My sister Jo-Jo is famous for naming houses and spaces.  Sometimes the names are aspirational, other times more fitting to their geographic location, and still others…pure fantasy.  When I think back to Shangri-la – the name she gave to the third floor attic space that my Father converted to a bedroom escape at his Blueberry Pond Drive house on the Cape – fantasy comes to mind.  Shangri-la is of course a reference to James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon which speaks of this “mystical, harmonious valley….”.
If you’ve ever been party to the modern family mash-up, coming together under one roof in search of open sky, sun, beach, and a cool ocean breeze, you know that serenity is not exactly what is produced inside those walls.  After scaling a mountain of steps, and locking the door to keep out unwanted intruders, the attic did likely take on the mystical, harmonious qualities of a valley in the form of – quiet.  Jo-Jo owned the space because she named it.

No. 2

Then there is the Surf Shack, The Manse – she insists on naming them.  I came up with a host of clever names for the Shack that were rejected out of hand, not because they weren’t perfect in my opinion, but because through the naming, there would be ownership.  I still secretly think of it as The Buttercup Bungalow.  A childhood name that she hated, and I adored “Buttercup” and her desire to have a California Style retreat.  Plus I love alliteration.  There’s a cadence to it that appeals, and my little fingers type out those bouncy words as fast as they pop out of my pouty pursed lips.

No. 3

My PR Agent came for a visit and was gratifyingly appreciative of the way No. 4 has taken shape.  She asked, as many do, is it hard for you to say good-bye to the properties.  I answered as I always have – no – once they are complete, I am ready to move on to the next project.  Design ideas, and materials, and furnishings that have yet to be expressed are bubbling over, and I am antsy with the need to be unleashed.

No. 4

I wonder though if my habit of numbering the properties, rather than naming them, keeps it clinical.  It’s much harder to fall in love with something that you don’t give a special name to.  Even my very first property I only refer to as Charlestown.  As a habitual nick-name giver, I know that they express affection in a way a number never will.  Now that I have so clearly etched my number 10 in marble, what will happen if I don’t make it?  Will I never find love?  Say a little prayer for me this Sunday.  Keep naming…keep believing.

It’s that time of year, when winter is largely behind us, but here in New England, summer seems a long way away.  It’s cold outside and I am longing for a little vitamin d.  I am feeling resentful toward all those that are reporting they are in a sunny warm place, out boating, and swimming, or lying poolside wiggling their toes in the shallow end where the kids play.  The only light of day my toes are seeing is inside a heated yoga studio.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am grateful to take them out for a walk, but it’s not the same as sinking them into the sand.

The Beverly Hills Hotel . The Hollywood Reporter . Renovated Pool Area

Alas, as I push to complete this project, and I track down, dozens of different players to assembler the parts – another small carpentry project to create panel doors that will be installed on the built-in (this will be the third builder involved in the completion of this single piece).  If you think that’s unusual or even an isolated incident – it’s not.

Beverly Hills Hotel . Cabana . The Hollywood Reporter

I’ve had three different painters on this job – four if you include my builder who went a round in the unit.  I need a single brass cabinet pull that didn’t come with the original order – always check the order.  They ship by weight rather than by actually counting the pieces that you requested, and paid for when you placed the order.  I say this with no incredulity in the voice in my head (which is the one I hear when I write this) I’m numb to those realities.  That’s not the part that bothers me, it’s that the lead time is 8 – 12 weeks.  Good golly, how is one expected to hedge against that reality?

The Viceroy . Palm Springs . CA – Kelly Wearstler Design . copyright Katherine Belarmino

So, I won’t be going anywhere.  I’d settle for a pleasant May, and a number of fantasy worthy destinations to inspire pool, beach, or back yard lounging when the time comes, in my neck of the woods.  Though I grew up on Nantucket Sound, which is nothing at all like California, I love

One Kings Lane . Light Yellow Umbrella . $539.

CA hotel pools, because…they’re so pretty.  It was just National Stripes Day, a few weeks ago, and I love stripes, and fringe, and pom-pom, and palm trees — even if they are pink and manufactured from metal.  They are still cool in their kitschiness.

SBDesigns_Umbrella 034

Santa Barbara Umbrella . Mirasl . Flamenco . Cirque  www.sbumbrella.com

Serena and Lily . Left:  Pacifica Corner Sectional $4998.  Right Sebastopol Stool $198.  www.serenaandlily.com

I am a big fan of the Serena & Lily aesthetic, but it’s out of my budget.  Perhaps it’s not out of yours and/or you can use it to inspire your design.  Just as I will.  Whatever will I do to simulate a pool.  That is not in my future.  I know that.  My good friend Lisa is having one put in at her home.  Maybe she’ll allow me to help with the design.

Pier One Imports . Casbah Stacking Chair . $139. http://www.pier1.com

A sunny Sunday to you – wherever you may be.

Harvard University . Memorial Church

Harvard University’s Memorial Church in Harvard Yard is indeed a place of grace as advertised.  Getting sense of place right is a strong suit.  I need only walk from the parking garage past the Curious George Store, cut across the island where International Magazines (pick your language and feel right at home or in an exotic new land) are sold at a Kiosk, before entering the gates to the yard.  My first foot fall through the gate changes everything.  I breath easier, the trees, the landscape, the energy, the possibility.  It’s all there.  Add stunning architecture, architecture that is meant to impress, and impose upon you the importance of this institute of higher learning.  It succeeds.  I pass John Harvard’s statue on the left as I make my way to Mem, and then I am there.

Designed by Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbot, MemChurch was dedicated in 1932 on Armistice Day.  Meant to honor the men that died in WWI, it would go on to honor those that died in WWII, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, so many conflicts.  It is not felt in this church.  There is serenity, calm and a sense of belonging – whether you are religious or not, whether it’s filled with voices singing and organs playing, or there is only the soft creak of the enormous wooden doors, the quiet shuffle of a visitor, taking a look, or finding a pew to sit, like me, and enjoy a few minutes of solitude.  So little of my life is quiet.  Why don’t we value time to think a little more?

Like most church’s, Memorial Church was designed to create a sense of awe in the eye of the beholder, to lift you up, bring you closer to God, if you are so inclined to believe.  I can assure you, this space can make you believe, and Jonathan Walton, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister at the Church, will make you glad you came.  He radiates light and energy, he fills the voluminous space inspirational words, and the architecture reinforces the message.

Today it might be sleeting, raining, snowing, and seem as if spring will never arrive here in New England, but it will be bright again.  MemChurch is the same message of hope.  It’s open to ALL, services every Sunday in the main Sanctuary, morning prayer, weekdays in Appleton Chapel.  Take a peek, see where this new found inspiration will take you.