I have a loft-like space (a large living/bedroom above the garage) near the Chesapeake Bay. The room has high vaulted ceilings (about 10 feet, though of course the peak is higher), lots of windows, and board and batten extending to 7 feet on the walls. The space has windows on all sides, so gets plenty of light. There is a desk/bookcase unit that divides the space into living and sleeping areas. The furnishings are going to be low and modern.

The space, under construction

In terms of color, I was thinking of a soft grey/blue for the 7ft board & batten section of the walls (something along the lines of Boothbay Gray from Benjamin Moore) and a deeper color above that extending up across the ceiling (perhaps Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy). The color would extend throughout the space (only the bathroom will be different). I will also need an accent color for the central bookcase/desk and the trim.

Alternatively, if we decide not to paint the ceiling, perhaps the Hale Navy for the central bookcase/desk. I would love some more color options for the walls, trim, and central architectural component.

Is this a workable scheme? Or would a dark ceiling feel too oppressive? Do you have any color suggestions? -Sarah

image source

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For a nautical theme that isn't too cheesy, she could pair blue gray walls with crisp white trim and cheery red accents.

image source

today’s in the kitchen with is a special recipe that i was lucky enough to have land in my inbox this week. brooklyn based food photographer jessika creedon sent over these gorgeous photographs of a picnic she attended in prospect park and i was blown away by the special presentation of the food. rather than using plates or napkins, the hosts decided to use natural “containers” like lemons and avocados. top that off with jessika’s incredible photos and i was sold. so today the group behind the special picnic, sidedish, was kind enough to share one of their delicious picnic recipes with us- a summery chilled avocado soup. i could live off of avocados so this is one that’s definitely going into my regular repertoire. i just wanted to thank jessika (whose website can be viewed right here, and her flickr page right here) for sharing these photos, and to sidedish for sharing this incredible (and incredibly easy to make) recipe. CLICK HERE for the full recipe (and more photos from the picnic) or just click “read more” below.

about sidedish: sidedish is an ongoing experiment in staging uniquely engaging food experiences. at sidedish events, a rotating list of diners enjoys a full five course meal with an unrepeated, custom-made menu. sidedish dinners pivot around food, but go much farther, with each event exploring a particular theme. renee baumann and keren weiner, two alumni from the french culinary institute, are the heads and hands behind sidedish (with much organizational assistance from andrea montejo). photos and past menus from sidedish events can be seen at sidedish’s facebook page right here.

Hall: starburst pendant from Vaughan, area rug from The Rug Company, barstools from McGuire

So when I was flipping through the latest California Homes magazine, I had one of those very moments. The funny thing is, I was just thinking about finding some photos by this very person to put in a post. And there she was, in print, right in front of me!

Kitchen: lava stone table from Sue Fisher King, chairs from McGuire, pendants from Vaughan

Master Bedroom: lamp from Visual Comfort, nightstand from De Sousa Hughes, pillow fabric from Fortuny.

As you can see from these photos by the oh-so-talented David Duncan Livingston, Eugenia has quite a knack for putting it all together. From the Master Bedroom window of this Belvedere, CA house, there is a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay. Kind of a nice location for a whole house remodel I think!

Guest Bedroom: Headboard fabric from Waverly, side table from Ironies, Plaid fabric from Osborne and Little, Italian Etching from Coup d'Etat in San Francisco

Do you ever happen upon people you once knew in the media? And if so, do you get a bit of a thrill when learning about their accomplishments? I usually end up having a private smile and thinking: "that's so cool!". I am thinking perhaps a note is in order!

Congratulations Eugenia! I am always happy to see you in print!

Posted by Bluelines

While the biggest music release of the season will be Coldplay's Viva La Vida, it's not exactly the kind of album that will prompt non-stop dancing and fun at your summer party.

For that, you will want something that moves and sways. Chuck Brown is a perfect good-time starter.

Known as the "Godfather of Go-Go" (a musical mix of funk, R&B, and hip-hop), Chuck is over 70 and still pumping out exuberant, swaggering songs.

You won't regret picking up a classic like "Do You Know What Time It Is" along with extra ice and bug candles.

What gets your party started?

