Victorian influences

The opulence of Victorian era melted away to a more straight lined functional movement and while I think our styles tend to be more simple, there are plenty of examples of how we have been influenced by this turn of the 19th century style.

{similarities}

Gray was a favored neutral

Marble was the popular stone of choice

Eclectic furniture styles blended together from previous styles in the past

Placing items of interest to show personality

Floral Wall papapers

importance placed on order

bare room = poor taste {tho maybe they took it a bit farther that we do}

 {differences}

Excessive ornamentation and accessories on every horizontal surface

Specific rules to color selection and placement

Focus on formal spaces - the parlor being the most important room in the house to showcase & entertain

Floor plans that divide public and private areas into closed areas, opposed to our more open floor plans

The image below is from a really great Victorian style home featured here.  I especially love this bathroom for its super fun details like the 10 FT mark in the tile on the wall and the Pool Rules sign.
 A great example of witty design.

sources: Victorian antiques Morris Antiques wikipedia another source and one more

i love green

On this lucky holiday I thought I'd share some of my favorite green things.  In no particular order:

grasshoppers and lizards

I have always loved them.  Have had hundreds of pet grasshoppers/lizards in my life.

mint chocolate chip ice cream

I don't eat a lot of ice cream {what a shame} but if I do, it's mint for sure.

bananas

I do eat a lot of these and prefer them on the green side of things

Snowqualmie Pass

Almost every summer growing up we made the drive to Seattle to spend time with my grandparents.  Snowqualmie was my favorite part of the trip for all the evergreens and the beautiful lake and the excitement that would come when we reached this point because it meant we were almost there.  The sun was usually starting to set by then too so my memories are all green laced with golden sunlight.

succulents

As hard as I've tried, I can't keep them alive in pots, but love them in the wild and other people's gardens.

The Body Shop's Aloe Soothing Day Cream

Very light, all natural ingredients and inexpensive.

Co Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint

I have these squirreled away everywhere: in my car, bedside table, desk at work, coat pockets...can't get enough of them.

Ginkgo leaves

My favorite tree

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

fresh entry way

Earlier today I was talking with a client about art options to go above a console she is considering for her entry way.   I love the console for the shape, and the fun french phrases scrawled all over it so I thought something light and colorful would compliment it well.  

She has lots of red in her home and while her taste leans more towards the traditional, I couldn't help pulling a few fun options I liked for the space knowing her personality and love of color.  

 So the ones I chose to pair with it would be a little too bold for her, but she did love the floral that I did show her.  Pair it with a great lamp and a few accessories and she will be on her way to having a great entry way.

'tangled up in blue'

My draft of a painting of Bob Dylan that I've wanted to try for awhile now.  Watercolor is still a daunting medium for me because it is so unpredictable.  Though that is the appeal of playing with it I suppose.  The scanned image here seems washed out, but the painting propped up next to me looks more vibrant and has some depth to the shadows.  I'll try to play that up in the next try.

I've had Boots of Spanish Leather playing to get me in the mood as I've been blending ultramarine, cobalt and payne's gray to find the perfect mix.  Such a beautifully haunting song, it'll forever remind me of a night it came on my ipod while I was way out to sea somewhere off the coast of Nicaragua.  I love those chance happenings when life has a soundtrack. 

{lyrics can be found here and inspiration for my monochromatic water color here.}

Fun timing to try this painting since I was browsing the blogs as it dried and found this Paint Party going on over at Room Remix - the blog and decided to play along.  Go check it out here.

speaking of pink

 I'm on a roll with pink this week so why not just stick with it?  I don't know if it's because of the time of year with Valentines fast approaching or the tricks the approach of spring - I've been in a big mood for pink.  And lots of it.  Weird.  I've never been into the color much.

 I wouldn't go so far as to paint my kitchen pink {though it'd be fun for about a month}but I could totally see myself doing a fun wallpaper inside my glass cabinets or in that cute nook I've dreaming about since I moved in.  Never have been into wearing the color much either {opting for red given the option} but I'd definitely wear those cute hot pink flats.

 I was even playing with the idea of throwing in a bit of pink with my bedding {an ongoing project} but I think I've moved on and opted for some fresh spider mums on my bedside table instead to get my fix of pink.

not just any orange

well, actually I really do love any shade of orange.  My Grandma's favorite {re: fav-o-right}color was orange so it also comes wrapped in nostalgia.

But of course with fall my love for burnt and muted shades or orange are renewed.  I kid myself sometimes and think I'm over it at the end of the season, then sure enough come next fall I'm right back as big of a fan as ever.

color: happy yellow

A little yellow collection for those yellow lovers out there {especially the two birthday girls}.

Nothing says sunshine and happiness quite like yellow, and if there are any two people in my life who have those characteristics in common it's you two. {luv u both.}