Candace Manroe

Fire and Ice: New Stylin’ Electric Fireplaces and Wine Fridges

By Candace Manroe

Until a product preview last month from Twin-Star International, whose brands include Classic Flame Decorative Electric Fireplaces and Tresanti (refrigerated wine cabinets), I never gave much thought to either item for my own home—or as something worth sharing with readers. In fact, until that presentation and a hands-on look at the products, I regarded electric fireplaces, in particular, as something, ahem, less than tasteful. The ones I had seen—admittedly quickly, in rushing through a big-box store—struck me as distinctly lacking in sophisticated styling and natural materials, while the flames appeared egregiously fake.

Well, no more. I’m no expert on what else is out there in the electric fireplace market, but the Classic Flame products I viewed are worth sharing. Take a look for yourself. There’s plenty for the pure traditionalist, as well as more streamlined  designs for the traditionalist who loves a little modern in the mix. If you’re in a home that does not already have a fireplace, these are worth considering. Or if you’re like me, with two fireplaces but none in the bedrooms, these present an option to a major remodeling.

Arkansas Traveler: Antiques & Design

By Candace Manroe

How We Women Can Save the Earth

By Candace Manroe

No, I haven’t read this book. YET. But I’m ordering it today from my Daedalus Books catalog (where it’s on sale for  $4.98!). Here’s what the Daedalus folks, whom I’ve grown to trust, have to say about it: “Environmental author and speaker Diane MacEachern offers this simple but revolutionary message: the fastest, most effective way to change the industries that pollute the planet is to mobilize the most powerful consumer force in the world—women. In this empowering, enlightening book, she shows how women can harness the power of their purse and shift their spending to commodities that have the greatest environmental benefit. MacEachern targets 20 commodities—cars, cosmetics, coffee, food, paper products, appliances, and more—where women’s dollars can make a dramatic difference, and provides easy-to-follow guidelines.

I’m not usually a fan of how-to anything, but this time I’m willing to take the $5 gamble. Seems a small price to pay for saving the world.

Copper: All that Glitters Isn’t Gold

By Candace Manroe

Copper is one of those good things I only came around to later in life. As a kid, it was my favorite crayon in the jumbo box (so sparkly!), but the metal itself was something better left on the wrists of arthritic grandmas. Even as a young home design editor, I didn’t quite get it as a decorative element outside the context of an Arts and Crafts house. But after neighbors installed copper gutters, I had to do the same. What previously had been bland conduits for channeling water away from the house suddenly weren’t so boring. They were jewelry. New, they glinted in the sunlight, but without any brashness, as though rose petals had softened their complexion. Then they weathered to that subtle verdigris patina that suggests the character of a house well-lived. I was smitten. A recent project of Des Moines interior designer Kabira Cadogan (www.iN2iTDesignStudio.com) reminded me that copper’s possibilities as a pick-me-up for the home aren’t limited to exteriors. In her vibrant design of a new house for a young family in an historic neighborhood, she turned to copper as an accent material and instant gratification for warmth, color, and character.

The designer’s use of copper becomes a transitional tool, weaving the rooms together. She decorated the dining room with a copper chandelier, then repeated copper in the kitchen.

Shopping at The Green Plum—Sweet

By Candace Manroe

Sub-zero temps and knee-high snow in Iowa, which only vanished within the last two weeks and promise to return this weekend, got me dreaming…not of that secluded sunny beach in the Caribbean, but of skiing. Downhill. Swish.

If you’re thinking my way, Colorado’s the place to be. And if you’re REALLY thinking my way, no trip—ski or otherwise—is complete without a shopping component. I can’t wait to get to the Rockies to visit my friend and colleague’s boutique furniture shop in Salida, Colorado. Owner Susan Fox is a contributing editor for TRAD HOME, and she’s a peach. Her shop’s The Green Plum—“green” meaning antiques and gently used pieces (what’s easier on the planet than that?), and “plum” as in great hand-picked new products. (Think cherry-picked.)

