{Home} It’s a man’s world

13 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Designer, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Family

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Ralph Lauren, tailored

I am often drawn to what some would call masculine lines of design, cars are one example. As a teenager I was into cars, I assume it was my generation and growing up in Southern California. My high school parking lot was filled with cars such as the ’57 Chevy and Pontiac GTO. Nothing as cool as the cars above!

Ralph Lauren Brookfield collection

In fashion the “preppy” trend captured my comfort zone and I’ve dressed in fairly tailored clothing ever since. (Am I beginning to sound dull or overly masculine?) I am definitely girly in lots of ways, but where design is concerned I truly love fairly tailored lines. This hasn’t always been the case. There was a time in the 80’s when cabbage rose chintz and even pink walls were the look, but after raising 2 sons and living with a guy’s guy husband, I’ve made the transition.

Pamela Pierce

After I was married I noticed that I leaned towards a more “gentleman’s club” style decor. I like English country style and even though that style (at one time) included flowery chintz fabrics, it was the warm oak paneling and barley twist legs of a table that captured my attention. On my first trip to England we frequented pubs and cafes that were the very epitome of what I would call a masculine-looking design style.

via House to Home

via Elle Decor

via New Victorian Ruralist (Natasha Louise King)

A few years back I purchased an antique pair of antlers that, for me, add to the warm, English decor that I love. I’ve noticed an increased use of antlers in beautifully designed rooms, and while I know and understand the reason some people find it disgusting to display dead animal parts of any kind (for the record, I couldn’t hunt a furry creature if my survival depended on it), I must say I think it’s a nice accent!

via Traditional Home

via Elle Decor

via For the Love of a House

Ralph Lauren seems to capture the ideal “masculine” look with his rooms and lifestyle accessories. Maybe it’s a look that some would identify as an upper crust, blue-blood, tailored, thoroughbred, East coast vibe. In any event, I’m in Southern California and I’m on board with the look.

Ralph Lauren Brookfield collection

I’ve linked up with No Minimalist Here today, visit her site, it’s wonderful

What are your go-to styles for life? Is it a “man’s world” or are we just letting them think it is!

{Home and Party} Trays, a versatile obsession

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Entertaining, Personal Information

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trays

There is something about trays that has always interested me. I have friends that love and collect chairs, perpetual calendars, bronze figures and oil paintings and while I love a great chair as much as the next avid collector, trays rate right up there with my other obsessions {any kind of pottery or china that strikes my fancy as well as boxes of all kinds}.

The two images below are from one of my favorite blog sites French Kissed. If you haven’t visited Jermaine at FK you should, all of her photography captures the essence of an inviting home and she always tells a wonderful story…Jermaine, thank you for always inspiring me!

via French Kissed

Things just showcase better on a tray…especially “smalls” as antique dealers call the little treasures that truly make a home.

I believe I initially became interested when I was given a footed silver tray by my mother in law. It was relatively old and I loved the details of the pattern as well as the fact that it was footed. I later watched antique stores for English oak trays but usually had to pass on purchasing them due to the price…this was several years ago and now I could kick myself that I didn’t splurge and pick one up because they have doubled in price.

via eBay

Silver trays, such as the sterling tray above can cost some serious coin, but there are some wonderful trays at consignment stores and antique stores that mimic this look and may only be silver plate and still offer character and a vehicle for showcasing accessories or serving from.

via adventures of tartanscot, SMW designs

via house beautiful

via better homes and garden

I’m always drawn to the wide variety of ways a tray can be used. From doubling as a hard surface on a large ottoman substituting as a coffee table, to a venue for featuring small antiques and decorative items on a shelf or buffet.

These antique money trays were featured on WUSLU, they sell a variety of unique items but when they’re gone, they’re gone.

via traditional home

I recently posted HERE about the tray I made with a basic glass insert (that my frame guy made for me) so that I could use some toile wallpaper that we covered with bead board…you’ll have to read the post. The good news is that this tray which I purchased from Home Goods can now be made to work for any season or color scheme I choose by simply cutting the fabric or paper to fit and refitting the tray with the glass. Fun, right?

via west elm

via pottery barn

Straw or woven trays look great on a table or standing up as a backdrop for a kitchen counter. There is something so timeless about a great straw basket tray.

via restoration hardware

via brabourne farm

mary eriksson

The above tray looks like it might be an old soda crate, the use of it on a desk as an organizational display is very creative.

unknown

Are those Hermes boxes stacked on the simple, black tray? Very nice! I could see Jo Malone boxes used this way too.

via old painted cottage

This vignette of old silver utensils and tray look very nice in front of the bead board back splash.

