Things Elemental | Kathryn Pritchett

March 28 2013

Salvage Yard Savvy

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 critically acclaimed Salvage Secrets and she’ll tell you that salvaged materials are more appealing than ever. Why? “The character of old materials is really hard to find in new products,” says Palmisano. ”Also, it’s great to be eco-friendly and you can actually save money using salvaged materials.”

I recently talked with Palmisano for WSI’s Designer Marketplace and the BANG newspapers and had a chance to read Salvage Secrets. I’d highly recommend reading the book for anyone looking to use salvage materials and then I’d suggest you take time to stroll through a salvage yard without any particular project in mind and see what it has to offer.

For example, at Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley I found so many treasures including Easter-egg hued bath fixtures

Carnival ride seats from Oakland Children’s Fairyland

Lovely ladies with flowers in their hair

Temple of Doom-worthy columns

Strike plates that resemble elven novels

My mother-in-law’s china

And other religious artifacts.

No wonder many people prefer these reclaimed objects to newly minted fare. Ohmega’s owner Kathryn Davis put it best: “Salvage materials have an inherent quality and beauty that is very appealing–you just want to be surrounded by things that have such character.”

Posted in Shelter, Style | Tagged architecture, Bay Area, books, gardens, interior design | Leave a comment

March 22 2013

Friday Things Considered : The Stueben Vase Edition

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 took note and carefully packed the vase away for the next 32 years. Since this last move, however, I’ve put it where I can easily see and use it. Right now it’s sitting on top of my piano, holding a red gerbera daisy that we brought home from a performance of the AXIS Dance Company last weekend. Every time I look at it, I’m delighted by the little bubble in its base and regret that I haven’t used it more often. What was I saving it for? A tea party with the queen? So far no royal invitations have been extended. But now that the vase is out of its protective wrapping, I’m definitely ready should her royal highness decide to drop by. Are there things you’re saving for the perfect time and place that should become part of your everyday world?

Here are a few other useful and beautiful things I enjoyed this week:

1. As the oldest of nine children, I can verify that families are messy. But as this essay shows, knowing the good and the bad in our family’s stories can help support and sustain us.

2. Last year I had two opportunities to be the Mother of the Bride. Which made me ever so curious about what Barbara Kingsolver had to say about her recent turn as a MOB.

3. After five years, I’m still mourning the demise of my local stationary store. Now I have to rely on the internet for unusual, artful products like this design notebook.

4. Speaking of design, here’s a lovely little tale by Christopher Neimann about making an app. The take away quote for me: “Simplicity is not about making something without ornament, but rather about making something very complex, then slicing elements away, until you reveal the very essence.”

5. I’m intrigued by the knit fungi produced by American artist Leigh Martin for her 52 Fungi project. See a few samples at her web site or collected at The Jealous Curator. Just another example of how different, and therefore delightful, we all are.

Happy Weekend!

Posted in Shelter, Spirit, Style | Tagged design, family, knitting, storytelling, technology, weddings | Leave a comment

March 19 2013

Field Trip: Annie’s Annuals

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 itching to drive over to Annie’s Annuals in Richmond to snag some seedlings for later spring blooms. This week I got my chance.

Warning: Do not go to Annie’s Annuals by way of Apple Maps. Use the directions on their website. Otherwise, you’ll be told “you have arrived at your destination” when you’ve actually arrived at a scary fashion/home goods emporium.

Then you’ll circle questionable neighborhoods until you’re stuck watching a long line of train cars filled with bamboo flooring pass before you.

Eventually, you may think to try out the new GoogleMaps app you downloaded onto your iPhone months ago but never opened and it will lead you here:

You will say a little prayer of gratitude that you’ve arrived safely and then you will walk past the barbed wire and into a planter’s paradise.

Where you will be greeted by friendly nursery helpers and a herd of welcoming garden cows.

As well as a cat named “Baby Girl.”

And a gaggle of garden gnomes.

Including this one hanging in a birdcage.

