On my blog, it?s no secret that I?m a big fan of Kim Myles. Anyone who can resist her bubbly optimism and bold use of color might just be a stick in the mud, if you ask me. I asked Kim if she?d mind answering some couple-focused decorating questions, and she happily agreed. Check out her site for more information on her design work and design- and budget-savvy show Myles of Style, if you haven’t made her acquaintance yet!

Elka: Do you see any trends that follow gender lines (such as, men are more conservative with color; women are more daring with new trends)? Or is it a toss-up?

Kim: So far, it?s a toss up. The only thing that I?ve found to be almost universal is the fear of bold color. It?s funny, I live for color, and everyone I design for on ?Myles of Style? says they like color too, they?ve just been paralyzed by the thought of making the wrong choice?.it?s so fascinating to me! If I had one wish, it would be that we as people who live in a visual world would embrace brave color choices and combos, and just let go of the fear. It?s only color?if you hate it, it?s the easiest thing in the world to change.

E: How stressful is redecorating for a couple?

K: I don?t find it stressful at all; I think that my past life as a hairdresser trained my listening skills to the extreme. My job is to go in, meet the homeowners, and discuss what their dreams and hopes for the space are. Sometimes that includes reading between the lines, and hearing what isn?t being said out loud, and I think that?s one of my strengths.

E: How do you try to make differing design ideas between each person in the relationship sync up?

K: When people don?t see eye to eye on their space, it?s all about finding the common ground first. Baby steps like, ?Ok, you both agree that you hate the current wall color, right??, gets them on the same page and on the same team. Once we?ve established that, we can delve into the ?why?s? of their dislike of the color, and I find that once people start talking about why they like or dislike something (vs. just making a general blanket judgment), all the walls start to come down. As people, I think we?re all striving to understand each other, so my goal in a situation like that is to be the facilitator.

E: What?s your best piece of advice for couples who are butting heads on decorating schemes?

K: Find one piece that you both love. It can be small; a color, an accessory, etc. Once you find that, you?ve found your bridge, and created the beginnings of a ?map,? so to speak.

E: Is there anything that couples should do for bedrooms to keep them, um, couple-friendly?

K: Yes!!!!!! I am so opposed to TV?s in the bedroom!!!! I?ve heard every reason and justification, but I still believe that the bedroom is where you should be focusing on your partner, rest, and sanctuary. Make sure the lighting is warm, inviting and calm, and treat the bedroom like your own private getaway.

E: What if one half of the couple refuses to give up tacky memorabilia, such as high school football trophies/etc.? How can you work around this obstacle?

K: I think that we all have sentimental items that our partners would rather not be confronted with everyday. It?s all about mutual respect, and a willingness to create a space that works for both of you, so be willing to edit/store/relocate those trophies (or stuffed animals), and start with a clean slate.

I met Veronica on the streets. She started off a little worse for wear. She was homeless when I found her. Outside, the luster had faded, there were quite a few battle scars.....but then that's what life can do, isn't it? I took her home. I thought all it was going to take was a little TLC, right? I thought I could get her back on her feet in no time. But after a couple of weeks (or was it three?) of hard core therapy....after some tough rehab, I did start to wonder if it was all worth it.

But then..... after peeling away the layers of dirt....after scrubbing clean the signs of age...I could see we were getting somewhere. I could see definite signs of improvement. It was time for a brand new coat...or several. A little color to top her off. And Viola! She is ready to face the world again. And she was definitely worth the effort.

There is more about her here.

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!

When a residence or business is blocked by clutter, emotional residue, incompletion, or actual furniture placement, a less than excellent quality of life is experienced.

• Keep a small overnight bag packed for you and your family and place it in your car’s trunk. If an unplanned getaway or you get an overnight invitation for your kids (or an emergency arises), you will have all essentials already in the car and ready to go.

• Let the light into your home. Put up sheer curtains or pleated shades that can be opened from the top or bottom so you can maximize the sunlight and immediately feel re-energized.

