Original Watercolor Painting Giveaway

* Update: Cristin is the winner, Congrats! *

All the rich colors of Autumn ~ warm golds, greens, oranges and browns.

This is an Original Watercolor painting {painted today as a matter of fact} Giveaway! $95.00 value

To qualify: Become a fan on Facebook, and make sure you are a follower of BB&B.

Visit my shop and leave a comment below.

Winner will be announced on September 10th!

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thanks for the link Attic Mag

Monday Inspiration

"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on.

It is never of any use to oneself" Oscar Wilde

Smokey blues and sparkles of sunlight to ease you into the work week...

and an original watercolor giveaway coming up next!

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photos: here comes the sun, flickr, glassbaby, birch and lily

Colors of a Rainbow

When all the colors of a rainbow are put together, look what happens!

Be sure to check in tomorrow for an Original Watercolor Giveaway!

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photos: pinterest

To Do Lists and Crisp Autumn Air

It's the weekend! I am already feeling the crisp Autumn air... and thinking of chunky long sweaters for upcoming football games and tailgating parties...

Gardening and back to school organization are also on the to-do list!

Best of the week on BB&B

Beautiful Living: Nautical Chandeliers

Color Inspiration: Indigo and Wheat

New Watercolors by Laura Trevey

Bright Bold and Beautiful ~ Flourish Design and Style

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photos: pinterest style.com rachel whiting flickr

Bright Bold and Beautiful: Flourish Design and Style

Sarah of Flourish Design and Style is the next host in my BB&B guest post series,

"What is bright, bold, and beautiful to you?" Thank you, Sarah!

Bright Bold and Beautiful, oh the things that come to mind. For me it’s simple.. doing what I love, being with those I love, and being surrounded by things I love.

Bright- I adore white and cream, even better is a mix of the two..then take a bold orange and add that to a neutral mix, stunning. Hints of vintage beauty add a generous but subtle dose of bright color, and white done right

is perfection on Reese.

Bold- Bold is color, bold is scale, and bold is what you love done well.. and if you’re going to do one thing well, aren’t Diane Bergeron’s bookshelves an amazing example? An oversized drum pendant demands attention, and a wonderful striped floor is quietly bold.

Beautiful- I love light rooms, but a little dose of color is key. A hint of pink here, a mix of tones there. Kids rooms are so important.. especially when they are put together so well. Mixing patterns is an art, but boy, when pulled off properly,

what fun!

Thank you so much Laura, for inviting me to share. I hope you enjoy my take on bright, bold and beautiful- xx

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How to lay the parquet ? - Please advise & vote !

In our primo piano we are going to lay parquet into two rooms and the corridor.
Angelo already has ordered the amount of parquet, natural oak (rovere naturalizzato). The planks we will use are quiete large and long: 18,9 cm wide and 186 and 190 cm long.

second last: rovere naturalizzato

The only thing we are not yet sure about is the laying direction.

Angelo has send me the following drawings of version A and B:

There are two bedrooms and one corridor in an 'L'-shape. One part of the 'L' is very narrow (about 100cm). There are three balcony doors  from where the light comes in. Before asking my dear readers for advise and comments, I researched a bit the www and found the following about how to lay parquet in a home:

• usually the direction of the wooden panels follow (parallel) the direction of the light incidence. That means it starts in an 45 degree angle from the window (is this clearly described?) - in our case this would be Version A
• some say simply: from the door to the light, which is not often fisable as the window is not always opposite the door.
• others say, if you lay it across the light incidence (parallel to the window) you could make appear the room wider - in our case Version B could do that to the upper bedroom 
• another specialist was saying that you cannot always follow the 'light incidence direction method'. You should consider the dynamic of the room, walking directions and shape of the room.

I understand the last answer. But what is the dynamic of my rooms ? I am thousands of miles away to feel the dynamic. We never lived inside and we have not yet dicided where to put the beds.

