Last year, we received more than 200 entries for CTC&G’s Innovation in Design Awards (IDAs) in the Kitchen Design category, and the kitchens were all WHITE! The person who is credited with creating the first white kitchen that changed kitchens forever and spawned dozens of imitators is Christopher Peacock. It’s not only because he is…
This issue gets all of us thinking about how we can have the ultimate kitchen! Our intrepid Editorial Director D.J. Carey attends the annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) every January and comes back with the inside scoop. Then she shares her new-found knowledge at CTC&G’s annual Trends in Kitchen design event at NuKitchens…
As an antiques lover and also an enthusiast for clean modern lines, I have often thought that decorating one’s home should not have to be strictly confined to one or the other. With that in mind, under the direction of Editorial Director D.J. Carey, CTC&G has embarked on a four-part program to showcase successful mixes…
After many requests from readers and design professionals to create a comprehensive design guide to Connecticut, we are delighted to announce that the ultimate resource is on its way. The 2018 Connecticut Design Guide is a must-have compendium of building and architectural firms, product listings and design services, as well as tips, trends and ideas from the…
This year, the CTC&G Innovation in Design Awards (IDAs) honored Elizabeth Eakins “the uber rug lady” and sister publication, HC&G recognized Martha Stewart for forever changing the joy we have in our homes, our gardens and our tables. This month, we will honor Donna Karan at the NYC&G IDAs. I first met Donna in the…
You may have noticed that the cover of this issue is different from your neighbor’s. Our state is so full of wonderful homes and gardens, art and antiques, designers and architects, builders and retailers that when our editors are choosing content for our issues, we often have an embarrassment of riches leading to differing and…
On May 23, the 21st innovation in Design Awards (IDAs pronounced I-DAAH-s) took place at the Greenwich Country Club. The 21st, you ask? Yes indeed. From its beginnings 11 years ago in Connecticut, the CTC&G IDAs were joined seven years ago in the Hamptons with the HC&G IDAs and five years ago in New York…
Designers Charles Pavarini III and J. Randall Tarasuk stopped by our Norwalk headquarters a few months ago and noticed the sorry state of our conference room—everyday chairs, obligatory wall-mounted large-screen computer and glaring white walls (yawn). In short order, they put together a plan that reflected the bold theatricality that I love in many of…
For those of you who love design, I heartily recommend a trip to the Salone del Mobile, the cutting-edge home furnishings fair that takes place in Milan every April. The city is chock-full of exhibitions featuring collaborations between furniture manufacturers and today’s greatest designers, displayed against the backdrop of Milan’s most historic buildings. One evening,…
CTC&G has a long and delicious history with showhouses—those designer-created homes that we love to visit and swoon over—from our redecoration of the Connecticut Governor’s Residence to the Showhouse on the Green in Fairfield that included the first virtually decorated room. Now here’s something different. New Canaan resident and One Kings Lane President Debbie Propst…
Our state is fairly bursting with design buildings and design communities these days, which means that you, dear readers, and your designers and architects need not venture beyond our borders for the best in furniture, fabrics, tile or stone. Last year, CTC&G was the presenting partner for the debut of the Stamford Waterside Design District…
In the nine years that I have lived in Silvermine, virtually every neighbor has redone their kitchen. I know the process well: It starts off by noticing what others have done, followed by up to a year of talking and dreaming about it (what they would do and not do, what new products they have…
Some of my best friends are builders! That is easy to say in a state like Connecticut where our homes mean everything to us—and it seems that there is a huge number of talented professionals building custom as well as ready-made homes for the most discerning buyers around. Little wonder then that there is a…
“The number-one topic of conversation around dinner tables in the Hamptons is real estate” declared the founder of sister publication HC&G (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens) 15 years ago when the magazine debuted with its “Deeds & Don’ts” real estate column replete with tantalizing inside scoop on area steals and deals. He was right, and the…
At CTC&G, we spend our days in the most beautiful homes in Connecticut and celebrate the architects and designers who make them dazzle. We are always mindful, however, of the incredible job done by the builders in our state, and Editorial Director D.J. Carey and I have often discussed how to give them the recognition…
The excitement is mounting at our offices as it does every year before Pink Aid. As cofounders of Pink Aid—the annual must-attend fashion show, auction and luncheon fundraiser at Mitchells in Westport—we at CTC&G are hard at work contacting and advising designers on their wonderful creations, which will be photographed and auctioned off at the…
It’s the tenth year of our IDAs (Innovation in Design Awards). A big anniversary like this deserved an exceptional design icon to receive our 2016 Innovator Award. Who could be a more fitting recipient than Robert A.M. Stern? We first met at the opening gala for the Jim Vlock Building Project at the Yale School…
On a drive around our towns this weekend, I was struck by the number of “for sale” signs in front of homes in Fairfield County. Further investigation and consultation with Ileana Barns-Slavin of William Raveis Real Estate in Wilton and New Canaan reveals that while there is a robust inventory of homes on the market,…
I was in Westport in November 2014 when the entire historic Kemper-Gunn house was moved from Church Lane to its new location in Elm Street’s Baldwin parking lot. Such a big move for such a little house, and what would become of it? This month, CTC&G will host the opening gala for the house’s new…
The soldes sign beckoned from every emporium in Paris during my recent trip to the enormous design fair, Maison & Objet. And with the dollar/euro ratio almost at par for the first time in decades, there were bargains galore! The fabulous department store Le Bon Marché was festooned with conceptual artist Ai Weiwei’s bamboo-and-silk exhibit,…