Laman

Spring has Finally Sprung in New York!

It was the most gorgeous Saturday in New York with signs of spring popping up everywhere! Woo hoo!


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Cuaderno de papel y tela

Andaba dándole vueltas a la cabeza con hacer algo con papel y tela como ya había visto en otros sitios. Por fín me puse a ello hace unos días y tras trabajar con cartulinas y telas me pareció que el objetivo estaba cubierto.
Se compone de hojas pares, todas diferentes y estampadas por mí a mano con pintura acrílica y tintas especiales También trabajé sobre las cartulinas , dando como resultado un total de 20 hojas hábiles para escribir y otras en tela que resulta como adorno.

La portada está realizada con una tela fantasía en seda sobre la que he cosido una puntilla como adorno y otra para que cierre el cuaderno , que va cerrado con un nudo y sobre el que hay un alfiler en metal con la forma de una rosa.
Unos botones son otros adornos , así como alguna fibra que recorre la portada y contraportada.

Este cuaderno puede ser escrito con rotulador o bolígrafo de gel. En él se pueden escribir anécdotas, hechos importantes, alguna foto o recuerdo . Es un capricho para tí o para ofrecerlo como regalo.
No haré otro igual, aunque quizá alguno más de este tipo.

Su precio es 70 euros


Cuaderno de papel y tela copia
Cuaderno de papel y tela detrás copia


Los bordes quedan desiguales dejando ver las diferentes clases de papel y puntillas que adornan el interior.




Para darte una idea mejor de su interior , en vez de fotos, he realizado este discreto video . Perdón por los fallos que se puedan apreciar.



Una vez más gracias por ver mis trabajos.

Envíame un email si te interesa
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He's an Attorney?!!!

Laws of style

Yes, he is an attorney working for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and no, he's not a model, though he does know how to strike a pose.   He's just one of a million attorneys, except, this attorney is different:  he's also a practicing interior designer.  Ty Larkins is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,  where he practices law by day and interior design by day too.  Not sure how he works that out - but he does, and quite effectively.   So effectively, that HGTV took notice of him and followed him around for a year while he designed a home for their series Dream House.  Married, with twin daughters to boot, Larkins has no formal interior design education, but judging from his portfolio,  he  doesn't need any!  His designs are young and fresh - contemporary with New Orleans styled French antiques thrown int0 the gumbo.  An online buddy of mine (more about her in a minute!) emailed me Larkins' web site and told me to check him out.  Hmmmm....who wouldn't?!  I'm not sure how long he's going to be able to keep practicing law when his interior design career takes off.  And it will - it's already growing daily.  Here's why:

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This Baton Rouge stunner was completely remodeled and rehabed by Larkins, who just happens to live here with his family.  Can't say that I blame him - I'd loved to live here too.  Note the elegant terraced front porch and painted white brick.

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The entrance hall in grand, Louisiana style.  I love this - I'm a sucker for gorgeous entry halls.  Also, I love the mirror casually leaning against the wall on the left.  Larkins mixes a French chest with Swedish side chairs .

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The library, painted a soft brown, mixes the contemporary and the antique.  Antique french trumeau, velvet tailored sofa, Swedish side chairs, zebra skin, and seagrass all blend together to create a cool respite from the hot Louisiana sun.

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Another shot of the library.  Notice his strong symmetrical design throughout the room.

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The molding in the house is exquisite - in the dining room, an antique crystal chandelier dresses up the room  despite its relaxed toile slipcovered chairs.   Notice how Larkins runs the drapery rod across the wall.

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The living room  - great urn figure over the mantel.  More gorgeous molding - here it's dentil.  I love how Larkins stacked side tables for an architectural effect on each side of the mantel.

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Another shot of the living room.   The contemporary painting by local artist Tony Mose brings in the only color to the room.  A Swedish Mora clock is just outside the room to the left.

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Another shot of the living room, with the zebra rug placed here instead of in the library.  Also, Larkins has used a French antique chair in place of the upholstered ones in the previous photograph.

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And one last view of the living room - this time the ottoman and pillows wear orange accent colors.  The light fixture is a gorgeous French antique.

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The master bath  - beautiful simplicity!  Note how Larkins uses tile up to the molding on his walls. 

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The master bedroom, Larkins keeps it traditional.

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The guest room - note the French day bed wears more contemporary bed coverings.  Grasscloth wallcovering.

