Color can come in the form of texture! Instead of drawing on the traditional color wheel, this designer explored her world for textures. Chunky. Craggy. Splintery. Smoothe. Woven. Wrinkled. Translucent. Rusty. Peely……and etcetera. There is so much to take in that I dare say I might fall over in a faint if she had added actual color. By the way, I’ll bet you think this is a dining room. Actually it’s a free standing structure! A dining house, so to speak. Isn’t that brilliant? The interior was designed by Wendy Owen for her family in Sonoma. California. Fieldstone was collected locally for the walls, and the floor is poured concrete. Those unique paper light fixtures were found at local designer Erin Martin‘s St. Helena shop.

The dinnerware from Astier de Villatte is rustic yet curved and feminine providing a nice contrast to the table made of enormous reclaimed Douglas fir boards and flat backed plank chairs.

The theme is Natural-Materials-With-Muted Palette… in a very big way. Owens was rigorous about sticking to her core idea without getting side tracked by anything that does not fit. “I wanted to keep everything oversize and use texture as color.” The circular piece on the mantel is a salvaged well top.

An antique pine island stands in the middle of the kitchen with chunky antique Brazilian wood bar stools. The breakfast area features unexpectedly two crystal chandeliers hanging over an old baker’s table and two stone benches. This designer really pays attention to continuity. “It makes the space look larger when you use the same materials all the way through.” she says. And I would add to that, it createsvisual flow. As I walk through this house I am both inspired by the remarkable selection of furniture and materials and soothed by the repetition of color and materials. Inspired and soothed.

You’ve never seen this bed before, and I guarantee you will never see it again. Chunky railroad ties make up the frame and antique sugar molds make up the headboard. The splash of color amongst the bed linens is a fun statement and can be changed out so easily.

The master bath has a pair of sinks made out of old horse troughs. The mirrors above each sink have been created out of ceiling tin showing off the texture of peeling paint.

This designer has been very much inspired by the work of legendary designer Michael Taylor (1927-1986) who broke new groundwith his California Look by using overscale furnishings  and natural elements. He also championed the idea of making the interior and the exterior interchangeable.

The free standing dining house with its other structures and the surrounding fields.

Designer Wendy Owen. As you can see the chartreuse used in the master bedroom is a color she wears very well. This is always a great way to develop a color palette for your home. Select colors that flatter your complexion and hair color. It works!

Photos courtesy of Western Interiors October/November 2007

There is plenty of “color” in this neutral dining room, although we are seeing only beiges and browns. Instead of drawing on the traditional color wheel, this designer explored her world for textures. Chunky. Craggy. Splintery. Smoothe. Woven. Wrinkled. Translucent. Rusty. Peely……and etcetera. There is so much to take in that I dare say I might fall over in a faint if she had added actual color. By the way, I’ll bet you think this is a dining room. Actually it’s a free standing structure! A dining house, so to speak. Isn’t that brilliant? The interior was designed by Wendy Owen for her family in Sonoma. California. Fieldstone was collected locally for the walls, and the floor is poured concrete. Those unique paper light fixtures were found at local designer Erin Martin‘s St. Helena shop.

The dinnerware from Astier de Villatte is rustic yet curved and feminine providing a nice contrast to the table made of enormous reclaimed Douglas fir boards and flat backed plank chairs.

The theme is Natural-Materials-With-Muted Palette… in a very big way. Owens was rigorous about sticking to her core idea without getting side tracked by anything that does not fit. “I wanted to keep everything oversize and use texture as color.” The circular piece on the mantel is a salvaged well top.

An antique pine island stands in the middle of the kitchen with chunky antique Brazilian wood bar stools. The breakfast area features unexpectedly two crystal chandeliers hanging over an old baker’s table and two stone benches. This designer really pays attention to continuity. “It makes the space look larger when you use the same materials all the way through.” she says. And I would add to that, it creates visual flow. As I walk through this house I am both inspired by the remarkable selection of furniture and materials and soothed by the repetition of color and materials.?Inspired and soothed.

You’ve never seen this bed before, and I guarantee you will never see it again. Chunky railroad ties make up the frame and antique sugar molds make up the headboard. The splash of color amongst the bed linens is a fun statement and can be changed out so easily.

The master bath has a pair of sinks made out of old horse troughs. The mirrors above each sink have been created out of ceiling tin showing off the texture of peeling paint.

This designer has been very much inspired by the work of legendary designer Michael Taylor (1927-1986) who broke new groundwith his California Look by using overscale furnishings ?and natural elements. He also championed the idea of making the interior and the exterior interchangeable.

The free standing dining house with its other structures and the surrounding fields.

Designer Wendy Owen. As you can see the chartreuse used in the master bedroom is a color she wears very well. This is always a great way to develop a color palette for your home. Select colors that flatter your complexion and hair color. It works!

