Dining Rooms…anyone hungry?

09 Monday May 2011

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Chapter 2 of “my dream home tour”…as you may have read HERE, I sometimes dream of the perfect home {is there such a thing?}. This comes more from my constant dreaming ♥ of homes, both large and small, than from any dissatisfaction with my own home. Like an avid artist or writer, I look for beauty in my surroundings. My own home continues to evolve over time (with mostly minor improvements) but there are days when I think, “wow, wouldn’t this be a cool fill in the blank with the room you are wishing for”

Image via Brabourne Farm {Aimee Herring}

So as my tour continues, please come for dinner and enjoy my dream dining room(s)…

{Malene Birger}

The simple lines of this table and the accessories on the top appeal to me.

Image by Tria Giovan – Veranda

The hardwood floors look great but I wonder how scratched they will get? Sliding the chairs, even with felt pads, sometimes causes problems. I do like an area rug, what do you think?

If you love decorating and haven’t seen the movie “Somethings Gotta Give” you should see the movie for this dining room and all of the other rooms in the movie! Oh, and the story is a pretty good chick-flick.

I just noticed there seems to be a lot of white in these dining room images. As you will see later, my dining room is NOT white. I do love the chippy white in this above image.

Erin Paige Pitts

Visit HERE if you’d like to see the rest of Erin Paige Pitts lovely home. I love the contrast of the very dark wood floors against the white slipcovers on the dining room chairs, don’t you?

Image via Cote de Texas

This is a favorite dining room…Kelly Harmon. (Yes, it’s the hunk, Mark Harmon of NCIS, sister). In fact, Kelly did the Tic Tac commercials for years. Turns out she is talented where her home design is concerned!

Image by Emily Followill

I’ve always liked the way a round table looks in a room but have wondered about its limitations. If you only entertain 1 other couple is it awkward? The chairs used here are beautiful and remind me of my friends Gretchen and Carol’s dining room chairs.

Image via Slim Paley blog site

Another white dining room {sigh} This one holds my interest in part due to the blue flowers (a favorite) and it would appear there are blue goblets on the table as well. Very pretty.

Image via The Lettered Cottage

I realize this picture doesn’t show you very much of Layla Palmer’s dining room but after she and her husband Kevin created this wall by ripping down dry wall I thought the effect was so great I wanted to share it with you.

Image by Victoria Pearson ~ Will Smith

I have a black and white cat and my chairs are very similar…mine are splat back Windsor chairs…no fireplace, darn! 🙂

Here is my dining room. My only complaint, other than the whole not having a fireplace whine, is that it is the darkest room in my house. I guess it’s good that we mostly entertain in there during evening hours. 🙂

GHP Dining Room

Dining Room side board

Dining Room with sisal rug

So, shall we eat? I’m hungry. Thank you for joining us for dinner.

Renovation of the library

08 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

≈ 6 Comments

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library

I’ve talked about renovating our library a few times, but I finally started this project. Does that ever happen to you? You think you want to re-do a room and for a variety of reasons you just don’t get around to that first step (in this case, removing wallpaper).

Before renovation (above), after wallpaper removal (can you believe the room was pink?…more on that later).

The room used to be our dining room (read about the switch HERE) but now serves as a smallish “sitting” room which I affectionately call the “library” since the wonderful southern exposure makes it a great room to read in (and yes, the walls, under the wallpaper, were pink) As with so many benefits (plenty of sunlight) there is a down side…everything fades within a very short time due to non-stop sun exposure. I will have to either upholster with Sunbrella fabrics next time or have the windows tinted, or both.

~BEFORE~

Can you see the faded sofa fabric…if not, that’s a good thing because it will be awhile before I reupholster.

~BEFORE~

The thing is, I figured since upholstery is still a ways off I should go ahead and paint the room. Painting became more of an urgency when I decided to move the large, framed print (in picture above) to another location in the house. To my dismay the wallpaper was so badly faded from the sun it looked dreadful.

Stripping the wallpaper wasn’t too difficult. I have used, with success, the liquid remover that you mix with warm water and spray on the walls, then begin to strip the paper using a light hand with a scraper. The labor-intensive part was using TSP and warm water to dissolve and remove the wallpaper paste. If you do not remove every bit of paste your paint will crackle and ruin your new paint job (I speak from experience).

Ta-da…here is the paint color, finished and ready for furniture. What’s missing? The ladder-back chair that sits to the right of the gate-leg table is being repaired. The sun had really beat up the finish and my furniture re-finisher said her could fix it for so few dollars that we decided to let him work his magic.

