French Twist

A distant cousin to the roasted, plastic-encased chicken you find in the supermarket, home-cooked poultry is superior thanks to your quality control: the poultry you select, seasonings that have less sodium and homemade care. Imagine adding the convenience and healthful benefits of rotisserie cooking in your own kitchen.

La Cornue, the French artisan company that’s produced handmade ranges for more than 100 years, has designed the first built-in gas rotisserie approved for use inside the home. A striking addition to the kitchen and a showpiece for entertaining, the Flamberge measures only 32 square inches and 15 inches deep and cooks meat, poultry or fish to moist, self-basted perfection. It can roast three small chickens at a time, or two larger ones, and up to a 12-pound turkey. You control the speed, so if guests are running late, slow it down and dinner won’t be affected. When they arrive, your guests will be drawn to the sight and aroma of an anticipated feast. An added touch: an ID plate can be engraved with a family name or a special inscription for display on your new investment.

By Hillary Black

From Dated to Divine

How to you redecorate rooms that are architecturally flawed? Play up scale and add eye-catching elements, recommends designer Marlaina Teich. That way, you refocus the design away from the room’s flaws and instead draw the eye to its best assets.

Part of a c. 1915 Italian Renaissance-style mansion, a bedroom suite by Marlaina was plagued by design dilemmas, including peeling paint, old fixtures, odd architectural angles and limited space. Equally daunting were the restrictions placed on how the rooms could be altered. To preserve historic integrity, nothing was allowed to be structurally removed from the rooms.

So how could she accomplish a complete transformation without gutting the rooms? “Always start with a plan,” Marlaina says. Her plan for the space was to “trick the eye” with the use of unusual materials and dramatic furnishings.

In the bedroom, Marlaina hid the fireplace’s odd angle and placement by embellishing it with unusual, light-reflecting wall tiles made from mother-of-pearl Capiz shells, thereby drawing attention to its scale instead of its position. To add more drama, she replaced the lighting fixture with a platinum and crystal chandelier. A custom-made etched glass fireplace screen is one more light-reflecting detail.

Turning to the problematic window wall, Marlaina continued to use the luminescence theme on the oversized headboard by upholstering it in pearlized leather.

The custom-made silk drapery that flanks the outer corners of both windows was specifically designed to pull the eye away from the fact that the queen-sized bed covers a portion of each window. For bold contrast, Marlaina used a deep, henna-colored paint on the walls.

By Bonnie Joy Flam

Inspiration for a Cottage-Style Bedroom

Photo: Thinkstock

The quest for shelter is one of the strongest human drives. When we imagine a place to keep the rain out and the warmth in, most of us picture the quintessential cottage, a small abode lit with a crackling fire, a soft place to sit and, at the end of the day, a comforting place to lay our heads down in easy slumber.

Cottages are scattered about in our collective consciousness, filled with memories of summer twilights, simmering soups on the old stove, cats curled on the window-seat and perhaps a tiny bedroom in the attic. Whether it was Grandma's house every Fourth of July or that memorable weekend house in the Hamptons, the cottages in our memories provide a benchmark for how we want our own everyday lives to feel.

Over the centuries, painters have been captivated by the unsung nobility of peasants and their way of life. Using their amazing talent to convey color and light, the masters, particularly the Dutch and the Flemish, depicted a highly idealized vision of the country life, showing thatched cottages with small windows and an entryway brimming with flowers and animals. Even today, modern painters attempt to capture the allure of a cottage in pastoral settings at various times of the day, with the ancient peasant-dwelling as their inspiration. And in these shared images and memories, you too can find inspiration for cottage style decor in your bedroom.

By Erika Kotite

Source: Well Styled Home Magazine

How To Create a Comfortable Cottage Full of Personal Style

From his tiny beach cottage to his clients’ expansive ocean-side estates, designer Randy Boyd knows how to build a comfortable home full of personal style. Follow his tips to get his signature look:

Pick what pleases your eye
Regardless of the trends or expectations, only things that appeal to your aesthetic will help you create the perfect home.

Always be aware of scale
Don’t force a purchase if it’s not the right size and scale. Even if you love a piece in the store, if it’s not the right fit, chances are you won’t love it at home.

Invest in antiques when you can
Buy antique items when you can and when it’s practical for you. Not only will they last longer than most new furniture, but they will add an unmatched element of warmth and style.

