Monthly Archives: January 2011

Window dressing…yes or no?

31 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by in Decorating, Trends

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I’ve lived in houses where we needed window dressing whether it’s drapes, curtains, blinds or shutters; I needed privacy and was happy to have something up at the window.

I wonder if this valance hides drop-down blinds?

image via Better Homes and Gardens

I like the lightness of these curtains, they almost look sheer.

image via The Lettered Cottage ~ Paula Deen’s bedroom at Tybee Island

This bedroom doesn't have window coverings...I love the tailored, clean look it has.

image via Elle Decor

It seems a shame to ever close these curtains in light of the view!

The house we currently live in is not in need of window covering except in the bedrooms and even then its as much to keep unwanted morning light out (if you need to sleep in) not to actually keep anyone outside our house from seeing in…hubby and I rarely sleep in so we keep the wooden blinds open.

You can see the neighbor's wall (which is the side of their house, no windows on that wall allowed).

image via Garden, Home and Party

The reason for this is that we live in what California builders call “zero-lot-line garden home”.  This is what they sometimes do to make sure they can increase the density in a tract of homes.

The shutters in this bathroom look great with the white walls and tub.

image via Home & Garden

What it actually boils down to is the side yard of our home (on one side) has the next door neighbor’s exterior wall as a fence of sorts.  The neighbor’s house doesn’t have windows on that side so they are not able to look into our side yard.

No window coverings and doesn't this room look like the very word "spring"?

image via Oliveaux

The other side of our house serves as a fence for the neighbor on the other side (again, no windows on that side of OUR house).  Are you with me?  In our case our back yard backs to a street but the fence supplies us with privacy so we don’t need window coverings on that back or side of the house.  The builder created an atrium on the windowless side of the house to allow for fresh air in the bedrooms on that side and to provide natural light.  It really is very pleasant…if it sounds claustrophobic to you it’s probably due to my poor description.

I've got the perfect place at my house for this room, someone call the builder!

In any event, I’ve gotten away from feeling the need to put curtains up on the windows.  We have French windows or doors throughout and it feels very nice to be able to skip this decision.  I’ve seen some wonderful valances and Roman shades while perusing the internet, but IF I put them on the list of “wants” they will have to take a number…the list is long and possibly expensive at this point.

What do you have on your windows for privacy?

Winter – spring cleaning list, Part I

28 Friday Jan 2011

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Because I’ve been thinking about spring…don’t really know why, it’s only January after all…it occurred to me that there are plenty of things that need attention in my home.

Not just items I need to spring clean (because with a hubby, 2 dogs and a cat there are always things that need to be cleaned), but some drawers and closets need serious attention.

The following punch list will be my focus between now and April (when my weekends will be devoted to time in the garden—at least 4-5 hours each weekend, calendar willing.

Recipes: Is it just me or do you find new recipes almost weekly that you are certain you have to prepare sometime?  Last year I made inroads in paring down my recipe files.  I eliminated 3 x 5 cards and converted those recipes to full-page, 3-ring binders.

I try to keep only the cookbooks I use on a regular basis.

A couple of years ago I attempted to streamline my recipes by creating a Tastebook, a service of the site Epicurious where you can upload your recipes and pictures and they put them in a binder of your choosing.

This is a very cool way to store recipes, but does involve some work and a few $$$.

I’m not completely sure this whole binder idea is ideal, but I do like the convenience of taking out the page and making notes after I’ve used the recipe.  I still need to weed out more—how many bread pudding recipes does one person need? (Don’t answer that).

Sweater drawers: I’m a huge fan of sweaters of all kinds and I try to keep the wool/cashmere sweaters in a drawer that has cedar pieces and lavender sachets in it to ward off the moths.  After a particularly cold winter I confess, some of my sweaters have been put away in the wrong place, some ending up in the wire elfa drawers of the closet where they are particularly vulnerable to the little insects that delight in using my sweaters as their brunch buffet.  I need to go through the lot and de-pill some, fold some, using the proper Martha Stewart way, and send some to the dry cleaners.

Seriously, Martha has quite a lot to say about how we should fold our sweaters.

image via Martha Stewart

Paper/stamps/assorted Paper Source materials: A few years back I jumped on the bandwagon that is Paper Source and decided I’d be making a lot of my own note cards for thank you notes, invitations and the like.  I’ve done some of that, to be sure, but meanwhile the materials have stacked up in boxes that need some serious organizing if I plan to do more of this time-consuming, but oh-so-satisfying, hand crafting of notes!

via Martha Stewart

This could take some serious concentration.

image via Martha Stewart

Magazines: Just typing the word gives me both pleasure and pressure.  Pleasure in that one of my favorite ways to wile away free time is to sit with a cup of tea and thumb through magazines…and not just any magazine, shelter magazines!  Duh!  However, they stack up and I need to focus on what articles I want to keep for future blog posts and reference and which magazines I can pass on to a friend for her to peruse before recycling.

Otherwise, maybe I should send the old magazines to Nike.  They can make me a pair of shoes.

Leave it to Nike to think of something so fun!

via The Daily Bunch

I’d love some input as to what you do with magazine articles you really want to keep…I have 3-ring binders full of inspiration but sometime wonder if those take up too much space.

Randal Weeks of Aidan Gray Home

26 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Designer

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About 5 months ago I posted about Randy Boyd HERE, a designer who works out of Laguna Beach.  His charming beach cottage was featured in Cottage Style magazine (no longer published) and later in Romantic Homes magazine.  While I don’t feel RH magazine fits my style (usually),  I purchased the back issue for the Randy Boyd feature and they nearly gave me a 1-year subscription to the magazine.

The November issue had an extensive feature on a designer by the name of Randal Weeks, founder of Aidan Gray Home HERE.  The magazine captured his home and once again I found myself daydreaming about the beauty of each room.

It's hard to see a lot of detail but the room has a warm French country feel with a touch of the popular Swedish gray color scheme.

As you can see, the Weeks living room has a lot of natural light, this keeps the room from feeling too cool with its gray overtones.

The master bedroom has a cathedral ceiling with open, antique beams.

Aidan Gray Home HERE makes it possible to purchase many of the furnishings including lamps, tables, upholstered pieces and accessories.  Randal Weeks found Aidan Gray in 2003 while working on his MBA.

I like the simplicity of this chandelier.

Yes, please.

This is so pretty and looks old, which I love.

Their website is filled with accessories, lighting and furnishings that are simply beautiful!

His bio states that he was inspired by Oprah to follow his dream of owning a company that produces beautiful furnishings.  By good fortune, he happened to hear her on one of her shows claim, “You will never be happy if you are not passionate about what you do”.  Wise words for us all!

Birthday party extrodinaire!

24 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Entertaining, Food

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Our “birthday group” met in celebration of my birthday as well as hubby’s.  My friend Carla, whose home I have featured before HERE hosted the dinner and as always she created a theme that was near and dear to my heart.

Carla's collection is displayed in several areas of her home. This antique Welsh cupboard has some favorites.

Some of her antique sugar bowls house orchids for her kitchen island.

This Staffordshire stands out on this beautiful antique wood carved shelf.

Carla has collected, over many years, an incredible collection of antique Staffordshire figures.  She has a real talent for finding many of her best pieces on eBay.  We (her friends) all marvel at her talent for her discovery of the prized figures for a great price (relatively speaking).  So when she asked me what she should adorn the birthday dinner table with, I quickly suggested her Staffordshire dogs.  Hubby and I have 2 live dogs (although I believe the pottery kind would be less work!) and I knew with Carla’s flair, her table would be beautiful…I wasn’t disappointed.

Among her collections are antique ivory framed portraits.

Carla had brought one of her lanterns in and placed some antique egg cups filled with live viola's in the base of the lantern...that along with a tine figure made for such a great centerpiece for her kitchen table.

sadly, the image doesn’t do this piece justice.

We had such a jolly good time and everything was delicious.  Thank you Wendy and Linda for amazing appetizers and Joyce for the best birthday cake!  Thank you Carla and Tom for opening your lovely home for our birthday and thanks for preparing a fabulous chicken dish (recipe HERE).  No one went home hungry!

Fairfax and Sammons Architecture…love

21 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by in Architects & Builders

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“Traditional architecture for the modern world”

~Fairfax & Sammons Architecture

Years ago, when I wasn’t working full time in the corporate world, I used to go with my girlfriends on home tours.  There was one in Pasadena that has been held annually since 1948. The tour benefits music programs such as Los Angeles Philharmonic, local symphonic, cultural and educational programs.

I haven’t read their book but will need to add it to the list now that I’ve seen their website.

The often historic homes that I toured were really estates in the truest sense of the word.  They were on nice sized pieces of land and often had “carriage houses” on their grounds.

Nice lot, right?

A pattern began to emerge each year as I toured these homes, I invariably fell absolutely head over heals for the carriage house.  There was something always charming and cozy about the smaller, utilitarian structure that had broad appeal for me.

I love the shutters and doors set in the brick facade.

Some time ago I happened upon a feature in Southern Accents  about a Carriage House in New York’s Greenwich Village.

The details are what the firm is known for. The bar in the carriage house is tailored and masculine---very appealing.

The architects are a husband and wife team and the firm bore their last names, Fairfax & Sammons (Anne Fairfax and Richard Sammons).

Fireplace in a kitchen, what could be cozier?

The details were appealing and while not overly small, the rooms were comfortable and inviting.

I notice there's a lot of natural light in this carriage house. Architects have to be given some credit for capturing the best of the lot.

Love the chandelier and Juliette balcony above the entry.

If you’d like to read more of what this firm has done and see the incredible pictures of their work visit HERE.

Sprucing things up around the house

19 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Decorating

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While I’m usually pretty happy with my home and it’s interiors I do find there are times I grow restless and want change.  I’ve come to realize that when the restlessness occurs it’s best to wait it out with some minor changes and sprucing up, as opposed to calling in the demolition team to tear down a wall or rip out a built-in.

I confess, it took a few major disasters for me to figure out that sometimes, for whatever reason you subscribe to (mood swings, boredom, a home tour, general dissatisfaction with everything), it’s best to use common sense when you decide you’re ready for change.

via The Inside Story

There's nothing like a home tour to make me slightly dissatisfied with some part of my home.

A couple of years ago Traditional Home addressed this very topic with a feature titled, “Common Sense Decorating”.   It’s suggested that you “re-visit, re-cover, re-place, re-define.  Remind yourself what matters most.”  The recommendations for little things you could do to give your home a lift were spot on so I kept the feature in my file.

Here are some of my favorites:

Replace what you have with its opposite.  If you currently have solid pillows on your sofa, try patterned pillows for awhile.  I have always thought pillows were an economical way to spruce up a room.  They can give you a sense of major change in a room and can be found so inexpensively.  You can make your own with very little sewing skill.

Put solid pillows where you have had patterned ones and try something in a bold print, just to change things up a bit.

via Tommy Smythe

Maybe even add a colorful throw (it doesn't have to be Hermes but that would work!) to go with the patterned pillow.

Change the shades on your chandelier.  That is such a fun change.  Ballard Designs sells a great selection of patterned shades and I’ve seen some pretty decent ones at Target on a good week.  I have a good friend that has 2-3 sets of shades and she changes them for the season.  I love the look they give the room, very custom, and it’s always caught my eye when I enter her family room.   While we’re on the topic of lighting, try changing lamps between rooms or pick up a couple of new lamps for a spot that needs a serious sprucing.

via Vogue Living Australia

Isn't this twiggy outdoor chandelier fun? I borrowed this image from my blog friend over at Peggy & Fritz. (image via Vogue Living Australia)

via Martha Stewart

A new lamp shade, neutral to black, or the opposite, can have an impact.

via House Beautiful

Maybe a couple of new lamps is just what a room/you need.

Paint a room.  This is a relatively simple change that probably can have more impact than any of the other suggestions.  It also requires a bit more work but if you’re really sick of a room, what better way to start a major change.

via Better Homes and Garden

Maybe you've wanted to try a little more contrast between your bead board and the wall above in your bathroom. I like this taupe color.

Cote de Texas, via Cabbages & Roses

I'd love to try a version of gray, it seems to be showing up everywhere.

