The Designer's Muse

Color Inspiration: Lilac

2013-05-14T06:57:00.004-07:00

Carolyne Roehm

Nature is my color inspiration. Today in Connecticut the Lilacs are in full bloom. I cut loads of blossoms from my bushes this morning to brighten up my office and my home. In past years the deer have feasted on the buds and haven't left much for me to enjoy, but this year my bushes are tall enough so the deer couldn't reach a good deal of the buds. Below are some great examples of using lilac in the home, either as an accent color, or boldly as the main color. Who wouldn't want a little lilac in their life. Happy May. Enjoy.

Architectural Digest

Christina Murphy

Catherine Huckerby

Timothy Whealon

Color inspiration: blue and tan

2013-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of helping a client choose a color palette for their renovation project. It's a fairly small home with just two major rooms. I have decided on using a combination of pale blue and tan for the color scheme. All of the trim has been painted dove white and looks fantastic. For the kitchen/dining area we are going with a pale gray blue. For the living room we are going with a soft light taupe....like Benjamin Moore pale oak. The group of photos below helped inspire me for this project.

Better than Downton Abbey? Parade's End

2013-04-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

More period drama eye candy! In February HBO aired Parade's End the new BBC period drama based on a fictional work of the same name by Ford Maddox Ford. Parade's End has gotten great critical reviews. The miniseries of 5 episodes was directed by Susanna White and written by Tom Stoppard. The series is set in Edwardian England, the same time frame as Downton Abbey. Fans of Downton Abbey will be familiar with the dress and decor of that era. The stills from the series are beautiful...great costumes, architecture and interiors are stunning. The actors aren't too shabby either. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch. He is the mesmerizing, fabulous lead in the recent British version of Sherlock Holmes. Other stars include Rebecca Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Rupert Everett, and Miranda Richardson. Much of the series was filmed on location at Dorton House in Kent. I don't get HBO so I haven't seen it yet but am extremely anxious to...netflix?? soon I hope.

Top 5 elements that will transform your home.

2013-04-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Huestis Tucker architects

One of the most satisfying aspects of our work is to take a homely house and make it beautiful. We have done many transformative renovation projects over the years. There are a couple of tricks which we use over and over that have a huge impact on how a house looks and feels. I'm going to share 5 really important elements that can transform your house into a beautiful home.

1. Roof pitch: It is really important that your house have the right roof pitch. The house below, you've probably seen something similar, had a really low pitch roof that dated the house to the 1960's.

Before

2. Eave details and overhangs: Every style of architecture has an appropriate eave condition. Figuring out what it should be, what kind of mouldings to use, how deep an overhang you should have has a huge impact on the look of the house. The house above had no rake overhangs and no detail on the eave overhangs. We added crown mouldings and overhangs on the rake to create a more authentic looking home.

Huestis Tucker Architects

3. Windows: You also must have the right windows for the house. Most traditional homes have vertically oriented windows, casement or double hung depending on the style. The house below had awful square sliding windows...in the corners. We added more appropriately sized vertcal windows with a traditional light pattern.

Before

4. Siding: This house had extra large irregular shingles that screamed 1960. We removed that and added a smaller clapboard siding. What you use depends on the look you are after. Here it was Colonial, so clapboards were appropriate.

Huestis Tucker Architects

Before

5. A great Entry: A beautiful entry porch or trim detail can add a lot of character to a home. We added a Shingle Style/ Colonial Revival front porch to help transform this contemporary into a Shingle style home.

Huestis Tucker Architects

Before

You can see that in each of these projects we implemented all 5 elements into total transformations.

Urning Dividends: Beautifying Gardens with Urns

2013-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Every garden needs an urn, or better yet a pair of urns. Gardens always look better with a little architectural detail; an urn provides a wonderful focal point and a pair of urns can mark a path, stair or entry way. They look great with a mix of flowers or a single clipped boxwood.

