WHY: Laurence J. Peter

Home is where the college student home for the holidays isn’t. – Laurence J. Peter

WHERE: Global Table

Great news for uptown fans of Natalie Smith’s Soho tabletop Mecca Global Table!  The go-to source for gorgeous, colorful (and affordable!) serving pieces and accessories has a new location on Amsterdam Avenue.  From delicate tea sets to sturdy trays you’ll find inspiring gifts for everyone ‘round your table this holiday.

For more information, please visit www.globaltable.com .

WHEN: “Give Thanks, Give Back,” through November 30

Give thanks, give back – and get prizes, too!  Lenox is celebrating Thanksgiving with a great offer to benefit God’s Love We Deliver.  For every three new likes they get on their Facebook page during the month of November, Lenox will contribute one nutritious meal for men, women and children facting the dual crisis of illness and hunger.  In addition, they will select two new likes during the month of November to receive a special Lenox Thanksgiving prize package, including their exquisite platter and gravy boat.

For more information, please visit http://www.facebook.com/Lenox . 

Info and info courtesy The Editor At Large. 

WHAT: The Bobble Jug by Karim Rashid

Slightly dry turkey?  Too much salt in the mashed potatoes?  Though you can’t un-do Thanksgiving mishaps, you can distract from their effects.  Divert attention from a less-than-stellar dish with the Bobble Jug, a new water filter pitcher by Karim Rashid available at Target.  Designed to resemble a wine carafe, the Bobble Jug is attractive enough to place on the table – right next to that tin-can-shaped cranberry blob. 

Image courtesy The New York Times. 

WHO: Robert Stilin

Robert Stilin is known for effortlessly combining crisp, clean architecture with custom upholstery, antique and vintage furniture and modern and contemporary art to create casually elegant homes that are warm, comfortable and very livable.

His collaboration with Ina Garten on House Beautiful’s 2008 Kitchen of the Year embodied casual sophistication.  His thoughtful touches throughout the space extended to the tabletop, where place cards made of cookies were decorated to echo the Barefoot Contessa’s signature graphics. 

Maybe someday I’ll dress a table that epitomizes easy elegance…  Until then, I’ll stick to baking the Barefoot Contessa’s incredible “Beatty’s Chocolate Cake”!

Image and info courtesy House Beautiful and robertstilin.com.

Weekly Ws: At Table

We’re serving kitchen style and tabletop inspiration from some of our favorite designers and shops. And this week’s blog comes with a side of gratitude – THANK YOU for visiting!

WHY: Simone Weil

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul. – Simone Weil

WHERE: New Orleans

Though it’s been more than six years since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans stills needs help rebuilding. A number of volunteer organizations are helping residents find their way home – one of the most inspiring is The Saint Bernard Project.

The Saint Bernard Project rebuilds the lives and homes of Katrina survivors. It assists residents from industrious, working class neighborhoods in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes and neighborhoods including Chalmette, Violet, Meraux, Gentilly, the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and the 7th Ward. These are communities of veterans and communities who hold potluck dinners to benefit families in need. It is an area where local fishermen and shrimpers give part of their daily catch to the less fortunate. Before Hurricane Katrina, generations of families lived within blocks of one another. Neighbors could trace their friendships back to their grandparents and beyond.

The St. Bernard Project’s Rebuilding Program rebuilds homes for senior citizens, people with disabilities and families with children who cannot afford to have their homes rebuilt by contractors. For clients who can afford supplies, the St. Bernard Project provides supervised volunteer labor. For clients who cannot afford supplies, the St. Bernard Projects buys the supplies and provides the labor.

A typical rebuild project takes approximately 12 weeks of volunteer labor and uses approximately $20,000 worth of building supplies. Volunteers play a vital role in the Rebuilding Program. Every day between 100 and 250 volunteers are in the field working on clients’ homes. Volunteers not only help in the rebuilding but they also provide our homeowners with support and encouragement during the emotional rebuilding process.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, please visit www.stbernardproject.org .

Image and info courtesy Saint Bernard Project.

WHEN: Holiday House, November 16 – December 11

Next week, breast cancer survivors and advocates will come together to unveil a Holiday-themed Designer Showhouse event benefiting the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®. Holiday House 2011 will be held at 2 East 63^rd Street, New York, from November 16 through December 11. The Opening Gala will be held Tuesday, November 15.

This year’s participants include Bradley Theirgartner, Charles Pavarini, Eileen Kathryn Boyd and other leading designers. Traditional Home will sponsor this year’s showhouse.

For tickets and more information, please visit www.holidayhousenyc.com .

Image and info courtesy Holiday House.

WHAT: Furnish A Future

Having a home creates a sense of stability, well-being, and independence. It’s our personal space; a place for peace and security, and a gathering point where important relationships are forged and nurtured.

Home means family dinners around the kitchen table, mom cuddling up with her son on the sofa on a cold winter night, kids doing their homework at a desk in their own room.

