Land Park Garden Tour - Highlights

 The Land Park Garden Tour was full of beautiful gardens besides the one that I staged . I captured some of the highlights for you!

I had no idea that this Moroccan inspired oasis could be found mere blocks from my own home. I felt like I had a mini vacation without even leaving my own neck of the woods. The owner of this garden collected all of the furnishings from ebay, antique fairs and discount locations around the city. He built much of the garden elements himself, like the bar,  sofa platform and wall niches.

Honestly, I could have spent the rest of the day right here.

I loved the covered patio seating area with all of the exotic pillows

In the back corner of the garden was this lounge area, perfect for dreaming about the Arabian Knights

The outdoor kitchen had beautiful tile work, and there were beer taps built right in!

If you look closely, you can see there is a little stream that starts at the end of the bar and runs around the edge into little fountain at the other end. This would help keep anyone cool during our hot Sacramento Summer evenings. 

Every possible area in this garden was thought out and utilized for art or a place to sit a spell. Perfect for parties, and I bet the home owners enjoy many of them!

 Another garden on the tour was enhanced by Event Planner and designer, Cara Crowley. She imagined a birthday celebration with a Mary Poppins theme complete with chalk to draw those imaginary lands on the sidewalk, umbrellas for flying through the air, and of course, a spoon full of sugar! 

 Beautiful flowers, and perfect table settings! I think having a party planned by Cara would be "practically perfect in every way!"

 This next garden was a multi-layered beauty with a pool area with pergola.....

 terraced planting beds.....

 which led down to a shady lawn area where Cara Crowley staged another space. This time, Cara conjured up a wedding theme all about George Eliot. The lilacs and the strawberry pots were on my mind for the rest of the day!

The last house on the tour featured an art installation by Danny Scheible. Danny is known for his tape art....objects and sculptures made out of various kinds of tape, a technique known as "Tapigami". In this installation, Danny took wire coat hangers and covered them in a rainbow of fabrics and hanging them throughout the yard in a riotous display.

At the table in this garden, Danny created tape flowers and a cherry blossom chandelier to compliment the Japanese theme. 

This hanging installation  reminded me of huge flowering wisteria hanging from this arbor.

In the front yard, turquoise, sky blue, and royal blue banners blow in the breeze....

The tour is over for this year, but perhaps I will see you next year?

Upcoming...more from the Curtis Park Home Tour

 and the San Francisco Decorator Showcase!

Land Park Garden Tour - Elements

Things have been a whirlwind around here! I am in hunter gatherer mode as I have been pulling things together for the garden I am staging for Land Park Garden Tour this Saturday (tomorrow!).  

The garden I am working on is highlighting the upcoming exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum, Transcending Vision: American Impressionism, 1870-1940 which opens at the Crocker May 14. It is soon to be followed by Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism which opens June 11. This second exhibit includes works by Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet, as well as American impressionists, John Singer Sargent and Frederick Childe Hassam.

Working with the home owners garden as well as the Impressionist art theme, I pulled together fabrics that looked "painterly" and hand crafted in navies and turquoise blues. I added a bit of green as well. Artists easels, straw hats and blue skies are what is in store this Saturday! I will be taking lots of pictures which I will post soon!

The Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. It is home to William Land Park, which includes the Sacramento Zoo, the Land Park Golf Course, two children's parks where my kids spent many a weekend growing up: Fairytale Town and Funderland. William Land Park is also home to the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival , a small fishing lake, ballparks and acres of tree shaded park area. The park is surrounded by stately homes which were built in the early 1900's ranging in style from Tudor to Monterey, Bungalow, Colonial with even a few Streamline Modern thrown in. The streets are lined with huge Sycamore trees making it one of the most beautiful areas in the city.

Proceeds from the Land Park Garden Tour benefit the School Arts Program at Holy Spirit School in Land Park as well as the Mustard Seed School arts education program.

For more information about the Land Park Garden Tour and Afternoon Tea be sure to check

 HERE!

I hope to see you there!

East Sacramento Home Tour

Dean and Dean Tudor Revival

Last Sunday, the East Sacramento Home Remodeling Tour was the hot ticket....hot as in the high 90's hot. My designer friend Leanne and I were planning on walking the tour through this lovely Sacramento neighborhood, but the air conditioned car was calling our names.

