There is something about Scandinavian interior designers because most of the homes I’ve seen use white in excess, but not this Danish home. With a very good mix of modern and classic, and a lot of white furnishings it still managed to amazed me when I saw how they used colorful accents to suppress all that white. Some of the things I really love about it, includes the kitchen flooring, the simple living room, those pillows and the working space with the red chairs.
Even though they are visual details, if I were to change something, it would be the pictures on the walls. Great for all those looking for inspiration for their kitchen or on how to use as much white as possible.

Would you live in a home that’s so white? - via Style-Files

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Adding Colorful Accents into a White Danish Home

In Albert Park, Australia, architect Matt Gibson came up with a great design for George Residential, with a a classic Victorian workers cottage look on the front and a contemporary terrace at the back end. Combined as a metaphorical bridge of history between the front and the rear, the house has a minimalist design with a huge livingroom with an LCD to spend some quality time, a beautiful wooden kitchen with well defined shapes and all the needed utensils and a concealed fold away door that makes the connection with the back terrace. Both the colors and the materials seem to bond really well to creating a warm modern home. I’d really wish to know how much they spent to have George Residential like that! - via Momoy

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George Residential by Matt Gibson

I may use some of these in my daughter's bedroom redo. The pinks would be just right!

And this little bird seemed like he was posing just for me.

I was able to see alot of things that I will share with you in the next couple of days: historical gardens, restored theater in Monterey, a beautiful new antique shop in Carmel, etc. Check back!

Have a great weekend!

Oh the sea breeze on the Moroccan coast made her hungry and living in landlocked Marrakech, she had just one thing on her mind when in that seaside town of Essaouira ........fresh fish.  Thankfully, there were some delicious options.   

Now one could always sit family style at plastic covered picnic tables near the pier.   It was all about eating tomato and onion salad with a fork, fried fish and grilled shrimp with fingers, and washing it all down with sticky sodas sipped from straws.  It was messy and it was chaotic but somehow that was why it was so fun. 

More upscale, there was lovely Taros Cafe where one could while away the noon (or evening) hours under woven umbrellas on the roof terrace.......

Oh, there was a view of the sea at Taros Cafe......a view of which she never grew tired.......

Mmmmm.....the grilled calamari...........And a cold beer.  Perhaps the perfect meal?

And then at night in Essaouira, there was After 5  Lounge Restaurant.  The blogging girl and her best friend were partial to their stuffed crab...........

There was a well stocked bar and cool music.

After 5's atmosphere:  Chic Cavern.  (What do you mean that is not a genre, either?)  And the French owners were amusing and told the best stories.

But the Summer was over now.  Sniff.  And so goodbye Essaouira and hello again beloved Marrakech....

 Taros Cafe:  Place Moulay Hassan, Essaouira, 024-476407, www.taroscafe.com

After 5 Restaurant Lounge:  Rue Youssef El Fassi, Essaouira

Elle Decor, September 2008, Photo by Grey Crawford

What struck me about this space was not just the beautiful tub (Waterworks Candide tub), but the very beautiful and witty tub filler dreamed up by the home owners/designers Fisher Weisman. A stream of water flows down from a shell encrusted "chandelier" reminiscent of the unique creations of Tony Duquette. Question....just where does one turn it on? No matter...this is my idea of luxury.

Another of my favorite bath spaces was created by Vicente Wolf. I think that combining different styles and periods will always make a space more interesting, and Mr. Wolf accomplishes this with great style. His Baccarat sconces and English eighteenth century mirror are the perfect foil for the blue glass walls and contemporary concrete tub.

Another designer who never disappoints is Michael Smith. This example of his authentic style takes me to another time.... one where things were slower. And isn't that what one would want when trying to unwind in the tub? Look at the details: the basket of magazines, reading glasses on the stool, the fresh towels, slippers at the side of the tub. And of course Rover waiting patiently. Perfection. (All bath fittings and fixtures designed by Smith for Kohler).

House and Garden, December 2000, Photo by Melanie Acevedo

Veranda, January-February 2005, Photo by Hickey-Robertson

This bathroom has all of the elements necessary for a long relaxing soak. Designers, art dealers and home owners Cynthia Cage McClain and Robert McClain thought of everything: candles, reading material, a little wine, flowers. Mix these with such personal, beautiful art and photography, and one feels like this is really home.