• Hang beautiful chimes from your deck, trees or house gutters for a melodious sound to relax and calm you. Always have a book on hand that you’ve always wanted to read and didn’t have time. The sound of the chimes will de-stress you and you will be learning from or enjoying a good book at the same time.

• Have your home and deck power washed. Then you can seal your deck for many hours of fun without damaging it.

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.

From Julie:

We love this idea from Daily Danny, by the irrepressible Danny Seo: lining a pathway with beach rocks painted with luminous glow-in-the-dark paint. During the day, they charge in the sun, and in the evening, they reflect the stored light. A 7-ounce can of Rust-Oleum Glow-in-the-Dark Brush-on Paint is $7.79 at Blick Art Materials.

We couldn't find what we were looking for anywhere. We considered remodeling our tiny first home with a second story. We looked at an empty lot in our old beautiful neighborhood.

And then.....I took a different route to get some forgotten homework to my daughter's school by the dreaded due date ( I know....how will they learn...but sometimes you just do this kind of thing). And there she was. "FOR SALE BY OWNER" It was a sign. (Really... a sign). With my brakes screeching, I stopped and took down the number, raced to the school to drop off the homework, and got to work where I immediately called the number. Yes, it was for sale. Yes, it was well within our budget. Yes, I could see it on my lunch break. I arrived promptly at noon. I saw the inside. It was love. The possibilities crystallized in my mind, I phoned Mr. K and he saw it that evening. The rest is history.



We have been hard at work ever since creating the treasure we knew was here. You have seen the progress on the inside: the new kitchen, powder bath, family room and basement. We are still doing alot of fine tuning inside. But we have turned our sights to the outside. We want to get the plants in for the rainy season.

So this is our front yard. We have been digging....well by "we" I mean Mr. K......trenches for the new irrigation system. Have I told you all how very handy Mr. K is? Well, he used to be a landscaper during college. So we will soon be the proud owners of a new lawn after amending our hard-pan clay soil.

We took out three trees: one a diseased pear tree that blocked our path to the house, another, a type of oak that holds its dead leaves for a good 3-4 months out of the year after Fall, and the third was a large Persimmon tree. We did love the Persimmon tree, but it's roots were tearing up the porch, and the fruit would ripen to jam and plummet down onto our unsuspecting cars where in the Indian Summer heat would harden onto the paint jobs like glue. The neighbors were rejoicing, I kid you not. So.... this is the first time I could actually photograph the front of the house so you all could see it! We are replacing the Oak with an Elm like the rest on the street, and the Pear with a Dogwood a little closer to the house.

This is the right part of the front yard showing our planting beds and our front gate, which I love. There is a Gardenia on the right, and Flowering Quince to the left of the gate behind the Japanese maple. We put in Boxwoods at the back of the beds with ferns and hostas in front (very shady). In spring we add Coleus and Impatiens. Does it look like we are digging for gold?

This is a view of the new stair well leading to the basement. Having these French Doors at basement level completely changed the space from a "basement" to very nice living space. We now have a "view" of sorts. I am going to cover the wall with weeping fig and add some potted plants at the bottom of the well. The steps and pathways will be blue stone in an irregular rectangle pattern. We will have vertical plantings along the fence...something flowering I hope!

Just another view of the side showing how high the house is here. A garden along a skinny shady path like this will take some thought. Suggestions are always welcome!!!!!!!!!!

When we started to do the grading for the back yard drainage, we thought we really had struck gold! An undiscovered emperor's tomb perhaps, or ancient Indian burial site? And even though most people would find it very mundane, perhaps even a tiny bit "icky"....Mr. K and I were fascinated and were showing it off to all of the neighbors:

There was alot of careful craftsmanship put into this. Still stumped?.........It was the old septic tank. Our house was built in 1911, and all of the houses had septic tanks when they were first built. They have all long since been on the main sewer line. We are lucky that no one fell into this cavern during the remodel. It was filled in last week with gravel and dirt. We gave up on the idea of making it into a wine cave for obvious reasons.

