Introducing House Beautiful's new Guest Editors

HOUSE BEAUTIFUL ANNOUNCES “POP-UP” GUEST EDITOR SERIES

 Chesie Breen  & Charlotte Moss First in New Series

Beginning in October, House Beautiful will introduce a new series of “pop-up” guest editors this fall, all of them design industry notables and they will collaborate on select issues with Newell Turner and newly appointed House Beautiful Executive Editor Shax Riegler to develop content, from product coverage to design features". 

The first in the series will be edited by House Beautiful Editor at Large Chesie Breen who will spotlight Americans' homes abroad, taking readers to three major European cities along with a sojourn in the French countryside. 

Next, interior designer Charlotte Moss who will also be joining as an ongoing contributor beginning with the November entertaining issue, themed "The Arts of Living," which will include special sections on home fragrance, books, music, wine and more..
For more on Charlotte Moss' fantastic sense of style, head over to my feature post on her room at Holiday House ~ (still on the Top 10) ~ here.

“When Newell and Shax proposed this idea, I immediately and instinctively seized the theme of volupté—sensuality—for the home,” Moss said. “As designers, we go far beyond how rooms look and feel: we create atmosphere and that means creating beauty that affects all of our senses. I’m focusing on the arts of living, being surrounded by beauty, enveloped in fragrance, listening to good music, reading good books, enjoying good food and wine with friends. Basically, what we DO at home, how we LIVE.”

“Everyone loves the special, curated and one-of-a-kind feeling of a pop-up boutique and this series will have a similar effect—it is a fun, new way to collaborate with great talent, each with a unique personality and point of view, to give our readers something special and unexpected,” Riegler said.

In 2007, I was invited to be a Guest Editor for our top Portuguese Interior Design magazine - Maxima Interiores - with Bruno Viterbo (my partner, and husband for those of you that haven't met him yet!) and it was an incredible experience..

This was the issue, that we worked on as a complete collaboration with the editor - Cristina Belo, who was incredible..
Understanding the ins and outs of putting a magazine together was an important addition to understanding how we view our own interior design work.

These were some of the shots, of our working meetings..

On each section, there would appear a special caption from Bruno & I explaining why we chose this feature, special highlights from it and tips for the readers that they could take from each and every home.

Looking back, this was probably when I began to want to start my own design blog .. or at least, some type of newsletter that would share my thoughts as I discovered my own voice professionally.

I don't think I had any blogs on my radar just yet back then.. but it is fun to see how each experience prepares us for the next moment of our lives, even the ones we weren't aware were coming!

Turner added, “These issues will truly be collector’s editions, with the great American design that is House Beautiful’s hallmark and the distinctive imprint of the guest editor. We have some extraordinary projects in the works and we can’t wait to share them.”

“American design is our calling card at House Beautiful, so in this internationally-focused issue we are going to feature houses that combine the best of European tradition with American verve,” Breen said. “Each story will show how applying fresh American sensibility, love of color and can-do confidence immediately transforms a room or setting, giving it new life and creating a style that stands on its own."

Additional “pop-up” guest editors will be announced in the coming months.

Can't wait to see who will be up next in the lineup, who knows.. maybe even a few Designers / Bloggers might be invited to the party!? 

Follow House Beautiful on Twitter at @housebeautiful.

My Day with Traditional Home at Gerritsen Beach Community Garden with We Rebuild

If you visited yesterday, you would know that I spent the day on Thursday in Gerritsen Beach, a town devastated by Hurricane Sandy and still today feeling the pain from that event.

 



At the invitation of Traditional Home Magazine, Meredith Corporation and WeRebuild, I was able to take part in the rebuilding of the Gerritsen Beach Community Garden that flank the public library and partially open to the public.











Still, the public library for all those in this town, is a BookMobile as they still try and rebuild the space that was so badly damaged by the storm.
This touches my heart specifically, as our own town library was the only refuge my family and I had for nearly 2 weeks without power. Where we stayed warm, had a place to have a hot drink, see friends and neighbors and most importantly not sit in the dark.. which I can tell you is very difficult after days on end and when the sun sets so early.

The big problem with the gardens is that when the ocean waters came in, the salt water killed a lot of plants, trees, shrubs, etc... We had to pull out all the weeds (this may sound like an easy task, but I can assure you IT WAS NOT!) 

Traditional Home's Instagram shot of Beth Brenner & I weeding 

Our GOAL: To create a beautiful space with low maintenance plants and to add a variety of trees, shrubs, and colorful perennials.. all low-maintenance. 
So much of the garden had an underlying tarp that made it very difficult to pull the weeds out (this tarp is meant to stop the weeds from growing, but was in pretty bad shape so it became intertwined with the weeds instead.



So throughout most of the day, the Garden Team made up of many different members from the Meredith Group, all pitched in to at least allow for the garden to be planted the following day. 
We did get to plant a few flowers and trees and what a difference that made..

