We have decided to keep up the book sale this week through Saturday!
So, stop in for 20% off all books!
See you soon!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
My latest crush: Blackband Home & Design. One FAB porthole mirror, and a little peek at my apartment..
I'm giddy today as I am sharing with you the newest addition to casa de Ashley, the gorgeous Porthole Mirror. Convex and framed out with a painstakingly detailed antique gold finish, the mirror was inspired by an antique discovered by the brilliant minds over at Blackband, so the piece is truly a very special replica. The gold is a perfect compliment to my robin's egg blue walls.
*Swoon! I love it!
It really turned out to be a perfect addition to my space - I couldn't be happier.
A close up of the detailing that went into getting the perfect patina.
I thought the cloche bell jar was a nice complement to the convex surface of the mirror.
I found an abandoned robin's egg, so I emptied it and brought it home to see if I could find a place for it in my apartment. I also had some feathers from our guinea fowl, so I strung them both up in the cloche as an objet d'art. What do you think?
Getting back to Blackband, here's a little bit more about them:
"Wendy Blackband, co-owner of Blackband Design, is one of Southern California's most sought-after designers; known for her eclectic take on coastal elegance. A California native, Wendy grew up on Balboa Island and has traveled and lived in Africa, Spain, Australia and South America. Her style inspiration has been influenced by vibrant colors and foreign cultures that punctuate her fresh and
distinctive "Coastal Bohemian" look.
Blackband Design enjoys a well-deserved reputation for fair pricing, exceptional client service, and a personalized approach for every project, regardless of scope."
Here are a few more goodies from Blackband's online store that I have my eye on:
Vintage wine jugs.
Red coral (this would also look great with my light blue walls)
White and blue lamp. Love it.
Blackband also does interior design and showcasing.
This might possibly be my dream bed.
Want to see more? Go to Blackband Design to shop online and see more of their work.
disclosure*: I received the mirror as a sample from Blackband Design
Getting back to Blackband, here's a little bit more about them:
"Wendy Blackband, co-owner of Blackband Design, is one of Southern California's most sought-after designers; known for her eclectic take on coastal elegance. A California native, Wendy grew up on Balboa Island and has traveled and lived in Africa, Spain, Australia and South America. Her style inspiration has been influenced by vibrant colors and foreign cultures that punctuate her fresh and
distinctive "Coastal Bohemian" look.
Blackband Design enjoys a well-deserved reputation for fair pricing, exceptional client service, and a personalized approach for every project, regardless of scope."
Here are a few more goodies from Blackband's online store that I have my eye on:
Blackband also does interior design and showcasing.
Want to see more? Go to Blackband Design to shop online and see more of their work.
disclosure*: I received the mirror as a sample from Blackband Design
Announcing the winner of the Crash Soy Candle!
And the winner of the Crash Soy candle is commenter #3 -emcSquared! Congrats! emcSquared please contact me at ashley[at]decorologyblog[dot]com with your shipping address, and I'll ship out your candle ASAP! Thanks everyone for entering!
Blooms in the Gravel Garden
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| The hollies in the foreground will mature to create a hedge behind the bench. May 2012. |
Je ne regrette rien. I regret nothing. The conversion of several hardwood mulched garden beds and gravel parking space to one large gravel garden is working. Over one year later and I'm a very happy gardener. The history of the gravel garden can be viewed with this link.
Gravel gardens aren't for everyone. We don't live in the southwest or west coast where gravel is widely used. This is the southeast where folks love lush lawns, flower-packed or woodland gardens.
We live on a large rural property of over four acres with two acres of meadow grass out front while the back half is in woods. We have a sufficient proportion of soft grass, forest and gardens to balance the portion of gravel used.
Our house is English-inspired, but adapted for our climate. The same is true for the gravel garden. The inspiration comes from England, but it must work here in the southeastern United States. When using gravel, I had to use something locally quarried to be affordable. No expensive pea gravel here. Our house is gray cedar shakes. Our gravel is gray.
