so wise

{pinterest}

within walking distance

It's still a few months before City Creek will open, but talking about it last night with my friends had me excited for it all over again. 

I live within walking distance and have enjoyed watching the progress and look forward to convenient shopping {Nordstrom downtown? heck yes!}

The only downside to the completion?  Having that cranes leave.  I love cranes mixed in with a cityscape.  They inspire me and bring a feeling of change and growth.  This rendering also inspires me, makes me want to pull out my markers or design a retail space.

{images from here}

Jonathon Adler's 10 commandments

  I read Jonathon Adler's 10 commandments a few years back and got a kick out of his fun sense of humor about design.  I ran across them again today and thought I'd share them with you.

#1 Thou shalt embrace maximalism. Thou wilt find minimalism to be something of a bummer in thy abode. Thou wilt grow tired of an endless sea of beige and thou wilt long for a splash of color & a dollop of pattern! Bargello pillows, Furnace bottles, and rustic modern lamps - these shalt be the accessories that add some panache to your pad.

#2 Thou shalt not deny thyself hotelish comfort at home. Thy rooms shalt feel like the most opulent hotel rooms in which thou hast ever stayed. Thou art worth it.

#3 Thou shalt buy an X-Bench.

Then, thou shalt buy another. Thou shalt use them in pairs, perfect under thy console or placed near thy sofa. Thou shalt rest thy feet upon them & so will thy guests. In fact, thy guests might even fight over who gets to rest upon them. Therefore, thou shalt establish house rules about thy X-Benches. Perhaps thou should consider a sign up sheet.

 #4 If thy nest needeth zest, consider thy crest! Thou shalt emblazon with thine initials wherever possible.

#5 Thou shalt mix fancy with frisky.

Thou shalt not be overly formal, for if thou art, thou will be sad. Conversely, thou shalt not be overly whimsical, for if thou art thou will not feel chic. Therefore, thou shalt embrace a mix, pairing the chic classical foundation - excellent proportions, classic furniture - with a layer of playful punctuation. Then thou shalt rest.  

#6 Thou shalt honor the funsters of yore.

David Hicks, Alexander Girard, Piero Fornasetti, Bonnie Cashin, Bjorn Wiinblad - if thou dost not knoweth them, thou should. Thou can use Google Images to learn more about them and thou shalt channel their fun, idiosyncratic, playful spirit in thine own interiors. Thy home will be fun, happy, and chic. 

#7 Thou shalt not commit murder, unless thou art murdering for a decorative accessory. If thou should find thyself at one of our stores and seeth the last bird bowl on our shelf, thou shalt feel free to use whatever means necessary to obtain that special something.  

#8 Thou shalt not be afraid of orange.

Thou shalt use orange copiously in thy interior, whether it beeth in an orange breakfast room or via the zing of an orange lacquered box. Thou might even consider painting thy front door orange to pique thy neighbor's curiosity. Thou shalt also covet chocolate brown. 

 #9 Thou shalt play ping pong.

Better still, thou shalt have a ping pong table in thy living room. Then, lo, thou shalt play ping pong with thy spouse rather than sitting around watching thy tv.

#10 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.

In fact, after following these 10 commandments, thy neighbor might covet thy house.

{images from blogs all over, just do google image seach}

distracted by great vintage style

 Leave it to me to be distracted by Hayley Atwell's great costumes in Captain America.  

I like Marvel action thrillers as much as the next girl, but I don't have a long attention span in the fighting scenes so I really appreciated the pretty costumes and cool 1940's details in this movie for zoning out purposes while the good guys fought off another yet another round of the bad guys.  

If I could have it my way there would be just the right amount of fighting {cut the usual dose in half}, add a bit more intelligent dialogue and unpredictable twists in the plot, keep the same sweet love story twisting through it all and there you have it - a toned down action thriller that I might want to see a second time.

Now to hit up the right vintage thrift store to find a belted high waist wool skirt like hers...

inspired by: new neighbors

Earlier this week I went over to my new neighbors house and even though they just moved in I can tell these girls are loaded with some seriously awesome style.  I love what they've already done with the home already and as they talked about their plans I could see it all coming together beautifully.  