Spring Color Inspiration:Yellow

2013-04-16T16:35:00.001-07:00

Yellow is decidedly the color of early spring in New England. At the end of a long winter I'm desperate to see some color. The daffodils and forsythia are among the first things to start blooming, so their bright yellow is such a welcome color. Yellow adds a touch of cheer on the inside of the home as well as outside.

White Flower Farm

Christine d'Ornado's London Dining Room

Jay Jeffers

Huestis Tucker Architects

Mark D. Sikes

Unknown

via Habitually Chic

Kitchens and Baths Magazine

Unknown

Carriage Houses aren't just for carriages any more

2013-04-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

I was looking for the perfect carriage house today, for inspiration and design ideas for a garage I'm designing. I was really looking for images of simplified farmhouse Victorian carriage houses. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I came across some lovely examples.

Visit to a Local Landmark: Lockwood Mathews Mansion

2013-04-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

I attended the Traditional Building Conference this week at the Lockwood Mathews Mansion in Norwalk, Ct. I have lived in this area nearly my entire life, have driven by the Mansion hundreds of times, and somehow have managed never to tour the mansion. The conference seemed an ideal opportunity to finally see the inside of the mansion and to take care of some of my continuing educational units. Although the conference was restricted to the the entry, rotunda, and the billiards room, we could peak into the other spaces which have been restored to their former glory. It was a real treat.

The mansion was built in the 1860's as a summer home near the Norwalk River. The city is really built up now, but I imagine when the mansion was built, it was almost a coastal home, and probably had views of the Long Island Sound. It was built in the Second Empire style, and was a precursor to the Newport Mansions which were built some 20 years later. I have to say I love the architecture of this building, the granite, the massing, but have always found the wooden porch, picture above, to be an odd design element. It's always seemed way to spindly and weak compared to the massive granite building.

I love this little conservatory room. apparently major green houses were part of the original estate...they were demolished many years ago, and I've never seen them.

Roof and dormer details

Porte Cochere

roof and dormer details

view from the South East

Floor Plan

Entry Hall with extravagantly carved mantel

Detail of Mantel

Library with restored woodwork and new wallpaper

Library with restored ceiling details

Much of the restoration work including ceiling painting and woodwork has been done by the amazing firm of John Canning Art Restoration & Decorative Painting. They are a world renowned company located nearby in Cheshire Ct. They have worked on notable projects including the Grand Central Station renovation in NYC. Mr. Canning gave one of the lectures about his work on the restoration of the mansion. It was fascinating.

Library before the wallpaper was installed

Detail of Library Cabinet

Conservatory

Music Room

Detail of Billiards Room ceiling

Detail of Billiards Room Ceiling

Rotunda

Draping your outdoor rooms

2013-03-24T17:45:00.001-07:00

One of my clients asked me to help them figure out how to shade their pergola. They were having trouble with the low western sun that gets in your eyes in the afternoon and early evening hours. Walpole Woodworkers makes a sun shade that drapes over the top of the pergola; but that wouldn't really solve the problem. Because the sun is most bothersome when it's low. They were even thinking about some kind of screening system. I went online to look at it..UGLY! So I got busy looking through my image files to see if drapes would be a good solution. I found many great images of drapes being used on porches, and some on pergolas. These are the nicest ones I came across. The drapery helps to make a porch or pergola feel more like an outdoor living room. It's an elegant solution to my client's sun problem.

It's a Spring Thing

2013-03-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem possible but today is the first day of spring. The temperatures are cold and there is snow on the ground, so it certainly doesn't feel like spring. It's been a long winter and I'm looking forward to a little color and for my garden to start doing it's thing! Here are a few of my favorite early bloomers.

hyacinths

grape hyacinths and snow drops

narcissus

grape hyacinths

tulips

hyacinths

pansies

hyacinths

fruit tree blossoms

tulips

azalea and vinca

crocus

daffodil

Artful Blend of Old and New

2013-03-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

This renovated Italian farmhouse was recently featured in Architectural Digest I admire the artfully designed combination of old and new. The renovation was designed by the Owner/Architect Benedikt Bolza for his rather large family of five children. Apparently they do a lot of entertaining ...lots of wonderful cozy built-in seating areas.

