Riviera View

Check out this awesome multifunctional space designed by Cortney Bishop .  To me, this looks and feels like a California home but in actuality it's part of the Flats at Mixon residential development in North Charleston, South Carolina.  To see more images of the development click here .

Here are a few of my favorite things for Spring 2014: Links to above images:   Agate Book Ends:   http://www.westelm.com C Magazine:  http://magazinec.com Helmut Lang Shift Dress:  http://www.helmutlang.com Katie Ridder Textiles:   http://www.katieridder.com Les Indiennes Bedding:  http://www.lesindiennesshop.com Muji Cuckoo Clock:  http://www.muji.us My Mom's Illustrations:   http://rivieraview.blogspot.com/2009/09/fashion-illustrations-as-promised.html Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens:   http://www.sbbg.org Timex Watch:   http://www.target.com/p/timex-weekender-watches/-/A-14097212#prodSlot=medium_1_35&term=weekender+timex

If like me, you're a sucker for peonies, and if you live near  Trader Joe's ,  you're in luck. Trader Joe's bi-annually stocks peonies at crazy discounted prices. Single stems that would normally retail in a traditional florist shop for $10 each are now sold in clusters of five for $6.99. But the window of opportunity doesn't last long: I think about a week or two.  So if you seek a sweet indulgence, act quickly.  And Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

During the Sochi Winter Olympics, I learned a new snowboarding term called a yard sale .  A yard sale describes a snowboarder who, while wiping out, loses their board, gloves, goggles or whatever else was once attached to them but is now strewn haphazardly all over the slope -- leaving the scene looking like, you've got it, a yard sale. Stay with me here, the design tie-in is coming.  In 2012, interior designer Tim Clarke gave an interview to Apartment Therapy sharing his design process which reminded me somewhat of a knowledge yard sale. Practically giving it away and filled with interesting tidbits, Clarke shared with readers how and why he does what he does to create calm, coastal spaces.  Kind of wonderful when you consider it. Some of this information is also available in his book, Coastal Modern but this Apartment Therapy post  provides the Cliffs Notes version.   For those of you familiar with  Coastal Modern and wanting to see additional...

Found on the website of the newly launched interior design magazine Milieu , I love these white painted wooden beads from  Back Row Antiques .  For Southern Californians, you can also find them at  Gum Tree in Hermosa Beach.

My design partner Karin and I recently worked on a Craftsman-style home in Redondo Beach, California.  Below are a few pictures of the space.  Our client is creative and loves celebrating the changing seasons by switching out colors and accessories so she asked for a Great Room in a neutral palette.  The fabrics and wood tones in calm gray, beige and black allow her to change things up when she's ready. The dining room above and below. Below is the family room where we mixed sand-toned upholstery and fabrics with darker toned wood and wrought iron. Below is a detail shot of a sofa pillow in Raoul Textiles' Jaipur India.  The drapery fabric is from Southern California-based Le Gracieux.  We learned a ton about custom-printed linen during this gig.  The bedroom below belongs to an adorable young girl who was very much hands-on during the design process.  She wanted to incorporate bright colors like turquoise and coral s...

For the past few years I've wanted to design a room solely in shades of black and white.  Pulling off that look takes serious editorial skills (not to mention a lot of huevos). When it comes to design, I lean towards the "more is more" philosophy but secretly pine for living with less.   I really love color too: pinks, blues, reds, greens and oranges are my go-to girls, so it's hard to imagine excluding them from the party.  But I've been mulling it over and thinking the time has come for a large dose of black (or very dark chocolate brown) in my ethereal off-white world of sofas, chairs and curtains. Black and white have been fashion staples forever.   Here's Julianna Moore from a few years ago looking fab in traditional houndstooth with a little zebra zing thrown in. New York's Spring 2013 Fashion week was replete with black and white ensembles.  Christina H's blog  deCélie  has a quick  overview : (runway photo's from Vogue.com) ...