Au revoir Blanc d'Ivoire

Almost like a death in the family, I am faced with the loss of my favorite vendor: Blanc d'Ivoire. Recently this French furniture company decided to close their NY office, thus making it nearly impossible for small independents like myself to order their merchandise. They now require you to buy a container and that's unrealistic for a designer with my sized business. So, I am now forced to buy

Au revoir Blanc d'Ivoire

Almost like a death in the family, I am faced with the loss of my favorite vendor: Blanc d'Ivoire. Recently this French furniture company decided to close their NY office, thus making it nearly impossible for small independents like myself to order their merchandise. They now require you to buy a container and that's unrealistic for a designer with my sized business. So, I am now forced to buy

My Design: Original Content Week

A shot of the living room looking towards the family room. Across from this arrangement is another seating group comprised of a tufted sofa and two more chairs.In honor of Decorno's proposal that design bloggers celebrate "Original Content Week," I've dug into my archives and pulled out these shots of a highrise apartment that I worked on last year. My client is a single woman in her 80s with

My Design: Original Content Week

A shot of the living room looking towards the family room. Across from this arrangement is another seating group comprised of a tufted sofa and two more chairs.In honor of Decorno's proposal that design bloggers celebrate "Original Content Week," I've dug into my archives and pulled out these shots of a highrise apartment that I worked on last year. My client is a single woman in her 80s with

Beadboard UpCountry - Brenham, Texas

It's no secret that Texas is a huge state, just to drive from one end to the other is a journey that can't be done in a day. It is so large that we have 254 counties. Several books have been written about the architecture of all of our courthouses. There is even a web site, where a man named Ted has taken a picture of each of the courthouses. Many of them are old buildings that are registered

Beadboard UpCountry - Brenham, Texas

It's no secret that Texas is a huge state, just to drive from one end to the other is a journey that can't be done in a day. It is so large that we have 254 counties. Several books have been written about the architecture of all of our courthouses. There is even a web site, where a man named Ted has taken a picture of each of the courthouses. Many of them are old buildings that are registered

Most Influential Blogs - My Picks

Congratulations go out to the newly named Top 10 Influential Design blogs. The blog Home Rejuvenation hosted this contest and bloggers around the world voted for their favorites. With much fanfare, the winners were announced yesterday. Mazel Tov to the Top Ten!Though in agreement with all the winners, I still felt there were several glaring absences from the list and I just couldn't let the day

Most Influential Blogs - My Picks

Congratulations go out to the newly named Top 10 Influential Design blogs. The blog Home Rejuvenation hosted this contest and bloggers around the world voted for their favorites. With much fanfare, the winners were announced yesterday. Mazel Tov to the Top Ten!Though in agreement with all the winners, I still felt there were several glaring absences from the list and I just couldn't let the day

Vermeer and the Camera Obscura

The new Vogue Living magazine has a photo spread on Dutch Interiors. It shows how you can reproduce the atmosphere of a Vermeer painting. Vermeer, the artist who painted the hauntingly beautiful "Girl with the Pearl Earring" which inspired a book and movie of the same title, was not enormously prolific. His entire portfolio consists of just 30 some paintings, yet he remains one of the world's

Vermeer and the Camera Obscura

The new Vogue Living magazine has a photo spread on Dutch Interiors. It shows how you can reproduce the atmosphere of a Vermeer painting. Vermeer, the artist who painted the hauntingly beautiful "Girl with the Pearl Earring" which inspired a book and movie of the same title, was not enormously prolific. His entire portfolio consists of just 30 some paintings, yet he remains one of the world's

Two Musts - Elle Decor & Vogue Living

The November issue of Elle Decor is out and it is especially beautiful this month. I would suggest you run over to your favorite bookstore today and pick it up. And this month, don't wait for your subscription copy to arrive. My copy is already a mess, totally trashed out from schlepping it around with me. The cover shot is from the Boston Black Bay street apartment of designer Frank Roop

Two Musts - Elle Decor & Vogue Living

The November issue of Elle Decor is out and it is especially beautiful this month. I would suggest you run over to your favorite bookstore today and pick it up. And this month, don't wait for your subscription copy to arrive. My copy is already a mess, totally trashed out from schlepping it around with me. The cover shot is from the Boston Black Bay street apartment of designer Frank Roop

Round Top, Texas

Round Top, Texas - population 77, except for the first two weeks in April and October each year. This is home to one of the largest antiques fairs in the United States. Started 40 years ago by Emma Lee Turney, the festival has grown from one location into a festival that overflows to all the tiny towns that surround Round Top. During the festival, large temporary, makeshift tent cities spring

Round Top, Texas

Round Top, Texas - population 77, except for the first two weeks in April and October each year. This is home to one of the largest antiques fairs in the United States. Started 40 years ago by Emma Lee Turney, the festival has grown from one location into a festival that overflows to all the tiny towns that surround Round Top. During the festival, large temporary, makeshift tent cities spring

Chappell Hill, Texas and the KW Ranch

This is the downtown area of a little town about an hour southwest of Houston called Chappell Hill. Five years ago my husband's brother Kirk and his wife Shannon left the big city to become country folks. Now, keep in mind that Shannon was a city person to the core, someone who knows everybody who is somebody in Houston's social circles. Kirk on the other hand was a faux cowboy who liked to fish

Chappell Hill, Texas and the KW Ranch

This is the downtown area of a little town about an hour southwest of Houston called Chappell Hill. Five years ago my husband's brother Kirk and his wife Shannon left the big city to become country folks. Now, keep in mind that Shannon was a city person to the core, someone who knows everybody who is somebody in Houston's social circles. Kirk on the other hand was a faux cowboy who liked to fish

A Country French House: Authentic Elements

This beautiful home pictured above is located in the French countryside. Typical of the many homes that dot the landscape, this home didn't start out this large, but has been added to over the years. The original structure most likely housed animals on the ground floor and humans on the second. This type of architecture is gaining in popularity in America. In neighborhood after neighborhood, you

A Country French House: Authentic Elements

This beautiful home pictured above is located in the French countryside. Typical of the many homes that dot the landscape, this home didn't start out this large, but has been added to over the years. The original structure most likely housed animals on the ground floor and humans on the second. This type of architecture is gaining in popularity in America. In neighborhood after neighborhood, you