{Home} Keeping things neutral

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home, Paint Color, Trends

Tags

Since many are still experiencing winter at her snowy best (or worst) I thought I would stay indoors and ponder the beauty of a neutral color palate for a room…

This is Wikipedia’s definition of neutral color:

Grey or gray is an intermediate color between black and white, a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally a color “without color.” ^[2] It is the color of a cloud-covered sky, of ash and of lead.^[3]

In Europe and America, grey is the color most frequently associated with the elderly, humility, reflection, boredom, dullness, uncertainty, and indifference.^[4]

Pretty funny. Grey isn’t the first or only color that pops into my head when I think of a room reflecting a neutral palate. I usually think of white or a soft beige and maybe a little grey. And what’s up with the second paragraph…who entered this opinion?

I am attracted to neutral rooms, and yet I know I am not one to want to live in a home that is primarily decorated in shades of neutral.

Today, I’m sharing today, rooms that are primarily neutral. I love each and every image I’m sharing but I’ve soul-searched and I can’t make the leap. Maybe when I move to that cottage in the Cottswolds?

{queen of white ~ Tricia Foley}

{Nancy Fishelson ~ Litchfield, CT}

{El’lefebien via Belgian Pearls}

{Brabourne Farm}

{Architectural Digest}

{Cote de Texas}

{Segreto Finishes}

{Home Bunch}

{Photo by Antoine Bootz ~ Southern Accents}

{Belgian Pearls}

{Providence Ltd. Design}

The promise of spring is just around the corner. I hope you are warm and dry and may spring shine on your home soon.

{Garden} Keeping bees happy and other gardening pursuits

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Flowers, Gardening, Gardens, Maintenance

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Bees

Pilgrims brought the first honeybees to America. There were honeybees in California by 1820.

I’ve been busy as a bee in my garden…planning and planting. (It was one of my New Year goals)

{tumblr ~ fresh as a daisy}

After ignoring my front yard during the month of December and most of January, I decided it was time to clean up a few things. My gardener had pruned the roses and I usually do a little detailing to make sure they are trimmed properly.

{Bethany House ~ Winter, 2011}

Working in the garden relaxes me and makes me happy. This past weekend the work inspired me to start making plans for the plants I want to install (as part of my New Year’s “goals”) and I came up with a list that I’ll order/pick up at the nursery and plant sometime between now and the end of March.

{Bethany House ~ backyard fence}

For now I’ve planted some infrastructure for the planting beds, behind the boxwood in the front yard are…

‘Alaska’ azalea, a lovely white blooming plant that should grow fairly fast in this part-sun location to cover the valves for the sprinklers.

~and~

phygelius ‘Passionate Pink’, a smallish, upright fuchsia. Bees and hummingbirds alike love this plant and the one below…

~and~

Spanish lavender, this will give me a little soft color around the white Iceberg shrub roses.

That plan instigated more thought about the back yard. I started thinking about plants and bees. I know, it does seem a little strange, but I would love to have the time and space to raise bees. I don’t have the time at this juncture but like my desire for a chicken coop, maybe some day.

I hope to move some planters around in the back yard and replace a rose or two. I purchased some seed in hopes that I can try my hand at growing ‘forget-me-nots’ and some Asian poppy seed to scatter.

{Forget-Me-Nots}

Meanwhile, I’ll have to search for a straw bee skep to tide me over…

{Country Cottage Primitives}

There will be more garden coverage this year…stay tuned. Like last year, hopefully, Olivia will help me with the watering when she visits this summer.

{August 2012}

Note: We have a constant stream of bee and hummingbird visitors in our yard. I think some of my new plants will be gourmet nectar to both.

Do you have plans for your garden this year? I know some of you are still shivering from winter’s cold but you and I both know it will be spring before we know it!

I’m over at Savvy Southern Style, drop by for a visit and Art @ Home sharing things that make me happy.

{Party} Please join us for a Valentine’s dinner

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Holiday/Seasonal cooking, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

Valentine's Day

{Slim Paley}

There was a time when I would have thought of St. Valentine’s Day strictly as a date for two. As I’ve matured I find that any occasion can be more fun with a small group of close friends.

