For example, I was struck by this incredible Sarfatti chandelier from 1952 which is so current, it looks like it could have been designed specifically for this house.

Interior Design Magazine, March 2008, Photo by Jean-Francois Jaussaud

And this grouping of twelve silver Brand van Egmond broom lights was so whimsical and unique. If you have never visited their website you should do so immediately, if for no other reason than for the very cool Madonna music.

Vacation Homes, February/March 2008, photo by James Silverman

The three crystal chandelier pieces from Moooi were placed in the 700 square foot reception area of a 12,ooo square foot townhouse in London designed by Rene Dekker of SHH Associates. ( I just have to add that the townhouse belongs to a family with six kids ranging in age from 6 to 27. Yes, that's right. You heard me.........and the design directive was to do a "white" interior....yes, the youngest is six.) Anyway, I digress. The chandeliers are breathtaking, no? SHH is another website that is pretty amazing. Very unique designing going on there.

Vacation Homes, February/March 2008, photo by James Silverman

Another room from the same townhouse is the first picture from this editorial that really caught my attention. These spherical fixtures come from a German company by the name of Windfall. Made from Swarovski crystals these pendants create a wonderful little solar system. Not to sound repetitive, but this is another "must-see" website. There is much here to capture the imagination.

So, in my search for that "perfect" dining room fixture for myself, I have come across some fixtures that are new this season from companies that really excel at lighting design. I thought I would share:

Forest Sepia Hanging Lamp, new from Seascapes Lamps. Bringing the outside in. Check out the new shade pendants on their website.

I am sometimes stumped when it comes to specifying a ceiling flush mount fixture for a client. There are many out there that are fairly typical or "expected". So I am always pleased when some more unique options come up. These two, new this summer from Circa Lighting, would really add some fun to many an interior.

Also from Circa Lighting, these are some of the new table lamps due out this summer. I am not sure I can wait that long.

These are a few of the table lamps I am just loving from Shine Home. Maybe it's just the Spring colors that are drawing me in, or the classic shapes with a twist. Whatever....I just like 'em loads. They may be finding a new home with me.

I couldn't leave you without reminding you to always check in with Swank Lighting. They always have a flow of wonderful new inventory. "Inventory" doesn't seem quite the right word......hmm.... "treasures" seems more appropriate.

Lighting can make or break a room. Ambient, task, or decorative, it pays to give it the attention it deserves. Maybe more importantly, let it brighten your day...and night.

I recieved an email the other day bearing some of the best news I've heard in weeks.

One of my favorite culinary TV series, "Two Fat Ladies," is finally coming to DVD!

For anyone who doesn't remember this fantastic British show (which aired back when Giada's decollete was just a glimmer in some TV executive's eye), there's still reason to check it out.

Don't expect healthy twists or 30-minute meals here. Instead, prepare to ride off with Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright (by motorcycle and sidecar, naturalement) around Britain (and beyond) to prepare seriously hearty meals.

How about joining a hunting party in Scotland for a menu that includes roast grouse and venison with blackberries (episode 5)? Or perhaps you'd enjoy making lobster for a sisterhood of Benedictine nuns in Ireland (episode 14). Soused herrings, Welsh rarebit souffle, onion soup with Stilton, fruit tartlets...the list goes on.

These aren't all recipes that you'd likely rush out and make, but that's not really the point. The settings are verdant and the ladies are undeniably charming, entertaining, and passionate about food.

Even though the show itself is dated, it's novel and refreshing to see them, polar opposites of the squeaky-clean, book-deal-sniffing personae of today's food TV stars, preparing honest food without pretension.

Welsh Rarebit Souffle
Ingredients:
    2 large slices of good-quality white bread
    1/2 pound of high-quality, aged cheddar cheese
    3 egg yolks
    4 egg whites
    1 level teaspoon dry English mustard
    1 vigorous shake of Worcestershire sauce
    1 vigorous shake of Tabasco sauce
    Salt and Pepper

Grate the cheese and place in a bowl. Beat in the egg yolks, a level teaspoon of mustard, a good shake each of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Toast the bread; whip the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Add a spoonful or so of the beaten egg whites into tothe cheese mixture then gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the bowl. Put the toasts into an ovenproof dish and pour the mixture over them. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes until browned and risen. Serve at once with a salad or spinach on the side.

