wood and white

today’s post finds its inspiration from this rustic loaf of bread and sculptural white asparagus…rough-hewn wood floors may echo the uneven tone and texture of the bread while a clean-lined white sofa may take its cue from the long lean form of the asparagus…interiors with a complimentary palette and textural content…enjoy!

happy weekend!

photos from Lonny Magazine, Veranda, The Gifts of Life via tumblr, Rose Uniacke, Haynes-Roberts, Henrik Busk via skona hem, Alexandre de Betak via T Magazine, Darryl Carter, and Studio Ko

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cool blue

With temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees today, I’m cooling off with these aquatic inspired blues…may this refreshing summer hue help quench your thirst and calm your senses…wishing you a wonderful weekend! Stay cool!

photos from National Geographic, Lonny Magazine and the The Gifts of Life via tumblr

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the sea

“Long before we saw the sea, its spray was on our lips, and showered salt rain upon us.” ~ Charles Dickens

The Beach at Trouville at Low Tide ~ Gustave Courbet, 1865

Seascape ~ John Singer Sargent, 1875

Note in Blue and Opal ~ James McNeill Whistler, 1884

Sailing boats ~ Mikalojus Ciurlionis, 1906

The Beach at Trouville at Low Tide ~ Gustave Courbet, 1865

The Coast of Bellangenay ~ Paul Gauguin

The Coast of Brittany, Fishing Boats ~ Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1878

A Fishing Boat at Sea ~ Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Shoreham Bay near Brighton ~ John Constable, 1824

The Porte d’Amont, Etretat ~ Eugene Delacroix, 1849

Seascape near Fecamp ~ Claude Monet, 1881

Great Sea ~ Maxime Maufra

Bathing Posts ~ James McNeill Whistler, 1893

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean ~ James McNeill Whistler, 1866-1872

The sea at the Mouth of the Ebro ~ M.C. Escher, 1922

Low Tide at Grandcamp ~ Georges Seurat, 1885

Violet and Silver – The Deep Sea ~ James McNeill Whistler, 1893

Standing off Deauville ~ Eugene Boudin, 1886

Coastal landscape ~ Paul Gauguin, 1886

The Gulf of Marseille seen from L’Estaque ~ Paul Cezanne, 1885

The Wave ~ Gustave Courbet, 1871

Cliffs of Etretat ~ Gustave Loiseau, 1902

The Sea ~ Eflm Volkov

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rose uniacke ~ a breath of fresh air

The heat wave we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks finally lifted this morning! With windows wide open and fresh air wafting through the house, I thought today would be the perfect day to feature a designer who personifies the phrase, a breath of fresh air! London based designer Rose Uniacke is the talent and visionary behind this light, airy and artful masterpiece…built in 1861, in the Georgian Revival style by society portraitist James Rannie Swinton, the 14,000-square-foot Victorian manse is her most exciting and personal project to date…when Uniacke and her husband David Heyman (film producer of the Harry Potter series) bought the property in 2007, it was in bad disrepair and needed a complete restoration…her first grand gesture, pictured below, involved rebuilding and installing a 12-ton stone cantilevered staircase just as the house’s original architect had intended…pictured above is the original ballroom, now re-imagined as their study and furnished with a 17th century Mughal rug, an octagonol Regency partners desk and a Sigmar Polke painting…by keeping the palette simple, pale walls and unfinished wood floors, but with luxurious and thoughtful touches, Fortuny fabrics and a lava stone indoor pool, she strikes a perfect balance between the past and present…a historic home brilliantly conceived for 21st century living…now that’s a breath of fresh air!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

“If the space is properly balanced, then the rooms can be simply furnished and allowed to breathe.” ~ Rose Uniacke, T Magazine

photos from Rose Uniacke and T Magazine

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time and tide

Summer vacation offers us a chance to return to the familiar…whether it’s a favorite cottage by the lake or a quaint B&B by the ocean, that moment of arrival is an unparalleled experience filled with all the sights, sounds and scents of our ideal…for me, it is quite possibly the most exhilarating sensation I’ve ever known! So when I learned about this new book Time and Tide, I just had to share its beauty with you…over the course of eight years, photographer Christian Chaize shot from the same vantage point at Praia Piquinia, a small beach in southern Portugal…the ever-changing light and playful patterns of sunbathers on the sand become our familiar…

Time and Tide Photographs of Praia Piquinia by Christian Chaize ~ Chronicle Books

Photographs from Christian Chaize

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summer traditions

wishing you and yours a very happy fourth of july!

The Gifts of Life via tumblr

punk kimono via tumblr

do it and how

photography by Nina Leen via much love, anna

RWeaverNest

Russell Lee, July 1940 via Library of Congress

oddball daily

doe eyed dear via tumblr

The Gifts of Life via tumblr

Russell Lee via history in photos

The Gifts of Life via tumblr

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