Sunday, February 28, 2010

le coq

le cog
Rooster

I love roosters.  They are soooo country French.  Here are some of the roosters I have in my home.

First, a rooster finial on top of a table lamp.


Next, an embroidered rooster pillow on a living room chair.


 This rooster fabric covers my kitchen chairs.



A rooster lamp.


My favorite rooster sitting on my dining room hutch.
A rooster, hen and chicks sitting on a vintage French wine barrel lid turned into a lazy susan, in my kitchen.
A white rooster teapot on my cookbook shelf.
Some rooster paintings, by Donna, on a wall in my kitchen.
A pair of rooster on my kitchen table.


An outdoor rooster, waiting for spring. 
I have purchased some of my roosters, and some were gifts.  I haven't showed all of them to you.  Do you think I have a problem? :-)
Do you have roosters?

p.s.  don't forget to take part in the poll on the top right side of the blog.  Only a couple more days left to participate!

Welcome Home,
Penny

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Bold Brushes of Color in Monet's Garden

Which came first — the art or the garden? Impressionist artist, Claude Monet was first an artist. When he moved to Giverny, he became an obsessed gardener. His garden was designed not only for his enjoyment as a gardener, but as a subject for his paintings.

Monet's Gardens at Giverny have been reconstructed from his paintings, over 500 of which were based on his gardens. Pastel colors are abundant, but there are also swaths of bright yellow, orange and red. The photos shown here were taken in the May, but the garden colors and flowers change with every season.

Tulips, wallflowers and pansies provide much of the bold color in the spring gardens inside the walled gardens, named the Clos Normand, at Giverny.



One of my favorite books is The Impressionist Garden by Derek Fell. Given to me so many years ago, this well-worn book served as inspiration for my gardens as I dreamed of someday visiting the gardens in France.

After visiting Giverny in May 2009, I found the courage to try the bolder colors in my garden. I set about rearranging plants last fall and eagerly await the first results this summer. Mind you, I'll never have a Giverny, but in small vignettes through my borders, I have planted little pockets of orange, red, yellow and gold.

Not having the same space, place or climate, I look for substituting plants of the same colors, but not necessarily of the same variety or used in the same season. My spring colors are still based upon the pastel colors of purple, blue and pink. But, my summer and fall color scheme in 2010 will include colors inspired by Giverny.



I have planted a swath of bright orange and gold gaillardia at the feet of red monarda 'Jacob Kline' that is set among salvia greggii 'Bright Navajo Red' and crocosmia 'Lucifer'. Marigolds in orange and zinnias in soft golden yellow will be sown as seeds when the soil warms up in the spring. The deep green foliage of osmanthus fragrans and white oleander serve as a buffer between this vignette and another.

The deep red tulips planted at the edge of Monet's Water Garden are stunning paired with green foliage of irises, planted beneath a weeping tree. This is a color combination that I'd also like to replicate using red geum. I planted my first geum in summer 2009 and will see how well it overwintered and if it continues to be deer and rabbit resistant.

My pineapple sage, when in bloom beside the clumping bamboo, is the closest that I've come so far in achieving the red and green duo. If you don't have deer or rabbits, you can probably come up with many more possibilities!


One of the most beautiful flowering shrub displays at Giverny in May was the clustering of soft apricot-orange and bright red azaleas with a Japanese Maple. This is a combination that can be tried by studying the colors available in the rhododendron family until you get just the right colors to work with the burgundy foliage of the maple.

Native azaleas come to mind as good options for the edge of woodlands. Rhododendron austrinum (Flame Azalea) is a flashy orange-flowering native for USDA zones 6-10; part sun to shade in moist soil.

Behind this color scheme, large trees divide the bright colors from the soft, lavender panicles of wisteria growing on Monet's bridge, trellises and arbors around the pond.



Proving that not all garden color has to come from plants, this big rooster proudly holds court at the entrance to Monet's Clos Normand!


Location: Giverny, France; May 2009; Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tired of the same old?

I wanted to share this really cool furniture store that was brought to my attention a few weeks ago. If you're into a mirrored furniture and brightly colored French traditionals, then you'll love this.










Go to Out There Interiors to see more.

Interior Photographer Portfolio : Prettiness from Tom Baker

Just some eye candy for you from interior photographer T0m Baker. Enjoy!
I don't know what these are but I think they're so interesting






lovely bed

via Inspace Location

Hurry! John Robshaw on sale at Gilt!

His bedding and textiles are gorgeous. And they're on sale so run..
Click here to sign up free and fast if you aren't already a Gilt member..





