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This week we were fortunate to work with one of our favorite clients and decorate her home in the French Quarter for the holidays. Mrs. Hegenberger is a florist's dream... welcoming and funny, she loves european floral design and provides us with ample opportunity to put our creativity to the test. Once upon a time she owned a chic shop in Charleston. I asked her about it, and she said that they just "sold the things they liked..." From the interior of her home, I think I would of liked her shop very much! The first impression of her second floor condominium is, "Wow!"; the second is, "wait a minute, I know those dining room chairs?" In June 2010, Mrs. Hegenberger's home was featured in a New Orleans HOME andLifestyles article "View from the Balcony."
We started our day out front hanging an "installation" above the main entrance. Gold grasses, and dried botanicals hang suspended from a grid of red christmas lights. My photograph
doesn't do it justice, but it is amazing to walk under at night.
Inside, you are welcomed into two large rooms perfect for holiday entertaining. I can't decide whether the chandelier or the fireplace is the focal point of the dining room, but you come to the chandelier first so I'll start there.
Mrs. Hegenberger is a buyer by profession, and she's great at it. She laid out all our options and we went straight to work. We used a silver bay/olive branch garland instead of fresh cyprus above the table. The gold garland was originally bought for the tree, but Paul saw the opportunity to repeated the curl from the top of the chandelier and simultaneously add a ton of movement to the design. Two red high-heeled shoe ornaments add a touch of whimsy that only shoes can. They were bought for a holiday party two years ago, and will be sure to bring back wonderful memories for guests.
This is picture is a bit incomplete.... can you find what's missing? The mantle is supposed to have a second gold tree to frame out the portrait. Unfortunately, it was delivered damaged and will need to be replaced. Whereas the gold branches were chosen for their height, the small christmas trees were arranged to add depth and fullness to the mantle without obstructing the art piece. Our mini forest is united with a length of fresh soft cypress garland that cascades to the floor on either side of mantle. Here are a few detail shots of the beaded blossoms, frosted berries and painted palm fronds that make up the garland. We love the combination of textures, but notice we kept the colors to a limited palette.
The dining room is open to a comfortable and eclectic living room. Mrs. Hegenberger loves her Christmas tree. It's tall, skinny, and fits perfectly in front of the window. She also anchors the 12' tree with wire to the window frame... a good recommendation if you have a tree that could be bumped and toppled by guests.
This fun bubble garland is our transitional element on the tree because it incorporates all the bright festive colors of our palette: citrus orange, hot pink, fresh green, purple and gold. It illustrates that you don't have to use just traditional ribbon and garland on your tree, feel free to experiment and branch out from plain old red and green. The bright tree still "fits" with in the decor because we use metallics (gold, silver and copper) to tie the tree into the chandelier and mantle design, while we use a pink and green polk-a-dot ribbon throughout the rest of the room to add a touch of color.
We draped the remainder of the cyprus garland around the huge, gorgeous mirror in the living room. The weight of fresh garland is always a consideration especially this much of it, but Mrs. Hegenberger assured us that the mirror wasn't going anywhere and would probably be sold with the house! The garland is wrapped with a light green fuzzy ribbon, nothing too fussy that might compete with the gilded frame.
Another mantle anchors the far wall of the living room. We left it alone to allow use of the TV; however, we opted instead to enhance the finials on the iron shelves. Each "helmet" is wrapped in more cyprus garland, pink ribbon and silver bay leaf garland, and topped with gold branches which echo the two big gold trees in the dining room. It's amazing at the end of the day how it all comes together.
Thank you Mrs. Hegenberger for the wonderful coffee and conversation. Happy Holidays!
