{the blog}

so much to love in one single photo

  

photo from March/April 2009 Southern Accents; photographer: Tria Giovan; designers: Jenny Peters and Rachel Mbiango

perfection

 

photo from Elle Decor, September 2009

If you don't have a subscription to Elle Decor you are missing out.  It is my favorite.  Last week was so busy the September issue almost dry rotted as it sat on the front table begging me to stop and look every time I passed by.  Over the weekend I finally dug in... and I spent a good hour soaking it all in.  The unlacquered brass pulls and faucets... so delightful there are not words to describe them.  

This particular article is on Mark Badgley and James Mischka's horse farm in Kentucky... ahhh my beautiful home state*.  The photography is by Roger Davies.  The horse farm is amazing.  The kitchen above is one I could move right into and not change a single thing... that is rare.

The blurb on the photo says this:

The kitchen is sheathed in subway tile from Urban Archaeology; the pendant lamps over the sink are by Rejuvenation, the range is La Cornue with a hood by Broan, and the sinks from Rohl have fittings by Newport Brass.  A selection of copper and stainless-steel pans and some of Mischka's many cookbooks.

I wish these guys would have me over for dinner.

Some of those sources listed are my favorites - here are some links:

Urban Archaeology, Rejuvenation, La Cornue, Broan, Rohl, Newport Brass. 

*- where I spent a majority of my 'growing up years'

another one bites the dust

  

That was the subject line of an email from an inside source... Southern Accents September/October issue will be the last.  The website will remain in operation.  This is really devastating.  Thanks for the many years of inspiration SA... you will be missed!!!   

Monday, Monday

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  The skies were blue here... which always makes me very happy.  Friday night I finally was able to get through the stack of magazines that had piled up throughout the week.  I scheduled myself a bubble bath (nothing too luxurious, just some Target brand lavender baby wash- I laughed when I realized it's tagline is "Helps Calm Fussy Babies")... and finally got to the Elle Decor that had been waiting for me all week.  Elle Decor never disappoints.

Meet the Buckinghams. Any Fleetwood Mac fans?  Might recognize Lindsey, who married designer Kristen.  I knew when I saw the house it had to belong to a designer... it was too perfectly imperfect.  People often lose their cool over thinking things need to match.  Nice to see a house full of "loved items" instead of "perfectly matched items". 

   

Their kitchen isn't half bad either.  Notice... those brass school house pendants don't match the faucet, nor the hardware.  It's so nice. 

 

If you want to see more of Kristen Buckingham's work... here is her website.  You are in for a treat!  And because I can't resist posting just a couple more images...

 

Saturday morning was the Seaside yard sale.  I don't need a darn thing, I've been hauling stuff out of my house like crazy and plan to participate in my sister's yard sale in March.  So I went with the mindset "you don't need anything".  I bought a purse.  That's all.  I also had the opportunity to meet Megan of A Life's Design, which was such a treat!  Always nice to have a face with a name!      

 

Yesterday was another glorious day.  After church I sat on the porch and watched as I discovered a new pest in my garden...

 

Paisley was eating my herbs.  I couldn't quite tell what she fancied... it wasn't the Parsley, but whatever she got into definitely freshened her breath, so I didn't complain.

Some friends came over late yesterday afternoon for a little Photography 101.  I am so not qualified to teach, but they do have the same camera, so I took a stab at it.  Guess who I saw at the neighborhood park... THE HOODED SWEATSHIRT DOG!!  She does live in my neighborhood.  Her name is Sally, and her owner said she wears her sweatshirt when it's cold outside.  Mystery solved.  She was having fun with the boys who own her, they were throwing mud and she was attempting to catch it in her mouth.  She will probably need to try Paisley's breath freshening technique.

 

And on the wet bar front... client just sent some photos (I'm glad I'm not there... I'd be having a conniption fit)... it's almost in the house!   

yes, it's true

   

Gone.

sweet adieu

 

I've had a subscription to Country Home since I was in high school.  It was one of my favorites.  I say "was" because (as you may already know) last week they folded too.  So this past weekend I dug for my all time favorite issue... May 2004, where they featured Thomas O'Brien's weekend house on Long Island.  An architecturally classic structure with that Thomas O'Brien modern twist.  I scanned it for my own good... you know in case my house burns down, at least I'll have a digital back up copy here at the office.

 

I have mixed emotions about mostly white interiors.  Sometimes they lean too romantic, too-shabby chic... which is better to me than too contemporary, "sterile white", but ultimately I think they are just too safe.  Yeah, I think that's my qualm with white... the safety-factor.  Or is it that it's easy to create?  Or that life is just too short for all white?  Okay, so I'm obviously not really sure.  However... I do know that Thomas O here (who is definitely in my top 5) does an edgy white, one that feels good... a mostly white interior that you aren't afraid to have a glass of wine in.  One that actually feels lived in.  Is it the black accents?  The mix of finishes (brass and nickel and different species of woods)?  The sculptural lines of the fixtures and furnishings?  I think it boils down to the mix of all of it. 

 

I think the white is off-set by the found objects, the antiques, the interesting little thing-a-ma-bobbers here and there.  They aren't "accessories"... they are items that you know he has found at flea markets and in travels that simply spoke to him.  That little bench tucked in under the coffee table... delightful.

 

And the garden... oh the garden and that patio. 