BEFORE

AFTER

My Partners in Crime - Kari Costas and Clara Haneberg from Traditional Home .. these girls meant business! 

We pulled out trees, and plants that were not in great shape, ..

Mountains of mulch and soil..

all made it possible to begin the replanting..

Out with the OLD.. and in with the NEW

Please Support this Cause by REPINNING this image onto your pinterest boards.. or Facebook, Twitter .. whereever you are socially.. and use the Hashtag #WEREBUILD to help bring awareness to this event and cause. Thank You!

I am so thankful to Traditional Home for inviting me to take part in this event, helping others REBUILD.

The other teams were busy rebuilding homes, the town center and the Kiddie beach.. which are up on the blog next. So stay tuned for that as well as an exclusive chance encounter with a lovely lady that invited me into her home, to see how she is still trying to rebuild After Sandy.

Thank You Traditional Home - Helping Make a Difference in Gerritsen Beach post Hurricane Sandy

Rebuilding Together, Lowe’s and Meredith Corporation Revitalize Devastated Homes in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn

Today, June 6th, I will be taking part in a HUGE effort, as a guest of Traditional Home Magazine, with 500 other Volunteers to Rebuild Multi-Generational Neighborhood still suffering the wrath of Hurricane Sandy.

As you may remember, from my post at the time, my family and I were very lucky during the Hurricane with trees and downed cable lines littered our little Westchester town .. but even this very week, as crazy weather systems passed through New York, my children still feel the effects and get very nervous from each lighting and thunder strike. 

We can try and move on, but forgetting perhaps is not the easy... especially for those that are STILL  unable to live in their homes. This is why, when Traditional Home sent the invitation, I jumped at the chance to help!

GERRITSEN BEACH WHAT SANDY LEFT BEHIND

All I can say, is that it is heartbreaking that in a city so close to New York, NEW YORK .. , that families are still living in these conditions.. there are no words to describe it.

Rebuilding Together, a Safe and Healthy Housing organization that believes Community Starts at Home, with sponsors Lowe’s, Meredith Corporation and other key sponsors to renovate nearly a dozen homes and community areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy in the Gerritsen Beach section of Brooklyn, New York.

Rebuilding Together and its affiliates in New York and New Jersey along with national and local partners are committed to rebuilding at least 200 homes by 2014 and have already repaired and rehabilitated nearly 100 homes across the region.

In Gerritsen Beach, volunteers from Lowe’s, Meredith and other sponsors will:

• Replace flooring and sheetrock, paint, landscape, repair and replace kitchens and bathrooms, and complete many other renovations
• Provide upgrades to Vollies Memorial Hall, a local community center that supports the last remaining volunteer fire company in Brooklyn
• Revitalize the surrounding community, including the cleanup of Kiddie Beach and the renovation of the community garden

Other sponsoring organizations include Aleve, Assurant, Brooklyn Community Foundation, CBRE, Choice Hotels, Crate & Barrel, and Philips Electronics.

Gerritsen Beach, a close-knit community located on the southeastern side of Brooklyn, was devastated when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the neighborhood with close to 10 feet of raging waters,” said John L. Fiegel, Interim president and CEO of Rebuilding Together.   “Along with our partners, Rebuilding Together is committed to restoring nearly a dozen homes and community areas here.   “In addition to the important funding, Rebuilding Together appreciates the hands-on work that presenting sponsors Lowe’s and Meredith are contributing, as well as the ground work by our local New York affiliate and other partners.”

Meredith has a 12-year partnership with Rebuilding Together.  Eight of Meredith’s leading brands – Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, Traditional Home, EveryDay with Rachael Ray, Fitness, More, and Ladies Home Journal –  are supporting Rebuilding Together’s Gerritsen Beach Build Day through an extensive series of print and digital efforts that will reach more than 100 million Americans, including:

• Editorial coverage in Meredith’s leading magazine titles
• Broadcast coverage on Meredith’s nationally syndicated The Better Show
• Coverage on Meredith’s digital platforms including its leading websites and an extensive blogger network
• Creation of a customized digital destination (werebuild.com).

“Meredith has a long and rewarding 12-year history of community service and commitment to supporting the mission of Rebuilding Together,” says Steve Lacy, CEO, Meredith Corporation. “We believe the incredible response by our employees to help the homeowners and community of Gerritsen Beach reflects the high value we place on volunteerism at all levels of our organization.”

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, where I will share our day in Gerritsen and the plans for the Garden rebuild!

For more information about Rebuilding After Sandy and Gerritsen Beach, visit http://rebuildingtogether.org/sandy/gerritsen/

Follow the Rebuilding Together efforts on Twitter at @WeRebuild2013 and @RebldgTogthr using the hashtag #WeRebuild or #RTSandy

Follow me @decaporter as well, on Pinterest, Instagram and on Facebook