Families leaving city shelters for their own apartments can’t usually experience these simple but important joys because they have little to no furnishings to call their own - unless they go to Furnish a Future, the only program in New York City that provides formerly homeless families leaving city shelters with furniture and household goods for free.

With their own personal furnishings, formerly homeless families can design their homes to their liking, creating a much-needed sense of ownership. This past year, Furnish a Future provided furnishings to almost 1,900 households, including over 6,500 parents and children.

To donate furniture, to volunteer or for more information, please visit www.pfth.org .

Image and info courtesy Furnish A Future.

WHO: Kendra Stitt Robins of Project Night Night

Any parent knows that it takes very few material things to help a child feel at home. Kendra Stitt Robins realized that her young son could fall asleep more easily and feel more secure – more at home – when they traveled, if he had “consistent reminders of home – blanket, book and stuffed animal.” After donating some of his old, spare comfort items to a shelter, she was inspired to start Project Night Night, which works with volunteers to create and distribute care packages including a new stuffed animal, blanket and a book to children in homeless shelters.

In her Classic Woman Award profile in Traditional Home, Kendra said, “Victims of domestic violence are lucky to be able to escape with their children, let alone their children’s favorite teddy bears. Adults need a roof over their heads and food on the table to feel safe; children need to know there’s nothing scary under the bed. A book, a blanket and stuffed animal make them feel secure.”

You can help a homeless child sleep a little more soundly and feel a bit more at home by volunteering with or donating to Project Night Night. For more information, please visit www.projectnightnight.org .

Image and info courtesy Project Night Night.

Weekly Ws: No Place Like Home

We started this week on an inspirational note, with Traditional Home’s Classic Women Awards Ceremony. Since we can’t start a non-profit of our own – at least, not yet! – we’re taking this week to highlight some organizations that go beyond design, to address the things that turn an empty living space into a home.

WHY: Paola Antonelli

Design's DNA does not come from just the birth certificate of the designer but rather from a combination of personal history and cultural baggage. - Paola Antonelli, MoMA

WHERE: 19th Century Furniture and Art at Sotheby's

On November 16, Sotheby’s will present an auction of 19th Century Furniture and Decorative Works of Art, including sculpture, ceramics, silver and carpets. Prior to the sale from November 12 through 15, visitors can view several distinguished collections including a pendule de parquet after the 18th century model by Andre-Charles Boulle and micro-mosaic table top on a revolving stand attributed to Antonio Aguatti.

For more information, please visit sothebys.com.

Image and info courtesy Sotheby’s.

WHEN: Doyle Auction of American Furniture, November 17

Doyle New York will auction American Furniture and Decorative Arts, including Paintings and Historical, Topographical and Audubon Prints on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 10am. The sale showcases important American furniture and decorative arts from the Colonial period through the Federal and Classical styles. Silver, ceramics, mirrors, Chinese Export porcelain, American Indian art, and rugs will also be offered. A special section of the sale will feature a broad selection of paintings and Audubon, Currier & Ives, and topographical prints.

Highlights include a set of four federal inlaid mahogany dining chairs, estimated at $30,000 - $40,000.

For more information, please visit doylenewyork.com.

Info and image courtesy Doyle New York.

WHAT: “L’Amour Fou”

“L’Amour Fou” centers around Yves Saint Laurent’s lifelong partner, businessman Pierre Bergé, as he comes to terms with the death of the designer.

Filmmaker Pierre Thoretton uses the 2009 auction of their extravagant art collection to frame the story and bring up issues of love and loss, especially where they relate to material possessions.

In the film, Bergé speaks poignantly about attending to the collection's "funeral" and hoping the precious pieces will "fly off like birds and find a new place they can perch." He adds, "But losing someone with whom you have lived for 50 years … that is another thing entirely."

Copy and image courtesy “In L’Amour Fou, A Life Without Yves Saint Laurent,” published in The Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2011.

WHO: The New Auctioneers

C K Swett (pictured), Lydia Fenet and Simon De Pury are three of the auctioneers profiled in the New York Times article “A Young Auctioneer Breaks into the Gavel Clique” which ran on October 30. While the auction world is often portrayed as stuffy and exclusive, this entertaining and surprising collection of profiles shows a completely different side of the scene. Gold lame cape, anyone?

To learn more about the men and women who are changing the face (and voice) of the auction circuit, please visit nytimes.com.

Image courtesy racked.com.

WEEKLY Ws: At Auction

As a child I was dragged to more auctions than I can remember. My father was always on the lookout for an amazing find – a church pew, artwork, furniture – and my childhood memories of trips to Vermont invariably include a soundtrack along the lines of HeynowdoIheartwohundredtwohundredoverheredoIhearthree... The genetic predisposition to searching out and collecting others’ treasures seems to have skipped me and gone straight to my brother (see The Dumpster Project). However, a recent article in the New York Times inspired us to take a closer look at the auction world. This week we’ll look at the Who, What, Where, When and Why of making everything old, new again.