Monthly Archives: August 2019

Al Fresco in the Fall?

Posted in Coastal Design, Furniture, Uncategorized by
Ballard Design . 7 Piece Rectangular Dining Set with cushions. $2379.30

I feel it in the air today, though I know in my heart of New England hearts, there will be many more warm days before the snow arrives, the crisp weather of this next season is sure to come. Why then am I recommending you assess your outdoor furniture and consider buying now, right before you’ll be up to your eyeballs in holiday decorations, and gift lists as long as your arm? If you have ever attempted to buy outdoor furniture in March, April, May or gasp – June…you know you’ve already missed the boat. Sure, you’ll be allowed to purchase it. Buy now, and prepare to hold your breath until November. That’s right – November. If Thanksgiving is warm enough, which sometimes it is here in Boston, you could entertain family and friends under your pergola with your new dining table and chairs, and then haul them downstairs for a long winter’s sleep.

Pottery Barn . Torrey Square Arm All-Weather Wicker Sofa 84″ $1661.

If you purchase now, you’ll have the benefit of some pretty amazing sale prices. When an outdoor sofa, which in this region you use for maybe three months if you are lucky, costs about a third more than your indoor sofa, which you use all year long, getting some kind of a break on pricing is a non-negotiable for me.

RH . Trousdale Collection . Frames starting at $446. for memebers

Options may be a little more limited, but 60% off is 60% off, and after a winter that seemed like it would never end, you really want to be able to pull those furnishings out of storage the very first springlike day that comes along, and get to taking advantage of it.

Above Left: Ballard Design . Color Block Above Right: Ballard Designs . Fringed

These are my picks – buy now or forever hold your peace next spring.

Southern Challenge: Leap of faith

Posted in Architecture, Paint Colors, Uncategorized by

Today I am filled with gratitude and a healthy dose of awe for the faith that the Walton’s placed in me with their new southern home. It’s one thing to preach about it, and another to put it into practice. I always knew they were special people, but I don’t think I fully appreciated the divergent nature of the design suggestions I was making, from that which they were accustomed, until I had changed everything that is.

Above: Family room before and after. All the surface mounted electrical was removed, the existing built-ins were modified to accommodate the wall mounted tv – which can be hidden away with the addition of the new doors. A additional corner bookshelf cabinet was constructed to the right of the door. All woodwork was painted in Benjamin Moore’s Nickle, walls in Benjamin Moore’s Mineral ice. Quite a transformation.

Above Left: Benjamin Moore’s Mineral Ice. Right: Benjamin Moore’s Nickle.

Dark, rich, brooding color palettes were packed up in boxes and left in New England to be replaced with bright, fresh, clean happy hues with a hint of grapefruit. Just kidding. I love the crazy adjectives that they use to describe wine, and I got a bit carried away.

Above: Office before.

The house was in need of a manicure and a haircut. It was so laden with window dressings and accoutrements (that’s french for a lot of trappings or extras – the fringe had its own accessories), that I was surprised that it could breathe under the weight of it all. It was entirely the wrong feeling for a family that breathes life into its visitors, allows them to see life through a new lens and find their purpose. Speaking from my own personal experience, I can assure you finding your purpose is hard enough without hiding it under all those trimmings and trappings. I love a window treatment as much as the next gal (if I am being honest, probably a little more than the next), but balance and harmony must prevail, and even I believe that being parsimonious nets a more pure result.

Above: Office after – dark wood painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Winged Dove in high gloss. Walls in same – egg shell finish.

I think I would have been really nervous if I had been clued into the doubt that was floating around down there in North Carolina. Ho boy, as Jo-Jo likes to say, I might have been up a night or two over it. You see, I am not really accustomed to working with others to realize their vision. As a flipper, I am in the business of realizing my own. It’s true, sometimes I let myself down when I make mistakes, but I have learned, well, to learn from them, and move on. It’s a weighty responsibility to please others, which brings me back to faith and gratitude.

  • Benjamin Moore’s White Winged Dove

Jonathan said: “We would never have imagined painting these colors.” “I was skeptical about the color. But SO love it!!! I’m so glad that I did not go brown and browner.” Me too Jonathan, me too. Thank you for the gift you gave to me in your trust.

