Bloom Street

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Interiors: Blue on Blue

I am not alone in craving dark walls lately. But something about the light blue details in this dark blue room has me tripping over a smile I didn't realize was there. Okay, the salmon pink is pretty happy too.

LGN

Been recreating it in my head:

One of my favorite parts of this room is the chandelier. Naturally it's "vintage" meaning "good luck finding anything like it." I tried anyway.

Foremost is the Ochre "Light Drizzle Chandelier" Available only to the trade, and probably thousands of dollars.

There's also a small knockoff on ebay - looks like a knockoff though.

I'm wondering how hard it would be to DIY something like this with teardrop chandelier crystals?

The rug in the photo is "Bright Flame" from Dash and Albert, and is no longer in production (of course). But these two are comparable:

Rainbow Seashells

Steps

Or you could easily go with a more traditional rug like a Kilim with a similar color scheme. It would un-retro the feel of the room considerably, but could still work.

Haystack Needle's Ebay find

I love the white credenza in an otherwise color-filled room. And it wouldn't be hard come up with one if you were willing to replace the hardware yourself. With a little imagination all sorts of statement pieces could happen.

left coast luxe

Faux bamboo chairs are becoming ubiquitous, and are pretty easy to paint, I'm a fan of these variations:

Cover the seats in something fabulous and you're set.

All by Schumaker

Myy favorite think in the room may be the little decanter and glasses. Something about them makes me feel spot-on. And luckily such a thing is not hard to find.

Nancy's Vintage

ioffer

Nonna's Keepsakes

The Artwork I love, but the Anthurium and vase, while perfect in color for this room, are also a little personality-less. Why not a container more like this:

Maison Luxe

With some hanging amaranthus:

flickr

And the pale blue tapers in the lotus candlesticks top it off perfectly!

1st dibs

creative candles

AND... time to stop. Neglected children alert!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Quote(s) of the Week: Women

"There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women."
  ~Madeleine K. Albright

"The torment that so many young women know; bound hand and foot by love and motherhood, without having forgotten their former dreams."
  ~Simone de Beauvoir

"They may talk of a comet, or a burning mountain, or some such bagatelle; but to me a modest woman, dressed out in all her finery, is the most tremendous object of the whole creation." ~Oliver Goldsmith

"Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty-eight and forty." ~James Thurber, Time, 15 August 1960

"A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful."
  ~Karl Kraus

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Kids Stuff: Kick Legends and Oxfords

Somehow or other I want nothing more than to have little boys running around in solid leather shoes. I haven't made it happen yet, other than some used saltwater sandals. Something about how they grow through shoes so fast makes it hard to justify. I hope someday I do this one without trying to justify it, but for now I just look and like a lot. What's your philosophy for kids' shoes?

source

Friday, January 7, 2011

Wish We Wore: Sensibility Patterns

Did I need another reason to pine for little girls? I didn't think so. But I found one anyway. Sense and Sensibility Patterns. Created by a Stay-at-home-mom (my favorite kind of small business), the site has some lovely period clothing patterns. Lots of detail and lots of research in each, and a perfect forum for users to share their finished products and tips. Oh, AND online classes for people like me who need to be walked through every little step. And yes, they though to make coordinating doll patterns. Genius, I tell you.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Christmas Cookies

I was really tempted to try baking a different Christmas Cookie every day in December and blogging about it, but then I realized that making that many messes in the kitchen would surely result in an eviction notice.

Maybe next year.

In the meantime, here are some cookies that would have made their way into my bake-off.