I absolutely adore this old armoire with mirrored doors. Actually I'm thinking this would make a beautiful pantry in my new kitchen!! I'll need to start saving my pennies!!

this morning while i was holding ms. jackson in my lap and waiting for her soft paws to dry, i flipped through the new williams sonoma catalog and pretended that she was really interested in hearing my opinion on everything inside. she clearly wasn’t, but i thought this faux bois chair was fun. i wish it had cuter legs (i’d like this kind) but the fabric is pretty fun. click here to check it out.

It seems that when you are a celebrity you know everything, or at least media shows that you know everything and you can do anything easily. For example recently actor Brad Pitt has signed on as the designer of a luxury eco-friendly hotel with Zabeel Properties, that will be built Dubai. The project, which aims to be an “environmentally sustainable” 800-room luxury property, will include Pitt as a designer working with GRAFT. “Whilst acting is my career, architecture is my passion” said Brad in a statement. Now I know that an architect has to study hard for about 6 or 7 years in college, to be able to create something, and  I really hope Brad isn’t the lead architect on this thing. It’ll probably collapse whilst they’re working on it. Finally I think that the company that started this project got Brad Pitt involved in this project for a big boost of publicity and not really for his designer services. What do you think ? Via Telegraph and People.

Post from: Interior Design, Home & House Design, Furniture

I was featured in the Wall Street Journal yesterday in a cool little article called "Crafty Hobbyists Create New Careers Using the Web". Though in the article it seems current, I actually started that wedding invitation business with a partner many moons ago...like 9 years ago and sold it about 3 years ago!

And I was also in another article back in February in the Washington Post and Entrepreneur.com that I forgot to mention. It was an article called "The Benefits of Pregnancy". I like how she used the term "blindsided" to describe my pregnancy (my tactful parents had a better word to describe it) --which just means that when you're crazy busy running your own business (and trying to go to grad school at the same time) you sometimes forget to take a certain daily dose of a certain something that stops surprises like this from happening. So take note women business owners! And seriously, I don't know what possessed me to think I could run a business and finish architecture school at the same time. Sometimes I overestimate my abilities to multi-task. Just a little bit. And I also have to point out that contrary to the article, I do not own a "craft store" (it might have been confused with the wedding invitation retail shop I used to own). I do have a studio in Berkeley, but please don't come knocking on my door looking to buy foam stamps or glue guns. Though I may part with my beadazzler for the right price.

I consider myself fortunate to have so many close friends. These three women have been my close friends since the eighties (Gail on the left), since the seventies (Sandy on the right), and Marsha in the middle since first grade. That's me in the yellow coat.

The four of us have been in a book club for too many years and recently, Gail moved to Boise. Do we replace her? We decided no, we will just all fly to Boise once a quarter and have our meeting there.

It's not all work. Here, we visited a winery and posed in the sun.

The book club has been wonderful. We've each read books we might not ever picked up, both fiction and non-fiction, our friendship has deepened, and we are the richer for it.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Coming from a profession where the psychological effects of color is basic knowledge, I have to chuckle at her seeming incredulity over the idea.

What do you think of the concept?

She had been writing, you see.  Travel writing.  She had been scribbling:  oh, this and that, yes, this and that.  She had just finished working on the Marrakech chapter and the Adventures chapter of the new Fodor's Guide to Morocco.  But there was more.  You see she did a bi-monthly city guide to Marrakech for a Spanish magazine.  And she wrote Moroccan feature stories and some not-so-feature-stories-but-nice-anyway stories.  And the editors put up with her quirky writing style.  And then they sent her the magazines with her articles, all fresh and new, and smelling like clean in big manila envelopes in the mail. 

Her kids thought it was pretty cool:-) 

A six-page cover story on henna......

A four-page story on Yves Saint Laurent's Majorelle Garden in Marrakech

A last page story on the Marrakech spice market, le souk des epices

Have you heard of Majora Carter? She rocks. In 2001 she founded Sustainable Bronx, an organization that “aims to alleviate poverty and remediate the environment through green-collar jobs.” She says “we believe that don’t you need to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one. We believe we need to create opportunities for people who are living here already so they can stay.”

She wrote a $1.25 million dollar grant for The South Bronx Greenway:

She’s big into  green roofs as well.  There’s a Smart Roof Demonstration Project video here. To make a contribution towards the Greening the Ghetto effort, click here.

quotes and first two images via CNN.com

before and after renderings by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects