Festive Facades 2010

It's officially December and time for outdoor holiday decorations, if you haven't put them up already! 

Last December I posted some decor tips and photos of some favorite holiday facades here, and after taking a look back I decided that I still love them. Definitely worth a quick look!

Canadian House & Home has a few beautiful festive facades to admire this year. I like every part of this porch - the urns have a great variety of color, texture and height. I also think the soft draping garland and large gold star above the door keep this entry looking sophisticated, but with a ounce of whimsy...

My favorite part of this design is the use of the large grapevine balls. I think these are a perfect and easy way to display more lights in your urn arrangement, and because they are available in sooooo many sizes, the design options are endless. If you're going to use only one ball in each urn, go BIG! Make sure your grapevine ball is the correct scale for your planter so it doesn't get lost and look silly. And if you choose to display multiples, work with groups of three.

I love the way this patio feels so inviting despite the snow. I think a lot of us allow our backyard areas to fall apart once the weather turns cold. But wouldn't it be much nicer to look out your window and see something like this rather than a dark and empty space?! Oh, and check out those grapevine balls....they're everywhere! 

{ps. don't forget about the magic of spray paint - if you want to add a little sparkle or color to your design, these balls would be easy to paint gold or silver, or a custom color to match your current decor.}

It is starting to feel festive around our house. We starting unloading our decorations last night and got the tree up minus some bulbs. 

Guess who was loving it?! All. Day.

'Tis Vacation Season

I found this website, Kiwi Collection, geared towards finding "hotels for people who care where they stay". The hubby and I are talking about taking a trip to Turkey or Spain & Portugal for our five year anniversary, and this looks like a great site to help us find a small and interesting hotel or resort.

For instance, check out Anatolian Houses in Turkey...

This place was designed and built right into the side of a hill, offering guests a glimpse at what cave living was like for ancient societies. Sounds good to me, a slice of history with all the modern conveniences I want while on vacation!Definitely a fun place to spend a night or two...

We hope you all have exciting plans in-store for the summer, not to mention this weekend and July 4th!  And for our friends up north in Canada, we hope you enjoy a happy Canada Day today!

PS. I know we aren't talking about Thailand, but I may have to rethink things...

Sweltering!

Summer officially arrived this week, and boy have I noticed! I've been spending lots of time in Palm Springs lately, but that is going to have to end. I don't do well with these types of temperatures...

Elle Decor posted a collection of photos of celebrity pools, and while I normally LOVE my regular person, out-of-the-spotlight life complete with cute family and teeny apartment, these luxurious pools make me a tad jealous of those celebs during heat waves. 

Feast your eyes below. And if you're like me, you'll just have to settle with imagining how nice the water would feel...

{Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor's Hollywood Hills home}

{View from Cindy Crawford's Malibu home}

And my two favorites...

{Elie Saab's view in Beirut...you can hardly even see the infinity pool & those mtn views are to die for!}

{Cynthia Rowley's Manhattan yard...I could take this for my city escape! AMAZING!}

If this is only the beginning, how do you plan to make it through the summer?

One of my friends recently told me he was braving the heat by sitting in front of a fan while his wife was spraying him with water. I may resort to that soon! I wonder how long it would take my 14 month old to master the squirt gun?!

LA GALAXY Wins the Season Opener!

Well it was a fantastic evening all around with a Galaxy win vs. New England and some greatly improved spaces at the Home Depot Center.



If you haven't been to the Home Depot Center, you should buy some tickets to an event! It is such a fun and relaxing evening.





How fun are those topiaries!!





I have to admit... I was pretty excited about one of our renderings blown up like this! The cabanas should be in this week.. Can't wait!

A Fantasy Garden Delight

I really enjoyed Saara's blogs about incorporating plants into your home. I think the same concept is true for commercial environments, which is why I am so excited about the "fantasy garden" that the awesome folks at the Home Depot Center and GEORGE Interior Design will be unveiling this evening. The leadership team at the Home Depot Center, led by General Manager Katie Pandolfo, asked GEORGE I.D. to come up with a concept for this space, that would make it more enjoyable and user-friendly for their premium ticket holders.

Take a look at these BEFORE photos of this terrace on the back side of the Stadium Club restaurant (for those of you who have been to the HDC, it's the cool restaurant with the huge open windows hanging right over the field):




The main obstacles were no. 1, the coldness of the hardscape, and no. 2, the lack of field visibility from this particular location. What we together came-up with, was this "garden" concept, complete with "grass," plantings, places to sit, waiter-service and access to the action via TV screens with the game piped-in live. These were some of the sketches that we proposed for the East Terrace:




The first step was polishing a "cobblestone path" into the cement. Next, the synthetic turf was laid down by CALIFORNIA ULTIMATE TURF. http://californiaultimateturf.com/index.aspx
Here is a aerial pic taken right after the insanely real looking turf was laid down:






Looking softer already! The final step was installing the lounge furniture (seen here without cushions), 60" TV screens and fun topiary planters.



I know you want to see the AFTER photos after all this tantalizing talk but you are going to either have to go to the season opener tonight or wait until I post them this week! Still to come, photos of the improved Concourse Club and the Cabana Lounge (also at the Home Depot Center). Here is a link to the Home Depot Center press release for more information about the game and the center:http://admin.homedepotcenter.com/contentright.php?section=aboutus&page=news_article&news_id=695

Spring Has Sprung!

