Moderately Obsessed

I am moderately obsessed with this woven-tree-seat/mini-hammock I spotted in this month's Glamour magazine. Might spend the rest of my week hunting it down (when not working on client projects!) Wish me luck!

Oh, and I kind of love her shoes, but after my Target shopping bonanza, the credit card is taking a loooooong nap.

Happy Can

I can officially state that I suck at gardening. I killed my herb garden. I killed the adorable topiaries that live on my mantle in the living room. I have passed on the responsibility of watering our Meyer Lemon Tree to my husband (which is probably the only reason it has survived.) And yet I'm still tempted by adorable gardening accessories, like this watering can. When will I ever learn?!
From Aug 2010 Better Homes and Gardens - can be bought at nybgshop.org

My body is inside, but my heart is outside

It's warm outside. I just got back from a wonderful week in Maui. I'm sitting at my desk, wishing I were outside by the beach. Oh well... these gorgeous goodies will have to tide me over for now.

Now that I've entered my 30's, I'm all about covering up, staying in the shade and slathering up with 50+ SPF. So seating with a canopy is my dream right now...
From Lee


B&B Italia makes a gorgeous (albeit expensive) option


Love this do-it-yourself version, as seen in Canadian House and Home magazine.


I've never been a fan of most outdoor firepits, but this one gave me a change of heart - from DWR

These outdoor light-up planters, also DWR, would make any backyard look like a party

Another great Lee find, these gorgeous linen chairs will absolutely hold up outdoors in the elements. Would love to have a romantic dinner in this spot!

Outdoor Fabulousness

Trina Turk and her outdoor fabrics bring such sunshine into my design world.

From Martha Stewart Living - love that orange patterned bench fabric.

This outdoor room is so fabulous, I can't find words. From Angeleno Interiors Magazine.

The Great Outdoors

I love the outdoors. The sun. Blue skies. Though my poor nose is taking quite a beating with my seasonal allergies in full effect. So rather than hiking and camping, I'm more the sit-in-my-backyard-reading-my-Kindle kind of nature girl.

I've been working on my herb garden (aka, slowly killing all the gorgeous herbs we bought at Whole Foods last year.) LOVE this image from Martha Stewart - just a little sharpie on the herb pot helps if go from blah to glam!


This image from Better Homes & Gardens totally brings the outdoors inside -- I am somewhat obsessed with birch logs!
Happy Spring (a-choo!)

Design Process - Outdoor patio

I've been helping a client with her outdoor patio - they recently had a gorgeous stone patio added to their house and wanted me to help them furnish it!

Our first order of business was finding the dining table. We needed something large (we ended up with 40" x 80"), so that's what we needed to commit to first. We found this gorgeous one at Badia Design (which I blogged about last week). They were incredible and brought us TWO different tables we were deciding between. We agreed on this fabulous yellow & greige beauty - then we were ready to pull the trigger on all the other elements.



We also got these phenomenal chairs.


Now on to my favorite part - fabrics! The chairs and built-in bench will have this rich grey fabric with a white welt. We wanted to find a color that would hide dirt and look rich - I think we've hit the jackpot!

We decided to go the Kelly Wearstler route and do a fun but sophisticated color scheme of yellow and grey. These Trina Turk fabrics are going to be our decorative pillows.

I can't hardly wait!

Yes please!

I got this email from the LA showroom of the genius outdoor furniture company Janus et Cie about their new Dedon DDC Collection - yes, please, I'll take it! Gorgeous!

Herringbone outdoor furniture? Loves it.

P is for... Pool

Doesn't that look lovely?
from House Beautiful

Year One! and Adirondacks too

Happy Birthday to me!
Candle pic from Flickr

Yesterday my blog turned one! It has been such a fantastic year - starting a blog, starting my own interior design business... I am so appreciative to everyone who reads this blog and all the fantastic bloggers out there who are constantly offering their support! Thank you to everyone. And special thanks to my husband, who amazes me everyday with his love and support.

So how did I celebrate my blog's birthday? By buying outdoor furniture, of course.

My husband found these FABULOUS adirondack chairs at Target - by Smith and Hawken (RIP!)



We bought two and have them facing each other so we have a place to sit while our dog takes care of business. The green lanterns are from Z Gallerie. I'm planning on having pillows made - I'm thinking navy and white wide stripes... Yum.


And because one set of adirondack chairs wasn't enough, we got a second set, from CVS of all places, in lime green.
They are between the herb garden (which is doing well!) and the bbq. These were also found by my husband. They look quite Philippe Starck/Karim Rashid in person. I have trained my husband well.

And one more thank you before I sign off - thank you to everyone for your wonderful encouragement and kind words about Thursday's post, my first interior design project. All your comments put a huge smile on my face and I was floating on air for the rest of the week! Now, back to Earth!

Take me Out!

With Smith + Hawken going into retail history (so sad!) I've got to start looking for some other purveyors of fancy pots and things...

Elle Decor featured some GORGEOUS ones:

Celerie Kemble (in a cute dress!) with the Leon Brickmaker planter from Mecox Gardens.
Very French chic.