Cote de Texas painted her kitchen door black, doesn't it look sharp?

Refresh a room with new curtains or slip cover a chair.  These can be a little more expensive to achieve, unless you are one of those amazingly talented folks who can whip up a slip cover in an afternoon; I’m not one of them.

I must admit, slipcovers on certain chairs appeals to me.

There are things you can add or take away from a room that has been in need of a face-lift and you’ll be surprised at how much change you will achieve.  I sometimes remove all accessories and then put back only what I want.

And finally, if you have no time or money but are still dissatisfied with a room, spring clean! It’s amazing to me how much happier I can be with a space if I give it a total ceiling to floor cleaning, as if the Queen is coming for a visit.  It really works.  It’s why people who spruce up their homes for a real estate sale are often sorry they are moving.

When all else fails, clean the house!

What do you do to spruce up around the house when you start feeling restless?

Kitchen love

17 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by in Renovating

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I was trying my best to organize saved images in files that give some indication of subject.  I discovered something…I have more kitchen images than any other topic.

There’s no excuse really—we remodeled our kitchen in 2003 and I love it.  For a small kitchen it is very efficient and works well for hubby and I.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will most probably never have a large kitchen and I think that’s okay.

kitchen remodel

This is an overview of my kitchen; it's a galley kitchen but works pretty efficiently.

Above the scale are some of my favorite cookbooks.

This image doesn't do my pantry justice...it was built to look like a piece of furniture, including a beveled glass front cabinet in the middle, and it works well as a pantry. With a small kitchen I think it adds interest to an otherwise small space.

Many of the images below don’t resemble our kitchen, which is kind of strange, right?   I think what happened is that when we moved into this house the only thing we could afford to do right away was to remove the harvest gold Formica with white tile and install new cabinet doors that we had painted white.  Our kitchen went from looking absolutely sad to really looking pretty darn nice for not many $$$.  I loved that white kitchen even though it was sorely lacking in efficient storage space and the contact paper was permanently sealed on the particle board shelves inside each cupboard.

This is the kitchen of the blogger at A Country Farmhouse. She changes some of her shelf accessories to reflect the seasons.

I really like the wood paneled walls. (KML Design)

An all time favorite; love the black French doors (Tommy Smythe)

I would have opted for another white kitchen when we remodeled but hubby felt very strongly that we should go with stained cupboards.  Our kitchen designer’s kitchen was our wish list example of a great kitchen and her cupboards were stained so we all agreed that was the way to go.  I also figured that if the cupboards got really beat up and old I could do to them what we did to the old cabinets.  We could replace them with white painted cupboards.

The lanterns and natural light in the kitchen makes me swoon! (Alexa Hampton)

Not sure of the source, sorry.

This kitchen makes me smile---all the natural light!

Love the black accents with the white walls, great contrast. (John Jacob Interiors)

Hubby has wanted wing back chairs at a dining table for as long as we've been married...these are great. Question, would we ever leave the table in the morning? I think not.

Bottom line, I love white kitchens as you can see…some of these images make me sigh with happiness.

Do you have stained cabinets in your kitchen or white?

Creating a Bucket List

14 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by in Trends

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I saw the movie Bucket List on DVD when it was released.  It thought the concept was very clever and thought-provoking.  I’d heard of people having a list of things they would like to do, see, accomplish before they die.

Visit Amazon and you’ll be amazed at how many book titles come up when you type in “bucket list”.  Clearly this is a topic that many writers have devoted time and attention to.

I really never had a list, and kind of lived each day as it came but lately, maybe because I’m maturing, (code for aging) I have thought of a few, mostly frivolous things I’d like to do before I die (“B.I.D”)—do any of us really know when we’ll die, of course not!  But it would be fun to do some of those things you find yourself saying, “I’d like to do that some day”.  I believe the list will change, evolve as I continue down “life’s path” but I thought it might be fun to give it some thought.

I only have a few items on the list for now—this is way harder than I would have thought…here goes.

Is this where Sleeping Beauty lives?

