Tchotchke

I have been seeing the term "tchotchke" used a lot lately. The new store in SanFranscisco Jett Modern has a whole category of accessories called Tchotchke. The Gold Gnomes by Phillipe Starck are my ultimate tchotchke.

This is the offical dictionary definition:
tchotchke \CHOCH-kuh\, noun: A trinket; ... Tchotchke is from Yiddish tshatshke, "trinket," ultimately of Slavic origin.

Sophie's pool party...just for the fun of it!!

As you know, we have just put in an above-ground pool. Well, my little girl is so happy with it, I decided to throw her a little party so she could celebrate the start of the summer with a few of her little friends. Of course what better theme for a pool party is there than a Hawaiian theme? Oh yes- all my favorite colours, grass skirts, pink fizzy drinks with little umbrellas in them, funny bathing caps...lots of fun things!!

We decided to serve some "nuggets 'n' fries" in some cute take-out containers from Michael's. They were a dollar a piece and made the food look all the better. Lots of watermelon was eaten and we tried our hand at making snow cones with my new machine I purchased at Target. The girls loved cranking out their treat and I loved cleaning up the sticky syrup!! All in fun!!

Sophie had drawn the sweetest picture of herself and her friends swimming in our pool a while back, so I thought, why not use it as her invitation? We photocopied it and when I told her we were going to go around delivering them, she declared it the "best day ever". To me, every day spent with my little girl is my "best day ever!", even if it does mean cleaning up sticky syrup from my deck!!

***Next up for me, a surfing-themed "end of school party" for my youngest son and a "birthday party by the pool" for my eldest son. I'm going to be busy!!

White Chic

Patricia Gray

Using white in a room can make it have surprising depth - I use several shades of white to bring out the architectural details in a room, or I layer the space with strong forms in different tones and textures of white and use some strong contrasts to outline and bring the white into focus. Some of my favourite whites I use are: Benjamin Moore - Cloud White, Simply White, Ballet White, Designer White. Not every white is snow white. Try using: ivory, cream, antique white, and palest beige.

Nothing is more chic than WHITE ON WHITE

Patricia Gray

Some white facts from the web:

Ultimate Light: White is purity, cleanliness, and innocence. Like black, white goes well with almost any color.

Culture of White: In most Western countries white is the color for brides. In the East, it's the color for mourning and funerals. Some cultures viewed white as the color of royalty or of deities. Angels are typically depicted as wearing white. In early Westerns the good guy wore white while the bad guy wore black.

Using White: In most cases white is seen as a neutral background color and other colors, even when used in smaller proportion, are the colors that convey the most meaning in a design. Use white to signify cleanliness or purity or softness. Some neutral beige, ivory, and creams carry the same attributes as white but are more subdued, less brilliant than plain white. Use lots of white for a summery look. Use small amounts of white to soften a wintery palette or suggest snow.

Using White with Other Colors: Used with light or pastel tones, white is soft and Spring-like and helps to make the pastel palette more lively. White can make dark or light reds, blues, and greens look brighter, more prominent.

White Words: These words are synonymous with white or represent various shades of the color white.

pearl
antique white
ivory
chalk
milk white
lily
smoke
seashell
old lace
cream
linen
ghost white
beige
cornsilk
alabaster
paper
whitewash

Elle Decor

Victoria Hagen Patricia Gray

Purple Area
Lamp by Tobias Wong

- with a coat of white paint even the most traditional forms can be transformed into something altogether new.

Coat rack by Seattle artist Erich Ginder

Patricia Gray Regina Chair

Wing Back chair by Victoria Hagan

Ghost Chair by Philip Starck
John Saladino Porticus Bench

Click here to see other posts on Color

Mirror, mirror on the wall...which is the fairest of them all?

A great mirror is kind of like a great chandelier, and you know how much I love chandeliers! It should have importance, sparkle, and reflect a lot of great light. There is a decorating rule of thumb that you should hang your mirror on the wall perpendicular to a window. This is to guarantee the greatest bouncing of light back into the room. Great rule...but what about those mirrors we hang just for the fun of it...

I love to see a great collection of mirrors on the wall. I'm not talking about those token mirrors put up strategically for the narcissists among us. No, the mirrors that are grouped together for the sparkly effect they bring to a room. Those are the best mirrors of all.

I have a proper number of mirrors in my home. The only problem is that I don't have any really good functional mirrors. You know, the kind that you are supposed to check on your way out the door to make sure your lipstick's not on your teeth, or your skirts not tucked into your underwear. That kind of mirror. I have pretty mirrors and they are basically decorative in nature. I bought them because I liked the look of them (as opposed to myself in them...). In fact two of my mirrors I should stay away from as they make me look a good 10 lbs thinner. Some might say that is a good thing, and it is when you're looking in it, but then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirrors at the mall and plunge into depression!! I need to either get an "honest" mirror, or stay out of the mall!! My ego can't take the shock and letdown!!

Here are a few of my mirrors and a few that I thought I'd share that are so pretty they'd even distract you from your own reflection. Have a look, and see if you like what you see!!! The bottom photo is of a mirror from Restoration Hardware that costs a pretty penny. I found the identical mirror (beautiful quality, heavy as lead, identical) at our local Superstore (Loblaws). It went down to a mere $50 and can you believe I didn't get one? Silly maybe, but no more wall space!!

Bookshelves

Books are such a wonderful way of personalizing your space. Who doesn't love to be surrounded with all this wonderful inspiration. I think rooms with bookshelves are some of my most memorable spaces. Everyone feels comfortable in these rooms and they are rooms where you want to linger. I have a girlfriend who has a monumental bookshelf in her dining room. I always love to sit at the table across from the bookshelf so I can peruse the shelves between the dinner conversation. I have categorized the following pictures of bookshelves into 6 sections:

1. Bookshelves in Living Rooms

Purple Area

Poliform

Domino Magazine

2. Bookshelves with ladders

Purple Area

Purple Area

3. Bookshelves in Offices

Turquoise LA

Jan Showers

Domino magazine

4. Bookshelves in Dining Rooms

5. Most Clever Bookshelf

Purple Area

6. Bookshelves in Bedrooms

The simple beauty of Redwork...

I cannot sew, embroider, quilt or anything else that requires patience and intricacy. I've said it before: I'm a same-day craft girl; that is why I love glitter and scrapbooking. Both can be done quickly and that immediate result is very satisfying. Sewing overwhelms me because I make a lot of mistakes when I sew, and removing thread with a seam ripper is one of my most despised tasks.

That is why I am especially drawn to Redwork. I love the simplicity of it, and the thought that a little girl sitting near her mother embroidered those wonderful patterns for me and you, years later. I own only one piece of it, and I treasure it immensely. I hope to stumble upon some more...

According to Barbara Parrish of Redwork.info, Redwork became popular in the late 1800's because of a colourfast thread from Turkey, that was made using a secret recipe (I don't have said recipe...). Up until that time, coloured threads did not hold their colour in the wash, thus they weren't suitable for use when making everyday objects like tea towels or bedspreads. The simplicity of redwork designs, coupled with the fact that they were embroidered with very basic stitches on inexpensive muslins, meant that most households could have decorated linens. Children often learned to embroider on "Penny Squares", little designs printed on muslins and sold at the general stores for a penny. Redwork quilts were mostly "summer weight" linens, meaning they had no batting.

What happened to Redwork? When synthetic dyes began to be manufactured, their popularity faded. Everyone wanted to embroider with the "new" coloured threads. Redwork is like everything - it had it's day in the sun and it is now a popular collectible. What was old is new once more. Have a look on your travels for some of this lovely embroidery. Happy hunting!!