Let’s just say that Annie and her staff have a sense of humor. They also have acres of unusual, heirloom plants.

I headed over to the Poppy section where I picked up some lush purple “Poppy of Troy” and outrageous red “Greek” poppies.

I also bought some pink and white penstemon, dark blue love-in-a-mist, and “Baby Blue Eyes” nemophilia which I kept wanting to call “necrophilia” (!).

Now Annie—or her copywriter—tend to describe every plant with such affection that it’s hard to resist buying every Annie’s Annual plant. After reading a particularly glowing description, I decided to try what I thought was a new-to-me plant–antirrhinum—and brought a bunch of seedlings home only to find that this “rare” plant is actually a snapdragon. So much for high adventuring in the garden. But the color “Chantilly Peach” sounds so lovely that I’m excited to see it bloom in front of a patch of purply blue delphiniums and white scabiosas.

True confession, despite my best intensions I left with a couple of roses—Cecile Brunner and Cornelia—hoping they’ll survive the creatures that sometimes make their way into my garden. And I made a last-minute impulse buy of white lace flower when I saw it blooming so happily at the checkout counter—Annie promises it will bring a “cottage-y” feeling to my garden.

Oh, and this jaunty fellow hitched a ride home with me as well.

I’ve spent the last 24 hours digging everything in so the plants can get a good soaking with tonight’s forecast rain. The end result: my manicure is a mess, but my garden, well, my garden is looking mighty fine.

Posted in Shelter, Style | Tagged Bay Area, flowers, gardens | 4 Responses

March 15 2013

Friday Things Considered

Like a tipsy party guest, oxalis—with its day-glo yellow blossoms and exuberant growth patterns—can be a pain to those attempting a manicured springtime garden display. Here in the woodland hills of Oakland, however, outrageously cheery swaths of oxalis are as welcome as a sunny patch of daffodils in a proper English garden. Also, did you know that another name for oxalis is false shamrocks? So just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day, I’m counting my good fortune that my backyard is lit up with oxalis like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Here are a few other things I felt lucky to come across this week:

1. Peggy Noonan’s advice for a new pope could apply to all of us.

2. While we’re on the topic of religion, I loved what Anne Lamott had to say about being a Christian.

3. Ever wonder why you seem to encounter the same issues over and over in your life? Martha Beck’s musings on labyrinths resonated with me.

4. Speaking of mystical practices, I’m enjoying tracking the stages of the moon with Deluxe Moon.

5. And though I don’t have a smidge of Irish blood, it’s still fun to celebrate St. Paddy’s day—perhaps with some Irish soda bread or these fun rainbow jello parfaits.

Luck o’ the Irish to you all this weekend!

Posted in Shelter, Spirit, Sustenance | Tagged color, flowers, gardens, holidays, recipes, religion, technology | Leave a comment

March 13 2013

Book Clubbing

On the prowl for new reading material last night, I dropped by a local church hall to hear Rebecca Miller (author, filmaker, wife of Daniel Day Lewis) read from her new novel “Jacob’s Folly.” Miller was articulate and the book seems intriguing, but as she spoke I was as distracted as her protagonist housefly. You see, I was playing hooky from my monthly book club.

Long before Oprah started her famous book club, I converted to communal reading. First in our grad school years with a number of other student wives and now, for the past 25 years, with a wide range of women who attend my local church congregation, I’ve been part of a monthly book club. The way our club works is that individual members choose books—usually something they’ve recently read and can recommend–and our fearless leader Ann draws up a schedule. Sometimes the books are classics; most often they are new literary fiction with a smattering of non-fiction to keep us all on our toes. We meet once a month in each other’s homes. Discussion ensues, dessert follows.

Writing about the origin and current state of book clubs for Slate magazine, author Nathan Heller says, “the modern domestic book group comes most directly from a push for women’s intellectual autonomy.”

Certainly, my book clubs have functioned as ways to stimulate my brain in fallow periods—early dead-end jobs, demanding baby and toddler-rearing years—but they also gave me some marvelous traveling companions as my children and I grew up. I don’t remember every book club book I’ve ever read, but I’ve loved the women who nudged me to explore new literary worlds.