Salida is a historic town in Central Colorado’s upper Arkansas Valley, and it’s a sight in itself.  In fact, it has the largest historic downtown district in the state, and Susan’s shop is smack in the center. The swift-running, trout-rising Arkansas River runs right through the heart of downtown. I don’t know about you, but for me, shopping cool boutiques in a pristine natural setting instead of a congested mall surrounded by acres of concrete is worth a trip in itself.

The Green Plum is packed—make that beautifully and cozily filled—with antiques like a French trestle table and chairs still in their original leather. As a traveler, you may want something more portable. Antique botanical prints stylishly reframed by Susan are the best.

One item I plan to fill my carry-on with are her scented soybean candles—the fragrance is just the right balance of scent and unobtrusiveness. But the ultimate dose of delicious comes later. After the candle has burned a while, blow out the flame, and dip your fingers into the melted wax. It’s the ultimate pampering (and it’s the manufacturer’s intent, lest you fear this is some hair-brain idea I’ve invented during down time). Trust me, you’ll like it.

If you can’t make it to Salida this spring, no worries. Its white-water rafting, trout-fishing, and hiking make it a multi-seasonal destination. For the full story and pics, visit

http://www.traditionalhome.com/design_decorating/marketplace/rockymountain-shopping_ss1.html.

A Few Favorites

By Candace Manroe

It’s March 1 and I’m still raving about what I saw in Paris in late January. Favorite patterns debuted at Maison include the following from Pierre Frey:

A wide striped effect results from “Dauphine’s” embroidered rows of branch coral motifs alternating with leopard spot patterns on a neutral linen ground. The color is on trend, while  the combo of animal and botanical motifs merges two of the most popular trends of the last several seasons.

Both of the above are cotton prints—my personal faves because of the clarity and whimsey of their design.

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How Color-Confident Are You?—Lessons from the Old World

By Candace Manroe

I’ve always admired the Europeans for their bold confidence with color. (Eighteenth-century English country houses equal sunshine-yellow walls, right?) Fast forward to today’s offerings of raspberry, fuchsia, acid green—nothing meek about these hues, yet  Europeans love them. And not the way we do in America. For example, the French, English, Italians, and Spanish don’t confine these fresh-to-brazen palettes to their teens’ rooms or to modern-only spaces. Or even to a single space in need for a swift kick of coomph, as we Americans tend to do.

That’s what so great about how the Old World embraces color. They have no problem upholstering an 18th-century French settee in an up-to-the-minute fuchsia or grape.

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smoking-hot hues

By Candace Manroe

If you’ve been following my blogs on trends I observed at Paris’s Maison show, you may be afraid that vivid color has vanished from the homescape. No worries.  The warm-gray trend I blogged about earlier is only part of the palette story….the neutral part.

Color is, indeed, alive and well in the fabrics and furnishings introduced last month. And, it’s smokin’ hot.

Warm colors—especially my personal favorite, orange—are spicing up spaces as pumpkins, paprikas and all shades in between make sizzling style statements in the upscale market.

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I got a feelin’: new textiles big on texture

By Candace Manroe

Metaphores, a French fabric house opened by Olivier Nourry in 1981, has always been as much about texture as it is the  other design elements (color, pattern, style, weave or print, and weight). At its Paris showroom in the St. Germaine district a couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to get up close and personal with Metaphores’s  2010 introductions. My pick for most interesting texture from their new “New York, New York” collection is:

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THE NEW GRAY

By Candace Manroe

The new catch phrase for color at Maison de Objet this January was “warm gray.” Nobilis’s shop on Rue Bonaparte, along with fabric houses Osborne & Little, Dedar, Jim Thompson, and more, are  touting this warmed up hue. TRAD HOME’s sumptuous March cover was spot-on trend with its gray walls and rug—warm interpretations of the hue that work beautifully with gold silk drapery panels.

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