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| Looking through container lavender to a low hedge or rosemary. Purple Japanese iris grow from the gravel in the dry stream. Buddleia hedge in the gravel garden along the meadow edge. May 2012. |
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| Rosemary, Japanese iris, Buddleia are all thriving with gravel instead of hardwood mulch. May 2012. |
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| The gravel entry garden is easy to keep tidy and weed-free. View is looking away from the house to the driveway. May 2012. |
So far, I've not watered the shrubs, herbs or perennials that are planted in the gravel. The exception was to get the rosemary and hollies for the hedge established with one or two waterings around the time of planting. The buddleia, crepe myrtles, existing hollies, nepeta, salvia greggii and Japanese irises were already mature and have not been watered at all since we added the gravel in April 2011.
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| View (from rosemary hedge) to cottage garden front gate. Existing hollies, sedum and dusty miller around crepe myrtle (left). Nepeta, patches of thyme (front & right) were existing. May 2012 Containers on right are barely visible (see next photo). |
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| April 2012, containers were added beside flagstone path. Euphorbia (front) container hasn't done well and will be replaced. Lavender (middle) is now in bloom. Salvia (large container) has been blooming non-stop. |
To keep the gravel from looking stark in some spots, I'm gradually adding containers of plants that are drought-tolerant. The salvia jamensis hybrid (large container) and lavenders (various containers), junipers and succulents are doing great.
We've been getting regular rainfall so far this year, so I've not had to water the containers. Even without rain, I've selected plants that don't need to be watered often and I'm enjoying the low-maintenance. All plants used in the gravel garden, whether planted in containers or in the ground, are deer resistant.
Perhaps one of the best rewards from changing to this gravel garden is that so much of my time has been freed up to focus on the deer resistant meadow garden and the cottage garden. (We also changed the mulched flagstone paths to gravel/flagstone paths along the deer resistant meadow garden in March 2012.)
Due to this gravel garden and path conversion, I've not been working in the garden full-time. This redesign has considerably downsized the work that I was doing when I tried to grow more plants in many beds along the driveway, parking area and sidewalk—not to mention all the weeding that I had to do in the mulched paths along the deer resistant garden!
Gardening has been much for fun for me in 2012. Je ne regrette rien.
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| Along the dry stream, a clump of existing monarda will soon bloom. The salvia greggii is also quite happy to mulched with gravel. May 2012. |
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
happy memorial day!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and celebrated Memorial Day with family and friends! I had a lovely time visiting my dear friend in California for her birthday. We ate, shopped, laughed and had a wonderful time! What did you do with your weekend?
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| A delicious restaurant we discovered in Venice. |
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| My newest find from the flea market! |
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| Shots from the fun and charming farmer's market in Santa Monica. |
Here's to a great weekend!
And may God Bless all our troops past and present!
Beautiful belljars.......
Notice I changed the pictures in my header? I figured why not change it up to reflect summers light, airy vibe with a blue and white touch. Hope you enjoyed a relaxing and happy, safe Memorial day weekend.Hard to believe summer is officially here, we ended up having a lot of fun, it was more action packed than I originally was hoping for but once in the throes of all the activity, gotta admit we had a darn good time!
Before I begin, I was so honored to have been featured in a really fabulous online magazine spread, Belle Inspiration. If you arent' familiar with it, you are missing out, its a wonderful online magazine created by tastemaker Mimi, and is wonderful treasure of all things French. I was so honored when they asked to feature me and The Enchanted Home shop! Click here to visit (click on May/June issue) . It begins on Page 79-80. Its worth heading over! It is such a beautiful spread....thank you Belle Inspiration!
One of my favorite kinds of lighting is bell jars. Just like the ones I have in my kitchen which is what prompted me to even start carrying them in the first place. They are classic, elegant, don't detract, just enhance and are always such a perfect choice when in doubt. They also provide a nice soft lighting, nothing too strong but a definite room enhancer. I have seen them work their magic in the most traditional spaces to very light airy modern/transitional ones. So today a look at them in all their beautiful glory...what do you think, do you like belljars? Have them? Would want them? Would love to know!
So first my own belljars, funny for lanterns that were supposed to be "temporary" I think they are now staying. For good. They literally look perfect here, and for anyone who has seen them, they have thought I am crazy to consider switching them....so looks like they are home sweet home. These are the "tulip etched" design........
Rinfret used a collection of four (these are the line I carry) to create an interesting lighting design
Before I begin, I was so honored to have been featured in a really fabulous online magazine spread, Belle Inspiration. If you arent' familiar with it, you are missing out, its a wonderful online magazine created by tastemaker Mimi, and is wonderful treasure of all things French. I was so honored when they asked to feature me and The Enchanted Home shop! Click here to visit (click on May/June issue) . It begins on Page 79-80. Its worth heading over! It is such a beautiful spread....thank you Belle Inspiration!
