Ronda Carman

OUR NEW ADDRESS: WWW.ALLTHEBESTBLOG.COM

Huffington Post: Paris Love Locks

While Paris has long been the idyllic destination for lovers, it is the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge over the Seine River that has recently become the place to symbolically leave your heart in the city of romance.

During a recent trip to Paris, my husband and I discovered 'love locks' on the Pont Des Arts Bridge. Hundreds of padlocks in various shapes, etched with dates and couples' initials, have been affixed to the railings of the wooden slatted bridge. For the past few years couples have been attaching engraved padlocks to the bridge and throwing the keys into the Seine as a sign of never-ending love...

You can read my article in full on the Huffington Post. Happy Valentine's Day.

Under Construction!

Next week I will finally be unveiling a new design for All the Best Blog! Same address...New look.

Upcoming Profiles Include:
Robert Couturier
Summer Thornton
Jayne Michaels
Joan Michaels
Jean Larette
Benjamin Dhong
Eric Cohler

Trad Home's 20 New Traditional Designers

Last night Michelle Adams and Traditional Home publisher Beth Brenner introduced Trad Home's 20 New Traditional Designers who have earned a spot in the inaugural issue, which will publish in mid April. You can see the work of each designer here.

A special congratulations to my friends Robert Passal; Jayne and Joan Michaels; Lisa Sternfeld; Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke of Scout Designs.

Hearst Buys Elle Decor

It's Official: Hearst Buys Elle Decor (read here).

IN BED WITH Jeffery Alan Marks

This week you can visit the SFERRA website to learn more about Jeffery Allan Marks. Find out which SFERRA linens he awards the 'Best Dressed' status and why.

Hipstamatic Paris

I am in love with the Hipstamatic app for iPhone. Modeled after the ill-fated 1982 Hipstamatic camera, the app creates nostalgic, vintage looking photos. The photos have become so popular that a Hipstamatics exhibition is now on display at The Orange Dot Gallery in London until the end of January.

My husband captured some fun photos while we were in Paris visiting friends and attending Déco Off 2011 and Maison&Ojet over the weekend.

IN BED WITH Brad Ford

This week you can visit the SFERRA website to learn more about Brad Ford. Learn which SFERRA linens he looks forward to sleeping on each night, why he prefers sateen and his truthful answer to the question of ironing linens.

Design Bloggers Conference in LA

Join interior design bloggers, new media innovators and interior design industry leaders for the inaugural Design Bloggers Conference in LA, February 28 - March 2, 2011. Learn how to expand your personal brand, build your blog and how to better engage your readers using multiple platforms.

This premier two-day conference for new media and the interior design industry offers a unique opportunity to learn about and discuss the intersection of interior design with the world of new media including blogging, social media, and more.

I will be speaking along with Jan Showers, Suzanne Rheinstein, Barclay Butera, Tobi Fairley, Grace Bonney, Tracy Porter, Cassandra LaValle, Paloma Contreras, Stacy Kunstel, Anne Sage and Clinton Smith - I can't wait.

If you're interested in attending, head over to the Design Bloggers Conference site for more information and Register Here.

I hope to see you in sunny LA! Click here to see a list of participants! WOW!

The French Love Michael Devine Fabrics

A much deserved congratulations to my friend, fabric designer, Michael Devine. The French edition of Elle Decoration has named Michael’s fabrics as one of their favorites in their Best of the International issue.

The hand printed linen fabrics are now available in France. If you are in Paris this week for Maison&Objet and/or Paris Deco Off, you can see Michael’s fabrics at Holland & Sherry 17 rue de l'Echaude paris 6. I will be stopping by the showroom!

IN BED WITH Kendall Wilkinson

This week you can visit the SFERRA website to learn more about Kendall Wilkinson, her preferred SFERRA linens and her thoughts on everything from bedroom 'must haves' to setting the perfect bed.

First Huffington Post Blog: Out with the Old?

It was quite a rush to see my first Huffington Post blog post, Out With the Old?, go live yesterday. Writing for the Huffington Post has long been a dream of mine, and I am thrilled to now be a part of that community. A very special thank you to my friend Shawn Henderson for believing in my writing and making the introduction.

