home exterior: September 2010

Show and Tell Friday - 1 year anniversary!

I can't believe it's already been a year since I took over Show and Tell Fridays...time flies! It's been a great year and it's been fun seeing the list of participants growing steadily! Last week we had a record of 213 bloggers joining in! Whoohoo! Thank you all so much! If you have a blog, this is a great way to get more visitors to your site!
It has been so hot here in California this week!

Important Women's Health Issue:

I just had to share this!!!

Important Women's Health Issue:

* Do you have feelings of inadequacy?
* Do you suffer from shyness?
* Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?
* Do you suffer exhaustion from the day to day grind?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or
pharmacist about Margaritas.

Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and

New kid on the blog

Rue magazine has made the rounds among the blogger community and after looking through the first issue I have to say it's going to be there to stay for hopefully a long time. It's stylish, competent, informative and fun to look at.
I found lots of interesting stuff to read and lovely homes and rooms to look at.
Check out my selection of favorites...After coming back this year from Europe I still love all the bright walls, the colorful accents,
the somewhat informal, yet elegant feeling in these rooms below.

In Julia Edelman's (Buckingham Interiors) wonderful home I found many pretty and elegant vistas. Here an oversized hook holds an enormous Spanish influenced chandelier, the room benefits from high ceilings and marries whimsical, modern and traditional furniture.

I love this living room, light filled with great pieces, casual and very nicely selected mid-century furniture, all connected through the unifying color scheme. It belongs to fellow blogger Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay.

A corner of her bedroom, a simple country room feel, with a modern touch. Love the side table, the bed linens and of course the turquoise accents.

The vignette in this sitting room belongs to one of my favorite designers. Vicente Wolf. A wonderfully informative spread can be found on the pages of the premier issue of RUE magazine.

Hayden-Harnett's Toni Hacker and Ben Harnett's Brooklyn loft! Love it!

Life as art! Mary Douglas Drysdale designed the living quarters for Sam Gilliam, the artist and his wife. I adore the sophisticated artwork and the simplicity of this dining room arrangement. The house is an truly artist's dream. Go, see for yourself!

All pictures via RUE magazine. With thanks to all photographers.

Ornate Details: Love them or hate them?

Just by looking around my home, anyone could easily figure out that I'm really drawn to ornate details!

I think they are one of those things you either love or hate. I think most of you probably love them as much as I do though!

Today I love

Vintage inspired pieces!

All found here.

Vintage postcard bedding from here.

Pictures via TracyPorter and Anthropologie.

My friends made me feel like a princess!

My friends gave me this beautiful tiara for my birthday! I knew when I saw the gift bag was from Vintage and Vogue that there would be something beautiful in there!
Click here to see more pics of my party!
Fifty feels fabulous!!!

Colors of fall

I love the colors of fall: the yellows, oranges, burned umbra's and browns. As it gets cooler outside we enjoy the warming trends inside. Especially white interiors can benefit from warm colors.

I can see the carpet on a white floor, the warm brown of the chest of drawers next to the table lamp. The kelim covered chair is a favorite of mine. The sofa is a stunner and needs some cozy pillows (1 & 2) like those above. A lovely scented candle adds to a enveloping atmosphere. And don't you love a little pouf around for extra seating or your feet up?
For additional style wrap yourself in Tory Burch's beautiful shawl...

Enjoy a lovely weekend!

Picture source as indicated and top image Tory Burch's website!

Show and Tell Friday and I'm 50!!!

It's Show and Tell Friday and it's my birthday (on Friday)! The big 50!
This week has been crazy so I'm sharing something I've shown on my blog before...one of my favorite antique tablecloths that my mom has passed down to me.
Although I usually use my vintage tablecloths, this one is so beautiful I'm afraid to use it! Maybe some day when I'm serving just vanilla cake and vanilla ice cream, I

Happy First Day of Autumn!

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Happy Wednesday!

Stop by my Product Review Page to meet my newest sponsor! You'll love this!
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You can also see my write up on a new show on ABC...just click here!

Opening new doors

We are still working on the final installation of the new blog format. I realized through trial and error that now, because of the new set up, all of you have only one part of the blog which updates itself. (Interior Design) The reason is simply a technical solution. In order to create sub categories we opened new blogs under the roof of Art House Design.

You can find House and Living, the blog part, which holds my 'old' blog and is now a new category of Art House Design. I hope this is not too confusing.

