Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Thank you Washingtonian magazine & a great furniture find

Thank you to Emily Leaman of Washingtonian magazine for featuring my blog this week on Blogger Beat. It was great fun! Emily asked me some interesting questions and you can check out my answers here.

My favorite question was "What are three landlord friendly ways to decorate an apartment?" I gave my suggestions but the question brought back some memories & some "don'ts" when you're renting - back in 1987 in our Cambridge, MA rental apartment my husband and I sanded and refinished the floors and tiled the kitchen backsplash! Let's just say landlords don't always appreciate "improvements"
In the interview I also mentioned Random Harvest as one of my favorite local design stores. Interestingly enough today I ran across this Craigslist ad for a Random Harvest settee for $625. The ad notes it was purchased for $1,100.
I've seen this settee in the store and it's a very nice piece.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Canadian House & Home is Blogging!

One of my all time favorite magazines, Canadian House and Home, is now blogging! They've just started so there's only a few posts up per blogger. However, if the quality of the magazine is any indication, we should be in for some insightful posts and good sources. A post by Michael Penney on DIY lighting caught my attention as it's been on my to-do list for a long time! The inspiration is a lamp from a Tom Scheerer design (first image) Michael recommends the Medina Glass jar by West Elm and it turns out it's now on sale. Also consider checking out Michael's plans for converting thrift store side tables into DIY Stools here.

First image via Tom Scheerer, photography by William Waldron. Second image West Elm.

Click here for a link for a U.S. source for bottle lamp kits.


Monday, April 27, 2009

A Dreamy Child's Bedroom & Smart Family Office

More from the Washington Design Center's Spring Design House - Shazalyn Cavin-Winfrey of SCW Interiors created this dreamy child's bedroom. This space in the design house is fairly narrow and the built-in-bed with storage cabinets on either side was a great use of space. A pull out trundle bed offers an additional sleeping area. The interior's padded walls are upholstered with a really fun fabric from Cowtan & Tout. This room left me wondering if every house shouldn't have one of these nooks you can crawl into for respite and retreat, curled up with a good book or a few design magazines...


The painted custom cabinetry had a nice patina to it - which neither of these photos does justice to. The fabric was placed behind the cut out screens. The red cowboy hat is too cute!

Another very succesful room was the Family Office designed by Sandra Meyers of Sandra Meyers Design Studio, LLC. There were three separate functional areas incorporated into this room: a custom work space for four people to use at once, a sitting area and a desk space for the parents. This unique light fixture was a real hit. The work space is laminated with a wood grain stria.
Custom built-in shelving surrounds either side of the fireplace. Love the mixed red glass mosaic tile.





The glass desk is from McGuire by Baker Knapp & Tubbs. I am in love with the carpeting from Stark Carpet - beautiful.

Back to a post on book covers from last week - this one is fabulous!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Book cover love

During spring break I needed a good book for the beach so I bought The Southern Cosmopolitan by Susan Sully. It has a gorgeous book cover (below) but I'm favoring it sans cover with a little gold seahorse resting upon it. Right now it's on a table in my family room serving as eye candy.
The Way We Live - to be released in a few days - also has a cover that really draws me in. The photography is by the late Gilles de Chabaneix.
Here's another Rizzoli publication that won't be out until the fall. Beautiful cover!
Came across this book and thought this was also a succesful image for the cover. Love the bleached wood panelled walls, modern couch and the french furniture.
Interiors by Design first came out in hardback in 2003. The room featured in the 2008 paperback release cover is different. I like the 2008 cover best. I've read this book and at its current price of $19.95 recommend it. The author, Ros Byam Shaw, is a former features editor of World of Interiors.
Here's the 2003 Hardcover edition.
I've recently ordered another one of her books, Old House New Home. In this case, I like the old hardcover a bit more.

Above is the hardcover edition. Below is the paperback version with a different cover.
Now the only problem with the paperback version is you can't peel off the cover and enjoy the color underneath. What's a favorite book cover of yours? Do you sometimes like the color under the cover better?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Design in Unexpected Places

You never know when you'll be surprised by unexpected design. In this case it was, in all places, the unisex bathroom at Taco Boy in Folly Beach! The two side by side cement sinks look hand made & well done. I like how they painted the sink interior white and the black stones lining the bottom worked as they were clean and fresh looking. Love the industrial lighting fixture against the light blue walls.
Whose the face in the background? -- my husband, with his sunglasses pushed up after he's just asked me, "Can we please leave now?" I should also mention that this was not an icky unisex bathroom but rather well designed. Each bathroom had a completely closed in door (not a stall)and there were two entrance doors into the bathroom, on either side of the sinks, that were half glass.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Just one more post - Charleston Interiors

Gazing at all the wonderful exteriors in Charleston left me in search for something a bit more than just curbside appeal. I noticed that one of the properties for sale was listed by Historic Charleston Properties and checked out their site. I couldn't resist one more post devoted to Charleston - here are interior shots of some of the homes currently for sale. Love this bold blue kitchen - so cheery. That is one serious expresso machine on the counter. (all photos are from Historic Charleston Properties)
Really like the dark, deep colored walls in this bedroom contrasted with the crisp white accents. Looks like a sweetgrass basket between the two windows.

This home has some very stylish features - love the animal print on the black cane chairs and of course the light fixture.
A sweet pink headboard. Really like the exposed brick in both these bedrooms.

Stately french doors and beautiful floors - are they painted or are they marble?


Symmetry plays a big part in the room featured above. In the next few pictures it's all about the panelling.







Love the choice they made in the treatment of the wallpaper/mural over the fireplace.
Sometimes grey is just so pretty. Selecting a grey skirt for the sink, instead of a predictable white one, creates a more cohesive look in this room.
Imagining this lap pool is quite a welcome feature in the summer - love the small, stylish cabana with the black shutters.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Gardens, Gates & Doors

Let's just say I got a few concerned gazes from people as I held my camera inches from these door knockers. I'm happy that no one opened up the door while I was snapping shots - or on second thought that would have given me a chance to say, "I'm a blogger and was wondering if you wouldn't mind me doing an impromptu photo shoot of your gorgeous house...?"

A door in the French quarter.
Charleston is full of wonderful gates and hidden side gardens everywhere you turn.


Above is one of my favorite houses. You can see the garage off to the right. Take a close look at the picture below - it's an interior close-up of the garage.

My picture only shows 2 but there were 3 wall mounted tables with the metal branches w/birds and candle votives. What a garage interior!!

Love this conservatory.



A gated path that connects King Street and Archdale Street. It brings you into the churchyard of the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Formal gardens.



Love the pig featured on the plaque above the fountain.




In the foreground is the graveyard from the Unitarian Universalist Church on Archdale St. Our carriage ride guide pointed out its free-flowing garden is purposefully wild so the departed can be closer to nature. Contrast that with the St. John's Lutheran church next door's tidy, mowed graveyard in the background of the photo. Below is a Fairy House - this caught the attention of many passerbys.

Have a great weekend. Hoping yours is sunny!

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