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Archive for the ‘Home’ Category

Recently, I have been inspired by all sorts of photos on Pinterest. These photos happen to have one thing in common — a house plant. Which reminded me how using house plants in decor is a great visual tool. Plants (living objects) help to break up all the hard objects and knick-knacks we tend to collect.  These days you can use almost anything. I’ve seen cactus, succulents, herbs, small trees and so on. Perched on books or placed in the entry, plants add texture, color and life to our homes. You can place a tall palm in that corner you don’t know what to do with, put a funky succulent on your bar or a cactus on your bookshelf. And, you can pick up a fun/funky plant (1 to 5 gallon) for under $15.00, which is usually cheaper than a dozen roses and last a lot longer.

hp1I love this look — a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree in a large basket.

hp3 Cactus in large Mexican potteryhp6 Another Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree in a small pot

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A simple elephant ear

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A Clivia placed on an entry table

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 I am actually off to buy a plant for that corner I don’t know what to do with — I’ll post pictures later.

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I was reminded by my last post how much I love beach inspired interiors! I have always been smitten by California’s take on interiors, especially along the coastal towns like Venice Beach, Santa Monica & Big Sur.

In the mid-90’s, I used to love to go to Indigo Seas on Robertson for Lynn von Kersting’s take on island/travel decor. Another great place (in LA) is American Rag’s Maison Midi on La Brea. I have also heard great things about Surfing Cowboys in Venice Beach, but I haven’t had a chance to pop in myself. If you are not in the LA area, there are loads of other resources for your island-inspired home & garden.

Casa Tua‘s hotel and restaurant in Miami has a relaxed Mediterranean feel.  Tom Scheerer’s work, especially his “Bahamas Veranda House” and “Salt box house” are incredibly fun!  India Hicks has loads of photos and ideas you can browse through on her website. And, of course Pinterest has tons of beach-themed boards to fit anyone’s taste.

Casa Tua, Miami

Tom Scheerer’s Beach Inspired Designs

Indigo Seas, Los Angeles

Island Inspiration via India Hicks

Love Vintage Beach Photos!

v.surf3This photo framed (large-scale) anywhere would be amazing!

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The Menu

Some of the most enjoyable entertaining I’ve done has been when friends happened to pop over last-minute. There is not that initial pressure of having everything perfect, and people are usually more relaxed with little expectations for the evening ahead. When this happens, my “go-to menu” typically consists of some type of salad, a good cheese and meat platter, some nuts and some kind of cracker/bread. I also keep some good chocolate in the fridge for something sweet at the end. No cooking involved. Super easy!

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Happy Weekend!

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The Inspiration

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The Breakdown

1. Tray

2. High Ball Glasses

3. Ice Bucket

4. Cocktail Glasses

5. Goblets

6. Bar Items

7. Dish for Lemons/Limes

8. A Lamp

9. Cocktail Napkins

10. & just add your favorite bottles

Cheers!

*all bar items from One Kings Lane & Restoration Hardware

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When designing an outdoor space, I always like to include a console table. The console table, on its off time, serves as a place for a lantern, potted plant, and an interesting object or two (as in the photo above). However, when there is entertaining going on, the console becomes the perfect place for food & drink.

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A great example of this, is Bunny Williams’ patio area. She has a lovely huge console table that can easily transform into a buffet table when entertaining.

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Here, for a friend’s garden, I had a potting table and mirror made for the patio area. When entertaining, the table becomes the perfect place for beverages and food, otherwise, it displays the owner’s fabulous plants and objects.

Breaking it down…

The table you use for you buffet doesn’t necessarily have to be a proper console table, you could use an old picnic table, potting table, small bistro table or even your outdoor coffee table — it all depends on your needs/space.

Items for your buffet…

Tomorrow – The Bar

*all goods from Jayson Home & Garden, Pottery Barn, Terrain, Serena & Lily, One Kings Lane & Inner Gardens

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My sister just inherited some antique Duncan Phyfe Mahogany chairs from our mother (they had originally belonged to our great-grandmother). So, Heather’s first question to me was, “What do I do with them”? This is a typical conundrum that many face — how to incorporate our family’s antique furniture, that has deep sentimental value, into our own spaces? The trick is weaving them into your style so that they feel a part of your home. The tip is to mix them with modern pieces — maybe even updating them with paint or upholstery. All images are from Lonny Magazine.

Above, the antique chairs are painted white, upholstered in a fun stripe and paired with a rustic table. Plus, there are modern and industrial pieces in the room that really contrast the chairs allowing the chairs to stand out even more. Very fun!ant.chair2Above, the kitchen is more modern but the dining table, tablecloth and chairs are more rustic.  The modern chandelier over the dining table really helps bring these two spaces together nicely.

ant.chair5Painted white – very sweet.ant.chair6Antique chairs upholstered in a modern fabric and paired with a modern table and rug.

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Above, the antique chairs are upholstered in a traditional fabric and paired with a beautiful marble table and a clean modern kitchen – lovely!

Happy Decorating!

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The flower from the Magnolia Tree (I believe it’s the Magnolia Grandiflora) is a super stunning flower and one of my favorites. Not only are these flowers incredibly gorgeous but they are incredibly fragrant. The only problem is, is that they are usually difficult to find. They aren’t typically found in most flower markets and once they are picked their “vase life” is quite short (maybe 3 days). The great thing about a large Magnolia flower is that you really just need one to make a statement.

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They are just incredible flowers

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My second post for this Austin project is the laundry room/mud room – one of my favorite spaces to do! In the past laundry rooms were seriously neglected, but these days people are paying a lot more attention to them. We gave this one plenty of attention.

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The client picked this very fun trellis wallpaper by Schumacher, and we added 2 gorgeous light fixtures from Pottery Barn as well as various built-ins for storage. The contractor custom-made a glass door so the wallpaper and chandelier could be visible from the kitchen and living room, as well as allow more light in.

bay hill laundryIn the photo above, you can see the old laundry room on the right, as well as the framing for the new entry on the left.

bhl1 As the walls went up you could start to see the room take shape. This side would eventually become the mud room side with cubbies, hooks, as well as a small bench.

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The only thing we are waiting for here is the cushion for the bench which will be in same fabric as the one for the breakfast nook bench.

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The laundry side

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After

IMG_1844We also had a “butler’s pantry” built the depth of a wine bottle for extra storage for wine, platters, cookbooks and laundry supplies.

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For this project, I worked with clients in Austin to design a new kitchen, laundry room and decorate their existing living room. After 10 months of work we are finally done (except for the breakfast bench cushion) and everything worked out beautifully.

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After

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Before

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Before (originally the formal living)

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After

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Before

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After

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Before

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After

Tomorrow, the laundry room makeover.

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This past Saturday, I posted this picture of a lovely outdoor dining area. I love the color palette, the feel, just about every inch of this picture. I was so inspired by this photo that I thought I would hunt down some of the items (minus the beautiful Spanish style home).

THE ELEMENTS…

The table below is from Restoration Hardware but World Market, Pottery Barn, West Elm and Summer Classics all have similar ones.

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The Chair, Pottery Barn

img10jThe Light Fixture, Pottery Barn

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Other items you may want to get…

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