Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I’m excited about this time of year because it means more outdoor dining. Yay! I’ve been gathering images of inspirational interiors and beautiful gardens to share with you. I’ve been working on some renovation projects in California and in Texas and I’m looking forward to sharing those as well. Hope to see you back soon. Cheers!
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from my home to yours…
Wishing you a wonderful holiday and prosperous New Year!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! XOXO, SHANNON
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Happy Wednesday! Lately, I’ve been using a lot more faux plants in my designs, including some really beautiful faux succulents. One of my favorite ways to display these faux succulents is by arranging them in stone planters — I love the look!
This is a beautiful, yet simple, way to add something extra to your kitchen island, entry or dining area. For this client’s home, I went with this handsome limestone planter and selected mainly purple and gray succulents that would complement the color tones in her kitchen. Below, you can see how easy it is to put an arrangement like this together.
(I was in a bit of a rush putting this together so I apologize for the quality of the photos.)
2. Add moss on top to camouflage the foam.
3. Next, add your faux succulents.
You can cut, or bend, each to the size you need. I always believe more is better, so I ended up adding about 15 succulents to this 10″ x 5″ planter.
If you would like to see more of my examples of faux plants, check out my pilates studio project.
Posted in Decor, Interior Design, Projects | Tagged faux succulent arrangements, faux succulents, Succulents | Leave a Comment »
Happy Thursday! With tomatoes in season, one of my favorite ways to enjoy them is by making this simple yet extremely flavorful sandwich. This is my all-time favorite sandwich.
INGREDIENTS:
Baguette
Tomatoes
Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella
Basil or Arugula
Salt
A baguette is perfect for this sandwich, but if it’s not easily available then any thick country bread would work.
Spread the pesto on both sides of baguette. Add the sliced tomatoes, salt the tomatoes. Stack the sliced buffalo mozzarella on top and add a little salt to the mozzarella. If you don’t have pesto then you can use a good olive oil.
One thing that I didn’t have on hand but would have been fantastic with this sandwich is fresh basil or arugula. Served with a fresh green salad and a small glass of chilled white wine and it’s the perfect lunch.
Posted in Cooking, Food | Tagged Buffalo Mozzarella, Caprese Sandwich, Food, Fresh Pesto, tomatoes | Leave a Comment »
Although travel is postponed, I still LOVE finding beautiful places that inspire me. Today’s design crush is on Es Bec d’Aquila — a gorgeous finca (country estate) on the island of Menorca, Spain. It’s designed by Atelier du Pont, and as you can see by the photos below, it’s stunning!
Click here to read more about Atelier du Pont.
Happy Monday!
Posted in Decor, Exterior Design, Hotel Design, Interior Design, Travel | Tagged Atelier du Pont, Finca, Interior Design, Menorca, Spain, Travel Spain | Leave a Comment »
Looking for inspiring ways to create a perfect work space in your home? Whether a designated home office, a bedroom space or a dining table, these ten favorites of mine will ignite your thinking.
~Shannon
Posted in Decor, Home, Interior Design | Tagged Home Office, Home work space, Interior Design, Work Space, Working from home | Leave a Comment »
Usually, when times get stressful, I like to invite friends and family over and enjoy food and conversation. However, in light of recent events, this is now sadly, not possible. It’s difficult to know how to navigate through these uncertain times. How do we comfort our family, as well as ourselves? How do we try and make our lives as “normal” and enjoyable as possible? Besides work and daily chores, I’m finding comfort in gardening and spending a nice amount of time cooking. Yesterday, I decided to try out a recipe I’ve had forever but never attempted. In the end it turned out to be super easy and delicious — the perfect afternoon distraction.
The apples cooking in butter
Adding the batter to the apples
Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min
1/2 stick unsalted butter
*1 large sweet apple such as Gala or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10 to 11-inch heavy cast-iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet
Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450F
Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat, then transfer 2 tablespoons to a blender. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
While apple is cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in blender and blend until smooth.
Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.
Recipe via Gourmet Magazine
Posted in Entertaining, Food | Tagged Apple Pancake, baking, Cooking, Gourmet Magazine | 1 Comment »
This was a wonderful project to work on! Not only was this project for a dear friend and fellow designer, Lisa Woolley, but this home had so many unique and charming elements that it really made the project an exciting one to do. Built in 1940, the home was originally designed as the “mother-in-law” home to the house next-door. Initially, the house had two entrances, one on either side of the home. A main design goal was to direct guests to the now principal entrance which was through the courtyard to the left. When I first saw the home, it really seemed to have an Old World charm about it so I decided to continue the theme. I used a lot of shrubs that could be shaped into conical and rounded shapes as the garden matured and chose shutters that were reminiscent of a home in the European countryside.
Before
Before
After
Above, some of the main elements that I wanted to incorporate into this project. I wanted a beautiful and strong trim color, so we went with ‘Iron Mountain’ by Benjamin Moore. I also wanted to use a rose shrub, in the front entrance, and went with a shrub called ‘Belinda’s Dream’. Not only does this shrub have wonderful blooms, but I thought is would look elegant as it cascaded over the nicely trimmed boxwood border. I also kept many of the original boxwood for their sculptural shape and just trimmed them a bit. Lastly, I wanted to incorporate one of my favorite elements, lighting.
Above, a before photo of the courtyard. After removing the shrubs, I noticed a nook that would be a wonderful place for a seating area. I thought it would be perfect place for my client to enjoy a cup of coffee while watching her kids play.
After
Above, a before shot of the right side of the home with some wishes from my client.
After
Posted in Exterior Design, Garden Design, Gardening, Projects, Renovation Project | Tagged Benjamin Moore, Exteriors, Garden Design, Gardens, Old World Charm, San Antonio | Leave a Comment »
Happy Wednesday! Today, I’m sharing a kitchen renovation I did in Austin, Texas. Originally, this part of the home consisted of three rooms — a play room, the kitchen and the dining area. By removing all the walls, we opened up the entire space allowing for the perfect open floor plan for an active family that loves to entertain. Photography: Madeline Harper
Below, a before shot of one of the walls we removed between the living room and the kitchen.
Before
After
Below, a shot of the original kitchen and dining area.
Before
After
Above, a shot of the space gutted and walls coming down.
After
Posted in Interior Design, Kitchens, Projects, Renovation Project | Leave a Comment »
Click here to see more.
One of my favorite parts about this project was renovating the back studio (photo below). Click here to see more on this project.
Click here to see more.
Click here to see more.
I had so much fun hosting this garden party with my dear friend and fellow designer Lisa Woolley!
This coming month, I’ll be sharing a couple of new projects with you — a kitchen in Austin and an exterior project in San Antonio. Looking forward to a great year!
Wishing you all the best for 2020!
~ Shannon
Posted in Exterior Design, Interior Design, Projects, Renovation Project | Tagged Austin, Exterior Design, Garden Party, Interior Design, Pilates, Renovation Project | Leave a Comment »