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Another view of the guest room.  Note the contemporary light fixture in this mostly traditional setting.

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The back terrace runs the length of the house.  The living room opens up to here through french doors.

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The backyard is typical  of  the New Orleans courtyard style of landscaping.  Notice the louvered doors set into the back wall.  I could be very happy sharing a mint julep here with Ty and his wife.                                    

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Here's a bungalow that Larkins completely remodeled for a client.  The pink ottoman is the only touch of color in a room filled with white upholstery and slips.  Again, he uses a very contemporary light fixture mixed with French antiques.  The windows wear wrap around draperies which provide a strong contrast to all the white.

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The bungalow's main room is divided between the living area and the dining area.  Dark ebony floors pop the white slips and sisal rugs.

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In the sun room, Larkins installed French blue tiles on the ceiling - a strong contrast with the black lantern.  The room is paneled in famous Louisiana pecky cypress.

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In the kitchen Larkins uses subway tile up to the molding giving the room a very clean appearance.

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In the bathroom, Larkins again uses marble tiles up to the ceiling.  This must be his signature look!

To contact Ty Larkins, email him at  info@tylarkins.com or telephone him at 225-281-8060.

 

So - you're probably just dying to know who told me about Ty Larkins.  When I first started blogging last year, I got an email from a young, a very, very, young lady living in Lafayette, Louisiana.  She was just starting out on her own in the design business and was full of questions about how to go about doing this.  Now, I'm not the world's best businesswoman, to say the least.  The business aspect of Webb Design is my least favorite part of it all.  I can barely figure out profit margins and I still have trouble with the concept of net vs. list.  Despite my less than stellar business abilities, Andrea Veron, the young designer, seemed to think I had all the answers.  Over the past year we've exchanged multitudes of emails and phone calls where I, the  elder statesman (ha!), attempted to guide her along.  OK, - those who know me in real life, you quit cracking up right now -- Andrea has faith in my business acumen!   Andrea and her husband recently purchased a two story house that came with an extra structure in the back - and this is where she'll base her new business.  She has been keeping busy with clients, but like anyone starting out, she's always looking for new ones.   If you live in Lafayette or close by, consider giving Andrea a call.  After all, she's had great business training!

  

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Andrea Veron's designs for a master bedroom.  I love how she mirrored the back wall of the niche and softened it with silk draperies.

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Andrea loves to add dressmaker details - here she added braided trim to the velvet headboard. 

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At this vignette - Andrea added trim to a skirted table.

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For this job, Andrea used a wonderful green paint on the walls to set off the antique red velvet sofa.  I love the touch of zebra she added!

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A vignette in the same room.

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Against a wall, a large mirror makes the room seem more spacious.

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Close up of another vignette.

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Andrea's new gracious southern home in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Her interior design office will be based here.  Isn't it romantic looking with it's front gate?  To contact Andrea about hiring her, please email her at amveron@cox.net or telephone her at 337-962-1244.

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Swedish Kitchens from Kvänum Kok

I stumbled upon a wonderful Swedish kitchen cabinet manufacturer as I was searching relentlessly for inspiration for my own kitchen renovation. I fell in love with the photos. This wonderful company seems to compare to the quality and design of my favorite US cabinet maker, Christopher Peacock. The company name is Kvänum Kok and all photos are from their website. If we just look at the cabinets and countertops, this could be any off white cabinet/black countertop kitchen in America - and yet it has such a Swedish feel. Let's look at how they achieved this.

First, notice classic candle chandelier with greenery and the light floors (for a great post on light floors click on Things That Inspire blog on the left) Also the checked fabric slipcovers on the slat back chairs strengthen the Swedish feel. I love the slipcover tie detailing.
Two lovely Ivy topiaries on the window sill. These are classically Swedish and you can pick them up at Target or Walmart and put them into an ironstone pot.

The sheer printed roller shade drape is beautiful. Add the ironstone, fresh flowers in a pitcher and viola - Swedish Kitchen!


The next kitchen has Cross detailing on the transom part of the cabinet. I love this design because it add a lightness to the space, but keeps all the mess still hidden with in the cabinet. Notice the more contemporary light fixture hanging over the island. It adds an interesting contrast to the rustic fireplace.

Here is the kitchen from a different angle. It shows a traditional banquette. Notice the natural linen cushions and slipcovers - also hanging candle chandelier, sconces, ironstone and bead board. The deer head is certainly a conversation piece, though I hope venison is not on the menu!




