Friday, April 30, 2010

Bold Vision : DJ ~ Dustjacket Attic

DJ is the Bold Vision behind Dustjacket Attic. I remember the first time I found DJ's glamorous blog. I must have spent hours staring at the beautiful photos, and I have visited every day since then with anticipation of the next post!
In her own words, "When putting together a post for my readers I focus on a set of characteristics that is difficult to explain - I may view fifty editorials and only one will be right in my eyes. I think it is a combination of skillful and interesting photography, great locations, excellent styling and if the model is right for the roll...and I love pieces with a sense of humour too. Being up to date does not worry me, I can happily post an editorial years old and the next day post one that's just been released. Music is also an interesting element to viewing a post, It's a challenge to set the right tone in music but one I enjoy doing".

On top of her amazing taste, DJ is a delight to know. I am so thankful to have found her. Blogging is truly amazing, as it allows us to "get to know" others from all over the world. Did I mention that DJ lives in Australia? When am I coming to visit?
Thank you DJ for sharing your bold vision with us!

sun shade sail

Beautiful sun shade sail by Stacks & Stacks (via remodelista)
It fits nicely into this lovely little back yard with banana trees and bamboo.

Wishing you a sunny weekend !
*

Vintage Storage Ideas

Cool Vintage storage inspiration via Apartment Therapy!
Don't you just love the suitcase idea?

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Pay it Forward

Yesterday was Pay it Forward day, and I received a FedEx box at my door. I knew that I was not expecting any packages, so I was excited to see what was inside! In the box were these three adorably wrapped towel "cake" rolls that look good enough to eat! I wanted to share them with you and thank A Fine Favor for the kind gesture. Please visit this "sweet" shop here.Photobucket

Brighter than Sunshine

This photo depicts my mood right now... so glad it's Friday! I have a new
"Bold Vision" series coming up from one of my favorite bloggers, so stay tuned...
brighter than sunshine
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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Kitchen accessories by IKEA

I like this kitchen island by Ikea (a big "accessory")

There is this wooden board to swing open and have breakfast.

The island consists of DACKE table (above) ...

... and DACKE trolley

 I want one or two of these metal shelves (but the fixing is not that pretty).

after dish washing a "drying shelf"

another "work space saving storage shelf"

Below samples about how the metallic shelves (all GRUNDTAL) could be combined and how they would look like:



Here, I also like this UTBY shelf under the workspace

Not an accessory:
a simple minimalistic kitchen with cooker and sink. Ideal for a small budget and small space (just a fridge to add):

Unfortunately, there is no IKEA in Calabria (and I am not getting paid for this"ad").


One more accessory (not by IKEA):

A wooden board covers the stove when not needed and provides additional working space for a small kitchen. Simply move it to the side when cooking.

A Pop of RED

As an artist, I am frequently reminded to add a pop of red in EVERY painting.
It adds interest, even if it is a tiny line or dot. I feel the same way about adding
a "pop of red" in every room. See how the red bowl at the top ties in
the color of the kitchen stools?
kitchen
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{image via bbb flickr}
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Bright Colors

May your day be filled with colorful poms poms...
Tissue Paper Pompoms
Some Best of BBB you may have missed:
Beautiful Living: Outdoor Lighting
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{photo via bbb flickr}

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Window Shopping at Anthropologie

I am loving all the bright, bold, and beautiful colors and patterns this Spring at Anthropologie. Everyone loves the clothes, but have you taken note of their home section? These aprons are so cute. I could live in that store!
I especially love the sweet butterfly towel!

IKEA meets Pottery Barn

Here is a peek into the girls' rooms in the third floor renovation. They went with a vibrant and bright lime green color called Spring Meadow Green from Benjamin Moore paints. The twin beds are IKEA as well as the adorable bedside table. The colorful quilts and shams are Naomi from Pottery Barn Teen.
IKEA meets Pottery Barn Teen
The IKEA Jules swivel chair is awesome.
IKEA Jules swivel chair
Yes, they went with the same color which creates a nice flow throughout. This is the second bedroom with the IKEA double bed and the beautiful quilt and shams are Graphic Pop from Pottery Barn Teen.
IKEA meets Pottery Barn
I love this quiet spot for reading or studying.
Home Renovation
Click here to see the before shots.
To read more home renovation posts, click here.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

What A Year!!