So my post for today is an invitation for you to join us for a Valentine’s dinner…this is pure fantasy, unless all of you can manage a flight to California and join us in real life!

My invitation will be simple, but I enjoy receiving hard copy invitations so I think I’ll order this for my informal dinner party…

I don’t know who the Logan’s (below in sample invite) are but I wouldn’t expect guests to leave my party at 10:00 p.m., lights out at our home would be 10:30…ha,ha,ha. Just kidding, I think parties have a way of letting you know when they are winding down, organically, don’t you agree? Honestly, none of our friends ever overstay their welcome and we all seem to get tired after several hours of good food, good wine and good conversation.

{via Tiny Prints}

All of you will know my house because you’ve been there many times before…

{remember, this is pretend}

For table settings and flowers I can go in a few different directions. Below are some of my ideas, maybe you should weigh in and let me know which table you’d most enjoy…

Here is my Valentine table last year, or the year before, I don’t remember. I could use the same cloth but the Petite Fleur dishes might be too busy for meatloaf, what do you think?

This (above) table is technically one I found around Christmas, but the frosty greens could be traded out for others while the mercury glass and silver and white, especially with the pearl heart, could easily work for St. Valentine’s Day.

The red and white grain sack cloth with the red candles really work for the holiday…I love the simplicity of this with the fire in the grate and candles on the mantle, what could be more inviting or romantic?

I love the detailing on these candelabras, and the tailored feel to the black and white linens and dishes. This is totally a Valentine’s look that I could get behind.

I will have fresh flowers in the house and probably keep to the traditional selection of colors where they are concerned…and I’m sure the price of flowers for that weekend will be astronomical. Is it too late to cancel this imaginary dinner? LOL

If only I could find these beauties in my garden, its still a little early for me to have enough to cut and bring in ~ via Studio Choo

I prefer simple appetizers since I don’t want you to fill up on a first course only to discover you’re not hungry when the main course is served. This (on a smaller but similar scale) is what I’ll set out for guests.

~and~

Because St. Valentine’s Day lands in the winter, I plan to serve you a hearty fare.

Cheese board ~ Olives ~ Bread

1770 house meatloaf

Mashed potatoes

Green Beans Gremolata

Dessert: Brownies with homemade Caramel Sauce

and

Vanilla Ice Cream

{Photo by Jenny Steffens Hobick} ~if you love to cook, please visit Everyday Occasions blog, you will be inspired with her wonderful recipes and beautiful design ideas.

{Peeking Thru the Sunflowers}

So what’s planned for those of you that can’t make it to our house for dinner?

xo, Karen

I’m over at Stone Gable for her Turtorials and Tips party.

I want to send a special thank you to Debby at the fabulous Inspired Design for hosting a book giveaway that I won! {By the way, she’s hosting another book giveaway this week, you may want to stop by and comment to be entered}

This is going to be on my nightstand until I plan my next trip to Paris, then I’ll take it with me on the plane. It’s filled with beautiful images and fabulous insider tips for traveling to the city of light and romance.

Note: On my previous post about my friend’s house I inadvertently made a few errors about the age of some of the lighting fixtures. I’ve corrected the errors HERE.

{Home} Live in rooms full of light. ~ Cornelius Celus

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Architectural elements, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

friend's house, lighting

Before I begin your tour of my freind’s beautiful home…I wanted to thank my best blog buddy, Victoria, for nominating me the the 2013 Homies over at Apartment Therapy. I’m nominated to the Best Home Design & Inspiration Blog. I’m touched and flattered. If you have a moment to vote visit HERE…I would love your vote and would reciprocate if you are a fellow blogger. You can vote for as many blog sites as you like, I’d love it if you vote for Victoria’s site [Restoring our 1890 Victorian] too. You might have to sign up to vote, so if you choose not to do that (although they do make it simple), I understand. In any event, I enjoy this hobby and it’s always fun to receive a nod from a talented, fellow blogger.

