R5 Denise Wenacur

 

 

FAVORITE HOME STORE: Cici Crib in Armonk is a great place for finding unique items for kids and teens. 

 

FAVORITE ANTIQUES STORE: Clarke Auction Gallery in Larchmont is always getting new inventory, and it’s fun participating in the auction event.

 

FAVORITE LIGHTING STORE: Hi-Light on Central Avenue in Yonkers. They have a great variety, and, if I find something online, they will contact the manufacturer and order it for me.

 

FAVORITE WEB SITE: Projectdecor.com offers beautiful products for purchase. My personal Design Shop on the site suggests my favorite items, and I create idea boards to show how different items can work in your home.

 

FAVORITE LINENS: Eastern Accents (trade only) has beautiful, high-quality bedding combinations at great price points. Their 600-thread-count sheets in the Fresco Luxe Collection are so luxurious.

 

EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE: A fireplace. Fireplaces are warm and cozy and bring people together. Anyone, even an apartment dweller, can have one; Dimplex offers electric versions that don’t generate any heat.

 

BIGGEST DESIGN INFLUENCE: Everywhere, from fashion to photos on Houzz.com to the colors in nature, as well as works by Frank Gehry, Philippe Starck, Albert Hadley, and Juan Montoya. Design inspirations are all around us; we just have to be open to them!

 

FAVORITE COFFEE TABLE BOOK: Hudson River Journey: Images from Lake Tear of the Clouds to New York Harbor by Hardie Truesdale and Joanne Michaels.

 

FAVORITE PAINT: Faux-painted walls are my customizable secret! It can be luxuriously smooth Venetian plaster for bedroom walls or chocolate ‘leather’ for a family entertainment room.

 

FAVORITE BLOG: Leatherwood Design Co (leatherwooddesignco.blogspot.com) is a to-the-trade workroom in Ossining that creates my custom window treatments and other soft goods. They have a wonderful blog showing treatment styles and sewing tips.

 

THE NEW NEUTRAL: Gray! There are so many variations to choose from. I can find one to go with everything I’m designing.

 

MOST UNUSUAL REQUEST: A dome in a residential entry foyer, faux-painted in gold leaf. Beyond awesome.

 

FAVORITE WALLPAPER: I love hand-painted Chinese wallpaper. I recently hired an artist in China to create a mural for a client’s dining room.

 

COOLEST DESIGN ELEMENT USED IN A CLIENT’S HOUSE: A custom-made, double-entry front door in a sunburst pattern radiating out from the center. A woodworking artist in Colorado created this door to spec for me for a major house renovation. When you drive up to the house, it is magnificent.

 

HOT TRENDS FOR 2013: Orange, gray, purple, and celadon; tone-on-tone neutrals; over-scaled furniture and fabric patterns; exaggerated proportions and quatrefoil as a popular motif.