spooky!

happy halloween!

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an edward hopper moment…

Still working on my post from the party! Almost there!

In the meantime, please enjoy one of my favorite photographs from the end of the evening…I was looking out a window, much like the window you see in the photo…a warm breeze washed over my face and for a moment, I felt like I was living in an Edward Hopper painting…

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

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invitation only!

On 10/1/12, I received an invitation from Darryl Carter to attend a private gathering on Thursday evening 10/25/12 celebrating the launch of his new boutique/design studio and new book The Collected Home! To say I was elated beyond words is an understatement! I leave for Washington DC bright and early tomorrow morning to embark on an adventure I’m sure I’ll remember for a lifetime…I promise to bring back exclusive photos and personal insights from this very special event…until then, please enjoy this sneak peek of wares from the new boutique published in the October 2012 issue of Elle Decor…imagine being greeted by this magnificent bronze lion? I already have butterflies in my tummy…

photos from Darryl Carter’s new Washington DC boutique via Elle Decor

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the wild swans at coole

The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty Swans.
The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.
I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All’s changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.
Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.
But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake’s edge or pool
Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

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pebble textile

I wonder if this ever happens to you? I’ll see something I find inspiration from…something new and it stimulates my imagination…then, voila, I see it again and again and again…has this wonderful muse been right under my nose but I have neglected to see it? Or is this a new trend that keeps appearing on the air waves?

Just the other day I brought home a rug sample (above)…I loved it for the texture and palette but somehow I imagined it better as a textile…maybe for a special chair or pillow…and then this morning, voila! I discover this gorgeous interior (below) with a similar textile on a chair! Bumpy, sculptural and exactly what I imagined it would look like…

Just thought I’d share this simple observation with you…it’s nice to receive a little affirmation from the universe now and again

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manhattan makeover

The November 2012 issue of Architectural Digest is aptly titled “Before and After” and features thoughtful transformations by the likes of Alex Papachristidis, J. Randall Powers and Terry Hunziker just to name a few…my favorite makeover is featured on the cover and was conceived by designer Nate Berkus…located in a 19th-century Greenwich Village building, the apartment possessed the charm and “imperfection” Berkus was searching for but was in dire need of a facelift…so the designer worked his magic and with the help of architect Carlos Huber, transformed this tired apartment into a chic home filled with beloved art, antiques and found objects collected over a lifetime…

What I love most about this interior is how he re-invented the “shell” (new floors, windows, grasscloth, paint) to best support his existing furniture and art…he is able to live with the pieces he loves but in a fresh “new” environment…how wonderful!

“There’s no other place in the world that tells a story of who I am more than this space I’m sitting in right now.” ~ Nate Berkus from the AD video interview

photography by Pieter Estersohn for Architectural Digest

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creepy crawler

I spotted this jurassic park size spider outside my window this morning…thankfully she is far more interested in weaving her web and feasting on bugs than she is in me! All I need now is a black cat and a broomstick to complete my halloween decor!

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

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small hands

this afternoon, amid all the vibrant autumnal color, the heart of this purple cabbage stole the show…her luminous hot pink core, a sibling to the red beet perhaps, opened my eyes to a more feminine fall palette…and her delicate ruffles, like small hands, appear to be reaching out for the warmth of the sun…

photography by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye ~ 10/11/12

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cherryfields revisited

Do you happen to remember this photo (above) from my trip to the Spring 2012 High Point Market? I was thrilled to discover a common thread between this Tozai Home display by Dransfield & Ross and Lonny Magazine’s recent photo shoot of Cherryfields, the creative duo’s sublime Georgian Revival home situated in Somerset County, New Jersey…

My “deja vu” moment? The classical bust, perched on the bottom shelf (above), is artfully re-imagined as a focal point in their magnificent dining room (below)! I LOVE it! The “bust,” along with playful hand-painted gray striped walls, happily co-exists with a white marble Victorian mantelpiece once owned by Hartford Connecticut author Harriet Beecher Stowe…this more relaxed approach to tradition is a breath of fresh air! What could quickly turn stuffy and dated, feels altogether artful and new…too many favorite moments to count!

If you would like to learn more about Cherryfields, click here for the Lonny article or here for my March 2011 post…enjoy!

photography by Patrick Cline for Lonny Magazine

top photo by danielle boudrot for a thoughtful eye

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autumn’s wand

Wishing you a blissful autumn weekend! Take time to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the season!

“By the sixth of October the leaves generally begin to fall, in successive showers, after frost or rain; but the principal leaf-harvest, the acme of the Fall, is commonly about the sixteenth. Some morning at that date there is perhaps a harder frost than we have seen, and ice formed under the pump, and now, when the morning wind rises, the leaves come down in denser showers than ever. They suddenly form thick beds or carpets on the ground, in this gentle air, or even without wind, just the size and form of the tree above. Some trees, as small Hickories, appear to have dropped their leaves instantaneously, as a soldier grounds arms at a signal; and those of the Hickory, being bright yellow still, though withered, reflect a blaze of light from the ground where they lie. Down they have come on all sides, at the first earnest touch of autumn’s wand, making a sound like rain.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, 1862

Returning from the Harvest ~ Paul Gauguin, 1884

Lane at Alchamps, Arles ~ Paul Gauguin, 1888

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