{This antique gate, when entered, leads to one side of the property}

Glenys, a dear friend of mine, recently moved into their new, custom made home. It has taken more time than you might expect for selection of the lot, planning the home’s design with the architect, building the home and finally, moving in.

By the way, you can tell by the sky that the day I visited was a Chamber of Commerce day for the area. The blue skies and sunshine were amazing.

{The exterior front door was designed by the architect and built by a craftsman in the region. The door marks the entry to a hallway that takes you to another door that allows you to enter the courtyard that their home surrounds}

I was thrilled to be given a tour and had hoped my images would turn out better than they have, I may be able to edit some of the photographs but I don’t have them ready for a post yet. (Note to self, until you actually buy a better camera your photos will never turn out great).

{(above) One of two or three, I can’t remember, antique lantern lights that light the covered, exterior hallway to the courtyard}

{A spectacular oak tree takes center stage in the courtyard, while a fountain in the yard immediately relaxes each visitor, there was an audible sigh between me and my friend, Jean, who took the tour with me when we crossed the threshold into the courtyard}

{Ready? This post will be all about about the lighting, but it’s okay to notice the incredible doors and the view just beyond} [the designer informs me these doors were very old doors they discovered and that a talented craftsman on the project worked very hard to get them to operate properly]

One of the things that struck me with this home was the obvious thought and care that went into selecting lighting. Glenys didn’t want a ton of canned lights (who can blame her) and what she ended up with was a home with wall sconces and light sources that are reminiscent of a historic villa in the south of France.

The floors are either reclaimed wood or stone, depending on which room you’re in, and some of the walls are stone. The chandelier (above) looks antique but in fact isn’t. Glenys and her designer spent a great deal of time tracking down the right pieces for the home and as a result everything seems as though it was meant for the space and imparts a history and comfort that you don’t often find in “new” homes. Many of the lighting fixtures were custom made for the home.

The chandelier above came from a favorite nursery here in Newport Beach, Rogers Gardens. This was used in one of the nursery’s displays during the month of October. Rogers always hosts a fabulous Halloween room with seasonal decor items, as well as pieces such as this. I love it! The size suits the stairwell perfectly.

I cannot remember which room this chandelier is in, but by it’s simplicity it is wonderful. All of the beams in the home are authentic old beams with so much character.

This little wall sconce in the guest room is a favorite of mine, the antique iron bed and wall sconce (made to look antique) take me to a little guest house in the South of France…well, in my imagination

I love the restoration glass in this lantern, which I believe was one of two in the kitchen. The lantern isn’t old but the glass and rustic frame create the look.

I’m going to have to revisit and get back to you on some locations…isn’t this a great lantern?

Throughout the house there are wall sconces…they are especially attractive when mounted on a stone wall.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Below is the view from one part of the yard…

It feels like you could be on a hillside in France, doesn’t it?

{Garden, Home and Party} Contain yourself, and your stuff

01 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

containers

If you’ve followed me for awhile you will remember that I’ve participated in Favorites on the First over at The Polohouse, several times [HERE] and [HERE]. I love Alison’s style and her “favorites” series often gives me ideas for my own blog posts.

The little pewter container below was given to me by my good friend Gretchen, the detailing (which you can’t really see in this picture) is really nice. (Thank you, Gretchen!)

This month Alison is featuring containers. It’s pretty much opened to any container, vase, jars, urns, pitchers, you name it. I really loved the idea of finding images that gave me ideas for using containers of all kind. So, here goes. I hope you’ll stop by The Polohouse and see what others came up with too!

The kitchen below is one of Charles Faudree’s homes. I’m not sure which one but I remember the story of antique piece above the island. What a great container, I’d be curious what it’s real purpose was. As I recall, Mr. Faudree didn’t know it’s use either, but liked it and made it work for more than one of his kitchens.

Since this post is about containers, with no specifics, I’ve pretty much pulled images from my home, as well as those I’ve admired, and have any and all kinds of containers.

Below is my reading room…that is my “reading” chair. I ~~waste~~ spend hours sitting here reading magazines and books, sipping tea, making notes as I think of something I need to do.