Once you enter the blog, you can simply switch between the different options.

Another way is to simply additionally start following the new installed 'Interior Design' part of my blog. This way you get updates of all my blog parts!
The option Projects leads to latest projects I have finished or I am working on.
I love opening new doors!

I especially love this door and entry way, belonging to Liz Lange's country house, cleverly designed and decorated by Jonathan Adler! It is so light and airy. And allthough we are entering the darker seasons in these weeks, I feel these colors let in all the light and the comfort and warmth comes through patterns and added textures.

Image via House Beautiful and my own.

It's Cold Season!

Anyone else out there have a cold right now? It's really going around here in Silicon Valley, and I caught it! I guess it will be tea with honey and lemon for me! I would love to hear what you you do when you have a cold and want to feel better!
************Check out my post about a new show on ABC...it's over on my product review page. If you could leave a comment over there I would very much

NH Architects: New Hire

Welcome to Jessica Cook, Bonin Architects' new Intern Architect! Jessica grew up in Danbury, NH and comes back to the Lake Sunapee region from Martha's Vineyard where she worked at a prestigious architectural firm for the past four years.

Jessica received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies and her Masters degree in Architecture from Norwich University and has a background in graphic design and conceptual art. She has a well rounded knowledge of architectural science and practice and takes a sustainable design approach to every project. Jessica is comfortable working independently and with the Bonin Architects team in every phase of design and construction.

NOTE: An "intern architect" is a graduate who is working toward licensure (which includes seven exams).

What a Wonderful World!

I started making this movie (from photos) on my mac months ago and tonight I finally sat down and finished it! I used one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite singers for the background music on this! What a Wonderful World sung by the late, Eva Cassidy! I love this song, it really makes you appreciate the little things in life!

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Exciting news!!! Sandy from My Shabby

Irina Silka Project on 3D Kitchen and Kids Study Room

Irina Silka is a young architectural designer from Ukraine, she create several amazing project by using software such as 3D Max, Vray, AutoCAD, and Photoshop. Here are several projects from Irina Silka, taken from deviantart.

A brand new blog

It's party time.....exciting news!
Today is the beginning of a new blog era for me. Over the last months I have been thinking about the character of my blog and realized that after more then one year of blogging more categories have evolved.
You will find this new section for interior design, where I will discuss interior design, design trends, stores and related subjects. Next to it will be House & Living, more on a private side, showing my personal projects, passions and inspirations for graceful living. If you are looking for the 'old' blog, you will find it under House & Living... My bloglist resides in the category Interior Design. You can follow each section individually. I hope this will help you to navigate the site. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Over the coming weeks there will be some more adjustments, which will make it more fun and user friendly.

A huge thank you to my oldest son, who has devoted many hours making it so wonderful to my absolute delight and liking!

These Friday flowers are for him...

A sunny weekend to you all!

XX
Victoria

Pictures by V.Zlotkowski.

Show and Tell Friday!

Did you get into the knitting craze a few years back? I've actually been knitting for a long time but I'm not consistent with it. When I was in my early 20s my goal was to knit an Irish Knit sweater and I did! It even had small pockets on the front! I still have it in fact! Once I finished my goal sweater I didn't knit for awhile and then in my 30s I went through another knitting spurt and

Can you help?

My friend Karen(left) is doing the 3-day Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure October 1-3, 2010. This photo above was taken with her best friend, Nance(right) last year when they did the walk together. Three weeks after this Nance was was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and had a mastectomy on December 16th of last year and has been going through chemotherapy for the past six months. Luckily

Enoteca La Storia

Last week a date took me to a place I had never been before, Enoteca La Storia in Los Gatos, California. I I was really impressed with this place and even more so when I heard that Joe, one of the owners, constructed most of this place himself! He built all these wine shelves!
The floor looks like old salvaged wood but it isn't, he distressed it himself...We sat at the bar and had wine and

Bring a Green Atmosphere into Your House with Indoor Plants

One of good idea to bring the convenience of green atmosphere into your house is by completing it with indoor plants. Many ways to decorate your home interior, and indoor plant in your interior is a example ways to decorate your home. Keeping house plants is the best way to decorate out home. Both, indoor and outdoor plants are not only used as decorative items, but also grown for other benefits. The most important benefit of keeping house plants is that they purify the air.

