Confessions of a blog-aholic

Oh, how I wish time would stand still while I'm blogging! For the past three days, I have set out to write a post on the Italian design house of Missoni, only to get side-tracked right from the get-go, and have spent most of the rest of each day looking at other people's posts. Here's a typical chain of events: I start by reading my email and my Facebook wall, both of which will have updates from several blogs I follow. My morning coffee is always accompanied by at least two excellent blogs, Cote de Texas for decorating, and David Lebovitz for food. One that I get on Facebook, every week or so is At Home with Patricia Wells, about food and French living.

Attractive pictures like these, from the three blogs mentioned above, always entice me into the stories they accompany.
(top to bottom: David Lebovitz, Patricia Wells, 
Cote de Texas)

Okay, so I start by going to one of these blogs to read the entire post, and my eye gets drawn over to the sidebar, where I see a list that is typically called something like "my blogroll" or "blogs of note". I click on one of these and read it's most recent post, but of course, I get side tracked into looking at that author's favorite blogs, and click on links out from there...so it continues on and on. In fact, sometimes I get so far off the beaten path that I wish I were Hansel and Gretel, leaving breadcrumbs, so I could follow my path back to where I started! Since most of the bloggers I like are interested in various different aspects of lifestyle and design, I go from cooking, to art, to interior design, to crafts, to table settings, back to cooking...you can see where I'm going here: in "no time at all" I realize I have burned up half of my day!

Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. In so many ways, other bloggers have opened up new ideas to me, and I count lots of inspiration as having come from them. The only thing is, I'm not writing my own blog while I'm reading everyone else's. Do other bloggers set a time limit on how much surfing they do? Or do they set aside a specific time each day when they do nothing other than write their own posts? I wish I knew, as I am positive most bloggers spend a lot of time, just as I do, looking at what others have to offer.

My own blog list is divided (as you can see in the left column) into various categories, to make it easier for people (moi included) to find certain subjects. Even so, my lists are all growing to the point where I have just decided to list them all in alphabetical order. That way, nothing gets lost in the shuffle. I have to say that I really enjoy all of the blogs I have listed as my favorites. Each and every one is superb quality in terms of written descriptions, as well as photography (in my opinion!) If I decide I don't care so much for a blog after a while, I delete it from my list.

Some blogs are so gorgeous they practically make me weep with pleasure. Others have great DIY advice, and a lot of the food ones make me incredibly hungry - usually at a time of day when I shouldn't be thinking of eating (actually I think about food most of the time...but still!)

I want to highlight all of my favorite blogs/websites, over time. For today, here are some of the ones that I consider to be so beautiful and inspiring, I could practically eat them up (and I'm talking about the photos and styling - not necessarily food.) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. (Click on the name to visit each blog.)

ada & darcy

Australian interior designer with lovely photos, happy colors,

and DIY projects.

Canelle et Vanille

Written by a Basque chef/photographer, currently living in the United States. Gorgeous photos, interesting commentary and fabulous recipes, such as Lavender and Orange Macaroons.

Carolyne Roehm

Carolyne is, bar none, my favorite book stylist and author. Her site will have you hooked at the opening peony. (You'll see what I mean.)

I own all of her books.

Charlotte Moss

I have met Charlotte and she is as charming as her photos. Her blog has beautiful decorating ideas, and is a great source of inspiration.
I also own all of her books.

Chez Loulou

Lovely French recipes and photos that make you long to be there!

Cote de Texas

An interior designer with a modern take on old French sensibilities, Joni often features other designers, as well as in depth reportage on specific houses. She puts an amazing amount of time and thought into her research - always worth reading. Tons of pictures, too.

David Lebovitz

An American in Paris and former pastry chef at Chez Panisse (I'm jealous already, David!) who is also the author of several terrific cookbooks, and has a wry sense of humor. His food posts and recipes are always good, as are his other posts involving subjects such as travel and flea market finds in the countryside.

Eddie Ross

Eddie is incredibly talented, and not just because he worked for so long with Martha Stewart and then House Beautiful. He has an innate sense of design in everything he touches, plus he styles such pretty photo settings! To top it all off, he's an alum of the Culinary Institute of America, where my son is.
(I soooo want to meet this guy!!)

