Thought for the Day...

Neither good taste nor wealth... can transform a house into a home, for a home does not consist of the quality of its architecture or decor, but in the quality of the lives that it expresses. 

                                                                                                              Philippa Tristam, Living Space 

My girls, at 2, on the back stoop of our old house. (Please do not re-print this photo.)

I try to keep this in mind every day.  I'll admit I'm a bit obsessive about what I can do next with my home, what color I can change, how I can use a fabric that I just spotted for a steal...There was a time, when my girls were toddlers, (now teens) that my husband never new what colors he would come home to when he left for work (my man -- a pillar of patience!, and for those who know me -- I hear you laughing at and agreeing with these truths!). Being a passionate decorator, a freak for fabric and color, is often a lonely road to travel -- not everyone gets it!   But, at the end of the day, it is what love there is within the walls, not what's on them, in front of them, or how much they cost,  that makes all the difference.

I hope your beautiful house is indeed a warm and memory-making home!

Talk to you soon,

Carol

Inspiration and Interpretation

Considering, reading and learning from what others say can be inspiring.  It can take you in a new direction or validate a conviction.  I love discovering quotes for all of these reasons.  I hope you enjoy today's thoughts...

All the necessary elements of a room should not arrive on installation day. Room should always be left for the things we will acquire...the objects we cannot live without.

Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details 

Designer: Phoebe Howard

Decorators should never insist on throwing out everything the client has. Even when they are far from perfect, loved possessions add personality.

Billy Baldwin 

Designers: Diana Kelly, Richard Smith

 An interior is the natural projection of the soul.

Coco Chanel 

 Designer: Scot Meacham Wood from his website

 ...People's lives are expressed in little details....The soap in the bathroom, the flowers in the garden, the books on the bedside table are all strong symbols of a life in progress. You look at these details and a world unfolds - here are their books, the paintings they cherish, the music that soothes their souls.

Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details 

Designer: Gerald Pomeroy

Decor must have sentimental value. A house must tell a story.

Mark Hampton, Harper's Bazaar, June 1989 

Ok, this one isn't a famous designer's work -- it's the house of my good friend, whose home so reflects bits of all the thoughts above that it did, in part, inspire this post.  My childhood friends and I gather every summer at her house, and I couldn't resist adding this picture.  Her home reflects her personality, contains sentimental treasures from her past, the perfect and the imperfect.  It makes you feel at home.  And in the end, isn't that what a house is for?

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Food and Design -- What's the Relationship?

Looking for inspiration this morning, (ok, really just avoiding cleaning and packing the car --not my favorite activity -- to take the girls and friends to the beach for the day), I found the following quote.  It so completely relates to my own thoughts about  Design and Food.   It is as though the author were in my head at some point in time.

This is why, I believe, so many designers I know are great cooks...

Any designer who does not appreciate or know about good food is not a very good designer. The planning of a meal and its presentation - the texture, the color, the tastes, the hot and cold temperatures - are the same concerns that affect an environment.*
                                                                                              Robert Kime, Architectural Digest 

From the Monterrey Bay Aquarium website

So does that really mean that I personally think you're a poor designer if you don't know the difference between bechemel and creme bruele?  No. It's not about the act of cooking so much as it is about the innate appreciation of the experience of food -- whether cooking it, eating it, entertaining with it, or just enjoying all the elements that are infused into a really fantastic dining experience.  The color, the aromas, the place setting, the way in which it is served.  It is orchestrated, when it is successful, with an attention to detail.  Just like successful design and decorating.  They are so much on the same side of the creative coin.

Be still my heart.  Sigh.  I am off to a great day at the beach, followed by a meal I've promised my good friend (yet to be planned!!).  Off to clean and pack the car....

Talk to you soon,

Carol

*   http://www.interiordesignquotes.com/color.html

Listen to the Legend: Dorothy Draper

"Never look back, except for an occasional glance, look ahead and plan for the future. Success is not built on past laurels, but rather on a continuous activity. Keep busy searching out new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times, or at least up with them."

Dorothy Draper 

Wise woman, that Dorothy. How is it that at a moment when you find yourself questioning what you are doing or where you are going and why you are blogging (or whatever it is that applies to your life), you come across a quote that makes you stop and think?  Is it fate?  Is someone telling me something that I happened to find this quote when I am so tired I can hardly see to write, let alone compose a coherent thought?  Ok, I'll take it.  For whatever it is worth.  After all, it's pretty sage (ha ha) advice, and it came from a decorator ahead of her time (and always moving further forward).  A woman who created the likes of this...

The Greenbrier Hotel

Dorothy Draper was bold and fearless.  I'll try a little of that tomorrow.  How about you?

Talk to you soon,

Carol