StyleFile #11: Grandma’s Afghan

There’s a prediction of snow tonight- a time to stay home, make some tea, and throw on Grandma’s warm afghan. If you have one of these crocheted blankets, now is the season to bring it out. With renewed interest in all things handcrafted, these once neglected afghans are being appreciated again.

Go ahead and toss one on your sofa as English artist Mary Fedden did.

Or add a wonderful crocheted blanket to your bed.

A lap throw is perfect for nap time.

Don’t forget to have one on your favorite chair.

This afghan also picks up the colors of the rug and pillows in this country bedroom.

Made by a loving relative, it can become a dear memory for a child.

For late night bloggers, a striped blanket thrown over your shoulders is always a comfort.

(Photos- World of Interiors, Period Living, Let’s Knit Series, Garnet Hill, Country Home, Living Etc., Country Living)

Update 10/7/2010- Toast now offers this hand crocheted throw. Get it while supplies last!

StyleFile #10 Pine Paneling Is Making A Comeback

Remember wood paneling in your parent’s den? I didn’t know a house that didn’t have some paneling in it when I was growing up. As years went by, paneled rooms got painted. If by chance you have unpainted paneling in your home now, think twice before you paint. Pine paneling is making a stylish comeback!

Interior designer Steven Gambrel did this comfortable living room. The clients felt the pine walls were part of the history of the house and wanted to keep them. “Steve,” they said,” was the only person who didn’t say paint them white.” The couple love what he did. So do I.

Who says paneling doesn’t look cool with retro styled furniture? Note the use of the narrow paneling on the walls and the use of wider paneling on the ceiling. The two different scales create texture and movement.

This is a cozy paneled room from a cabin in northern California. Instead of the Bonanza-look (think cowboy), the owner has used an unexpected mix of furniture.

The modernist Carlo Mollino designed this dining room in his home on Lake Maggiore, Italy. The warmth of the wood with the green glazed tile is perfect together.

You didn’t think paneling could look this good in a kitchen, did you?

This pine paneling is wonderful in a traditional English-inspired bedroom.

(Photos- Home Style, Elle Decor, World of Interiors, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, House and Garden)

StyleFile #9: Looking Back At 1968 Fashion

I love finding vintage magazines and looking at the fashions in them. What I find interesting is that so often the designs appear remarkably fresh. These pictures are from, “Look” magazine, dated June 11, 1968. Amazing!

This yellow cotton dress was made by one of my favorite designers- Geoffery Beene. The cost in 1968 was $325. The organza scarf is by Archie Eason. Tovar tresses added curls and ringlets to the hairdo above.

Gayle Kirpatrick‘s pique pinafore with stock tied shirt from Sarff-Zumpano. The floppy hat is from Bergdorf Goodman. Note the fun celery-green tights and yellow shoes.

This organdy dress by another favorite designer, Oscar de la Renta, is just as lovely now as it was in 1968.

Child-like pinafore and dress designed by Mary Sipp for Abracadabra. Check out the playful Raggedy Ann tights by Bewitching and the black shoes by Edith Henry.

StyleFile #8: New Direction for Knits

“Knitting. The final frontier. This is the voyage of knitting designers. To seek out new directions, to boldly go where no knits have gone before.”

I couldn’t resist using the Star Trek theme words with my StyleFile on knits. It seemed appropriate for what I see happening. Designers are exploring new ways of knitting through texture, scale, drape, and proportions. Here are some examples that I admire.

Designer and book author of Loop-d-Loop, Teva Durham shows her gift in creating wonderful knits that she herself describes as “a sense of adventure and a bit of whimsy.”

Wenlan Chia’s designs are a great combination of cosy and sophisticated. Her book, Twinkles’ Big City Knits is inspirational.

There’s been an interest in knitting with oversized stitches like this Giles scarf.

Check the scale here in this original hand-knit mini dress by Sandra Backlund.

Designers, like Tom Scott, are playing with proportions. Here he has created an asymmetrical sweater with one sleeve.

Anthropologie plays with draping. Notice the sides are longer than both the front and back.

And what BIG buttons it has!

Knits are short…

…and long. I love the hood with this.

A traditional fair isle design is made into a pinafore.

(Photos- Loop-d-Loop, Twinkles, Marie Claire, Fiber Arts, Vogue Knitting, Anthropologie, Free People)

StyleFile #7: Advent Calendars

The first known Advent Calendar done by hand dates from 1851. There were earlier styles like the Advent clock where small pictures hung on the wall, one for each day in December or the Advent candle where a candle is lit every day much like today’s Advent wreath. Here are just a few that you can make or purchase.

A simple calendar made by sewing small pockets for gifts and a sleeve for a wooden dowel. The ornaments hanging off the ends are fun.

Very similar to the one above it, Garnet Hill‘s calender has pockets too. However this one hangs from metal grommets.

The calendar is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art store. I love this one for the many years my mother and I would go to the museum together for my birthday which is around Christmas time. Thanks Mom!

Martha Stewart Kids Magazine had some wonderful do-it-yourself calendars. The small tree above has pouches made of fabric and tied with ribbon. The chest below is made up of numbered matchboxes.

Made of wood, the advent calendar from Pottery Barn Kids will last for many holidays to come.

I always wanted to visit the Westminster Abbey. This calendar from Bas Bleu is as close to it as I could get.

A great way to display antique ornaments by using tags and numbers on a linen-covered bulletin board.

Don’t forget to check Etsy for more crafty versions of the calendars. ( Although this one is sold out, there are others to choose from.)

