Opposites Attract

One of my favorite juxtapositions

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-- Modern & Antique --

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Gorgeous

side by side

different

yet not.

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This is fabulous together.

Photo via Cote de Texas

Judy, over at Atlantis Home is totally speaking my language lately. Her eclectic mix and juxtaposition of rustic primitive, french and sleek modern drives me wild in the best of ways.

Come peek --

Photo via Atlantis Home

Now... walking through this (newly done) archway (below), along the highly textured walls of dreamy grey-green, with the beautiful primitive cupboard in front of you ...

Photo via Atlantis Home

You turn the corner and this is what you discover!

Photo via Atlantis Home

It's a complete surprise to what would be expected!

I love the mix of such gorgeous pieces! The sheepskin laden ghost chairs are fantastic! Mixed in with the rustic table, the primitive cupboard, the shabby chalkboard and that gorgeous modern linear chandelier.

The room is brilliant.

Photo via Atlantis Home

She's added beams to the ceiling and made the room even more gorgeous! ... as if that were possible!

Through another lyrical and new archway lies the living room

Photo via Atlantis Home

Look at that cowhide covered chair! Be still my heart. I so want one!

Photo via Atlantis Home

...and these barrel chairs -- yes, there are 2 of them! Judy recently gave new life to them by recovering them in delicious burlap. Fab-u-lous. I'm seriously drooling over them.

Photo via Atlantis Home

It has inspired me to revisit my dog-earred chaise of sage hued raw silk -- I was seriously contemplating getting rid of it. But it is a really nice piece, structurally, and I'd rather take Judy's lead and recover it with some rustic, heavy, unbleached, washed white linen, hemp or burlap, and recover the back pillow with a vintage grain bag with a subtle stamp --

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Here's what it could look like --
but with a duo of mohair and velvet pillows and a muted tapestry throw

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A burlap and grain sack upholstered chaise in the LA showroom of Dan Marty
photographed by the lovely and talented Interior Designer, Brooke Giannetti (see her blog, Velvet & Linen here) who was kind enough to let me use it. xo


And speaking of grain sacks -- I just purchased this beauty --

photo credit: Wendy at www.textiletrunk.com
This ad was so beautiful, how could I resist?


It's huge - 27 x 48. I'm going to rip the seams out and turn it into 2 sections, because it is stamped on both pieces! I'm going to frame at least one for my living room, and maybe use the rest for my chaise pillow -

photo credit: Wendy at www.textiletrunk.com

Imagine my surprise when I was looking at this other gorgeous photo shot by Brooke -- of Dan Marty's Los Angeles showroom ... and saw my exact grain sack, framed, and hanging on his wall!
I think I might have made a good choice in my purchase... ;)

Photo credit: Blogger and Interior Designer, Brooke Giannetti

Click to enlarge

And, how fabulous is the ottoman in the above photo? But I think the framed bags and the chaise are more than enough vintage grain bags for one room in my world -- I like to keep it mixed up -- not too much of one look. The chaise may even end up in the guest house... I'm not sure yet.

I like this frame choice, too. It would look fabulous in my bedroom of whites.

Photo credit: Wendy at www.textiletrunk.com

There are a few other projects going on in my living room - slipping the sun-bleached sage velvet sectional in a soft washed white linen for summer - but that may not happen this summer as my project dance card is full. Over full. ...but it is definitely on the back burner. It's a modern boned sofa, and very substantial. Huge would be a better word. I'd love for the pillows on it to go something like what is on the couch below --

Slettvoll via Willow Decor

While the overall room above is far too modern for my house, I do love the colors - those pillows are fabulous and I LOVE that piece of art! I'd put that in my home in a heartbeat.

So that makes us current with the "goings on" here in Museville - the exterior painting continues, the interior painting is stalled out for now, while I rethink the colors. The bathroom is still in the idea stage, but the paint is purchased, the kitchen cabinets are about to be painted -- I finally settled on a color and technique, and purchased my supplies -- all good stuff for future blogging subjects and fun before and afters. So i better get to it! So much to do!
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Enjoy the day

...no matter what.

Sweet Dreams are made of these...

While juggling several missions and projects at once over here in Museville, I have also been on a constant and tireless quest to find the perfect linens for my antique iron bed I purchased recently. As chance would have it, (thanks to sfgirlbybay!) I happened to stumble across Red Ticking, a most beautiful shop, with quite possibly the perfect bedding for my little iron lovely.