I love the juxtaposition of the new minimalist stairs against the ancient masonry.

I love the European showers...no curb and no door. These look so clean and cool...I wonder if water goes all over the room.

Paradise for Sale

2013-03-10T18:43:00.001-07:00

This must be Paradise! The Dillingham Ranch on the north shore of Oahu is on the market, currently listed by Christie's Real Estate. This luxury equestrian property of 2700 acres spans from the ocean to the mountain ridge, where it borders the Mokoleia Forest Reserve. The fully restored "Big House" features a 3000sf great room and a 700sf commercial kitchen. Wow!!

Architecture in the Snow

2013-03-06T16:45:00.004-08:00

We in the northeast are bracing for yet another snowstorm. While I am very much looking forward to spring, I appreciate the ephemeral beauty of freshly fallen snow...enhancing and giving extra dimension to a garden, manor house, or a birdbath.

It's good to be...Nina Garcia

2013-02-22T16:02:00.001-08:00

Nina Garcia, the editor of Marie Claire magazine and formidable judge from Project Runway, recently had her beautiful New York apartment published in Architectural Digest. I love the soft subtle color palette, the clean lines, and elegant furnishings. It's as fashionable as she is.

To Beam or not to Beam

2013-02-20T16:52:00.004-08:00

Huestis Tucker Architects

Several years ago when we designed the Family Room above, knowing that we wanted a high cathedral ceiling, we looked at lots of images of rooms with and without beams. In the end we decided on attached beams. Currently we are in the midst of designing another family room with high ceilings. So we're going back to some of the images we looked at previously and some new images to determine what's best for this situation. Although I really like the rooms below with rustic wood beams, I think this house calls for a simpler, cleaner look. What's your favorite look?

Huestis Tucker Architects

Anderson Studio of Architecture and Design

Crisp Architects

Garrison Hullinger

James Traynor

Austin Patterson Disston

Edinburgh Entries: Doorways of Georgian New Town

2013-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

While I was in Scotland last year I spent an afternoon in the Georgian section of Edinburgh. While I appreciate the Medieval "old town" section of Edinburgh, I particularly love the Georgian architecture of New Town. There blocks of gorgeous cut limestone buildings which are decorated with classical detailing and accented with small pops of color. Unlike our tradition of front porches, most of these buildings have little interior vestibules. Fan lights and sidelights add a sense of decoration and offer a way to bring light into the space without sacrificing privacy. Below were some of my favorite.

DIY: 5 Great "do-it-yourself" decorating projects

2013-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

5 Great Home Decoration Tutorials

The trouble with looking for ideas for home decoration is, once you start browsing through blogs, or leafing through home décor magazines, you can’t stop. People are amazingly creative and there are just so many ideas that you want to steal. But, of course, you can’t apply everything you see in your home. You have to decide what matches your home’s style.

Image

So, let’s cover five simple decoration ideas today. You are allowed to modify each of them to suit your needs.

Easy vintage table design

Vintage furniture is very popular nowadays, so it’s fortunate that anyone with some craftsmanship skills, creativity and enthusiasm can make it. You’ll need an old wooden table you want to transform, paint stripper gel, stripping knife, sanding tool and spray paint.

1) Remove the table’s original paint using stripper gel and stripping knife. You might want to wait a few hours upon gel application, so that it penetrates the paint completely.
2) When the paint has been removed, sand off the table to make it smooth.
3) Clean it using wet cloth.
4) Spray paint the table with white paint. Let it dry, then apply another layer.
5) When the paint is dry, sand off the top surface so that the wood shows through. You can do it completely, as in the picture, or just a little, so that we’ll only see glimpses of the first layer.