{greige}

Our antique china cupboard is a great container…a basket (contains my chargers) and a footbath (filled with nature’s air filter) on top. Is this a stretch on the whole container post?

Dan Marty is king of great containers! (above)

{An Urban Cottage} —thanks, Joan for giving me the source.

Don’t you love the vibrant color of granny smith apples? Nature really does offer decorator accessories of all colors, found at your local market.

Such a great cabinet. I especially like the white painted shelves in contrast to the black finish on the cupboard, married with fabulous pewter, so pretty.

This little footed bowl from PB has a sweet saying around the band at the top, something about family. The boxwood is fake and needs to be replaced with a preserved version (true confession #1).

Again, nature’s prettiest flower (behind peonies and hydrangea) make the vessel shine on the shelf.

{via}

I bought a couple of these to serve water from when we enjoy a meal in the dining room. The aqua colored glass pieces are particularly pretty. Mine are clear glass but they work really well to keep my guests hydrated during a meal.

{tumblr – This Ivy House}

Be still my heart…I’d love the painting and the fabulous blue and white “containers” with an array of flowers.

{tumblr – The Fuller View}

So I hope you’ve enjoyed my interpretation of the best containers. stop by the Polohouse to see what others came up with.

Join me at…The Polohouse

{Garden, Home and Party} They say it’s your birthday

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Gardening, House and Home, Misc, Outdoor living

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

birthdays

Since today is my birthday (me and Mozart) I’m going to share a few of my favorite images. I apologize in advance if you’ve seen these a million times before but they continue to be favorites and I can’t bring myself to delete them. They all bring an immediate smile to my face, hope you will enjoy one or two of them as well.

{1.}

{2.}

{3.}

{4.}

{5.}

~I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend~

{6.}

{7.}

{8.}

{9.}

{10.}

{11.}

The image below is on my wish list…I would like this breakfast nook to be built for my birthday, please.

{12.}

Thank you for taking time out of your busy week to read my posts, and many times, you comment, I love that! I count you all as blog friends and appreciate your interest in my ramblings. Many of you are bloggers yourselves and your sites bring me joy and oftentimes provide inspiration and valuable information/education on topics I know little about, thank you!

1, 2. 10. The Enchanted Home; 3. Things that Inspire; 4. My Notting Hill; 5. Haus Design; 6. House Beautiful; 7. Inspired Design; 8. Traditional Home; 9. Phoebe Howard; 11. Tumblr-That Inspirational Girl; 12. Velvet & Linen; 13. Tumblr-A Gift Wrapped Life.

{Home} Faux greenery indoors, or real houseplants?

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Flowers, House and Home, Maintenance, Uncategorized

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

houseplants

Age is a funny thing. If you’re lucky it teaches you tolerance and acceptance. For example I used to think I would NEVER have faux houseplants. I figured if I couldn’t have real I didn’t want to bother.

The twisted juniper on the mantle below are preserved evergreen.

{Kelly Harmon Designs}

A few years ago I discovered that there are now some very real-looking houseplants available, and some are actually “preserved” plants that were once real.

I’ll be honest, I’m certain that working full time has tempered my sentences that used to start with the words, “I’ll never…”. Actually, I’m happy about this because I did find that faux plants, when mixed with live indoor plants, can look very real and make life a whole lot easier for those of us with minimal hours to tend to them. I still love English ivy and topiary of all kinds.

Tone on Tone shared the vast array of their houseplants, including these lovelies below…

{Tone on Tone}

Another option for indoor houseplants can be found in some “outdoor” plant sections, like this creeping fig (below)…

{Tone on Tone}

My favorite fake plant right now is the preserved boxwoods. I really like the topiary in various sizes, the wreath and the globe shapes they come in.

{tumblr}

{Amazon}

I also feel that if you need a “plant” for a certain space, using something like willow-like branches can be effective.

{Ralph Lauren}

My go-to fresh plant of choice is English ivy. I’ve had pretty good luck with the ivy plants I’ve purchased and as long as I water them by soaking them in a bath of 2″ of fresh water when they get thirsty, they will last for 6 months to a year, or longer. Ivy seems to like to absorb the water rather than be watered from the top.

Alison over at The Polohouse recently posted about her Kitchen Hutch…the array of houseplants made for a lovely vignette. I believe she has preserved boxwood, real English ivy and a moss ball in the display below…

{The Polohouse}

Trader Joe’s has a beautiful selection of blooming house plants that are so inexpensive that I’ll often buy them and once they begin to look sad I’ll move them to a sheltered space outdoors and see if they come back and re-bloom. They also carry great orchids in a variety of sizes. Their blooms sometimes stay intact up to 3 months. I don’t have luck making them re-bloom but my daughter-in-law in Austin does!

{Ashley Goforth Designs}

{Haus Design}

There are other faux options such as dried hydrangea (which you can do yourself) and reindeer moss, which provides you with the green while not requiring any water

{Simple Everyday Glamour}

{Haus Design}

There’s another option that I’ve used for table settings…live annual plants. They won’t last forever indoors, but they are so pretty!

So I say, if you have a tough spot, maybe not enough light gets to the place you’d like to have a plant, search for something that mirrors a live plant, if you love it, no one will every know.

Do you have strong feelings one way or another where live vs. real houseplants are concerned? I love your comments.

I’m linking to: Savvy Southern Style::Wow us Wednesdays

and Stone Gable: Tutorials Tips…

{Home} Your library book is due

17 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, House and Home, Uncategorized

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

books, library

{Art at Home}

{our home library}

I’ve never been able to put my finger on it but there’s something magical about books for me. I find book stores and libraries to be very relaxing and can loose track of time when I visit. Does this happen to you?

{Content in a Cottage}

{Cote De Texas}

The odd thing is, I have never been a voracious reader. I do love to read and I thoroughly enjoy my design and cook books (no surprise there) but overall I’m not one to read more than a book a month.

{Pure Style}

{Connoisseur}

{Haus Design}

Still, there is something very pleasing about a vintage or antique book. The look can always add something to a vignette in my home. I’ve purchased a few leather bound books that I found at various antique stores and they are my favorites for accents on a table or tray. I love an old cloth bound book as well.

In fact, I recently went to our Friends of the Library (an in-library used book store), and found a book from 1902 named, “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and inside the cover was the name Emma Albrecht…Albrecht was my maiden name. I had to have it!

I’ve always thought I would like a room with ceiling to floor books and room enough for 2 large wing-back chairs and an ottoman with a nice table between. A cozy throw on the back of the chair to fend off a draft and since I’m dreaming, a wonderful fireplace.

{tumblr – WASPing through the Countryside}

{tumblr – Dying of Cute}

{Belgian Pearls}

I have friends whose homes are free of books on display, some of them avid readers and learned people, so I understand it’s a preference (to be surrounded by books, or not).

{Atlanta Homes}

{Art at Home}

{Rose Tarlow via Architectural Digest}

Books in a room catch my attention every time.

{Mark D. Sikes via Architectural Digest}

{Slim Paley}

{tumblr – Looking for Rainbows in the Moonlight}

So how about it? Do you like books around you, in your home?

{GHP} How to pare down, weed out and discover more storage space.

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, DIY (do it yourself), House and Home, Misc

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

organize

The new year and the onset of spring are two of the most motivating times of the year for me. I seem to have a burst of new energy and a strong desire to pare down. This urge has gained strength as I’ve matured (a word I prefer over “aged”). Having a smallish house, short on storage, helps force this task on me.

I long to cull out unneeded decor items along with the other odds and ends that build up. Tone on Tone posted some amazing images of his camellias in October last year, but this image, which was part of that post, resonated with how I’d like my desk area to look. I kept it as additional motivation of a goal not yet fully accomplished.

{Tone on Tone}

This year was no different, so I thought I’d throw out (no pun intended) a few of my favorite ways to accomplish this task. Oh, and by the way, I have to capitalize on this action (paring down) when the mood strikes, otherwise I tend to think, as I take out one more unused item, “maybe I’ll need this next year, or one of the kids will need it”. Trust me, as the mother of two married sons, both with lovely wives, THEY WILL NOT WANT MOST OF YOUR STUFF!

