I could go for one of these exotic bathroom sinks — there’s no other way to describe them. Exotic bathroom sinks can qualify as design-around features. They can kick off a color palette, suggest textures and materials, or even convey particular styles. Sure, you can go with generic white sanitary fixtures. But investing in an exotic bathroom sink fits the aesthetic of our … [Read more...]
Agrarian Utility Sink Wall
The utility sink goes glam -- even when it services the chicken coop of an agrarian home. This stunning and decorative utility sink wall in the new California home of architect Steve Giannetti and the decorator and highly regarded blogger Brooke Giannetti, ups the back-of-the-house ante in several ways. The oversized basin, reclaimed materials, unique installation and super … [Read more...]
Pale Christmas Palette
Removing red from a Christmas palette can have elegant results. A pale Christmas palette is not traditional — not at all. And some may really not like that idea. But it’s icy and beautiful in a very different way, especially when the Christmas palette runs to silver and gold along with pine green. Anyone who cannot picture a way to evoke the Yuletide without the color of … [Read more...]
Strategies for Hanging Draperies
I’m always interested in methods for hanging draperies which may not be as obvious as they look. By strategies, I mean how hanging draperies relates to the windows and ceiling in any room. Additionally, I take an interest in the choice of rods used for hanging draperies because rods are the supporting actors. One thing most people don’t realize is that draperies are … [Read more...]
Tone–on-Tone Kitchen
Light wood kitchens seem to be edging out dark and shiny cabinet looks. In a vacation house on the Maine coast, designer John Saladino created a kitchen for a couple of internet entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Overall, the owners wanted a African safari lodge look and so wide-plank paneling was used in many of the rooms. In the kitchen, that theme likely presented a … [Read more...]
Decorative Wrought Iron Staircase Railing
These inviting entries feature wrought iron staircase railing -- from simple to swirly. The foyer is a focal point in many homes, and the space of first impressions. Nothing is more elegant than an understated staircase and one of the most handsome is a wrought iron staircase railing. That's why a custom wrought iron staircase railing can stand out in silhouette against light … [Read more...]
Color Poem
Hydrangea blue and cabbage green are color inspirations from the garden to use together inside. Last weekend, a neighbor invited me down to see her new apartment which was in the final stages of construction. The color was wonderful! A fair amount of finishing work and some fixes remained, but the rooms were freshly painted, floors were newly finished and the lighting fixtures … [Read more...]
Roman Style Bathtubs
Lovers of Italian art and design choose to live with Roman style freestanding marble bathtubs. Two antique lovers – one in Argentina and another in Nashville – created amazingly elegant bathrooms with freestanding marble bathtubs as the focal point. These are actually copies of ancient metal tubs that included rings for portability. These tubs weight thousands of pounds and … [Read more...]
Silver Ceilings
My fascination with silver ceilings began when I watched my dad use silver leaf on old furniture. My Dad would have loved these silver ceilings. He always had a project or two going. I remember watching him painstakingly apply the sizing (adhesive) then position oddly fragile, 4-inch silver leaf squares on a chest of drawers, peeling away the paper around them and testing out … [Read more...]
Yule Simple
Simple bouquets of fresh white flowers add a frosty glow and natural fragrance to holiday decorations. During the holidays simple white flowers can be pretty, festive and offer a change of pace from the traditional palette for decorations. While I love red berries and pointsettias, white flowers look snowy and festive with pine boughs and other greenery in quite a different … [Read more...]
Displaying Large Collections
Large collections gathered over time create a greater impact when displayed en masse. Our homes are an extension of ourselves and if they hold large collections they may reflect our personalities in dramatic ways. In his modern Santa Fe adobe, Dallas architect Jim Rimelspach showcases large collections en masse creating visual interest in a dark hued wall niche. Displayed … [Read more...]
Ways to Hang Picture Walls
Picture walls can be arranged in odd or even groups or hybrid odd and even rows. Creating successful picture walls often comes down to calculations. It's important to focus on on how many pieces are available to hang in a single area, the size of each, and their scale (relative size) compared to the total wall area. In addition picture walls should -- at least in theory -- … [Read more...]
Whitewashed Rooms
White rooms endure because they can be infinitely tuned in to style, texture and surface treatment. Beach house white rooms. Stark white rooms. Cottage white rooms. Winter white. Snow, milk or chalk. No matter what the style of a room or how it's described to evoke the almighty absence of color, white rooms are the greatest shape-shifters of all. Some call them stark. Others … [Read more...]
Kitchen Cabinets with Skirts
“What’s old is new again.” Look no further than kitchen cabinets with fabric skirts. Prior to the post-World War II home-building boom in the U.S., middle class kitchens commonly had cabinets with fabric skirts, often homemade, to screen off the open areas below sinks and base cabinet frames. Although skirts went out as a style in the 1950s, fabric lingered in country houses … [Read more...]