Lampshade makeover from scratch

Image

If you’re not happy with your ordinary white lamp, you don’t need to spend money buying a new one. You can simply “dress it up”. You’ll need a new piece of fabric (you can use an old dress, bed sheets, or any cheap fabric from a thrift store), black marker, fabric glue and scissors.

1) Remove the lampshade from the lamp stand and put it on the fabric you are planning to use.
2) Align one side of the lamp’s edges with one side of the fabric, and use a black sharpie to mark the line of the other side. That’s where you will cut the fabric to match the lampshade’s size.
3) Use fabric glue to stick the fabric to the lampshade.
4) Use scissors to cut any fabric sticking over the lamp’s edges.

Artsy living room decoration
The following tutorial is image-based and very straightforward. You can use it to create beautiful living room or bedroom paintings:

Image

Animate your garden with unusual flower arrangements

If you plan to entertain guests in your garden, these exquisite, unusual details will definitely charm them all.

Image

Simply gather a few old light bulbs, make an opening on one side, as in the photo, and pick flowers tiny enough to be able to fit inside the light bulb vase.

Vintage photo frame and a Photoshoped picture

1) Buy an ordinary wooden photo frame in a thrift shop
2) Spray the frame with primer
3) After the primer has dried, spray the frame with white paint
4) Then, spray it with another colour (for example, black)
5) Finally, sand off random spots on the frame using sandpaper, so that the white paint shows through
6) Of course, you can use any other colours instead of white and black

Image

7) Choose a photo, and put it through appropriate filters in Photoshop or any other program you like for editing photos
8) Place the photo inside your vintage frame, and you’re all done!

Hopefully these short tutorials will help you brighten up your home!

Author Bio: The guest post is contributed by Stacy Watts who is a writer for Memory Foam Express that is an online resource for quality memory foams and mattresses. Please visit website.

10 Great Stone Mantels to warm up to

2013-02-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Victoria Hagan

Stone mantels can run the gamut from simple rustic limestone to fancy, intricately carved marble.

Huestis Tucker Architects

This French limestone mante has a matching over mantel.

This carved marble manel looks really beautiful set against the dark wod paneling.

This looks like a mantel from the English company Chesney's. One of my favorite mantlels, it's classic unfussy elegance.

This oversized rustic limestone mantel looks great in it's surroundings.

Beautiful English! Love the fireplace fenders.

This traditional, clean-lined mantel looks good in a modern setting.

I think this is a nice look, fieldstone with a wood cap amd paneling above

The stone is great against the log cabin look.

This carved Victorian mantel is a nice focal point in this light sunny room.

Snow Day Inspiration: Snow Art by Simon Beck

2013-02-07T18:39:00.001-08:00

These amazingly cool snow patterns were created on frozen French lakes by Simon Beck. He creates them by walking on snow shoes. I have no idea how he maps out the shapes out so perfectly. They kind of look like crop circles in the snow. I love them...maybe my son and I can do something similar in our yard tomorrow!

Manor of the Month: Lyons Demesne County Kildare Ireland

2013-02-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

Have you got a spare $65 million? If so you might want to consider buying this beautiful Georgian Manor House in County Kildare, Ireland. It was commissioned in 1785 by Lord Cloncurry. The estate was purchase in 1996 and meticulously restored by Dr.Tony Ryan, owner of the discount airline Ryanair. It is rumored that Dr. Ryan spent around $120 million on the restoration project. Dr. Ryan passed away in 2007 and it seems that the estate has been on and off the market for quite some time. It is currently listed by Christies with about 300 acres of land. But it was also listed by Christies in 2010 with 600 acres of land. I'm guessing the other 300 acres has been sold separately....how sad. Enjoy the photos, I know I did.

Modern Love

2013-01-29T19:11:00.004-08:00

Olson Kundig

Most of the work we do is very traditional, however at the moment we have a client who has commissioned us to do a modern lake house in northern New England. When we were in school, this was the way we were taught to design...and after so many years of working on traditional homes, it's very exciting to be coming back to our "academic" roots. As we do at the beginning of all of our design projects, we look at other projects for inspiration. Below are some of the projects we admire and are finding inspirational.

