Archive | November 2015

Santa Claus

6th of December is coming soon, Hungarian children are waiting Santa Claus (or Father Christmas). The origin of the feast is connected to Saint Nicholas who gave presents to his neighbor’s children, as to the tale. Starting from this legend, Santa Claus was illustrated as an old man in coarse clothes with mitre, who lived in Heaven and watched children from there. His assistants were buffers, angels or elves.
This picture and the feast itself changed in the 20th century and became global – it is said that the Santa Claus illustration of Coca Cola became well known worldwide. The assistants disappeared beside him. His figure came to stay: white hair-moustache-beard, red clothes with belt, boots, big red sack, big tummy and smiling face. His person separated from the saint, although he is frequently called Nicholas in Hungary, the Father Christmas name is rather in use. (He is Santa Claus in Anglo-Saxon countries, Joulupukki in Finland, Nikolaus in German speech areas and Gyed Maroz in Russia). According to the new background story, he lives in the North Pole, his toy- and present making factory is also there, where elves are working. His sleigh is pulled by nine reindeers with which he can even fly. Children write letters to him before Christmas about the desired presents.
The date of presenting in Hungary is still 6th of December, day of Nicholas. He puts presents for good children and rods for bad children in the cleaned boots and shoes under the cover of night. He goes around the world during the night of Christmas and hands out the presents according to traditions of other countries which he puts under the Christmas tree or in the hung stockings after crawling in through the chimney. The bad gets coals instead of rods in Anglo-Saxon countries.
Decorate our home with Christmas ornaments even to this feast getting moody surprises by the presents in the morning. Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the decoration fit for your home.

Inspiration 7.

Nov27

Ispirations for manfully elegant interiors

Design cakes

Nov25

Special design cakes which can be the ornament of a classic celebration table

Thanksgiving

Nov23

Thanksgiving is a North-American national feast. It is on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the USA. This is the second biggest family holiday beside Christmas and also the beginning of the festive season in the USA. Its history is dating back to 1621 when the when the settlers who arrived the previous year thanked for the annual harvest after the harvest.
The Thanksgiving dinner has special dishes: whole roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans and pumpkin pie. Commonly the Friday is given as holiday, so the whole family can celebrate together at the long weekend. The nicely set table is very important this time. Commonly there is a separate dinner set for this occasion, mostly in warm colors. The soup bowl is frequently turkey-shaped, there is a pumpkin-shaped cup instead of plate for soup, seating card is placed on the table sticking in a pear/apple – only some examples.
The characteristic crops (for example: pumpkin, corn, nuts) and colors (orange, browns, mustard yellow, claret etc.) of autumn are used for the decoration. Not only the interiors but the outdoor parts connecting to the house are decorated with leafed-berried branches, chrysanthemums in pots and door wreaths. Big cockades, turkey figures and huge balls are made of paper in proper colors. The letter of Thanksgiving are cut from spare fabrics or cardboards and glued to a ribbon forming garlands and they are hung on for example the mantelpiece or the stair-rail. Sweets and sandwiches on the buffet table can be smart too: small turkeys are formed from biscuits or marzipan and the sandwiches have „contour feathers” made of olives on toothpicks.
Other decorations can be also used besides the colors of autumn, depending on the style of the interior, for example silver, gold, warm whites or cream. The lights of candles and tea lights give the nicely warm total effect.
If you like the mood of Thanksgiving and want your home enrobed in late autumn decoration, ask for help of an interior designer for this.

Classical modern lighting

Nov20

Classic lighting reinterpretation – more modern but still elegant look

Garden tools storage

Nov18

After gardening season store our garden tools in a clear, dry, ordered way for the winter for keeping them useful in the next season in beautification of our garden

Colonial style

Nov16

When the British conquered India in the 19th century, they founded colonies throughout the country. Many families moved there to perform tasks and for the hope of getting rich. But the climate of the continent was very unusual for them: suffocating hot air, monsoon rain, high humidity. The houses they built and also the furnishing served for ventilating cool breeze and sheltering from sunshine, this way making the surroundings more tolerable. Colonial style was born.
The most significant features of colonial architectural style are house-length verandas, where the outreached roof is supported by pillars, huge doors and windows with shutters and high ceiling. Houses are single-floor or two-storied.
They used local materials for furnishing. Dark brown (ebony, teak, mahogany) wooden floor and furniture are typical. Moving the air was solved by ventilating fans which were made of local, natural wood or grasses also. They even integrated decoration elements and patterns. The shapes of furniture however remained British. The seat and/or back is frequently wicker. Upholsteries are airy, usually white or beige. They guarded against insects with muslin curtains which were laid on the four-poster bed too. Walls are light (white, creme) which give contrast with dark furniture and feel cooling. Huge potted palms, ferns and other green plants were placed throughout the house.
They kept the typically British elegance and comfort. Sophisticated household objects made of porcelain, silver or crystal are inevitable. These were imported from the mother country. Clothes remained formal despite of hard conditions, just the used materials were lighter and mostly white.
Ask for help of an interior designer to realize the mood of colonial style in your home.

TV series

Nov13

Popular TV-series in authentical surroundings
– Poirot: art déco
– Downton Abbey: victorian
– Borgias: reneissance

Color pairs 9.

Nov11

Color pairs: yellow-pink

Work of Thomas Kinkade

Nov9

Thomas Kinkade was born on 19th of January in 1958 in Placerville, California. By the age of four, it was clear that he would become an artist. „I was always the kid who could draw.” – he remembers – „I had this talent, and it was the one thing that gave me some kind of dignity in the midst of my personal environment.” He became an excellent painter aged 16, during the apprenticeship at the known artist, Glen Wessels.
He attended University of Berkley, then Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In 1980, after graduating, he travelled to New York with his friend, while they made sketches at every station of the trip. They visited with these the publisher Waton Guptill, who published the sketching handbook in 1982.
The success of the book led them both to Ralph Bakshi Studios where they created background art for the animated feature film Fire and Ice (1983). Kinkade soon began to explore the depiction of light. Probably this intensive work with films was the base of his master depicting of light. He got the nickname Painter of Light during this time. After the film, he earned his living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California.
Recurring features of Kinkade’s paintings are their glowing highlights and pastel colors. His works often portray bucolic and idyllic settings such as stone cottages, main streets and streams. He painted mainly his hometown’s streets and the surroundings. His pictures were called kitschy many times, but he didn’t mind it. He was criticized because he sold his works in reprint also. He is one of the most popular painters in China and Thailand, fakes are frequent there. Interesting information: mostly his winter landscapes can be chosen on the largest electronic postcard sending portals in Christmas category.
He received many awards for his works. He was inducted into the California Tourism Hall of Fame in 2002. He was selected to commemorate the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and he was also honored for his contributions to improving the welfare of children. He was selected two times to paint the National Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. He was the most awarded artist in the past 25 years in 2004. In 2005, he was named the Graphic Artist of the Year.
More books and movies were made about his life. He died at his home on 6th of April in 2012. He is buried in Saratoga.
Since all of his works are very colorful and almost burn because of the painted light, they have to be placed in an interior with an eye of a professional. Ask for help of an interior designer for this.