1.         We haven’t been to Europe since our Christmas trip in 1998-1999, when we took our 2 adult sons for Christmas vacation to London (there’s a movie in there somewhere, right?).  We had stayed in a London flat when the boys were 7 and 11 years of age, respectively.  We decided we wanted to repeat the trip before the 2 were married and/or too busy with their professions to travel with mom and dad.  Anyway, my point is/was, I’ve never been to Germany.  I’m of German descent on my father’s side of the family and would love to visit Germany “B.I.D”.

I think I would like Rothenburg, Germany.

2.         I have a few friends that I enjoy traveling with.  One pair of friends, Linda and Gretchen (sisters) have been my friends since before I was married.  We have traveled together and always have so much fun.  Another pair, Carla and Wendy, are dear friends that I have traveled with and probably have more fun with them than with hubby (don’t tell him).  I’m certain it is because ‘girls’ like to do the same things.  Don’t get me wrong, Hubby is amazing when it comes to allowing me to duck into an antique store, after just having been in one, but there’s something about the understanding we all share as ‘girlfriends’ that is just so dang much fun!  So…I’d like to take a trip with friends almost anywhere, with both of these sets of dear friends “B.I.D”.  South of France, anyone?  Maybe Charleston?

I think I would love Provence, the southern region of France.

I have heard wonderful things about Charleston, South Carolina.  I would want to see some of the gardens and lots of antique stores.

Image by Peter Kwok

This is the Orange County Performing Arts, Henry Segerstrom Hall

3.         I’d like to visit an art museum and/or attend a symphony and/or stage production, monthly.  I know this sounds totally doable but money has been tight sometimes and I find myself thinking, “Oh, I don’t really need to do that.”  There is something about nurturing the soul, which I believe cultural events manage better than most forms of entertainment, which works for me.



I definitely need to think more on this whole “bucket list” idea.  I’m certain given sufficient time I can come up with a whole host of things I’d like to do “B.I.D”.

Do you have a list?  What’s on it?

We have the Getty just about one hour (on a good day)  drive from my house.  I think I could spend a few months just seeing everything located at this amazing museum.

Thoughts of spring…really?

12 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by in Flowers, Gardening, Maintenance

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Note:  My site has moved to a new server…it had crashed Monday and wonderful, Son #1 was able to fix it yesterday.  I apologize for being unavailable.  Thank you for coming by for a visit.

Any of my friends and family will tell you that I don’t especially love summer.  Spring is wonderful if it’s not too hot, but generally speaking, I prefer cooler temps.  I love sunshine but I want the temperature to remain in the mid-seventies as opposed to the baking hot temperatures that accompany most summer months.

Brabourne Farms image

I’d like to work on my garden bench and surrounds so that it more resembles this than the ‘catch-all’ that it is…{add it to the list}

I definitely want to add more hydrangea to my garden.  I would like to add white and maybe blue, which will turn pink if you don’t add some additive to the soil (I purchase this from the garden shop but I have a friend that just put’s a couple of nails in the ground.

I have a little man-made (by me) dry river bed that could use some attention, maybe a few plants that thrive in and around rock.

The exception we experienced this year and last is that we had a very unseasonably cool summer followed by what I believe weather experts are declaring the wettest and possibly coldest late fall/winter for some time.  Maybe that’s why my daydreaming has involved visions of what I’d like to do to the garden as soon as it’s warm enough.

Note:  Some might consider us Southern California folks real wimps when it comes to weather, and we usually just want perfect weather! Is that really too much to ask?{smile}

I lost all of my lavender in the rains (my planting areas resembled small ponds during much of the time). So I am definitely going to plant more French lavender this coming spring.

Diamond Creek Vineyard, Calistoga --via Garden DesignI’d also like to take out a couple of rose bushes that aren’t holding their own and replace them with something great for cutting and bringing indoors.  {Suggestions welcome!}

Besides wanting my yard to look good, my goal is to be able to do more harvesting of my own flowers and greens to make bouquets…

photo by Michael Kraus via Garden Design

There are step-by-step directions on how to create an arrangement similar to this HERE.

There are some wonderful mail order sources (probably more than I’m even aware of).  Here are 5 unique sites as recommended by Garden Design:

Images except where indicated via Garden Design

So, is it just me?  Are you tempted to have thoughts of spring gardens once Christmas is put away?