Brilliant, cheap, and simple - what a DIY should be. From the haystack needle.
I received the nicest gift in the mail the other day from the very kind people at Environment Furniture. You may remember this blog post. Environment Furniture is an eco-friendly and very stylish maker of sustainable furniture...as they say....they "put the chic in eco-chic!" I would have to agree.
So.....I open the package and was very excited to see it was this book: Dreaming Green by Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher (All photos from the book by Linda Bell Hall). Books are my favorite gift to give and to receive....so I of course started to flip through it immediately! As I am flipping, I came across this chapter...which I now have to say is my favorite, called the EcoManor :
Foyer
(Because the couple are co-educators, they give frequest tours of the space and needed a grand entryway for assembled crowds. The large doors are made from wheat instead of solid wood, saving trees - pg. 149)
EcoManor is the home of Laura and Rutherford Seydel. Laura is the daughter of Ted Turner, CNN founder. Taking her life's cue from her environmentally active father, Laura became an environmental activist who happened to marry an environmental lawyer. Laura is the chairman of Captain Planet Foundation and cofounder of Mothers and Others for Clean Air. It was only natural for the couple to build a house with the environment in mind. It is the first ever LEED-certified manor home and the first LEED residence in the South, South being Atlanta Georgia.
Dining Room
(Custom-made recycled scrap-iron chandelier. 19th Cent. Dining table, 18th Cent. Dining Chairs)
The couple brought in their friend Jillian Pritchard Cooke to help with the interior. Pritchard Cooke specializes in sustainable projects. Everything is energy efficient, chemical-free, and recycled or sustainable.
Family Room
(Throw pillows are from vintage remnant fabrics. All fabrics are sustainable and toxin-free. - pg. 150)
It doesn't look like the typical "green" house does it? And this is why I am impressed. The "green" anthem may end up playing itself out unless it appeals to a very broad spectrum of tastes. Not everyone is comfortable in a contemporary home. I think it is wonderful and important that this home was included in a book about green design. Antiques are a pretty green way to furnish a home....perhaps the greenest. Cooke incorporated as many antiques and family heirlooms into the design as possible.
This Secondary Dining Room moves outdoors during warmer weather
Kitchen
(Concrete and Glass counter tops and renewable hay cabinet interiors - pg. 153)
Many of the light fixtures and counter tops were made using recycled products. The chandelier here was made from scrap iron and the counters were created by Dex Studios using concrete and recycled glass, mother-of-pearl and marble.
Study
Cooke used the theme of Four Seasons to create the interiors for the home. This study off of the Family Room represents Autumn. All paints used in the home were low-VOC.
Master Bedroom Reading Area
One might never guess just how green this pale blue room is. The contrast between the pale blue white upholstery and the almost black drapery and ottoman are quite striking!
To find out more about EcoManor project and Jillian Pritchard Cooke visit the website here. You can see a tour of the manor which shows many more pictures, learn about all of the green products used in the home, and find out how EcoManor is being used as an "educational tool to builders, architects, designers, vendors, landscapers, educators and homeowners in an effort to promote green living, conservation options and improved residential building practices."
I want to say a hearty THANK YOU to the team at Environment Furniture for sending me this wonderful book!
If you are in the Los Angeles Area, you might want to check out their new flagship store on Beverly Boulevard:
New England is finally getting some sun. It even smells like spring.
I've been thinking about attic spaces and rugs a lot lately. My roommate and I are trying to decide what sort of rug to get for our hugemongo double next year - high ceilings, two windows, and a fireplace! She wants a cute, light-colored floral rug and window-length white curtains. I'm trying to go for sheer white drapery on the ceiling that extends to the windows with about two inches on the floor. Would also be content with no rug (bc we have hardwood and I love that) or a cheap Ikea Persisk rug. Firmly believe that persian rugs are befitting for any space - bathrooms and backyards included.
Now if we could knock out the back wall of the attic (in SF) and fill with windows...
The front yard cherry tree is in bloom.
Guest Room "Before"
An indication that it's time for a little Spring Cleaning. A little sprucing up.
Guest Room "During"
So we decided to do a little more painting (Benjamin Moore Charleston Brown). It is coming along really nicely. Perhaps the best thing about it is getting all of the "left overs" out of the room so we can remake the space into a useable guest room again. I have a few fun things planned for the room, so I hope you "stay tuned" for the results!
Til then...have a great weekend and a Happy Spring!
There were a few bugs in the system on my website that I believe have been cured. Don't worry....all of the good bugs are still here like this one ( by the lovely Patricia of PVE Design):
If you have been trying to email me through the Katie Denham Interiors website or trying to send a client information form, they have not been coming through. My apologies! We think we have found the problem and I hope to hear from you!
Thank you!
"M" monogram, yeah?! I've always wanted to design a family crest. It'll happen this summer!
Cheery yellow w exposed wood from Country Living. I like the floral wallpaper on the accent wall, the iron bed frame, and the built in shelves maximizing space. Although I would remove the boring beige carpet - looks like beautiful hardwood underneath.
Similar yellow floral wallpaper at Laura Ashley:
Erin £25.45; Wolcott £21.54
Not a skylight, but doesn't this window feel like one? Lagerlings
Eek! Too modern, but I really like how the bed continues into seating and a dining area. See the following image (AT SF house tour in Oakland) of a platformed bed. What if you filled an entire end of a narrow room with a platform? Elevate the bed. Queeste Architecten
Symmetrical, storage in the eaves, colorful without being startling. Monkey Cottage, from Cottage Living.
Light!
A floor-to-ceiling window! I like that it seems to open for the top half. Attics and other small spaces would not seem confining with enough symmetry. Room further divided with privacy curtains. Domino
Romantic - yes, but also gloomy and possibly termite-ridden. It might not be possible to expand the windows, but if you had the heart, stone wall and rafters could be painted white. At any rate, the rug is too dark and dingy and the above-bed space definitely needs something brighter - not black! What a beautiful canopy! 
Some of you may remember this image from House Beautiful and were thinking how cool the chandelier was. How it sort of made the room complete. I got another reminder when looking at emails this morning.
Tonic Home has been sending out their "Deal of the Week" newsletter lately with some pretty great stuff. And you know I am all about good stuff. This chandelier is from Curry and Company and normally retails for $1750. Tonic's deal price is $875. Not bad. So for those of you who just happen to be needing that Oyster Chandelier, high-tail it on over.
I am sure there will be more great new deals in coming weeks...so you might want to sign up for that Tonic Home Newsletter.
Sidecar High Dining Table, CB2 - 399
Photo by David Duncan Livingston
I recently received my latest Western Interiors magazine...and it is yet again a great issue. I also received some news that will no doubt have an impact on one of my favorite publications:
NEW YORK, NY (March 18, 2009) -- Sandow Media, publisher of high-end consumer magazines NewBeauty, LUXE, InSync and Worth, has acquired Western Interiors &Design, a leading national design and architecture magazine, as a key component of its continued expansion strategy.....
.......An additional key driver for this acquisition is the opportunity to combine the highly proprietary controlled circulation of LUXE with the ABC-audited 275,000 paid and verified circulation of Western Interiors. According to the June 2008 MMR Subscriber Study, the Western Interiors subscriber has an average household income (HHI) of$329,000 and an average net worth of $2.8 million dollars. Almost 60 percent of the subscribers have a second home and 33 percent are design professionals. Western Interiors is also prototyped in MMR and ranks in the top ten of all consumer magazines in median HHI.
"With Sandow Media as our new parent company, we will no doubt have a superior ability to better serve our advertising partners as well as our readers. Our combined strengths will greatly increase our impact in the luxury shelter market and leverage the vital industry relationships we have established over the past seven years at Western Interiors & Design," said Publisher Jennifer Matthews......
I truly hope so. This kind of news is always a little nerve wracking given the recent demise of so many of our favorite publications. I look forward to the continued success and fantastic quality of Western Interiors!
LUXE is a high-end residential design and architecture magazine built around the philosophy that each geographic region of the country has its own unique design style and culture. In creating a national publication that focuses its editorial content and industry partnerships on a region-by-region basis, LUXE has built a powerful resource for the design trade as well as affluent homeowners. With a distribution of over 400,000 copies quarterly, LUXE reaches deep into key markets nationwide and has established itself as the largest and fastest growing network of high-end luxury home magazines.This unique approach to building a national shelter brand has proven extraordinarily successful; ad pages have grown from 240 in 2005 to more than 5,700 in 2008.
I hope that with their growth in ad pages, LUXE can be a strong parent to Western Interiors . I am crossing my fingers that this will be the start of great things for the magazine.
In the latest issue, I could not take my eyes off of the beautifully layered cosmopolitan apartment of Designer and showroom owner Dan Marty.
Dining Room, Western Interiors April/May 09, Photo by Tim Street Porter
Dan Marty's use of color and texture along with his many wonderful collections acquired during his many travels to Europe (at least five times a year) make for a truly inspiring and beautifully personal space.
Master Bedroom, Western Interiors April/May 09, Photo by Tim Street-Porter
In this photo, he has combined an antique French mirror, a chinoiserie box, African beads and an antique apothecary jar on an antique sea-grass and bamboo dresser. A master at work here!
The Study, Photo by Tim Street-Porter
The apartment is located in the Los Angeles landmark Villa d'Este built in the 1920's in the Italian Renaissance style. Certainly the perfect backdrop for Mr. Marty's aesthetic. The study is seems the perfect combination of European panache and California laid-back style. The perfect retreat.
Master Bedroom, Photo by Tim Street-Porter
The aesthetic of this Master Bedroom takes one away to another country. It would seem one would feel on vacation in Spain or Italy. "Sweet dream" is an understatement.
Here is just a tease of the talent to be found on Dan Marty's website:
To see more of the amazing images of Dan Marty's work, please visit his Pacific Design Center Showroom website here.
Western Interiors, I wish you the best and I truly hope to hear that satisfying "thunk" as your magazine hits the floor just inside my front door for many years to come.
