An Elegant Palm Beach Baby Shower, By Luxe Report Designs
If you have been following my blog for some time, you know that I am positively obsessed with the work of Palm Beach-based Luxe Report Designs. Co-owners Christin Carron and Lauren Kukkamaa never cease to amaze me with their design work and event planning. Last month, Christin gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Stella, and I featured her Old Palm Beach meets Chinoiserie meets Regency meets a touch of Glam nursery here. Today, I’m featuring Christin’s chic baby shower.
Lauren took inspiration for the shower from Christin’s nursery. From the color palette of coral and pink to the accents of elephants and pineapples, to the cocktail napkins mimicking the pillow fabric in the nursery… no detail was spared! Guests enjoyed sparkling pink wine signature cocktails called “Stella Babies,” while expecting mothers sipped Onli Lemon Watermelon Sparkling Water. The result was pure Palm Beach Perfection! Photography by Rodney Paavola.
Pineapples were spray painted gold… so chic!
Click here to see more of baby Stella’s nursery, which provided inspiration for Christin’s shower!
Isn’t it pure perfection?! You can see another fabulous baby shower hostessed by Lauren and Christin here… The theme was “Beverly Hills Hotel meets Old Palm Beach.” For more on blue and white entertaining by Luxe Report Designs, click here, and here for more on their interior designs. You can also follow them on Instagram for daily inspiration. And stay tuned, as I will be featuring more of their work soon!
The Historic Villages of Coral Gables
In light of our recent move to Coral Gables, Florida, I have been showcasing some of the lovely, historic homes developed as part of “The Village Project” in the 1920s by Coral Gables founder, George Merrick. Today, the historic villages include the Chinese Village, the Italian Village, the Dutch South African Village, the French Provincial Village, the French Country Village, the French City Village, and the Florida Pioneer/Colonial Village.
Which home is your favorite?
And now back to the unpacking… All of our things from Dallas storage arrived last week, and I’ve been a busy bee sorting through all 851 boxes. Yes, 851 of them! There is no rest for the weary…
The French City Village of Coral Gables
Earlier this week, I wrote about this lovely Cape Dutch home that was for sale last year in Coral Gables’ historic Dutch South African Village. I’ve decided to take a little trip down Memory Lane and share a few more homes in Coral Gables’ Historic Villages that were on the market when my husband and I were house hunting. Today, I will take you inside the French City Village as we tour 1033 Hardee Road.
The 18th century inspired houses on the 1000 block of Hardee Road were designed by two architects. Mott B. Schmidt designed the homes along the north side, inspired by the Renaissance architecture of Italy, and Phillip Goodwin designed the homes along the south side with a slightly more rustic appearance, yet maintaining a formal and classical design. (1033 Hardee Road is located on the north side.) Built in 1926, this French Rivera style home is just over 3,700 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. It features a beautiful pool, herb garden, and antique clay floors from Provence. Let’s take a look!
You know I love a blue and white living room!
Construction photo of French City Village, circa 1926, showing the intersection of Leonardo Street and Hardee Road.
Photo: City of Coral Gables, Historic Preservation Department,
from THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT, via The Devoted Classicist
This home is absolute French perfection! Up next… The Italian Village!
A Carleton Varney Masterpiece, The Grand Hotel Takes You “Somewhere in Time”
Carleton Varney (aka Mr. Color) is the president/owner of Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc., one of the oldest established interior design firms in the United States, named after the founder of the company Dorothy Draper. As Draper’s protégé, his work serves as a continuation of her legacy.
In addition to numerous private residences,Mr. Varney is associated with the restoration and decoration of countless hotels and resorts throughout the world, and today we will take a peek inside The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan! Varney was in charge of redecorating the Grand Hotel in the late 1970’s, and it remains today a timeless testament to Draper/Varney style.
Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
Before we begin our tour,I would like to extend a Texas-sized thank you to the amazingly talented Jennifer @The Pink Pagoda, one of my absolute favorite blogs! It was her photo documentary of her visit to the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island that first introduced me to this historic destination, and she was gracious enough to let me “borrow” some of her images!! Thank you, Jennifer!
