Velvet & Linen

botanicals

I seem to be obsessed with botanicals recently. Perhaps it is because I am about to visit my parents in the desert and will be dried and ready for framing myself after 3 days in 109 degree weather. Ha!

I took this picture a couple of years ago in the wonderful store, Bourgeois Boheme.

The simple way of  displaying the botanicals behind plexy really appealed to me.

An individual botanical displayed the same way.

 

We are going to do a similar mounting to several sets of four botanicals to display in the store and in a new project.

 

An image from the book The New French Decor, shows another lovely way to frame botanicals using an old window. 

 

I remember seeing this image in Elle Decor last year. I loved how these neutral botanicals looked on the chalky blue/lavender walls in Marco Scarani and Jamie Creel's Paris apartment.

From one of my favorite books, Rooms to Inspire in the Country, a grid of botanicals against a light brown wall is beautiful but has a completely different feel paired with these aged pieces of furniture.

These botanicals mounted on grey paper and framed in black frames pick up the

black finish on the Swedish chest in our guest room.

These large botanicals are an unexpected surprise in this kitchen featured in Cote Sud last November.

The gorgeous  botanical designs by Becky Davis are incredibly dramatic in their scale and colors. Steve and I were fortunate to see them displayed at Phoebe Howard's beautiful store, Mrs. Howard's.

Sorry for the reflection, but I had to include Becky's hydrangea. It was my favorite!

Another image from the book The New French Decor proves that botanicals don't have to be framed to be beautifully displayed.

Botanicals don't have to be made of dried flowers to be beautiful. These botanical prints in the drop dead gorgeous home of Loi Thai (owner of Tone on Tone) have an ethereal feel to them above Loi's buffet. Check out Joni's post and Terri Sapienza's article on Loi Thai's previous and present homes. They are must reads! 

Well, I am off to the desert until Saturday.  

Stay cool!

xo

Brooke

a little pool house...

It's a busy summer here at the Giannetti house. Nick and Leila are away at camp (I spend my nights searching for them on the camp website), Charlie is taking graphic design classes at Otis, and Steve and I are busy sending care packages, shlepping Charlie to his class and fitting in some wonderful projects.

The Cliffwood Residence is almost complete. This is a project that Steve

designed with our friend, Paul Morrow of Morrow and Morrow. 

Here is what the main house looks like right now.

The landscaping is just going in and will make a huge impact on the final look of this home. 

I love the stone facade.

 

The archway and front fence will be covered in white roses.

 

You will love this two story library when it's finished!

 

The living room is coming together nicely. 

 

My favorite part of this home? The pool house.

Steve and I are going to "stage' the pool house when this home goes on the real estate market. We thought we would create an artists' studio. A place for the wife to make botanicals and husband to paint.

Here are our ideas...

The floors are cement, but we will add warmth to the space with the Merida Meridian

Bora Bora Jute rug.

We are going to anchor the room with the Bobo Four Door Bakery Cabinet.

Filled with paintings, coral, antique tassels and old books.

The two story space needs some large artwork, so we are going to put these

botanicals on the walls around the room. We've gave them a larger graphic presence by mounting in  groupings of fours between two pieces of plexy glass. 

The Courtney Sofa will be part of the main seating area.

with a simple coffee table and a pair of...

Barrel back Swedish chairs.

These demi-lunes, sweet chairs, Steve's paintings and the pretty turquoise rug will definitely be included. 

Our large Fortuny chandelier will hang in the middle.

My lovely barometer may be spending  summer vacation  in this pool house surrounded by bunches of drying  hydrangeas. 

It's so much fun to create the story for this space. What would you do with this pool house if it was yours?

xo

Brooke

powder room design - part one

My Master Bedroom and Bathroom in my Channel Islands home are my favorite rooms that Steve and I have ever designed. They exemplify my present design aesthetic. The rooms are simple, clean, neutral and textural. They are not cluttered, and each piece is something that I love.  

Here are just two images of my bathroom and bedroom. You can go here  to see more.

These rooms are a stark contrast to the Powder Room.

It is original to our home, but that is about to change.

Here is what the Powder Room looks like now....

It's not awful, but it's just not "me". I'm not a big fan of the geometric glass in the door or the sconces on the wall. Because the room is under the stairway, the ceiling has  odd slopey angles.

The mirror is too big and chunky, and the sink and faucet just look blah.

Here's the other problem: we often use this door to get to our boat in the back of the house, but who wants to walk guests past the toilet?

Right now, the dogs' pen in across from the toilet next to the Powder Room door.

My goal is to make this a pretty space to walk through when going outside while keeping it as a Powder Room.

To get some inspiration, I looked through my bathroom images. Here are the ones that stood out...

