California Dreamin’

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I haven’t felt heat like it since we were in Sardinia last year.  That dry soaks-you-right-through-to-the-bones heat of the Mediterranean, which makes mornings sparkle, early afternoons in the dusty city unbearable, and evenings soft and luxurious.

I’m told we’re lucky to experience such heat in San Francisco, though I would be feeling a bit luckier if I were lying by an infinity pool drinking caipirinhas.  Instead I’m either shepherding the Minx from trolley bus to cable car, or chasing her round the Bay Cruise boat, or, worse still, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Tourism wih a baby really is not all it’s cracked up to be and with the Husband working all day and schmoozing by night I haven’t yet been to a single groovy shop or gallery.  

Am seething with frustration.  ‘Snot fair.

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Garden Design

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So on Wednesday I had my first chat with a garden designer.

The previous owners had plans drawn up last year to redo the front and back yards and we’re piggybacking off the plans they had done to get the back garden sorted out (the front garden will have to wait until next year or until we win the lottery).

I’m a bit nervous about the process as we didn’t do as much research as we should have done into Seattle-based designers, nor did we get any competitive quotes – the completed plans lying on the kitchen countertops were just too tempting, as the was the fact that the company specialises in organic gardening. But Brian seemed lovely and very amenable to my ideas (which he called ‘fun’. This could of course be a euphemism.)

I’ve never worked with an interior or garden designer before and I’m really looking forward to the experience. I sort of know what I like when it comes to gardens, but don’t know much at all about what goes where, what grows where and how to group plants together. Fortunately the climate in the Pacific North West is so similar to that of the UK that many of the plants I love the most should grow well here.

At the moment the garden is decidedly oddly configured, with a down-at- heel patio that seems to be expressly designed to draw you away from the lawn and towards the very un-picturesque driveway, and with a wall round the lawn which acts as a barricade. Even the Minx seems confused when she goes outside as to whether she’s ‘allowed’ to climb the steps and run about on the lawn.

We’re going to rejig the previous plans somewhat so that there is a definite progression from a pretty seating area to a small area of lawn; some sort of fence and gate to the left to trap in the Minx, and lots of underplanting round the tree (which is currently a mass of weeds).  As for planting – I didn’t even look at what the previous owners had requested, as I’ve got a pretty good idea that their taste will not exactly coincide with mine.

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Kitchen Inspiration

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Look what the postman brought me today!

It’s apparently a genuine 50s enamel breadbin found in some warehouse in Holland.  Or that was the Ebay seller’s story anyway.  Actually the condition bears this out – its definitely vintage and is in pretty much mint condition, with the manufacturer’s sticker on the lid. 

And it goes very nicely with my butter dish (china made to look like vintage tupperware, I’m definitely going to get some of those in the shop) and my very favourite Le Creuset spatulas.  The colour scheme for the downstairs kitchen is now pretty much a done deal, I would say.

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Peacockery

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I love the way that French design trio Atelier LZC – one of our very favourite suppliers – continually re-invent their offering, while remaining very much true to their original aesthetic. 

Though they still produce the silhouetted, naturalistic birds, flowers and butterflies that made them famous, in recent seasons their work has become more stylised and naif, using charming folksy images such a matrioschka dolls, eggs and for this season, peacocks. 

We’ve just added these little hanging objects to the mirrormirror site and there’s something about the earnest expressions on their faces, which I find particularly adorable.

I photographed them hanging on the twisted willow branches left over from my Easter tree and they look so good I don’t want to take them down.

Peacocks are obviously in the zeitgeist too as Maryam in Morocco and Tara on Vancouver Island have both just written great peacock-y posts.

SPECIAL SHIPPING OFFER FOR OVERSEAS READERS: Until the end of May, any blog readers  anywhere in the world can buy any Atelier LZC product (with the exception of mirrors) from mirrormirror and just pay standard UK shipping. Just select the Standard  (£3.95) shipping option from the drop down list.

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Poesie

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From Flickr

From Flickr

From Flickr

From Flickr

My tulip photos have led me to peek at some ‘Flower’ groups on Flickr and I was totally bowled over when I came across these ethereal flower photos by Poesie, which are some of the most exquisite photos I’ve ever seen on Flickr or anywhere else for that matter. Poesie indeed.

Give yourselves a treat and check out her Flower and Pastel sets.

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Tiptoe-ing through the Tulips

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Oh, I know I promised to focus this blog a bit more on design and business, but I thought you might like to see the glorious tulip fields in the Skagit Valley area of Washington, about sixty miles north of Seattle.

Some Dutch settlers realised early on that the area was perfect for growing tulips and set about creating acres of tulip fields. Washington State now ships tulips to the whole of the US.

The tulip festival goes on for the whole of April but we hadn’t been able to make it until now due to bad weather, and our trips to England and to Portland last weekend.  Though most of the fields were already cut down, we were lucky enough to enjoy the most incredible Spring day and the remaining fields and showgardens were dazzling, as the sun shone through the petals.

   

There are more photos on my Flickr if you want to check them out.

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Bay City Roller

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Photo from Flickr

It transpires that we’re going to San Francisco next Friday (the Husband has managed to arrange yet another business trip), which will hopefully be a great opportunity to do some SHOPPING.

I’ve never been before, so all suggestions for great interiors shops, restaurants, sightseeing trips etc. most gratefully received, though do remember that I will sadly have a two-year old in tow most of the time.

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Bedroom Wallpaper

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On a complete tangent, since I don’t think we’re going to be focusing on the bedroom for quite some time, I saw this wallpaper by Designer’s Guild advertised today and fell totally and utterly in love. 

Worth a feature wall surely? 

Now I just need to find a stockist somewhere in the US.  One day soon I’m going to have to transfer my loyalties from UK designers and UK companies, because it’s going to start getting really expensive.

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Vanessa Bruno’s Paris Apartment

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So, a scheme for the main room was just coming together in my mind when I finally got round to reading this month’s Elle Deco and saw the most gorgeous Parisian apartment featured on the cover and inside. 

 

 

It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that such a chic, sexy, elegant apartment should belong to Vanessa Bruno, one of my very most favourite designers (oh, if only I were thinner and richer) who is known for her chic, sexy, elegant clothes.

 

I love everything about this space – the eclectic mix of modern and formal furniture, the mid-century modern touches, the inspired use of pastel highlights (anyone else really liking that mix of pale lavender, celery green and dusky pink?), the way she arranges her shelves, the big glass pot of unused candles, even the red beady thingy on the wall.  And it’s all in the Marais – lucky, lucky, lucky woman.

So now I’m humming and haaing again.  This too shall be added to the inspiration file and I shall see what percolates through.

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Sampler

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Am very happy with my first Ebay purchase for the Minx’s bedroom. 

I don’t particularly want her to have very babyish decor – just art and pictures which are jolly and cheerful which she can treasure over the years.  She is already very fond of her ‘lady’ and likes to discuss the colours of the flowers and and her clothes and the ‘Christmas trees’. 

I like it because it’s beautifully worked in cross stitch on linen which has turned slightly brown with age, and because I rather like the sentiments expressed.  It’s nice to think that all the work that someone put into this will continue to be appreciated (at least by me) and I’m glad the Minx will have something old and loved in her room aside from all the plastic tat. I might have to reframe it at some point though, as the fact that the central line isn’t straight is really bugging me. (It’s tough being a Virgo).

Unlike my agonies of indecision about the main living and dining room, the scheme for the Minx’s bedroom is crystallizing apace in my mind and packages are arriving from various online shops at frightening speed.  I’ll put a bunch of pictures up together so you can see how it’s coming along when I get a moment.

In the meantime think green and pink, flowers and frog princes. 

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