I Slept With John Saladino Last Night

By Erin Ferucci

Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

Yes, its true....he was with me!! Under the covers and all!! The god of design spent the night with me, manifested in the form of his new Book "Saladino VILLA". STUNNING!!

I have been doing Interior Design for over 20 years now, and hands down John Saladino is the biggest star in my eyes. I met him once...I was eating a scrumptious focaccia sandwich with my friend Philip Stites from THERIEN, and right as the lettuce and the tomato were in my mouth (all of it- ‘cause you know it never really breaks down) I looked up, and there he was! John Saladino in the flesh!! OMG!! My hands started sweating…my knees were weak. I was too nervous to stand up. I wasn't this nervous when I met Mick Jagger! And there I was with 2 pounds of focaccia, lettuce and tomatoes hanging from my lips. UGGH! I began frantically whipping mayonnaise off my chin as he approached our table. Somehow with my heart beating frantically and my hands trembling, I managed to pull it together (sans mayo) by the time Phillip introduced me. It was all too brief… But now, a night with my arms around his…book. I may never be the same.

Where Were You at 7am Yesterday?

By Erin Ferucci
Celebrity Lifestyle Designer



I was in the refrigerator...which at 7am feels more like a freezer!!Every Tuesday morning around 7 am, you'll find me in the freezer....well, at the wholesale flower mart's freezer/frig. One of my current design adventures is doing a weekly floral design for a fabulous restaurant in Venice Beach, CA, called A/K. Each week is a delectable journey of seasons and regions...from Chile to Holland...each week is different…it’s so inspiring...how great is my life that I get paid to flower shop??!! The flowers were so beautiful and fragrant this week I just wanted to pull a mattress in and sleep among the flowers! Can you imagine waking up to this fragrant riot of color? It’s impossible to be anything but happy around flowers.


While I was shopping I saw the florals being amassed for two different weddings – very fun! One was yellow and white….

the other…..pink, pink, pink.

My mission is a little different. Buying weekly flowers while sticking to a budget means buying SEASONAL flowers. You would think it would be limiting, but the opposite is true, it’s actually wonderful creative fun picking the freshest flowers and deciding how to create an exciting arrangement that is colorful and current. It’s like being a chef, really and shopping at a farmer's market, choosing the best ingredients while formulating a recipe…Buying seasonal, saves a lot of $$ and gets you the freshest results.

AK is lovely restaurant, serving incredible food. The flowers need to be sophisticated yet simple. This week my inspiration was purple starting with purple hydrangeas,

a deep eggplant purple that I ultimately paired with... gorgeous flowering hyacinths and... ox blood Dahlia’s!

Sorry if you want to see the actual arrangements you’ll have to make the trip to A/K. It’ll be worth it. Tell them Erin sent you!

Super Jet

By Erin Ferucci

Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

It seems like everyone is talking about the Super Jet, and with good reason. The Airbus A380, AKA the "Super Jet" is the largest passenger plane in the world. With 2 full levels and 239 feet of length the Airbus has the equivalent space of two full tennis courts put together. It's huge! But it's size isn't the only thing that makes it distinctive. It is the epitome of luxury travel.

Designer, Marc Newson, a London based designer but native Australian was hired by Qantas to head the project. Newson is known for his retro aesthetic and extremely wide variety of projects, everything from interiors to the fuel efficient cars of the future. On the Qantas Airbus there are 14 exclusive first-class cabins, each with personal storage a dining table that seats two, a leather chair that contains converts to a bed and a 17 inch LCD television. In business class there are 72 private lounges with leather sofas, sky bed seats, large video monitors and self serve bars.

The Super Jet has already changed the way in which we travel, and I’m not just talking about the windows in the first class bathrooms! It seems that the new plane is so gianormous that additional service roads and runways have to be closed in order to land the Airbus at LAX, causing disruptions for other airplanes and general traffic!

Purple Fashion

By Erin Ferucci
Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

Okay, I'm almost over purple...but not quite.

And it really is everywhere....

Open any magazine...

Purple is hot right now...In every culture, in every shade...it's all about PURPLE!

Decorating With Doors

By Erin Ferucci

Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

Okay, I admit it. My latest decorating obsession is with doors and door frames. They are able to enhance any space in a really creative way. These door frames are from India and could be used as mirrors.I also love the idea of just incorporating the door frame in your own doorframe at home or in a restaurant or hotel. Anywhere would look great.....I’m a little in love with doors right now. As a design element they’re really fun and flexible. They are economical and environmentally sound. And best of all they are almost always a conversation piece.Whether they are functional doors that separate spaces…. or displayed artfully on the wall.
Doors are the hit of the season!

Floral Design

By Erin Ferucci

Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

Christian Tortu, one of my early favorite floral designers was an absolute innovator. He basically started the whole fruit mixed with flowers movement. In 1991, I was living in Paris, as often as I could I would check out the windows of a shop owned and named "Christian Tortu" (His home fragrances are the best in the world!!!- really) Most girls were checking out the collection in the windows of Balman, Dior, and Lacroix...while I was over at Tortu!! on the left bank. I am sure this too happened to Jeff Leatham, who was visiting Paris in 1995, That was when his whole world changed, literally. The Four Seasons in Beverly Hills gave Jeff his first break. After four years The Four Seasons Hotel in Paris called. George V, came calling.Jeff moved to Paris, and the rest is History.
Jeff now has seven assistants and receives over 150,000 flowers a week, creating one hundred compositions daily. Now you see, the first thing I do when I land in Paris is get a chocolate croissant and walk the Hotel George V and admire the flowers. ahhhh Paris......
Photographs by Gilles Trillard

Easy, Inexpensive Floral Art

By Erin Ferucci

Celebrity Lifestyle Designer

We’ve been talking about hosting a dinner party elegantly, effortlessly and economically. Just because we’re all being frugal doesn’t mean we have to be dowdy! One of the easiest and least expensive ways to dress up any table is with fresh flowers. And it’s so easy to get great results! I love Calla Lilies; they come in a wide variety of colors and can artfully be thrown into unique glassware. Move them around creatively and .....Viola!Presto! For only a few dollars you have a beautiful centerpiece. Don't be afraid to push the flowers around, they aren't going to get mad at you. Push them around until you've reached a creative balance. You'll know when you get there. You don't want to over do floral arrangements. Have some confidence and keep it simple.Choose colors that go with central theme. I love these amaryllis blooms submerged in cool water in a lovely glass bowl. Quick, easy and inexpensive, these flowers elevate any table from ever day to special occasion.