Forking Delicious!

By a private chef and cookbook author. This picture just about says it all. Divine recipes to match.

Graham Rust

My favorite muralist of all time, Graham Rust has also written and illustrated some of my favorite books, such as The Painted House.

Kiss My Spatula

A picture is worth a thousand words, but I also love the descriptions and recipes. Too beautiful!

La Tavola Marche

Italian cooking, recipes and local photos. Includes podcasts in English.

My French Country House

Basically, I want to move right into this place in Normandy. The owner, Sharon, is welcome to stick around, too, as I know we'd have such fun together, creating table settings and other vignettes.

Oliveaux

Written by an interior designer from Australia. Interesting pictures and commentary on international locations.

Room Seventeen

Dutch site with monochromatic styling. Very peaceful interiors.

Styling by Coty Farquhar

Coty started out at a young age, working for Vogue Living Magazine. Her incredible styling talent is evident in all of her photographs. Truly charming commentary, as well.

SW Design

Nice photos, and interesting ideas, such as this post on closets.

The Selby

Real life decorating! This site features diverse creative thinkers from around the world, in their own homes - all highly personal and generally eccentric. (I also adore their book.)

Sunday Suppers

British blog with mouth-watering pictures and great recipes. Unusual plating combinations.

They Draw and Cook

This is my latest discovery - so much fun to see everyday! What could be better than different artists describing their recipes in their own style? Drawn or painted, they are all different and all tickle my fancy!

Trouvais

Features mostly French Flea Market style. Every post is simply a

joy to look at.

Vignette Design

From Northern California. Beautiful photographs, with a focus on even more beautiful table settings! Apparently, Delores has a china/tabletop accessory obsession like me.

White on Rice Couple

This California couple loves to photograph, travel, cook and write - and share this winning combination on their beautiful blog.

Lastly, I simply must mention Donna Ruhlman Photography, although I can't grab any of her food photos to display here. She has the most outstandingly gorgeous pictures of food that anyone could imagine. Her lighting is spectacular. Check it out!

How anyone writing in the blogosphere gets much work done, without detouring off the path constantly, is a mystery to me. I love looking at all of my favorites, even reading the ones in foreign languages, (as well as trying to figure out what the ones in languages I don't speak are saying). This is a daily journey that I adore, and I hope you will have picked up some new blog diversions, here, as well.

Happy reading!

Decorating With COLOR: Part I

Truly, I do appreciate the peaceful calm of a neutral or an all white room. For some beautiful examples, see this post on New Orleans designer and French antiques maven, Gerrie Bremermann, from Joni Webb, herself a terrific decorator, as well as the talented writer of the popular blog, Cote de Texas.

An English cottage from Cote de Texas

Joni's own home, which is frequently featured on her blog:

...is a gorgeous mix of soothing neutrals, as are homes of her clients, such as this charming vignette:

(...et bien sur, I adore all the French country references in Joni's decor!)

Or check out this Cote de Texas post on the home of Wisteria catalog owner, Shannon Newsom (as featured in Veranda Magazine, which is edited by Shannon's mother-in-law, Lisa Newsom.)

Home of Wisteria's Shannon Newsom

So...you can see that I do appreciate subtle neutrals........

However, I simply CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT COLOR - and lots of it! Whether a room is decorated with a group of colors, or in a monochromatic scale, to me, color is what makes the room come alive. Some of my absolute all-time favorite fabric designers are those who are not afraid of either color or pattern, and usually do use both together, with smashing effect.

For instance, I have adored Manuel Canovas since I was in perhaps 6th or 7th grade, and viewed his Paris apartment, in my mom's House & Garden magazine (which I avidly devoured on a monthly basis). His home, with its high ceilings and tall windows, was full of his own fabrics: on the furniture, walls, everywhere. His master bedroom was completely done in his oversized tropical fruit print, Pali, in blue on white.

Pali - still fresh after 40+ years

I couldn't get over how dramatic the prints were, how bold his palette. While Canovas, himself no longer owns the company bearing his name, his original designs are still printed and sold - and are still as fresh and vibrant today as they were over 40 years ago! Fortunately for us, Cowtan & Tout now owns the company and also continues to add new patterns reflective of original Canovas style.