Another French chic look from Elle Decor:
Wood Cross Planter by Accents of France. Just looked at their website and they are here in Southern California! Woo hoo!



I've had a crush on this one from Design Within Reach for a while.
Does it break any California state laws to have a crush on a planter?

RIP Smith and Hawken

Friday afternoon I was out with a client and we were discussing the troubled economy. "Can you believe that even Smith and Hawken is going out of business?" she said. I was a bit bummed - while I had never purchased anything there before, I always liked their fancy gardening goodies... and I realized I had a $150 gift card there as a housewarming gift that had been sitting in my wallet for months, so I skipped my Saturday yoga class and hightailed it over to the Beverly Hills store with my hubby to cash in my gift card before it became obsolete.

Was happy to find some great deals, but sad to see the store closing. The guy who helped us was SO knowledgeable and kind, it's hard to know that these people will soon be out of work.

Wow, what a sad posting. On the brighter side, I found some fantastic finds and only spent $22 above my gift card...

Got this gorgeous planter I had been eyeing on their website for months.

We picked up a dwarf Meyer lemon tree at the nursery -- waiting to see some lemons pop!



Got two of these sweet little topiaries for my mantle (and you know how I love my topiaries!)
Best wishes to all the nice people at Smith and Hawken!

Fashion Meets Furniture

James Perse has long been a favorite clothing line of mine. The dresses totally exemplify "California casual" - they are laid back and relaxed, but never sloppy looking... and they are made from the most COMFORTABLE supima cotton.

I would love this knit maxi....


Or this empire sundress...

Now James Perse has come out with an equally casual chic furniture line. Both indoor goodies and outdoor.










And check it out in use at the Malibu Flagship store...



Stunning. Looks like a resort! I might have to hit it up this weekend - beach day in Malibu followed by some James Perse shopping and Neptune's Net for dinner (an amazing seafood shack just off the beach). Can it be Saturday already?

Big Day, Big Tomorrow and some Lemons

So today was great - busy, productive, yada, yada. I went to a client's house early this morning to be there while the electrician installed some things - the room is just gorgeous - I can't wait to share pictures when it's all done. Had a great lunch with one of my favorite design friends, and finally swapped out my white iPhone for a black one...

So many things I can't wait to post about.

First up: a planter I'm loving for my front porch


Probably a little too large for my porch, but I love this for the dwarf meyer lemon tree I'm planning on getting. Planter by Authentic Provence.

A stay tuned for tomorrow - I will be visiting LA's Dwell on Design event - watch for my Twitter updates throughout the day!

GreenThumbs

I wish I had a green thumb. Really. But I've even killed a bamboo plant once, which my grandmother gave me and had said "they are strong, even you can't kill it." I did.

When the Smith and Hawken catalog arrived, I had the urge to put on my gardening gloves and Crocs and get out there and plant something...


I love their Modular window box...
I love it so much, my mom bought it as a housewarming gift for me months ago. Unfortunately, since I'm afraid of my plant-killing past, I've left it in the box in our garage (sorry Mom!) But now I think I'm ready to pull the trigger. But the big question - herbs or succulents?

I LOVE these Mercer pots.
I might get the light colored round ones to flank my front door...


And this red Camden Court edger is adorable!
Now if Smith and Hawken only sold garden gnomes.... I kid, I kid.... Sort of.

Hot child in the city...

This week LA is dealing with a serious heat wave. I know, all you east coasters are laughing at me, and would trade places with me in second... But it's unbearable. I have no pool, the air conditioning in our house somehow cools every room but our bedroom, and we are having to run the air conditioning all day so that the doggie doesn't roast ($$$).

When the DWR catalog arrived today, I almost felt transported by the gorgeous outdoor shots they had. I have a tropical vacation coming up soon, but this makes me want to hop on a plane tonight to be poolside with a fruity, iced beverage and a trashy novel.

I've long been a fan of the Veneto Collection, (designed by Unopiu) but these pictures really take the cake.

From the Porter Residence, Pacific Palisades, CA.

Are the Porter's interested in adopting me? (just kidding mom and dad)

Some other Veneto goodies...

Kaplan Wright Residence, Architect Susan Minter.

I really love this look, with grass growing between the pavers... In my next home perhaps.
Also from the Porter Residence, Pacific Palisades, CA.



And also from the Silver Collection (by John Caldwell)...Image from Doug Hudson and Erich Burkhart, architects. Palm Springs, CA

This picture makes we want to be poolside in Palm Springs. Stat. I might have to settle for the neighbor's pool and a popsicle. It'll do!

Me Encanta Patricia

I have waxed poetic about the incredible talents of designer Patricia Urquiola before on this blog, but when I saw this gorgeous-ness she designed in Metropolitan Home, I nearly fell off my chair.

It belongs in my backyard.

The little one below is pretty darn cute too.
These chairs are from her line "Crinoline" at B&B Italia. So if anyone wanted to buy me and my husband one to celebrate our 1-year-in-our-new-house-anniversary, that's where you buy it. Thanks in advance.