Recipe reprinted from the Two Fat Ladies DVD box set, Acorn Media, 2008.

Sacramento has done some major changing since I moved here some 16 years ago. One of the best things that has happened has been the instigation of the Second Saturday Art Walk, We have an incredibly lively and pedestrian friendly night life in Midtown Sacramento, and people flock to the galleries every Second Saturday.

Here is a bit of info about the "scene" and what it's all about.

This photo is from the new website and truly does not do it justice. There are street bands and many streets are blocked off for entertainment venues. It is sooooo much fun. (And the art is not bad either!)

My friend Ted Weldon, who has worked with me on a number of restaurant projects, is having a showing at the new 500 N Street new "luxury condos". Please check out his website cuz he is fabulous!

Photographer, Jay Canter, is also showing. He travels all over to capture images like the one above. Quite impressive.

And I wanted to give a shout out to my new blogger friend Julie, who let me know about the event. Please say "Hi" on her wonderful blog JUST JULES AND YOUR AVERAGE JOE. You will not see a more beautiful couple....nope....not anytime soon....they should be models.....and he proposed to her on a dinner cruise on Lake Geneva.....I kept thinking George Clooney was gonna be in one of their slide show pictures....that's how gorgeous they are. SO, visit!

Posted by Kerstin

I was in Virginia this past weekend, and a few exits away from the Southern Kitchen (raved about by many food writers as a superb roadside destination).

Although it’s dangerously close to bathing-suit season, I decided this was too tempting to pass up.

Located in the small town of New Market, Virginia, the large vintage sign outside says it all. No trendy food fads have tainted the down-home menu.

House specialties include peanut soup and the friend chicken platter (served with choice of two sides, ranging from the smart (house salad) to the sinful (buttered corn, fried potatoes).

I chose stewed tomatoes, forgetting that most true southern cooks put a half cup of sugar into any vegetable dish. Thankfully, it turned out to be a nice balance to the savory chicken.

I don’t know how they did it, but the fried chicken was the crispiest and most flavorful I have tasted, yet it had no greasy side effect. Note: only one napkin was needed.

And the meat inside, well, let’s just say it was juicy and tender enough to leave the plate clean. (You did see the plate above, right?) About the only unauthentic things? Our charming waitress (from New Jersey) and some of the taxidermy on the walls.

Although the atmosphere and service was no worse the wear because of it.

Also from The Source Perrier. Recreate that summer in the Adirondack's with this tables and chairs.

Happy Weekend! Happy Summer!

Why did I pick this photo to begin a profile on photographer, James Bleecker you may be asking yourselves. Having asked myself the same question, my answer has to be this: it seems to tell a poignant story. There is a path to follow, to a place that seems a bit other-worldly with a mysterious sort of beauty that calls for you to proceed even if you are unsure what might happen when you get there.

James Bleecker has this way about his art. He has a way of creating a story with his lens...of capturing a moment in time, that is yet timeless. And James has lived quite a story himself as well. James has been creating photography in his home state of New York since 1982. Having studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, James proceeded to gain prestigious commissions from The Frick Collection, The Morgan Library, the Rockefeller family and The American Museum of Natural History.

I am not just a little impressed with his skill. He has been asked to photograph some of the most beautiful and historic homes in New York, and particularly the Hudson Valley. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with James and , his wife (and my cousin), Jenny and their son Jamie a summer ago at his country home in New Concord. There I got to see genius at work. With his studio in their red barn, James showed us how he printed his photos onto special archival paper. We got to see some of his very amazing work of prize livestock and stunning architecture that clients had commissioned.