Do you have any trays you are especially fond of?

{Home} In-house vignettes

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Renovating

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vignettes

As I’ve said before, decorative accessories are a weakness of mine. I pare down in the spring and summer months and seem to want more on display in the fall and winter. In any event, I find the “icing” on a room to draw me in and I always enjoy re-doing a space where just the right vignette can give me a little lift with the change {it’s always the little things isn’t it?}.

Some of my favorite blog sites excel at excellent vignettes such as French Kissed, Vignette Design, and for the love of a house.

via French Kissed

via Vignette Designs

I have a couple of areas in my house that always stump me, vignette/accessories speaking. The end of the bar in our kitchen, the bay window in the kitchen and the shelf over the kitchen desk are 3 areas that I find need to be changed regularly. Sometimes I want a change due to the season, but I confess, restlessness with the way something looks is part of it too. The shelf over our sofa in our family room also came under some decor scrutiny this past weekend and it received a change as well. Hey, I was on a roll, what can I say?

The above was one of my past vignettes for the bar.

Over Labor Day weekend I decided to “start off fall cleaning”. I removed everything from the shelf over the sofa in the family room to give the existing Toby jugs a good cleaning and to dust the cob webs from the space. (I know, that’s a terrible admission, but its a fact, we get cob webs). Clearing the decks really can give you new perspective and open up the doors of creativity. Hubby and I both thought maybe it was time to store the Toby jugs and maybe re-purpose some of my nick-knacks, as hubby likes to call them.

This is the shelf above our family room sofa, up until the past weekend it had a collection of Royal Dalton Toby jugs and books. We were tired of that arrangement and re-purposed some of the “smalls” I had hanging around in storage areas of the house. When you have the ‘bug’ to change things it helps to have a stash of treasures you can draw from! {note to self: too bad the heater vent is white, need to think about painting that the wall color}

Here is the left side of the shelf above the sofa. The antique scale has visited several areas of my home, including the bar. I pray there’s no earthquakes to send it toppling down on our heads!

Here are the other spaces I re-arranged this past weekend.

Barley twist is a favorite of mine and this footed barley twist cake stand (or whatever it was originally intended for} seemed to elevate my wooden ivy planter to just the right level for a traditional English vignette.

Not sure this is making my heart sing, but I’ll keep working on this spot on the bar…certainly something will inspire me soon.

This is the lower bookshelf in the shelves above the kitchen desk. Being such an accessories nut I chose to restrict the cookbooks to the top shelf only…that way I can put some little nick-knacks on this shelf, like the antique pewter butter dish and my pewter topped dog-cookie canister…doggies are very appreciative.

Do you like to change things from time to time, maybe only for the season change, but it does make things interesting, don’t you think?

{Home} Paneled walls

24 Wednesday Aug 2011

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

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wood paneled walls

There is something about wood paneled walls that I find so appealing. I like the formal raised-panel walls just as much as the simple bead board walls.

Some of you may know I recently applied bead board paneling to our master bathroom walls and I have been very happy with the outcome.

But whether it’s a country style home or formal, traditional décor, the wood walls always invite me in.

The above wood paneled walls in white contrast the black sliding barn doors beautifully. Black and white are such a classic. Love the white slip covered chaise in the left corner of the image.

The pale blue/gray paint is so lovely in this more formal bedroom. I’ve never painted wood paneled wall anything but shades of white but I love the calming effect of this whisper blue.

This bedroom is a flip of the bedroom above. The raise paneled walls give the room a historic feel, as if you’re in an older, well-preserved home.

This Country Living room has great windows! I actually like the antique white against the white paneling. Love the linens!

I like the contrasting paint color of the worm-wood paneling and the bamboo shade…Dan Marty Designs

Design Chic posted a piece on banquets. I really like this room for it’s wall of glass front cupboards to the white tongue in grove paneling.

A Bunny Williams room…so wonderfully symmetric and calming in its neutral palate.

Isn’t this family room inviting…sisal or some natural fiber rug, overstuffed sofa and 2 great club chairs. The paneling just adds to the warmth for me.

Now this is a bathroom…maybe in my next life! Love the tub and the raised panel walls {sigh}

This paneling helps make the room more inviting, 2-story ceilings can be cold.

I like the extra wide opening to the living room, such a luxurious detail.

Isn’t this pretty, raised panel screen doors, paneled ceiling and wonderful doors.

Hand painted wood floors break up all of the wood but I really like the planks on the wall running perpendicular to the floor.

By the way, I fully intended to post some images of formal room with carved paneling but it seems I haven’t saved any. I guess I’ve subconsciously embraced a simple, classic style of decor. 🙂

Do you have a paneled room in your home?

