The opening night benefit for Housing Works’ annual Design on a Dime fundraiser is always a super fun event that I look forward to each year. All the major players in the New York design community are there and it’s a great opportunity to catch up with one another and have a little fun while shopping for a great cause! Here’s a little recap of the night captured through the lens of my iPhone and my favorite app Instagram!

One of my first stops was HGTV designer Genevieve Gorder‘s booth for Valspar which was one of the event’s sponsors. I loved the vibrant green color on the walls and Genevieve’s told me that it’s called Luscious Green from Valspar’s Ultra Premium line. It made everything in her space pop including the equally luscious pink peonies and the white Chinese screens. Genevieve also dished that she’s working on a new HGTV show set to premiere early next year called The Real Genevieve which will chronicle the renovation of her own home. I’ll definitely be watching!

Another booth I was excited to check out was the one by the lovely and talented ladies of Tilton Fenwick. I loved the wall treatment in their space which was actually stenciled using a green color from Valspar!

I also stopped by Nick Olsen’s colorful booth. He had a ton of great stuff for sale including a sickly discounted pale yellow Christopher Spitzmiller lamp that I was salivating over. Unfortunately someone else had already purchased it by the time I spotted it:(

I’m a huge fan of Elle Decor so I was thrilled to bump into Michael Boodro, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, at Design on a Dime! Here was there with his publishing team and was thoroughly enjoying the evening’s festivities. Elle Decor was another one of the evening’s sponsors.

I am pretty sure interior designer and correspondent for ABC’s The Chew Evette Rios had the most extensively designed space at this year’s event! She partnered with HomeGoods to create a loft, inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton, complete with with a living area, dining area, a nursery nook for a future royal baby-to-be and even an upstairs which I’m sure is a first in the history of Design on a Dime! Above is the dining area. Evette also happened to be wearing the cutest sparkly dress ever! (You can see it here!)

Dering Hall – the online marketplace for goods from the world’s best interior designers – also had a booth which was installed by Steven Gambrel who is one of my favorite designers! The space was full of eclectic pieces and quirky touches like the award ribbons that adorned the walls. Above is a sneak peek!

I wasn’t familiar with Willey Design before this event but I loved this graphic and colorful sitting room they created for Design on a Dime and will certainly be keeping this firm on my radar!

Another person I enjoyed chatting with was Yetta Banks who oversees design & construction for MTV. She designed a modern, white living space that had cool TV projection on the wall above the credenza. She must have stood directly in front of the projector in this photo – ha!

Patrick J Hamiltondesigned a handsome library and here’s a peek at a chic desk vignette from his space.

Although I saw plenty of amazing people and spaces throughout the course of the event, the highlight of the evening had nothing at all to do with design or shopping. It was spotting the legendary Bill Cunningham and I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of him in action! You can follow more of my Instagram adventures on the Instagram app @sohaute or here from your web browser!

The Spring 2012 issue of Trad Home is live and below is a sneak peek at the article I wrote on New Trad honoree Gideon Mendelson! To see the full article, and other stunning spaces by designers like Nick Olsen, Palmer Weiss and Christina Murphy, click here to check out the latest digital issue of Trad Home!

I love these whimsical throw pillows which have a global and eclectic feel. The pillow on the left is from John Robshaw – one of my favorite textile designers. It carries a price tage of $175 so if you love this look but don’t want to break the bank the option on the right from World Market offers the same chic look as the John Robshaw version at a fraction of the price. The main difference? The John Robshaw version features a print that was hand-painted on a linen/cotton blend fabric with a luxe goose down insert. Because they’re hand-painted, each design varies slightly so these pillows are actually one-of-a-kind. The Word Market pillow on the right features a 100% cotton with polyester filling.

John Robshaw Indian Elephant Decorative Pillow

World Market Elephant Toss Pillow

In my previous post I talked about my obsession with Pinterest and other social media sites and one that I post to almost daily is Instagram! It’s an app for Apple and Android devices that creates a fun way to capture and share photos with vintage inspired filters. Like Pinterest, I’m totally addicted to it! Here’s a recap of the last couple of weeks through the lens of Instagram! I’m going to make this a regular feature so you can stay connected to what I’m up to when I’m offline. 

I took a stroll through Union Square Park in awe of the first true sign of spring – blossoming magnolia trees!

I flew to LA where I spent most of last week and the week before for a bit of work and play. I stayed at The Chamberlain which is one of my favorite hotels and has the chicest interiors. Here’s a vignette from inside the hotel.

I also spent some time chillaxin; at the Chamberlain’s rooftop pool. There’s nothing like the California sun!

While lounging I enjoyed a drink from one of my favorite places in LA – The Pressed Juicery.

I also enjoyed some fonuts – another LA food obsession! This is their baked, gluten free chocolate hazlenut donut. It was as delicious as it looks:)

I bought a chic, gold hand chain made by my friend Kelly Schumacher who I caught up with while in LA. Her fabulous jewelry line is coming soon!

I continued to eat my way through LA with a stop at Lemonade for some fresh salads and a yummy blood orange lemonade!

I caught up with Kishani Perera for dinner and was thrilled to receive the most amazing gift – a copy of her new book which I have been devouring! The beautiful book highlights some of Kishani’s best work with a focus on mixing old and new! It’s full of inspiration and you can purchase a copy here.

And this past weekend upon returning to New York I made a pit stop at J. Crew where I picked up this colorful arm candy!

You can follow more of my daily adventures on the Instagram app @sohaute or here from your web browser!

PS – did you hear the announcement yesterday that Facebook bought Instagram for $1BILLION dollars! That is not a typo. One of my favorite lines in the movie The Social Network is when Sean Parker played by Justin Timberlake tells Mark Zuckerberg: “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.” That is the first thing I thought about when I heard the news about the Instagram acquisition – ha!