Julie Fergus, ASID | NH Interior Designer

Summer Entertaining

Summer is a time for gathering with friends and family. Make entertaining easy a simple pasta salad. I like pasta salads because they can be made ahead, saving you from being in the kitchen while guests are visiting. A lemon pasta salad is a fresh and easy recipe. Use any pasta you like, I typically use farfalle or rigatoni.

What you will need is:
Zest of one Lemon
Juice from one lemon
Olive oil
1 lb. pasta Feta cheese, crumbled – add as much as you like
Flat leaf parsley, chopped coarse or fine, you choose
Grape tomatoes sliced in half Salt & pepper

Cook the pasta and let cool. Toss with olive oil to coat. Add everything else except the lemon juice; save it for adding just before serving. You may like more or less lemon, but don’t omit it, that is the key ingredient to give this pasta salad a fresh taste. Enjoy!

Cottage Style Bathroom

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This is a totally new bathroom in an old house with low roof. I had to maximize head-heights to create a shower and standing at the sink.

To see more details of the before, during and after remodeling make over of this bathroom click here.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Custom Desk

This is a very simple desk I designed for a client. Reclaimed white oak from Bingham Lumber in Brookline, NH. Sometimes it is impossible to find the best furniture item, so custom is necessary.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Best Irish Soda Bread

Soda bread just out of the oven.

Slice a piece and serve with soft butter.

I like it sliced in wedges.

This is the best Irish Soda Bread recipe you will find. It is moist and delicious.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

3 tbs. sugar + addt’l for top

3 tbs. butter, slightly softened

1/3 cup currants

1 tbs. caraway seeds

1 cup buttermilk (this is the key ingredient)

Preheat oven to 375.

In mixer bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in butter and mix until crumbly. Add currants and caraway seeds. Pour in buttermilk and mix until combined.

Take the dough out of the bowl and place onto a floured board and knead for 1 minute (add a little bit of flour so that it not too stick- but not too much). Roll the dough into a ball and pat down to about 2 inches thick. Slash a large X, about an inch deep, across the dough. Sprinkle well with additional sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on rack and serve warm (with lots of soft butter). Yum!!

Entertaining Ideas

Entertaining is about connecting with your guests.

I like to entertain friends and family, but to do it well, you've got to be prepared. Here are my top priorities when entertaining:

A clean house is at the top of the list.
Keep your guest list simple or small, this makes it easier for you.
Plan the menu days in advance and purchase items no later than the day before. Avoid last minute running around, which equals stress.
Keep your menu simple, the food is not most important, visiting with friends and family is. A homemade pizza can be wonderful when served with a great salad.
Create atmosphere with lighting. Avoid all lights on at maximum wattage. Soft lighting allows people to relax.
Light candles. Nothing is more soothing than candles. Always have a stash of candles to replenish those that burn down.
Serve a light appetizer when guests arrive, and serve dinner forty-five minutes or so after arrival. Don't make guests wait hours for dinner or give them the opportunity to fill-up on snacks.
Create a comfortable dining table, and dim the lights so you can linger and talk after the meal is done. Create a low centerpiece so all guests can see each other.
Serve dessert in the living room. This allows guests to truly relax and lets you enjoy another room in your home.
My personal plan is to serve snacks or appetizers in the kitchen, while I finish up the meal. I serve dinner in the dining room, and dessert in the living room. I like the progressive approach and the change of scenery moving from room to room is fun.
When having a casual dinner, I like to serve in the kitchen. It is easy and guests always feel comfortable when I serve in the kitchen.
Remember that the most important element of entertaining is to connect with guests, so keep your menu simple, plan ahead so you can relax and spend time with your guests.

Conveying Design Concepts

Assisting people with home makeovers requires that ideas be conveyed in a format that helps with visualization. I do that in a few ways: computer imaging, hand-drawn sketches or with photo collages. Most of my projects are for vacation homes. This means that I have to communicate long distance to keep the project moving forward and to help clients make decisions.

Here are examples of how I communicate design ideas. This is the design process.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Sketching valance idea.

Dining room concept using rug as the theme.

Color and furniture options.

Working out a bathroom layout.

3D CAD image to illustrate bathroom design.

Illustrating the size of a section for an open space.

Furniture plan developed before shopping.

3D CAD image to illustrate the ceiling design.

Finishes for bathroom.

Elevation detail for bathroom.

Fine-tuning the colors and fabrics.

Sketching the built-in.

Finish samples.

Assembling samples of finihses to choose from.

Mocking up colors for consideration.

Putting together the overall color concept.

Sketch of a custom table.

Hopeless Turned Asset

Sometimes a space can look hopeless. Careful planning, creativity and yes, money can make a hopeless space become an asset and add value to your home. These are shots of a remodeling project in the works.

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