Photos courtesy of Western Interiors October/November 2007

Red painted siding with chalky white trim. Brilliant orange maple trees. Is the year 1905 and we’re in a time warp? No indeed, it’s 2009 and this charming old barn is the same as it always was…on the exterior, that is. Its interior, however, has been remodeled into an unpretentious but very classy gathering space for holiday entertaining, board meetings, extra sleeping and gallery for a fabulous art collection. Let’s take a look…

The maple leaves in this part of the world do turn this spectacular in the fall. ?I grew up there and I know. The designers made a beautiful choice by carrying the red and golds into the interior space. Here’s the theme: Leather. Flannel. Velvet. Wood. All placed together in a very unfussy way to reflect the owners simple, down-to-earth yet refined values.

This view through to the kitchen gives us a chance to admire the luscious red and caramel throw pillows.?Behind the sofa is a billiard table with it’s typical English-style billiard hall chandelier custom designed out of plumbing pipes and tin snooker fixtures. Sliding cedar panels divide the seating area from the kitchen displaying enormous works of art. The kitchen features soapstone countertops…durable, dark and handsome. They are usually charcoal greenish gray with scattered veining.

An antique oak table provides a surface for a simple arrangement of exquisite objects. Orrefors vase by Niles Landberg. A fruitwood pitcher and plate. The 1990 painting called “Happy New Year” is by Russian Eric Bulatov.

This painting is by Australian Steven Bush. Madoura 1940′s ceramics. The photo makes a beautiful still life, doesn’t it? One way to accessorize your home is to create a vignette with three or four objects. ?In this example the designer uses three ceramic objects and one organic. The three vessels are all made out of the same material. Two are white and one is green. They “tie together” because their common element is the fact that they are ceramic. The cabbage is not ceramic but….it is green. It is a different material but the same color as one of the ceramic pieces. It’s fun to play with this concept creating arrangements of things that are the same yet different!

The fieldstone fireplace is flanked with a pair of steel drafting lamps, a perfect choice for this kind of eclectic simplicity.?”We captured the essence of this simple, vernacular American building form using authentic, natural materials that blend seamlessly with the original structure and the country landscape.” say architect/designers?Lee Mindel and Peter Shelton.

A collection of framed art pieces surround the perimeter of the ceiling. Without even knowing what they are, the repetitive frames and mats make a fascinating statement…as most collections do. The frames and mats are all exactly the same, but the object inside the frame is slightly different.

A comfortable sleeping loft with it’s sleigh bed and copper lamps, shows off the refinished pine floors, which have been left bare throughout the entire space, emphasizing the sparse “puritan” look so typical of of New England.

An old factory table with benches is a good spot for summer time picnics.

A wild boar sculpture overlooks the creek.

Stylish. Masculine. Bold. This is the library of Moon Stone Farm, a 15 acre estate deep in the heart of Kentucky horse country. This timeless interior was created by its owners, Mark Badgely and James Mischka, whose other life revolves around New York’s glamourous fashion couture industry. The 1920′s stone home’s interior has been done almost entirely in black and white, with bare wood floors and no window treatments. But it is rich with tradition and it’s luxurious finishes invite comfort.

Leather sofas and barrel backed chairs are from?Restoration Hardware.

Here is the kitchen with its mismatched cabinets. While it is important for designers to be aware of current trends, and mismatched cabinets are indeed something that homeowners are asking for now….the purpose of this blog is to take a look at classic, timeless design and what makes it last and last over centuries and over continents. There are certain fundamental design principles that, when used, always end up with a fabulous result. The most important one is continuity. Carrying a theme throughout a home, from room to room. This kitchen uses white carrara marble atop dark wood cabinetry. Across from that we see polished black granite counters on top of white cabinetry. The retro subway tile backsplash surrounds the room and reaches almost to the ceiling line. Mismatched cabinets are charming because they seem to say “we used to have that look, but we like this better now…so we put it all together in one room.” It feels more “vintage”…as if the kitchen has been around for awhile and has seen a thing or two.

I love this corner of the kitchen. Isn’t it charming the way the cookbooks are arranged by color?

The master bedroom continues the running theme of classic black and white, with leather and dark woods. The pillow shams are from Leontine Linens. Although monogrammed linens are very much in keeping with this strongly traditional look….I would have had it done in a paler shade, like carmel lettering on a white field to pick up the color of the leather chaise. What do you think?

The bathroom tiles are floor to ceiling carrara marble. Extremely traditional and lovely. The pair of huge antique roof finials are a great touch. I try to use a couple of way way oversized pieces in every interior I do. That unexpected size is a jolt and adds energy to a room.

This photo reminds me of my childhood. I could look at it for hours. It’s my desk top photo right now. The blanket is vintage Ralph Lauren Home.

Just to give you a feeling of the magnificent property, here’s the black painted stable, riding ring and tack room.

Photos from Elle Decor September 2009

The color palette throughout the buildings is very limited. White walls, warm gray upholstery with touches of pale colors in the accessories, and a brown and white striped floor painted imperfectly as if to say….”go ahead, scuff me up some more. I can take it.” Slip covers can be removed and thrown in the washing machine.