One of my favorite kinds of lighting is bell jars. Just like the ones I have in my kitchen which is what prompted me to even start carrying them in the first place. They are classic, elegant, don't detract, just enhance and are always such a perfect choice when in doubt. They also provide a nice soft lighting, nothing too strong but a definite room enhancer. I have seen them work their magic in the most traditional spaces to very light airy modern/transitional ones. So today a look at them in all their beautiful glory...what do you think, do you like belljars? Have them? Would want them? Would love to know!
So first my own belljars, funny for lanterns that were supposed to be "temporary" I think they are now staying. For good. They literally look perfect here, and for anyone who has seen them, they have thought I am crazy to consider switching them....so looks like they are home sweet home. These are the "tulip etched" design........
I love the etching, gives it such an old world appeal
Belljars hold their own in the most spectacular and formal of spaces, Barry Dixon
Love the way the belljar was used in this showstopping foyer, Intrinsic Designs
Love the belljar in this super chic bathroom, Jennifer Eisenstadt
They are the perfect choice for a bathroom, House Beautiful (Same line as I carry)
This pair in nickel by Dana Wolter adds just enough tradition to a somewhat transitional feeling kitchen
Love how Barry Dixon used a belljar for this beautiful girls room
Rinfret chose a beautiful etched glass belljar for this beautiful and stately dining room (Same line as I carry)
Even for dramatic spaces, JMA
Belljars are perfect for hallways and gallery type spaces, James Michael Howard
A pair of belljars is like a sure thing above an island, Deborah Lehman
Belljars to me, are always the perfect choice for baths and smaller spaces too (same line as I carry)
Adore this closet by Barry Dixon......the belljar is a perfect accent here to not detract from all the fabulousness in this space!
Adore this space by Mary Evelyn, the belljar is a great compliment but does not detract from the beauty of the room
A trio of pretty belljars work perfectly with the scale of this long island
This is the cut star design, used beautifully in this stunning bath, Rinfret (same line as I carry)
A pair of belljars with a bronzed finish looks beautiful in this kitchen, James Michael Howard
The pretty and "go with everything" starburst design is a perfect compliment to this pretty dining room, Kristin Panitch
Belljars are my favorite lighting for hallways, both big and small, Bacco (same line as I carry)
Belljars can hold their own even in the most formal of spaces, as executed by Barry Dixon
This is the diamond cut pattern and reflects light beautifully (Thes are also from my line)
For a cleaner crisper feel, the polished nickel finish gives a nice gleam and adds to a crisp aesthetic
I think they are perfect for transitional spaces like small vestibules, Intrinsic Designs
Love the oversized scale Thomas Hamel used for this cozy elegant breakfast nook
Love the mix of styles here, the belljars with a highly polished nickel finish were a great choice, Downsview
Homey Design shows that even in more transitional spaces, belljars are a great choice
Love the way the belljar here adds the effect of lighting against such beautiful window, Barry Dixon
Another pretty example of why these always work for above an island! Alexandra Luhrs (From my line sa well)
Ralph ( as in Ralph Lauren) yes we are on a first named basis, uses belljars in his personal closet! Smart man that he is:)
For tall ceilings, they do a nice job of anchoring the volume of the space, Doma Architects
Barry Dixon chose a tinted belljar for this elegant bath
Even in a more formal room like a dining room, belljars look fabulous, prefer the ones with the metal tips for dining rooms, Rinfret
I think belljars are an ideal lighting option for foyers and vestibules, Barry Dixon
So....do I have you hooked yet on belljars? What do you think? Do you like the subtle way they add interest to a space yet don't compete with what else is going on in the room as some light fixtures do? I think thats one of the most redeeming qualities about them, besides their versatility is that that they add interest, beautiful soft lighting but do not detract from what else is happening in the space.
Reminder for anyone thinking about belljars from my shop, my approx. 20% price increase is effective tomorrow June 1st. They, even with the increase will be still be considerably less than my competitors, but right now they are as low as they can go! Thanks for stopping by and would love to hear your thoughts on belljars! Wishing you a wonderful day.
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