The main room off the kitchen is painted this really great blue that could be daunting to just about anyone moving into a new place.  It is an unexpected bold color in a historically preserved home that was originally built for less than $3,000.

I love the art they chose {a thrift store score} and the distressed wood/glass cocktail table you can't see in my bad phone photo below.

My habit of finishing the room in my head kicked in as I looked at the photo this morning I decided I'd add a zebra rug, some honey toned leather chairs that would work with the original hardwood floors, a few pillows with loads of texture and a few little details to add the shimmer and funk that I think every room should have.  And to make the fireplace glow I'd pile in as many glass votive candles of varying sizes as possible.

{everything from West Elm}

inspired by: yarn bombers

 Around town I've been noticing normal inanimate objects with a little extra flair.  

I thought it must be a Utah thing, maybe even part of the art festival last weekend?  But after reading an article in the Times {my favorite source for weird facts} I found out it is a world wide movement called yarn bombing, or gorilla knitting.   I did an image search and was instantly wishing I knew how to knit so I could go attack something with some yarn.

Knitters - grab your gear and let me know when you have done some public work!

 {images from here, here, here, here...do an image search, that's what I did.}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DILLON!!  NINE YRS OLD TODAY!!

Zenzele: A letter for My Daughter

I've been watching the BBC's The Number One Ladies Detective Agency and reading Zenzele: A letter for My Daughter and have really enjoyed getting a glimpse of day to day life in Botswana on Zimbabwe, resp.

Pretty much everything the BBC does, I like.  So I wasn't surprised that I got sucked into the show.  The first episode of season one was my favorite because it is setting the scene for the story and shows the main character as a child growing up and learning from her father to love and appreciate her country. The music and scenery are beautiful and the characters are easy to love.  I can't wait for the second season.

Zenzele is a wonderful book written by a mother to her daughter as the daughter goes off to college in Europe.  The mother is fearful that her daughter will lose herself in the Western world and become embarrassed by her African heritage. 
I wish I could describe how reading her thoughts makes me feel.  I know it is fiction, but based on what I'm sure are real feelings because it strikes me as truth.  It makes me feel inadequate and fired up all at once. I've edited my rambling down to these few sentences because paragraphs later I was still trying to get to the point.  What I do know: Africa captured my imagination and a chunk of my heart and finding great literature and movies that let me get lost in a different place is so fun.  What it'd be like to be from such a great continent I'll never know, but I envy them in a way I can't explain.

See the goat on the back of this motorcycle?  Dinner perhaps?  I decided instead of some savory demise, he was just out for a nice ride with his family.

{all images taken May 2011}

simply lovely

I was out wandering through blog land yesterday in search of something completely unrelated to this but when I came across this image I stopped in my tracks and gawked.  Simply lovely.

{oh joy}

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West

I was in Arizona last weekend and when my great aunt asked if there was anything I especially wanted to do I didn't even have to think about it.  We went and took a tour of Taliesin West in Scottsdale.  

Built by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930's.

Known for his organic architecture, he used a lot of triangles in his design because he saw them occurring in the desert landscape and also liked the shadows they cast. 

 "Whether people are fully conscious of this or not, they actually derive countenance and sustenance from the 'atmosphere' of the things they live in or with.  They are rooted in them just as a plant is in the soil in which it is planted." - FLW

I was surprised by his use of Asian ceramics in almost every building and outside as well cemented right in with the desert rocks in the walls as points of interest.  I loved learning that he bought a lot of the ceramics in bulk from a store at a large discount because they was damaged.  A bargain hunter!

It wasn't a stretch of imagination to envision life at Taliesin when Wright was there with his third wife and his apprentices creating an oasis among the cactus and enjoying the beautiful landscape.   The 1920's - 30's seemed to have been such a glamorous time to live.

Read more about Taliesin and "the greatest American architect of all time" here.

inspirded by: Adrienne's place

Imagine after a long day of moving furniture {staging parade home in fragments in the showroom right now}and walking into a cool oasis for a night of fun with good friends.  My friend Adrienne has created just that.  And the greatest thing about it, it is so her.  She'll be the first to point out the tiny flaws no one else can see, but that is just so Adri too.  A Perfectionist.  I love her for it.  From the peacock inspired colors, fresh flowers and yummy food - every detail is lovingly considered when it comes to her place. 

While the chicken was on the bbq we were talking about colors for the lower staircase.  What would you expect from a roomful of designers?  Right now it is a light aqua and will soon be a golden tone with a bit of green in it for a bold contrast to the deep turquoise, if you can call it that.  It's a chameleon of a color, constantly changing with the light.

I get teased endlessly for always snapping pictures so when the camera is turned around me I squirm big time.

Happy Birthday Adri, dear.

"how candice olsen of you"

The other day I was hanging with my friend, Jen, at her parents house.  She lives in Texas and is here visiting for a bit and we've been taking full advantage of our close proximity to catch up. She asked me for my take on how to include a fireplace in her parents master bedroom. 

I played around with a couple of ideas and thought to put it in the corner so that it would be one of the first things you see as you walk into the room.  A fire place would already become the most dominant thing in the space just be being there, so why not have it in a welcoming position so that it will set the whole tone for the room.  Not to mention placing it in the corner will be a pretty way to save space so that they could then create a comfortable seating area around it.

When we showed her mom our plans she said, "How Candice Olsen of you."  Well, that is a high compliment in my book.  The designing ended there, and we went back to playing 5 Crown. {Only the most fun card game I know how to play.}

I've thought about the color scheme I'd run with if I were going along with that Candice vibe.  Pretty, shimmery tile around the fire to catch light and add some sparkle to the room.  A rug with a low key, but interesting color pallet that would be versatile with other neutrals and some smaller patterns introduced in the furniture.

I also like the idea of a gallery style wall for family portraits and included a couple mirrored options for the frames. 

{tile: daltile all other furniture used can be found on my sidebar links}

blustery blossoms

I spotted rows upon rows of pink blossoms swaying in the wind this morning on my way to work and as impulse had me swerving to the curb, I consulted the dashboard clock to see if I even had time for a diversion to go quench my compulsion to capture them in my little silver camera.  No luck, but later, most definitely.

Instead I walked into work on time and was welcomed by some chairs who showed up from Lee yesterday during my mid week weekend.  They are absolutely divine.  And while I love a neutral chair, the first thing that comes to mind when I see a pretty one is usually, 'What color will I use with it to make things interesting?'

So I chose the cherry blossom pattern today even before I made it back to the selections to see if I agreed with myself.  I do. And it'd be fun to create a whole space around this fun fabric, going either way with the spa color way or the blossom red. 

It is another blustery spring day out with giant gray clouds and I'm the last standing lunatic I'm sure that can't get enough of the crazy spring weather. 

Market Monday: Kate Morton & William Morris

"Wars make history seem deceptively simple.  They provide clear turning points, easy distinctions: before and after, winner and loser, right and wrong.  True history, the past, is not like that.  It isn't flat or linear.  It has no outline.  It is slippery, like liquid; infinite and unknowable, like space.  And it is changeable: just when you think you see a pattern, perspective shifts, an alternative versions proffered, a long forgotten memory resurfaces."

 Kate Morton is the brilliant author of this quote.  I just finished reading her book, The House at Riverton, and I loved this paragraph for a couple of reasons.  First, it summed up succinctly the way I've felt about  history in just a few lines.  Second, the same can be said about design.  It seems linear until you think about what determines a trend.  Following the outline of one style to the next you can see how what is happening in the world has everything to do with how we choose to adorn ourselves, our homes.  Studying history in conjunction with my love for art and design gives me little thrills as I see the one affected by the other.  The Victorian opulence being followed by the Arts and Crafts is the example I'm thinking of today and Kate Morton's books have a way of weaving beautiful stories including details of the architecture and details from the lifestyle that make history really come to life for me. This particular novel was a perfect choice because it is set in time as everything was shifting from the very conventional to the more free spirited movement.

So while the Victorian has never been one of my very favorites in terms of style, I can appreciate all that hand crafted detail and the pretty feminine lines. I've spent some time the last couple of weeks studying it so that I can better understand the Arts and Crafts movement since I'm working on a home being built in that style.
  
Which leads me to my second feature: William Morris.  He was a big player in the movement from Victorian to Arts and Crafts.  {I'll be talking more about this later.}

I especially love the paper products with his patterns on them.

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