Olson Kundig

Marmol Radziner

Bates Masi

Seldorf

Bates Masi

Unknown

Marmol Radziner

Unknown

Hutker

Olson Kundig

Seldorf

Unknown

Marmol Radziner

Keeping Flowers Fresher Longer

2013-01-21T08:06:00.001-08:00

This time of year I can use a little color. Fresh flowers are a great antidote to the mid winter blues. This article from guest blogger Daisy Hart will help keep your fresh flowers looking great!

Keeping flowers fresher, for longer.

Whether you have bought yourself a bouquet of flowers from the florist, or trimmed some fresh cut flowers from your own garden, you will want to ensure that they last as long as possible. Given the right care, fresh flowers can last much longer usual.

The standard requirements are clean water and regular maintenance and trimming:

If you are cutting flowers from your garden for an arrangement, consider when you do this, the ideal time of day being early morning or late evening when the temperature is cooler.

Ensure you trim and tidy the stems of your flowers before you arrange them into your vase, to do this, trim off any excess leaves (i.e. any leaves that will be covered by the vase) or foliage as these will consume energy that your plant will need to blossom. Submerge the stem http://www.flowersbypost.org.uk/ of the flower in water and cut it at an angle a few cm’s from the end, keep the stem submerged for a moment to allow it to soak up some water before arranging the flower in your vase. Repeat this process with all of your flower stems.

Use a vase big enough to allow the stems room for movement.

When filling your vase consider using lukewarm water, stems can absorb warm water better than cold water.

Maintain your flowers, change the water in the vase at least every other day, preferably daily, and each time you change the water re-trim the stem. Always use warm water and remember to add anything included in this list or the below list to the water before putting the flowers back in.

Avoid placing your flowers near a heat source as this could dry them out.

As flowers in the arrangement wilt and die, remove them to give the healthier flowers more room and nutrients.

There are a number of unusual, yet handy tips and hints on how to best the most out of your fresh flowers. Here is a list of things that have been known to help preserve the life and enhance the look and fragrance of fresh flowers:

Aspirin: Get an empty vase, crush an aspirin and sprinkle it into the base of the vase before adding water. Change the water every couple of days. This will prolong the life of the flowers.

Bleach Solution: Fill an empty vase with 1 litre of water and add to this ¼ of a teaspoon of bleach, i.e. approx. 1.2ml. Mix this up. This solution will help to keep the flowers fresher.

A sugar and coin combo: Fill an empty vase with water and add a copper coin and a sugar cube to the water. Stir the combination and add flowers.

Fizzy, carbonated drinks: Fill your vase with water and add to this approximately 60ml of fizzy carbonated drinks. Consider that any liquid you add will discolour the water, so if your vase is clear or lightly coloured, you may want to use a clear drink, such as lemonade.

Vodka and sugar shot: Once your vase is filled with water add a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of vodka and mix. This combination reduces the amount of bacteria growing in the water whilst providing nourishment.

Sugar and Vinegar: Fill your vase with 1 litre of warm water. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar, stir and dissolve this before adding a further 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.

Hairspray: Once your fresh cut flower arrangement is completed and is in its vase. A final touch is to add some hairspray. Stand back from your flower arrangement and give it a quick spray, on the underside of the leaves and petals, with the hairspray.

Bio:Daisy Hart is a writer and blogger with great flair for flowers and flower decoration. She is focused on writing the best possible way and is constantly searching for new sources of inspiration. Find out here what gives her motivation presently: http://www.flowersbypost.org.uk/birthday-flowers

Ipmeccable Manors

2013-01-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

Castle Howard

Two of my favorite things, period dramas and English Manor houses were united in an on-line article in Architectural Digest. They put together a slide show of fabulous English Manor houses which were used as movie sets. I did a bit more digging and came up with some additional photos and information about the various houses.

