It’s time to savor the sweet indulgences of Valentine’s Day in our annual Design Love post, so we put together some ideas for making this Valentine’s Day extra special with the help of some local Long Island businesses.
Make Room for Chocolate
Heat up the kitchen by making your own chocolate lava cake or visit some fabulous Long Island chocolatiers (if you’re local) like Bon Bons at 319 Main Street in Huntington or Chocolicious at 74 Birch Hill Road, Locust Valley. Here Ken demonstrates the art of buying chocolate in the ultimate way at La Maison du Chocolat in Paris — romantic right? If cookies and pastries are your thing, head over to Buttercooky Bakery with shops in Manhasset and Floral Park. They have the best, most unbelievable cookies and pastries on Long Island!
Avocado on Toast
I was first introduced to avocado on toast at the Hoxton Grill in London. Not only does it look sexy, it tastes amazing. Try making it with some sour dough or specialty breads. If you’re gluten free, my daughter found a delicious brand from Canyon Bakehouse and Food 52 has some great recipes for spicing up the avocados in their “What to Cook Tonight” section. Top it with pouched eggs and serve it with an energy-boosting super green juice (kale, spinach, celery, pineapple, apple, lemon, parsley, and ginger) or a cup of latte heart art coffee (see how to video below).
Coffee with Love
If you are crazy about your coffee but don’t want to have a machine on your countertop, have a look at Top Brewers coffee faucet or design a built in coffee maker into your cabinetry using brands like Wolf, Gaggenau, Miele, or Thermador (see these in planning resources). Serve your coffee with love! If you’d like to master the art of the “heart” latte have a look at this “how to” video:
Take a Bath
Better yet, create a spa style bathroom so you can bring that romantic sense of luxury into your life every day. We spend so many hours in the bathroom. Why not make it special? Our master bath renovation was probably the single best thing we did (next to the kitchen, of course). I mean really… what better way to watch “The Bachelor.”
Latest, Greatest Home & Design Books
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are some new releases that’ll go perfectly with your Sunday morning avocado on toast breakfast.
Valentine’s Day Flowers
Is there anything better than fresh flowers! We once had a client send us 6 months of fresh flowers as a gift. It was so exciting to receive them each month–truly a gift that keeps giving. This gorgeous arrangement is from one of our favorite local flower shops, The Little Flower House at 20 Oyster Bay Road in Locust Valley.
If you want longer-lasting ones, you can also ask your local shop to make you something special. The Little Flower House made me an artificial arrangement for my hallway about 15 years ago that is still perfect today, or you can check out nearly natural flowers on Amazon.
Home Massage Room
We recently created a massage room for a client by carving out a small area (the size of a closet) to fit a massage table and a cabinet to store oils, diffusers, hot rocks, and towels. Start by getting a diffuser. It is sheer heaven! You place a few drops of lavender or other essential oil into the water, and it diffuses for 8 hours.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Email me the photos of your latte heart art to info@kitchendesigns.com.
Also read our last post on the latest trends: What’s Hot Now!