Lookiloos

Iomoi Uses Modern Lucite to Spiff Up Cocktail Hour

sheila — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:27:04 +0000

Looking for a thoroughly modern way to show a little personality during happy hour? Combining lucite and a extensive array of modern retro designs, Iomoi transforms afternoon cocktails for good.

A long time favorite of mine, Iomoi is an online stationary store that creates “timeless classics with a modern twist”, where your membership allows you to create and download your own luxury stationery.

Building on their success, they introduced a line of home accessories you can customize as easily as notes cards. For example, these ice buckets can be customized to feature something as classic as your initials in a retro font or esconced in a modern take on plaid for $68.00.You can also crate custom lucite serving trays (approx. $100) and coasters – both paper and glass (ranging from $26 for 1 to $215 for 12).

With the possibility of elegant french patterns or modern monkeys with umbrellas holding your martini glasses, happy hour may never be the same.

Cape Cod Classic Keeps Charm with Enclosed Porch

julia@lookiloos — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:21:55 +0000

Growing up on the east coast, Tom and Carol O’Brien loved the charms of traditional old homes. So after years of living around the South Bay, the couple found exactly what they wanted — a 1940 Cape Cod.

In the heart of San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood, the house also brought them closer to two of their grandchildren who live nearby and attend St. Martin of Tours school. With shingles, bay windows, plus an enclosed porch on the back, the house just felt like home.

The home was built by the Gallagher family, who owned Gallagher Fruit Co. when the area was known as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” One of Carol’s favorite pieces is a tile serving tray she keeps in the kitchen that shows the Gallagher’s pear packing label with their company name on it — a gift from her daughter-in-law, Rita.

When the couple bought the house in 1999, the previous owners had already enclosed the back porch in the 1980s. The side brick wall includes a unique circular window.

“Our granddaughter Julia used to call it the cold room,” Carol said, before they added heat, a new slate floor and skylights. “Now, it’s the sun room.”

It has become a favorite game room for all three of their grandchildren and a place for Tom to read since retiring as vice president of Argo Systems.

With the help of their designer Dawn Williams, and work done by DeMattei Construction, the couple remodeled their kitchen, adding just 35 square feet but giving the space a complete facelift.

They have maintained the vintage charm of an upstairs bathroom whose original pink and salmon-colored tile still look good today. The O’Briens were happy to open their home in mid-October to the Rose Garden Homes Tour, benefitting St. Martin of Tours School. Citti’s Florist in San Jose provided the flower arrangements.

Ticket Give-away for Los Gatos Historic Home Tour

julia@lookiloos — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:50:05 +0000

Like this house? Wanna see inside? Lookiloos has a pair of tickets to get you in! This house is one of seven on the Los Gatos Historic Homes Tour on Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 7-8). The tour promises to show off great examples of Victorian architecture, as well as an unusual Hawaiian-inspired house, an old hunting lodge and, as a bonus, a new Provence-inspired farmhouse.

The tour benefits the Museums of Los Gatos, providing the operating revenue to keep their doors open for the next year. So if you don’t win this pair, buy a pair for yourself and a friend. (See below for contest rules.)

Here are a few sketches of the tour highlights:

The Queen Ann Cottage

Queen Anne Cottage

A charming Queen Anne Cottage, built in 1893, and fully restored by the current owners. Once the home of a Los Gatos grocer, the home features an unusual five-sided wrap-around front porch. Inside, you’ll see original windows, wainscoting, transoms and chandeliers.

Victorian Hunting Lodge

Victorian Hunting Lodge

This home was built in 1884 as a Victorian hunting lodge and summer home. The current owners restored the home, and with antique treasures from their travels in Botswana, embraced the hunting theme.

A Hawaiian Plantation Home

Hawaiian Plantation Home

This house was designed in 1912 after a Hawaiian plantation home to reflect the original owners’ fascination with Hawaii. The new owners kept the facade, but updated the rest of the home inside.

To win two tickets to the tour — worth $35 a piece — please leave a comment here or at the Lookiloos Facebook page and we will draw a name randomly on Thursday, Nov. 5. Please leave a valid email address so we can contact you with details on where to pick up tickets.