But the houses were beautiful, as expected.

The first house was designed by architects Dean and Dean and constructed in 1925. A beautiful brick Tudor, I was excited to get to see inside! We swept through the interior to the backyard which had been redesigned by Landscape designer Michael Glassman, a Sacramento mainstay. I snapped one picture before I was told that this home was off limits to photography. Rats...I was caught in the act. So unfortunately, no interior shots (which was an "Old World" style in keeping with the architecture).

Michael Glassman Garden Design

East Sacramento is home to a neighborhood known as the "Fabulous Forties" one of the most desirable and upscale neighborhoods in the Sacramento region. This area is so named because the streets are all numbered in the forties.... this particular street being 45th Street. The architecture in this area was highly influenced by the architecture company of Dean and Dean which was immersed in the popular Revival Style of the 20's, 30's and 40's. Tudors, Arts and Crafts, and Mediterranean are all styles that can be found in this area. I snapped a couple of pictures of some of the other houses on this street to give you a feeling for this beautiful neighborhood:

The Tudor house next door

A Mediterranean across the street.

The next house on the tour was one I have had the pleasure of working on over the last few years. It is a classic Monterey Revival built in 1927.

I redesigned the back portion of the house a few years ago, which originally housed a maid's room, small den and kitchen, into a larger kitchen and family room combination. Here is just a peek at the kitchen:

Kitchen

And this is a little of the Guest Room we just finished recently:

Guest Room

I will have better pictures before too long of the whole house, so stay tuned!

Next on the tour, we moved to another neighborhood in East Sacramento which was developed a little later in the 40's and 50's. There are some very cute craftsman houses here, as well some Ranch Style homes. This next house was very cute:

Remodeled Cottage

This 1941 cottage had the front porch remodeled, and the owners incorporated craftsman details into the new cabinetry on the interior. My friend Ted Smith was the architectural designer here.

New fireplace mantle and built ins

I think we all like a pretty white kitchen, and this new kitchen was no exception.

Cottage Kitchen

I liked the Caesarstone Blue Lagos counters, and the grey limestone back splash with the white cabinets and the wide plank floors.

Caesarstone Counters

The owner had the greatest idea to show off her collection of vintage kitchen tools:

Cute Display

Next up was a house that was built in 1895, an original farmhouse style. These owners transformed the 1,305 sq. foot cottage into a 2,906 sq. foot family home.
This photo is of the new addition which is at the back of the house:

The kitchen was the highlight of the remodel with it's red AGA stove. The feeling was bright and happy....the great windows let in so much light and yellow, white, black and red color scheme was charming.

The last house was originally intended to be a remodel, but the structural constraints led the contractor/owner to start over. I must say the new facade looks very much like the original, in keeping with the neighborhood style. I was not able to get a good shot of the exterior, but I did get some interior shots:

This kitchen also has a farm house sink and white cabinets like the last two houses, but these home owners went a little more contemporary with a glass tile and Carrera marble back splash. The cabinets that had glass doors had a pretty apple green painted in the back. The counters were a honed black absolute granite.

The owners created an open plan with a large Family Room adjacent to the kitchen. I liked the school house light fixtures over the island.

The house is occupied, but still in progress. I think a TV is slated to be put in above the Family Room cabinetry.

So that's it!

One of the things that interested me on this tour was the architectural diversity in East Sacramento. The houses were built from the late 1800's to the 1950's, and that accounts for much of the variation. People that live in this area have an appreciation for older homes, and for the most part try to maintain the architectural integrity of the area. I like that.

East Sacramento Home Remodeling Tour

I love a Home Tour, and what better way to kick off Fall than the East Sacramento Home Remodeling Tour? I have a remodeling project on the tour, so I am especially excited about it. The East Sacramento Fabulous Forties neighborhood is most definitely one of the most beautiful in the Sacramento region. Homes were built from 1910 on, and there are homes designed by such notable architects as Greene and Greene, Julia Morgan and Squeaky Williams.

So, get out and about this weekend....take a stroll through historic East Sacramento and enjoy the day!