Downsizing, editing, living.

My friend Sandy and I have been close friends forever.  We met when we were 18 years old and have shared life's joyous moments as well as difficult ones together.  When she asked me to help decorate her latest home, I was thrilled.  Besides sharing so many memories, we also love many of the same things, good design sense, vintage, comfort and beauty in our homes, attention to detail, and a love of family.

This is the home she and Don purchased this spring. Downsizing, but not willing to give up anything, they moved from a 3500 sq. ft. two storey, to this back split, with good "bones" and a great layout.

However, a major interior redo was in order.

The "before"  kitchen, as seen as soon as you enter the front, to the left of the entry.

The step down, to the family room, with the fireplace, looking very front and center, but a nice shade of grey. 

Sandy decided to enlarge the staircase by widening it, and extending it, with deeper treads. This would give it more of a grand presence, as well as make it safer for use in the future. A front hall closet for jackets or coats was also added.

Here, you can see into the" before"  kitchen. Sandy is protesting, no pictures please!!!

Before I went to work, she had a few requests.  She loved the new white and light interiors, with a hint of a "french look".  She expected to keep the majority of her furniture, except for the dining room pieces which she gave to her niece.  She had already purchased a lovely, pickled white dining table and everything else was open to suggestion.

A peek into the new kitchen. Simple white cabinets, new stainless steel appliances, an addition of a new window over the sink and a large island, replacing the small former one.

Simple taupe and grey quartz countertops and smaller tiles for the back splash.

The stools for the island which had to be cut down to counter height, echo a bit of a french style bistro feel.

Already you get a sense of openess, clean and bright, and softness with simple overhead pocket lights.

We decided to fore go the usual hanging pendants over the island, since the now open adjoinging dining room would have it's own beautiful fixture.

A view of the new kitchen from the dining room.

Another corner of the kitchen as seen from the dining room. Here you can see Sandy's lovely collections which make her home so personal and inviting.

The lovely dining room chandelier which I found for her. It had to be completely rewired, found without a single prism!  The finished result was very satisfying and Sandy loved it!

The walls were all painted the same colour throughout the entire home, a lovely shade of milk, and the sisal look carpets were also the same colour.

A glimpse of the widened staircase.  I decided she should leave this little, adorable wicker table at the bottom, to use as a catch all for keys and things, and seasonal touches.

We are still on the hunt for the perfect hallway piece for the upper landing, to hide the register and add the finishing touch to her grouping of etchings on the wall.

I found this gorgeous little fixture for her entry. Notice the little glass rosettes and beautiful tear drop prisms. I love it.

The dining room as viewed from the kitchen.

We added the linen covered chairs to further compliment the casual french look she wanted.

Notice the mirror above the small buffet. It was a very ornate, bronze coloured one from a previous decor scheme. I had it painted and antiqued and distressed. It worked out perfectly with a small server she had in her kitchen in her previous home.  I really tried to keep all of her "good" pieces and utilize them in a different way.

I angled the dining table to give the space more depth and interest.

Reuse, repurpose and redefine old pieces if you can.

More of Sandy's lovely collections, which we have sourced together and apart over the years!

When downsizing, wondering what to keep or discard can be very emotionally draining, but objects of true beauty or value to the owner, rarely need editing.

Another pretty vignette, tarnished silver and soft, pretty white china pieces, of sentimental value to the owner.

I will continue to post on this transition in life and lodging of a dear friend.

The Breeder'sCup

We are in such anticipation of attending the Breeder's Cup in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend.

It is our first time in attendance and we are all very excited.

When I return I will be posting about a lovely home I staged and decorated this summer.

Have a wonderful week.

Spooky?

 

This picture actually makes me smile. I took it this September in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

Timely, that a black pigeon should decide to use it as a perch just then.

 I began to imagine this huge, ferocious looking stone lion, standing sentry at the end of my long lane tomorrow night, if I was a young child.
Our lane is quite long and narrow, climbing up the Escarpment, lined by large oaks and very dark, black dark at night, with nary a glimmer of light.

