Samuel & Sons . Elora Embroidered Trim Samuel & Sons . Positano Cord
If you’ve ever had custom curtains made for your home you have likely come to understand, on a deep and abiding level, the metaphor “You could have knocked me over with a feather”. The cost of that to-die for fabric, the labor associated with nipping, tucking, pleating, pressing and detailing the curtains in a way that only the top 1 percenters (those with the keenest of design eyes) will recognize, is breath-taking. As in you will be robbed of the very oxygen that keeps you alive, and will be required to find alternative means for funding your children’s higher education.
Schumacher Ashoka Tape . Orange and Pink
Prone to hyperbole I am, but in this case, I am NOT. It’ll be curtains for your dream vacation or any vacation for a long time to come if you happen to have a home with many windows that need to be clothed. That is if you go the custom route.
Schumacher . Rousseau Tape Orange TrimSamuel & Sons . Bali Jute Beaded Fringe
Nobody wants to feel, or for that matter, and perhaps more honestly, others to think, that you cheaped out. That’s the worst, and you need not feel that way at all, if only you are willing to do a little leg work. Off the shelf curtains abound. Stay away from cheap synthetics, seek out natural fibers, backed by heavy cotton so they’ll hang from your fenestration like a Fendi gown on a famous actress. Once the gown has been selected, I like the offerings at Restoration Hardware. They are well made, come in an abundance of lengths and shades, and offer the perfect backdrop for the final flourish – the trim. Here’s where you’ll make a splash. Whether baubles or glass beads are your thing, pom-poms, or the clean classic look of a key fret, you’ll find a wild array of offerings to express your individuality that will be anything but standard.
It’s a bit ironic that my very favorite color, the color that makes me smile from ear to ear, and brings cheer to my heart is saddled with an idiom that means the opposite. That’s just wrong. As it turns out I am feeling a little blue. It is the end of the holiday season, which provided such a delightful distraction to the pandemic. What bauble, bell, and holiday whistle doesn’t? As I look longingly at the Christmas Tree that I have put at the bottom of my to do list until now, I feel sad. It really does bring a special glow to my space, and let’s face it, we’re all in for a long winter. The good news is that I wasn’t using my fireplace so that I wouldn’t have to clean it between showings, and now that I am not showing the old gal – she and I can get fired up.
To make extra sure I don’t shed any tears as I dismantle the tree, I went on the hunt for a bundle of blue best ofs to share with you. Since the color blue signifies the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven, according to the color wheel pro, and who wouldn’t believe them?
Chairish . Umbrella Chandelier
As a Cape Cod Gal, it is no surprise that this color calms me and makes me want to take a deep cleansing breath. Just thinking of the ocean allows me to conger the brackish salinity of a Wellfleet oyster and set my taste buds a tingling. The vast expanse of blue sky dotted with gauzy clouds that greet you on a summer day, the blue birds darting through the marsh and bogs in spring, the inky darkness of a muscle shell, the proud hull of a sailboat. Who wouldn’t be made happy by seeing that rainbow of blue hues?
Collins Interiors . Forever in the details and my design heart.
Pull them into your home all year long, or start slowly. Maybe a single gingham cocktail napkin in a pale blue. No one has to know, you can keep it in your pocket or underneath your water glass. Just try and see if it doesn’t make you smile. Go on, we’ll get through this winter together.
Left and Middle: OKL . Etegere and Striped Ceramic Lamp. Right: Christopher Farr Cloth . Book End.
I’ve often wondered what my life would be like if I had a voice like Uma Thurman’s, I could have you know. She developed that voice out of thin air, well maybe it wasn’t thin, it could have blown in from the Swedish Alps. Her grandmother was Swedish, her grandfather German, and her mother was born in Mexico City. Throw that in a blender and see what you come up with for an accent. Don’t forget that Uma herself was born in Boston, mostly raised in Amherst where her very famous, Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies father taught. Now if an I-T Buddhist doesn’t have a voice, than I’ll Winnie-the-pooh myself back to the 100 Acre Wood and re-read the Tao of Pooh until I get it right.