 

The Skirted  Roundtable

 

Yep!  Hard to believe but we’re starting our second year of the Skirted Roundtable.   It was all Linda Merrill’s idea, so blame her, not me.   Linda was a blogging friend of mine from Massachusetts that I had bonded with over our mutual love of the Something’s Gotta Give house.  I kid her about being a grandmother because she’s been blogging with Surroundings much longer than most of us have, but she’s actually younger than Megan or me.   Last year Linda approached me about joining her for a weekly design podcast and I suggested we also ask Megan of Beach Bungalow 8 fame.   Megan and I were emails buddies who had spent many late nights laughing while texting, but then she had to go off and get married and our late night texting  abruptly stopped.   I’d missed our laugh filled sessions, so I begged Linda to ask Megan to join us.   Our plan was straight forward -  we would talk over Skype since we lived in Texas, Massachusetts and California and it would only be audio because everyone looks like a troll on Skype, even the gorgeous Megan.      Initially we promised ourselves we could keep it short and sweet:   fifteen minutes of talking about design and fifteen minutes of talking about blogging, period.  We actually kept to that schedule  for a few months until we started having guests and our short and sweet turned into one hour plus.    It’s been so much fun this past year - we record on Monday nights at 11:00 pm EST and usually don’t end the conversation until 1:00 am.    We’ve had some incredible guests – Charlotte Moss, Alessandra Branca, and Vicente Wolf, to name a few.   I will confess that my stomach was in knots interviewing Charlotte – she’s one of my idols and I still can’t believe she agreed to talk with us!   We’ve got some more great interviews lined up for our second year – noted author Diane Dorrans Saeks and interior design extraordinaire Mary Douglas Drysdale are coming up soon.

As always, it’s your support and loyalty that makes it all worthwhile and we can’t thank you enough for listening and leaving comments.  Just a reminder – the Skirted Roundtable is available on I-Tunes for downloading by subscription.   

 

 

Lee Stanton poses.  Sigh.

 

This past week on the  Skirted  Roundtable, our guest was the absolutely gorgeous (!) noted antiquarian Lee Stanton from Los Angeles.   If you are like me and are interested in antiques and the antiques business, be sure to listen to his interview.    He is a fascinating man and we really learned a lot about antiques from him  - I hope you will too!!!   To listen to Lee’s interview, please go HERE.

Small kitchens

As I am looking at small kitchens - kitchens that are like pantries, linear kitchenettes, minimalistic kitchens in living areas - all over the internet, I have found some pretty inspirations. Those pics I am filing and sharing here:

When you want to hide this kitchen, just unfold the large folding doors.
However this kitchen does not need to hide with its beautiful mosaic walls.

Camouflage: the kitchen melts togehter with the living area by using the same colour scheme. Having enough space on the buttom allows not using overhead storage and a more elegant look.

 
Using bold colours on the wall behind the kitchen brings the focus back to the kitchen. However, the long red shelf instead of overhead storage cupboards let the kitchen not appear like an ordinary kitchen. The kitchen's furniture is part of the living area.

This bold red shelf has a second function: it is the fume hood. Cool !

An vintage orange kitchen with inox fume hood and shelf for drying plates. 
(I am attracted by all kind of inox kitchen accessories!)

A flickr find: orange smeg in small kitchen

traditional metal kitchen in modern ambiente

 
One piece: sink, working and cooking

a walled kitchen (from a tile catalogue)

a 'living in" kitchen

During my research (for our own project) I liked more and more that cooking and living are melting together. Especially in small spaces it helps to have no harsh separation between cooking and living. I like when these two areas blends into each other.

There is only one rub:
to get this trendy look it is better not to hang overhead cupboards. But in small spaces this is a waste of storage space - unless you do not use your kitchen for cooking that often ...

Home Tour ~ Laura Trevey

Here I am, up close and personal in my home! Please come take a look around. I love fresh flowers and beautiful floral arrangements. They give me such inspiration in my paintings. All artwork seen in these photos are Laura Trevey originals.
Dining Room
Dining Room
Dining Room
Dining Room
Main Living Room
Main Living Room
Main Living Room
Main Living Room
Kitchen
Home Office
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A special thanks goes out to my friends Stephanie Evans and Sarah Deignan, Richmond's Real Estate staging and Redesign Experts, who were responsible for making my home so inviting.
{all photos and more home shots on my flickr page}