Perched high above the Concord River, there exists a secret garden brimming with irises, peonies, columbine and rhododendron…this intricately laid out network of paved stones and steps offered me a beautiful view of the terraced gardens and riverscape below…with every twist and turn, this magical place had a story to tell…a garden with an old soul if you will…I’m so glad I took the time to listen

Wishing you a wonderful summer weekend!

below ~ the Concord River and surrounding landscape, taken on my way down the hill

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

Plucked straight from my brother Gary’s garden, these ethereal white peonies commanded my attention this morning…a perfect muse for a summer day!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

“At evening, the distant lowing of some cow in the horizon beyond the woods sounded sweet and melodious, and at first I would mistake it for the voices of certain minstrels by whom I was sometimes serenaded, who might be straying over hill and dale; but soon I was not unpleasantly disappointed when it was prolonged into the cheap and natural music of the cow. I do not mean to be satirical, but to express my appreciation of those youths’ singing, when I state that I perceived clearly that it was akin to the music of the cow, and they were at length one articulation of Nature.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, excerpt from Walden, chapter four titled Sounds

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

“The sun is higher…the days are longer…and the magic of spring has touched every living thing…each, attuned to life…is ready to rise in a mystical kinship with beauty…” ~ Gwen Frostic

Wishing you a wonderful weekend filled with the sights, sounds, scents and tastes of summer!

photos from Elle Decor and The Gifts of Life

With Memorial Day weekend just around the corner, I thought you might enjoy a sunny visit to designer Paul Wiseman’s Northern California home. Thoughtfully restored to maintain its original foot print and floor plan, this 1912 gem has been updated using “green” materials that have the appropriate sensibility for a historical restoration in the 21st century. These sustainable materials, such as custom bronze casement windows with energy saving glass, a zinc roof and LED lighting, reduce long term maintenance while preserving the unique character and spirit of the architecture. What a brilliant coming together of modern technology and beauty! From the breathtaking water views to the perfectly edited interiors, this house has it all! Please enjoy!

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend filled with sunny skies and a lovely breeze!

Above and below ~ photography by Matthew Millman for The Wiseman Group

To read more about this masterful property, pick up the 2013 May-June issue of Veranda!

Below ~ photography by Laura Resen for Veranda

It is with his voice in the forefront of my mind that I’d like to share with you one of my favorite excerpts from Walden…it’s quite possibly the most profound description of spring cleaning and outdoor living I’ve ever come across! Wishing you a wonderful spring weekend!

“Housework was a pleasant pastime. When my floor was dirty, I rose early, and, setting all my furniture out of doors on the grass, bed and bedstead making but one budget, dashed water on the floor, and sprinkled white sand from the pond on it, and then with a broom scrubbed it clean and white; and by the time the villagers had broken their fast the morning sun had dried my house sufficiently to allow me to move in again, and my meditations were almost uninterrupted. It was pleasant to see my whole household effects out on the grass, making a little pile like a gypsy’s pack, and my three-legged table, from which I did not remove the books and pen and ink, standing amid the pines and hickories. They seemed glad to get out themselves, and as if unwilling to be brought in. I was sometimes tempted to stretch an awning over them and take my seat there. It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these things, and hear the free wind blow on them; so much more interesting most familiar objects look out of doors than in the house. A bird sits on the next bough, life-everlasting grows under the table, and the blackberry vines run round its legs; pine cones, chestnut burs, and strawberry leaves are strewn about. It looked as if this was the way these forms came to be transferred to our furniture, to tables, chairs and bedsteads, – because they once stood in their midst.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, excerpt from Walden

Top ~ In the Woods by Paul Cezanne, 1900

Bottom ~ In the Woods by Paul Cezanne, 1898

This week, while in NYC, I happened upon a wonderful surprise in Times Square, the INSIDE OUT PROJECT. From April 22 to May 10, 2013, artist JR and his team invited New Yorkers and visitors to take self-portraits in a photo booth truck stationed in Times Square, the site of the world’s first ever photo booth almost 100 years ago. These large-format street “pastings” lined Duffy Square and wrapped an adjacent building, offering the public a unique interactive experience between the subject/protagonist and the passer-by/interpreter. Unknowingly, one of these faces may have passed me by in the crowd, people I have yet to meet and may never meet, but who have now made a lasting impression. They were willing to share their beauty with the world, and in doing so, allow us to examine ourselves more closely. Making the world a better place through art? Genius

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

“My gardens are about atmosphere…and the simplicity of the design leaves room for real magic – in the dappled shadows of sunlight through leaves on the lawn, for instance, or subtle uplighting through branches after dark. These are features you have to feel as well as see” ~ Luciano Giubbilei, House & Garden

above and below ~ Addison Road

“We return time and again to the comfortable vocabularies, images, sounds, memories, thoughts and feelings that constitute the boundaries of experience and expression…yet every now and then, we encounter a breakthrough moment – a rare instant when the daunting constraints of possibility melt away and then we gain the courage to focus through new lenses.” ~ Luciano Giubbilei from his book titled Nature and Human Intervention

above and below~ The Laurent-Perrier Garden at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show, garden design Luciano Giubbilei, architect Kengo Kuma, and sculptor Peter Randall-Page

“I was studying banking and living with my English girlfriend, Sarah, in a walled garden in Chianti. I became obsessed with the lawn, irrigating it every evening, and friends loved coming round for dinner there. One evening I mentioned to Sarah what a great job it would be to create such spaces for other people, and she told me there was this career in England called garden designing.” ~ LG from Telegraph Magazine

above and below ~ Morocco

“English flower gardens – I just loved them completely. I would go to Kew and to Wisely and write down all the names. But gradually I really got into the structure of gardens. I suppose it all goes back to those photographs of the Gamberaia…I like a strong axis, projecting the lines of the house out into the garden…I try to make everything beautiful at night – trees and pots picked out with uplighters.” LG from Telegraph Magazine

above and below ~ Barcelona

“My gardens are really installations. I would not want you to compare what I do to an English flower garden, where there is such understanding of nature. This is different and has a different function, and the results can be quite instant.” LG from Telegraph Magazine

above and below ~ The Boltons

“Gardens are simply rooms. I’m really just an interior designer, outdoors.” LG from Design Week

above and below ~ Holland Park

opening quote from Design Week Magazine, photographs from Luciano Giubbilei

What inspired you to open the retail store in Harvard Square aptly named Kristin Paton Home?

KP ~ It was really from living in London and NY…in both those places you can walk down the street and decorate a house in a flash…and you have constant new sources…I felt like we could use another outlet to the (Boston) Design Center and something more here…if you go on 1st dibs, most of the places are in NY, or Connecticut or LA, and why not Boston…Boston has loads of sophisticated people here that are looking for things on their own…whether it’s for the designers looking for product or design people looking for good products.

PG ~ Kristin’s desire to open the store was to show pieces missing from the Boston area and to teach people about design…how you can mix things and why things can mix…the only way to teach this is to show this…if you show some of these pieces separately, people may think they don’t go together…the store shows how well these pieces can and do work together.

KP ~ And it’s quiet, it’s quiet layering, it’s quiet sophistication…it’s meant to be a layered effect, it’s meant to be the flannel sofa with a touch of leather…that sofa says so much, it’s very quiet but yet it’s very well thought out…the grey flannel fabric withstands kids and dogs…and it looks chic…and the piping is leather so you get another layer, and that’s sort of our philosophy, the layering ~ quiet and sophisticated.

Detail of an Antique Daybed ~ French Louis XVI style elegantly carved and painted daybed, newly upholstered in chocolate brown velvet fabric with button cushion and newly made bolsters with faux crocodile sides.

Who are some of your design icons?