Red Devon

We had begun a correspondence and James has been kind enough to agree to an interview about his recent projects, including his Tuxedo Park project for the Tuxedo Historical Society, as well as upcoming projects.

2) There are so many genres/styles of photography. What inspired your subject matter choices?
The subject chose me. Architecture created between the Civil War and the Depression – the Gilded Age – captured my imagination as student, and hasn't let go.
I don't give much thought to style. I did, however, stumble upon a method of producing black-and-white slides while I was in art school. If you projected them on a screen using two slide projectors hooked up to an electronic "dissolve unit," you could create the most ethereal effects. Often an uninvited ghost image would materialize as one slide dissolved into the next. If you designed a sequence in which every two images created a surprise third, you had something that was hypnotic. Set that sequence to music and now you had a show: a seeming story or poem, and quite haunting.

3)How did your career progress after after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design?
It progressed from these student slide shows I made. Historical societies and museums commissioned me to make multi-media shows that communicated stories to visitors. My first and best show was Hudson River Gothic, produced for Hudson River Heritage in 1983. The subject was crumbling mansions along the river. Later I won several awards, including a Gold Award from the American Association of Museums, for my film, Up the River: Sing Sing Prison. Some of my commissions have been permanently installed in museums: if you visit the Frick Collection you'll see a show I made back in 1993.

4) How did you become involved in the Tuxedo Park project?
The Tuxedo Park project came to me by way of someone who attended a screening of Hudson River Gothic. This gentleman introduced himself as president of the Tuxedo Historical Society and said, "some day we'll do a book together." I didn't hear from him for several years. Then two years ago I received a call from his associate, who reminded me of that earlier meeting and said, "let's get to work."
Tuxedo Park: The Historic Houses was privately published last year by Tuxedo Historical Society, with money raised from homeowners. It's designed by a top graphic artist named Hilary Kliros and printed on sumptuous Italian paper. I've shown it to commercial publishers who said they couldn't match its quality. The project has changed my thinking about the potential of private publishing. (The book, co-edited by Christian R. Sonne and Chiu yin Hempel, is available at http://www.tuxedohistoricalsociety.org/.)

Tuxedo Park School

Allee

Tennis House Columns

Lake and Tennis House

5) What has been your favorite photography project/subject and why?
Tuxedo Park has been among my favorite projects. The place has a craggy, Picturesque character, with rustic stone houses designed by Bruce Price that seem to grow right out of the cliffs. I love rain, and it seemed to rain almost constantly during my six months of shooting there. The place became a rain forest. I was blessed each day with uncanny effects from the heavens: sun bursts through dark clouds, fog banks drifting up the steep hills; rain drops glistening on gardens. This atmosphere pervades the book. Another editor might have grumbled, "more sun." But my editors knew the Park and knew we had it right. A perfect project.

Hills in Mist

6) What is your favorite pastime after your career in photography?
Hiking with my wife Jenny, son Jamie, and our new dog. At nine, Jamie's just turned a corner: he now walks ahead of us, enjoys steep open faces, and is more or less fearless. New York City is not unlike San Francisco in that's it's surrounded with magnificent parks, mainly to the north along the Hudson River.

7) What are you reading at the moment?
The Intelligence of Dogs, by Stanely Coren. My puppy Retriever is resisting house breaking, and I hope this book will reveal whether her many accidents are truly those, or if she has, in fact, a cruel design upon our antique oak floors.
8)Where do you like to go to get "away from it all"?
We have a small Greek Revival house in the farm country that we escape to on weekends. Though it was surely built by a local carpenter, it has fine proportions. In its whiteness (no shudders) it becomes a gleaming sculpture. I can stare at it for hours. I've taken many pictures of it, some of which you can see on my Web site. (http://www.jamesbleecker.com/)

House, New Concord

9) What are you never without?
I should say my camera, right? I will correct that soon by buying a small digital camera that I can keep glued to my hand.

