Fourteen interior design bloggers from across the United States are headed to the Big Easy for the next edition of Modenus’ BlogTour next week. The group will attend KBIS, the Kitchen and Bathroom industry show, and then hit the streets to experience one of the world’s most fascinating cities for design.
“The chance to witness the world’s most important gathering of the kitchen and bathroom industries and to be part of America’s most vibrant city was irresistible,” said Veronika Miller, CEO of Modenus.com, the online resource behind BlogTour. “In addition to the newest trends in kitchen and bath, we look forward to sharing inspiration and information about New Orleans' design, architecture, culture and ongoing efforts to rebuild the city and its economy. BlogTour is usually international in nature but this is our chance to use our global visibility to share local stories.”
The bloggers will spot the latest trends, see the newest products, network with industry peers and report back to their blog and social media audiences, both live from the show and in the weeks before and after BlogTour New Orleans.
The participating bloggers are:
Clockwise from top: Graham, Salvesen, Bogart, Haines
Gloria Graham (@Kitchens4living), author of design blog “Kitchens for Living,” is a kitchen and bath cabinetry designer with AKBD certification from the National Kitchen & Bath Association. The co-author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Remodeling Your Kitchen Illustrated, her work has appeared on This Old House as well as Florida Design Magazine, The Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. She is a proud member of both the BLANCO Design Council and the illustrious “Blogger 19.”
Arne Salvesen (@ArneSalvesen) is the man behind the Useful Spaces blog where he shares his views on design, food and more. He started designing with Legos at the age of 10 and applies the same sense of fun to designing kitchens and bathrooms today. His professional career started in 1994, building and installing the kitchens he would later design. He achieved his Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD) accreditation in 2001, and continues his education through active participation in his local NKBA chapter.
Toma Haines (@TheAntiquesDiva) is an American expat living in Europe. She has traveled and antique-shopped in over 30 countries and, in her own words, ‘learned how to live a life without borders’. Haines runs antiques, vintage, home decor and lifestyle shopping tours in five languages and six countries—France, UK, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Somehow she also finds time to update her popular blog sharing advice on entertaining diva style and the latest home decorating trends.
Cynthia Bogart (@thedailybasics) is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Basics, the online magazine which covers home and gardens, travel and living, food and drink, body and fashion, arts and literature. Cynthia spent 18 years with Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home, and Renovation Style magazines as a scout and stylist. A native New Yorker, Bogart relocated to Rhode Island with her husband, three children and two dogs 10 years ago.
Clockwise from top: Mehditash, Brown, Natschke, Morisseau
Jennifer Mehditash (@decaporter) is a New York interior designer, with a career that started in London and then Portugal. She takes great pleasure in sharing her passion for art and design through her blog Dec-a-Porter. Since moving to NY, she has been included in the coveted Style Spotters for High Point Market, part of Brizo Fashion Week, and a Curator for the Joss & Main flash sale. She also contributed and featured on the Nate Berkus Show, on Fashion+Decor, on HGTV.com and on the New England Home Magazine blog.
An interior designer, Patricia Davis Brown (@patriciadavisbr) is also the creator of the international design blog, Dig This Design, which she describes as ‘a blog about ALL things design.’ She opened her first design studio in 1992 specializing in high-end residential and commercial interiors with emphasis on kitchen and bath design. In 2010, she launched Professional Kitchen and Bath Plans, her virtual design company and her online home furnishings company. Her work has been recognized with 15 national and several state awards and featured in Florida Architecture, Traditional Homes & Design, Florida Design, Qualified Remodeler Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath Ideas and The Kids Space Idea Book amongst others.
Designer, writer, and author Kelly Morisseau (@Kitchen_Sync) balances her day job as an interior designer with her love of writing about her latest design finds. Her blog, Kitchen Sync, focuses on kitchens, baths, and generational behavior trends while her book, Kelly’s Kitchen Sync, helps pros and homeowners avoid common kitchen design errors. She has served as judge for both US and Canadian NKBA, national design competitions, written for trade publications, and been featured in design magazines. She is a certified master kitchen and bath designer and a certified interior designer in northern California.
Carmen Natschke (@DecoratingDiva) edits an online home design magazine and lifestyle journal dedicated to the concept of living a stylish and comfortably elegant life at home, as she says, ‘joyfully surrounded by the beautiful things you love’. Carmen blogs about sophisticated, smart, stylish and beautiful decor and shares her decorating and style advice with a substantial and loyal readership which also enjoys by contributors on design trips far and near.
Clockwise from top: Fine, Reynolds, Merrill, Stephenson
Leslie Fine (@lesliefineint) is president of her own award winning, full service design firm specializing in residential interiors for the luxury market and author of Leslie’s Blog. Fine, a past president of the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), prides herself on developing close working relationships with her clients.
Rebecca Reynolds (@RRKitchenDesign) is the founder and principal of New Canaan Kitchens, and author of KitchenINK. New Canaan Kitchens has been serving Fairfield and Westchester Counties for the past 18 years but her portfolio contains projects from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Rancho Santa Fe, California. Her designs have even reached all the way to Kosovo when she was asked to design a kitchen for her local stone suppliers. Reynolds has a sense of style for combining the past and present while creating the perfect synergy of form, function and fabulous modern day living environments.
Nest by Tamara, the blog of New York City designer Tamara Stephenson (@nestnestnest), offers musings about interior design, antiques, architecture, gardening, cooking and entertaining—all that encompasses ‘nesting’ to create a well-lived life and a stylish home. As Tamara says, ‘this is not a DIY blog nor a super snobby, stuffy view, but instead a philosophy of infusing a relaxed elegance into your home.’ Tamara also writes for ‘East End Nest,’ a weekly column in East Hampton magazine and Dan’s Papers.
Linda Merrill (@Surroundings), author of Surroundings blog, is an expert in interior design, media communications & marketing. A lifelong passion for creating beautiful and livable spaces combined with a savvy business mind has brought her design work and writing to a national and international audience. Her blog offers her unique views on wide ranging aspects of the built environment from architecture, photographic tours, product reviews, design inspirations, special events and even movie set decor. She holds a certificate in decorative arts from the Boston Architectural College and a bachelor’s in music performance.
Hirsch and Islas
Barbara Elza Hirsch (@elzabdesign) is a French-American interior designer and principal of ELZA B. DESIGN, INC based in Acton, MA and the woman behind the Chez Elza blog. Her European roots greatly influence her design work, as does her background in Art and Fashion. She likes to “build a room like a painting, each stroke and layer creating the final space”. Elza creates stylish, textured and restful interiors for her clients. She lives in an old farmhouse with her husband, two sons and a giant cat.
Erica Islas (@EMIIntDesign) is the founder and principal designer at EMI Interior Design, Inc., a full service interior design firm in Los Angeles, and author of an eponymous blog. A modernist at heart, Erica’s interiors are timeless and fun, and are guided by a form-follows-function philosophy. She approaches every project from an architectural perspective, never sacrificing usability and comfort. Her interiors are innovative, inviting and ultimately functional. Islas has appeared on HGTV design shows and her work is currently featured on HGTV’s designer portfolio. Her pro-bono work has appeared in Nesting Newbies & The Los Angeles Times. Her design work has also been featured in Real Simple Magazine, Dwell Magazine, Real Kitchens, and most recently Smalls Rooms Magazine.
Design enthusiasts can keep up with BlogTour in New Orleans by following the Twitter hashtag #BlogTourNOLA and viewing the blogs via Modenus.com.