KP ~ I love London’s Anouska Hempel for fashion and design, London based landscape architect Luciano Giubbilei’s sculptural gardens, Italian architect Michele Bonan, NYC based architect and artist Thierry Despont and Dutch architect Piet Boon…for fashion, I love Armani’s clean lines and simplicity…also, there’s an Italian clothing line called Marlowe that just opened a shop in the US (Chicago)…very fine materials, it’s not a big collection but it’s sculptural and I love all that sculpture…and Emma Hope shoes, they’re one of my favorites…just because it’s glamorous and crazy, you know I love a little bit of that glamour!

PG ~ New York based designer Muriel Brandolini, I’m fascinated by her eye and her approach and what she does..and for fashion, Gucci, Tom Ford, John Varvatos, Billy Reid…something classic with a twist.

KP ~ Tom Ford is great at everything…I love to listen to his Ted talks…he’s just very charismatic and a superstar in his own right…everything he does seems to touch magic.

KPH candle ~ KRISTIN PATON HOME candle with fresh scent reminiscent of Shalimar

I love the wax seal and roman numerals on your website/candles, can you describe this branding inspiration?

KP ~ The Roman numerals come from my love of classical architecture and the wax seal speaks to yet another level of classicism…and that classicism is a major adjective in our brand…we’re classical, we’re clean, we’re masculine, but yet with a touch of something modern…modern/classicism.

Blown Glass Palmer Bottles atop a Vintage French two tiered brass coffee table with clear glass shelves.

French Louis XVI Style Fauteuil chair with elaborately carved frames. Newly upholstered in Clarence House wool plaid detailed with contrast tape.

What are some of your “go to” resources for antiques, accessories and art?

KP ~ Clignancourt in Paris, Pimlico Road in London, Spencer Swaffer Antiques in London along with some local resources such as the Brimfield Antique Show.

Flange Ikat Pillow In Warm Charcoal and Grey

Detail of  “Noah’s Ark” ~ Hand watercolored “Noah’s Ark” scene on paper framed in modern plexiglass

Custom Upholstered Sofa in the Jean Michel Frank style, in Charcoal Wool fabric with Chocolate Brown leather piping. Tight upholstered back.

The grey flannel sofas are your own design, do you have any new designs in the works?

KP ~ Yes, we are working on our own line of furniture for Kristin Paton Home…being interior designers we know what’s in the market and what’s not, so we are trying to grow good quality things…I believe there is a need for something between the super high end and the mail order.

Gold Butterfly Table ~ Tommy Mitchell has created these Beautiful Side Tables. Gold Butterflies encased in a Plexiglass top.

Brighton Lamp ~ White pagoda shaped resin lamp with white paper shade

foreground, White Ceramic Pagodas ~ Square Ceramic Pagodas finished in a Crisp White Glaze

above mantel, Cacophany ~ Musical notes floating on paper framed in clear plexiglass

What’s your favorite place to visit?

KP ~ I like to go anywhere new! Paris, for it’s natural sophistication, the people watching, the food, the culture…it’s so inspiring there…different from anyplace else.

PG ~ My favorite place would be Provincetown…it’s just spectacular…I go there and I’m a completely different person.

Dream destination? 

KP ~ India

PG ~ Barcelona

Thunderball Black & White limited Edition framed photograph ~ A scene from the James Bond film Thunderball with Sean Connery, Claudine Auger and Adolfo Celi.

Twisted Ribbon Pillow ~ Navy Linen Pillow with “Twisted Ribbon” White Stripes

Velvet Striped Linen Pillow ~ Linen Pillow in Bone with Dark Indigo Velvet Stripes

Brighton Lamp atop a Directoire Table ~ Brass base with black granite top

Equilibrium table lamp in a chrome finish by Ralph Lauren Home

French Louis XVI Bureau Plat ~ mahogany desk with leather top and gold tooling brass detail

What personal possession do you cherish and couldn’t live without?

KP ~ My mother’s bracelet that I’ve worn since she died…it’s something that was left to me and will go to my daughters.

Can you describe the perfect day?