On the side of the house, we have a bit of yard where Mr. K built the cutest potting shed and raised planter for vegetables. We were late for planting this year, but put in some herbs and peppers. Next year it's going to be full of tomatoes, zucchini and carrots. We put pea gravel in the paths last week. The lawn is new too. We will be planting the beds on either side in the coming months in time for the rain.

So, as much as I would love to find buried treasure....I think the treasure we make ourselves is perhaps the most satisfying. Thank you to my wonderful Mr. K who works so hard for us. I'll take your beautiful shed and garden over gold and diamonds any day!

That very American of holidays: The Fourth of July is fast approaching! Does everyone have plans? Are you going to BBQ, watch fireworks, go to the beach, eat apple pie, have a beer/lemonade? All of the above? Those of you in other places will be carrying on as usual , but I thought a little red white and blue might perk up your summer just the same.

Above is an example of an American 13 Star Parade Flag circa late 1800's from Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques available through 1st Dibs.

This is the wonderful beach house of Anna Spiro from Absolutely Beautiful Things. I just had to show this red, white and blue loveliness.

There is nothing quite so relaxing as sitting on a shaded porch sipping a tall cool drink. This porch designed by Thad Hayes is one of my "happy place" images that I look at when the stresses of the day get a little out of hand.

I love this image of Peter Dunham's house via Stylecourt blog: the tapestry, the desk, the lamp....love it all!

This Living Room by Bonesteel, Trout and Hall captures that very American "love of the beach" feeling that I long for this time of year. At the same time, there is a strong use of Indian prints and Asian furniture that is so very appealing.

Betsy Burnham uses red, white and blue in this foyer area to great effect. Not the least bit what one expects when hearing "red, white and blue".

It is an election year, and Jonathan Adler is appealing to both parties with his elephant and donkey figures. Take your pick, and don't forget to vote!

Pottery Barn came out with a "to the trade" sneak preview of their Fall collection. I have to say, I am liking it. It is a little less obvious as to where it all came from. A very nice mix. What do all of you think? Agree? Disagree?

A pair of very patriotic vintage lamps go by the name of "Stars and Stripes" and are available from LUM.

Enjoy a little Red, White and Blue wherever you may be!

The George3 console table is designed by Gareth Neal, and is a piece of furniture that is quite unique, and can very easily catch your eye. In the same style we presented last year another interesting table by Gareth Neal. The only problem I can see is there will be dust to collect in those small spaces, and it could be difficult to take it away.

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

this sunday, april 6th is the first day of the 2008 brooklyn fleamarket! i’m so thrilled to be a part of this fantastic community project, organized by the gang at brownstoner. every sunday from now till later this fall, a wonderful range of vendors will set up shop in ft. greene from 10am-5pm, rain or shine. in addition to a great collection of vintage sellers, clothing, food and accessories, i’ll be curating a section of the flea called the design*sponge collective. if you’re a reader of the site you’ll probably recognize the names of our vendors (artists like lena corwin (image above), sian keegan, wayne pate and many more) but it will be even more fun to recognize them in person! so if you’re in the nyc area this weekend please stop on by and say hi to these incredible artists. i’ll be out of town for this weekend but i’ll be back, manning the section, every weekend (or as many as humanly possible) for the rest of the summer. hope to see you there! a sampling of the incredible artists and products in the d*s collective are below. want to attend? click here for details.

[image above: bags and pillow by lena corwin]

[image above: bracelet by mollie dash]

[image above: fabric radishes by sian keegan]

[image above: there will be fabrics cut and sold by the yard from repro depot in the d*s collective]

[image above: reupholstered and refinished chairs from chairloom]

[image above: new coasters from sesame letterpress]

[image above: prints and tshirts from wayne pate at good shape design]

[image above: stationery from moontree letterpress]

[image above: tshirt from jezebel design (stationery will be available, too)]

[image above: photographs by john murphy]

[image above: cards and prints from foxy and winston]

Posted by Scott

If you are like me and have terrible sneezing fits in the middle of the night, why not treat yourself to one of these guys i found on Etsy?