Come and see!

Matteo Bedding

vintage wash linen and Egyptian cotton sheets & duvet cover

cashmere throw

and linen bolsters

Isn't that headboard fantastic?

Window display of the linen set in the Seattle shop.

I love the little chandelier, too. I just want it all.

Detail of Matteo linens
Is there anything better than vintage wash linen, Egyptian cotton, & cashmere?



Photo credit: Marley & Lockyer

Won't these gorgeous pillows that Ness made be beautiful on this bedding?

A slew of their hemp and linen pillows would fit the bill nicely and make the perfect backdrop for the gorgeous pillows Ness made for me, which will be front and center.



I'd love this basket full of Vintage European grain bags to be my laundry basket...



Unfortunately for me, these beautiful French concrete lamps sold already - but wouldn't they have been perfect lighting in the room to be?

Ahhh... sweet dreams, indeed.


Photos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 &7 Red Ticking Website
Photo 4: Marley & Lockyer Blog

The Quiet Dance of the Night Garden

Forgotten

by the lovers of perky daytime flowers,

a plethora of hauntingly beautiful flora

bloom

within the quiet of the night

in

the most special

of

my

gardens.

The opening

of their ghostly pale petals

against the soft silvery leaves

portend the ritualistic coming of the moon.

Queen of the night sky;

the mysterious and beautiful moon

spreads her veil of soft luminescent light

silently towards my yard.

Like sylvan ghosts,

ethereal fingers of pale light

glide through the leafy canopy

of the ancient pepper tree,

calling out to her most hidden...

...her nocturnal floral subjects.

Sultry wisteria is the first to answer her call.

While the world is sunless and still,

donned heavily in the perfume she only wears

after dark,

wisteria gently climbs into the naked open arches of the pergola

to partake

in the slow dance

of night.

She laces slowly through slight gaps

and the occasional knot in my tired deck,

wrapping her taunt ringlets around the outstretched fingers of the sleepy trellis

within the heart of my backyard.

Tracing a drowsy, aromatic loop

over the rusted shovel

left forgotten

in the side yard.

Fragile clusters

of luminous lavender blossoms

begin to bloom

from an open bodice of tender leaves

and an ancient tangle of climbing earth-brown vines.

Beautiful in the extreme,

and much to the bitter dismay

of the sun,

wisteria does her best work

at night.

Unlike wisteria,
who shares her outer beauty with both the moon and the sun,
the luminous petals of her entourage
will never be visible
within the thunder and flurry
of daytime activity
which is slated
only
for the sassy and brightly-hued
flowers of the sun.

My moon garden's lovely blossoms
twinkle softly
within the presence
of
moonlight

lost within their own song,
until that time
when
their silky petals are enshrouded
by the morning dew.

Within that silvery veil of dawn
-- the exact moment between the last shadow of night and the first breath of day--
their fragile petals begin to fold protectively,
providing cover
as they fall asleep
unseen
within daytime hours

-- leaving wisteria lonely --

until at last,

at the beckoning of eventide,

the pale and fragrant petals

once again open in full bloom,

longing for the glow of moonlight

as they begin their nightly dance
beneath the wisteria
once again.

From the Inside Out

The deluge continues from dark skies here in what used to be known as my sunny little beach town and being that I tend towards the melancholic side of life sometimes -

I don't mind the grey.

I actually long for it sometimes -- the grey -- on a soul level. It, like everything, requires a precarious balance for the perfect outcome. Too much, and it's gloomy, too little and it's not moody enough for my liking.

Balance.

photo credit Philip Newton

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I love moody rooms. I need them. My aesthetic environment is extremely important to me because it directly and deeply affects my mood. My state of mind. It needs to embrace the grey in me. While I love different elements, the base of my surroundings need to be substantial - earthy, organic, but interesting, and while broody -- not dark. While I like airy, for me, personally, it needs to be in the form of an ethereal mist-- surreal, dreamy - not in the bright and cheery sort of light.

Saladino Estate from the book, Santa Barbara Living

I love simplicity, but not simple.

Elements of perfection for me from Elle Decor --

if those curtains were less weighty, it would be pure perfection.

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Take these walls below for instance - simple tint and sand equals an exquisite, textured wall of perfection. It's broody but far from gloomy and certainly not stagnant. The light moves over, around, in and out of the peaks and valleys created by the coarse sand - making it anything but simple. The substantial size and weight of the mantle, the table, the beautifully carved wall hanging, the furniture, the candlesticks - it is everything that I love. The metal, curvy ethereal chandelier keeps it all from seeming too heavy.

From British H&G via Atlantis Home

Click to enlarge and see how gorgeous the room really is.

The feel of it is lovely to me - and that's always what I'm after, not always the specific elements -- for example - the wall texture is delicious to me, but the color is a little dark for my house. I tried to get something more like the color palette of the floors shown above, and it still needs a little tweaking. Also, as much as I love the look of (off)white sofas, they are me in theory , but not so much in practice -- they aren't practical in my world -- not with my teenager and 2 Siberian huskies...

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I love the feel of this room below, too - while it and the room above are different, it has much the same, in regards to feel, to what I'm always after. To get where I am in my thought, you have to ignore the walls in the photo below - so not me. While beautiful, it's too light and too cool for my taste. I love the weight of that mantle - the aged patina of the oversized and non-fussy armoire. I love the soft washed grey color and velvet of the sofas and the organic and ancient elements of the coffee table. The interesting lamps behind the sofa, made from antique corbels are fantastic. Yum.

Bruxelles Antiques via the blog of Country French Antiques

I am totally a creature of comfort. I'm sorry to say that if it looks good but isn't comfortable - it's out. Well, maybe not for everything, I suppose. I could suffer a few gorgeous and not the most comfortable side chairs ...but at least give me one down-filled, oversized, velvet covered, sun-washed hued place to sink into.

John Saladino website

As much as I keep thinking I need something new - a different look - for my new house - I have lead myself down the wrong path in that thinking. I love what I love -- and there is a difference between what I think is lovely, and what I think is lovely for me, and for what I want to live in - be surrounded by - and hands down - it's what I've known all along.

I don't know why I fight it sometimes --

Being moody can be, and is a potentially very beautiful thing.

Indeed.

Southern Charm

Even though I was born and currently live in California, I lived my middle years and have deep roots in the South. Both my parents' and each of their families, are all original Virginians. My father broke protocal and took his little family away from the South and went out west to attend Stanford. While in California, much to all four of my grandparents dismay, my little brother and I were both born native Californians. My parents did, however, return us, eventually, to the bosom of the South, albeit to North Carolina, Virginia's closest southern neighbor, where my father did his residency, and later practiced medicine.

12 years later, like my father, I too left the South, destined for California to attend school -- but unlike him, I went to Southern California, and I never moved away again. I go back and visit the South on occasion, and I do truly love it, and part of my heart will always belong to it - but my life and the rest of my heart is and always will be here in California.

When I think of the South, I think of these things - and through the photos of Mr. Greenjeans, I thought I'd share some memories of my childhood -- the beauty and the grace of Southern Charm.

Gorgeous Iron Garden Benches
The touch of cool metal is nice on a balmy Summer evening...

Artifacts of Life

The country roads were and are beautiful living Art.

Carolina Jasmine after the rain

One of the distinct smells of my Southern memories...

Conversations and Contemplations

Come on and sit a spell...

Rusted out iron benches and falling leaves -

The epitome of Autumn

Glorious and tasty Honeysuckle

It isn't a Southern summer without it

I Smell Biscuits Baking ...

From age 6 to 18 I had horses - some of my very best memories...

From the Gardens -

this photo is from deeper South than where I lived - we had no Spanish Moss - but I saw it when we'd visit St. Simons Island, and as long as you didn't touch it, it was beautiful. I found that out the hard way as a kid, and grabbed handfuls of it from the trees, and got a bad infestation of chiggers on my hands and arms!

Rock away the afternoon

Sweet tea and stories

The end of the day and days gone by.
There is just something wildly romantic about the South.

There is a certain grace and beauty found nowhere else.

I miss that.

...that and the storytelling...

I'll have to go back and visit.

Soon.

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Happy Valentines Day.

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Come see what everyone else is hooked on over at Julia's Hooked on Valentines Party!

All Photos taken by Mr. Greenjeans