And then we became another interesting advise from our archtiect, that made the decision finding not easier:

• parquet layout in rooms Version A
• parquet layout in corridor Version B

For a better understanding of the premises, here some pictures:

this is one of the rooms and its balcony door

this is the balcony door in the corridor

When you come up the stairs - and turn left to furhter go up -  it would look better to have the panels parallel to the window, across the light incidence, in the same direction as you walk, I think.

one more part of the corridor in the primo piano

Dear Readers, come along with your suggestions !

Here is a visual summary for you:

Version A - classic - direction follows the incoming light

Version B - parallel to the windows, this layout underlines that both rooms are connected via the corridor

(I think, this is the better solution for the corridor and the upper bedroom as it could look a bit wider in its slimmer part where we cut away space for a bathroom)

Version C - a mixture

So please vote on the blogroll, or leave a comment !! GRAZIE !!!

At the end I found another hint, I am sure, my experienced worker on site, Angelo, knows it already:

When the parquet is delivered, wait 48 hours to let the wood acclimatise. The ideal condition would be a temperature above 17 degree (which we have for sure) and below 70% humidity (which I do not know). Not sure from which latitude this hint came from, but waiting 48 hours seeems to make sense.

House For Sale: San Antonio

 

An romantic English inspired cottage in San Antonio, Texas dating from 1924.

 

A reader from Houston emailed me about her best friend who is an interior designer in San Antonio, Texas (you know, the home of the Alamo!)  The designer’s house is now for sale and she thought I would like to see it.    First:  looking over the listing, I was thrilled at how large and beautiful the pictures are – you can get whole screen images in high-res which is shocking compared to the terrible pictures we get in Houston.  Take a lesson from San Antonio -  HAR!    The house itself is also remarkable:  a rock house, built in 1924!  Wow.    Was Texas even a state back then????   It’s located on a hill in Bluebonnet Hills – an area of Alamo Heights, which even I know is the place “to be” in San Antonio.    The house has been completely restored and updated and has original plaster walls and hardwood floors.   It’s 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms at a total of 2,582 sq. footage.   There is also a 325 sq. ft. guest house, which is adorable. 

 

 

The side courtyard.    The master bedroom is located on the lower level where the French doors are.

 

The Live Oaks date over 150 years old.  Amazing!!!!!  I love all the curving stairs and the rock walls – details you don’t get in new houses unless you pay a fortune for them.

 

The living room’s ceiling is so beautiful!   And notice the original stucco walls.   I love the slipcovered settee (of course!)

 

 

 

The front door leads into the living room.  I love the French Os de Mouton chairs and the skirted table.  And I really love the day bed in front of the window.    So pretty.

 

 

Such a cute fireplace.  The living room leads through the arches into the dining room and the hallway. 

 

 

 

The dining room off the living room – what a pretty chandelier!!! 

 

Off the dining room is the kitchen with black glass fronted cabinets.  Great Viking range.  I wish I had one of those!!

 

 

 

Looking the other way towards the sink area.  You can see into the breakfast room on the right. 

 

 

The master bedroom is so beautiful all in linen.  Wonderful textile hanging over the headboard and I especially love the closets with the faux antique mirrored doors. 

 

 

The master bedroom overlooks the side yard courtyard.  Great lamps!   What a beautiful room.

 

 

Close up view of the closet doors – making something utilitarian beautiful. 

 

 

The master bathroom has beautiful Carrera marble – you can’t find it like that anymore.  It’s a totally gorgeous slab.  

 

 

Master bedroom vanity area.  Great mirrors,  lamp and shade.

 

 

A pink French fantasy for a daughter.   Too cute.

 

 

Great carpet choice in this daughter’s bedroom!   Cute beds.

 

 

 The guest house is used as an office for the designer – must be nice to have a separate office like this.   Great day bed and French chairs. 

 

 

 

Huge backyard!!  I love how the fence is rock and iron.  

A huge thank you to the reader for sending in this beautiful house.  It’s inspiring to see how romantic and desirable a house that dates from 1924 still is today.   All the touches – the rock exterior, the stucco walls, the beautiful wood ceilings – make it so special and really hits home how devoid of detailing we build in our houses today.  

The listing agent is Lisa Worth with Kuper Realty.  To access the listing, go HERE.