What's kitchen character? It’s the idea of using one unique element to make a kitchen memorable. Too often these days I see kitchens that are sadly cookie cutter. They often look so similar they become formulaic whether they are the classic all-white kitchen, black and white, wood tone, or one of the popular muted colors such as gray or pale green. Creating kitchen character … [Read more...]
Suzanne Kasler: Timeless Style
"If you group like objects instead of scattering them around a room, they will have more impact.” In her latest book, Suzanne Kasler: Timeless Style, Atlanta's leading interior designer explains the way she likes to display art and collectibles. The point is impact, as she says (above). And so it goes with this book: the 300 photos of eight houses she decorated clearly … [Read more...]
Antique to Chic Upholstery
Antique2Chic's bold fabrics modernize old pieces while allowing them to keep their vintage charm A few years ago James Pickering was in New York visiting his friend, Timothy Warr, when the duo spotted a brightly upholstered chair in a shop window. It was a poor quality reproduction piece but, despite its outrageous price tag, was attracting a lot of attention. It was a "we … [Read more...]
My Search For Os De Mouton Chairs
My hunt for os de mouton chairs proved that perseverance has its rewards, even in decorating. Over a year ago, I entered a local antique store I don't go to very often. Oh, they have lovely things but not so lovely prices. Why torture myself. I had been longing for a pair of French os de mouton chairs to use by the great room fireplace. Those have curvy "sheep bone" … [Read more...]
Canadian Stone Mansion
Tour Maus Park, a mid-19th c. Canadian stone mansion home to an antiques dealer. A rustic kitchen led me to Maus Park, a mid-19th century Canadian stone mansion and historic home near Toronto. One of my favorite kitchens here on Atticmag, when I originally posted it we all swooned over the combination of luxury and natural stone. Then there was the oil painting hung in the … [Read more...]
Alabama Stone Cottage II
Our room-by-room walk through of Allison's Alabama stone cottage continues. Our tour of Allison’s lovely stone house on a lake in Alabama continues with a walk through some of the private spaces in the 5-bedroom home that our blogging partner and her husband built on 4-1/2 acres. If you missed part one of the tour, you might want to start there — a good deal of background is … [Read more...]
Alabama Stone Cottage
Tour our Allison's idyllic Alabama stone cottage lakeside home. Calling a five bedroom four-and-a-half bathroom home sitting on 4-1/2 acres an Alabama stone cottage is a way of describing the style of the house our Allison and her husband lovingly built on an Alabama lakefront lot. Designed by Tulsa architect Jack Arnold – who the couple has never actually met – the house … [Read more...]
Virginia Farmhouse Modern
Tour the first floor of our friend Marsha's farmhouse modern home filled with art and antiques. Marsha and I met almost five years ago when she and her husband Yank were starting construction of their forever farmhouse in Virginia. At the time, my husband Syd and I were starting construction of our forever cottage. We both had chosen plots of land in the woods with water out … [Read more...]
Hollywood Style
A home by Michael S. Smith in Hollywood colonial style has antique furniture worthy of a starring role. “I don’t know whether it’s cause or effect -- because I work with so many clients in films, or the reason I have so many clients in films, but I have a cinematic feel for interiors,” Michael S. Smith told an interviewer from House & Garden magazine. Smith, a … [Read more...]