Optic Blossom

Wallflower

Blue Wallflower

At least you'll be sneezing bedside in style.

I like the lighthearted playfulness of these three, but there are a ton to choose from. Check them out!

I'm not sure how many of you read World of Interiors, but the May issue has a great but brief article on the bathrooms of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at their Bois de Boulogne home. Photos of both bathrooms as well as the rooms' contents were included in the Sotheby's auction catalogue from 1997. But beyond what was included in the catalogue, I knew little about these rooms.

In the article, writer Hugo Vickers (who has written a book on the famous couple) touches briefly on the Duke's bathroom, which was elegant but rather plain (Vickers writes that the Duke, who preferred showers to baths, had a "Psycho" like shower in his bathroom). But fortunately for us, Vickers focuses on the Duchess' charming bathroom.

I learned that Dmitri Bouchene, a Russian painter and set designer, painted the ceiling of the bathroom to give it a tent-like effect. If you look closely in one of the photos, you will see an oculus painted in the ceiling which reveals a cloudy blue sky beyond the tent. Bouchene also painted garlands of flowers on the walls, and even painted scenes on the walls of the loo (see the photo below of the figure who is blind-folded, giving the Duchess her privacy!). I was always curious about the gilt-framed small paintings that were hung around the bathtub. According to Vickers, these paintings are actually New Year's cards that Bouchene sent to the Windsors every year. Lucky for Vickers that he successfully bid on many of these cards at the 1997 auction.

Of course, we're all familiar with the Cecil Beaton painting of the Duchess, hung on the mirrored wall above the bathtub. And those purple towels? They're by Porthault and are monogrammed with Wallis' cypher "WW" (Wallis Windsor) as well as the royal ducal coronet. I remember seeing the towels, or at least the bath mat, in the auction catalogue; I wonder who the lucky bidder was?

But I think that the most amusing anecdote from the article was Vickers' reminiscence about his shock upon seeing that Wallis' toilet had a plastic seat! And Wallis evidently was not alone- Vickers claims that Diana Vreeland had one too. Quelle horreur!







(All images from World of Interiors, May 2008; photographer Fritz von der Schulenburg)

Rebecca emailed me to tell me about her awesome cushion business: Cushlab. I can’t get enough of the textures. Plus, faux bois ones are really fancy.

http://www.cushlab.co.uk

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Celia
Priya Sebastian is an awesome artist and illustrator who works mainly in charcoal and pastel.
Whenever I see her work I feel 'black' is the most beautiful colour. Congregation Self-Portrait
The most striking feature in most of her illustrations are the 'eyes' of her characters, they seem to express so many different emotions!Yama
She uses colours also beautifully just to give that extra punch.* Sigh*
Cats
Woman
I am still under the spell of the amazing works by these two extremely talented artists. Hope you enjoyed their work as much as I did showcasing them.:-)

(images of Kalyani's work from Jellicle Cat and Priya's from The Plum Tree)

P.S. A special thanks to Masala Chai, who introduced me to Kalyani's work.

Todd Romano Antiques & Decorations is one of my favorite stores in New York. For me, no trip to the Big Apple is complete until I pop into this stylish mecca of design. Romano has such an amazing eye, so it's no wonder why he is such an in-demand designer. Everything in the shop- deGournay wallpaper, antique porcelain, Christopher Spitzmiller lamps- is perfection!

And now, Romano has added candles to his repertoire. The candles, available through his shop, come in two fragrances: Thé and Tige de Bambou. Thé (the brown candle) is a fitting name as it does smell a bit like spicy tea- the scent is really unique and totally intoxicating. Tige de Bambou is a bit lighter and is redolent of Spring flowers and freshly cut grass (at least to this nose). The added bonus is the chic yet discreet "TR" monogram on the votive.

So if these crazy gas prices have cut into your design budget and the de Gournay wallcovering and porcelain have been put on the back burner, why not indulge in one of these candles? What a great way to add some Todd Romano flair to your home!

(To order candles dial 212-879-7722. Retail price is $50. And make sure to stop by the store on your next trip to New York.)