Imagine it looming over you when you arrived at the top, with a black crow sitting on it's head!

Funny or frightening?

A different take on spooky.

Happy Halloween!

Found

It appears I've been dreaming in the same colours lately.

Ecru, shades of tea- stained cream, touches of black and gold, as seen in the vintage vanity tray on my dresser.

Hunting for vintage fabric for my winter project, I stumbled upon this gorgeous turn of the century outfit at Granny's Boot, one of the best sources for antiques in our area. Madge, the owner is one of a kind...energetic, charismatic and generous.  When she saw the look on my face, she gifted me this exquisite little treasue.

Look at the silk ruching and beautiful, perfectly stained fabric flower, with a black bonnet pin attached.

...... small, hand made silk rosettes.....

.....and gorgeous, silk lining, which is virtually unavailable today.

......more lovely details to savour in the waist length jacket....

I already have something in mind for the lining, perhaps a pin cushion, in the shape of a pear...

sitting on a tarnished silver candlestick base????

I started this needle case early this spring...

The design is a Jacobian inspired flower.  I used silk seam binding for the stems and other little interesting bits I found in my stash, lace, buttons, and old eyelet stained with tea.

The two sides, inner and outer, before they were assemled.

I stitched like a crazy woman, till I finished it, I was so in love with the colour palette!

I soaked and scrunched and pressed the black satin ribbon with my steam iron, so it would look old and shabby.

You can see the beautiful Arte Pura tag, exquisite in itself, which I received after I made a purchase. This was a result of my reading the Trouvais blog, a treasure trove of inspiration and ideas.

Which lead me to Beadboard Upcountry.

Don't you just love how blogging finds you and you find others!

The little touches of black add interest.

The finished needle case, harking back to what I have planned for winter work.

I took this photo in la Pharmacia Santa Maria Novella, Florence. The famous 

apothecary shop is full of inspiration for me.  I will do a later post on it.

More of what I am using these days to fuel my inspiration and keep my hands occupied for the months ahead.

Today the sun is shining and I'm heading back into the garden to save some ferns before the frost.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Winter white.

It seems that with the onset of cool weather and that I can no longer putter and poke in the garden, my thoughts turn to fabric and thread, the garden's answer to puttering indoors.

 This means unearthing all the stashes of remnants and textiles which caught my eye at some time or another. There are bits of lace, trim, buttons and bobs which leave me wanting to sew.

 I feel honoured and privileged to have been invited to participate in a sewing circle this winter with a group of women who truly create magic with their hands!
 A little nervous in such elite company, I am carefully playing with some ideas for an all white or cream quilt.
 I love the French boutis, simple, just a few fabrics used and all over quilting which give them their signature look.
 I especially like Kaari Meng from the French General's quilt kits. Hoping to replicate something along those lines here.

These are the colour ways that are coming to mind.

Monogrammed linen wine bottle bags in ecru which were gifted to me with my initials, perhaps at each corner of the quilt??

Fine cream coloured muslin imprinted with French motifs will comprise some of the design.

....and of course an unusual black and white script fabric in Italian.

Beautiful black and white toile and vintage flax towels which I have begun to satin stitch a design on.

This is a close up of the fringe on the towels. They are exquisite and it took every ounce of my being to cut them! I found twelve in perfect condition.

A bee embroidered towel purchased in Italy which I hope to incorporate in my design.

The flax towels have such a beautiful array of designs woven right into the fabric. After working a back stitch around this ribbon design, I decided to leave it, and just let the beauty of the fabric itself take center stage.

Here you can see the beautiful jacquard like pattern in one of the towels. These will be used for the dominant "blocks" of the quilt, although I don't want it to appear as patchwork.

Since this design is of my own making I have my work cut out for me. No pun intended.

Here is another closer look at the pulled thread work of another of the towels.

I think the combination of textures will work well with an all cream monochromatic colour scheme...with touches of black.

More linen lovelies found.

...and what started it all, two curtain panels of early 1900's vintage, fine gauze and appliqued work, found at the bottom of a basket with other treasures saved from my shop, Acorn Lane.

Winter work has just begun.