This charming screened porch features a willow swing and a repetition of neutral fabrics. The giant wheels on the coffee table bring in a unexpected touch of contemporary exposed mechanical parts so often used in loft apartments these days.

Here’s an inviting nook featuring a rustic console table and as grouping of botanical prints. I really love the way the core design features (white washed planked walls and neutral colors) continue and continue through the home. Repetition provides a feeling of calm and stability which we all desire in our living space.

This is a Ralph Lauren iron bed with a delightful purple striped coverlet. Set against white, it is a great touch. The color purple is repeated in the bathroom with wild flowers bringing continuity to the bedroom suite.

A nook in the guesthouse features a cow photo by Vivian Arcidiacono. Old grain sacks are used as throw pilllows on the sofa.

A pine table by the window was stripped “rosy raw” and holds some chipped glazed pots and a big branch of sagebrush to bring the outside in. Crisp white chairs are a great contrast to the old and worn table. A sisal rug carries through the informal theme and neutral color idea. There is nothing like a sisal rug to pull together other elements.

The exterior of a home should always reflect the inside, and visa versa. Here’s a great outdoor covered patio which offers peaceful views of the surrounding cattle pastures. The indoor-outdoor Cannes wicker chairs (also used in the screened porch shown above) are from Janus & Cie. The antique pine table is painted gray to pick up the color of the fenceposts and the interior color palette.

Photos from House Beautiful July 2009

This home brings out my inner cowgirl. To be honest, I am totally nutty about ranch and mountain design. When I come across one so artfully done, I have no choice but to feature it here. You are looking at the living room of Rancho Alegre, home of the late R. Michael Kammerer, television network mogul and creator of ITN. The 175 acre ranch, located in Carefree, Arizona (outside of Phoenix), was designed by Scottsdale based architect Bill Tull. The home if filled with fabulous art and memorabilia from the area such as the leather chaps collection dating from the early 1900′s. What bull rider would have guessed that his favorite chaps would become a piece of art?in a collector’s home? This demonstrates the power of a collection….a collection of just about ANY-thing. It’s a wonderful way to bring character into a space.

Says Kammerer’s son Rudy “My dad fell in love with the West through Hollywood movies and reading western writers like Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. He was just fascinated with those tales of heroism and adventure.” Above is the “saddle room” featuring paintings by Roy Anderson and saddles by Edward H. Bohlin (he made Roy Rogers’ saddles, so he’s the real meal deal). ?Again, we get to feel the impact of a collection.

Here is the sunroom / gallery with its boveda ceiling. The granite medallion detail on the floor features a feather pattern.

Are you sitting down? This……is the master bath! “It’s the kind of room that makes people’s jaw drop,” says Kammerer. A stonemason modeled this space after the pueblos of Chacos Canyon, we are told, with a layering of banded sandstone. The viga and latilla ceiling and petroglyph style etchings echo the custom of the Anasazi. Can we achieve the unique flavor of this magnificent western home if we are in a smaller space that does not have 20 foot ceilings? Yes, absolutely! It will cost something, of course. We are not designing on a dollar here. The trick is to use the same or similar materials. Cover an entire wall or two with rock, integrate some recycled aged lumber for beams and doorway lintels, add leather furniture, some navajo style rugs, and a couple of unique collectible saddles and bronzes. Keep your colors earthy with accents of red. And it’s a done deal.

I had to show you exterior of the compound. It’s profile is so low that from a distance it almost looks like an ancient pueblo amongst the tumbleweed. Truly the western vernacular.

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Nothing makes a more beautiful backdrop to vintage wood beams, leather furniture and western bronzes than white walls. Galleries do it, and we can too! The livingroom pictured here is from a 2,000 acre horse and longhorn farm in the rolling hills of North Carolina designed by Gralla Architects who are known for their equine properties. I love ranches and it makes my mouth water to see thisbeautiful combination of rustic details. The owner had collected the fabulous beams from 200 year old tobacco barns. When it was time to build, he was ready. Installed as mantels, posts and spanning the ceiling, they let us know there is history here. If these beams could talk, what stories would they tell? Architectural antiques that are installed in a permanent way connect us to the past and bring a texture to the space.

Popular in southwest design, Saltillo tile is used throughout the house to visually connect the spaces in still another way. Notice the see-through niche in the fireplace wall above, lined with saltillo tile and displaying collectibles. Navajo rugs and pottery bring the only color into this otherwise neutral palette. The white leather chair draped in ragged edged white elk hides is such an original statement. Who would have thought of that!? Isn’t it great?

Whoever said white tile is boring?! In fact, it’s needed here to provide relief from the rustic textures of the bathroom.

The designers on this project were rigorous about their Big Picture. The original theme winds its way from the main house to all of the out buildings. It shows up in the guest house, the horse barn, the arena and everything in between. Every space features an earthy palette with lots of white and wonderful rich red accents. The horse barn shown above has rustic heart of pine ceilings, dark wrought iron sconces, lanterns and stall doors and brick colored floor. Besides….I couldn’t resist showing you the adorable horse baby!