot-on when it came to showcasing and illuminating contemporary fin de siècle home décor and food and an enriched homegrown lifestyle. 

Over the years I’ve read some critic’s reviews that said her movies showcased a too-perfect world of garden and home design.    
They said the worlds she created were not real or average. 
Really?
The world of cinema is magic.  And aspirational.
And I for one am thrilled that she touched a nerve.

She loved food so much. She wrote that when filming “Julia & Julia” she made sure not use any chimera-inducing sleight of hand. 
The real food was all the magic she needed. She worked all day on the camera angle to get the rich, reach-out-and-taste it epicurean ingredients just write. She fairly danced in the door, exclaiming to her husband that she’d “nailed it.”
Take that action movie men!

I joined the New York Times Nora Ephron book club in order to stay a bit closer to her.
I also pulled an excerpt from a piece written for my other blog, “Master Chefs and their Gardens,” for the cookbook party for both Amanda Hesser and Melissa Clark at Chelsea Market some two years ago…
I saw Nora among the food enthusiasts there. She was enjoying herself immensely and posed gamely for my photos:

Here is the narrative as written then:
Heading for the Luchy’s Whey center table featuring cheese from Cellars at Jasper Hill, I see Nora Ephron.
Nora Ephron at the book signing party.  She was stylish!


I had to tell her I loved her feature article in the December issue of Town & Country.  She smiles and says a sincere “thank you.”  She looks great in person too. (No neck thing whatsoever!)  The T&C story is a Q&A with Ina Garten.  Ina’s publicist doesn’t email anymore…  I asked her to be in the Long Island Homegrown Cookbook and she said yes, then no.  I give up.  So Ina’s not on my favs list. But Nora is.
And I will make a point to attend Nora’s latest play, “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.”

Good listener, too


Upon Nora’s passing, Meryl Streep wrote: “You could call on her for anything: doctors, restaurants, recipes, speeches, or just a few jokes, and we all did it, constantly. “She was an expert in all the departments of living well.”

In her set designs and in her love of food. 
I share Nora’s passion for living well.

Here is an update on our dining room and sitting room as part of the
Home Renovation Diary Update:

The silk duiponni drapes were made from fabric I got from Mood – the same place that the hit TV show “Project Runway” uses. This was unbeknownst to me until I stepped off the elevator to a veritable party and I inquired if I was in the right place.  It’s managed chaos there.  The bulldog “Swatches” is just too cute, keeping a calm eye on all things fabric…
We had to wait some months, because Mood didn’t have enough of the silk drapes for our needs.  Eventually, after some frustrating follow ups, we were back on track and had the drapes in time for the Independence Day fireworks party.  
Wendy, the seamstress, brought the completed drapes.  She is a cutie pie! 


Wendy steamed the ball gown-like drapes.  I wanted them very, very full and the silk fabric allows them to stand on their own – as if a petticoat is underneath supporting the skirt.
When the breeze captures the hem, it’s more than a flirtatious, sexy Marilyn moment…

I designed the valance to be wide enough for the drapes as well as the solar shades behind them – the shades offer protection from the rays of sun to protect the material, the wood of the dining room table – and our skin.  Shades from Smith+Noble.  www.smithandnoble.com



I had to match the switch plates to the wall color.  Things you never think about! 
So on the advice of our electrician, I took a trip to Chinatown's Lendy-- the go-to the place for all things like this.  







More shopping close to home:
The porch is outfitted with a rug we had in the garage. 
I repurposed a cocktail cart, a table, and the small, gurgling fountain for some nice meditative nature sounds.  

In the end, I opted for the light, open-weave Sunbrella outdoor drapes – even though the color was charcoal.  I
However that color was in canvas and I knew it wouldn’t have the same light, see-through, blow-in-the-breeze texture and look.  And the color looks elegant with the black iron furniture and urns. 

I wanted the “walls” of the porch to “drip” with Sunbrella drapes.   The mildew-resistant drapes are ready made with nickel grommets.  This made hanging easy.
So now, when I do my yoga or have a massage, we can “pull” the drapes for added privacy.  Other times, it’s a sensuous design accent.  I secured the drapes from Ballard Designs.   www.ballarddesigns.com  They are very professional and helpful.

The reconstructed terrace was made whole again by the masons – who were quite cruel with the original.  The colors are cool blue and grays.  I thought the succulent plants would play nicely here. The plants’ architecture and color shades are stunning.  
Love these cool blues & ice grays

The new terrace furniture was supposed to be here for Memorial Day!  It’s on back order.  Digits crossed it makes it oh – sometime this summer!
Patience is a virtue with a home renovation…





Nora’s Lists
In her hysterical, fun-read, “I Remember Nothing,” Ephron concludes the book with two lists: things she will not miss and things she will miss. The New York Times concluded its obit with this reference.   “…Of the things she will miss, begins with “my kids” and “Nick” and ends this way:
“Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie.”
Pie indeed.  As an homage to witty, literary home design and foodie “friend,” we will enjoy homemade blueberry pie.  With a deserved dollop of homemade ice cream… Enjoyed on our new porch.

House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year


It was white.  
Lots of white cabinets.
Glass doors.
A wood and marble-like island.
White tiles. 
Not blinding snow white. Rather calm, tranquil cloud white.
With gleaming silver tiles and drawer pulls, black lacquer shelves and confidently placed cabinets. And elegant glass front display "storage."


It was an orchestration designed by Mick De Giulio, kitchen designer since 1984. De Giulio knows his way around the heart and soul of a home. 
In fact, the House Beautiful literature for the 5th Anniversary of this summer rite of passage notes, De Giulio believes that kitchens can be more than workrooms. He believes they can be artful compositions that feel the soul.”