KP ~ I always love my birthday…I allow myself to not think about work…have a day off…usually my husband organizes something decadent like a massage or spa treatment…then I’ll meet my girlfriends for wine or champagne and french fries…and then have dinner with my husband and family…that would be a perfect birthday…and to be honest, my favorite thing is to go to flea markets and antique shops, that’s a perfect day…I could do that all day long!

If you could have dinner with anyone living or deceased, who would it be?

KP ~ My mom, Hilary Clinton

Nation On Vacation Pillow ~ Hand-woven, drum dyed calf nappa, woven on both sides. 10% down, 9 % feather insert.

Detail of The Chateau (framed) ~ Vaux Le Vicomte

Carthage table lamp in a natural brass finish by Ralph Lauren Home

Urchin Shells (set of 6) ~ Sea Foam See Form. Beautiful white urchins in plaster.

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

KP ~ Chocolate, too much coffee, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Million Dollar Decorators on Bravo!

PG ~ French fries, chocolate chip cookies, The Soup on E!

Do you enjoy cooking?

PG ~ Yes, I love to cook! Every night…I’d much rather stay home and cook than go out…I’m trained in interior architecture but I had a catering company for 13 years where I was the chef so I get my little outlet of cooking every night or if we have a dinner party…I love to plan it out…at night, I’ll think of what groceries I need to get, and I’ll try to stop and pick them up on my way to work when the grocery store is less crowded, and then cook when I get home…it’s my little quiet time.

Do you have any favorite restaurants in Harvard Square or the Boston area?

KP ~ We go to Harvest (Harvard Square) and sit at the bar, it’s local and cute…a glass of wine and an appetizer…that’s our regular…Mary Dumont is the chef, she’s very nice…I live here in Cambridge so we just walk over…and Sofra Bakery (Cambridge)…I love their coffee and they have naughty treats.

PG ~ My favorites, because I love it when it tends to be on the smaller side, are B&G and The Butcher Shop (South End)…love being there, just sit at the bar and have a glass of wine, have a hot dog at The Butcher Shop, or go get some oysters and something great at B&G…if it’s a large restaurant, I like Trade, it’s a blast and the food is really good and Sam’s over by the ICA (Boston).

Vintage sign from an old farm in France

A Pair of 48″ Demi Lunes ~ French wax finish: sandstone colored stain applied over white weather-durable concrete, achieving the warm patina of the stone of Provence.

Wooden Column Lamp with custom black paper shade

Can you talk a little about your dog?

KP ~ We have a sheep dog named Fred but at home we call him Mr. Naughty…he’s very cute…he’s a Polish Lowland Sheep Dog, so he looks like a Mini English, but not as grand as an English, he’s more countrified looking…he has that naughty face and cocks his head…and everyone gives him whatever he wants!

Is he named after Fred from Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

KP ~ Yes, he is….his collar reads “Fred Baby”…on my wedding day, my husband gave me the screenplay to Breakfast at Tiffany’s that he found through friends in Hollywood…he had it bound and it was waiting for me in the limousine…yes, I love Breakfast at Tiffany’s…it’s one of my favorites!

PG ~ I have a Wire Fox Terrier named Raleigh…he turned five months old a few days ago

Stag Leg 30″ and 21″ Accent Tables ~ STAG Party! Newly made side table in white painted finish with gold detailing.

Celadon Figurine Lamp ~ Custom Silk Shade

Peter, can you tell me about the fabulous window display?

PG ~ We wanted to create a living wall…kind of with a whimsical feel…we have these great classic pieces juxtaposed against the boxwood wall…it gives it a very warm feeling and makes for a very inviting space.

Tassle Side Table or Stool

Swedish Style Painted Dresser ~ Hand painted Gustavian chest of drawers made from reclaimed Elm Wood. 2 available. Great finish!

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire team at Kristin Paton Home and Interiors for sharing their time and talent with me. Click here to link to their beautiful website and next time you’re in Harvard Square, please stop by for a visit!

Kristin Paton Home and Interiors, 152 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

pictured left to right ~ Courtney Aleksa, Peter Griglik and Kristin Paton

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye