Interesting facts about green....

The word green is closely related to the Old English verb growan, "to grow".
It is sometimes used to describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous or sick.

You may hear someone say "green around the gills" to describe a person who looks ill.
Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye than most colors.

Green was the favorite color of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

And lastly, here are just a few brands who picked green for their logo . . . . Starbucks, BP, Heineken, John Deere, The Masters Golf Tournament, and Rolling Rock.

Mind The Gap

Mind the Gap - like you, we will be with our family and friends enjoying the holidays. See you soon in the new year!

Boxing Day

Ever wonder whist our friends across the pond do on the 26th of December? Well, here you go - Boxing Day is whist they celebrate.

Boxing Day is a public holiday that is celebrated on December 26th or the first or second weekday after Christmas in the UK. It began in 19th-century England under the reign of Queen Victoria. One belief is the legend of clergy opening the alms boxes on the day after Christmas to hand out money to the poor. Another opinion is that the name came from merchants handing out boxes of food or clothing to their workers the day after Christmas as a Victorian-era bonus. Today, Brits associate Boxing Day with Christmas leftovers, family gatherings, and shopping. This custom, too, can be tied to Victorian England, when servants who worked on Christmas day, headed home to their families the next day, with boxes full of their employer’s family's leftovers.

Christ Church, Oxford

Does this remind you of a Harry Potter scene perhaps? This is actually an interior view of Christ Church, which is part of one of the largest colleges in England, the University of Oxford. Christ Church was established in 1546 - when Queen Elizabeth I ruled. The Great Hall was inspiration to the set directors of Harry Potter movies. In addition, Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland was based on many situations and buildings in Oxford and at Christ Church.

Rose Tarlow

To keep the celebration going with our month of green, we thought we would feature another one of our favorite artist, Rose Tarlow. No one in the industry has inspired us more year after year. Below are two ways this iconic designer uses the color green, in a simple but strong way. Rose Tarlow began R. Tarlow Antiques in Los Angeles in 1976 which later became Melrose House - a must see when visiting LA. In 1997, she introduced her own line of textiles to compliment her furniture including sheer, velvet, and outdoor fabrics and later leathers, trims and wall coverings.

Bobby McAlpine

We love seeing and being inspired by elements of nature all around us in design and architecture. We thought you too would enjoy seeing what inspired architect Bobby McAlpine to design two chairs for our McAlpine Home collection. He looked around at two popular staples in most Southern landscapes, ferns and oak trees. See below our fern knuckle chair, inspired by the fiddlehead fern, and the oak leaf wing chair inspired by the profile of an oak leaf.

Here are a few quotes we found worth sharing regarding nature.
* Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
* I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau
* The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown
* I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Tartans

Tartans have long been close to our hearts. Check out our MacRae tartan below as well as other popular tartans such as the Black Watch and Royal Stewart. Tartans are linked to ancient Celtic populations from 400 BC to 100 BC. The use of Tartan as a means of Scottish clan identification began during the 19th century - much later than many realize. So, if you are in need of a holiday outfit see Town & Country's recommendations below and dress your man in a kilt!

Green Finds

Quatrefoil Design

We love all forms of quatrefoil in architecture, table tops, mirrors, jewelry, and furniture. We have seen others do as well of late! Quatrefoil means "four leaves" and is representation of a flower or leaf with four petals or leaflets, which is a symbol of good luck. This design detail became popular during the Greek Revival and Renaissance.

A few interesting facts about the Quatrefoil:
* This detail can be seen on the doors of the Baptistery in Florence.
* It is a decoration on U.S. Marine Corps officers' uniforms.
* It is the national symbol of Phi Mu sorority.
* In Celtic culture the quatrefoil symbolizes "the wheel of being".
* In Native American culture, the four leaves of the quatrefoil symbolize the four ends of the earth. This represents Native American prayers to the North, South,East and West.

Suzanne Kasler

What better combination - Suzanne Kasler, Lee Jofa and New York! If you are heading up to the big apple anytime soon, take a peek at the recently created room in Lee Jofa’s New York Showroom. Thank you Suzanne for featuring MacRae's furniture so beautifully!

Suzanne was recently featured in this month's Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. In 2009, Suzanne’s first book Inspired Interiors was published - a must read for any of you who have added this to your library!

December Means Green

Welcome to our month of green. As you know we pick a color every month to celebrate, and this month is a traditional, old school, avocado green leaning towards emerald green for lack of a better description. Pratt & Lambert calls our green #17-16 Green Ravine which is catchy. Away we go . . . . .