{Pinterest}

1. Identify the target. I zero in on a closet or two to tackle. [Divide and conquer is best or it will overwhelm me] This can also be the storage cabinets in the garage, which is where I find most of the stuff that I no longer use gets sent. Once it’s hit the garage shelves I find I rarely go out and get it even if there’s a remote chance I’d use it. Still, I try to make sure I’m not going to need the item anytime within the next year. That seems to be the common time frame for ~~dumping~~ disposing of possessions.

{Pinterest} This looks like a great way to store things in the garage without taking floor or cupboard space.

{Arianna Belle}

2. Once you know of a particular space that is troubling you with it’s over-crowding, set aside a time when you can remove all items from the closet, cupboard or drawer. The last thing you want to do is get started right before you have an appointment or dinner guests arriving.

{Better Homes and Gardens}

{Arianna Belle}

3. Start by making 4 piles…things you can’t possibly live without, things you’d like to donate, things you might like to sell via eBay, Craigslist or a garage sale, and things you need to deposit in the trash. Do not allow yourself to believe you’ll need everything unless you have more storage space than you need, and have the luxury of saving stuff forever, in other words, don’t hoard. Remind yourself that donating is a good thing and that someone may end up with your item and it will make them very happy.

{Pinterest}

4. Once you’ve divided the items, act decisively. Take “trash” items to the trash can and the donation items to the car, right now, do not delay. I say this because if you loose momentum on this task you will end up putting it all back and you’ll have wasted your time and the problem will rear its ugly head again next season.

5. Reassign the remaining, must have items, to a location in the cupboard, drawer or closet where it can be easily accessible. If you have useful things but can’t get to them, you won’t use them and they will gather dust and you’ll wonder why you have the thing in the first place.

Note: The above steps apply to decorative accessories as well as other under-used household items. I do have a bit of a problem paring down decorative accessories but I’ve gotten better about doing it and it feels good to have only what I love, even if its a seasonal decoration. Keeping less clutter frees me to know what I have, where it is, and comfortable in the knowledge that I absolutely love it!

{House Beautiful}

The ultimate goal is to have things where you can find them and achieving some semblance of order in and around the house. The images I’ve selected for this post calm me by their simplicity and lack of clutter.

{Peters and Mbiango Interiors}

{Photo: Vickey Weiss}

{Martha Stewart}

{Pinterest}

The other thing I try to do while going through items is re-purpose things in unexpected ways. Jermaine at French Kissed is a constant source of inspiration for this, as demonstrated in her “Pantry Post” sometime back…

{French Kissed}

…and this from Roses and Rust, a clever use for a silver set no longer used for formal tea…

{Roses and Rust}

For additional tips on clutter-busting, visit Real Simple for some great ideas on making this job easier.

Are you organized, do you stay that way or is it something you have to do twice a year?

Join me at Savvy Southern Style for Wow us Wednesday #101

{Home} …and the trophy goes to

10 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

vintage trophy

As the Academy Awards committee has declared its nominations for this year’s “best of” I thought it would be fun to take a look at trophies as a decorative accessory…this isn’t too much of a stretch, is it?

Trophies were few and far between in my youth. I was on my high school swim team but at my public school awards consisted of paper certificates or ribbons over an actual trophy. I don’t remember any of my friends having lots of trophies so I’m surmising that in my region of Southern California they were not readily handed out.

{and George}

The trophy on the left (above) was the first trophy I purchased. A close up…

It wasn’t until I was married that, while antique shopping, a vintage trophy caught my eye. I believe it was planted with blooming paper whites, which is undoubtedly what attracted me. I brought it home and didn’t buy another trophy until I found a little pewter dog show award on eBay (below).

Above and below is the pewter dog-award cup I found on eBay.

Today I have a few trophies that I’ve collected along the way and continue to admire some of the displays I’ve found on the internet. I lean toward the vintage silver toned beauties, but it’s the odd “Gala Award” or the small silver tray-award I bought while visiting Cambridge given by “RMAS Athletics Team” that steal my heart.

{Pinterest}