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JUST SCROLL DOWN A FEW POSTS, AND THERE IT IS..HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING MY COLUMN IN THE VISTA...

Goodbye, Zinnias, So Long, Glads, Winter's Coming & I'm So Sad

 

Fall is upon us...the chilly mornings call for my late father-in-law's red-plaid "Elmer Fudd" Jacket, set off by my red-flannel, fleece jam bottoms, with deer on them..This is my "uniform" for walking the dog in the early hours...sadly, some people actually see me dressed this way.

This spring, I dusted off my gardening hat, and rented a 40'x40' plot from our community gardens.  I had visions...great visions, of corn, and tomatoes, and flowers, and sweet potatoes, and well, you get the idea...what I got was rain...and more rain, then, it rained some more.  A fungus set in, and claimed much of everyone's garden plot...what I got were Zinnias..lots of lovely Zinnias, and a few glads, along with a few tomatoes, and some eggplant.  So, all was not lost...but, still....

 

I forgot to mention the snapdragons...saucy snaps...

I loved bringing home my harvest, and creating tablescapes from crisply-ironed, white linens, bronzes, and collected books...All worth the back-breaking rototilling, with a rototiller that was stubborn as an old mule...

This is pretty much the extent of the snapdragon harvest..sadly, with all the rain, it was difficult, fine, it was impossible to keep the weeds at bay on such a large piece of land, so, I chose my battles...the vegetables came first, then, the melons (the deer ate those), then, the flowers.  What I found was; zinnias are hearty, beautiful and just kept blooming).  They ended up being my favorite flower.  I did plant Cosmos, and they were lovely, but by the time I cut them, putting them in my French, flower buckets, they were wilted by the time I got them home.  You could practically run over the zinnias, and they just smiled and kept on being beautiful, complex flowers.

  By placing them in front of a mirror, I could double the effect...just adding fresh water every day made them last for at least a week.  When you get your flowers home, give them a fresh cut...I cut them with a sharp paring knife rather than scissors, as scissors sometimes close off the stem, preventing them from drinking.

Weeding this "garden" just wasn't going to happen, I had to set it free, and let it run wild.  I did hoe and mulch around the vegetables, but the flowers were pretty much on their own.  I planted some gladiolas in bunch of five, and mulched around them...I managed to get some for cutting...I love glads..they are stately and the colors are lovely.

I have a pair of etched-glass vases my wonderful mother-in-law gave me, and I cherish them.  By placing them in front of the venetian blinds, and putting my cameo-backed dining chair behind them, I created what I consider my "Film Noir" shot...

My favorite vase is my "fan vase", as you can create a very "full" floral design without that many flowers.  I don't like "tortured" designs...flowers are graceful on their own.  I did manage to get come cosmos to come home and gathered Queen Anne's Lace by the side of the road (I refer to it as "roadsidia).  There is "Cow Parsley", which resembles QAL, but, is larger and not quite as delicate.  I love it.  The trick with this vase is not to tip it, as I've spilled on table tops too many times.

I discovered one, volunteer sweetpea, strugglling to survive under the weeds, so I liberated it, and brought it home....I don't think humans can possibly be as creative as Nature...just so lovely.  In fact, I will just finish this by putting the closeups of the zinnias, as they are stunning in color and complexity.  I hope to paint them this winter, remembering that at one time, I thought they were ordinary-looking...how foolish of me.

"Zinnia Noir"

 

If I start painting now, I might have them all painted by Spring!

CANDLES, ANOTHER OF MY MANY OBSESSIONS

In my world, there can never be too many candles, whether it's the holidays or not.  Over the years, I've been blessed to inherit some lovely, silver candle sticks, and I've collected quite a few varieties of my own.  Everyone looks better by candlelight. In fact, we sit down to dinner every evening with at least three candles on the table. I place a silver charger underneath them, as even dripless candles can drip should a breeze come through (I discovered this the hard way).

Placing candles in front of a mirror doubles the effect, and the light.  I love these striped candles, and move them about the house, just to enjoy them with different vignettes I love to create.  I have design clients, who haven't moved a single thing in their home in years.  They are so surprised how much they enjoy seeing their beloved objects from a different perspective.

In this tablescape I created for a photoshoot for an on-site shoot, even though there wouldn't be food served, I wanted to convey that it is never a good idea to use flowers with a strong scent, so as not to interfere with the taste and smell of the food.  Also, it's never a good idea to use scented candles for the very same reason.  

