Trendy or Timeless? Clean Design Sets the Record Straight on Trends in Interior Design
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This article was contributed by Claire Paquin of Clean Design in Scarsdale: Some styles in home design have staying power while others come on strong only to fade into obscurity. How do you know if a trend is here to stay or a flash in the pan? Claire Paquin, principal designer of Clean Design, a full service, high-end residential interior design firm based in Scarsdale tells us about five trends that are not trends at all, but rather classic and enduring design elements.
1 – Embellishment Using Luxury Materials
When is a console a showpiece? When is a light fixture a major focal 
point? When it's embellished using the most rare and beautiful materials available. Leather, marble, resin, shagreen, mother-of-pearl, specialty metals, shells, and silver and gold leaf are all used in design to enhance furniture, accessories, and even wall coverings. The materials take the ordinary to the extraordinary.
2 – Wall Covering
Sometimes my clients wrinkle their noses when I suggest wallpaper. My response? This is not your grandmother's wallpaper. Wallpaper has made huge strides in the past decade to remain current and interesting. These innovations are what allow it to remain an integral part of design. Along with innovations in materials, applications for wallpaper have expanded – I have used it on walls (of course!), in bookcases, to cover magnet boards, and on furniture to highlight shape and form. Wallpaper can be natural grass cloth, embroidered with sequins, metallic, hand-blocked, or digitally printed - just to name a few. The possibilities are endless.
3 – Lucite
I had a client ask me the other day, "Will this Lucite table go with my new credenza?" The answer is that Lucite goes with everything – which is why it will be around forever! It's the ultimate neutral. It's clear, crisp, and durable. It can be formed into almost any shape and is perfectly at home in the most traditional and most modern designs.
4 – Sisal Floor Covering
This is not everyone's favorite, but sisal will have its place in design forever. I wouldn't put it in a family room where it's fun to sit on the floor to play Monopoly. Nor does it work well in a bedroom where you want the ultimate comfort for your bare feet. However, sisal is perfect in many spaces. It's durable, neutral, inexpensive, and adds visual texture. You can bind it in all sorts of interesting ways - leather, embroidered tape, or standard twill in any color. It's also a wonderful layering piece. Swathe a large room in sisal and then layer on top of it – a smaller Persian rug to define a seating group or an organic hide or sheepskin to add some whimsy.
5 – Brass
You may have noticed that brass is back – in a big way. But did it ever really leave? The answer is no. Brass has always had a place in high-end design and now we are seeing it more prevalent in everyday design. Interior hardware, plumbing fittings, and furniture are all incorporating the warmth of brass. My recommendation if you would 
like to introduce brass into your décor? Stick to unlacquered brass. It will develop a natural patina over time as it oxidizes with use and exposure to the air. Unlacquered brass is more classic than brightly polished brass, which can look dated.
Claire Paquin graduated from Scarsdale High in 1993. She has lived in Fox Meadow since 2004 and runs Clean Design along with Ali Artale, her design assistant. Clean Design primarily serves Westchester and Fairfield counties. For more information on Clean Design, please visit www.cleandesignpartners.com, email claire@cleandesignpartners.com or call 914-725-0995.
Books that Mom Will Love
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How do you ensure that mom will have a great Mother's Day? Buy her a Kindle or iPad and load it with some great books, movies, and television shows. Then leave her alone all day so she can enjoy her lovely gift.
Or, give her breakfast in bed and all huddle together and enjoy your family time. And then leave her alone so that she can enjoy her lovely gift.
How to decide which books to buy Mom? I have created some categories to help you along.
For the Pop-Culture Obsessed Mom
The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne
Reading Jonny Valentine was like having a backstage pass or watching an all-access documentary about a make-believe superstar. Jonny Valentine is an 11-year-old pop star, a la Justin Beiber a few years back. The book follows him on tour with his entourage, which includes an over-the-top mom as manager, a tutor who cares about Jonny's future but is too afraid to speak her mind lest she get fired, and a big bodyguard with an even bigger heart. This book had me laughing out loud a few times, as it is filled with subtle (and not so subtle) jabs at the cost of fame and how much it seems to matter in America. Also, it is rare to find a writer who can create such an original and wholly real character as Jonny Valentine. For me there is Bridget Jones, and Holden Caufield, and a handful of others whose voices come through so loud and clear that I believe they are real people. And Teddy Wayne has done that here with Jonny Valentine. From the first page, I believed in Jonny, even when I didn't like him. Wayne succeeds in having Jonny walk that fine line between youth and adulthood - before he should even have to - which deepens what is already a wonderful and entertaining tale.