You can choose the Tulsi, Mother Fern, Aloe Vera, or Chinese Evergreen, all of them are can make our interior become convenience while spending our days in our house.

Capitola Art and Wine Festival

I had such a great weekend, it was a girl's weekend away! We stayed at a friend's beach house in Aptos, California which is only about 30 minutes away from us. We got there Saturday afternoon and stopped at Trader Joes for lots of snack food which we ate for dinner along with some very good margaritas! Later that evening we all went out dancing! We had a blast! Sunday afternoon we went to the

Crystal Chandeliers!

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We will never forget!

I will never forget that day! It was a horrible day in our country's history but I it was so amazing that in the aftermath how so many Americans came together. United we are strong!

Show and Tell Friday!

It's time once again for Show and Tell Friday! Where has this week gone???
This week it looks like I'm sharing my dog Beau but I also want to bring your attention to something I have in the background of this photo. It's a mirror. I put it in my garden but have since removed it and I'm so glad I did. Kim, one of my readers told me her fence caught on fire and it was caused by a mirror in her

We have winners!

Sorry I'm so late in announcing the winners of my two giveaways! The winner of my shell wreath is Chelsea, (who doesn't have a blog but left her email address)!
The winner of my handmade soap giveaway is Tammy at Yesterday's Cottage
Thank you all for entering! I hope to be having some more giveaways soon!

The Future of Green Building

For leaders of the green building industry, standards are weaved throughout the mission of the company. The leaders in green building and sustainable construction have been incorporating green components into their designs for years, before the green building movement emerged on the scene.

Construction Digital spoke with experts from McCarthy Building Companies, GreenStreet and Bonin Architects and Associates to discover the latest trends in green building, the factors driving sustainability and the effect that green building has on the overall construction industry in an article titled "The Leaders Shaping the Expansion of Green Building".

Look for the full article at Construction Digital online.

Pinks and Aquas

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Pretty pinks and aquas, originally uploaded by Romantic Home.One of my favorite color combinations, pinks and aquas! I made this mosaic using some of my favorite photos on Flickr! (for photo credit, click on the mosaic)

I

Tips on Designing a Landscape Garden with Planting Grass Seed

Like any other plant, grass seed must be properly planted in order to grow. Although nothing can guarantee a perfect lawn, here are some tips that will stack the odds in your favor.

Picking the Seed

For most places, you will want to use a mix that will thrive in both sun and shade. Read the bags carefully and choose a seed that will grow well in the conditions you have. For instance, while Kentucky Bluegrass is beautiful, it is high maintenance and a challenge to grow in some areas of the country.

Tips on Designing a Landscape Garden with Planting Grass Seed

Preparing the Soil

Get a large quantity of fresh topsoil and spread it evenly over the area. Make sure it is at least 3 or 4 inches deep. Break up any sizable clumps. Although it’s easier if the soil remains relatively dry while you plant, don’t worry if you are interrupted by rain.

Spreading the Seed

Don’t spread the seed by hand. You won’t get the proper distribution and your grass will grow in clumps. For a small lawn, you can use a hand crank broadcast spreader. For larger lawns, a push spreader is ideal.
To improve the distribution, if you have enough seed, repeat the application over 2 or 3 consecutive days.

Cultivating

Once spread, use a rake to work all the seed into the soil. Keep in mind that any that remains visible will likely become birdseed.
Tamp the soil to 'lock' the seed underneath, and level as much as possible. Then water the entire area liberally. Continue watering generously on a daily basis until the grass sprouts evenly. In most cases this is 1 to 2 weeks.
Water at a time of day when the water drops on the new grass won’t burn it—generally late in the afternoon or early in the evening is the best time to water. If it rains significantly, of course, you should avoid over-watering.

When to Mow and Treat

You don’t want to mow the new grass until it is well-established. Wait 2 to 3 weeks after the sprouts appear or until the blades are over 3 inches high.
Also avoid applying weed killer or fertilizer to newly planted grass until it is established. These chemicals can actually burn tender new plants.

Brown Patch Repair

In an established lawn with bare or brown spots, start by digging up the browned areas. Apply more soil if needed. Treat the bare spots as if they were little patches of new lawn, and follow the above steps for seeding a lawn.
You could also purchase grass patch—a dry green foam infused with seed and fertilizer—to place over the bare patches. Simply apply and keep moist until grass sprouts.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-plant-grass-seed#ixzz0yQidORk6