Like the color orange? See where it takes you.
One thing is for sure, Uma may have been an uncarved block when she started, but she and her vague European accent catapulted her to stardom, and I for one, believe that voice of hers had something to do with it. Which got me to thinking about my own voice. I’ve never liked it that much, the sound of it that is. My passion is mistaken for anger, and my voice is loud, so very loud, that I’ve been told repeatedly, and much to my chagrin and personal humiliation, that as a result of it, I cannot be heard at all. That’s just disrespectful.
Gray – don’t you just love that sound of that color?
A voice is so much more than the sound that rumbles up from your chest, and whistles past your lips to find a brief moment of freedom before it winds its way into the ears of its intended, and sometimes those that co-opt it, as if they were part of the conversation. I sometimes do that in a beauty salon. The things people say, right out there in public, astounding. There are other types of voices too. My writing has a voice without ever making a sound, and so too does your fashion, and of course your design style.
A lot to love with texture.
The care you take in putting your house together says so very much about who you are, that if you were on the receiving end of an actual voice, you’d be begging for some peace and quiet.
Look at those birds, singing a pretty song.
Like my quest for Uma’s breathy, insert made-up country across the pond here, I want you to discover what your design voice is – in the way it will reflect the very best of who you are, and hope to become. Uma, cue the story boards to sell this production, well, to a producer. The storyboard is your ticket to finding that voice. Start clipping, circling, tearing, pinning, and gathering all the things that you like, and that inspire you. That voice will start to emerge like an opera singer hitting a high note. Go get ’em Tiger.
It sounds so British, and yet it was founded by two women (if you are paying attention this little formula produces major results – think Soul Cycle, Glossier, The Wing, Chief and many more – they are all founded by female duos), are California girls. I hope Alison Pincus and Susan Feldman will forgive me for calling them girls. I mean it in the best youthful, have sass, and sparkle, and bright ideas mixed with ambition, kind of way. They’ve got chutzpah, and that chutzpah got them to start OKL in 2008 when all the world seemed to be falling apart. There flash sale model morphed, and morphed again, before it was sold to Bed Bath & Beyond – clearly making them look good, and I mean really good, for their ability to make smart decisions.
Art that represents the region.
The purchase of my very first home, coincided with their launch, and I lovely perused page after page of flash site offerings for inspiration. I have to admit that it wasn’t until much later that I purchased anything – I was broke. I had rubbed my two nickles together to make a dime, and hands opening in offering, asked if it was enough for the down payment. I think I can be forgiven, having just gotten into the game.
The ratan floor lamp is a little bit of south pacific happy – for just under $1k.
Now a gamer of sorts, I have traveled to NYC for their first in-house design advice session in their SOHO location on Houston – since relo’d and I got there just in time because they were selling everything in their “see it and touch it” studio, to avoid the hassle of having to move it. I left with an antique desk, two enormous Schumacher pillows, two gorgeous kelly green gourd lamps, and I am sure a few other items I couldn’t live without for No. 3.
Curation is their strong point – a mix of vintage and new – this is the exception to the rule, you are allowed to buy the whole vingette.
Last fall I visited their first real bricks and mortar store – also in SOHO, and walked away with a petite vintage Turkish Oushauk in sage green, gray and lavender – for a steal! It’s in the kitchen of No. 5.
Cognac leather stool – I can see my boyfriends living room taking shape 🙂
And now – drum roll, they have landed in Boston’s Seaport. One opening party, and a visit with my sister and I have already purchased a number of things that I didn’t need at all, and when I am supposed to be saving. I mean no disrespect to this venerable design store, with its sublime styling style, and its cosmic curation, but I have got to retire some day!
Diamond Studded Lobster’s .
I did just learn that they’ll be launching Hunter’s Alley soon. A little marketplace that I can sell to others like me, that just maybe bought one too many things they didn’t really need, and are looking to free up some space and recapture some cash. I hope it launches soon, it feels like I’m becoming a hoarder and I really have no patience or desire to tunnel my way through my tiny little home.