House and Garden, October 2005, Photo by Francois Halard

Milan based designer Roberto Peregalli created this amazing Master Bath for Claudio and Maria Luti of the famous family firm Kartell, most well known today for the production of the Philippe Starck Ghost Chair. I love the Robust-patterned marble flooring with the striped Venetian stucco walls. The dramatic Carrara marble tub surround contrasts so wonderfully with the Kartell Eros chair here.

Veranda, September-October 2006, Photo by Alec Hemmer

This bathroom just says "California" to me. Designed by Napa Valley designer Barbara Colvin this space is beautifully done. I love the French Doors off the garden and the stone floors. The simple elegance and connection to the outdoors creates such a wonderful spa-like atmosphere.

House Beautiful, July 2006, Photo by Karyn R. Millet

One of designers I am following lately is Ken Fulk. This California designer created such a pleasing space here using the Vintage Bath form Kohler, the owner's leaded glass pendant, and the Greek Key trimmed Roman Shade. Victorian side chair from Swallowtail. Very pretty!

Southern Accents, September October 2008, Photo by Pieter Estersohn

I love this bath with it's Loius XIV mirror and antique Swedish chandelier. Designed by Amelia Handegan for a couple in Charleston, it has a very European flavor. The pale gray-blue and white palette with the pewter and gold metal colors seems to be something I am drawn to time and again.

Southern Accents, July-August 2008, Photo by Roger Davies

Phoebe Howard decorated this beautiful bathroom for a vacation house in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida. A custom mosaic floor and hand-painted mural are what make this bathroom unique. So very pretty. The tub in this room seems to show up quite often in bathrooms that catch my eye. It's classic style works in so many places. Like in this all white bathroom:

House Beautiful, November 2006. Photo by Pieter Estersohn

Sally Markham created this vision in white for a couple in Connecticut. White glass mosaic tile line the walls and the floor creating quite an ethereal effect. One could float away to dreamland here. The heart shaped chair becomes an exclamation point against this white palette. Lovely.

House and Garden, July 2005, Photo by William Abranowicz

In contrast to the more traditional western aesthetic, this bathroom incorporates a decidedly Eastern influence. The architect William McDonough creates a sanctuary in the style of a Japanese country house. One could sit forever in this custom tub from Concrete Works looking out at the meadow of native grasses on South Carolina coastal island.

House and Garden, July 2005, Photo by Jonn Coolidge

The Master Bath in this Spanish Colonial Revival home takes on the California Craftsman flavor through the artful use of custom tile by Ann Sacks. Designer Jarrett Hedborg created a wonderful, cozy bathtub alcove here. I love the arched window echoed on the interior with the tiled arch. Beautifully done!

Elle Decor, July-August 2005, Photo by William Waldron

This is such a fun loving design for a bathroom by designer Robert Couturier. He combines glass tile and mosaic pebble floors with fresh and vibrant colors. This tub is is the Paris tub by Water Monopoly.

Elle Decor, July 2003, Photo by Dominique Vorillon

Then we have the classic claw foot tub. There is a nostalgia about it that cannot be put aside. This beach house bathroom in Malibu designed by Kerry Joyce is brightened by the sunny yellow-painted tub. I love the mosaic floor with the label identifying it as the "boys" bathroom. The surfboard is a fun touch.

Elle Decor, August-September 2003, Photo by Simon Upton

Another example of the classic claw foot provides quite a contrast to the way it is used above. This elegant New Orleans bathroom was designed by Ann Holden of the two Ann's of New Orleans: Holden and Dupuy. I love the New Orleans feeling here of the rustic painted wood plank floors paired with the silk drapery panels. The claw foot here was found at a salvage shop. The sink and fittings were original to the house. I love the photo reflecting the room through the antique mirror.

This is a round-up of some of my favorite tubs and the spaces they occupy. To get going with your own private sanctuary, you can start by looking at the Waterworks website. Many of the tubs can be found there. And for those on a budget, salvage shops are a great way to go. I hope this room, one of the most often used, can become a place for more than just the everyday chore of getting "ready". I hope it can become a place to relax and spend some down time.

Oh yes, of course, she loved Marrakech.  After all, this blog wasn't called My Essaouira was it?  But there really was something about this coastal town that made her want to sell everything and become a gypsy.  And Essaouira's multitude charms seemed to be thrown into high relief when staying at the beauteous Dar Beida.

Now she had given you a glimpse of Dar Beida's loveliness before.  But that was by no means all........There was more, you see.  Much more. 

Now that's really quite a fantastical chair -- very Ethnic Nautical, don't you think? (ahem, what do you mean that's not a genre?).  oooh, and with that curtain!