For the Hopeless Romantic
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
This book takes a sort of modern twist on a classic love story. Two people from very different backgrounds find their way to each other under extraordinary circumstances, almost like Beauty and the Beast. From Amazon: "Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he's pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn't have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?
Sort of sappy? Perhaps. But I loved it.
For the Mom Lost in Time
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline introduced me to an American past that I had not known about, the Orphan Train system that ran from 1854 to 1929, relocating abandoned, orphaned, and/or homeless children from crowded cities like Boston and New York to willing foster parents in the Midwest. The luckiest children were adopted by loving families, although many were often seen as cheap labor, used as farmhands and valued for their servitude. This work of historical fiction follows one such child, Irish immigrant Nimah (pronounced 'Neev') as she journeys to Minnesota from New York City in 1929. Interwoven with that story is a contemporary tale of Molly Ayer, a 17-year old foster child in Maine, whose last shot at redemption lies within doing 50 community service hours by cleaning out the attic of a 91-year-old who herself rode the Orphan Train many years before. Locked in boxes in her attic are the secrets to her troubled past. Quote Amazon: "Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship."
A really interesting, engaging tale, and one that I think mothers and their teen daughters would enjoy together.
For the Mom who Loves Legal Thrillers and Page-Turners
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
If you liked Defending Jacob by William Landay, then this is probably a good pick for you. This book has a compelling premise and many plot twists and turns that kept me reading to find out just what really happened to Amelia. Amazon says: "In Reconstructing Amelia, the stunning debut novel from Kimberly McCreight, Kate's in the middle of the biggest meeting of her career when she gets the telephone call from Grace Hall, her daughter's exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Amelia has been suspended, effective immediately, and Kate must come get her daughter—now. But Kate's stress over leaving work quickly turns to panic when she arrives at the school and finds it surrounded by police officers, fire trucks, and an ambulance.
By then it's already too late for Amelia. And for Kate.
An academic overachiever despondent over getting caught cheating has jumped to her death. At least that's the story Grace Hall tells Kate. And clouded as she is by her guilt and grief, it is the one she forces herself to believe. Until she gets an anonymous text: She didn't jump.
Reconstructing Amelia is about secret first loves, old friendships, and an all-girls club steeped in tradition. But, most of all, it's the story of how far a mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she couldn't save."
Exploring issues of bullying, growing up, and mother-daughter relationships in a modern world, this is another good pick for moms and their teenaged daughters to perhaps read together.
For the Funny Girl Who Thinks About Escaping Her Domestic Life
If you haven't already read Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, what are you waiting for? This charming, comic novel follows quirky, once-famous architect Bernadette Fox, who, as the mother of a pre-teen daughter and wife to a Microsoft executive has sort of lost herself in the Seattle landscape of eco-conscious neighbors and annoyingly uptight private school mothers. Bernadette is anxious and a bit paranoid, which makes her true-to-life observations about the world around her hilarious and spot-on.
A great read, and a solid book group choice.
For The Mom Who Doesn't Like to Read or Says She Has No Time
Yes, there's a book for you, too! An Unexpected Twist by Andy Borowitz is a Kindle Single. It only costs 99 cents and is 18 pages long. I read the whole thing while waiting in a carpool line. Seriously! And then I was like, wow, I just read a whole book! I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I am sort of in love with the author, a political humorist and columnist of The Borowitz Report for The New Yorker. He makes me chuckle. Even in this memoir, in which Andy writes about a life-changing medical situation that almost killed him, Andy Borowitz makes sure we are all laughing along.
Quote Amazon: "An Unexpected Twist is in equal parts harrowing and hilarious – and a moving affirmation of what it means to be alive." I read it, and then my husband read it, and then my mom read it. Not to be missed.
For the Post-Modern Literary Reader
If you loved A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan or The Tenth of December by George Saunders, then Kate Atkinson's new novel, Life After Life, should be on your list, because it's on mine. I have heard great things about it and plan to read it next. Here's what Amazon has to say: "What if you could live again and again, until you got it right? On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.
Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can -- will she?
Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original -- this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best."
Have other suggestions? Add them in the comments section below. And happy Mother's Day to all.
Columnist and blogger Julie Gerstenblatt writes with humor and candor about her life in Scarsdale, her friends and family, and the particular demands of motherhood and wifedom in modern-day suburbia. Read about her new book Lauren Takes Leave and keep up with the latest from Julie Gerstenblatt at http://juliegerstenblatt.com.
Dating Abuse Survivor Shares Warning Signs
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When Danielle DeZao entered one of her first dating relationships at college, she felt all the initial excitement of attraction. However, soon that thrill degenerated into verbal fights, control over her activities, and finally physical abuse. In a quick turn of events, which DeZao's own mother calls "chilling," Danielle had become a victim of dating abuse. Today, as a survivor and activist, she is committed to sharing her story of how she came to the realization that she was in an abusive relationship and how with the help of family and friends she reclaimed her life -- from the ABC News program "What Would You Do?" all the way to the White House.
DeZao and her mother Denise, who have become spokespersons for campaigns against teen dating abuse, will be featured speakers at a special program, "Love Shouldn't Hurt: Talking with your kids about healthy relationships" on May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Scarsdale Woman's Club. The program is designed to help parents help their children who might be victims of dating abuse. One in four teens will be victims, and the incidence of abuse increases in college. DeZao, a 2012 Marist College graduate who grew up in Westchester and Bergen counties, and her mother will share their experiences, warning signs, what to do, and how parents and friends can intervene.
A panel will join the DeZaos to discuss the many facets of abusive relationships, to identify available resources and to respond to questions. The panel discussion will be led by Lauren Pomerantz, LCSW, Scarsdale High School Youth Outreach worker, who will be joined by panelists Sharon Charles, LCSW, youth counselor with Westchester Jewish Community Services and the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation; Det. Sherri Albano, Scarsdale Police Department's youth officer; Amy Paulin, NYS Assemblywoman; and Chris D'Silva, the leader of the High School's Students Terminating Abusive Relationships (STAR) chapter.
Lauren Pomerantz, who is a principal contact for Scarsdale's teens who might be in unhealthy relationships, believes that date abuse cannot be addressed by parents or schools alone, but rather requires a community response. She is encouraged by the many community organizations and leaders who have agreed to be sponsors of the event. "This community support demonstrates the understanding in our community leaders that relationship abuse affects all parts of our society, regardless of economic status, national background, race or ethnicity."
The Rev. Dr. John Miller of Hitchcock Presbyterian Church noted, "We need to create a community of respect for our children so that they understand what healthy relationships look like and feel like. At the same time parents need to be educated about the danger signs of unhealthy and dangerous relationships and given tools on how to discuss these sensitive issues with their children." Rabbi Jonathan Blake of the Westchester Reform Temple reflected that sentiment, urging parents to attend. "We know that many of our teens are hurting, either as victims of unhealthy relationships, or as friends of victims who feel powerless to provide support. Parents are a critical resource for their children, offering protection, education, and caring. However, when children leave home for college or adult life they often encounter unfamiliar circumstances including dating abuse. Often, even the most caring parents and friends feel powerless to address these destructive relationships. I am pleased to join my colleagues in the faith community and other community organizations and leaders in bringing this important message to our community."
The Scarsdale Coalition on Family Violence, which has organized programs addressing domestic violence since 2001, is coordinating the event. Sponsors include The Center @ 862; Maroon & White; Scarsdale Community Support Council; Scarsdale-Edgemont Family Counseling Service; Scarsdale-Edgemont Girl Scouts; Scarsdale-Hartsdale Clergy Association; Scarsdale High School PTA; Scarsdale Middle and High Schools; Scarsdale Police Department; Scarsdale Woman's Club; Village of Scarsdale; Westchester Jewish Community Services; Youth Advisory Council; Kenneth Bonamo, Principal, Scarsdale High School; Michael T. McDermott, Principal, Scarsdale Middle School; Dr. Michael V. McGill, Superintendent of Schools; Amy Paulin, NY State Assemblywoman; and Robert J. Steves, Mayor, Village of Scarsdale.
For more information on the May 22 program, contact David Kroenlein at dkroenlein@aol.com or 914-645-5067. Visit. www.breakthecycle.com for more information on teen dating abuse.
10 Reasons for New Yorkers to Visit Boston this Summer
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I am a New Yorker. In November 1998, my husband and I were married at Windows on the World, the famed restaurant on the 106th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center. Our wedding occurred on a perfect fall day, crisp and clear. We exchanged vows as the sun set. The red and pink glow gave way to a spectacular nighttime cityscape dotted with lights that stretched for miles.
I love my city.
On September 11th, 2001, when the towers fell, I spent several difficult hours reassuring my seventh grade students at Scarsdale Middle School that their parents who worked in New York City were almost certainly fine. Safe. On their way home right this minute.
But, of course, I didn't know that for sure.
Meanwhile, my husband was part of the city's pilgrimage, walking uptown, towards my mother's apartment. We were both unable to get home to Brooklyn.
New Yorkers have known terror. We have known the sadness, uncertainty, and loss particular to such an atrocity. We live in a city that, like Boston, was attacked in two distinct, choreographed blows.
Tower one. Tower two.
Explosion one. Explosion two.
Boston has been on all our minds this past week. Nationally and internationally, the story has touched people's hearts and moved them to action.
But, as New Yorkers, we really get it. Don't we?
Boston is on a path towards healing. But one thing New Yorkers know – and that Bostonians are about to discover - are the reverberating ripples of influence a terrorist attack brings not only on a city and its people, but also on its tourism, its real estate market, and its economy as a whole.
And so, this summer, I propose that New Yorkers, en masse, visit Boston.
Let's keep the city vibrant, its restaurants and shops bustling, and its hotels filled.
Think of it: historic walks, great pubs, and local accents that put ours to shame! All of this can be yours when you visit Boston.
To make planning the trip easier on you, I have compiled, with the help of my Boston-based, hip, 20-something cousins, a Top 10 list of attractions in and around Beantown. In trying to be creative, I have purposefully avoided most of the obvious touristy things that you probably already know about, such as The Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall although some touristy attractions had to make the list.
1. Exercise. Tour the city on bicycles by taking the Hubway instead of the subway. This bike-sharing system throughout Metro-Boston lets you unlock bikes set up at docking stations all around town. You can join for a 24-hour pass or a three-day access pass.
2. Play ball. Attend a Red Sox game on July 19th, 20th, or 21st...when they play against the Yankees, of course! I won't tell you which team to root for, but I will tell you to grab a great meal before or after the game at Island Creek Oyster Bar. (That's "Baaah.") (Love oysters? Want a real New England experience? Then visit the farm where these come from and boat along Duxbury Bay.
3. Appreciate art. Like your culture with a side of tequila? Visit The Institute of Contemporary Art, which offers a "First Friday" event for 21 and up. "Art goes overtime on the first Friday of the month with guest DJs, live performance, gallery talks, specialty drinks, and more. The ICA's Water Café will offer a small plates menu and full bar, including cocktails inspired by the museum's current exhibitions." This event does sell out, so get your tix in advance here:
4. Shop. Visit Boston's original Art and Indi Design Market! "Celebrating its 10th year, the SoWa Open Market® is the hip and happening place to be 
on Sundays from May to October! The market is located outdoors in the vibrant SoWa district in Boston's South End and includes an extensive arts/crafts section with a rotating group of indie makers and designers, an award winning farmer's market and a collection of the yummiest food trucks around. To round out your Sunday, within walking distance you'll find a vintage market, artist studios, galleries, shops and many of Boston's best restaurants."
5. Enjoy music. Speaking of outdoor activities, why not have dinner and drinks along the waterfront followed by a concert at The Bank of America Pavillion? This summer, see Sting, The Go-Go's, LL Cool J, The xx and Grizzly Bear...and many more. Concert schedule here:
6. Bring the kids. Travelling with young children? Then visit The New England Aquarium, The Museum of Science and/or The amazing Children's Museum.
7. Eat. You don't need to travel overseas to enjoy unique culinary experiences. Head to Stir, a demonstration kitchen and cookbook store for cooking lessons from Top Chef Winner Kristen Kish:
Foodies will also love Craigie on Main. The burgers are apparently out of this world, but since the restaurant only serves 18 each night, you better line up early for this elusive piece of perfection.
8. Set sail. Go sailing along the Charles River. You can pretend you are a Winklevoss rowing crew for Harvard.
9. Wine and dine Italian style. Dinner and dessert in the North End is a must. My kids live for the Whoopie Pies at Mike's Pastry, but my cousin prefers the cannoli at Modern Pastry. Heck, have both.
10. Act like a tourist. I must conclude this list with my favorite childhood memory of Boston, taking a ride on the Swan Boats in the Public Garden. Read "Make Way for Ducklings" and the "Trumpet of the Swan" to your children before making the trip to this beautiful 24-acre park. Follow it up with a fancy, kid-friendly meal at The Four Seasons and then shop along Newbury Street.Columnist and blogger Julie Gerstenblatt writes with humor and candor about her life in Scarsdale, her friends and family, and the particular demands of motherhood and wifedom in modern-day suburbia. Read about her new book Lauren Takes Leave and keep up with the latest from Julie Gerstenblatt at http://juliegerstenblatt.com.
A New Way to Wear Your Pink Ribbon
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"Did you get your new crown yet?" My father-in-law, Steve, asked me when he came to visit last weekend. "You know, at the dentist?"
I knew which crown he meant, since I don't (usually) wear one on my head. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my mouth. I have so many crowns on my teeth that I'm like dental royalty. This one, my third, had taken a particularly long time to install, so to speak. The process started right before New Year's and just ended in March.
"Yeah," I said. I couldn't imagine why he'd really care, although I was sort of touched that he remembered my dental woes.
"Is there anything special about your crown?" He asked, smiling.
"No...." I said. "It's just regular."
"Just regular, huh?" He asked, smiling wider.
So now I knew he was up to something. But what?
This was literally the first conversation we were having since he arrived in New York from Rhode Island to visit for the weekend. He and I were standing in my driveway. He had said hello to my husband, Brett, but he hadn't taken his bag out of the car or even said hi to the kids. Steve clearly had a joke to tell me and he was really excited about it.
Let me back up. What you need to know is that he's a bit of a jokester, my father-in-law. He likes to dress up as a pirate, for example. He recently took this pirate fetish of his to a new level, when he started carrying pirate flags around in his car to place on friends' lawns, "claiming" their land as his own. He had one for us as well. Into the pachysandra it went.
Now back to the teeth.
"It's porcelain," I said. "Nothing special."
"Let me see."
I opened wide and showed off my very expensive but only mildly thrilling new crown. Bottom left. Back tooth.
"Awwww...." Steve said, seemingly disappointed. "It's not like mine."
"Oh, that's right." I said. "You got a new crown too."
"Yeah. And it's got something on it." Steve said, opening wide for me to see. His was on the top right, second from the back.
A pink breast cancer ribbon was etched into the tooth.
I'm not kidding.
His crown is a breast cancer awareness crown.
I didn't even know they made those.
"I didn't even know they made those!" I said.
"They don't," he laughed. "The dental technician did it just for me. She has breast cancer, and her daughter recently died from the disease, and she knew about Linda and her story. So she called the guy who was making the tooth and asked if he could do it."
Just to explain, my mother-in-law, Linda, died a year and a half ago from stage 4 breast cancer. My father-in-law has since embraced the pink ribbon and collects different items that make a distinct nod to the cause. He always wears a pink ribbon pin on his jacket lapel, and he has a dog tag hanging from his car's rear view mirror that reads "courage," in pink, white, and grey army fatigue.
You get the idea. But this? This tooth thing? That's kind of way beyond.
It's not like anyone can see it, first of all, which is antithetical to the whole "awareness" principal of the ribbon. And, secondly, it wasn't like a donation was made to the Susan G Koman Foundation when Steve purchased his fancy tooth. Basically, Steve's new crown doesn't raise awareness or funding for breast cancer research.
So, what's the point?
The point is that Steve knows it's there. When he smiles, he thinks of my mother-in-law, Linda. When he brushes his teeth before bed, he thinks of her. When he enjoys an ice cream cone and it makes his mouth feel deliciously cold, he thinks of Linda.
It's like hiding a tattoo for a loved one somewhere under your clothes. It's personal, and unique, and not for everyone. "It's never going to come off," Steve said. And that's what he likes about it.
In October, my father-in-law walks with pride in the breast cancer walk. The rest of the year? You can bet he'll be talking the talk.Columnist and blogger Julie Gerstenblatt writes with humor and candor about her life in Scarsdale, her friends and family, and the particular demands of motherhood and wifedom in modern-day suburbia. Read about her new book Lauren Takes Leave and keep up with the latest from Julie Gerstenblatt at http://juliegerstenblatt.com.
