Velvet & Linen

California One Kote

I have answered this question more than any other: "What the heck is California One Kote?" According to the Western Blended website,  California One Kote is "a gypsum-basecoat patching plaster for repair and renovation of gypsum plaster wall systems." I have no idea what that really means, so I'll just tell you how we discovered it and why we love it (and no,  Western Blended, the makers of California One Kote, are not paying me to do this, although that would be nice :) ).....

When Steve and I built our home 7 years ago, Steve was searching for a topping compound to apply to our dry-wall that would give the walls more of an uneven, hand applied, plaster feel. Our plasterer recommended California One Kote (COK) because it has a thick consistency which allows you to achieve an uneven texture. We tried it on our walls and loved it. It had a subtle sheen to it like real plaster that we wanted to keep, but we were told that we had to paint over it. Our walls still have a hand applied feel to them, but we lost the pretty sheen we liked when we painted the walls. 

Well in the past 7 years, Steve has gotten a little more ornery and is not as inclined to listen to the "experts". More and more our homes become our testing ground, so when we remodeled the bathroom in our other home we covered the walls with COK and left them unpainted. We also threw a handful of sandbox sand into the mix to give the walls a little more interest. I know it sounds crazy, but the walls look great. 

 

I can't seem to find any images of our finished rooms that show the wall texture, but this picture I took last week of our powder room re-model does a decent job. The ceiling and left hand wall give you an idea of what the subtle glow and hand applied texture California One Kote gives to our walls. To see images of my other bathroom complete click here and here.

Our client, designer Courtney Hollander decided to use COK on all of the walls in her home in Maine. Again, most of the completed images of this home don't really show the texture as well as this one.

 

 

According to the Western Blended website, you can also add color to COK. Knowing Steve, that will be our next experiment!

I know this isn't the prettiest post I've done, but hopefully it answered the California One Kote question.

I always love to get your comments. For those of you who subscribe you can click here to get to this original post.

Also, don't forget, you have all week to leave me a comment here about your design style to enter in my giveaway of Annette Tatum's new book The Well Dressed Home.

 

 

 

xo

Brooke

the well dressed home - the book and the give-away!

Have you ever met someone that you feel you've known forever, and yet you know that you really have only just met? That happened to me today. My friend the very talented designer, Courtney Hollander has been trying to introduce me to her equally talented friend, Annette Tatum. If you live in Los Angeles, you probably know Annette's shops on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica: House, Little House and Annette Tatum Studio. Annette has been a textile designing forever and is a design force of nature. 

So today, Courtney, Annette and I finally got together. Annette and I hit it off immediately. As working, designing moms we had so much in common. We sat over our luke warm coffee for almost two hours talking about our families and the challenge of balancing work and family (impossible!). 

Then Annette told me that she just finished writing a book (perhaps in her spare time. Ha!), called The Well-Dressed Home.

The premise of the book is brilliant. It's basically a how to book. How to translate your fashion style into your home decor. How to create a home that reflects your style, or said more eloquently on the cover of Annette's book "Fashionable Design Inspired by Your Personal Style."

If you are like Annette and you have a love of bohemian couture...

then why not have your dining room look like Annette's Asian Garden wallpapered dining room? As described in her book, "this room is a bohemian mix of French, Indian and Moroccan artwork and tableware." 

Or maybe you are a vintage casual kind of gal, like our mutual friend Mary....

Mary's kitchen is the embodiment of her vintage style, don't you think?

I think I may be a little Romantic Bohemian...

If you love this room as much as I do, then maybe your a bit Romantic Bohemian too!

I think I have a little Eco Eclectic in me as well...

with a little Casual Romantic thrown in!

As you can tell, I spent a couple of hours reading Annette's book and taking in all of the incredible images. Once I was finished reading her book from cover to cover, I called Annette and told her that I just loved it. Could I do a post about it? Not only did she say yes, but she said she would give me a signed copy of her book to give to one of my readers! 

What do you have to do to win? Just leave me a comment. What is your style? Don't worry if it isn't one of these, there are many other stylish interiors in Annette's book. I'll announce the winner next Sunday October 4th. Sorry, I'm going to Texas this week, so I can't do it sooner. If you can't wait, you can order your copy through Annette's website here or you can drop by our shop and pick one up!

Thank you Annette!

xo

Brooke

i love madeline stuart even more!

Last week Thomas Lavin, owner of my favorite showroom, rang the office to tell me about a talk that our friend Madeline Stuart was giving today. He knew that Steve and I are not only friends with Madeline, but we are also huge fans of her work and wouldn't want to miss this event. He was right! Although we've heard  Madeline discuss her work before, we always learn something new, and this time was no exception.

 

 

Madeline discussed this home that she designed for Lisa Henson. What I didn't know is that she designed all of the upholstered pieces for this home, including the Beatrice slipper chair that is now part of her furniture line.

Of course she designed this wall mural as well.  

images via Elle Decor

This is one of my favorite Madeline Stuart interiors. Ok, I may be biased because Steve was the architect, but it is gorgeous. She designed all of the upholstered pieces for this home too.

Who wouldn't love to be a guest in this bedroom?

Images via Veranda

I was completely fascinated listening to her discuss the care she takes in designing all of her furniture pieces. It really shows when you see the detailing in person.

 

The Caroline Tray Table is one of my favorite Madeline Stuart pieces. Look at the fluted detailing on the tray and the beautiful finish on the wood and brass castors.

The Rosalind Wing Chair would be a focal point in any room.

 

Doesn't Madeline look fantastic surrounded by the Rosalind? You can visit her web site to view the rest of her furniture line .

I think the reason Madeline is such an engaging speaker is because she is so open and honest. During her talk she discussed the fact that she wished she would have gone to a design school. 

During the question and answer portion of the discussion, one admirer said exactly what all of the rest of us were thinking: If Madeline Stuart would have gone to school, she just wouldn't be Madeline Stuart. Her designs have an authenticity that you can't learn in school. It's innate. Madeline was born with it. She would argue that she was given her gift from her interior design mother. That's just Madeline. Never willing to take credit for her amazing talent.

It was a wonderful day. What could be better than listening to one of your favorite designers and running into Windsor Smith (who Steve and I haven't seen since New Orleans). I asked her if I could move into her home. She said that it might be a bit crowded but I was welcome to come to dinner. Who wouldn't say yes to that invitation? More to follow....

Meg, Windsor, and Me.

xo

Brooke

powder room design - part three

One of the things I enjoy most is experimenting on my home in Channel Islands Harbor. It was built in the 1970's (a bad time for architecture!), so I don't feel too badly when I start pulling off trim or ripping off siding. 

As many of you know, I am in the process of remodeling our powder room. 

Click here to see what it used to look like as well as the inspiration for our re-do, and here to see part two.

The plastering is going well.  This unattractive door will be replaced this week with a single paned french door. Now that the toilet is in a separate room, we can use clear glass that will allow more light into the room. The limestone floors have been installed (you'll have to wait until they are sealed to see them), and the curved ceiling certainly looks better than it used to....

 

 

 

We are planning to plant a tall hedge to add privacy along the side of the house.

 

We're adding some plaster shelves and a counter. The doggy bed will find a cozy place under the counter and will be hidden with curtains when the pups are roaming the house.

. 

 

 

My old shutters will be hung to separate the toilet area from the rest of the room.

 

 

The powder room re-model is going so well that I said to Steve "Hey while we are at it, why don't we get rid of that awful diagonal siding and cover all of the walls with California One Kote. So, up went the scaffolding.

Ahhh.... it's great to see that siding go. Oh, you may have noticed that we removed the heavy wood railing upstairs.

It used to look like this....

Soon it will look similar to this one that Steve designed for a client.

Image via Veranda. Interiors by Madeline Stuart.

 

Steve's office upstairs is going to have the best view of the water.

Our plasterer said that he'll be finished by the end of the week, so stay tuned.

 

xo

Brooke