It's Not Easy Being Green

Irwin Weiner -- Last week we were passing around a copy of HC&G in the office. Ever heard of it? For those of you not in the New York metro, this is the abbreviation for Hamptons Cottages and Gardens magazine.

This glossy, glitzy magazine (we love it) covers the cream-of-the-crop Long Island real estate. Their idea of a "cottage" is an architecturally stunning and "significant" structure with four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, two master suites (each with fireplaces, marble baths, and dressing rooms), and a $3.5 million price tag. Their idea of "garden" is a manicured-within-an-inch-of-its-life property with stone patios, gunite lap pool, bubbling spa, dining gazebo, and lawn and hedges for days. It's where the Great Room is called the Morning Room and the Living Room is called the Ballroom.

So imagine our surprise when HC&G published their "What About Green!" issue. It featured beautiful articles on artisanal cheese, healthy "green" homes, eco antiques, and lush gardens from the British Cotswalds. The editorial messages of the articles was laudable: incorporating green design into our homes is to be aware that we can positively contribute to improving our lives.

This sounds lovely in theory, HC&G, but are the Hamptons known for eco-friendliness? Why are Hamptons lawns so VERY green and the pools so VERY blue? (Could it be an abundance of fertilizers and chemicals?) Why are Hamptons houses so beautiful? (Could it be their runaway use of quarried stone and rare tropical woods from slow-growth trees?) Why are Hamptonians so very mobile? (Could it be their gas-guzzling cars or their helicopter rides over the clogged Long Island Thruway, the most convenient way to get to a green retreat by the sea?)

I have nothing against the Hamptons or Hamptonians. I've worked on the design of some Hamptons properties. The towns are lovely and the people are intelligent, fascinating, and surprisingly friendly. I applaud home design that aims at eco-friendliness. Ads in this issue of HC&G tout eco-friendly fabrics, green building materials, and energy-saving heating systems. It's all great, as far as it goes.

But "going green" is a bit more than just reading one issue of a beautiful magazine. We hope Hamptonians -- and everyone of you reading this -- will take to heart that Going Green is filled with everyday choices and commitments. It's about being consistent and diligent. And it's not about buying a magazine about being eco-friendly . . . and then tossing it in the trash compacter on your way out to the Midsummer Night's Benefit Gala and Dinner Dance.

Is Going Green just a fashion color? Next year, will it be Going Pink? I hope not. The talk of using tap water over bottled water is less elegant, but it's truly greener. Now what else can we all do to green things up a bit?

If you want to have a beautiful design experience, look into Hamptons Cottages and Gardens. Go to www.HCandG.com, and you will be impressed.

Follow the Trendy Brick Road

Irwin Weiner -- I prefer the way most Europeans approach design trends. They tend not to take them so seriously and boldly strike out in their own mad ways, marching to the beat of many different drummers. The British artists known as Gilbert & George had their London house photographed, and I was immediately drawn to their humor-filled kitchen. In the midst of a utilitarian kitchen, which includes a humble washing machine, they plunked down a collection of gorgeous Aesthetic Movement ornaments on top of a similar period sideboard. They saw each item in their design scheme as being its own unique thing without pigeonholing it into a specific trend, labeling it as part of a certain design movement, or belonging to a specific period.

You may hate an eclectic approach to decorating, and many Americans would agree with you. But let me burst your bubble here. As Americans, we tend to want the hottest trends. We wind up spending a lot of money on the Latest and Greatest. The downside is that in order to catch the big trend wave, we wind up being washed ashore when it comes to the next trend movement. Hot interiors date quickly, like wearing last year's designer labels. If you're a slave to of-the-moment trends, I see a lot of design updates and adjustments in your future. Actually, I shouldn't complain, as it keeps me in business. 

Europeans -- and possibly a growing number of Americans -- are more trend independent, combining an independent mix of utilitarian, old and new, trendy, and hopelessly silly in a way that creates a much more classic and timeless design whole. These eclectic mixes might follow a RETRO design trend, like using 1970s style elements, but this is not like being a slave to brand-new trends. Retro trends have established points of reference, and they usually embrace a more classic approach the second go-around than when they were first introduced.

The lesson is to look at an item totally independently from its period, its trendiness, or its pedigree. Will it work in your design scheme? That's the hard questions, and it's a hard way to evaluate design elements for me and for most decorators, too. For instance, I'm not quite ready to embrace things that are p-p-peach colored, and I'm leery to use Post Modern 1980s design elements. But I'm working on these aversions and am trying to adopt a more eclectic, neutral, and all-inclusive European sensibility.

As a decorator, I would rather present a great design scheme with a mix of elements that won't date badly in a few years than sell you one hot, trendy package. Remember when all American appliances had to be harvest gold? I rest my case.

If there are current design trends you think will be tomorrow's classics, please add your comments and recommendations.  Feel free to agree or disagree with my point of view, but keep in mind that it's decorating . . . not brain surgery.