And somehow the chair paired with this preppy striped blanket (Habitat) and leather and raffia Tuareg carpet was just right.  And look at that beamed roof!

Dar Beida was a house for readers or perusers or simply flippers of pages.  The bookshelves were well stocked and the design magazines were abundant (including all those delicious, expensive mags from the UK) ..........Why ever leave? 

One of the bedrooms had a mezzanine all its own.  How very fun.  Did she mention that the owners had designed the fab felt rugs themselves? Sigh, these over-industrious creative types.....

A darling little salon with white leather poufs, African art, and one of the house's grotto like fireplaces........

Eeek, she could barely stand the fabulousness of this room, which was really an inner courtyard.   The swing (!),  the amazing signage, the fanciful candelabra, and that mod coffee table.  Really, living in a place like this could take ten years off of you, don't you think?

oh, all the quirky little details...........like these vintage toys displayed over a generous CD collection.

Real Saarinen, real Jacobsen, real Panton..........thrown together in the very most casual manner.  And don't even get her started on the oversized Tunisian birdcage found in the souk somehow (?!) .

And to the other side.........the cuisine, where one could cook, or in the blogging girl's case, pretend to cook..........

The blogging girl loved this.....oh, don't get all fidgety -- no animals were harmed for this montage:  they were all found in the Sahara desert.

Well.......she was off to sit on the terrace, under the ahem, Ethnic Nautical gazebo (that the owners had built themselves in a fit of over-achievement:))

Dar Beida, Essaouira, rented in its entirety

emma@castlesinthesand.com

mobile:  +212/67965386

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PS  Check out this (at the very bottom of the post) to see a vintage Moroccan wedding blanket displayed in situ in Allegra's home of  Beading Stars.

It was hot in Marrakech.  Oh, very hot.  So she escaped to that town on the Moroccan coast, Essaouira, her favorite Summertime (and anytime) haunt. 

Now she was no longer a Spring chicken (sadly, so sadly).  And so she had stayed in quite a few guest houses and hotels in her time.  Some luxurious with down pillows and beautiful bath products and some......well, not much better than sleeping on the floor of the bus station (oh dear). 

But had she ever stayed anywhere - anywhere at all -  like Dar Beida?  No never.  It was organic and Moroccan and African and modern and high/lo all at the same time.  This was the sort of place that you could imagine yourself staying in, well, forever.  This little house on four floors was so lovely, that she promptly began thinking up all her best arguments to get the British owners to sell it to her.  (My, weren't they tired of Morocco yet?  What did they mean, No?)

It was all in the details, you see.  Now she couldn't possibly share them all in one batch.  But here's a few to start..........

A charming place to hang the house keys........Each key with a treasure from nature attached.

Two chairs in the entry where you could sit and gaze at.......

This darling little rustic steer display....The blogging girl was quite fond of cows, and this suited her to a tee.

There was an interior courtyard in the center of Dar Beida and African art placed here and there. (The girl had her very own body masks like the one in this image that she had collected in Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya.)

Oh yes, please do perch on this little  stool and read from the enormous trove of interior design magazines...........Heaven!

This vintage African chair was covered entirely with tiny beads.  How very amazing. 

The chair was in this charming little bedroom.  The bed was covered with a fine wool vintage haik, worn by Moroccan women once upon a time.  (The girl had several of these horded for her shop.)

Oh the view from the roof terrace......She could smell the sea.  (And the girl had these very same mod chairs for the roof of Peacock Pavilions.  Could it be that Dar Beida had everything she liked?)

The girl sat and talked on the phone while checking her Blackberry.  She told everyone she might be staying in Essaouira for a good, long time...........Could she be a stowaway at Dar Beida?

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Dar Beida, Essaouira, rented only in its entirety (which is a good thing because you'll want it all for yourself...)

emma@castlesinthesand.com

mobile:  +212/67965386

Sigh, she loved eating - her waistline was visible proof.  And she poured over cooking blogs.....dreaming, dreaming.   One of her favorites was Winos and Foodies, by the lovely Australian blogger, Barbara.  So she asked, Please Barbara....would you, could you do a guest blog for me on some Moroccan dishes?

And look what arrived on her blog doorstep! Mmmmmmm......

All recipes on Barbara's delicious blog, right here.......

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If the blogging fairy came along and tapped you on the shoulder and said "you can choose to spend the day with any blogger in the world " - who would you choose?  I'd choose to spend the day with Maryam in Morocco. 