This is Castle Howard, a lovely Boroque manse in North Yorkshire designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, and constructed from 1699 to1712. It was used for the extremely popular 1981series Brideshead Revisted....the Downton Abbey of the 1980's. I didn't watch it then, but am enjoying it now via Netflix.

Chatsworth House

Chatswoth House in North Derbyshire was the setting for a recent adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The Elizabethan (also referred to as English Boroque) Manor house. The main bloc was built between 1687 and 1707 by William Talman.

Kirby Hall

Mansfield Park was filmed at this amazing Elizabethan Manor house, Kirby Hall. Begun around 1570, and added to over time. I love the glassy nature of this home.

Dyrham Park

Dyrham park in Bath, Enland was the location for the movie Remains of the Day. This Boroque Manor house was built in 1692 and designed by Samuel Hauduroy.

Wrothham Park

Wrothham Park in Hertfordshire...only 17 miles from London's Hyde Park...was the setting for the 2001 version of Jane Eyre. This fabulous Neo Paladian house was designed by Isaac Ware and built in 1754.

Stokesay Court

This unusual Victoran House in Shopshire, England was the setting for the movie Anonement. I loved the book, but have not seen the movie yet. I'm waiting for it to come out on Netflix.

Syon House

Syon House was the setting for another Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame) production, Gosford Park. This manor house is home to the Duke of Northumberland. It was built about 400 years ago in West London.

Today is Boxing Day

2012-12-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

Boxing Day is celebrated on the 26th of December, the day after Christmas. In Britain it was the custom for "tradesmen" to collect their boxes; money or gifts from their employers on this day.

We Americans don't celebrate this holiday, but I'd like to imagine that Boxing Day is a day for putting all of the boxes and trappings of Christmas away. For me the day after Christmas seems like the right time to start organizing and purging to plan for the new start in the new year. Therefore I'm looking toward ways to organize my home and my office. Here are some of my favorite images of organizing the home from Pinterest

Peg board with a vibrant color is an updated version of an old time way of organizing this craft room.

A unified color scheme keeps this bathroom feeling clean, fresh and organized.

Colorful tea cups is a fun way to organized jewelry in a jewelry drawer...the jewels are color coded to match the tea cups.

Pegboard in a color keeps this garage by Martha Stewart looking fantastic.

Great use of pull out drawers...if you don't have a designated craft room, this would be great in a kitchen, laundry, or a mudroom.

Although I'm usually not a huge fan of plastic organizers....I like the way this cabinet is organized to hold paperwork, school supplies etc. This seems like a great way to reign in the daily chaos of having school age children.

These are baby food jars with chalk board painted lids....love this green solution!

Beautifully folded shirts and sweaters are kept organized by wood brackets...One of these days I'm going to learn how to fold shirts so they look like these.

I like this idea for organizing paperwork and bills...though I would like to have these behind doors so I don't have to look at them.

Nicely done linen closet...this person fit quite a lot in a little space.

A colorful craft room is kept organized by a mix of baskets, notebooks, and magazine holders.

A pretty wallpaper is a nice touch in this pantry.

This vibrantly painted pantry is a cheery way to store kitchen goods.

I love this potting room. I wonder if the boxed hold seeds.

Christmas Decorating with Bulbs

2012-12-20T11:10:00.000-08:00

Every fall I place a large bulb order with the wholesale company Van Bourgondien.

They have great products at a great price... unfortunately they are not paying me to say good things about them....I just think they are a great resource and I continue to be very happy ordering from them. I usually end up buying more than I can handle...and then it becomes a bit of a chore to find a pot and a spot in which to put all the bulbs. This year I bought some moss at a local nursery to help the decorations look a little more professional. The owner of the nursery let me in on a little secret. The moss can actually be dug up from your yard. Because it's so damp here in Connecticut, many people will have this type of moss growing under trees in their yards. I haven't looked around yet, but I'm pretty sure that I do indeed have some of this lovely stuff growing in my yard. Next year I'll know better!

Vibeke Design

June Stocking

via Loi Thai