Finding a paint color wasn’t easy, as I mention HERE. But after an exhaustive search I ended up with a fairly safe, and very pleasing choice—the same color I have in our dining room, which I really like. Dunn Edwards “Inside Passage”. This color can take on a variety of hues depending on the time of day and the amount of light. It has a grayish look and that is what I was searching for.

I kept most of the accessories and wall art in the same place (I did replace the botanic art (which was badly faded) for an etching Son #1 and his lovely wife brought me from Paris, which makes me smile every time I walk into the room. I did add a basket of childrens books under the end table for upcoming visits from our granddaughter.

Oh, and about the pink walls…many years ago I was a total English Country/Mario Buatta gal and cabbage rose-filled chintz with all the accents were my deal. I had a Ralph Lauren “Alison” comforter on our king sized bed in the master bedroom. Hubby used to smile at his friends and declare, “I’m very comfortable with my masculinity”. Bless his heart. Anyway, the pink wasn’t nearly as “pink” as it appeared to me upon removal of the wallpaper and like many things in those early years after about 10 years of pinkness I was over it. There was a collective sigh of relief from hubby and sons #1 & 2!

In the above image I forgot to take the towel off the love seat…this is where the cat sleeps and the amount of cat hair that little towel keeps off the cushion is amazing! On the right is the sofa sans towel.

This is probably the first DIY project that was this involved I’ve taken on since I’ve been working full time. It was rewarding but I confess it took a village…thank you doesn’t begin to cover the appreciation I must extend to my dear friend Gretchen! She spent an entire day helping me paint and then returned the following day to help me paint the crown molding. Gretchen, XOX to you and my offer to help you garden stands!

There you have it…my “before” and “after” Part I. When I reupholster the window seat, sofa and possibly the ladder back chair I’ll post pictures. Any thoughts, suggestions?

One quick note about the Jerk Chicken—I prepared it and it really was easy and delicious. I made a couple of changes and thought I’d pass them along: I substituted jalapeno chiles (fresh) for the habanero chile the recipe calls for. {only because my market didn’t have fresh habanero chiles}…and I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. They were easy and because they marinate overnight, they were very flavorful. It’s a keeper recipe, in my book.

Paint color…too many choices!

28 Monday Mar 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

≈ 6 Comments

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paint color

I’m in the process of renovating our library (or sitting room, or very small living room, whatever I call it on any given day).

The room was wallpapered with a Ralph Lauren paper made to look like aged plaster (not a really good imitation, but fairly neutral and I liked it for quite a few years).

The print between the plates (above) is the print that now hangs in the dining room…as you might imagine, quite a large patch of original colored wallpaper in a sea of faded paper, not a good look!

About a month ago I decided I wanted to move a framed print from the library into the dining room. I had a little vignette all figured out for the space and was pretty excited for the change. {I do love change!} I moved the print and was amazed at how faded the wallpaper had become.

I confess, I love the new look Restoration Hardware (images above and below) has been promoting and the gray they use became an inspiration for upcoming (and much needed) upholstery fabric for the sofa, window seat cushion, and ladder back chair and ottoman.

Since the library was wallpapered about 8 years ago I thought it was a good time to take down the paper and paint (more on the renovation in a future post).

Image via Elle Decor

I knew I didn’t want the paint to be too sunny since the room has so much natural light, sunglasses indoors isn’t a good look for me!

Image via John Jacob Interiors

…I know this is a bathroom, but the color on the walls reminded me of Restoration Hardware paint and I really liked it. So I bought a smallish can of Restoration Hardware’s Graphite (it was similar in appearance to the above wall color.

Image via Atmosphere blog

Additional inspiration…

Image via Atmosphere blog

I have a gray-ish basket trunk from IKEA that I use for a coffee table so this image was additional ammo for the whole gray paint idea.

Many of you probably figure that finding paint is easy, right? Well, I have seen more paint chips over the past 2 ½ months than I care to mention and ultimately, I have decided to paint the room the same color the dining room is painted, “Inside Passage” by Dunn Edwards.

Image via Country Living

I didn’t think white paint (as in the image above) would be a good fit for the “look” I ultimately wanted to achieve, however, I love this room by Kolene Spicher.

Meanwhile, I looked at Pottery Barn paint chips (Benjamin Moore paint), Restoration Hardware paint chips, Behr from Home Depot, Martha Stewart paint chips, also at Home Depot, and my head was aching by the end.

There are a lot of paint tools online and House Beautiful has one that works well, but there is nothing like painting a good sized patch on the actual wall and standing back to determine its merit. I ultimately called by good friend and designer, Gretchen, to weigh in on the sample. She saw green in the Restoration Hardware gray sample. Knowing her eye is better trained than mine I went back to the Inside Passage by Dunn Edwards.