A blast from the past…Southern Accents magazine

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Decorating, Gardens

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Southern Accents magazine

The mother of two of my nearest and dearest friends is moving from a home she’s been in for 50 years. I always found Marilyn’s home comfortable and charming. It doesn’t hurt that it is located in one of my favorite Orange County cities, Corona del Mar. But her home has gotten to be too much for her and since she has family and friends living in a nearby senior community, Marilyn has decided to make the leap to a new chapter and more manageable abode.

The CDM home is a single-story ranch style home that sits on a canyon where deer were often spotted…I’m not sure whether they still see deer but the canyon is filled with trees and shrubs so it’s such a great backdrop to the ocean view off in the distance.

Linda (Marilyn’s eldest daughter, and my maid of honor nearly 39 years ago) is down from Bainbridge Island to help her sister (my other good friend, Gretchen), pack up the home and host a garage sale to get rid of some of the items that won’t fit in the new, smaller home.

Since Linda, Gretchen and I all share a passion for home design, and nesting in general, when the sisters came across a box of magazines they thought of me. Thank you Gretchen and Linda! The magazines they delivered this afternoon are none other than one of my all time favorites, Southern Accents. As most of you probably know, the magazine shut it’s doors without notice a couple of years ago and fortunately I had saved about 12 issues. I still miss the magazine’s southern style and all the lovely rooms and fabulous gardens they published 10 times a year.

The nine issues are mostly dated 1990 and 1991 but there is a 10th anniversary issue dated 1987! Interestingly, most of the images hold up but there are a few of the ads that clearly have the “Country French” vibe, similar to the trend that took Southern California by storm around that time…probably the rest of the country as well.

The May-June 1987 issue, had this ad for Country Life Designs. In Southern California this look (above) was huge and I had a bedroom that resembled this look. Some of my friends had nearly every room wallpapered in the Country Life designed paper and I always thought it was so pretty. We all used faience farm animals as decorative accessories…bunnies and geese were especially popular. I still have a few of the rabbits but usually only display them in the spring. The faience geese were more timeless and I still love seeing them as an accessory in a country French style room. Furnishings were French, some new and some antiques.

The formal garden featured in “Quintessentially Mobile” article is timeless. The images for a home by architect Harry Inge Johnstone are typical of the lovely homes Southern Accents featured in each issue.

Like this New Orleans apartment…

The sofa looks almost slip covered, although I believe it is upholstered, the room looks as if it could be in a feature for a 2011 magazine. Good design never goes out of style even if some of the contributing features such as wall paper use come and go. The 3 panels above the sofa are wonderful. Today the room might have wood floors and a sisal rug but the neutral palate is very 21st century.

In a 1990 issue I noticed a monthly feature titled Tablescapes. That is what made this magazine a favorite of mine. They would give you ideas for all aspects of comfortable and gracious living.

I apologize for the blurry pic. My scanner wasn’t working so I took a picture of the magazine page.

I always looked forward to the issues with reference articles done on various antiques. They would advise you how to purchase authentic antiques and what to look for and what to avoid.

If you visit Southern Accents website HERE you will see some of the later rooms featured in their magazine.

When I’m experiencing withdrawals from Southern Accents I’ll now have the dozen or so issues I kept for the year or so before the magazine closed their doors and a dozen issues form the early nineties. That should give me plenty to garner ideas and inspiration for some time.

Do you have an all time favorite home designs magazine? I’d love to hear.

{Home} Toile, a classic

17 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating

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DIY, serving tray, toile

My readers probably have picked up on the fact that toile is a favorite of mine. I talked about it HERE. When my friend, Carol, gave me her blue and white duvet cover and shams I posted about the facelift I gave our guest room using the blue and white toile linens HERE. I later revealed that we covered the toile wallpaper in our master bathroom due to some dry wall damage that had occurred HERE.

The withdrawals have been challenging but I still have a toile chair in my reading room and I completed a serving tray with some of the leftover Pierre Deux toile wallpaper and some of the left over toile from the reading room chair and that has eased the pain. 🙂

This is the master bath wallpaper under glass on a $9.99 Home Goods tray.

This is the leftover fabric from the toile chair.

I hope to use the tray and the glass (I purchased from my frame shop) throughout the year. I’ll cut some fabric or papers that reflect the season…pretty fun.

This photo was taken before my re-do of this room but it’s a better shot of the toile ladder-back chair than the newer image.