So it is officially spring and I must say, it feels like it in California! We have been having AMAZING weather, and while it is divine to be outside more with gorgeous blossoms on all the trees, I am worried about how hot it is getting so early. Summer is a whole other story, and it is not my favorite down here.

Doesn't this photo really capture the beauty of the season? Love it.

Back to those blossoms I was talking about! I live in a town known for all of its orange groves and that fact is by faaaaaar the best thing about it. Our apartment is surrounded by citrus trees in every yard and every March and April the air is intoxicating - I literally cannot stop breathing in the sweet smell! Not to go too overboard, but I think this is one of my all time favorite things.

All the fresh greenery outside has made me reassess interior greenery. I love flowers, but every room needs some permanent foliage. Think of it as another necessary accessory, like artwork.

Here are some great examples of beautiful houseplants. Personally, I'm really into the large, durable leaves found on these fiddlehead fig and banana trees. Need one. They're like living sculpture.

{Hollywood Hills home of American Pie screenwriter Adam Herz }

{Mod Miami living room of Danielle and Hani El-Naffy}

{Hollywood producer Lisa Henson's Beverly Hills terrace}

{In the master bath of architect William Georgis and art consultant Richard Marshall in Manhattan}

My Mum always had asparagus fern in our kitchen and I never really liked them - they seemed so unruly and prickly. This photo, however, has changed my mind. I think in a small size they look interesting and the nest-like, tangly quality adds amazing texture to a room.

{Fashion designer Elie Saab’s weekend villa near Beirut, Lebanon}

This classic ivy is perfect for this space. Love the large topiary arrangements, they add the finishing touch to this design...

{Interior designer Vicente Wolf’s New York City living room }

Another plant that is readily available and I hadn't given a second thought to, the Corn plant. I've never liked the spiky look of this plant, but somehow it looks SO GOOD in this interior entrance. I wonder if my living room can make this plant look good?

{Interior designer Frank Roop’s entrance hall in Boston}

design SNOOPS

Here are the homes our weekly neighborhood galavanting has uncovered. Check back again next week to see some more of the great home and garden designs sprinkled throughout our local streets. And don't forget, if you think there is something snoop-worthy about your house, email us a pic with a one-liner about why you love it!

***

This week we're going clean, sleek & mod!

These houses are amazing! We really love all of the clean, straight lines, common to both residences. The concrete plaster and grey panels look great adjacent to the wood (on the first house it may even be recycled plastic that looks like wood) siding. This provides a nice mix of both texture, and a warm and cool color-palette. Both houses have also designed their facades with prominent horizontal lines. On the first house, the concrete balcony creates a large horizontal band, and the siding is laid horizontally as well. The large panels and wooden siding are also placed in a horizontal grid pattern on the second example.

The metal roof and stainless steel chimney stacks are also appropriate choices for the first contemporary house, and lend a slightly industrial feel. All of these architectural products look great together and should be fairly maintenance-free, which is also a plus! Personally, my favorite part of this home is how the clean, no fuss lines are mixed so perfectly with the soft, beach grasses and greenery. I feel like there couldn't be a better garden for this house. Just look at how those grasses compliment this home - perfection!

Common in modern architecture,the second house has a flat roof which I also really like. You can see some holes in the piece of roof that bridges the left and right side of the home - this is a nice detail that could be fitted with accent lighting and/or cast interesting shadows during daytime. The landscaping around this home also has a soft, natural feel which nicely flatters the architecture's rigid lines and grid pattern.

Festive Facades

It's time to get that front porch looking festive and inviting for the holidays! We've put together a collection of inspiring images to help jump-start your outdoor design. Keep in mind, a beautiful and well designed entry will set a warm and joyful tone for all of your holiday parties!

Love the classic cedar garland mixed with a soft, mossy wreath...

What's better than one holiday wreath? Three! This stacked look is simple yet fabulous...

These red dogwood arrangements are hearty and wintery...

Well designed urns are always great! We love these bushy evergreen and sparkly silver arrangements and think this style looks best when kept monochromatic. Silver accents with white lights or red accents with red lights...

Adding a pile of festive bulbs to simple greenery makes an easy and attractive urn. The key here is to use multi-colored bulbs in the same shape, or different shapes but all one color...

5 more blogs until Christmas!

Make Decisions that Work with Your Lifestyle

Sometimes you have to translate the beautiful images that you see if magazines into real solutions that work for you! This gorgeous dining room that was featured in Traditional Home magazine demonstrates the warm, beautiful, textural quality of seagrass wallcoverings.


BUT, putting seagrass into your home can be expensive, more expensive than paint, and some of my clients with kids, worry that with pint-sized handprints, marker accidents, and worse, what is the point!! Luckily there is a solution, and great design need not be sacrificed!!


This image is from a clients home where we used vinyl seagrass in her entry. It look fantastic and the best part is that those grubby handprints, etc. can be washed off with a cleaning agent as strong as bleach without damaging the wallcovering in the slightest! Look at the difference from the "before" image below.

Another great trick is to add very select "faux" arrangements. We particularly love using faux succulents in places like the entry or anywhere that you could permantly use a little something pretty. Can you even believe this arrangment is not real!

Another practical design decision that might work for you is incorporating outdoor fabric into your indoors! These durable fabrics used by hotels and restaurants can make a lot of sense for you too. And the options just keep getting cuter as more and more designers get in the outdoor game like these outdoor fabrics designed by Trina Turk: