One of my favorite sites in London is Spencer House, located in St. James. Built in the mid-eighteenth century for John, first Earl Spencer (yes, those Spencers), the house's first architect was John Vardy, a student of William Kent. It was Vardy who was responsible for the exterior of the home as well as some of the interior rooms, though unfortunately for him, he was later replaced as chief architect by James "Athenian" Stuart, a disciple of Greek architecture. Stuart's influence is seen in the classic Greek detail throughout the interior, making it one of the first examples of neoclassical architecture in England.

Throughout the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, subsequent generations of Spencers set about at refreshing and remodeling the interiors of the home, including a remodeling led by Henry Holland. After all, the Spencers were a prominent and highly social family, so Spencer House had to reflect this. Interestingly, the Spencers lived in the home until the late 1800s, at which time they leased the house to the Duke of Marlborough and his wife (Consuelo Vanderbilt) as well as various organizations. During the blitz in WWII, the contents of the home, including the fixtures, were removed and shipped to the Spencer estate Althorp for safe keeping.

Fortunately for us, Spencer House is now restored to its former glory and is open to the public. Of course, the fact that Spencer House is one of the few remaining private palaces in London makes it important. But the other nice thing is that it doesn't seem to be on many tourists' radar, meaning no long lines!

(One tidbit of info that I just gleaned- Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, was the daughter of first Earl Spencer and thus lived in the home until her marriage to the Duke of Devonshire. For a great book on Georgiana, you might want to read Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. Or, I suppose you can wait for the upcoming movie based on Foreman's book. But the book is really a good read.)


The Palm Room was used by gentlemen after dinner. It was Vardy who was responsible for the design of this room.



The magnificent Great Room. According to Spencer House's website, the coffered ceiling and frieze were inspired by the vaults at the Temple of Concord and Victory in Rome.


The Painted Room (c. 1759-65) was one of the first completely Neoclassical rooms in Europe. Designed by Stuart to celebrate the marriage of the first Earl Spencer and his wife, the room is dominated by images of marriage and festivity, all inspired by ancient Greece and Rome.


Vardy's design for the Ante Room- originally conceived as the Spencers' private dining room- includes a stunning coffered apse. It was Henry Holland who inserted the mahogany double doors under the apse in 1792.


I like to purchase guide books from the sites I visit- just in case I missed something on the tour. I also like to mark the date of my visit on the inside cover. This might become especially helpful when my memory starts to fail me- hopefully not anytime soon!

when it comes to organization, i’m pretty much a web-only girl. but when i see cute planners like this, from sarah pinto in san francisco, i’m tempted to go back to paper. sarah’s planners are printed with soy inks and use recycled paper. you can pick up several different styles right here for $25 each.

ps: don’t forget to submit your entries for the ugliest pillow contest! click here for details.

Posted by Jodi

I was recently preparing my house for a friend’s baby shower when I noticed the non-curtained French doors in the den provided a great view for guests to my not-so-neat bedroom.

It’s the kind of thing you don’t think of until the door bell is about to ring.

My quick fix: I took a few of my son Sammy’s paintings from our massive collection and taped them neatly with white artist’s tape to the back of the doors.

It was meant to be a temporary solution, but my husband and I love it. (We know we are biased.) I might even laminate the art so I can hang the masterpieces neatly with some tiny eyelets on cup hooks.

Since there is a lot of Sammy art where that came from, we often have “art shows� at our house. (His teacher told me that he “uses up more paper than anyone in the class.�) I was proud, even though I’m not sure it was meant as a compliment.

Our shows are installed in hallways, on doors, and strung on clotheslines under the mantle. One “piece� that is on permanent display over our mantle is a series of his first people drawings collaged and hung in one of Ikea’s “NYTTJA� frames.

They come in lots of colors and sizes. The one above is the large (19 ¾� x 27 ½�) orange one and it’s only $7.99! (One downside with the frame is the plexiglass starts to bow and sag after a while. I plan to replace it with glass.)

Collaging a bunch of your child’s artwork is a great way to capture a series and create a larger piece of art.

Now that my younger son, Lionel, is starting to draw himself, we may have to move to a place with more walls!

Wow, what a week! An historic election just started things off.

But now the economy is throwing me for a loop and there are some big things for me to think about at the moment. So I am sorry about the lack of posts the last couple of days. I hope to be back with some exciting things next week!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, NO MATTER WHAT'S SHAKIN'!

P.S. Many of you appreciated this photo as much as I did. You can catch more from robin jones1 Flickr photo stream here.

Design pet furniture for pets and humans that blends nicely into your own decor and can do double duty as a side table.

http://www.denhaus.com

i’m always so thrilled to see designers incorporating vintage elements into their work. this beautiful new stationery from liz at linda + harriett uses vintage wallpaper as the envelope liners and is cut and placed by hand. i love the idea that whoever opens them gets such a beautiful surprise on the inside. you can pick up a set of 50 cards right here (with your hand-lettered name at the top). thanks, liz!

Based on an elaborate concept and a carefully planned study this unique artistic creation is a perfect combination of functionality, and the art of painting, sculpturing and design.

New, revolutionary design of unique pieces of furniture does not only pervade the space, filling it up with a soul of its own, but also creates a charismatic essence of the object of art itself. This piece is the fruit of work of two promising young artists; Klemen Benedik, painter and designer, and Toma? Erzeti?, sculptor and designer.

Elaborately planed furniture design and a tender, refined painting are the artistic soul and an added value of this unique piece of furniture, which moves one's heart by its very existence, suggesting and narrating its story.