Wallpaper My Life.

With this wallpaper. 

Elle Decor

Tom Scheerer

Coastal Living

House Beautiful - Tom Scheerer

Clearly, Tom Scheerer and I are on the same page. Two posts this week that he is featured in. This trellis wallpaper from Quadrille is a dream come true. We all know I love all things chinoiserie, but this is different. It has this casual, country/island element to it. One day, when I am a real person who has wallpaper, I will put this up--and it will be fabulous. 

Luxurious Lounging

Graduate school is exhausting. Especially when in the throws of midterms. And really especially when you're getting so close to the end that you have a hard time staying focused. How lovely it would be to spend a day lounging in bed, catching up on the pile of Vanity Fair and shelter magazines and just relaxing. I have to be honest though, after seeing some of these bedrooms, I don't think my bed will suffice! 

Mattresses on the floor are not something that I am typically very fond of. However, in this bedroom the print vignette above the bed and the obviously well thought out bedside table, chair, and throw make the room feel a bit less like they just threw a mattress on the floor and called it a day. Thoughts? 

Ship lap. Can't get enough of it. I love the juxtaposition of the old feeling building, and the extremely modern almost Danish furniture. 

Greece? Pompeii? Who cares, I wanna be in this bed. One can only assume that those windows open out on to the Mediterranean. 

I have always liked beds in the middle of the room, not unlike Tom Scheerer's house in the Bahamas that I posted yesterday. This has a distinctly French feel, which lends it an amazing sophistication despite the simplicity of the sheets and upholstery. 

Light, airy, open. Blue and white. What's not to love? 

Finally, I think in a perfect world this is where I would like to be. In the countryside, stack of books, chaise lounge and sunshine. 

photos courtesy of Marie Claire Maison 

Vacation - All I Ever Wanted

As the Go-go's once said. And as I am feeling today. After a big test yesterday, and some big deadlines coming up, all I really want is sand, surf, sunglasses, and a tan. Oh and perhaps a tropical cocktail. One of my favorite decorators for beachy/island locales is Tom Scheerer. He actually had a house in Charleston for a while, decided it was still too "city-like" and decamped to the Bahamas. And I can't get enough of this house featured below, which I am pretty sure is his. 

Sometimes we forget that much of the Caribbean was once a British colony. This house, with its saltbox shape and picket fence definitely harkens back to that era. 

As you can probably tell, for a preservationist like me, this house is a little piece of heaven. In most old houses, there are funny extensions, and pieces of the building that are different sizes, as shown above. Typically this means that those parts of the house were not part of the original building campaign, but rather were added as the extra space was needed over the years. 

I love the louvered door at the end of this hallway. For a beach house, I would do exactly as Scheerer seemed to do here, white walls, dove gray floors, accented with a seagrass runner and different basket weave accessories. 

We all know how much I love a good tablescape, and the simplicity here is fantastic. 

The low ceiling, round seagrass area rug, and louvered shutter in the stairwell are all elements that I would love to include in a beach house. There is also something about this space that is not over-thought. That is exactly how I would do a beach house--without overthinking the decorating. Just let the house be the house, and a great place to relax and enjoy time with friends--comfortable chairs and great pillows. I love the dark wood of the newel post and hand rail on the stairs. 

This is in the kitchen, which is most certainly located in one of those building extensions that I mentioned above. The high beamed ceiling would have been good when large cooking fires were lit in the fireplace. 

Who doesn't love an old farm sink with wall mounted fixtures and a blue and white striped skirt? 

The hanging pendants as bedside table lights is fantastic, and something I wouldn't necessarily have thought of for the space. This allows for a space without chords near the bed, since the bed is floating in the middle of the room. Who wouldn't want to wake up in this space. Blue and white--never wrong. 

And a detail from that room. Again the simplicity of it is fantastic. I also love this midcentury dresser in the space, its unexpected and yet works perfectly. 

Bath time! Perfect. Nothing more to say. 

Man, I need a vacation. 


Photos courtesy of TomScheerer.com

Getting Off the Subway

Hello all. I know I know, I have been quite the absentee blogger. My only excuse is my thesis, which is controlling my life these days--but I'm officially counting down to May when I am finished with graduate school and back in New York. I thought in preparation for coming back to earth, I would slowly try and bring myself back to you all and do a little blogging now and again. I can't promise more than once or twice a week while I'm writing my thesis, but that's better than nothing, right? 

