I Pity the Fools Who Aren’t Reading These……

On this Friday, I am busting out my best Mr. T impersonation to tell y’all that the newest issue of House of Fifty is out and this issue is a fantastic read…..

I love where the Founding Editor, Janell is taking the magazine and how she is producing an approachable yet beautiful publication. Hey Janell, if you are reading, how about showing Courtney Out Loud a little House of Fifty love!

Speaking of love, have you seen Kim Myles new blog? I am loving that girlfriend now has a blog design that is just as much fun and exciting as I assume her to be….

Kim is a bit of an inspiration to me as she found design a little later in her career and the success it brought but from reading her blog, has found a way to balance her work with her life. If you have ever tried to design someone else’s living space, fitting in time for your own life is a difficult task, so I applaud her ability to balance. And I also like her hair……shallow but I have liked people for less, so throw me a bone.

But in a chance encounter of pure serendipity on your part, if you read House of Fifty, you will also get to read Kim’s monthly column, Heart of Design where she discusses a variety of different design dilemmas but from what I consider to be a refreshing stance.

So kudos to House of Fifty and Kim Myles on this last Friday of January. And to those of you who I have not convinced to swing by check them out, (in my best Mr. T voice) – SUCKA I PITY THE FOOL YOU AIN’T READIN’ HOUSE OF FIFTY OR KIM MYLES.

Okay I am off to shop for flowers for a Mad Men inspired party I am helping a client throw on Saturday. Have a great weekend!

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Guest Vignette: Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One

I love the internet….pure and simple.  It is one of the few mediums that brings people together across a variety of different barriers.  If it wasn’t for my blog, I would have never had the opportunity to meet Alycia of Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One.  We may have bonded over our love of pretty tables, but we became fast friends because of Alycia’s kind nature and her never-ending knowledge about running your own business as a second career.

I am excited that Alycia finally agreed to participate in my Guest Vignette series where I ask fellow bloggers to photograph a vignette in their home and explain why it is meaningful to them.  Here is Alycia’s contribution…..

The whole retirement thing is nothing but a big scam! When I hung up my wedding design [business] hat two years ago, everyone led me to believe I would be able to sleep in and then enjoy long, leisurely lunches with my friends. They said I would be eager to learn something new like tennis or Israeli martial arts to work those lunches off before heading to meet still more friends for martinis. They said I would be able to spend more time with my husband and become the glamorous, trendsetting lady of leisure I used to be. Lies! All lies! My so-called “retirement” has been more work than running a design store ever was! I get up earlier, go to bed later, and the time in between is a whirlwind of activity. Lunch is usually scarfing down a sandwich in my sweats while folding clothes. I see my husband for about 10 minutes in the morning before he scoots out the door, and another hour at night before we both fall into bed exhausted. There is no tennis court in my future, and martinis are more like…well, to be honest…just swallowing a handful of olives and taking a swig right out of the bottle because I don’t have time to stand there and shake.

This vignette is a corner of our little library that offers 10 minutes of solace each afternoon.   I fix myself a cup of tea or coffee and just sit there. (OK, you got me…it’s brandy in the cup!) I may stare out the window plotting my escape from suburbia.   I may catch up on my correspondence (uh, yes…some people still write letters despite the advent of email!), or I may just swoon to the strains of Frank Sinatra and Engelbert Humperdinck. (Hush! I like Engelbert!) What makes this corner my favorite place is that I am surrounded by memories of family members from generations past. To my right is the violin played by my maternal Grandmother in the 1920s, then my mother, my first cousin, and finally my second cousin who is now in his 30s. The strings are fragile with several missing and the bow is worn, but I love it. On the wall to the left of the desk is a portrait of my paternal Grandmother as a child at the turn of the last century. Next to that are the high school diplomas earned by my paternal Grandfather and Grandmother in 1912 and 1916 respectively. Living in rural America as they did, earning a high school diploma was something of a big deal back then. Judging by the size of those bad boys, it must have been like winning the lottery! My Grandmother actually went on to earn her college degree which was a real coup in those days!

I am grateful for all that I am and all that I have in this life. To be able to sit for 10 glorious minutes each day to enjoy my retirement surrounded by mementos from those who came before me is a blessing.

Indeed Alycia, you truly are blessed!  I love that Alycia has been able to carve out a niche in her home filled with personal antiques that serves as a restful retreat.  Thank you Alycia for sharing!

Do you have a special place in your home that is your “zen corner”?  Drop a comment and tell me where those cozy corners are in your home.

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Thinking Out Loud about….. Brass Hardware

One of the projects I am working on is a mid-century house in the hills of Oakland.  It is a stunning house and the clients are absolute dolls.  They are a young and hip couple who appreciate design, trust my judgement and love those touches and details  that makes a room unique – seriously I am a lucky boy to have them as clients.

Speaking of details, in their living room, they have a beautiful credenza they found for a song .  The piece will eventually house their turn table and record collection once we slightly modify it.  One of the standout aspects of the piece is the beautiful brass detailing but somewhere along the way, the original handles to the drawers were “lost” and replaced with pretty heinous silver knobs.  Normally I am all about mixing metal finishes but in this case, not so much.

So I am on the look out for brass fixtures to replace the existing silver ones.  With the explosion of mid century “love” that has been happening as of late, one would think the market would be bursting with brass hardware just waiting for a  piece of furniture to call home.  Surprisingly, not so much.  To be blunt, a lot of the brass hardware looks like it has time traveled from the 1980s to wreck havoc on my design.  Knowing that custom hardware is not in the budget, I plowed through hardware catalogs, internet stores and  spent a good deal of time on good ol’ Pinterest to find 5 mass produced options that may work:

Source: 1 / 2/ 3 / 4/ 5

I am leaning towards Number 3 or Number 2.  I am still not sure how Number 4 ended up in the mix but it has it’s merits.  I like Number 5 but think it may be too “Asian” for the credenza.  Number 1 feels a tad too bulbous and may not play well with my idea of a clean lined room.

And if you were wondering, yes I give an inordinate amount of thought to these types of details.  I may explain why I wake up at night and yell out things like “Plaster Frette Work Ceiling!” or lie awake wondering if the champagne colored wallpaper I am installing in a room reads “Dom or Miller Genuine Draft”…..

So do you have a favorite of the 5 options?  Leave  comment and let me know!

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