The Height of House Tour Season

Although I'm quite disappointed that the Cahoon Museum Kitchen Tour won't be taking place this year (apparently due to a very generous donation), the Ferguson Greater Boston Home Tour is picking up the slack. Featuring 23 homes throughout eastern Massachusetts, it's a bargain at $10. They've even produced a booklet that includes pictures of each house. Would that all house tours did that!

3 Saddleback, Pinehills, Plymouth MA

This past weekend, my sister and I visited several homes south of Boston. Our favorite so far was one in the Pinehills. The best room was the finished basement in the home. It was made for entertaining!

This weekend, I'll be visiting more homes on the tour. Really, I could do this every weekend!

A New England Dream House

On a Cape Cod house tour last summer, I got to visit a unique home in Cotuit. Every detail was stunning, although I have to say that I found the scale to be somewhat intimidating.

Family room

The house is truly a show piece, with a stunning kitchen.

Kitchen

Clearly European influenced, the design is both somewhat spare and spectacular.

Dining room

Before it went off the air, the program New England Dream House did a video segment featuring the home.

Here in New England, we're in the thick of house tour season. The designs, the inspiration, the camraderie with fellow aficionados, and the delicious sense of elegance heighten my anticipation for this year's tours.



A New Valentine

Every year, I make a sailors' valentine for the Barnstable Land Trust. I usually begin working on it right around New Year's and finish by the 4th of July. This year, I hemmed and hawed, in part because the economy has wreaked havoc on my pricing. I wasn't convinced it was worth it and considered doing a shell map of Cape Cod instead. Oh, and my studio has been in disarray because of all the renovation projects in my house.

Then came the phone call.

It was Barnstable Land Trust. "We really hope you're making a valentine this year."

Gulp.

That was in April. So, I set to work on designing the valentine. And I had a strict schedule for doing each section, with the ambitious goal of finishing by Memorial Day.

Did I mention that the auction, where the piece will be put up for bid, is a month early this year?

I'm happy to say that yesterday I finished it. Titled Nantucket Blues, it will be auctioned at the BLT Gifts from the Sea event on July 10.

Nantucket Blues - sailors' valentine by Anne Sandstrom

Of course, as is often the case, I'm already thinking about what my next piece will be...

A Lovely Design Book

For my sister's birthday, I found a real treasure, Victoria Hagan's book "Interior Portraits."

Although I hadn't been familar with her work previously, this book showcases some stunning designs. They are clean, unclutterd, but inviting.

Source: victoriahagan.com

Source: victoriahagan.com

Source: victoriahagan.com

Her well organized web site provides a taste of her talent, but to anjoy the visual treats she creates, I definitely recommend her book (available at amazon.com).

More Spring Yellow

Ah, it's been a while since I've posted. I have been quite busy with various projects, including creating a wall hanging for my living room.

original wall hanging

To create this, I stretched some lovely damask linen over a wooden 3' X 3' stretcher frame. (You can get them at any art supply store.) Then I created a stencil of the silhouette of a chandelier.

To create the stencil, I changed the size of the image to be 3 feet square in PhotoShop, printed the sections, then taped the whole thing together. From there, I traced the outline onto stencil mylar, and cut it. Finally, I taped the stencil to the stretched linen and stenciled the image onto the fabric.

Something that doesn't show very well in the photo is the lace effect because the white paint appears semi-transparent, letting a hint of the damask pattern show through.

If you're looking for something dramatic to enliven your walls, you might give this a try. Just choose a silhouette you like and be sure to select fabric that's heavy enough to handle the paint. Oh, and do test the paint on the fabric before doing the actual stenciling.

A Tablecloth Changes My Decor

Who knew that a tablecloth could change my entire living area color scheme? I'd been thinking of going with a yellow and grey damask. Could I find such a fabric? No. Enter HomeGoods. I sauntered down the table linens aisle. Lo and behold, the perfect fabric in the form of a tablecloth.

So I quickly got to work sewing my new kitchen curtains.

With plenty of fabric left over, and a living/dining/kitchen that is all open to each other, I thought "pillows!"

Now, I only have a small remnant and would like pillows for my chair. For the small pillow, I got a grey fabrice and added the yellow trim. Now I want to add 3 more pillows about the room. Can I find anything to coordinate? Well...
Here are some of my options.

This might be a bit busy and compete with the existing fabric.

This is my favorite.

This might be a bit too modern. I'd love to see it in person next to the existing fabric.

This might be too modern and might be a bit lavendar.

Decisions, decision. I'll post results here.

Of Cats and Decor

I love decor. And I love cats. But sometimes the two don't mix.

A few days ago, my lovely cat Zuzu engaged in one of her favorite activities - leaping 5 feet from a chair to the dining room table. Fortunately, her claw marks have only added to the table's weathered charm, thanks to some clever use of stain by me. Unfortunately, on the evening in question, she caught a claw in the table runner. I turned just in time to see the runner, two ceramic birds, newly acquired bird cage, and cat go overboard.

Miraculously, one of the birds survived...

as did the bird cage (pictured here in its new location)...



So, the table runner is tucked away in the linen closet. A quick shopping trip ensued, and I came home with the grey ceramic bird pictured between the candlesticks above. So all is well.

Oh, and Zuzu continues her acrobatics between the chair and the table. Cats are lovely, but I do question their sense of priorities sometimes.