In the past few years there have been numerous depressing examples of demolition of historic buildings that continue to remind me that buildings and monuments are not only historically important to a region and culture, but they serve as visible symbols linking us to our past.

Most recently, book The Ruins of Detroit by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre has haunted my thoughts. You can read my take on preservation and adaptive reuse of buildings here.

Photo by Marchand and Meffre: The ballroom of the 15-floor art-deco Lee Plaza Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. The apartment building and hotel was built in 1929 and has been derelict since the early 1990s.

Profile: Nicky Haslam

It is difficult to pigeonhole Nicky Haslam; both the man and the designer. And, having now met him, my guess is that he likes it that way.

Nicky's legacy, talent and influence as one of Britain’s ultimate interior designers is undeniable. Not to mention, in his spare time he is an actor, artist, cabaret singer, book reviewer, art editor, memoirist, literary editor and he features on both Vanity Fair and GQ’s best-dressed lists!

Possessing a conspicuous flair and an inherent aesthetic, Nicky has been casting a spell on the design cognoscenti since 1972, when he first started practicing as an interior designer. In the late 1980’s he founded his London-based architectural and design firm, NH Design.

Nicky, along with his Creative Director Colette van den Thillart, has designed projects all over the world including London, New York, Morocco, New Orleans, Denmark, Montreal, Barbados, St Jean Cap Ferrat, Monaco and Moscow, Klosters, Grasse, Mallorca, Los Angeles and Paris.

When last in New Orleans, thanks to our friends Michael and Quinn, I had the good fortune to see one of Nicky’s projects, owned by Soniat House proprietors Frances and Rodney Smith. In all honesty, the living room was one of the most magical rooms that I have ever witnessed.

Not only is Nicky a talented designer, he is a talented artist. While at school at Eton he excelled in art. Today, the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as The Royal Institute of British Architects hold some of his interior watercolour renderings based on client projects.

Nicky Haslam divides his time between his London apartment and the Hunting Lodge in Hampshire that once belonged to John Fowler, a partner of Colefax and Fowler.

How would you describe your personal style?
Scintillating, Unlaborious, Unlaboured

What is your most prized possession?
A fan letter from Nancy Lancaster

What is your idea of earthly happiness?
Keeping one's figure

What is the one thing in life you cannot live without?
White peaches

What is your favorite luxury in life?
Being able to sleep easily and listening to Lee Wiley

Past or present, who has most influenced your direction in life?
Simon Fleet, Diana Vreeland, Diana Cooper and Colette van den Thillart, my Creative Director at NH Design

What inspires your creativity and designs?
Travel and lying in bed thinking

Who are your style icons?
Madame du Barry, Emilio Terry and Jean-Charles Delafosse

Who would you most like to collaborate with on a project?
Cy Twombly and John Richardson, the art historian who wrote all the Picasso books.

What books are currently on your bedside table?
Wait for Me! by Deborah Devonshire
Honky Tonk Parade by John Lahr
What to Look for in Winter by Candia McWilliam
My own autobiography Redeeming Features

Profile by Ronda Carman

Soup on Sunday: Aromatic Herb Stock

2 stalk lemon grass, bruised*
7 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup sliced cilantro leaves
2 whole jalapenos, bruised*
1/2 tsp grated lime zest
1 piece fresh ginger (2.5cm), peeled and sliced
1 lime juice to taste
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 pepper to taste
3 oz snow peas
1 scallion
2 tbsp cilantro leaves

Cut lemon grass in 2-inch pieces; bruise lightly. Combine with stock, cilantro, jalapenos, lime zest and ginger in saucepan. Simmer and covered for 15 minutes (halfway through, taste and remove hot pepper, if desired, or leave in longer for more heat).

Strain and add lime juice, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Cut snow peas in thin diagonal strips and thinly slice the scallion. Bring broth to a boil: stir in snow peas and boil until just tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in scallion and cilantro. Serve at once.

4 servings

* Lemongrass and jalapenos can be bruised with a mortar and pestle