British Poster

Celebrating the month of red continues with this popular poster.

Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced in 1939 by the British government, during the beginning of World War II, to raise the morale of the British before invasion. This poster was the third in a series of three. The first two were, “Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might” and “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory”. A copy of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster was rediscovered in 2000, and now that the copyright has expired, the image is public domain and can be seen on all kinds of paraphernalia.

Serenbe

Need a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city? Serenbe is just minutes away from downtown Atlanta and offers a weekend get away for anyone interested in fantastic wine, great food, and a beautiful surrounding. Check out House Beautiful's spread on the people who made Serenbe happen.

RED

We introduced you to Jeffrey Bilhuber yesterday. We selected this photo to highlight our red pick of the week. We love his use of this long red table!

Jeffrey Bilhuber

May we introduce to you one of our favorite designers, Jeffery Bilhuber. If you are not familiar with his work, check out the current issue of House Beautiful to learn more about this talented designers philosophy. And, if you are traveling through New York City anytime soon, check out the City Club, where he worked his magic on this boutique hotel.

The Caretakers

We love all things Southern, and there is nothing better than the recent feature by Garden & Gun on Rinne Allen and Lee Smith. In case you missed it, take a look at these two special people with a whole lot of talent and heart. See more of Rinne's incredible insight and photography on her blog, beautyeveryday.com. It will make you smile for certain.

http://beautyeveryday.com/

Fashion Week

To celebrate Fashion Week in New York, we thought we would share some of our favorite red picks from Tory Burch's new Fall collection. Enjoy!

BOXWOOD

Need any inspiration as to what to plant this Fall? We are obsessed boxwoods which are a main part of any formal English garden. Here are a few interesting facts about our green friend. Boxwood was introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-1600s. The most common forms of boxwood are “American” and “English” and there are about 90 species and over 150 varieties. It is said to be nature's oldest garden ornamental and boxwood fossils have been found in Europe dating back over 21 million years old. The first planting in the U.S. occurred around 1652 at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, NY. The American boxwood has leaves that are very pointed and grows much faster and taller than the English boxwood, which is much more dense and has rounded leaves. The ideal time to plant boxwood is in the fall, and winter is the best time to prune.

Robert Brown Home

MacRae Designs is now featuring more than twenty pieces of Robert Brown Home available off the floor and in custom sizes and finishes. There are a variety of painted finishes and wood finishes to choose from, as well as unique hardware. Come see Bob's entire collection currently featured on our showroom floor.

Bob Brown
Robert Brown Interior Design
Biography

After nearly two decades in the fashion and textile industry, Brown launched a career in interior design and quickly made an impact in his own right. Respected for his unique sense of color and attention to detail, Brown's interiors are classically based with a nod to modern functionality. He was named Southeast Designer of the Year by the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center and Veranda magazine.

Current projects take him to California, Washington, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, in addition to work in Georgia. Brown's focus is fine residential design, but he also has completed commercial and hospitality projects. Recent work also includes a large motor yacht and The Ritz Carlton Residences in Atlanta.

A recipient of numerous ASID (American Society of Interior Design) Design in Excellence awards, he has served as a board member of the Georgia chapter and been awarded the President's award. He currently serves as a board member of Atlanta's DIFFA chapter and has chaired the Dining by Design gala with Margaret Russell of Elle Decor. Brown has served on an advisory board for Robert Allen fabrics and will launch a furniture collection for Holland and Company this fall.

Brown's designs have been featured in many publications. These include House Beautiful, Veranda, Traditional Home, Southern Accents, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, Atlanta, Better Homes and Gardens, Ranch and Coast.

Ploughman's Lunch

Ever heard of a ploughman's lunch?

It orginated in the United Kingdom and is served in pubs usually with beer, lager, or cider. This cold meal is composed of cheese, bread, butter, and pickles. Additional items can be included such as: green salad, green vegetable, celery, spring onions, radishes, carrots, apples, pate and eggs. A comparable meal, popular prior to World War II, was also known as 'ploughboy's lunch'.

The Oxford English Dictionary records that the first mention of a ploughman's lunch is to be found in the Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, the 18th Century author, where it is described variously as a sandwich, albeit with an unnamed filling, and a ploughman's meal of boiled beef and Scotch broth.

Give it a try one day this fall and you will not be disappointed.

Recipe:
· Loaf of crusty bread thickly sliced
· Unsalted butter
· Chunk of good English Cheddar
· Thinly sliced ham
· Jar of pickled onions
· Jar of chutney or pickles
· Crisp apples sliced
· Bunch or radishes or grapes
· Tomatoes
· Baby carrots
· Spring onions
· Soft hard-boiled eggs

The British Phone Box

We are celebrating RED this month. Any guesses as to who turned 75 years old on August 25, 2011? No other than our friend and iconic Kiosk no. 6.

The British phone box of course was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936 to celebrate the silver jubilee of the coronation of King George V. By the end of 1968 there were 70,000 across Britain. Today, 11,000 Kiosks remain, as the need for public phones have dropped 80 percent in the last five years.

Behold Kiosk no. 6 and all its glory!

Peachtree Hills Garden

Neighborhood gardens are catching on everywhere. What amazing sights to see around town - old vacant lots turned into a colorful garden full or flowers and vegetables. And the great thing is most gardens donate their surplus to local food banks. We looked around last week and found one in our own backyard. We asked Kathleen Moriarty who runs the Peachtree Hills Community Garden a few questions.

1. When was the garden started? 2008
2. How did the idea originate? A couple of Peachtree Hills residents were looking for a place to grow veggies and working with Park Pride approached the City for permission to use the land at the park. Park Pride is a non-profit that works with, and advocates for, city parks. They have a community garden program. The Atlanta Community Food Bank also helped get the garden started through their community garden program.
3. Who volunteers? Volunteers are pretty much just the gardeners and their families.
4. How many members/volunteers do you have? We have 24 gardeners, plus a waiting list
5. Has the economy affected the amount of members? I don't know the answer to that. I think most gardeners participate for the "fun", because they love gardening and for quality fresh veggies. Saving money is a bonus.
6. How do you decide what foods and flowers to plant? Both seasonal and favorites. Each gardener plants whatever they want in their plot.
7. What kinds of foods and flowers do you have right now? Summer veggies - tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, okra, eggplant, cucumbers, melons. Sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, bee balm, and herbs.
8. Do you plant from seeds or small plants? Both. Park Pride rules require that all gardens be organic or "natural" - no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
9. Who do you feed or where do you sell? Each gardener owns the harvests from their garden plot. Under the City and Park Pride rules, nothing can be sold.
10. Do you have an overstock of food that you give to a charity? We have a Plant a Row for the Hungry program through The Atlanta Community Food Bank. Two plots are dedicated to the Plant a Row program and gardeners also contribute from their plots. We deliver to the Buckhead Christian Ministry (BCM) once or twice a week depending upon the amount of veggies available. The veggies are put out in their lobby where their clients who come for food, rental or other assistance can help themselves. (Last year we delivered directly to the Food Bank - 160 lbs.) We've made three deliveries to the BCM so far this year for a total of 68 lbs.

Barley Twist

Twisted sticks of Barley Sugar were originally made in the 17th century by boiling down refined cane sugar and barley water. The hardened result was cut and twisted, making a pretty and tasty treat, also known for it’s soothing medicinal value. Furniture makers of the time took their inspiration from this treat to make one of the most popular turnings in history - the barley twist.

RED

RED

Each month we are going to highlight a color. We have deemed September as the month of RED. We looked outside our front door this morning and found a few really interesting objects in fantastic shades of red. Check out our favorite neighbor, South of Market's, sign post. Who would have thought we could go six steps outside our front door and be overwhelmed with great views of RED.

Interesting facts for you -

Did you know RED is the color often worn by brides in China?

In boxing more RED gloves are worn more than any other color.

Who does not recognize Target's RED bullseye logo? In 1967 Target changed its bullseye logo to look more modern and is similar to the one used today.

In classic Feng Shui teachings RED is considered stimulating, passionate, activating, exciting and powerful.

Ask Tiger Woods what he thinks about the color RED, and he may say it helps him win. He has been known to wear a RED shirt on the final day of golf tournaments.

The Start

Why, why, why is there a need for another blog I ask . . . . . . .well, what we hope to offer is a quick reminder of what is all around us but often missed because of carpools, schedules, the line at Starbucks, work demands, family demands, and let’s face it just trying to get out the door on time every day. Our hope is to provide a quick moment of reflection for something inspirational, humorous, educational, or just plain entertaining. Out of the thousands of interesting images and people we encounter through our work, we decided to slow down a bit, smell the roses if you may, and take a chance that some of what inspires us may motivate you as well to create, laugh or get to know our extended Holland & Company - MacRae family a bit more. May our words find you and offer insight into our incredible world of design and amazing people.