I took this picture of the Powder Room in Phoebe Howard's gorgeous store, Mrs. Howard's. I am set on using a vessel sink and a tap that comes out of the wall. 

It  appears that  Jose Solis Betancourt likes this sink as well. He used a simpler wall mounted faucet. I'm not quite sure which one I like best. They are both beautiful. I leaning towards using a piece of furniture as the sink base. This piece is stunning. The neutral color palette also appeals to me.  To see more gorgeous rooms designed by Mr. Betancourt go here.

This picture of John Saladino's Powder Room is divine!!!

Every piece is beautiful on its own. Using a fountain spout is a great idea. I also am drawn to the idea of using an open console as well as having a lamp on the counter rather than doing wall sconces. 

With these images in our heads as inspiration, Steve and I started to design the room.

Here is a quick sketch.

Architecturally, we are going to arch the ceiling to get rid of those awkward bumps. 

We are also going to create a small doorway going into the toilet area, so we can close it off.  The door going to the outside will be replaced by a French door with frosted glass. Having more glass will allow more light into the room. 

I have two of these old pine shutter doors that we will use to close off the toilet area from the rest of the room. We are going to put plaster shelves where the dogs' pen used to be. It will be great storage for towels and baskets. 

We will use the same aged limestone from Exquisite Surfaces that we installed in our Master Bathroom. We will also put the same California One Kote on the walls and remove all of the baseboard and trim around the doors.

I actually got the "no trim around the doors" idea from this image of a home designed by Jose Solis Betancourt. 

When I was in Atlanta, I saw this Gustavian style console made by Chelsea Textiles.

The seafoam finish is beautiful. It is going to make a fantastic sink base in my Powder Room. 

I found this spout at a garden store in Carpenteria yesterday.  Hmmm...might work!

This French silver leaf mirror that I purchased from Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta last week is an option, but I'm not quite sure. Any other thoughts?

I bought twelve of these botanicals at Scott's as well. They will find a new home in the Powder Room as a couple of compositions on the walls. 

I like this French Balustrade alabaster lamp from Circa Lighting. 

     

Or  the English Barley Twist.

Or maybe an  Artichoke lamp or

Canterbury lamp from Aidan Gray, with a beautiful lamp shade from Lux Lamp Shades.

 

I'm still not sure what to do about the sink. Should I use one similar to the one that Phoebe Howard used? Should I look for something more rustic or made out of stone like that fantastic piece that John Saladino used? I also still need to find two pretty ceiling light fixtures to replace the can lights that must go.

I'd love to hear your ideas about my Powder Room design so far. It's going to be exciting to see what the final room looks like!

xo

Brooke

Don't forget to sign up for my e-mail feed so you can see what happens next! xob

wonderful wicker

Steve and I are working on a wonderful house right now.  Maybe it's because we are having such lovely summer weather, but I find myself concentrating on the outdoor entertainment areas. There is a long porch on the back of the house, and I am imagining using a combination of wicker and wood furniture. 

I found these images on Phoebe Howard's gorgeous web site. It's always a great place to go for inspiration.

The colors of the fabrics work perfectly in this serene setting. 

I like the open weave of the wicker that Phoebe Howard chose.  

I like the idea of using a big wood farmhouse table with nice sized wicker chairs.

While I was in Atlanta, I found Mainly Baskets. They have some chairs that are very similar to those used by Mrs. Howard. Here are some of the options that I sent to my client...

"The Veranda Chair" would be a nice option for the dining area. 

I also liked "The Martha's Vineyard Dining Chair" and....

"The Riviera Dining Chair"

I was thinking about doing them in the Chestnut finish. What do you think?

I liked "The Loggia Sofa and Chair" for the sitting area...

I also liked "The Vineyard Daybed" and "The Vineyard Lemonade Chair"

I am going to put two chairs by the outdoor fireplace. 

What do you think of "The Conservatory Chair"?

Or two "Loggia Rockers" might be nice.

While I was doing my research, I found that Frontgate had some great looking wicker pieces...

I particularly liked the weathered grey "Chelsea Dining Chair" ....

 

"Teak Dining Table".

The Chelsea Collection, also has "Deep Seating Area" furniture pieces.

Pottery Barn's Palmetto wicker collection is beautiful.

The Wing Chair is my favorite piece.

When we bought our home in Channel Island's Harbor, we needed some outdoor furniture that would be delivered quickly. Restoration Hardware delivered all of our "Hampshire Collection" wicker pieces within 10 days.

So, you can see why this weekend I'm celebrating with Julia because I'm Hooked on Wicker!

Do you have a great wicker furniture resource? I'd love to know.

xo

Brooke

Oh, I'm also working on a new design for my powder room. Don't forget to sign up for my e-mail feed so you don't miss out! :)