If you can splurge on something, splurge on upholstery
Cutting corners on fabric often leads to having to redo the project sooner. Buy the best upholstery you can afford because it will save you money in the end.

Don’t rely on matching
For fabrics and accessories, blending is much more interesting than matching. Consider a palette to stick with, but don’t get too hung up on matching colors and patterns precisely, which can be boring and predictable.

By Jickie Torres
Photography by Mark Tanner
Styled by Jacqueline deMontravel

Source: Cottages and Bungalows

The Finished Masterpiece - Home Decoration

Le moulinsur la Couleuvre à Pontoise(1881) by Paul Cézanne

“It’s so fine and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas.” –Paul Cézanne

Like artists, homeowners often experience the terror of the blank canvas. What furniture is appropriate? What wallpaper should we hang? What tile should we install? There are so many choices—sometimes even the best of us freeze up. Instead of moving forward, we stop, as if waiting for divine revelation.

Or inspiration.

While it may not solve every design dilemma, I’ve always believed that having the right color palette in hand is the best first step. Once you’ve chosen your primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the rest of the battle (and yes, sometimes renovation feels like winning a war) is just so much easier. Surprisingly, these colors often coexist in one item—like they were best friends all along—and this item can provide inspiration throughout the rest of the project. Whether it’s a rug, a vase or a swatch of wallpaper, this one piece acts as a trustworthy guide, a la Lewis and Clark, as you venture forward through uncharted territory.

Fortunately, I think this is where the Victorian enthusiast draws more comfort than other homeowners. We have an abundance of reference material available, from period-inspired wallpapers to historically accurate paint palettes to professional color experts. There are historical societies and other experienced homeowners. There are a plethora of books and, if you live in the right neighborhood, a bounty of local turn-of-the-century homes that have already been lovingly restored.

And, of course, there is our magazine—Victorian Homes.

For the Victorian homeowner, a blank canvas doesn’t have to be feared. It can—and should—be the onset of an exciting adventure. Brushstroke after brushstroke should exhilarate and stimulate and motivate you on to the next.

Because the bottom line is, more than any other homeowner, color, paint and wallpaper truly are our friends.

By MerrieDestefano

Keys to Crafting the Perfect Home

Cynthia Tuverson shares her experience with home redecorating, remodeling and discovering the keys to crafting a perfect cottage or bungalow.

home collectibles

• Follow your heart. Evaluate what is just another trend or expectation and what is something that you truly love.
• Experiment with different styles until you find one that makes sense for you. With this house I just looked around, and the moment I knew I could grow old in this environment I knew this was the right setting for me. 
• You don’t have to do anything in an overly expensive way. Spend on the things that really matter to you.
• Have the right people helping you. Everyone from Tumbleweed & Dandelion really understood my style and ideas, and they helped me with all the things I couldn’t do myself, like painting my dining room wall, executing vintage treatment and French glazes, and all the touches that make the design work.

Home Renovation

 

 

By Jickie Torres

Photography by Mark Tanner
Styled by Jacqueline deMontravel

Posted by Cottages and Bungalows

Fresh Ideas for Vintage Linens

Flea Market Collection

Has your spring cleaning left you with a load of old fabric you don’t know what do with? Expert collector of international textiles Pandora de Balthazar has shared with us her top tips for decorating with linens:

FMD: What are some of your favorite unexpected ways to decorate with vintage linens?

Pandora: I love to create a white background and apply textiles of color to recreate my favorite moods or seasons. Another is to take antique shams and make slipcovers—instant gratification! Napkins make wonderful TV-tray covers. I use hand towels to make slipcovers, bed skirts, window treatments, and as floor cloths next to my bed and as hand towels. Now, that’s recycling!

FMD: Care to offer inspirations for using textiles in a home?

Pandora: There aren’t any “wrongs” when it comes to making your home beautiful. But it is terribly wrong in my opinion to neglect the comfort and rejuvenation of body needs. Vintage textiles provide the texture, color, beauty and art you need to create a restful sanctuary in your home; they can also absorb noise, create comfortable surfaces and provide tactile beauty that a rested body can enjoy. Make sure the beauty within matches the beauty on the outside.

What are you doing with your vintage linens this spring? Share with us in the comments below!


By Jickie Torres

Post Shared By Flea Market