 I used the striped candles for another shoot, placing them in mercury glass candlesticks.  Even if you don't burn your candles on a regular basis, it's an old designer's dictum to light them, and then blow them out; a blackened wick looks better than the white wick.

You may wonder "why doesn't she just buy more striped candlesticks?"; I have looked for them on the Internet, and found them, but, being the "bargain queen" I am, I just move these around, as they are quite expensive...I found these in a shop that was closing, and got them for a song.  This was our Texas home, and I had just finished making the window treatments behind them.. Since we have placed our Tennessee home on the market, I boxed them up with the silver and moved them off-site..they are that precious to me.

I love changing our mantle with the seasons...again, this was our Texas house, and although it looks like the candle is dangerously close to the wheat, it is a safe distance away, it's just the angle of the shot. Which reminds me, never leave burning candles unattended.

  The pineapple candlestick behind the photo of my one, true love (my husband, Robert), was once a lamp, that took a nose dive and rather than have it rewired, I stuck a candle in it, and I love it.

A simple shock of wheat, tied up with a brown, silk ribbon, and a hint of sparkle (the leaf), highlight the photo of the other true love of my life...my son, Shawn.  Mantles are a wonderful venue for seasonal changes...and candles..don't forget the candles...a very inexpensive way to light up your life.

I created the tapestry photo frame from a fabric sample, (again, my son as a child), I like to group different textures of frames together, and put a reflective-surfaced one near a candle.  This is my late brother, Steve, whom we lost several years ago.  He is missed. Being a professional photographer for years, I have amassed a huge collection of photos..it is comforting to have his image near us.

 

The "silver" candle sticks on our mantle in Texas (our builder was so proud of the piece of stone shaped like Texas, I personally, would have left that one out), I found at the local Goodwill...and then, I silver-leafed them..I am not ashamed to say I enjoy "Goodwill Hunting"..I got a set of three for $7.00!

 The third of the set sat on our table (which I found unpainted for a paltry amount of money, and painted it "Ralph Lauren, black".  I grouped silver-framed, black-and-white family photos around it.

Our first Christmas in our Tennessee house, (that was just last Christmas), I tied ribbon around the silver-leafed candle sticks, and added candles in glass-beaded holders, and lovely, scented candles (pine), along with lights behind the German tinsel...(this was after we had painted the ugly, brown brick floor-to-ceiling fireplace white)..warmth, light, and scent combined make a comforting, warm home for the darkest times of the year.

All this reminds me that it's time to purchase some more candles, as the ones on our dining table are down to nubbins.  One of the least expensive ways to bring a gentle light into your life is using candles....I forget who said, "Instead of cursing the dark, light a candle."

It's Finally Here!!! The Virtural Tour of Our Home...

Finally, come on in!  And be sure to watch the video following it, about Fairfield Glade...enjoy...

http://www.creativehometours.com/12canterburycir.html

How I Spent My Summer Vacation...This Home is Almost Ready to List

When we first moved here over a year ago, we saw a house that had been neglected.  Our Aunt Lillian had passed on, and it was up to us to bring the house up-to-date...and so we have been working for the past year, painting, hiring builders and restoring this home.  We are crawling towards the finish line.

The house was gray and uninviting..so, we had it painted...Sherwin Williams, "Urban Putty".

 

Before it was painted, you hardly noticed the beautiful Crabtree Orchard stone work on the porch and at the base of the house...now, it pops.

 

My husband spread 90, countem', 90 loads of mulch...

 

 We had the deck(s) painted "Smoketree", by SW, and had spindles added to the upper deck and down the staircase.  We didn't add spindles to the lower-level walk-out, as it would be an ideal place to have a screened-in porch.  We had the once stucco lower-level fireplace chase encased in the t-1-11 siding, and replaced all siding that needed it, and new flashing where it was required.  

We had a wonderful crew, replacing anything that needed to be replaced, new flashing, new gutters on the back.  The house is now in better condition that when it was built.

  The entire back of the house is windows, and the views are spectacular, whether from inside or off the decks.

My husband fishes (I no longer do), and loves to steal a few moments on the dock.  We got a little row boat, and it is just fine for us.  One day, we will get another canoe, and I will go out with him on that...How can anyone resist this beauty?