Sutherland Pond

10) If you could be anywhere anytime, where and when would that be?
I would be transported to the southeast coast of Maui in rainy season. That's the steep side of the island. The twisty road along the ocean threads in and out of the mountains and past innumerable waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet. It's all shrouded in mist and you can only imagine the height of the peaks above you. Rain and fog: is there a motif running through this conversation?
11) Who are your heroes and why?
While he was more of a grouch than a hero, I admire Walker Evans. His iconic photos of Depression-era towns stop me in my tracks. He brings dignity and stature to simple buildings like a vernacular Southern church or a gas station. It's partly his straight-on, no-nonsense compositions, and partly his soft Pictorialism: opposing styles brought together without irony. I feel his pictures are honest and ennobling. That, to me, is close to a heroic accomplishment – at least in artistic terms.

Barn, New Concord

12. What are you up to at the moment?
I'm working on my next show in Chelsea, which will feature giant prints of the High Line. The High Line is a massive, rusting elevated railway cutting through the Chelsea gallery district of Manhattan. It threads its way into and out of the old warehouses here, the buildings actually enveloping it. I suppose it was too massive for anyone to take on the task of demolishing it, so it sat idle for years. Now it's being adapted as a greenway park; imagine walking through thirty blocks of Manhattan at an elevation of 30 feet, like King Kong.
The High Line appeals to my love of old or abandoned structures – in this case one that cuts through some of New York's swankest new architecture, making for startling juxtapositions. New York's only contribution from Frank Gehry, the new IAC building, is the backdrop for one of my photographs.
It's fun not to be photographing houses for a change. But guess what? One building along the High Line is a semi-ruinous 19th-century office that someone has stabilized. They've built a modernist townhouse within – and peeking out from – the crumbling walls. Now that's a house I could live in.
(This show opens in November at Allen Sheppard Gallery, 530 West 25th Street. http://www.allensheppardgallery.com/)

Rockefeller Center

Please take a moment to check out James' website to see many more stunning photos and find out more about the book Tuxedo Park: the Historic Houses.

Posted by Kerstin

This year I am determined to conquer the very thing I attempt each time the weather starts to heat up.

Find that one dress that is stylish, classic, and won't wrinkle or wilt in the sweltering city heat.

It's a tall order, finding one garment that can go from the office (add cardigan) to a dinner out (add dangly earrings), to the beach (add flip-flops), or wear errand-running around town (add shopping bags).

So every time Memorial Day hits, I scour catalogs, web sites, and newly-stocked stores hoping it will be there saying, "Look, over here."

Unfortunately, every Labor Day, I discover the same thing. I have bought way too many throwaway dresses that fit no more than one of the above requirements. And most I never want to see again.

This year, I have come up with a few candidates. Tell me what you think.
And be sure to tell me of any you think could be "the one."

Candidate 1:

Candidate 2:

Candidate 3:

Late Entry: Candidate 4 (I forgot about this one)

Some of you may already know about this. But here it is again if you don't. You know that crazy, and sort of wonderful house flipping show on Bravo called "Flipping Out"? Well....Ryan Brown, one of the stars of said show....you know the calm one who partners with the very particular OCD-ish flipper designer guy? The one who whips his staff into shape and turns out some of the quickest and most well designed flips in the LA area?......well, I got a little email from them just to let me know he now has a blog with his brother Joshua. I'm assuming that I am not alone here. But thought I would spread the word along. Find out more about their blog, "Brown Design" here. They have some great posts about their work and .....AND you can visit their website here. These are just a coupla photos of their work I particularly liked. So go "checkitout"!

Welcome Ryan and Joshua! I wish you all the best with your new blog. And I look forward to another season of Flipping Out!

Castleberry Hill in Atlanta is in a warehouse district undergoing a Renaissance. Walt Bilinksi and Steve MacNeil are making it happen. Read more here.

And then there is this Dining Room from another Atlanta Loft project known as the "The Stacks at the Fulton Cotton Mill"

When I saw this space, I wanted to have those light fixtures for myself! Read more about this project here.

