A Peek Inside The Joel House

With the sad news that Billy and Katie Lee Joel will be ending their five year marriage, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at one of the places they called home - Centre Island, New York, which is located on Long Island. This is one of the many enclaves located on Long Island that the rich and famous call home. This estate is for sale.

AFP Photo

Billy Joel bought this home in 2002 for $22 million. They were married there in 2004.



This is a 14,000 square foot main house, which includes a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath guest cottage AND 3 bedroom, 3 bath beach house. My house is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath - I must remember to refer to it as the "guest cottage".

This estate also includes indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court and a bowling alley.

So what would this little gem cost you? A meager $37.5 million (taxes are estimated to be almost $200,000.00 a year; I wonder if you could grieve that).

**Don't forget to enter our Giveaway (scroll down toward the bottom of this first page) for our Flip Flop rug - perfect for your "guest cottage"! Any comment made on our posts this week is eligible as an entry; the more comments you make the more entries you have!

Art Giveaway Over At A Vintage Touch!

A blog post entry that you comment on to be entered in my giveaway, and its about another giveaway! Could life be any better!



Lara Harris over at A Vintage Touch has kicked off her Blog Art Giveaway as follows:

Here ye!Here ye! I have decided to do a
BLOG ART GIVEAWAY
(June 14-28)
to celebrate the opening of my New Store on Etsy!

Up for grabs is a **CUSTOM OIL PAINTING of something you TREASURE**...maybe that is a special teacup , a favorite pair of heels, a beloved family pet, or any other little knick-knack that holds special significance to you!

The winners will get to choose either a 5"x7" or 6"x6" on stretched canvas. They will need to send me a few photos of their treasured object, I will then do a painting of it in oil, and even ship the piece free of charge! :o) (*no people portraits for this giveaway please)

Make sure you read her rules/instructions for entering. I've looked at the work Lara has profiled on her blog and she does beautiful work! The dog art is too cute and very well done.

Also, check out some of her other blog posts, lots of interesting stuff!

Porches, Patios & Decks

I have a large patio area that runs the length of our house, with a screened-in gazebo at one end. I love decorating my outdoor areas, just as I would decorate the inside of my house. I try to bring a little bit of my (and the family's) personality outside, too, during these warmer months as we wind up spending more time out of doors.

Photo courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens magazine

I like to tuck little accessories within the landscape and on some of the furniture pieces I have outside - a little outdoor ceramic cherub tucked into a bush, one of the birdhouses my Dad made for me sitting on a long bench, and other things I've picked up over the years.

Photo courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens magazine

I found some outdoor eye candy to share, maybe you'll get some ideas to incorporate into your own outdoor rooms! Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Southern Accents magazine

Photo courtesy of Southern Accents magazine

Photo courtesy of Southern Accents magazine

Photo courtesy of Southern Accents magazine

Photo courtesy of Southern Accents magazine


**Don't forget to comment for entry into our June Giveaway - just scroll down to read all about it! Every comment made on blog posts from this week gives you a chance to win our really cute Flip Flop Rug!

Dorothy Draper ~ Inspiring Decorator

Photo courtesy of www.dorothydraper.com

"Don't just stand there knowing your room needs a pick-me-up. Do something!" ~ Dorothy Draper.

One of my all time favorite interior decorators is Dorothy Draper. I think what I admire most about her is that she became a businesswoman in a time when it was not the norm, and she was very good at it too! Dorothy Draper received no formal schooling in interior design and decorating - in fact, she had no schooling for it at all and was self-taught.

Dorothy Draper was born into influence and married into it as well, when she married Dr. George Draper in 1912. She decorated her homes in such style that her society friends asked her to decorate theirs. She not only did residences but hotels as well, some of which still bear her trademark designs.

Her no-nonsense quote above is one of my favorites and is on my website; perhaps to give that little nudge to a potential client that wants to do something, but is not sure.

I also love the fact that the book In The Pink Dorothy Draper does incorporate one of the colors I utilize in my logo, website and blog; and a color that best compliments people's coloring (it's pink, in case you couldn't guess!).

Photo courtesy of www.dorothydraper.com

Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions

**Don't forget to scroll down to our June Giveaway post and read about our fabulous giveaway! Commenting on any of our blog posts for this week gives you an entry into the giveaway - the more you comment, the more chances you have!

A Non-invitation To A Non-event?

Yesterday I received a non-invitation to The First Annual Non-Event Garden Party (not) hosted by the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. I started to feel like the kid in gym class being picked last for dodgeball. Until I opened it up.

Inside is a list of donation levels: $10-20 "I will NOT attend"; $25-45 "My companion and I will NOT attend" and so on down to $250 & over "I will keep everyone in town away or will NOT email everyone I know to attend".

Cute and a very clever mailing, which included a packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds!

This is from the inside of the invitation and the website:

"Feel good about not attending. No need to dress up, attend the party or listen to speeches. Just put on your most comfortable clothes and go about your day.

We do kindly request a donation for the privilege of not attending. All donations are 100% percent tax deductible.

In gratitude for your donation, DIFFA will send you Seeds of Remembrance. Plant the Forget-Me-Not flowers as an everyday reminder of those who have passed away and those that are still living."

I like to see out-of-the box ideas from different people and organizations, which I might be able to tailor to my business and help me reach out to new clientele. Marketing your own business is crucial to obtaining new customers, clients or patrons. Sometimes these creative ideas work, sometimes not. I like this idea of DIFFA's and I hope it works for them.

Don't forget to enter our June Giveaway, just scroll down for all the info! Every blog post this week that receives comments counts as an entry.