Christmas in January

So, as we know Christmas officially lasts until the Feast of the Epiphany, which was January 8 this year. Hey, that was a mere 10 days ago. So is it OK to post Christmas photos now? Why not!

Booked

While book shelves may be this blog's primary obsession, let's not forget that sometimes we need to carry our books with us. But why be pedestrian and use an ordinary backpack? These traditional satchels and bags are low-key alternatives. And so very British. Where do you stow your books?

This classic black leather Cambridge Satchel bag is the same one we gave to our daughter.

Here it is in classic tanned brown leather from Tom Brown. 

You can have any of their bags monogrammed.

Same bag, by Tom Brown, in Apple Green. These are the trendy versions, 

even in neon, that are so popular.

Here's Brooklyn Industries' modern waxed canvas version.

Reminds me of an old-school mail carrier bag:  from Brook Farm General Store. 

Probably my favorite.

And for those who need to hide their treasures while at boarding school,

including the rare first edition Harry Potter,

here's Tom Brown's traditional trunk in navy.

Warm White Christmas

White, parchment, linen, stone, snow, cream, limewash, ivory, milk, chalk, natural, cotton, khaki, greige, plaster, buff, ice, taupe, alabaster, cloud.

Winter is the ideal time to explore white and all of its neutral cousins.

Start with the most comfortable seating, perfect for reading by the fire and eating popcorn.

George Sherlock Two-Seater sofa

Add some birch logs, or at least have them artfully arranged near the fireplace. They're pretty expensive, and you may be reluctant to burn them!

Birch logs

Decorate your mantel in soothing whites, evoking nature's winter beauty.

David Stark for West Elm topiary tree

Add a few funky handmade trees to your mantel-top forest.

Bottle Brush trees from West Elm

Ice the front of the mantel with this handmade paper garland.

Handmade paper bunting from Toast

Soften the room with frothy white hydrangeas, also a fresh reminder of warmer days to come.

White mophead hydrangea from Terrain

As you sit by the fire, wrap your gifts in plain white paper and finish them off with these tags. Your lucky friends can plant the tags - they're seeded!

Seeded Snowflake tags from Terrain

When it's time for bed, retreat to a cosy warm bed in a white bedroom. Don't forget your hot water bottle!

Master bedroom from Coastal Living

Top Ten Design Features

What defines style today?

For your consideration, here is my Top Ten selection of features that have most inspired designers and consumers in the past five years or so. Although I could name several more, these are at the top of my list.

Today's designers now have an endless sourcebook for inspiration online. How did they figure this stuff out 10 or 15 years ago? Who knows?

1. Books/bookshelves.

Even in pared down, contemporary spaces, bookshelves are everywhere nowadays. I must list this feature first, of course!

Phillip Gorrivan living room

2. Gallery-style wall art collections.

Our definition of 'art' has matured. Favorite photos, drawings, found objects, flea market portraits and kids' art can all find space on the wall.

Kate and Andy Spade's NYC entry

3. Muscular design details.

Bold features are evident everywhere; delicate features are used only sparingly and to much greater effect. More often than not, furnishings and accessories are sculptural, even sensual.

Ruby Beets

4. Dark/light contrasts.

Black and gray have had a surprisingly long-lived moment. When combined with white, they add spark and (shock!) actually open up and brighten a space.

Thom Filicia showhouse bedroom

5. Continued emphasis on solids, tone-on-tone and geometric patterns.

Not the 90s variety of beige tones, but using contrasts (see No. 4) to add depth and graphic interest. Yes, I know florals are the next big thing on the horizon. But I expect to see those designs complementing or even accenting, rather than dominating a scheme, even in traditional interiors.

House and Home

6. Saturated colors.

Neutrals will always have their place, but when colors are used, they are vibrant and bold (and check out the black mantel).

Miles Redd

7. Luxury surfaces.

The selection of quality tile, stone, floor coverings, textiles, fixtures and paints has exploded recently. I suspect this is a result of research and development improvements in materials, improvements in manufacturing techniques, and access to a wider variety of natural materials. It also seems to me that pigments are far more various and of a higher quality. Generally speaking, today's consumers expect a much greater variety of options, courtesy of their iPad and laptop.

Ann Sacks Nottingham tile

8. Comfortable does not equal messy.

Today's furnishings and textiles are sturdy and have comfort built into them, so there is no excuse for oversized, frumpy sofas and chairs (or messy beds).

Michael Smith bedroom

9. Pared down window treatments.

Even in traditional interiors, consumers want a clean, light-enhancing view out of their windows. Fussy is out. Period.

Robert Courterier's country dining room

10. Recycled materials.

Found, repurposed, and handed down. Recycling furnishings and accessories is the easiest way to go green in your home.

Living Etc.

Which design features would you add to this list? Please let me know!

Dining Room Reno, Part 3: Renaissance

At long last, the final installment on our dining room transformation. After half a year of use, it is remarkable how much more we use this room. It serves as a study, office, breakfast room and of course, dining room, every day. Adding the wainscoting also lightened up this formerly dark space. 

Still on the punchlist:  install that shoe mold, already!

The "bump outs"also added dimension to the space while taking up very little extra footage.

The sisal rug from Home Decorators matches the rugs in the living room and entry. Pulling these elements together has helped to open up the entire first floor.

Still lots of space when we add the extra leaf to the table.

Lighting in the room is more balanced with the addition of the picture lights. I wish I could say the same about my picture-taking ability!

Tying in the wainscoting from the entry, through the kitchen and into the dining room gives the sense of one larger space, even though they are separate rooms. 

To sum:  We upgraded the HVAC and breathed life into a dark and underused space. Best of all, we visually tied together all of the rooms on the first floor, and we've done it with minimal structural changes. We like the basic size and layout of our house - no need to add on or tear down walls. 

Apology

There appear to be technical difficulties with this blog. I hope to have the problem fixed soon - stay tuned!

Dining Room Reno, Part 2: Time to Rebuild

The backstory:  We needed to upgrade the HVAC, which entailed installation of a large duct from the basement through the dining room and up to the second floor. This presented new design opportunities for the room, allowing us to create a dining room cum library and study.

Our initial goal was to install floor to ceiling bookcases flanking the window. Yet after sketching it out on paper, it somehow didn't seem right. The bookcases would be quite narrow, given how large the return ended up. So we opted for a low bookcase that skims the bottom of the window. In fact, the top of the new case replaces the window sill, making the unit look nice and tidy. We also looked at the dismal old window and decided to replace it.

Notice the boxes for the new wall sconces to the side of the window. Rebuilding the wall gave us an opportunity to add more lighting to the room, which faces north.

This also gave us the opportunity to extend the wainscoting from the entry and kitchen into the dining room, as we had planned for a few years. Finally, we could insulate the "new" wall behind the sheetrock (with an extra piece behind the bookcase, for good measure), which we've tried to do in all of our renovation projects in the house. Although the brick holds a lot of heat, even on sunny winter days, the house was built uninsulated. Brrrrrr.

Here's the matching "fake" chase on the other side of the window.

Here we fitted in the pieces of wainscoting. We used Georgia Pacific's Plybead, rather than genuine beadboard. We chose this because it was easy to install on top of the existing baseboard. The downside: each of these puzzle pieces required priming on all six sides (including the back and edges) to prevent them from warping over time. The prepping, priming and painting involved with these pieces probably took longer than any other step in this entire project.

Christmas came and went, as we waited for the new window to be delivered. Then in March of this year, we started up again, installing the new window, trim and the last pieces of wainscoting around the window and bookcase.

Next:  Dining Room Reno, Part 3: Renaissance

Previous:  Duct and Cover