As home lifestyle industry PR/marketers, staying up on the latest in home design and building is a must. Recently, I had the chance to tour ,with my PR colleague, Jennifer Zawadzinski, the uber chic, idea-filled 2014 Hampton Designer Showhouse in Bridgehampton, New York, benefiting Southampton Hospital and presented by Traditional Home magazine and open daily through September 1. (Note, the home tour allowed visitors mobile phone pics only.) So JZ’s first observation was how do you harness the creative talent of over 25 top interior designers into one beautiful home that makes sense. After being part of the PR team for the 2011 Nashville Southern Living Showcase Home, built by top Nashville builder, Castle Homes, I knew this could be accomplished with a smart person at the helm. On the day of our August tour, we lucked upon meeting this diplomat and design powerhouse who helped shepherd designers through the process, Greg McKenzie, of Greg McKenzie Design.

McKenzie served as the project design team coordinator and also created the gorgeous library and laundry room. He’s a repeat contributor to the Hampton Designer Showhouse brand.

The stunning, shingle home was built by Paramount Custom Homes. Their quality and detail was impressive and spectacular, but, P.S. fellows, you are amazing builders and need new head shots, like yesterday, which reflect the multimillion-dollar amazingness of your home. Certainly, Paramount has a plethora of signature building elements, but, one must-see is incorporating the wine room into the dining space. Convenience and art are merged as a great way to display a collection. A Montauk privacy fence also uses this same idea for an art installation – pictured below as well. We saw this chandelier early in our Hampton visit at Gansett Lane Home which I chronicled on Instagram. The three-tiered piece reflects the cluster of three-dining tables for awesome symmetry and cool continuity!

  Here are some of my favorite design elements of the home. Pops of color are the key to inviting and memorable design. Many of the rooms had a soothing palette of Farrow & Ball in muted tones with vivid use of lime green, orange and navy creating a most memorable impression. Forest Home Media seeks to incorporate this technique in photos used for magazine covers and newspaper centerpieces. And, think about it, you achieve that beautiful creamy, dreamy palette  and then you can change your setting with a pop of color as the season and whim suits you.

Carrera marble is still king in the kitchen. The home has a sensuous slab of marble, and, yes, I had to drag my hand across the waterfall edge. Farrow & Ball’s “Comforth White” No. 288 in Estate Emulsion is the palette for the room with a yummy shade of lime woven throughout the accessories and generous banquette. Design of the space is credited to Gary Ciuffo, Ciuffo Cabinetry. Trends I loved include lacquer, high-gloss finish on most of the cabinetry and on several pieces throughout the home including the bar below. The cleanliness of this finish always calls to me. And, must give a shout out to our 2013 Southern Living Idea House decorator Phoebe Howard. After working with her on this project, also built by Castle Homes, expectation was for a light, airy, inviting space and Howard did not disappoint with her bedroom’s use of Farrow & Ball “Skylight” No. 205 in Estate Emulsion. If you’d like, follow my adventures on Instagram, Twitter and our Forest Home Media Facebook page. In December, Forest Home Media will be coordinating PR for Nashville’s premier home tour, the Parade of Homes, which returns to the bucolic Arrington neighborhood of Kings’ Chapel, just south of Nashville. Stay tuned, and, if you are a home lifestyle industry writer and would like to be on our blog or media roll for this event, drop us a note.

Error: Contact form not found.