For more than 125 years, the Grand Hotel has embraced its rich history, but kept up with the times.Today, guests enjoy modern amenities while the hotel’s original architecture,charm and relaxing ambiance have been tastefully preserved. Contributing greatly to the hotel’s ambience is the relaxed atmosphere of Mackinac Island (pronouncedMACK-in-awe), where cars are not allowed and the horse and carriage and bicycle are favoured modes of transportation. It is like stepping back in time.
Image courtesy of the Grand Hotel
Appropriately, the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time – a spell-binding time travel love story starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour – was filmed at the Grand Hotel.Reeve is a playwright who becomes smitten by a photograph of a beautiful actress(Seymour) at the Grand Hotel, and he travels back in time to the year 1912 to follow his love. This has always been one of my favorite movies, and now I love it even more knowing it was filmed at this magnificent hotel! I will have to watch it again… with a big box of Kleenex, it is such a tear-jerker.
Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, Somewhere in Time
Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel became one of the nation’s favored summer resort destinations during the Victorian era. As a nod back to a period of time when more formal period attire was de rigueur, after 6:30 p.m. gentlemen are required to wear coat and necktie while ladies dress in their finest. As it should be!
Image courtesy of the Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel’s famous 660-foot-long Front Porch is the largest porch in the world. Gracing the porch are 2,500 geraniums – the hotel’s trademark flower – in 260 planting boxes with seven tons of potting soil. More than 5,200 geraniums can be seen in all the hotel flower beds combined.
More geraniums inside! Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
There are even geraniums on the carpet! Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
Here is a close-up, via Flikr
And next BE.STILL.MY.HEART!!!!!!!!!!
It is my Brazilliance wallpaper in the Cottage Restaurant!!! I have written about my obsession with Brazilliance (here) before, it is just too fabulous! Image courtesy of the Grand Hotel Here are more images of my beloved Brazilliance…
Image courtesy of the Grand Hotel
Close up of the curtains, from the Grand Hotel blog
Image courtesy of the Pink Pagoda
The walkway passes many Grand Hotel shops and Art Gallery. Image courtesy of the Grand Hotel
Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
Astor’s Salon is a full service Aveda Salon inside the hotel. Facials, hair styling, massages, manicures, pedicures can be enjoyed inthe salon or in your Grand Hotel guest room. I wonder if it is named for Brooke Astor, Draper’s former secretary? Hmmm….
How could you resist these pink and white candy stripes?
A mani/pedi in this girly-girl salon would be a must on my agenda!
Images courtesy of the Grand Hotel
Classic Dorothy Draper style includes black and white checker-board tiles, plasterwork (those palm tree lamps are to DIE for!) and a bold mix of colors. She loved the combination of red and green. Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
Beautiful fretwork on the staircase, and a bold red and green trellis carpet. Image courtesy of Pink Pagoda
This pink Venetian glass mirror is so beautiful! Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda
This Venetian glass chandelier is stunning! And note the oh-so-Dorothy blue and white striped ceiling. Image courtesy of The Pink Pagoda Next on the tour are the guest rooms. The Grand Hotel has 385 rooms, featuring 264 different wallpapers and 22 registered colors throughout,which means no two walls or rooms in Grand Hotel are alike. (Remaining images courtesy of the Grand Hotel)
There’s that plaster palm tree lamp again, I want one!!
Additionally, six suites are named for and designed by six former First Ladies of the United States, including the Jacqueline Kennedy Suite (with carpet that includes the gold presidential eagle on a navy blue background and walls painted gold), Lady Bird Johnson Suite (yellow damask-covered walls with blue and gold wildflowers),Betty Ford Suite (green with cream and a dash of red), Rosalynn Carter Suite (with a sample of china designed for the Carter White House and wall coverings in Georgia peach), Nancy Reagan Suite (with signature red walls and Mrs. Reagan’s personal touches) and Barbara Bush Suite (designed with pale blue and pearl and with both Maine and Texas influences).
Barbara Bush Suite
Rosalynn Carter Suite
Jacqueline Kennedy Suite
And last but not least on our tour…. The Main Dining room:
View from the Main Dining Room
After looking inside the regal and timeless images of the Grand Hotel, it is easy to see why Carleton Varney was named as one of the 30 “Deans of American Design” by Architectural Digest in 2005.Stay tuned for more posts on Mr. Varney and his work!