 

The kitchen and the master bathroom were my favorite.  Sometimes I have flashbacks of these spaces.  How can someone master "perfectly imperfect"... so perfectly?  Totally chic, yet totally livable.  Little pops of black.

 

 

Ahhh the bathroom... looks like a nice place to take a bath.

 

 

If you click on the photos to enlarge them you should be able to read the tips on how to "bring it home".

a kitchen intervention

This is the short story of what happens when a really bad kitchen happens to a really cool person.

You might know my friend Anne Turner (remember this post and this post)... the girl has style, impeccable style.

 

I can only imagine that this kitchen was totally killing her.  Spec grade maple cabinets with green laminite countertops, mix-matched appliances.  She was way cooler than that kitchen.  But we can't have it all at once... she had just moved into this new (old) house, she did some facelifts here and there, but a kitchen renovation is expensive.  So she and her husband Neal lived with it for awhile.

 

That is, until she couldn't take it any longer.  And started the renovation...

 

She raised those cabinets up, added crown, ripped out that tile, well... here see for yourself:

 

 

 

   

 

 

And my favorite shot of all:

 

I think this might just be my favorite photo of 2008... and it's just icing on the cake that I love the girl who dines at this table and cooks in that kitchen! 

You may be thinking these photos look familiar... because you might have seen it in the last issue of Cottage Living November/December 2008... and when I say "last" I really mean it... it was the last issue.  They went out with a bang...

You can read more about Anne Turner's kitchen renovation here.

Some credits and info:

Photographer: Erica G. Dines {website not working}
Paint on walls: Farrow & Ball "Lime White"
Paint on cabinets: Uppers; same as walls, Lowers; F&B "Mouse's Back"
Window sashes and doors: F&B "Stoney Ground"
Hardware: Restoration Hardware, Ephram 6" pulls
Countertops: Black honed granite from Dupont at Lowes
Wood Countertops: Walnut butcher block from AWP Butcher Block
Appliances: Kenmore Pro, Sears
Tile/Splash: Ann Saks, Capriccio in antique white (it has a great wavy finish to it that makes the tile)
Pendants in kitchen: Restoration Hardware, Harmon Pendant in dark brass
Dining table: vintage
Dining chairs: Zentique
Dining room chandelier: vintage (from her brother's 1940s house in Montgomery, Alabama)
Floors:Lumber Liqudators 2 1/4" white oak select stained with half formula of Special Walnut
Fabric behind French doors: Lewis & Sheron
What year was your house built? We think the 40s
What year do you suspect your kitchen was last updated? oooh, maybe early 90s

And I almost forgot... the Faucet:  Price Pfister!

PS- I'm waiting to hear back from Anne Turner on the color of those dining room walls... will update as soon as I get that info!

Paint on Dining Room Walls: Pratt & Lambert "Sierra Night"

TGIF!

good bye Cottage Living, I will miss you

 

Cottage Living is closing their doors.

I wish it wasn't true, but look it's here too. And here.

I LOVED Cottage Living... unpretentious and real interiors.  Homes you could actually see yourself living in.

November / December (on newstands now) is their last issue.

This durn economy killed them, they couldn't sell enough ad space. 

I wish my friends at Cottage Living nothing but the best.  What an amazing group of talented, kind, professional, and passionate people. 

My heart really hurts for them today.

And just incase you missed this comment when I posted this interview with my friend Anne Turner Carroll... I thought I'd re-post it... from Ginny in California:

A wonderful interview and a thrill to find your blog on this very rainy day in SoCal. Since moving into my 1920's cottage(after my husbands unexpected passing), I found a new life. It was my monthly "Cottage Livings" that inspired me to buy a small bungalow instead of a condo. The large homes of my past never gave me the pleasure that this bungalow has. With a design education, my eyes are always quick to pick up fresh ideas from this great mag. I have even started some redoes on the block with pics from "Cottage Living". Thank you, Ginny

If you will miss Cottage Living, leave them a little note here in the comment section, I'll make sure that they see them.

::image above from Cottage Living::

running on empty & feasting on kitchens

 

{photo from here}

If I had enough feet to fill those shoes my days would be more productive, but would being more productive offset the fact that everyone would stare at me and wonder why I had 7 feet?  Hmmm... probably not.

Last night I went to Borders and my eyes feasted upon this special publication that's hot off the press from Cottage Living.

Remember this dining room?

It makes an appearance in the special Kitchen publication. Get yours before it's gone!

Raoul Textiles

Raoul Textiles are gorgeous, I sent Courtney home with a couple samples... one of which was the fabric on the sofa below. (it's Amijao linen #909B82, for fellow tradespeople who might be interested)

I love the repetition of the same fabric on the draperies. Love the grasscloth too. (my grasscloth is going in my pantry on Friday!) I also like the frames over the sofa.  This image is from Elle Decor, July/August 2007, photographed by Pieter Estersohn.

I've been stewing over how to frame the antique scrapbook of match books I scored at the Kane County Flea Market.  I have a few frame samples and a million mats I'm sorting through, and was leaning towards a deep frame so I could have some relief and a shadowbox affect so you could see the cool depth and crunchiness of not only the matches themselves, but also the pages of the tattered old scrapbook ($$$$$$). But looking at that image above I wonder if I shouldn't just go with a classic (plain jane) metal frame ($) and white mat (oh the decisions).  I would usually never go with a metal frame... but it works there.  But they have grasscloth on the walls, which is a nice soft element, and what they have framed has hardly any color.

Okay, enough thinking out loud.