Garden Note #84: Sweet Potato Vine

At long last! After weeks of waiting, my sweet potato vine finally sprouted. It has a ways to go before I can transplant it. So, for now, it’s on a kitchen window sill getting plenty of sunlight.

Suggestions-

1. You can find sweet potatoes at most grocery stores or farmer’s markets.

2.  Cut off the bottom tip…about an inch or so. This is the part that will be submerged in water.

3. Find a glass container (this one from Anthropologie works great) that the potato can easily fit into.

4. Insert three wooden skewers about a third of the way down the potato. Snip off excess wood with garden pruners.

5. Put the potato in the glass and fill it almost to the brim with water.

6. Let potato sit out of direct sunlight and don’t forget to maintain the water level. When it begins to sprout leaves, move the glass to a nice, sunny location.

(Photo- © 2013  Martha Browne)

Book- ‘Love For Textiles’

The folks at Ikea have put together the book ‘Love For Textiles‘ that’s full of inspirational photographs accompanied by some real simple design projects. Inexpensively priced, too- hardcover edition only $10.

*Fabric Tables*

” Wood, wood, wood. Why can’t tables be made of fabric? Well, they can.

1. Measure your table.

2. Cut a piece of fabric and attach using a staple gun.

3. Then cut strips of the same fabric, about 2 inches wide, and wind them around the table legs. Attach with a staple gun. “

-Photo & Instructions- Ikea Family Books

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Books Series

One Sofa, Six Ways

Looking for a new sofa? Make sure it has good design bones and can be covered in a variety of upholstery fabrics. A current favorite of mine is this mid-century inspired Crosby sofa from West Elm.

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Get The Look #11: Retro & Romantic Living Room

Fall  Colors

IDEAS- No More Plain Jane,  Victorian Sofa

More Small Scale Decorating #7

Surprising 1980′s Decor

IDEA- No More Plain Jane

Click image to enlarge.

(Photos- Elle Decor, 2013 & The World Of Interiors, 2013)

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IDEAS

A Small House

I came across this small house, measuring a mere 20′ x 27′ downstairs with a half-story bedroom, on the pages of House & Gardens Magazine (1980′s). The dilapidated mess sat on the real estate market until it was bought by Joel Dean of the famed Dean & DeLuca shops. Dean’s old friend and business associate Jack Ceglic came to the rescue with some great decorating ideas.

The enclosed porch (above) had front facing windows that Ceglic relocated to the sides. A bold design move that provided much needed privacy and noise barrier yet still maintained an inviting exterior.

The mudroom, at the back of the house, retains its original wainscott. The ceiling however is new. Black and white Kentile covers the entire first floor. One continuous pattern can make a small space feel bigger.

This view is from the kitchen into the dining room. The vintage stove c.1920′s was found in the house. Not seen in the photo, is a long stainless steel counter serving as a prep area.

Clean lined chairs/table by J.J.P. Oud for Ecart join a large upholstered piece at the dining table. Note the absence of a chandelier and framed pictures for the walls. They would be nothing more than visual clutter.

The removal of a wall has now created a larger living room. A pair of simple, white muslin covered sofas mirror each other (above & below). Several tiny tables are a space saving option.

(Photos- House & Garden Magazine)

IDEA- Canopy Bed

Think your ceilings are too low for a canopy bed? I love how designer Arnold Copper managed to squeeze a bed made for a fourteen-high-room under his own standard eight-foot ceiling. The fringed canopy topper is real fishnet.

(Photo- Elaine Greene for House & Garden Magazine, 1980′s)

The Magic Of Wallpaper

Wallpaper #1. Rustic wood paneling is perfect for a kitchen or mudroom.

Wallpaper #2. The easy way to a collection of vintage porcelain plates.

Wallpaper #3. Old black and white photographs depict seaside vacations.

Wallpaper #4. You can never, ever have too many books!

Other wallpaper options- More books & books, logs, tin ceiling tiles, luggage, postcards, stamps and ribboned pinboard.

(Photos-Claire Richardson for British Country Living, 2013)

IDEA- Spring Table Centerpiece

A quick and simple centerpiece consisting of three branches of flowering dogwood laid right on the table. You could also try magnolia or peach tree branches.

(Photo- Jayson Home, Spring/Summer Catalog 2013)

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IDEAS

Vocabulary #60: Mola

mola- art form developed by the Kuna culture (indigenous people of Panama & Colombia) using a reverse applique technique.

Note- This large mola belongs to my parents. They purchased it in Panama (mid 1960′s) and it has been proudly displayed on a wall of their various homes ever since.

(Photo- ©2013 Martha Browne)

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Vocabulary Series

Decorating Tips From Albert Hadley

A visitor to designer Albert Hadley‘s old farmhouse in the 1980′s asks what set of rules, if any, did he decorate by? Here was his reply-

“Well…I respect enormously the time and place of any architecture, and how one furnishes it depends on what it says.”

“Also, there’s a continuity to one’s taste. If you really like things they all tend to be of the same spirit and they all work together.”

“If you don’t know right away that something is something you want or can use, you shouldn’t buy it.”

(Photos- Mary Cantwell for House & Garden Magazine)

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Decorating Tip From David Hicks