Foyers - The Pristine & The Well-Used

The Pristine

House Beautiful, designer Ashley Whittaker Love the floors and carpet runner.
House Beautiful, designer Derrey Segura

Now the Well-Used: still gorgeous!

Living etc. 2006
Living etc. Oct 2007

Living etc. April 20006
Living etc. Oct 2007
Living etc. Jan 2008
HGTV Green House foyer

Outdoor Furniture - Impulse Buy

I was pursuing a futile search for outdoor furniture (too expensive, too bulky, wrong colors, etc) until I gave up and headed over to Decorno for a visit. Outdoor furniture was on her mind too and she mentioned Amazon - I had never thought of checking out their selection. Well I did - and I bought 2 of these.
Falkner 3 seat outdoor sofa - Amazon.com
The price was great - $299 marked down from $470. The design will go well with our current patio table chairs that have an X with a circle motif and I can add in color with blue pillows. The reviews were mostly good - with a few disappointments here and there. I identified with the reviewer who "decided that I would take a chance on this set and I couldn't be happier." I'll let you know how it turns out.

In keeping with the blue theme I"m going for, each year I've been slowly replacing all our pool side towels with these Land's End rugby stripe towels

Mary McDonald via Desire to Inspire


Wish Summer 2007, photography by David Bagosy

Wish Summer 2007, photography by David Bagosy
Wish Summer 2007, photography by David Bagosy

If I had been shopping for outdoor chairs, these would have been at the top of my list. $179
via Elle Decor, Rings side chair, Atuto.net If you have a porch, check out a previous post on the Penobscot Bay Porch Swings from Maine.

And George, Charlottesville VA

You may have noticed that one of my favorite things to do is to visit home design stores while I'm on business travel. Well, this time a business trip to Norfolk found me going home via(*or out of the way 175 miles as my husband pointed out) to Farmville (no luck with my table quest at Green Front) and then to Charlottesville, VA - the home of And George. This store has been featured in many magazines - here's a photo of the inspiration board in the store highlighting just a few.

And George carries wonderful furnishings and some of the most unique accessories. I purchased a beautiful vintage Italian compote bowl with a blue/gray transferware pattern featuring one of my favorite things - birds! I'll post more about that in the next week or so.

Love this carved Crowned Crane - the wood is very interesting - a velvety, soft texture. Notice the vintage books - they are covered in reproduction 18th century documents.
This idea could be replicated at home - cover old books in photocopies of copyright free vintage documents you can print off the internet. Or pen a favorite poem in cursive and photocopy it onto interesting paper - Emily Dickinson anyone? "A bird came down the walk, He did not know I saw -" (click on the line if you'd like to read the rest of this poem)

Another great bird.






Vintage dominos in a silver footed bowl. They happen to be next to a terrific book - Comfortable & Joyous Homes by Cris Briger and Paul Briger.

And if you're wondering who George is - here is is, all fine and daper. (image via And George)


Green Front - Farmville, VA

I also stopped in Green Front. Since Green Front is comprised of 12 old brick warehouses converted into a mini-home furnishings empire, I needed to make a pact with myself before exiting the car.

You see, I am beginning to recognize the signs of my addiction. Considering I have a master's degree in Counseling and in a former life I worked in the field of short-term therapy, I am late to this diagnosis. Before exiting the car I vowed - only 2 photos! Otherwise, I could have spent the entire day there, as opposed to half the day. Because of course, setting limits on an addiction is the first step to...This couch, with its colored stripes, caught my eye.

Fiona Newell Weeks

Designer Fiona Newell Weeks house on the Eastern Shore's Tred Avon River is one of the features in The Washington Post Magazine's semiannual Home & Design issue. (article by Jill Hudson Neal, photography by Darko Zagar) Click here for the slide show, featuring a number of rooms shots not shown in the print article

Below is the same living room, featured in 2007 in Southern Accents.

July/August Southern Accents, photography by Antoine Bootz, image via Katie Did

Here is the sunroom featured in Sunday's Washington Post Magazine. The ottoman is covered in a pink silk sari.
Check out an earlier incarnation of the room below - featuring a white, wood coffee table and sans zebra stripes and dogs.

Four years ago, Fiona and her family relocated from the D.C. area. She has opened a store, Dwelling & Design in Easton MD. Must add this to my list of places to visit.