Another example of using matchboxes, this time several glued together and covered with printed paper. The fun part- hanging them from wire above the fireplace mantle.

(Photos- Living Etc., Garnet Hill, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Martha Stewart Kids, Pottery Barn, Bas Bleu, Etsy)

StyleFile #6: A Wedding With Red

Atlanta interior designer Nancy Braithwaite is a master of details. All you have to do is look at the photographs of her daughter’s wedding. It was held at Braithwaite’s home using two tents- one in the front of the house for cocktails and dancing, and the other in the back for dinner. The master stroke though is Braithwaite’s use of red. “We have to have a color. I think color is a great ‘theme’.” Her daughter Kiery agreed and the two headed to Barney’s in New York where the color presented itself in a wonderful pair of red shoes. Touches of red are everywhere.

They are in flowers, sweaters, and even buttons down the bride’s dress. Red umbrellas are stored in large baskets for guests to use.

The bridal party cross a small bridge toward the Braithwaite home. More red in Kiery’s shawl, groomsmen ties and even in the strawberry drinks that are served.

Big and beautiful wreaths decorate garage doors…

…and in the dancing tent. Chandeliers are lit with red candles.

The theme continues in the dinner tent with red tulips, anemones, and more candles.

A sweet touch to add to any wedding are pictures of parents and grandparents at their weddings. The newlyweds are in the front photograph.

(All photos- Southern Accents)

StyleFile #5: Domino’s Monthly Quote

Domino Magazine packs a lot between its pages but what I found interesting was on the cover. Or more accurately the spine of the magazine.

Every month Domino prints a quote about design (home, fashion or garden) by a famous person. Some of my favorite quotes from past issues are below-

“Housekeeping ain’t no joke.”-Louisa May Alcott

“My tastes are simple; I am easily satisfied with the best.”-Winston Churchill

“People are usually happiest at home.”-William Shakespeare

“The best rooms also have something to say about the people who live in them.”-David Hicks.

“The home should be the treasure chest of living.”-Le Corbusier

“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.”-Henry David Thoreau

“A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.”-Walt Whitman

“But above all, try something.”-Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”-William Morris

“The first rule of decorating is that you can break almost all the other rules.”-Billy Baldwin

(Photos-  Martha B.)

StyleFile #4: Entwined Root Furniture and Accessories

After doing a StyleFile on decorative log-piles, I felt this was a natural follow up post. I’ve seen a growing interest with entwined root furniture. Perhaps it’s the Green trend toward using natural items in our home. What ever the reason, I find these pieces of furniture, which are made from actual tree roots, intriguing. There’s something about the gnarled surface that begs to be touched. Any of the pieces would work in a traditional setting but it would really be fun to put them in a modern one- like having a great wood sculpture.

I love the idea of using an entwined root table in a bedroom. Leave it to Anthropologie to create this perfect mix.

The combination of chairs and the painting with the root table is done with aplomb.

This is a rustic barn renovated with a contemporary interior. The designers used pieces like the root table to make a connection back to the barn and it’s country setting.

This sun room was a great place to put a root chair from Spruce.

A natural root side table perfect for any room is offered by Garnet Hill.

Another wonderful example of a root table. Check the detail of it below.

Artists craft accessories as well as furniture from the discarded tree root.

These containers and trays are beautiful examples and less expensive than the large furniture pieces.

 

(Photos- Anthropologie, British House and Garden, House and Garden, Elle Decor, Viva Terra)

 

StyleFile #3: Quirky and Fun Wedding Bouquets

A visit to your local Whole Foods or a walk in the park can be the inspiration for some very different bouquets. Check the produce aisle for vegetables or fruits that you can use on their own or mixed in with your flowers. For example, full heads of cauliflower can make an unexpected bouquet. Look for names like- “Cheddar” which offers a yellow-orange colored head, “Graffiti” which is purple and “Amazing” or “Callisto” which are both white. Push a metal dowel into the back of the cauliflower head in order for your bridesmaids to hold it.

Other supermarket finds could include chives,

big, red, radishes,

or for something dramatic, a single stalk of artichoke.

A walk in the park, woods, or even your back yard can yield some unexpected bouquets. Try bundles of forsythia,

pussy willow,

or grasses.

These bouquets of grasses can simply be gathered together with more strands of grass, twine or ribbon.

Enjoy the search for something different like this beautiful combination of ferns and holly.

(Photos from Organic Gardening, House Beautiful, American Homestyle & Gardening, MS Living, Country Living Gardener, and J.Crew)

StyleFile #2: Master List for Decorating

The list I’m about to share has been pinned to my bulletin board for years. It was written by Marian McEvoy when she was editor of Elle Decor. She was later editor-in-chief at House Beautiful, and now works at Domino magazine . I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referred to this list.

1. A well-decorated house always starts with the people who live there. No two people or families have the same needs, goals, or fantasies. Good decoration is tailor-made.

2. Change is good. What appeals to you at 21 will appall you at 40. Learn, grow, and don’t let your senses go to sleep. The eye should be continually delighted.

3. Edit your experiments. Embracing every design trend that rolls down the pike will make you the decorating equivalent of a fashion victim.

4. Trust your instincts- and then learn about the furniture, objects, and treatments you gravitate toward. Seek out expert advice.

5. Never say never. Do not back yourself into a corner by refusing to see the beauty or appeal of pieces from a certain period or place. Comebacks happen.

I hope this will help you as much as it has me.