And it's not just about Interiors....there is also a bit of style and living to make you come back for more:

I think I could be convinced to be a subscriber.

And the best part? You can sign up to get a FREE ISSUE here. I love free stuff.

Congratulations LoftLife on the launch!

Book Group.....really just an excuse to get together with friends I have known for 10 years or more. Ever since we met when our kids were in preschool. The kids ended up in different schools with different friends and interests....but we Moms just kept getting together. Once a month. We have long since abandoned any sort of Book Group protocal. We do assign a book, but whether it is read or not is not really the point. Sometimes we discuss it...somtimes we don't. Mostly we just get the temperature of what our kids are going through and what we are going through as a result. What our relationships are doing...where they are going or not going with our spouses. We have talked over the divorces, the new boyfriends. Two of my friends have weathered bouts of breast cancer and all that that entails. There have been career changes, parents passing, exciting travels, kids' high school graduations. You know....life.

Like I said....the books are a great excuse, but hardly the point.

Here was my pick for the book group we just had last night at my house:

A wonderful perspective on this woman's life and her courage, joys and sorrows in living it.

Enjoy your weekend!

Dear reader, I changed the RSS feed for my blog.

For further updates from At Home with Kim Vallee, please use the following feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/AtHomeWithKimVallee

Thank you.

Roy McMakin originally started the company Domestic Furniture in Los Angeles and San Diego. Joining forces with talented craftspeople, his designs are now realized by the company Big Leaf Manufacturing in Seattle, Washington.

These are but a few of his playful creations.

Now that summer is on it's way, these pieces conjure images of beach cottages.

The colors are strong and clear, but the forms are described as "temporally ambiguous".

Architecture has also found it's way into the company's repertoire and goes by the name Domestic Architecture. While utilizing recognizable vernaculars, whether it be Tudor, Spanish, or Cape Cod, Domestic Architecture tweeks things just to keep you on your toes.

A remodel of a Tudor Style house carries it into another realm.

This house reminds me of a family house at Balboa Beach California where I spent every summer growing up. Perhaps this is what draws me to it, especially this time of year.

I can just see this space filled with kids in bright bathing suits and striped beach towels. The perfect backdrop.

Be sure to visit the Domestic Architecture site. The images there are wonderful, but not downloadable.

I would rather go here! My husband has taken over building our deck on the back of the house. I am sooooo lucky to have a very handy husband. He has been doing such a beautiful job it makes me want to cry for joy.

He is modeling the pickets after the front porch railings and has copied our 1911 detailing to a tee. It's a long story, but the posts are higher right now than they will be after inspection, so we can match the height to the front of the house (no longer "to code"....shhh!) The wood on the deck is Ipe, AKA Ironwood....which is a rain forest wood like teak, but much harder and is actually fire-rated. It is so dense it will not burn like other woods. You have to be careful to buy it from a source that is certified farmed wood so as not to harm any rain forests. The good thing is, it lasts so much longer than other woods, it is not necessary to replace it for the life of the home.

Here...close-up of the detailing...primer coat on. Each picket has a piece of molding on each corner....Every time I look at this my husband gets to deposit more coin in the relationship bank.

Our next challenge: the backyard. I am going to sketch it out for you and post our "vision", perhaps tonight! We are going to stucco the existing concrete block wall on the left and make a water wall there. The back fence may eventually also become a wall with a fireplace. We will hard scape most of this area and have planting beds around the perimeter...a tree in the back next to the fireplace. These "city" homes do not have gigantic yards, but it is plenty for us. We also have a side yard that will get lawn and raised vegetable beds (someday!)

Our detached garage is on the left here, porch on the right. This will have a path over to the side yard. There will be a gate from the garage to the end of the porch so we can keep the dog in the side yard if necessary. I want to put an arbor with roses over the gate.

This is looking down the other side of the house where we will have a stepping stone path and alot of shade plantings.

So if any of you out there are garden aficionados, please chime in! We are always looking for suggestions!