Here are the same upper cabinets again, but shown now in full glass panels. Backsplash is bead board and counters are marble. Glass panel cabinets or closed panel cabinets - soapstone or marble. Which do you like? I am understandably torn!

Kvänum Kok has a lovely color palette of green grays and off whites. They also have showrooms in Fort Lauderdale and San Francisco. How lucky for all of us! Check out their website here.

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Spring Pleasures

It may still feel like winter here in New York but my apartment smells like spring now thanks to my new Estee Lauder Pleasures Limited Edition Artist Candle designed by renowned textile designer Kazumi Yoshida of Clarence House. It looks just as good as it smells too and not surprisingly since Yoshida has been creating the most original and luxurious fabrics for over 25 years. I think it would make a perfect gift for any woman who wears Pleasures or for Mother's Day. And after the candle burns down, it will make an even chicer pencil holder than the Diptyque glass jars!

"Be inspired by the little things in nature. It's one of life's true pleasures."—Kazumi Yoshida
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Operación : un hogar más agradable

Bien podría haber titulado este artículo " Entre telas anda el juego " y es que he decidido poner algo de orden y concierto en el armario de patch. Las que trabajamos con telas sabemos que mientras se consulta una y otra y se sacan otras tantas más , aquello va tomando proporciones de " lio" donde a veces cuesta hasta cerrar el armario. La verdad es que he ido metiendo sin ton ni son . Las prisas, pocas ganas y poca luz solar, me han hecho abandonar este espacio a la deriva..... hasta que dicho ¡ Basta !. LLevo varios días con este tema.
Respiré profundo , abrí las puertas ....... y saqué toooooodo lo que tenía en las baldas.

Así fueron las fotos que tomé hace tiempo y cómo estaba en su origen, cuando lo destiné a tener aquí todo lo de patchwork.







Unas telas , puntillas y botones dieron otro aire a este armario. La foto no está muy nítida pero se puede apreciar el cambio.

armario patch

Tomé la medida y corté las telas. La del borde es de la colección de Anna Griffin , una diseñadora más conocida por su material de papelería , escritorio y scrap , con un toque romántico y dulce , y que me sorprendió al ver que también tenía alguna tela estampada. Sin embargo , esta tela la encontré en uno de los saldos que de vez en cuando hace Shabby Fabrics allá por el mes de diciembre, creo.
Mira por donde, ahora le he encontrado utilidad.

Un truco

Para evitar que tapete se mueva sobre su balda, he puesto debajo cinta de doble cara de un dedo de ancha más o menos.



Un detalle

Unos botones pequeños en rosa y blanco distribuídos a lo largo de cada banda.
Una puntilla que compré en un saldo , en el borde de cada tira de tela estampada.




Una idea

Colocar las telitas amontonadas en grupos y por colores era algo que tomé como idea de otra costurera de patch.Pero sacar la tela que necesitaba , entremedias de otras y luego volverla a colocar , me traía de cabeza. Siempre se derrumbaba todo, se quedaba ladeado el montón... unas telas sobresalían más que otras.... en fin, una pena. Y no está una con todo el tiempo del mundo como andar con dedos de pluma colocando y volviendo a colocar. Seguro que entendéis lo que digo.
Eso me causaba cierta desazón, tanto desastre parecía no tener remedio.
Hasta que se me encendió la bombilla.
La cosa fue así. Una mercería de la ciudad está liquidando por cierre y compré unos cuantos metros de puntillas , cintas , puntillas de bolillos.... las había soltado sobre el sillón. Entonces miré el paquete de telas, miré el revoltijo de puntillas, volví a mirar las telas, volví a mirar las puntillas y......¡CLIIIIINNNNN!! Ya estaba. Haría paquetes amarrándolos con las puntillas de bolillos, que son más anchas y además resultaría vistoso en el armario.Además era de lo que más metros tenía, asi que no me suponía remordimiento de conciencia gastar unos cuantos metros.






Así , cuando tenga que necesitar alguna , cogeré el paquete completo , lo sacaré del armario y después de tomar lo que necesite, volveré a colocar el lazo, dejando todo colocadito y de vuelta al armario.




Con las lavandas que recogí hace poco hice una corona que da un toque campestre





Y la cosa no ha acabado aquí . El próximo miércoles os seguiré contando otra aventurita más de este "armario en progreso" y que ya está en marcha.
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