Simplicity doesn’t mean simplistic

Posted in Travel, Uncategorized by
Hotel Grand Amour

Great design doesn’t necessarily require an excess of augmentation. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a string of French reigns – all of the Louis hold a special place in my heart with their desire to outdo one another. The graceful gilt dipped chair legs, and golden carved flowers are a wonder to behold. You could sit staring at a single room all day long, and perhaps not absorb all the beauty, the artistry that the designers packed into those four walls. Make no mistake, spaces that are stripped of that layer upon layer of intricate detail, have no place to hide. There simplicity must be perfection or their flaws will surely show.

Hotel des grands boulevards

I pay special attention to this skill, as the century we are in, doesn’t have much room for the opulence of the early 18th century. Who has the time or money? Well, clearly some people have plenty of time, but not necessarily the money and those with the plenty of money often don’t have the time, but that’s all a story for another day. There is a quiet complexity in simple spaces for which I hold a high regard.

Crisp clean simplicity.

I came across this hotel – yes it is French, and yes it is in this century. Hotel des grands boulevard. It’s in the Marais and is so sweet. It has a bit of imperfection mixed in with the simple clean lines of the interiors in the form of some battered old furniture, but it feels right.

Simple slab for a catchall that coordinates with the dark wood of the closet door.

The bathrooms don’t rely on expensive tile or grand gestures in the form of statement mirrors. To the contrary, their simple lines are recognizable because there is nothing there to distract. It’s refreshing.

understated and yet still elegant.

The beds have a little old school grandeur with their canopy and the luxury of velvet. The paint job takes center stage as only it can when all the hard work of smoothing and cocking, and plugging the gaps has been done.

The warmth of velvet.

See if you agree – Paris is always a good idea.

She Sheds: the place I want to be…shed

Posted in Architecture, Uncategorized by
Note the Greek Key awning in pale gray and the black and white tiled floor – this is quintessentially French, and I adore it.

The all about me shed. I’ve been feeling nostalgic of late for my very first place in Charlestown. It’s not so much that I miss living there, or even want to be back in that condo, as it is a longing for the feeling of creating something that was unapologetically about me. Everything was new, and fresh, and I didn’t allow pesky things like resale value get in the way of my dreaming.

That’s the thing about projects. They can sometimes take on a life of their own. You can start doubting that what you are doing is going to turn a profit, or move fast enough, or be “liked” by others. When I started on this journey, before I knew that’s what it was, though isn’t life always – a journey that is – before that, my only worry was how I would pay to make my vision a reality. Cat House my kittens tail – that paint job in my Charlestown home was perfection. Perfection I tell you. It certainly did not resemble a house of ill repute and why haven’t I been as bold with the other homes? Was it because they became just a number?

  • Jamaica Cottage Shop

Whatever the reason, it got me longing for a She Shed. That’s right, a place were I could put my creativity back into action. A small jewel box of a hide away. A place that I could sit and write and be surrounded by the sound of chirping birds in summer, snuggled up in blankets in winter, with a heater at my feet. Oh how I hate to be cold.

It would be cloaked in striped curtains, and have an interior awning – in my minds eye it would have a beautiful set of barn doors that opened to reveal both. I would welcome friends to come for cocktails and listen to music and sit and chat when I wasn’t writing.

Studio Shed . Portland Series

It would sit on a little plot of land, or in a back yard, and a perfect set of pavers would lead you down a lavender and daisy flanked path to my pretty little french macaroon of a hide away.

Now finding and creating the She Shed is the easy part. You wouldn’t believe how many companies exist that are in the business of making your dreams come true – as far as She Sheds go. They’ll prefab them, trailer them whole to your destination (they require you to be pad ready – that means you need to have some sort of a foundation for the shed, which depending on the size and the area that you live in, and other features you may decide are essential like plumbing and electricity – you could be required to get a building permit). Other approaches could include the conversion of something you already have in your back yard – that is, if you have a back yard at all, which I don’t.

This one would cost you but oh how pretty she is!

Hum, which really leads me to my bigger problem. While some of these She Sheds can be purchased for less than $2,000., and of course the sky is the limit in terms of what you COULD spend on one, but i saw some pretty nice ones for $48,000. – if you don’t have the land to put it on, that’s going to be your biggest expense. Oh my She Shed longing just rachetted up a few more notches.

Just a tiny bit of thing, it doesn’t need to be big to be just what you need….

.