If you don’t win, but still want to support the Museums of Los Gatos and see these homes, tickets may be purchased at the Art Museum, 4 Tait Avenue in Los Gatos. You may also purchase tickets on line at www.museumsoflosgatos.org or call 408 375-7386.

UPDATE: The winner of the tickets is Michelle Bogdan! Congratulations. We know you will have a great time and hope to see you there.

(Photographs by Mert Carpenter)

One Kings Lane – Secret Club for Designer Decor Discounts

sheila — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:01:46 +0000

Do you love designer home decor, but we don’t love having to pay top dollar? We found the One Kings Lane site and are enamored by the beauties that can be found at a fraction of the cost. For example, this gorgeous console table is designed by Maria Yee. Every item in her collection is handcrafted with sophisticated joinery techniques, handed down through the ages and refined for a modern manufacturing environment, with no nails or screws marring the integrity of the raw materials. She is a pioneer in socially responsible luxury furniture. The console retails for $2260 and you can get for more than 50% off!

This invite only site gives you access to deals that you can not get anywhere else. Discounts vary weekly from furniture to table cloths to pottery. Wondering how you get an invite? Sign up here and your gals at Lookiloos will hook you up!

Halloween Witch Comes to Hansel and Gretel House

julia@lookiloos — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:22:32 +0000

When Lookiloos first visited Amy and Parke Young’s tudor home, they told us how it had been so dark and overgrown when they first bought it, it looked like the witch from Hansel and Gretel must have lived there. While their renovation swept away all signs of scary, come Halloween every year, the family invites the witch back home.

“My favorite holiday is Halloween,” Amy said.

At the front door, a full-size witch guards the entrance with autumn vines swirling over the doorway. Amy’s black urns are filled with stacked pumpkins. A black cat ornament stands with his back arched in perpetual fright.

Inside, the living room mantel is decorated with orange candles and a whimsical “boo” sign. A glass candy jar is filled with colorful mini pumpkins and gourds.

On a credenza in the dining room, a haunted village is set up with a menagerie of zombies and gargoyles. Every year, Amy’s 9-year-old son looks forward to adding a new piece to the spooky scene.

“It’s a dollhouse without girls!” said Amy’s friend, Laurie Stewart, who, like Amy, has two boys.

And my personal favorite? Amy’s “skull under glass.” While she has seen similar skulls as part of a Martha Stewart collection, she bought this one last spring at the Dollar Store. But, knowing Amy, it should be no surprise that she added an extra special touch — clear plastic beads for sparkling eyeballs! Then she rested the skull on moss and covered it with a glass dome.

In my book, I’ll call that “sophisticated scary.” Thanks Amy for indulging in the unexpected Lookiloos call! Trick or treat!

To take a peek at the the Young’s house before and after their renovation, click here.

Also, take a look at how Amy transformed her old entertainment center into a bar.

Click here for other fall decorating ideas.

Halloween Finds on Willow Glen’s Lincoln Avenue

sheila — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:29:41 +0000

While the kids go door-to-door looking for candy or chocolate bars, Lookiloos tend to keep an eye out for great Halloween decorations. Trimmings for this holiday often ranges from gory to campy, yet a discerning eye strikes the balance of both. Here are a few finds celebrating Dia De las Muertos and Halloween from San Jose’s Lincoln Avenue in the Willow Glen Neighborhood.

Photos taken by Sheila Dowd at Fleurish and Domus.

Mediterranean With Remodeled Kitchen A Child’s Dream

julia@lookiloos — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:06:00 +0000

For years as a student at Lincoln High School, Mary Martin would walk down Calaveras Street and fantasize that one day she would live in one of the graceful homes there. Her dream came true four years ago when a classic two-story Spanish-style home with a charming front courtyard came on the market.

She had wondered for years if this particular house was as beautiful on the inside as out. And when she first stepped inside, “I knew this was the one,” Mary said. “It was more stunning that I expected.”

Saltilo tile floors greeted her in the entryway with a sweeping staircase with curved wrought-iron railings. Two steps down took her to the grand formal living room with plenty of space for the baby grand piano and their whimsical orange and black “Halloween tree” that adorns the front window for the autumn Rose Garden Homes Tour in mid-October.

A rear addition had been added at one point to the 1938 home, opening up the kitchen to a new family room, with a master suite on top. The Martins have just completed a kitchen update.

Michael Martin is in the broadcast industry and has adorned his study and stairwell with his collection of electric guitars with signatures of major bands, including The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith.

One of Mary’s favorite spots for a little solitude is the lovely balcony off the master bedroom where she often reads or enjoys a cup of coffee while overlooking the lush backyard and swimming pool.

To read about the courtyard makeover, click here:

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Before and After: Spanish Courtyard Makeover

julia@lookiloos — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:13:40 +0000

Courtyard Makeover With Wine Bottle Barrel and Vintage Mirror

The front courtyard of the lovely Mediterranean home clearly had potential. A charming gateway led to it from the driveway. Two Spanish-style arches lined it heading to the front door, and a lovely picture window from the dining room framed the space.

The Problem: But the plantings were dark and overgrown. A big dead tree trunk took up space in the corner. A purple plant hid the window.

Before Makeoever: Overgrown plant blocks window

Worst of all, the homeowner said she never used it.

Well, for the Rose Garden Homes Tour in San Jose last weekend, the homeowner was ready to spruce things up.

In came Dhelia Fahrner, who has a San Jose seasonal container gardening business called La Jardiniere, to transform it.

“Because you enter the front door and walk through the courtyard, I thought it could be such a more welcoming and usable space,” she said.

The Solution: To lighten and freshen the shady space, Dhelia decided to stick with white and green, adding blooming azaleas and cyclamen, ferns and moss. The homeowner also wanted a low-maintenance space, so Dhelia added succulents in several containers, including in abalone shells.

She also wanted to highlight the arched window, both from the outside and the inside, so pulled out the overgrown plant, and added a formal knot garden of box hedges below and a pedestal with a female bust on top.

After: New plantingsfreshen fountain; vintage bust frames window

To add interest and a bit of whimsy, she turned an old metal wine bottle barrel on its side and loaded it with pumpkins and moss, which can change with the seasons. (At Christmas, it can be filled with big silver ornaments, or just planted with verigated ground cover.) A mirror made from a vintage Palladian window leans against the courtyard fence wall.

She removed an old bench and replaced it with a tile console table, and topped it with concrete urns with orchids, the abalone shell succulents, and a tray of drinks. “That will alllow them to serve wine and appetizers in the courtyard if they’re having a party,” Dhelia said.

After:This courtyard is ready for cocktails!

: Before: A lonely bench sits empty.

When they do, this courtyard is ready.

Rose Garden Home Tour Recap

sheila — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:22:01 +0000

As expected the Rose Garden Home Tour was a grand success complete with a width breadth of architectural styles, great furniture and breath taking vignettes and floral arrangements. The little touches throughout the tour made all the difference.

Personally, I would find myself pretty happy living in any one of these heavenly abodes! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting more extensive photos of each home and a video of home tour attendees favorite spots and finds! Here is a peak of some highlights along the way.

Rain Turns Remodel into Mud fight!

julia@lookiloos — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:00:40 +0000

I thought I would give everyone a quick update in the renovation. With the cottage finished we are focusing our attentions on the garage and main house. While work is going extremely well (thank you Vinnie Tran, our amazing contractor) Mother Nature decided to throw us a curve ball with the October storm. I know everyone in California was awash in her glory and while the drought stricken earth needed the rain, we personally could have waited a couple of days.

We were trenching gas and electricity lines and starting to frame the garage when the storm struck. Our backyard resembled Venice with the canals. Actually minus the incredible architecture, charming gondolas, priceless art and, well, you get the picture. We were left with just mud. A lot of mud!

When given lemons you make lemonade; when given mud you make mud-ball fights! The kids and Craig had a blast playing in the mud. I am sure this is just the start of it all.

Stay-tuned.

Lisa.

(To follow the rest of the Hinkley Family remodel, go to This Darned House at Lookiloos. )