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Pastel Palette of Monet's Garden


Look to Monet's Gardens at Giverny, France for true cottage garden inspiration. Spring-blooming bulbs, perennials, annuals and vines are used liberally in a garden that is literally stuffed so full of flowers that no ground is visible. Pebbled garden paths add to the inviting, casual style. Soft spring colors of pink, purple, white and blue are soothing and tranquil.

Elements from these famous, but unpretentious French gardens can be translated for use at home. The plantings aren't suitable for every growing zone, but the pastel color palette provides wonderful examples of how to use shapes and heights together in random beauty.

Billowing wisteria drips over Monet's water garden, a signature plant for many of his paintings. The wisteria wraps the arched Japanese bridge as well as arbors and trellises that accent the winding paths around the water's edge. Although the fragrant wisteria sinensis is truly glorious, careful control is necessary or it will take over native plants and entire woodlands.

The dainty pink tulips, planted as bulbs in autumn, are underplanted with annuals such as pansies and self-sowing myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-nots). Since tulips bloom best during the first spring, they are often regarded as annuals and replanted each year. Tulip 'Pink Impression' is a good choice for replicating this vignette.

Purple alliums are bulbs to plant at the same time as tulips. For home gardens, a good choice is allium 'Purple Sensation' randomly arranged in a mass planting among companions. Hardy geraniums such as 'Rozanne' and Dutch iris 'Rosario' work well as perennial partners. Poppy 'Angels Choir' and nigella 'Mulberry Rose', easily sown from seed, are good annual choices for the home garden, too.

Vertical displays of blooms are evident throughout the walled gardens of the Clos Normand. Bowers of pink and white clematis scramble over arbors in Monet's gardens. Clematis 'Pink Fantasy' and 'Guernsey Cream' are candidates for recreating the look. Flowering trees and shrubs at Giverny include tamarisk, pink dogwood, lilac, and apple. Meandering plantings through meadow grass provide calm expanses beneath the orchard trees.

Colors, paths, accents and plants — there is much to inspire gardeners and artists!




Bright blooms are also used in Monet's spring color scheme around the pond and within the walled gardens. Next time...

Location: Monet's Gardens at Giverny, France. May 2009. Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

What To Do On A Winter Day

It's February.  We are all tired of snow.  So what to do?

Bake some Banana Bread and dream about faraway places.
I found this recipe about a year ago on Heather Bullard's blog.  Heather and I were both guest bloggers at Home Goods a while back.  She is also a contributing editor of the newly published Flea Market Style magazine, a writer for several decorating magazines and online boutique owner.  Heather calls it "The Best Banana Bread" and I agree.  You can find her recipe if you click on her name above.  Make sure to read the post, so you know the secret as to why it is the best.

As for the Paris map and Dining in Paris book....well that is what you do when you dream on a cold day, non?

P.S.  I have added a poll on the top right side bar.  If you have time, please take the poll.  Thanks!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Repeat...Repeat....Repeat

First, I had quite a few bloggers ask me about my area rugs.  Where they came from, name of pattern, name of company.  So in answer to all of the questions.  They were purchased from Rug and Home.  You can click on their name for a link to their website.  They are located in NC and SC, but they also sell from their website and shipping is Free.  We went to the local store here in Asheville, NC to purchase ours.  Some have asked the pattern or name of each one.  They are not on the label nor the receipt, so I can't answer those questions....

OK, on to the subject of today.  REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT

I have realized that I tend to repeat certain things while decorating.  Colors, of course, but also patterns.  In today's post for example, I am showing you pictures of a pattern that I have repeated through out my home.  It is the HARLEQUIN or DIAMOND pattern.

Here it is in the tile floor in the master bath.  See the black
tile?   

While we are in the master bath, take a closer look at the leaded glass window, below.  See the diamond shaped pattern in the window?


Recently I showed you this table below, that I painted a harlequin pattern on.

The quilt in my guest bedroom has a red harlequin pattern.

My studio floor....

The tile back splash in my kitchen.

Black and white harlequin pattern on my plates in the dining room.

This is the table in my great room.  It has a diamond shaped pattern under the glass top.

Both the trim on the pillow and the fabric on the chair have a harlequin or diamond pattern, below.

The tassel hanging on my clock key...

The fabric on my dining room chairs....
Repeating this particular pattern was not really on purpose.  It is something that just happened over time.  I find I also repeat scrolls, checks and paisley as well.

Look around your home.  Is there a pattern that you repeat?

Welcome Home
Penny