View from the Marshside . 28 Bridge Street . East Dennis .
It takes a long time to warm up here on Old Cape Cod. There really is no spring, but as we await the arrival of the Easter Bunny the sun is shining, and I continue my quest to outfit my sister’s nest. Wheee.
Waving the Lauren Flag – “naught” bad.
Of course with the entire gang here, my plans for getting things accomplished have been turned on end. I’ll have to work double time in the final weekend to get it all done. My stomach drops as I think about the unthinkable – that it will never be done in time for the shoot. It will be what it is, when the 28th rolls around, and God willing it will be enough.
Schumacher. Old Cape Cod.
I stumbled across a new store on 6A in Brewster, and as its name: Nautique suggests, its chock a block full of nautical furnishings, fabrics, curiosities, custom signage for your home, and screen doors too. I spend hours pouring through the fabrics, because while I love nautical, I don’t love being knocked over the head by it. A nod here and there is enough to remind me of where I am. I’m no Ralph Lauren after all. Anyone that can reinvent themselves going from Lipshitz to Lauren, and creating a dynasty, can without argument do nautical to the nines.
Stove with scallop motif. Stunning.
How I admire his style. At Nautique he is well represented among other designers. This sailboat fabric from Schumacher really pulled at my heartstrings. It feels like its from the 50’s and even though I said no to the overt, I found myself dreaming of this design as a roman or a wonderful sofa or bed pillow. The wood stove with the scallop motif was to die for and I am trying to figure out if we can incorporate one into The Manse and at what cost – oh everything can be done if one has money….
Yesterday, I posted about Clare V.and her collaboration with The Inside. Today I want to talk about her collaboration with Wallshoppe, an LA Based on-line wallpaper company. I’m excited, fascinated, and daunted by all that these young ambitious designers do. I wonder if they struggle, but eventually reach a tipping point where the opportunities flow, and one need only respond – YES – more than one says no? Whatever their secret – they are leveraging the heck out of it, and borrowing – or associating – themselves with other like minded designers, to cross promote.
Clare V. X Wallshoppe . Stipes Onyx . 27″ x 54″ Removable Lengths at $58.
I feel a little like Alice in Wonderland after having fallen down the rabbit hole. The Everygirltook me to The Inside, the Inside took me to Clare V., Clare V. took me to Wallshoppe, Wallshoppe took me to Laurel + Wolfan Interior Design firm founded by Leura Fine, who is the brainchild behind Wallshoppe. First she set out to democratize interior design, with her on-line consultancy – need help with a single room? Multiple rooms, a whole house, and know that you want options – there are three different pricing packages to meet your needs, and designers that match with your style (they help you figure out exactly what that is – by the way), create a floor plan, interact with you about the selections, and they purchase the items you want and have them shipped to your home. Floor plan in hand, and styling assistance a live chat away, you can be sitting pretty in your professionally designed living room in less than a month. (Merchandise availability and lead time dependent). No wonder the venture capitalists went gaga for this gig.
Nate Berkus X Wallshoppe . Malibu Blue and White
Wallshoppe has done something really smart, a mon avis, as it relates to those more timid souls, afraid of making a mistake, and staring for the next 40 years at a pattern that makes them ask themselves – “what the hell was I thinking”? – They made it in both traditional rolls, and in removable, easy to install, coordinating patterns and colors. If Farrow and Ball and Schumacherare boardroom and stilettos, Wallshoppe’s collaborations with Nate Berkus and Clare V. are flip flops and a day at the beach, or a walk barefoot in the grass. They are easy, and cheery, playful, and whimsical, and they make me smile.
Wallshoppe . Y Not – Pushpop
I do hope that Clare V. will not be offended that I plan to augment her design. After all, it is inspired by HER design, that is making me want to change the paper. Let me explain. She has designed in collaboration – of course – this pale pink on white wallpaper – Liberez Les Sardines. That’s French for “free the sardines”. Maybe some of you are catching on to why I like her so much. While she hails from Minnesota, she worked in France for a TV Station, married a Frenchmen, and her designs – with their signature stripes – are quintessentially – French!
Clare V. X Wallshoppe . Sardines in Pink. Just imagine it with that hot pink stripe, gold and green!
So I asked myself – where are those stripes when I want them? Need them? They are missing from the Liberez Les Sardines! And I simply cannot have that, so I will be introducing them to the removable wall covering. What’s the worst that could happen? It wrinkles up? So what – even without my neon pink stripe, my mossy or kelly green ( I haven’t decided yet), and metallic gold, it’s going to look fabulous inside the closet of the pink bedroom on the Cape. Oh happy day.
When the temp drastically drops like the Zipper at the Barnstable County Fair, it’s a bit hard to think about coastal living, but seaside schemes I need to make apart of my waking dreams, or I’ll never make my deadline. It’s a self imposed one, but there are implications for missing it nonetheless.
Schumacher . Bloom . Emerald and Ore
What are they you ask? Well – my father will return from Florida sometime between the second week in April and the beginning of May, at which time he will head down to the storage unit, extract his leather recliner, and place it smack dab in the middle of the living room claiming it is a health necessity.
Schumacher . Balloon
This will obviously ruin my entire scheme. The only possible scenario that allows me to be ok with this, is if in some brilliant stroke of luck and timing I am able to make all the decisions, procure the perfect mix of vintage, antique, new, and used (by us – but don’t count on a lot of that being allowed into this space), staging it, and having it photographed, all before his return.
Cole and Sons . The Ardmore Collection . Singita
If by some design, wish giving fairy godmother I am granted my hearts desire – to be published in Coastal Living, New England Home, House Beautiful or some new edgy design magazine that is too hip for me to even know about it yet – then I will be totally fine if that chair and a bunch of tchotchkes arrive on the scene – like an uninvited house guest at the height of summer.
Quadrille .China Seas . Jungle Green and White
Why you ask? How is it possible that I would actually be – ok? Well, nothing in this world is permanent. Photographs offer the best possible, fake representation of what you wish your space could look like – could be – all the time, but in reality it’s a fairy tale. Take an idea or two from those photos, work around that green recliner, tell yourself it is the color of the ocean – and let it go.
Quadrille . Interweave . soft pink on almost white
To be memorialized in one of those mags would feel like a ride on the zipper – scary, thrilling, an amazing to be recognized for what is going to be an all out race to – not only complete – but create something amazing.
So as predicted, Jo-Jo shot down the color selection I so carefully made with a NO! Not even a kind, no, no et non. Just NO! I don’t want gray and Nantucket Red is too muted. The only other hint of a direction she’s given me is she wants the navy blue whale wallpaper I found on Instagram over a year ago, and I can no longer track down. Of course, she is adamant about that paper. It was very cute. She has a playful side – she likes a little tongue in cheek whimsy. I’m not trying to deny it to her. The Manse should be an expression of her personality…but for the life of me I can’t locate it. I keep presenting alternatives, to which she responds…NO…I want the whale paper. This may require divine intervention, or at the very least inspiration. Help!
The Chronicles of Home always has such beautiful style.
The plastering is complete and now I really need to pick the colors. I’ve turned to Instagram thinking I would find a clear direction, but while I many primary colors my natural inclination is to move toward softer hues. I fear if I mix it up too much, it will be a hot mess. Some of the colors should remain in the rainbow, don’t you think?
Cory Connor Designs right – gets an A+ for painting the baseboard and the molding in hot pink. One Kings Lane displays an array of colors that look beautiful together.
Left: Schumacher wall covering is the color palette I typically gravitate toward. Right: Is Christopher Farr’s wall covering that I am dying for.
The Every Girl . simply perfect uncomplicated beauty.
While I I still really love the kelly green, I have a feeling that it’s just a trend and my affection for it will pass. While paint is the least expensive, and most impactful of your styling options, it still costs money and requires a fair amount of disruption to change it. With that in mind, I’d like to get it right the first time.
My Bella Storia . who doesn’t like a polka dot?
In my search for that dang whale wallpaper, I came across quite a lot of inspiration. I only hope that one, or a combination of several of these will illicit a resounding YES – see, just like I told you…..
The kind that comes from a hot day in the sun, good food, plenty of exercise, crisp cool sheet, and a gentle breeze coming in through the window. Sleep is often elusive to me. I live through fits of insomnia chased by adrenalin rushes, and sheer exhaustion. The rare and special gift that is an uninterrupted nights sleep – is magic. For those of you, I could sleep anywhere people…just stop reading now. Move along. Nothing for you to see here in this post.
Left: Serena and Lily: Linden Sheet Set . Palm Green $258. Right: Serena and Lily . Metallic Pick Switch Quilt $198. (twin)
I just of course – plenty for you to see here, even if I am jealous of your ability to lay your head down at will, close your eyes, turn off your brain, and fade into the nether region between night and day. You are blessed.
Christopher Farr . Carnival Green – Imagine Custom bedskirts in this cute print.
All this talk of sleep arose from my desire to select the color palette and decor for the bedrooms in the manse. Since I am primarily there on the weekends, I want the colors to be a bit more vibrant than my year round surroundings. I love Kelly Green and feel that it’s a nice mix between nautical and nature that works well for Cape Cod.
My picks range from the high-end to the low for the first of the four bedrooms. From World Market to Schumacher, I was shooting for a cheery space to escape to, read my book and fall asleep to the sound of crickets.
New businesses, ways of working, entirely new economies, and economic realities…are popping up at a pace that is frankly dizzying. Sadly many companies, and ways of life are disappearing just as fast. I’m telling you right now, if Dairy Queen disappears into that good night, there will be nothing good about it!
Etsy . SouthernShades $70.
Etsy represents an old way of doing things, like back in the day when people attended craft fairs to get one-of-a-kind gifts, and pieces for their homes, with the new reality, people are so super busy that the thought of traveling to Brimfield for the Antique Flee Market seems as daunting as going to Fiji to meet the Dalai Lama…impossible. It’s the time not the dime that’s the problem. And this my friends lends itself nicely to the reality that our intense need for speciality items hasn’t diminished one iota, even if the way in which we go about getting these things has.
Etsy . Mowdwrk . $295.42
More than a convenient place to shop, Etsy, which was launched in 2005, and is global by nature of it’s this e-commerceness”e”, is a community. It feels a little like WeWork, and though store-owners don’t share the coffee or the medical plan, they are benefitting from a peer-to-peer network, and the collective power of hanging your shingle along side other photographers, pillow makers, jewelry designers, and a shared belief artisnal over mass produced. Maybe I can’t get to Brimfield, or Fiji in the next few years, but bet I bet I can get something something unique from one, or both places, on Etsy.
Etsy . Thetuftedfrog . $260.
Let’s talk price. Some items are very expensive. Predominantly one of a kind, and handmade, it should not be surprising, but more often than not I find them far more affordable than the larger stores in which I am inclined to shop. This has led me to start proactively searching there site before I hit send to place my order. I’ve simply got to stop spending so much money on furnishings. Money that I will never get back. A year ago, I would have told you that it absolutely wouldn’t be worth all the disruption, if I couldn’t design my properties just exactly as I wanted. If you can’t read between my lines, I’ll spell it out here for you – expensive! Now that I have been turned on to Etsy, I feel like I can have it all. Want the new Schumacher fabric for your throw pillows – one of the Etsy Store Owners likely has it. I’ve even found things I didn’t know existed before.
Etsy . LoveColoray . $320. removal wallpaper
Etsy’s opened a whole new world to me. I could log some miles surfing those shops. Back to the problem of time…Happy Sunday.
Etsy . CanvasCarnival . Curtains . Price based on size.