So I have been compiling some lovely images throughout the year of rooms that use toile and thought I’d share them.

image via Country Living

Image via tartanscot

Unknown

Home & Leisure

Unknown

Unknown…isn’t this the sweetest vase? The roses look good enough to eat.

Do you like toile? Is it too fussy for your taste? I understand if it is…I live with someone that feels that way!

{Home} Paint colors…making a difficult choice

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Renovating

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guest bath re-do, paint color

As some of you may know, we’re finally renovating our guest bathroom. It’s a bit of a good news/bad news deal. Good news: I have many of the major components [vanity, wall sconces, canned lighting, fan, bathtub, toilet, crown, base and door casing selected; bad news: I’ve decided to select a paint color with a hint of gray to it to go with the Carrara (thanks to Vignette Design for setting me straight on the spelling) marble vanity top and floor.

{1}

The vanity we have ordered (below) is a Pottery Barn design. Due to limited space in the guest bathroom we choose this little 26″ wide piece. The counter-top is Carrara marble, and is part of the reason I’m looking at gray paint.

This is the recessed mirror/medicine cabinet we’ve ordered. The wood looks aged and has a little white/gray to it.

The wall sconces we’re using are these Pottery Barn beauties. Again, I think they lend themselves to the gray I have in my mind…yet to be found!

I visit a lot of blog sites and am almost always impressed with how lovely rooms can look with gray paint. However, I get to the store and am overwhelmed by all of the shades of gray to choose from, not to mention the samples they offer are the size of a postage stamps and it can be difficult to select from that sample.

While I love this bathroom by Jill Sharp Brinson, I believe it’s too dark for my small space.

This paint (below) is “Natures Essentials” by Benjamin Moore…its very close to what I imagine but I couldn’t find the color at my hardware store today so the search continues.

This gray and white (below) is lovely but may be a little dark, the room in the image is quite bright and cheery so it can handle the darker paint.

{2}

What’s that you say, just buy the little sample pots so many paint companies offer? Let me just say this about that…they rarely have the color in sample size that I’m interested in and when they do it can be pretty pricey. Does this ever happen to you?

I love the gray of this room (below) and the black and white accents are something that appeals to me.

{3}

This soft gray is perfect but I don’t have the name of the paint so the search continues.

{4}

Polished Pebble recently redid a bathroom in their Ojai home and I love the Cararra trim accent used with the white subway tile. I’m following her design idea and using 12″ Cararra tile on the floor.

{5}

This is a pretty pale shade of gray that accents the blue and white beautifully.

{7}

This taupe-gray (below) is what I really envision. Love this room!

{8}

Heirloom Philosophy painted her living room recently a Farrow & Ball color called Hardwick White. I like the contrast with the white trim, which is what I’ll be using on the crown, base and door casing. What do you think? It’s hard to see the actual color on a computer screen, don’t you agree?

{6}

On the right (below) is Hardwick White; on the left (below) is Lamp Room Gray, both by Farrow & Ball

So I’m doing my due diligence and revisiting some of the beautiful gray rooms I’ve seen on various sites and then I’m going straight to my friends for honest input and advice. Isn’t that always the best anyway.

I will be posting before and after photos once we’re underway. Meanwhile, while I try to compile all of the components I welcome any and all input from you, my faithful readers.

Meanwhile, if any of you have a wonderful gray paint color you’d like to share please email me.

Images: 1. Vignette Design; 2., 6., 7. & 8. Heirloom Philosophy; 3. & 4. Griege ; 5. Polished Pebble

{Home}Another cottage to love by Bill Ingram Architect

03 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Architects & Builders, Decorating, Designer

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Architect, Bill Ingram, cottages

Having just returned from Austin I thought I’d post this story I’ve been working on featuring the Birmingham architect, Bill Ingram. I hope to have some exciting new things to ramble on about Texas, and family.

This story began with the July/August issue of House Beautiful and morphed into features about the talented Bill Ingram, Architect from 3 different magazines…

I’ve grown to love House Beautiful magazine again. Unbeknownst to the magazine, we had a falling out several years ago when they seemed to lose their way and were publishing images of homes that held no appeal for me.

The July/August issue is one of my favorites. It’s their annual small spaces issue. It is such a testament of good design to see what so many talented designers can do with limited square footage. I live in 1,725 square feet of space and am always open to new ideas for storage and décor and have been inspired by some of the small homes.

I’ve chatted about my love of cottages before. The attraction may be a direct result of my living in a small home but there is something so cozy about small spaces that live large. For more about my love of cottages and their features visit HERE, HERE and HERE.

But it was definitely thunder bolt city (do you remember that line from Four Weddings and a Funeral?) when a 12-page spread on a 1,400 square foot cottage in Mountain Brook village, Birmingham, Alabama caught my eye. The interior design is by talented architect, Bill Ingram.

