sneak peek

The York Show House, in beautiful York Harbor, Maine opens on Saturday, July 17.  I chose to work on a lower landing, stairwell, and large upper landing leading to the guest suites.

The walls were done in American Clay Earth Plaster.  The plaster is comprised of natural mineral pigments, crushed sea shell, recycled marble dust and responsibly mined clay.  It is non toxic, 0 VOC. and all sorts of other stuff that is low impact and good for us--plus it is super beautiful--don't you think?

All furnishings are up-cycled.  The painted canvas rug is unbleached cotton canvas painted with 0 VOC paints.  Art is Daniel Thibeault of Peterborough, NH and Lisa Teague.

The show house will be open to the public from July 17 through mid August.  Please come and check out all of the amazing rooms done by a team or talented New England designers.

summer

house of turquoise

I was so honored to be featured on the blog House of Turquoise today.  Erin has a great eye and it was a treat to be featured on a site that always seems to find fabulous, innovative, and yes--turquoise designs.  She also has a great website featuring wonderful designs and products sorted by color.  Please check out her site, you won't be sorry.  Thanks Erin!!

preview--boston brownstone

Here is a small sampling of a beautiful project we recently completed in Boston using American Clay Earth Plaster.  The glass "wallpaper" is by Beth Lipman.

Lovely--yes?

pretty posts

added finials and paint to my stair posts last night....it feels good to be adding fun details...

angst over pansies

It's a rainy Sunday here on the seacoast.  I had wanted to take a long bike ride, but instead I am mucking about in the very wet earth and wondering if I really have to pull the pansies from my window boxes.  I am one of those people that hates doing something twice.  Every spring when I plant pansies I mentally steel myself for the day that the weather will be too warm and they will be leggy and exhausted looking.  Always in the spring I think--why bother?   But pansies are so hopeful, particularly here in New England where from February on, it is one long slog to the day one can actually get into the garden.

I planted boxwoods, hostas, tomatoes, peppers and impatiens.

But it is only the pansies that cause me angst.   All of the other plants have a nice long season.  By the time they wither there is a hint of autumn in the air and I am preparing myself for change.  But when the pansies wither,  I am just hitting my summer stride.   I think I feel sorry for these earnest little plants.  Each year I think--no more pansies...but I know myself--I am sure I will be one of the first in line next spring, jacket buttoned up to my neck, a flat of pansies in my arms and hope in my heart.

kitchen to die for...

I was delighted to receive these new photos from John Stanek, of John Stanek Custom Builders in Peterborough, NH.  John's company designed and completed an extensive renovation in the Monadnock region on which  I was privileged to be the interior designer.

These beautiful photos  are by photographer Nancy Belluscio.  She did a lovely job of capturing the rich colors in the kitchen which was crafted by Gabriel Parker of Dublin, NH.

My clients were an absolute delight to work with.  One can see they are not afraid of color, nor are they frightened by mixing some contemporary lines with more traditional pieces.  The chairs were designed in the studio and upholstered by Mavrikas Upholstery in Nashua.

This is just a preview for you.  I will do a post on the rest of the house once I have photos that do the project justice.  And speaking of photos...a sad note--my hard drive crashed the other day and I lost 4000 (yep--4000) photos from my archives.  Let that be a lesson to any of you that procrastinate like I do.  External hard drive--gotta' have one.....

evolution of a painting

I started this painting for a show house I am doing in York, Maine.

I knew I wasn't quite done here....

Time to walk away now.......

done!

Just a little grass seed, a tool shed, some flag stone and some muscle and the livin' will be easy!

progress

Could you tell?  Could you tell from my last post that I am super tired of all of this?  But spring is here and it is time for porch sitting, and last weekend I finally sat.

The porch is not done, but it was done enough to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine with dear friends that came by to keep me sane.  My contractor stays late every night working hard to make this home for me.

There are flowers to cheer me, sweet lettuce for salad and warm afternoons ahead.

Progress--I love it!

just when you think the end is near...

I did fall in love with the sweet little neighborhood when I bought my brick house, but I also fell in love with the idea of never painting again (odd coming from a painter, but sometimes I just get tired!).  

Well--I don't have to paint, but I do have to re-point the brick on the river side of the house.  Hmmm....way beyond my skill level.

Along with the brick work, the existing steps are being removed to make way for a lovely porch where I can sit and sip tea as I watch the tankers float by.  I have to say I'm a bit tired of all of this...reno fatigue, I think.

Meanwhile the cherry tree blooms, and a few bright spots of color cheer me.

Speaking of cheer, I came home from the tropics struck by the absence of color in my own living room.  I decided to add some small punches to remind me of all of the beautiful colors I had seen while traveling.

The first thing I did was to add some soft orange tones to the risers of the stairs. Earlier this winter I had painted them various shades of blue.  The addition of some warmer tones was a subtle change, but  makes for a big difference in mood.

The next thing was to hang more art.  The sky paintings are a part of a painting journal I kept while in Tanzania. I completed a quick sky study from the same spot each day. There were many, many sunny days.

I also added one brightly colored pillow to the otherwise softly toned living room.  I  brought in this old bench that had been my grandmothers and painted the base a shiny turquoise.


Replacing the rugs with  natural sea grass adds texture and warmth.

Small vignettes that give me pleasure also add to the feeling of home.


I hope your home gives you the same pleasure (and a lot less work) as my home gives to me.

one more dream job

Somebody has to do this job and I am so happy it is me.  It is a rainy day here in Naples Florida, but it wasn't in Green Turtle Cay.

I love collaborating with creative people and Lynda Johnson, of Lynda Johnson Interiors is one of my favorites.  An empty corner in this dining room cried out for a decorative accent and happily for me, Lynda thought a painted palm would be just right.

It didn't take  much persuading (or any) to get me to jump on a plane and whip down to the Bahamas for a quick little paint job.   There was a bit of time left over to take in the beautiful colors of the island.

I was able to take a lot shots for an on-line series on color studies I will be starting this summer.

Tomorrow I return to New England where I will be busily setting up my new studio.  Our next American Clay Earth Plaster class is on Friday, April 16.  Please look for our full class schedule by the end of the week.