Some design pros contend that old things are obsolete. They insist that modern design is where it’s at and that the passion for patina is definitely past its prime. I beg to differ. In a world gone Green, the desire to reuse, repurpose and recycle is really blossoming. Ask designer Joanne Palmisano, author of the [...]
The night before our wedding, my oh-so-chic Aunt Carole and Uncle Curtis gave us an elegant bud vase made by the Stueben Glass company. Recognizing that we didn’t have a clue about fine art glass, they let us know that this little vase was something of value. That it might be an heirloom someday. We [...]
Chipped polish on my dirt-encrusted nails reminds me that I should not be bothering with manicures this time of year. I’m just too busy digging in the dirt. Or frequenting nurseries to find more plants to dig in the dirt. Though I’d already picked up a little spring color at my neighborhood nursery, I was [...]
Spring played peek-a-boo this week with on and off showers and some balmy days punctuated by frosty nights. Nevertheless, I enjoyed several playdates in the garden with some cold-weather annuals. Like my mother always says about lipstick—everyone needs a little color! Here are a few other things that brightened my world: 1. If you, too, [...]
My apologies to the rest of the country. I know you’re oh-so-tired of shoveling snow and watching icicles form on icicles. But here in the Bay Area, we are in the clutches of an early spring and we can’t help but crow about it. Try to think of our incessant postings of beautiful blossoms as [...]
I love going to the movies. Possibly because I grew up in small-town Idaho and didn’t really see that many movies in an actual theater. I remember traveling an hour to see Julie Andrews sing do-re-mi in The Sound of Music at a movie theater in Idaho Falls. I fell in love with Timothy Dalton [...]
After years of interviewing people about the objects they’ve chosen to decorate their homes, I can tell you that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. That said, a recent New York Times story says there is a science to good design—or at least design that most of us want to hold close. [...]
Out with the dragon, in with the snake! This past Year of the Dragon was HUGE for me and mine. We sold our family home, moved to a new place, married off both daughters in style and welcomed our son home after two years living abroad. On those charts that measure stress-inducing events, well—we’d be [...]
On a grey February day, stopping by Design San Francisco was as invigorating as a scoop of lemon sorbet. Which, by the way, is also the name of Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year. Benjamin Moore’s Mary Hoffman shared the news about “emerging pastels” and the “softening of the palette” at the beginning of this three [...]
For a house built in a canyon, our new place is surprisingly light and airy, unless you’re in our bedroom, which is dark and inspires hibernation most days of the year. That’s all well and good when Mama and Papa Bear want to retire for the evening, but in the January daylight it can be [...]
