Classic Holiday Home Decor by Lisa McInnis

December 14th, 2009

Before you know it, the holidays will be here. As many designers know, artificial holiday greenery and accessories, which are ready-made and durable, will allow you to decorate well ahead of the festivities.  This is ideal so you can relax  and focus on house company!

Even though we provide artificial holiday decorations, we prefer to have a natural and classic look, such as the work done by Lisa McInnis, a landscape designer, based in Norwalk, Connecticut. We are fortunate to know her for many years and we greatly admire her designs.  She expertly uses our artificial holiday greenery and fruit picks with real pine to bring class to anyone’s home.

Below are pictures of Ms. McInnis’ client’s home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Also be sure to check out her amazing portfolio on her website at: http://lmfinegardens.com/home.html

Rita Konig Decorates with CFD's Lifelike Pines

December 8th, 2009

Thank you Rita for the mention on your NY Times Blog!

“They [CFD] have the best fir garlands, some already strung with lights, sprigs of mistletoe and other white and red berries.”

Rita Konig, decorator maven and contributor to British Vogue and Domino, creates stunning holiday decor for the Waverly Inn in the West Village. She expertly mixes real and artificial holiday greens, including our pine garlands and mistletoe.  A good tip by Rita is, “In restaurants, everything you use has to be fake — both for fire safety, and since the fir dries out too fast and the needles fall into customers’ soup, which interferes with the cheer.” At CFD, we make sure to carry fire-retardent holiday greenery.

Keep up with lovely Ms. Konig on her weekly blog at http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/inside-out/

Roxy Paine's "Maelstrom", A 130 x 45 Ft Giant Steel Tree Sculpture

November 27th, 2009

This weekend, we will catch the extraordinary “Maelstrom” tree sculpture exhibit by Roxy Paine at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are glad we did not miss it for it is the last weekend. For more info on the exhibit, click here. See the museum’s video below showing the assembly of the giant sculpture on top of the museum’s roof.

CFD's Silk Plants Featured on NBC's TV Series,"30 Rock"

November 23rd, 2009

Recently, the popular TV series, “30 Rock”, bought Silk plants from us to create a green landscape for a scene with guest star, Al Gore. We were delighted to see our product shown on the air last Thursday, November 19th, in the “Sun Tea” episode.  You can see our plants in the clip below from Hulu.com.

Autumn Garden Ideas

November 9th, 2009

To take advantage of the beautiful Autumn weather in New York, we recently visited the “Kiko in the Japanese Autumn Garden” exhibit at the NYBG. We are inspired by the fantastic shapes and colors of the Mums.

As for the rest of the garden, many of the flowers are gone so the foliage and pines come to the foreground. After our visit, we are full of new ideas for our next year’s Silk plant productions. See some of our highlights in our photos!

CFD Featured in the Fall 2009 Martha Stewart Weddings Issue

October 13th, 2009

Check out our Gold Bay Leaves featured in the Fall 2009 Issue of Martha Stewart Weddings on pages 30, 243, and 244.

Modern Fall Arrangement

September 21st, 2009

Fall offers us some of the most vibrant colors. Bright oranges and yellows can really pop against other darkening flora of the season. We have captured the Fall colors in silk. To keep the arrangement modern, group flowers and greens, keep shapes simple and distinct, and turn up the color contrast. Here, we used bright orange Chinese Lanterns, yellow Chrysanthemums, deep plum Hydrangeas, Fall branches, and a large Agave bush.

Our Silk Orchids Featured in Whitney's New Video

September 12th, 2009

After 20 years of working with designers, CFD definitely understands designer emergencies. A good example of this occurred on August 21st. RSA Films wanted thousands of silk orchids overnighted to be a main feature for Whitney’s new big comeback video “I Look to You”. CFD was able to supply them all in time for the video production. Check out Ms. Houston’s brand new video!

Garden-Inspired Fall Hydrangea Colors

September 10th, 2009

Central Park’s Conservatory Garden on 105th Street and 5th Avenue is always a treat. It is Central Park’s only formal garden that includes an English garden, an Italian garden, and a French garden. Best of all, visiting the garden is free. For more information, see Central Park’s official webpage on the Conservatory Garden.

Our Fall hydrangea arrangement is inspired by the darkening Hydrangeas in the English garden.

New Water-Safe Stems

August 28th, 2009

Just drop these natural-look silk Hydrangeas and Peonies into a vase with water! These new close-ended plastic stems are manufactured to be water-safe.

To purchase, visit our store at 145 W. 28th Street.