A few weeks ago I attended the Greenwich chapter of the American Red Cross’s annual Red and White Ball. This event provides immediate aid to those in need, including food, shelter, medical assistance and emergency supplies.

It also provides an evening of beautiful tablescapes for ticket holders. Thirty-odd tables were decorated by local interior designers, some of whom were on hand to discuss their themes. Here’s a peek at a few of those designs.

I’m not sure how designer Moshe Aelyon got the only rectangular table of the evening (all the others were round), but he carried the red and white theme through with cans of Campbell’s soup, all of which were donated after the party.

Interior designer Olga Adler used the word “help” in a dozen languages on the chair backs of her red-and-white themed table.

Soon-to-be-graduating seniors in design at Fairfield University and ASID members Bethany Armstrong and Jennifer Orr played out the spring blockbuster, The Hunger Games, in their tablescape.

The table by Stark Carpet, designed by Christopher Matson, was a frenzy of color and aluminum.

Olley Court, a home store in Ridgefield, pulled together an amazing wire sculpture of a horse that appeared to be grazing among the potted herbs on the table.

A rotating Buddha served as the centerpiece for Lynn Garelick’s tablescape.

Carey Karlan spent hours covering a plain lampshade with decorative flowers for her red-and-white centerpiece.

Marti Easton of Marti Easton Interiors teamed with Greenwich Orchids to create her pink and green spring-like table.

The only garden pavilion in the house was by Mia Schipani of RMS Residential, who teamed with Amy Andrews from Katherine Cowdin Interiors.

A stunning spray of tulips topped the table done by Carmiña Roth Interiors.

The surprise of the night came from Catherine Cleare, who created the gala’s first biker-inspired tablescape.

Dan Kiley’s iconic mid-century Miller Garden. Photo courtesy of The Cultural Landscape Foundation

As a landscape designer, I am spellbound when I encounter a garden that has a direct connection to the art in it. When art and landscape are fused together, their dialogue creates a unique narrative that would not exist otherwise. It also provides a powerful interaction that transforms us from viewers into participants, who must confront the significance of our surroundings, their connection to the work, and our own involvement in the scene.

Our team at the landscape firm where I work, Doyle Herman Design Associates, has been fortunate to experience some magical places in our travels over the years. For example, this large-scale installation intricately patterned with shiny steel rods conveys a sense of duality. It is set in this location as a sharp contrast against soft, dense, verdant surroundings up close, and from a distance reflects a more organic and delicate quality within its naturalistic setting.

Julian Wild: System No 19, at the Cass Sculpture Foundation in West Sussex, England. Photo by Doyle Herman Design Associates

At the Jupiter Artland sculpture garden outside Edinburgh, Scotland, Weeping Girls by Laura Ford was sited to introduce drama in a melancholic atmosphere. Five little girls animate a woodsy meadow and occupy it with youthful intensity, some gesturing in the meadow and others leaning on trees.

Laura Ford: Weeping Girls (detail). Photo by Doyle Herman Design Associates

The same artist has another site-specific installation closer to us, at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Mass.

Laura Ford: Armour Boys. Photo courtesy of deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

At this private home, landscape and sculpture make a strong statement together. An allée of flowering cherry trees pulls us forward across an expansive canal overlooking a misty panorama. Inside the canal stands a mysterious, larger-than-life bronze statue that is about to step out into the unknown.

Bronze sculpture by Hanneke Beaumont at a private residence in Waccabuc, N.Y. Landscape design by Doyle Herman Design Asssociates; photo by Neil Landino, Jr.

In this garden, water repeats itself on axis. It murmurs in a sunken garden, ripples in a pool area, and gently overflows from a gleaming triangular steel tower at the center of a circular garden of sheared hedges. In the cold season, the water turns off and the reflective properties of the sculpture intensify while it continues to punctuate the space.

Stainless steel and water sculpture by Alan Wilson at a private residence in Greenwich, Conn. Landscape design by Doyle Herman Design Asssociates; photo by Neil Landino, Jr.

Here, tunnels of wisteria play back and forth with the form and texture of an abstract sculpture by Chakaia Booker while also framing a formal parterre garden and separating it from the garden room that houses this artwork.

Rubber and tire sculpture by Chakaia Booker at a private residence in Waccabuc, N.Y. Landscape design by Doyle Herman Design Asssociates; photo by Neil Landino, Jr.

This early 1900s garden in Sorrento, Italy, was composed with antiquities and connects us to the legacy of the classical world. A mythological stone figure sits at an arched window overlooking the awe-inspiring bay and Mt. Vesuvius, which they say during the same 79 A.D. eruption that buried Pompeii also damaged the original Imperial Roman villa sited here.

Villa Astor. Photo from “Gardens of the Roman World” by Patrick Bowe, courtesy of Getty Publications

I used to drive by this street art daily on my way home from work, and it always excited me. The installation sits at the US 101 freeway entrance in San Francisco, where an urban industrial area gives way to a maze of highways, bridges and gridlock. For a second, the viewer could easily assume it is a big one-way sign for the on ramp, until the beautiful scene comes into focus. This one lone gum tree is just about the only thing alive right there, and this artwork does not let us ignore it.

Rigo 23: One Tree. Photo by Kenny Trice from The New York Times

—Rosalia Sanni

Rosalia Sanni is a senior landscape designer at Doyle Herman Design Associates, an award-winning landscape design firm based in Greenwich, Conn., that undertakes projects throughout the United States and overseas. Rosalia herself is currently located in Boston, and you can also find her on Twitter at @rosaliasanni.

Corner Chandelier by Michael McHale, Long Island City, NY. Photo courtesy of Koo de Monde

We at New England Home spend a lot of time, especially for our printed magazine issues, searching out the most elegant home products and resources created right here in New England. But it’s fun, sometimes, to cast a wider net and consider beautiful things from all over.

Curtain Console Table by Jason Phillips Design, High Point, NC. Photo courtesy of Koo de Monde

A quickening proliferation of sales websites devoted to high-end home design is bringing more and more potential purchases straight to our computer or iPad screens. Many of these sites (Dering Hall, One Kings Lane and Joss & Main, for example) are national or international in scope. Some, such as Market 27, lean toward more local connections.

Lilly vase from Sama Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand. Photo courtesy of Koo de Monde

In today’s blog post, though, we have a rare opportunity to loosen up a bit and stay true to our core mission at the same time. Koo de Monde, pet project of partners John Altobello, Curtis Chen, Philip Clendaniel and Betsy Sweat, although based in Boston, extends tendrils of curiosity in all directions to reel in luxury pieces from artisans, artists and designers around the world.

24KKM (Kate Moss in gold) by Jeremy Penn, New York, NY

Members of the trade can always visit their physical digs at the Boston Design Center, but really the journey from Hartford or Burlington or Portland to workshops in Cambodia or studios in Chicago is no longer than a click of screen or trackpad.

Spice Dust carpet from Silk Road Weaves by Barbara Jacobs, Medfield, MA

A classic floral-print makes a chic statement in a chair by Linda Lane for Jessica Charles.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Charles

The St. James tufted high-back chair from Hancock & Moore, an updated interpretation of a King James–era piece, is bold and dramatic with its zebra-stripe hide leather back and sides and plush cream leather seat.

Photo courtesy of Hancock & Moore

Cheryl Katz, Contributing Editor
Meandering through New York’s Lower East Side is one of my favorite pastimes. Maybe it’s because I imagine my grandparents wandering down the very same streets, stopping to look in the very same shop windows or the very same storefronts as I do. But while they ogled the bakeries and appetizing arrays of delicacies reminiscent of their homeland, I am ogling clothing shops and home stores in search of something I’ve never seen before.

Top Hat, an inevitable stop whenever I have the time, is just that. It’s a charming, tiny shop on Broome Street, nestled between Ludlow and Orchard streets, that showcases highly edited and well-curated items. On a recent visit, I couldn’t resist these postcards, which come with a gold-tipped needle and red thread so you can chart your own course—whether familiar or far—while keeping the folks back home apprised of your travels.

Photo courtesy of Sweet Bella

Kyle Hoepner, Editor-in-Chief
This past Sunday was the SoWa Art Walk here in Boston, and I actually managed to grab a few leisure hours to saunter around the neighborhood (incidentally enjoying the stellar weather) and check out what some of New England Home’s creative neighbors have been up to. Here are a few things our design-savvy readers might want to know about…

Lovely, bright white openwork porcelain by ceramic artist Isabelle Abramson. Some pieces, such as this “woven rope” bowl, are so delicate that it’s hard to imagine how they survived their trip through the kiln.

Woven Rope Bowl. Photo courtesy of Isabelle Abramson

Photographer Yorgos Efthymiadis distills striking two-dimensional images from striking three-dimensional spaces—often stairwells—by prominent architects.