So last night as I listened to Miller describe how her housefly makes it from 18th century Paris to modern-day Long Island, I made a decision. Even if I was late, I owed it to my fellow book clubbers to show up. As soon as Miller finished answering questions (yes, she sees some parallels between her actor husband’s immersion techniques and her own writing discipline), I sped down the hill and joined the book club ladies in time for one last discussion question concerning Bella Pollen’s “The Summer of the Bear.” I indulged in a piece of Cindy’s almond cake and thanked Sheri for taking me to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides with her book pick. And silently, I thanked the rest of these smart, funny women for doing more than helping me attain “intellectual autonomy” over the years. They’ve also led me to places I never would have gone on my own.

Posted in Spirit, Sustenance | Tagged books, friendship | Leave a comment

March 08 2013

Friday Things Considered: The Spring Planting Edition

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, are planting spring annuals, check out these planting tips from Annie of Annie’s Annuals—remember, wield a shovel not a trowel!

2. For those of you still snowbound, spend a few moments with these beautiful orchid watercolors by Canadian artist Karin Johannesson.

3. Whether you’re enjoying spring or enduring winter, make something yummy with lemon grass.

4. Revel in the Bay Area’s answer to the Bellagio fountains.

5. Consider learning to code. I am.

6. Weigh in on the women & work controversy generated by Sheryl Sandberg’s soon-to-be-released book Lean In. I like this take by writer Dominique Browning.

Posted in Shelter, Spirit, Style, Sustenance | Tagged art, awe, Bay Area, books, education, flowers, gardens, recipes | Leave a comment

March 06 2013

Sympathy Brownies

Last week I stepped away from my computer for a short break to work on my Purl Soho scarf while half-listening to an old episode of Glee. As the Warblers warbled, I fussed with getting the herringbone pattern established, then returned to work. Later on I walked down the driveway to pick up the mail just as our across-the-street neighbors were getting into their car.

“We were robbed this afternoon,” said the wife. “Thought you should know.”

Horrified, I asked for more details. They told me that the intruders hadn’t taken much but given their own comings and goings they figured the burglary had happened around 3:30 p.m.

“Did you hear anything?” asked the husband.

“Not a thing,” I confessed.

I didn’t elaborate that at 3:30 I was intently counting knits and purls as ‘80s power ballads played in the background. Maybe if I’d been at my desk, staring directly at their house, I would have noticed something was up. At least I might have heard the house alarm ring or the dog bark?

I felt terrible about being such a lousy member of the Neighborhood Watch. I wanted to do something—anything—to make it all better. I couldn’t Turn Back Time and catch the thieves red-handed. But I could bring the victims baked goods.

I made one of my fail-safe recipes: Marion Cunningham’s “The Best Brownies” from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook. Cunningham didn’t oversell this recipe. These really are the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. They boast a dense but not too gooey interior topped with a crackling surface that is both familiar and exceptional. Fortunately, all the ingredients were at hand and I could whip up a batch to walk across the street before the policeman who showed up later that evening had even finished his report.

Here’s hoping you’ll never need to make these for a burgled neighbor or an officer in the line of duty, but just in case . . .

The Best Brownies

from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¾ cups sugar

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan or dish. (If you are using a Pyrex glass dish, place it on a baking sheet during baking.) In a heavy-bottomed pan melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, watching and stirring often. When melted, remove from the heat and cool. In a mixing bowl, put the eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar, and beat well using an electric mixer for 8-10 minutes (REALLY—THIS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE). Stir in the chocolate mixture gently, then add the flour, stirring only until blended. Stir in the walnuts. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 25 minutes. When done, the center should be moist. Remove from the oven and let cool. Let settle for a few hours, then cut into squares.

Posted in Spirit, Sustenance | Tagged books, recipes | 3 Responses

March 01 2013

Friday Things Considered

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 hopeful missives telling you that spring is on its way. Trust us, it’s coming.