Image via Jackye Lanham – website

The wall color in the image above is what “Inside Passage” looks like. It has a bit of gray and taupe in it. I like it because it changes looks with various light.

Have you had to select wall color recently? Was it as challenging for you as it was for me?

Atlanta Designer, Dan Carithers

25 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Designer

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Dan Carithers

It all started with this kitchen…I spotted it in a magazine so many years ago. I clipped the page (maybe even some of the other rooms associated with the kitchen) and saved it. The Atlanta based designer responsible for this beauty is Dan Carithers.

Image via Southern Accents

His interviews and design philosophy was so appealing to me—I always felt he was creating rooms I could live in. They never appeared stuffy or overly formal. In fact they were usually just slightly unpredictable and a little unorthodox.

The above 3 images are from Southern Accents, May-June 2005. A young Atlanta couple had Dan Carithers design their home with French influences.

I’ve seen homes that he’s designed that are quite contemporary, and they are lovely, but it’s his classic and traditional looks that hold the most appeal for me.

Here is Dan and his lovely wife, Nancy. The images below are from Southern Accents (I believe) and they are of the Carither’s home.

I could feel very comfortable in this house!

In 2008 he worked on the Southern Accents Showhouse at Regents Park, Atlanta. For a video tour of the house visit HERE.

Below are some additional kitchens I’ve saved that Dan Carithers designed:

I love the beams and the open feel to this kitchen.

This kitchen has a cottage feel to it but with that touch of elegance in the upholstered chairs and beautiful dining table.

More beams and I love the glass front cabinets above the kitchen sink.

I love the simplicity of this bedroom, the neutral palate is calming to me.

More beams and I like the interesting decorative items that create a history of where and what the homeowners interests are.

Are any of you Dan Carithers fans? (Note: Just one more Atlanta designer to love!)

Dan Marty…praise from a fan

14 Monday Mar 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Designer

≈ 18 Comments

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Dan Marty

Inspired by a post on the adventures of tartanscot earlier this month (during his visit to Los Angeles for the 2011 Design Bloggers Conference), Scot gave us a peek at Dan Marty’s Los Angeles home as featured in House Beautiful May 2010.

I don’t know if his dogie is still with him, he must be pretty old if he is, but he was such a cute dog and was always with Dan when he was in his shop.

I immediately wanted to revisit the “beach cottage” I had the privilege of touring when Dan allowed the Corona Del Mar High School Home Tour to include his home. (I can’t remember what year it was, but I was still working in my garden business so it had to be at least 7 or 8 years ago, maybe longer). At the time he had a store in Costa Mesa; Les Interiors which was a wonderful venue for inspiration and a great place to pick up the occasional home accessory, always new and original. The store also offered design services, which I’m sure did some beautiful work for local folk’s homes. He parted ways with Les Interiors and opened Dan Marty Designs in Corona Del Mar but alas, we ultimately lost him to the Los Angeles Design Mart (affectionately known as The Blue Whale, due to the color of the main building).

The above images are of his beach cottage. I loved the use of space and somehow the small spaces felt ample and oh so comfortable!

Griege did a pretty extensive piece on his designs last year. Clearly Dan Marty has a following…and for good reason.

The above images are mostly from the House Beautiful story last year. I love seeing some of his obvious ‘favorite accessories’ used in his newer house.

I’m partial to the charm his beach cottage offered but I admire the French flair of his home in Los Angeles.

Above images are from his commercial sites.

Do you have a favorite designer…or 2 or 10?

Framed…art and other treasures

04 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating

≈ 8 Comments

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framing art

From my first apartment forward I have always enjoyed finding just the right “art” for my walls. I confess I’m not strictly a purist about what art I’m willing to frame and hang in the interest of room enhancement. For example there was a time when I framed calendar pages from an American artist by the name of Charles Wysoki (during my American Country décor days). I’ve also framed a menu card (it was a menu card from a wine bar in London sporting our last name as the name of the bar— we still have it on the wall in our family room).

Designer Barclay Butera had sea fern (or is that coral?) framed for his beach house—it looks amazing with the other shell items in his entry.

As I branched into a more English Cottage look, I framed hunt scenes, expensive ones and inexpensive ones, and paintings by unknown artists and antique prints or papers when the subject attracted my attention. For me personally “art” doesn’t have to be signed, numbered or even original for me to frame it and hang it if I love it.

This is Barclay Butera’s living room and I fell in love with his sail boat painting (did I mention he has a showroom near where I live?)

I’ve noticed that over the past 5-8 years I haven’t been inclined to change my art very much, which is a money saver. When I’ve custom framed prints it has usually cost more than the cost of the art itself. I will say that a great framing job can make some art look better than it actually is, monetarily speaking. Kind of the “turning a pig’s ear into silk purse” theory.

Image via Elle Decor

I use fun tack to hold my pictures in place but in this case, with California earthquakes, I think I’d be inclined to tack all of these (above) pictures—don’t want a concussion after the earth moves!

Image source unknown

I think this (above) grouping adds interest to an otherwise plain corner of the room.

Image via Rooms that Inspire

When your room is white, what better contrast than black? I love the look of black frames against the white walls and the subway sign is so fun.

Image via Cote de Texas

The framed intaglios are appealing the way they have been framed and made more prominent by being hung on the face of the book case. {My friend Carla has a set of framed intaglios and I love the sense of history they give her rooms}

Image via Jackye Lanham (new website HERE)

Another great use of framed intaglios, this time on a blue background with the touches of blue in the bedroom tying it all together. {sigh}

Image via Jackye Lanham

Another great Jackye Lanham room…I love the similar themed paintings she grouped in the living room of this home.

The other important facet of hanging art, in addition to a complimentary frame, is the arrangement itself. In fact, I’ve found arrangements that were so intriguing but in fact not expensive art at all.

Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home (her entry).

Lauren hung lots of frames the exact same size and framing materials and had mats cut to accommodate different pictures. The effect is impressive.

I love the interest this adds to the bath but I wonder if the steam from the shower might cause the pictures some damage?

Okay, I’m about to age myself…does anyone remember the “M” on the wall of the apartment of the charming Mary Tyler Moore show? Some things just never go out of style!

So what do you like to use as art in your home? Do you have a Renoir hanging in the parlor?

Decorative detail…mixing metals

02 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Decorating

≈ 14 Comments

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Metal accessories

This is my 200th post…I truly meant to do something really special, like Oprah’s home or some other amazing villa. Alas, time got away from me and this is the post I have. Enjoy!

And I’d like to thank any and all of you who take the time out of your busy days (and trust me, we’re all busy) to read my stream of garden, home and decorating ideas. I’m touched that some of you faithfully comment. I appreciate all of you and think of you as friends.

There was a time, early in our marriage, when the metal of choice for hardware, both interior and exterior, and some accessories, was brass. I was, and still am, mostly a traditionalist where interior design is concerned and brass seemed to be a safe and solid choice.

So we installed Baldwin brass door hardware and knobs as we renovated various parts of our home and I purchased brass candle sticks for the mantle and dining room, along with a pair of Baldwin wall sconces for the over- mantle on our fireplace. I still have those pieces today.

The two Baldwin sets below (Georgetown) look nice in either finish. We’ve gone with oil rubbed bronze and are happy with the look on our white doors.

With time, my decorating leaned towards an English country look with a little French thrown in for good measure. Brass still won the day. Then, in 2001, we remodeled our master bathroom, and oil rubbed bronze was really popular and I loved the “old world” look of it. We replaced the door hardware on the bathroom door with ORB and installed faucets and drawer pulls in that finish. Over time we have replaced the interior door hardware and exterior door hardware with ORB as well.

With accessories I’m open to mixing metals since I tend to buy things I love with little concern for the color of the metal…some of my antique dog statues look like bronze, while others are probably spelter (bronze’s poor cousin) or some other inexpensive metal.

This little candle holder looks to be either silver that's nicely aged or maybe brass...I especially like a grouping of metal items on display.

These antique metal containers appear to be brass. I'm always on the search for similar pieces when I shop the antique stores. You used to be able to find them for a reasonable price, lately, not so much.

image via Brabourne Farms

I confess, most of my pictures frames are pewter, but that's not to say I wouldn't mix it up if I found a frame I loved.

image via Brabourne Farm

Some of these items are wonderful...I want to shop where this person shops!

image via Brabourne Farm

I like the use of mixed silver on a table. It's so much fun to see flatware that isn't matching, it adds interest, don't you think?

image via Southern Accents

I wouldn't want my antique trophies to match!

image via Velvet & Linen via High Point 2010

While these pieces match, the different shapes make it lovely and interesting.

The family room still seems best suited to the brass pulls on the entertainment center and the wall sconces on the fireplace are staying. But lately I’ve begun to go with what I like, whether the metals all match or not.

The Baldwin wall sconces are still shiney brass...I kind of like them since there is a gold trim on the painting.

Mostly I love pewter, silver, brass (although I admit I now prefer non-polished brass) and oil rubbed bronze in some locations in and around my home.

What do you guys think? Do you adhere to a hard, fast rule regarding the use of metals in your home?

I must see the homes of Atlanta…Jill Sharp Brinson

28 Monday Feb 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Designer, Gardens

≈ 8 Comments

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Atlanta home, House Beautiful magazine, Jill Sharp Brinson

I’ve commented here before about the incredible, seemingly endless, stream of beautiful homes that appear to exist on every block in Atlanta. I would be naïve to think the city doesn’t have its share of unattractive regions within its limits, much like every other metropolitan city in the nation, but seriously, I think Atlanta got more than its fair share of strikingly beautiful homes {she whined}. Which is code for having the good fortune to have a wealth of talented architects and designers in the region who can create the optimal home for those interested in owning one.

I was taken with the beauty of a home in the December/January 2010 issue of House Beautiful and yes, it’s an Atlanta home!

The home of Jill Sharp Brinson and her photographer husband, Rob Brinson, is the perfect “marriage” of farmhouse and sophisticated loft. In the House Beautiful interview with Lisa Cregan, Jill says that she and her husband “have a love affair with rural settings” so it is no surprise that they have created a home and garden that gives the ambiance of a country farm, complete with English garden.

Jill is the Creative Director of Ballard Designs. In the HB interview it becomes clear that Jill’s design point-of-view is a home with lots of texture, not a lot of color and a rustic and traditional-styling with a little industrial influence (which clearly over-simplifies the incredible beauty she has achieved).

The rooms are filled with natural light, and because the rooms aren’t stuffy you immediately feel like you would be so comfortable in a home like this! The Brinson’s have 3 dogs and have stated they are ‘hands on’ in their garden.

All of the above images by Simon Upton via House Beautiful

She and her husband lived in a loft (images below) for 6 years before moving into this home. Jill’s photographer husband retains the loft for work and their visiting guests.

Rob Brinson said he uses the wall to display the images he's working on. I love the brick wall!

The sink was a "find" of Jill's.

Natural light floods the space.

Even the bathroom exudes a timeless sense of style.

I've always liked the rustic charm of brick walls.

To visit the website for Jill Sharp Brinson go HERE

California dreamin’…beach house love

25 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Designer

≈ 10 Comments

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Carolyn Espley-Miller, House Beautiful, Slim Paley

I find inspiration for posts from a wide array of sources. Sometimes a feature in a magazine will prompt me to post about a designer or some component of the room or home at large.

The September 2010 issue of House Beautiful did a wonderful story and provided amazing images about a California beach house, interiors by Carolyn Espley-Miller. It was love at first sight (wait, have I used that term before?…well, where homes are concerned there can be more than one true love!). The house has such a warm and inviting ambiance. Comfort has become of prime importance to me and this house conveys that in spades, possibly due in part to the fact that this beach home is the family retreat where a family (husband, wife and 2 sons) spend quality time.

As I Googled Carolyn Espley-Miller to see if there were other images online, to my amazement I found out that the designer is host to one of my favorite blog sites…Slim Paley. If you’ve never visited this site, I can honestly say, you’ll love it. Her writing is witty and entertaining as well as filled with style ideas for living. Her blog was recently nominated for a Homie award (a blog thing). In my humble opinion she got robbed, she should have won!

Below are a few of the images I admire from Slim Paley’s blog:

Enjoy! …and for details on paint colors and the interview with Carolyn Espley-Miller, visit HERE

Coffee, anyone?…coffee tables

23 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating

≈ 6 Comments

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Coffee tables

Since most of us have some kind of table in front of our sofa I was wondering how the name “coffee table” came about since I would have thought that historically there were far more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers.

Wikipedia explains that the first coffee tables were thought to have been made in Britain during the late Victoria era. No surprises there, except that, again, I would have thought “tea table” would have been the name chosen.

“Prior to the 18^th century, the tables used in Europe in conjunction with a settle (high backed sofa) included occasional tables, end tables, centre tables and tea tables…” So basically, we needed somewhere to put our coffee and/or tea.

So for those of you who are in need of a new coffee table or just want to see some pretty tables come along…

White! With this view I’m not sure I’d even notice the coffee table.

A formal room with a simple glass-top coffee table in front of a settee. (Again, a beautiful room dressed in neutrals)

Love the simplicity of this room and the coffee table.

Image via Nest Egg

John Stefanidis

I like this relatively new trend of using a grouping of overstuffed chairs instead of a sofa.

Restoration Hardware

This coffee table (although it’s hard to see the detail) compliments the white club chairs and sofa.

I have a little Ikea wicker chest (a little larger than this) in my reading room as a coffee table. I love that it holds stuff as well as serving as a place to put your coffee, tea, glass of wine…