Joe Nye used Pali for these pillows

Gerrie Bremermann used Pali for this loveseat

Some of the luscious colors coming from Manuel Canovas these days

Today, Manuel Canovas (the man, not the company) designs under the name Lorca (his mother's maiden name) which is owned by Osborne & Little, and produces some of the most gorgeous fabrics you could ever hope to see! This picture of Saskia does not do it justice. It is a very heavy fabric and the tulips and leaves are all completely embroidered. It is, in a word, spectacular.

Lorca's Saskia

I am also passionate about the fabric designs of Dorothy Draper, whose legacy is perpetuated by her long-time assistant - now owner of Dorothy Draper Design - Carlton Varney. Through his line, Carlton V, he has revived several of Draper's fabrics and wallpapers from her heyday as a society designer in the 1940's, only slightly tweaking the colors to fit better into today's interiors.

Dorothy Draper's original fabric, Rhododendron, as seen above in Mint, has been re-released by Carlton V, in a gorgeous aqua. I was so inspired by this bold and colorful print that I used it as the basis for my entire dining room scheme at the Newport Showhouse Guild's 2008 showhouse in Narragansett, RI.

Close-up of Carlton V's updated version

Trimmings from Highland Court are just plain FUN

(Photo by Michael J. Lee)

The amazing aqua sea glass chandelier and sconces -

perfect crowning glory for this colorful room

Keeping to a palette of aqua, lime and raspberry, I used other fabrics in this room from China Seas (the lime zebra print & the raspberry cheetah print) which are colorful enough to share the stage with Draper & Co.'s Rhododendron, as well as vibrant lime and raspberry silks, which I had my upholsterer combine on the Louis XVI style chairs. The tailored tablecloth is Monterey Woven Texture in Sea by Brunschwig & Fils. My friend, the very talented Chris Smith, glazed and stenciled the walls in several shades of aqua. The gorgeous bordered Wilton carpet is raspberry with white accents.

I love this room, and had so much fun putting it together, since the colors and tones here just exude happiness! I am still amazed that it could be at once so lively, and yet calming.

I was also invited to design the guest bedroom and bath suite in this same house, for which I went all out with Brunschwig & Fils's collections from Spring '07 and '08. the colors and the fabulous French country motifs were so inspirational.

(Photo by Michael J. Lee)

(Photo by Michael J. Lee)

I personally mixed this wall color to compliment the fabrics in the room. While the paint is not an exact hue in any of the fabrics, it is a sort of melding of several of the colors and works overall. I spent a couple of hours getting just the perfect shade of periwinkle. As with the dining room, this palette is both exciting and soothing at the same time. (It's also an extension of the ocean view from the room's wonderful big windows.)

Detail of Brunschwig & Fils fabrics on custom headboard

Settee in more B & F fabric & trims

The bathroom in this suite showcases a matching wallpaper and fabric, again by Brunschwig & Fils. To enhance the colorful shell and vine toile, I glued rosy mauve toned scallop shells onto the homeowner's mirror. Then, I had cosmetic bags and towels embroidered in matching colors. Here again, notice how the periwinkle of the ribbons is neither the blue nor the violet of the toile, but something in between, which goes so well even if it doesn't exist in the actual print.

(Photo by Michael J. Lee)

In my own dining room, below, historic hand painted murals are enhanced by woodwork in another custom paint color, this time pulling out the various blue/greens in the walls. Once again, I submit that it is worth several hours or even days of one's time to concoct just the perfect shade of paint, as it will give years of enjoyment.

My living room and kitchen, below, will be featured in detail, soon, but these shots will prove (in case you still doubt it) that I adore saturated color in home decor:

(Photo by Nan & Monty Abbott)

(Photo by Nan & Monty Abbott)

I have many more photos (my own and the work of other designers) which I'll show in future posts, glorifying the power of COLOR. It's a visual stimulation that can act in so many ways on our mood and outlook on life! The next time you are in a room with lots of color, let it wash over you, and think about how the tones in that room make you feel. I think it's impossible not to be affected by color.