In the meantime, here are a few recommended readings/viewings. Peruse them under your favorite blanket (here’s mine). Me, I’ll be heading outside to soak in all this wonderful warm weather before the rain starts again on Monday.

1. Read this inspirational story about a gay couple adopting a baby abandoned in a NYC subway.

2. Explore a newly discovered lost continent.

3. Hum along to this “tit-for-tat” rejoinder to Seth Macfarlane’s tone-deaf Oscars performance.

4. Consider Zadie Smith’s 10 Rules of Writing, then add a few of your own.

5. And if there isn’t a spring bulb yet blooming where you live, pull up some images of Dutch tulip fields like these or these.

Then go buy a bunch of tulips for your own table–’tis the season!

Posted in Shelter, Spirit, Style, Sustenance | Tagged awe, Bay Area, flowers, things considered, travel, writing | 1 Response

February 25 2013

Oscars 2013 – The Morning After

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 as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights in St. Anthony, the next town over. But mostly I saw films in our living room on an old console television–when it was getting reception. So it’s still a treat to settle into theater seats, have the lights go down and watch the glorious images start to roll.

One of my favorite things about seeing a movie on the big screen is taking in all the wonderful bits and pieces that the art production team has put together to set the stage for the story. For many years now I’ve written an Oscars-themed story for the Bay Area News Group wherein I hand out my “Chaise Lounge” awards for the best set designs of the previous year’s movies. I’ve included this year’s awards here along with a few images to show you what floated my boat (with or without a man-eating tiger) last year at the movies.

Note that even if you can’t catch these films on a big screen anymore, there are many that will still dazzle you on a television screen—even an old console with bad reception. “Lincoln” took home the set decoration Oscar last night, but my personal favorites were “Anna Karenina” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” So what tickled your design fancy last year at the movies?

Chaise Lounge Awards for Set Decoration in 2012

Judging by the war zones depicted in the movies last year, art production teams and set designers worked wonders with the color palettes of desert khaki, night goggle green and camouflage gray. Whether they were staging battles in “Zero Dark Thirty, “Lincoln” or “The Hunger Games,” the odds were definitely in their favor for medals of honor.

They also created extraordinary backdrops for the battlefields of the heart. Be it the tragic love story that played out on the big stage of “Anna Karenina” or the winsome first love that blossomed in the pup tents of “Moonrise Kingdom,” design pros created worlds filled with exotic marigolds and silver linings.

Therefore, I’m delighted to present once again my annual Chaise Lounge (or Longue for you Francophiles) awards for the best design elements in the movies of 2012 . . .

Best Kitchen - Anna Kendrick’s father’s white-on-white kitchen was “Pitch Perfect,” but I really worked up an appetite for the sleek art deco dining car in “The Hunger Games.”

Most Transformative Piece of Tableware - After parole breaker Hugh Jackman steals some silver serving pieces in “Les Miserables,” the noble bishop gives him two silver candlesticks on the condition he changes his life for good. Mercy me!

Best Bathroom - The street-savvy caregiver landed a job with real benefits in “The Intouchables” when he was given an elegant suite including a gorgeous bathroom with a spectacular freestanding tub in his boss’s Paris mansion.

Best Home Office—Imperial and austere, Jude Law’s neoclassical office in “Anna Karenina” took my breath away, even if it (and he) left Keira Knightly cold.

Most Romantic Wallpaper - I’d love to change my wallcoverings on a whim like Jim Sturgiss does in his Neo-Seoul apartment in “Cloud Atlas,” but I’m old fashioned enough to prefer the heavenly cloud-strewn wallpaper from “Anna Karenina”–said to be replicated from a paper found in one of Catherine the Great’s palaces.

Best Calm Before the Storm Exterior Decor - The strings of poolside lights, along with the masses of sky lanterns, seemed especially lovely once the tsunami had taken its toll in “The Impossible.”

Best Salvage Yard Finds - When you’re talking about a revolution, be sure to do like “Les Miserables” and build a barricade out of what would now be fine French antiques.

Best Budget Remodel - The cinder block and lavender-walled dance studio in “Silver Linings Playbook” showed how a construction project could help rebuild a life.

Best Bachelor Pad – Though the roommate’s Star Wars half of the bedroom in “Pitch Perfect” was every Luke Skywalker wannabe’s dream and the retro-cool attic game room in “Moonrise Kingdom” recalled every boomer boy’s childhood, it was Scoutmaster Ward’s tidy tent in MK that tied my heart up in a perfect bowline knot.

Best Villain’s Lair - The one-two punch of the floating casino and the glamorous getaway sailboat in “Skyfall” gave Javier Bardem plenty of bite.

Deadliest Landscape Design - The cornfield in “Looper” was scary and the crazy cool acid pools in “Life of Pi” were deadly, but it was the killer bee infested forests of “The Hunger Games” that most made me want to head indoors.

Best ‘70s Revival - Johnny Depp’s beloved Collinwood featured haunted console televisions and oversized disco balls in “Dark Shadows” and Halle Berry’s San Francisco apartment in “Cloud Atlas” had a groovy ethnic artifacts vibe but it was Robert De Niro’s home in “Silver Linings Playbook” with the C. Jere-esque metal wall art and flocked Christmas tree that had the best mojo, not to mention the crabby snacks.

Best Plaid on Plaid - No contest, “Moonrise Kingdom.” The entire production was a tartan triumph.

Best Lighting - Watching “Lincoln” try to navigate the political waters in the dark, claustrophobic daylight interior shots, I was thrilled when the spaces were emancipated by the many beautiful gas lamps in the nighttime scenes.

Best Objets d’Art - Forget flowers and candy, I want to declare my affections with the exquisite little painted building blocks that Kitty and Levin used to pledge their love in “Anna Karenina.”

And now, the Grand Chaise - the one with the leopard print velvet slipcover—is awarded to the Place I Wish I Called Home.

The Scottish manor house layered with antiques, modern art, a grand piano and a gramophone in “Cloud Atlas” hit all the right notes. And the charming disarray of the door-less, badly plumbed, richly colored “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” made me want to pack my bags and relocate immediately. But I succumbed to a grand passion for the rustic yet noble snow-covered wooden structures that made up the country estate in “Anna Karenina.”

Image Credits:

Anna Karenina – Laurie Sparham/Focus Features, Moonrise Kingdom – Focus Feature, Silver Linings Playbook – JoJo Whilden, The Weinstein Company, The Impossible – Jose Haro 2012 Summit Entertainment

Posted in Shelter, Style | Tagged interior design, movies, set design | 1 Response

February 21 2013

The Science of Good Design

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.

Studies show that certain design elements like “golden triangle” proportions (about 5 x 8), fractal patterns and verdant green colors can trigger the part of the cerebellum that governs hand movement. “Instinctively, we reach out for attractive things; beauty literally moves us,” says author Lance Hosey.

Last weekend while in Manhattan to celebrate my daughter’s 2^nd wedding reception, I definitely felt the urge to reach out and touch (as well as procure) some good design. Like the beautiful flowers at the NYC Flower Market, particularly the lavender and roses at Dutch Flower Line.

Followed by this delicious cup of hot chocolate stamped with the signature bear paw of the Café Gitane.

Accompanied by a magnificent almond croissant from Balthazar.

I left wanting a step-down library outfitted like this one at The Nolitan Hotel.

Perhaps augmented with light fixtures like these clever bookish ones at McNally Jackson.

Perfect for a place to read some delicious novels, preferably while consuming some artful chocolates from MariBelle.

Or maybe knitting up some wonderful yarn from Purl.

Here the lovely Allison from Purl winds a skein of worsted weight wool–Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter in the color Snowbound–for a scarf project.

I’ve already begun knitting the Snowbound yarn in a pleasing, fractal-like herringbone pattern. Because the only thing better than seeing good design is creating good design.