So it is that even in one of the world’s busiest, buzziest tourist sites, with an added attraction on the site of the Today Show’s morning outside features, the Kitchen of the Year is poised as a welcoming, calm respite and heart of this pulsing city. 

Chef Lisa Pensiero cooking demo
There were eager-looking yet respectful visitors watching the cooking demonstration by a soft spoken, focused cookbook author and chef Laura Pensiero of GIGI TRATTORIA.

Others were lounging in the kitchen’s sitting area fronted by a fireplace and big screen TV.


Others at the dining room table,

and still more coming and going leisurely to the outdoor garden kitchen. 

It didn’t look like a major magazine and manufacturer demonstration so much as a casual, family party. 
Oh, but one with lots of media video taping and photographing the cooking action in the kitchen! 

The Look
The 1,000-square-foot kitchen conservatory featured two fully functioning kitchens, indoor and outdoor, where delectable bites and sips were offered throughout the day.
The kitchen brought together a wide array of premiere building and home decoration companies, including Belgard Hardscapes, Caesarstone, Kohler, KraftMaid, Whirlpool, Aircraft Scentsticks, Ann Sacks, Circa Lighting, The Container Store, de Giulio kitchen design, Frontgate, Glidden, Grandin Road, Grothouse, Hickory Chair, iRobot, Kravet, Michael Aram, Napoleon Fireplaces, Shaw Floors, and VTech.
I liked the clever the spice rack and the pin-door like sliding cover. 
However, after more thoughtful inspection, I thought it was a design conceit that was better looking than practical due to the fact that the spices were lined up along the back wall, next to the stovetop burner.  And for diminutive folks like me, that could mean a Biiiigg stretch to fetch the pepper across the stove abyss!








I liked the idea of the indented or square-shaped area built into the wood island counter top – much like a built in bowl – for fruit or other display.  How intriguing… Yet here again, I’m thinking if one is a semi-serious cook, or even an absent-minded one, you could inadvertently put the oil or mixed ingredients down into an “empty” sloping bowl.  It could spell disaster.  It's a design solution in search of a need....
And I'm not entirely sold on the idea of the mix of Caesarstone and wood island counter top. It looked nice but is it enduring?  I thought it could appear as if one or the other textured material was added in rather than designed in.  Not sleek.
The only other challenge is the cook top. It’s electric. I asked chef Laura if it posed a problem as she was trying to demo her recipe. She gamely came round to the answer, saying "It does get hot fast -- It just took some getting used to." (Most chefs use gas powered stove top burners.)
All together, the Kitchen was very, very good looking and the overall, open layout was smart.  Of course every imaginable appliance was included yet due to good design, it wasn’t overwhelming.  On the contrary. It was all easy functionality. The wine cooler, ovens and refrigerator were within easy reach.
The use of glass was elegant.
The flooring was handsome and practical.



The shelves for easy access to cookbooks was enlightened.  Except they didn't showcase my Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook. ha! 

The shelves displaying vases and bowls was artful; a stunning effect. 
























The Kitchen was as engaging as a couple’s rainy Sunday romp through a Home Depot Expo.  There was lot’s of “Honey, look at this.” And “Check this out.”  Nice inspiration.  
All events were open to the public.
A complete schedule of events http://www.housebeautiful.com/KOTY  Here online there are lots of design tips and tricks for small kitchens. 
Highlights included:
            * Todd English of Olives restaurant demonstrates Korean Style Grilled Skirt Steak
            * Highlighting the locavore culinary movement, star chefs from New York-area restaurants 
Peekamoose, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Gigi's Trattoria will prepare dishes and 
beverages with locally-sourced ingredients (
            *  Made In America: American Treasures Culinary Experience that recognized individuals 
and small producers in America  
            *  Miles Angelo of Caribou Club demonstrated Cappalletti with Duck Confit
Other culinary craftsman as part of the showcase were Food Network's Sandra Lee, The Chew Carla Hall, and Prune Restaurant's and James Beard Award Winner, Gabrielle Hamilton.
Outdoor Kitchen and Dining
The Belgard stone cooking island and bar in the outdoor dining area was a terrific design.  
Don't you just love the pop of green sink color?  Convenient, hidden trash receptacle




The aluminum island front and backsplash – not unlike my own inspired mirror backsplash design in our home kitchen – is just a brilliant detail.  


It opens up and reflects the light and space.  Not that one needed that in Rockefeller Center, but you will at home…










The Pizza Oven seems to be a must-do in today’s outdoor kitchens.  Men love them. And this Napoleon model was said to heat up very fast to a very high temperature.  


















The Frontgate seating was conservative and rich-looking, indulgent  -- and made for relaxing while reading a good magazine or enjoying a pitcher of sangria with friends. 










The planters and island planters offered symmetry and contributed to a tranquil outdoor living composition.  There were nice container display gardens with a mix of grasses and vines and flowering plants.  
I liked the transition to different levels too – it gives a sense of being transported even if in a modest space.
I especially enjoyed chatting it up with House Beautiful's associate publisher Sean - the brains behind the entire culinary and design concept!  




We bonded over culinary design, foodie interests -- especially jam and local homegrown ingredients.  Instant friends.  Food can do that... 


House Beautiful is the leading authority on American home design and decoration.  Founded in 1896, House Beautiful is the oldest continuously published shelter magazine in the United States. In May 2012, House Beautiful won the American Society of Magazine Editors award for General Excellence in the Lifestyle Magazines category.