We'd sip mint tea and eat stuffed dates while she showed me all the pretty rugs and fabrics and glass jars she has collected on her travels.

Stuffed Dates

Remove seed from fresh dates and stuff with cheese and nuts of your choice. I like the salty feta cheese against the sweet date with the crunch of a pistachio nut. A soft brie with almonds also makes a tasty filling.

I'd ask Maryam to introduce me to her favourite couscous maker so I could I'd learn to make perfect couscous.

Plain Couscous

Add 400 ml of warm water to 350grams of couscous and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Rest for 10 minutes, then rub 2 tablespoons of olive oil into couscous to break up lumps and aerate the grains. Place in an ovenproof dish, dot with 20 grams butter, cover with foil and heat in 180C (350F) oven until the couscous is heated through, about 15 minutes. I often add brown flaked almonds. Pine nuts and dried fruits also go well with couscous.

Left over couscous is the perfect filling for stuffed vegetables. 

Stuffed Tomatoes

Remove insides of tomatoes and cook to reduce to a sauce with onions, spices and preserved lemon. Mix with couscous and fill tomato cases. Bake in a 180C (350) for about 25 minutes.

Naturally we'd spend the afternoon shopping. When we returned to Peacock Pavilions we would enjoy a refreshing glass of pomegranate juice..................

Pomegranate Drink

Put some ice in a glass, add a dessert spoon of pomegranate syrup and top with soda water. For a sweeter drink replace soda water with lemonade. I'm sure a shot of vodka would work in this drink.

.................and some local olives. 

Orange and Rosemary Olives

Crack olives with a meat mallet to split skins slightly. Marinade olives overnight in orange zest, rosemary spikes and olive oil.

In the evening we'd sit under the olive trees and eat platters of watermelon.

Citrus Watermelon

Remove skin and cube the watermelon. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed orange juice and scatter mint leaves over the platter.

Then just before midnight the blogging fairy would re-appear and it would be time to say goodbye to Maryam.  I think I'd need some help to get  all my shopping home.

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See full recipes right here.  And Shoukran, Barbara!

If you are in the Chicago area and/or are a design/innovation/tech junkie, the WIRED NextFest event in Chicago’s Millennium Park may be right up your alley. From what I have seen the event has a lot of groundbreaking design work that could potentially foreshadow what we’ll be seeing and using in the not so distant future. Some of the highlights include “advances in sustainable design, next generation healthcare, interactive art and games, and humanoid robotics.”

A few pieces to wet your whistle:

“Don’t just sit - Hoverit”…

“Don’t just sit - Hoverit” is the slogan of a two-person British design team who proclaim this chair to be “the first in a series of magnetic hover furniture.” The design visually reminds me of a mix between the hover board scene from Back to the Future and a dental chair, but the Hoverit team says the experience is “more like floating than sitting.” Hmmm. I would hope so since the plastic doesn’t look too inviting. If the plastic scares you away, the designers say the magnetic forces beneath the persons body weight makes for a different feel than what we find in normal “earth-bound” rigid plastic chairs. I’ll believe it when I hover it (hahaha).

Then there is the HumanCar:

We go from Back to the Future (dental style) to The Flintstones. The “HumanCar” is touted as being an eco-loving carpooler’s dream come true. Four seats and a roof provide a measure of comfort, and four rowing handles (for human-powered battery charging) provide the power. I guess this is better than Fred’s foot powered car, yeah?

The WIRED NextFest event begins September 27th and ends October 12th. For all the details go to www.wirednextfest.com

Not everything that makes a room appealing costs a great deal of money. Some things cost a lot of money, some very little, some none at all. These are the details that make the difference between a perfectly nice room and one that is full of life and charm.

For instance: I’ve always believed that architecture is more important than decoration. Scale and proportion give everlasting satisfaction that cannot be achieved by only icing the cake.

-Billy Baldwin in BILLY BALDWIN decorates*

Isn’t it amazing to see how many of the elements Baldwin used are still popular today? The man sure knew how to arrange a tablescape as well! Details, details, details!

*hmmm, by the way, I cannot quite tell from the amazon.com link above if the book is being re-released soon. The listing I found implies that it is, but I could not find out anymore information about it.

quote and  photos from BILLY BALDWIN decorates

"Theatrical color can distract from flaws. Confederate Red draws the eye from the unassuming laminate cabinets in this rental kitchen."

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

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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.

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