Wilson Hall, Chicago. Photo courtesy of Yorgos Efthymiadis

Textile designer Seema Krish, newly returned from a visit to her printing and embroidery workroom in India, gave me an unofficial introduction to her new fabric line (available soon at a design center near you). It combines a beautifully textured, handworked quality with a dash of cosmopolitan shine.

New fabric designs by Seema Krish

And I was especially pleased to see new work—such as this cross-stitched mirror—from Debra Folz, one of our 5 Under 40 award winners in 2011, as she prepares for her upcoming debut at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York.

“Sight,” mirrored stainless steel, painted plywood backing, and nylon embroidery thread. Photo courtesy of Debra Folz

Continuing my tour of images that could have made it into the pages of New England Home, but somehow didn’t. Sharing them here is a welcome opportunity, since they deserve to be seen. When possible, a link is included to the story that did run.

Designer Claire Maestroni’s Greenwich dining room: how many textures can you spot?

Photo by Björn Wallander; click to see full story

A tablescape from Cynthia Mason Hernandez’s dining room vignette at West Hartford’s Designer Spaces and Market Places in the autumn of 2010.

Photo by Michael Partenio

A long, low house by Rhode Island architect James Estes sits calmly in the dusk.

Photo by Warren Jagger; click to see full story

Hanging pots of flowers on the Vermont porch of designer Wendy Valliere.

Photo by Michael Partenio; click to see full story

More flowers made their way inside, to another porch used as a casual dining room.

Photo by Michael Partenio

A bedroom symphony in black and white, also from Wendy Valliere’s house.

Photo by Michael Partenio

Sun-gilded clouds crown an evocative landscape by Scot Indermuehle of Sudbury Design Group.

Photo by Michael J. Lee; click to see full story

The dramatic geometry of a house by TruexCullins nestles in the woods by Lake Champlain.

Photo by Jim Westphalen; click to see full story

The Veronica table lamp that Kristine Mullaney chose as a favorite for our May/June 2012 issue Perspectives section made an impression on readers. Kristine told me that in the week the magazine hit mailboxes she had several calls from people who wanted the table lamp it in their homes. The table lamp—designed by Matthew Studios and available at Webster & Company in the Boston Design Center—has a chunky base of sparkly quartz; Kristine noted that she’s been using quartz and other natural elements in her work lately because the texture and sparkle add an interesting, unexpected touch. “Some people don’t like a lot of shine or to have things really blinged-out,” she says. “But natural stone is a great way to introduce a bit of sparkle in a way that’s more modern.”

In case you missed it in the magazine, this is the Veronica table lamp Kristine likes so much. It’s both glamorous and down-to-earth.

Photo courtesy of Matthew Studios

While natural stone takes its shine straight from nature, Kristine also relies on a bit of manmade glimmer at times. For a man’s apartment in Boston’s Back Bay, she outfitted the foyer walls in Mica Fleck wallcovering from F. Schumacher. The walls bring warmth and drama to the home’s modern interior.

Photo by Michael J. Lee

In the same Back Bay apartment, Kristine introduced stone as a decorative accessory, topping the console with a glass box that showcases amethyst and quartz.

Photo by Michael J. Lee

But, just as any great chef will tell you, it is 90% about the presentation!

Currey & Company at High Point Market, Spring 2012: a design scheme with some of their new Moroccan-inspired line.

It isn’t enough nowadays simply to have great product and hope that you are going to catch everyone’s attention and fill hundreds of orders. You need to be able to sell your dream…and, most important, sell how your lighting, furniture and accessories can help attain that dream.

This is what sets High Point Market apart from the rest. It is our equivalent of Fashion Week in the couture world, with 180 buildings and 10 million square feet of amazingly designed showrooms.

Sarreid, where antiques and contemporary pieces have been thoughtfully displayed.

Two’s Company, presenting their new collection with Dransfield & Ross. Here a large portion of the stand has been dedicated to the “Artist’s Studio,” which introduces the theme of this new collection rather than displaying the product.

These showrooms have the luxury of space, but there is also more attention placed on setting the mood and tone rather than simply piling a mountain of product on shelves. Each market has been carefully planned and designed, just as any interior designer would plan a project for their client.

Halo, with a strong theme and the strongest attention to detail. This showroom had wonderful music playing and all the candles were lit, adding another layer to the experience.

So if you are on the hunt for pieces that fit a warmer palette, a strong nautical theme or rustic country style…

Four Hands: the walls in this very large showroom were creatively styled with posters, paint cans and spools of colored thread, adding an element of flair to their products, which are more classical in design, and instantly lending every piece an entirely new level of sophistication.

Or perhaps you are a fan of a richer palette, filled with color and pattern and layer upon layer of exquisite detailing…

The Tony Duquette room at Baker. Here they have used the most classical elements from their Stately Homes collection mixed in with these very eclectic statement pieces, showing how the two can be used in harmony to create unique looks.

Century Furniture. Every piece can be seen in various finishes throughout the many vignettes in the showroom. No detail has been left out, with wall coverings, fabric and paint selections made to enhance the presentation.

Visiting High Point Market is not only about the experience of coming face to face with each vendor’s product in every finish and size. It also leaves us energized and inspired about how those product lines can help create the rooms that will fulfill our clients’ dreams.

Hickory Chair: unconventional layouts creatively enhance every piece without clutter and with the utmost care given to color and design sensibility.

—Jennifer Mehditash

Interior designer Jennifer Mehditash shares the things that inspire her via the style blog Dec-a-Porter, which was recently chosen as a finalist for Best New Design Blog at the 2012 Design Bloggers Hall of Fame.

It’s like a jolt of caffeine after a particularly long meeting. It’s a cure-all for boredom. It’s a natural high, a celebration, a special occasion. It’s best when not performed online, in a hurry, out of need or desperation, but purely for the visually stimulating, thought provoking fun of it.  A word of caution, however: it can be habit forming.

Photos of Patch NYC South End courtesy of Cheryl Katz

Just in case you’re thinking that this is a new kind of vitamin bar or nutritional shake, let me be clear. This “it” provides another kind of stimulation—the kind you get when you enter a good (no, great) store. Right about now you must be thinking, “She’s banal and shallow to be making such a fuss about shopping. Really?” Really. Let me explain.

I love all kinds of stores: grocery, shoe, drug, hardware, gourmet and dollar. I don’t care if I spend hours meandering through aisles, pawing through racks, sorting through shelves or caressing acres of countertops only to come up empty-handed. But what I really love is the experience and the POWER it holds. Literally. For me, great stores are defined by Personality, Obsession or Oddity, Whimsy, Exaggeration and, yes, Romance.

In a few hours, when my studio reads this post, they will start laughing at me. They’ve heard my POWER pitch before. I started using the acronym about ten years ago when we were pitching a new client. Yet, the same traits that helped me codify the qualities necessary to create a great store for that client hold sway today just as they did a decade ago.

Case in point was a recent visit to the revamped Patch NYC store, the brainchild of designers Don Carney and John Ross. Walking through the brick courtyard off Waltham Street in Boston’s South End to reach the front door, I instantly recognized that Don and John shared my passion for a great shop. It’s clear. They’re a pair of Power Patch kids.

A sampling of unique items from the store’s enormous inventory.

Photos courtesy of Portland Architectural Salvage

Stacy Kunstel, Homes Editor
Audrey Sterk Design has turned out a line of lacquered trays in the same colorways and patterns as their beautiful wallpapers. Made in the USA, using water-based custom colors, the trays come in a variety of colors and styles with some of my favorites here.

Flowers/Blue Green. Photos courtesy of Audrey Sterk

Links/Blue Green

Links/Charcoal Cream

Jared Ainscough, Assistant Art Director
This week I blogged about Karin Ganga Sheppard from Island Weaves on Nantucket. My favorite design of hers are these terry cloth bathmats that she creates from recycled towels. They remind me of braided rugs, both in style and concept. She creatively repurposes old materials, and the mats serve as a smart solution to a problem most people would overlook. Plus they look great!

Handwoven Stria rug. Photo courtesy of Island Weaves

Karin Ganga Sheppard from Island Weaves, in Nantucket, is dedicated to her craft. She spent twenty years working at looms before starting her own business making throws, rugs, upholstery and more.

Usually when craftspeople start a business, the handmade quality of their work is traded for the efficiency of mass production. Karen Sheppard is the exception to the rule. She hand works every fiber that comes into her studio—cleaning, sorting, dying and weaving every yarn. The act of weaving has transcended hard work and attention to detail. She has turned the process into a sort of meditation. That tranquility and dedication comes across in her work. Each piece is a study in patience and perfection.

Look for a story about her and her business in Made Here in the New England Home’s Cape and Islands issue, coming out in June.

Hand-woven silk, angora and wool throw. Photos courtesy of Island Weaves

Baby blanket with white stripe and sewn edge

Rosepath rug made of linen and terry cloth