So I have long been a girl who loves a good subway tiled bathroom. I know its simple, and has gotten trendy, but there has always been something about it that seems so right. 

House Beautiful

This is a shot of House Beautiful editor, Newell Turner's, bathroom. Love the subway tile as wainscoting. However, yesterday I was at Ann Sacks in NYC, and saw the most amazing collection of Michael S. Smith tiles, that are leading me astray from my usual affinity for the simplicity of the subway tile. 

Cane 

Modern Fretwork

Square Dance

How amazing are these? I can't get enough of the chinoiserie/greek key/vintage aesthetic of each. They bring so much, but are still just white. WWB says that I am very safe in many of my decorating choices. I think that these tiles are the perfect blend of safety and haute chic. However, if you can't fully commit to ditching your bathroom reno plans of subway tile, Michael Smith offers some options that will allow you to keep your subway tile and add a sexy border or detail ... 

 Greek Key Border

Maze Border

How amazing are these trim pieces? you could still do all subway tiles, and then add a really great looking border that can have a significant effect on the experience of the bathroom space. Just a little bit of luxe. Love it. What do you all think? 

Photos courtesy of Ann Sacks.com & House Beautiful 

Stately and Empty

In an article in today's New York Times, enititled, "Stately Home Awaits the Return of a Political Son," newly elected NY governor Andrew Cuomo states that he plans to live at New York State's Governors' Mansion in Albany. Cuomo will be the first NY Governor to spend a considerable time at the estate since his father, Mario Cuomo was governor in the 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, such is the fate of many of the elaborate Governors' Mansions throughout the United States. What with technological innovation, many Governors don't need to be in the state capital all the time, and can conduct business elsewhere. Below are a sampling of Governors' Mansions from states with newly elected Governors. I wonder who will be occupying these hallowed halls? 

California

 Maine

New Mexico 

South Carolina

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Seeing Red

I thought it only fitting that after last night/yesterday's election results I show you a few of my favorite red accented rooms.

Of course we all know Brooke Astor's Albert Hadley designed red lacquer library in her Park Avenue apartment ... and we all know how I love a good lacquer job. 

 And Diana Vreeland in the famous pose from her apartment. 

Decor Pad

Chinoiserie Chic!--I love this red lacquered bamboo chair, with the red desk accessories. 

Decor Pad

 The red accents are a nice addition to this otherwise white kitchen.

Decor Pad

Again, red desk accessories add a bright touch to this white office. I am very jealous of this person's organizational abilities! 

Decor Pad

And I just love these headboards. And this picture might be the most representative of the current political climate--strong hits of red, on a light blue background. 

Divine Intervention

I don't think that I can go on and on enough about Marie Claire Maison! You all know how much I adore this French decor magazine ... and this feature below is no exception!--Just wish I could read some French ... What I gathered from my limited French is that this church below is in Cape Town, South Africa and was renovated by an Italian couple. 

It is very exciting that I came across this church, as my historic preservation studio project this fall involves coming up with a reuse of an historic chapel building here in Philadelphia. Churches can often be hard buildings to reuse, as their massing is very specific to their original use, and there are those who are superstitious enough to believe that sleeping in a church might be sacreligious. Not when the church is as fab as this one! 

All you lacquered lifers know how much I love the simplicity of an all white interior. Especially in a location such as Cape Town. In this space, the white interior allows you to appreciate the wonderful patina of the floors. 

Look at the rustic chic kitchen cabinets. The way that they extend all the way to the floor, instead of having a base, is very unusual--I love it. Makes it seem as though the cabinets really are part of the architecture, instead of an installed piece of furniture. 

How cool is that screen that divides the kitchen space from the eating space? What this does is allow for the delineation of spaces without disrupting the experience of the architecture of the building. Oh how I adore these beams! 

How would you like to sleep up in the rafters of this reused church? I am sure the view of the space and the experience of the architecture are absolutely divine. 

photos courtesy of Marie Claire Maison http://www.marieclairemaison.com