However, if you can't make it over to Easton - enjoy this beautiful print by artist Anne Harwell. Inspired by a Week's interior design, this is a gorgeous rendering originally done for and named after Anne's grandmother, Lula Harwell, on her 88th birthday. It is available as a 8x10 print on premium, heavyweight quality archival paper, signed and dated on back by artist (or on canvas by request)
Also, if you haven't already, check out her blog, Annechovie.

Quest for a Table Begins with a Wine Jug

My poor husband. His one innocent comment, "Did you see the signs for the interior designer's sale?" sent off a cascade of events, the movement of furniture and the quest for a console table. You see, I had forgotten that an interior designer who lives down the street was retiring to the beach and selling off the contents of her home. Forgetful blogger...Good husband! I made it there just in time before the sale ended and bought this wonderful wine jug.

Seems harmless enough. But, that is where the CASCADING began. Here's the blow-by-blow:

- sofa console table and lamp moved to family room so Wine Jug could anchor it.

- 7 ft bookcase armoire I told my husband wouldn't be moved until we moved - is relocating to the family room. I exclaimed, "How could I have not thought of that before - the ceilings in this room peak at 14 feet - it will be so wonderful here!" Swore I saw the look of a deer caught in headlights reflecting in good husband's eyes. Note to self - be very, very grateful that he married me.

- Contemplation begins - possibly the armoire's color will need to be changed from black to a weathered beach/swedish blue...mmm
- Living room wall that was occupied by bookcase armoire is now blank. Quest for table begins.

Here are tables that are serving as inspiration. I'll be in Norfolk, VA for business next week and I plan to stop in Farmville at Green Front - hoping I might find something in one of their 12 buildings. Or maybe I'll get lucky and the perfect narrow farm table will be left abandoned along the side of a country road! I heard Good husband mutter as he left the room, "It never ends."

HGTV Green House via Elements of Style

House Beautiful, Designer Nancy Price, photography by Eric Piasecki

Nate Berkus via Urban Grace Interiors

Nathan Egan Interiors

Need a longer table than this but I love the finish and of course, the wine jug lamp.

The DC Design House - Can't Wait

Designer Michael Roberson, photography by Lee Boden for The Washington Post

Designer David Mitchell, photography by Lee Boden for The Washington Post


Designer Kelley Proxmire, photography by Lee Boden for The Washington Post

Designer Victoria Neale, photogrpahy by Lee Boden for The Washington Post

A former Georgetown boy's school is the home for The D.C. Design House, benefiting The Children's National Medical Center. Jura Koncius of The Washington Post notes in her article that it is "one of the most refreshing showcases for Washington interior design talent in years." Can't wait to go!

The house, at 3014 P St. NW, will be open Saturday through May 11. Hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information go to D.C. Design House.

Click here for a slide show of more of the rooms.

Belgian Style & our economy?

House Beautiful has declared, "Belgian is the new Swedish." What I'm wondering is, Can our economy drive our design longings? Does the interest in this serene look, that when executed flawlessly borders on a spiritual aesthetic, have anything to do with the state of our economy? Does uncertainty interest us in design that it pared down and true, simple and grounded? I know it has caught my attention. Plus...it's just so beautiful to look at!Some hallmarks of Belgian style - linen, worn wood, iron, stone, reclaimed building materials, and neutrals creating a mood that is serene, simple and earthy in a sophisticated way.
First two images - House Beautiful, designer Kay Douglass

Previous two images, Axel Vervoordt - Kanaal, a complex of restored 19c. warehouses

Previous two images Axel Vervoordt - Gravenwexel Castle, near Antwerp
Not as earthy in texture but note the use of linen, the metal coffee table and the deep, moody toned wall color.
Hotel Verhaegen, Ghent, photography by Jan Rosseel
Hotel Verhaegen, Ghent, photography by Sarah van Hove
Hoter Verhaegan Ghent, photography by Sara van Hove
Lucca & Co. club chair
Lucca & Co. The Lucca sofa
Lucca Lucca & Co Spoleto sofa
House Beautiful, designer Kay Douglass
Hotel Amigo, Brussells - I really love the simple treatment on this bed.
House Beautiful, Kay Douglass
House Beautiful, designer Kay Douglass - Isn't it great that there's nothing on this bureau except for the vase? I wonder if it stays that way all the time?
Timeless Interiors by Axel Vervoordt, published by Flammarion

Also check out Ferret & Hounds' review of Wim Pauwel's book, Building with Reclaimed Materials. There are some more beautiful images of this style.