Moving to the interior, we are not quite ready for the "final reveal", but here are a few "befores" and "in progress"

 

The kitchen was "dated", with borders, wallcovering, applied directly to the drywall, and it took a great deal of time and effort to remove it, patch the damage, and paint.

 

 

 

The computer Gods are after me tonight, so I am going to just finish this with photos...enjoy.

 

 

                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collections - Vs. Chaos

First, let me apologize for being absent for such a long time....flipping this house has become a full-time job...We are staggering towards the finish line....

That said, I want to talk about collections....vs. chaos.  I am learning first-hand that it can get out of control..these "things" I thought I must have.  Having finished the upper level, we have moved to the lower level, where my studio, work room, and husband's office is.  It looks out on the lovely lake, and is an ideal space for a studio (other than it has carpeting, and I paint).  But, I digress...

Who doesn't collect something?  Whether it's Barbie Dolls (no, I don't) or Books (I do, but have narrowed it down to antique books, and "the classics"..)

 I also love bronzes and bookends....I've narrowed this collection down, but have a difficult time walking away from some "find"

I like to place mirrors behind books in bookcases...These were built ins in our Texas home.  I do so miss built in bookcases.

 Who doesn't love seashells?  I have them all over the house...tucked into bookshelves, on bathroom counters, I can't resist them.

 

 

 I am also a sucker for blue-and-white vases...(this, again, was our Texas house)..That piece of coral in the front has an interesting story; my mother-in-law (soon to be 92) was a great beauty, and still has a wonderful style about her.  During WWII, she was featured in Look Magazine as one of the fifty most beautiful coeds in the country.  She received hundreds of letters from soldiers and sailors at war...one of whom was in the Navy..he sent her this piece of coral (before it was illegal to take coral)..along with a marriage proposal (she turned him down)..
The painting is my work.."Ghost Swimmers".. The silver-leafed candle holders are from the Goodwill - honest...seven dollars...I did the silver leafing.

The hydrangeas drying in the blue-and-white china on our Tennessee mantle (painted the ugly brick Sherwin William's Greek Villa), look so wonderful...sadly, it was such a wet summer, I only got one vase to dry properly)...

I enjoy creating "table scapes".  It's a good idea to have a "tall", 'Medium' and "low" height...I once had a garden in Wisconsin, where I grew the beautiful stargazer lily...now, I am happy to grow a few gladioli, zinnias, and cosmos...(it's been a very wet summer here in Tennessee).  
I began collecting the gold-leafed and red leather-bound classics many years a go...one book every three months (they were expensive, and my husband was a lowly grad student...we were thrilled, when they would arrive)..and we still treasure them.

Candles, did I mention candles?  I seldom burn these, as I haven't found any to replace them....I also collect silver candle sticks, and have been fortunate to have an aunt, who left me lovely, lovely silver, which I don't display in our Tennessee home the way I did in Texas...Hey, you can't have everything out at once, which brings me to the "Collections Vs. Chaos" title. Special occasions are fine for the silver...very special, a lake house is a bit casual for all that silver, but I do love to bring it out for the holidays.

Every thing and every one looks better by candlelight...

 

You know those "built in desks" that were all the thing in kitchens... the ones that became a landing spot for everything...keys, mail, bills, magazines, and all kinds of "stuff"..that made you crazy, trying to keep it from looking cluttered?  Well, I decided in our Tennessee house to reassign it's function...it now houses our tea set, Aunt Lily's gold-leafed pheasant cocktail glasses, and her lovely, Italian tureen...(the Paris sign has followed me around forever)...martinis, anyone?

This is a portrait I did of my grand daughter, Hannah (I once did hand-painted black-and-white photography); and I am wild about family photos, but, now that the house is on the market, down come the family photos, the groupings on the side tables, and most of the ones on my bedside table.  They are wrapped lovingly, and ready to move to our next home..(on the same lake)...I group photos either by frames (as in all silver), color photos with color, black-and-white with black-and-white, you get the idea.

 

So, enjoy your collections, whatever they may be, but don't let them overtake your home...change them out with the seasons, or have special cases to house them (I have a friend, who has over a hundred, antique, glass cake stands...she had beautiful cases made for them...when asked what would happen to them when she died, she said, "that's my children's problem" ...ha!