How stylish is this, cool car and talented architect.

I love the knot garden in lieu of lawn in the front yard of this perfect cottage.

Not to start with a bathroom, but this is a particularly well-designed bath and I’m in the midst of remodeling our guest bathroom so I’ve got bathroom design on the brain.

This small kitchen has been designed to flow beautifully into the living room. Well designed small spaces utilize every available inch of the house and this cottage works really well…it lives large.

Each room in the House Beautiful issue featured clever use of the small space and provided me with inspiration for my own cottage.

So I began to do a bit of reading about him and got lost in Google finding additional features in Southern Accents and Country Living magazines.

In addition I found this quote on his philosophy:

“My philosophy is: When you see something perfect, buy it. If you don’t have a place for it, you’re going to have to force yourself. You’ll wind up with a house full of things you love.” -Bill Ingram

Sound advice and when I haven’t followed something along those lines I’ve often wondered why I bought the item, does that ever happen to you?

If you visit Bill Ingram Architect take the time to read his view on lifestyle. It’s no wonder his design appeals to so many, he speaks of simplicity “papers the senses, does not overload”. Aren’t we all seeking that peace? He believes in the marriage of lovely old things with a restrained “modern”. Juxtaposition, its what intrigues us in design when we happen upon it.

One of his houses located on Lake Martin was featured some time ago in Southern Accents {sadly this magazine is no longer published}.

This house isn’t quite a small as his Mountain Brook house but it isn’t huge and I love the open feel to the great room and kitchen. High ceilings do an amazing job of giving the space an open, airy feel.

Love the chandelier and the chairs.

Lunch on the veranda? Yes, please.

After finding these images I continued to search and discovered a cottage in Alabama that Bill Ingram and designer, Betsy Brown had a hand in. The article is featured in the 2007 Country Living magazine (another one bites the dust. :-() Maybe it was the Christmas decorations but I loved the charm of this home as well. So many cottages, so little time.

And lest you think Bill Ingram is king of cottage design, here are some of his other designs from his website…

A Bill Ingram Colonial Revival

Bill Ingram - English Style

{Home}One man’s minimalism is another man’s scarcity

18 Monday Jul 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Personal Information

≈ 8 Comments

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accessories

I stumbled upon this lovely website, Blue Pool Road, [HERE] of photographer and award-winning designer (former art director for Martha Stewart, New York), Peggy Wong. I began to wonder why some of us are minimalists of a sort who prefer clean lines and spare space and why some of us (moi) love to have stuff around us. Is it something we are born with? Kind of like my dish disease. I love a variety of dishes and could buy more if it weren’t for the fact that I simply have no additional room for them.

(Above images by William Waldron via Elle Decor)

The above may not even be considered truly minimalist, but compared to what I like…you be the judge.

Since I fall into the latter description it’s easy for me to show you the rooms I love, often filled to the rafters with wonderful accessories and furniture. Not clutter, just interesting, old items that give you a sense of history. I can appreciate clean lines intellectually, but I find I must have my favorite accessories around me for it to truly feel like HOME.

I’ve rarely met a basket I didn’t like.

The images above and just below are vignettes arranged by one of my favorite bloggers and stylists, Jermaine of French Kissed

If there is any place in my house where I appreciate a more minimalist approach it’s within my cupboards and drawers. I love it when a closet or drawer feels under-filled. You are able to find things much easier and for me that provides a satisfying contentment and that makes me very happy.

I love this room and it is pretty sparse, maybe I could be more of a minimalist than I originally thought!

Just don’t take away my decorative stuff. The plants, candles, books, antique odds and ends that I’ve scoured the dust filled antique store for, and find essential to my well-being. {Maybe not literally, but you know what I mean if you enjoy antique accessories as much as I do}.

So tell me, be honest, are you more a minimalist or a accessories fan?

{Home}Have a fun-filled 4th of July

01 Friday Jul 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Entertaining, Family, Holiday/Seasonal cooking, Outdoor living, Party Planning, Traditions

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4th of July

With the upcoming 3-day holiday {I hope you all have at least 3 days off} I wanted to wish all of you wheel barrel’s full of fun and good eats! Here are a few images to inspire you if you haven’t decorated for the holiday yet…or just feel like perusing some patriotic rooms.

Image via Content in a Cottage

I have always considered Independence Day the “kick-off” day of summer. I used to work at Disneyland and the 4^th was always crowded at the park and since Disneyland had a nightly fireworks display, that rivals most, the crowds were out in mass.