La Tendance Bleu-Vert

These luscious jugs and pots dipped in blue, green, turquoise, mint and pistachio paints are making me long for the summer days and sunshine of Provence (it's still raining and grey in San Francisco! Summer, where are you?) As I sit at my desk wrapped in a scarf and dressed in all black layers and Merrill boots to chase the chill away from our grey day, these images give me a little hope for sunnier days!

Enjoy a little soothing color break...these colors are very easy on the eyes!

all jugs, pots and paints at Coté Maison

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Then seeing all these wonderful hot weather blues and greens in Catherine André's Summer 2011 collection made me realize that, yes, blue-green is definitely hot this summer, in France, anyway!

all clothing and accessories Catherine André

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So of course I checked out the fabrics by Pierre Frey, just to be sure...and yes, lots of blue and green in fabrics and wallpapers to be found.

all fabrics by Pierre Frey

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thanks for visiting! ... Kit

The Pink Chair & Camellia Snow

I'm happy to see all the pink everywhere again. And this little French Louis.."ahem"..chair from the flea market would look fabulous in some new pink, don't you think? So at the design center, I found these sumptuous Lorca jacquards made in France and Italy, through Osborne & Little. They all work perfectly with the vintage velvet I found at an estate sale the other day...four yards in perfect condition for $5!

Then, while working on this little project, I happened to look outside my studio window...and saw that our rainstorms have created a virtual carpeting of camellias on the soggy ground...gorgeous camellia snow!

Now... I'd love to know what you think: which fabrics, and in what combinations? Or just go with one fabric... which one? Such a delightful dilemma!

big, bountiful roses!

when I paused to look out the window, this

is the beauty I saw in the rain

this incredibly beautiful cotton velvet I bought

the other day at an estate sale in the neighborhood

two different camellia bushes lost their

blossoms in today's storm

I do like this pattern with pansies and

a larger whiter background...

our ground could not get any soggier!

this is a really pretty rose petal pattern, but

my daughter thought it looked like seashells...hmmm?

the side pathway looks like it needs shoveling with a snow shovel..so

beautiful against the dark earth!

***

Benjamin Moore paints I pulled that would work with

any of these fabric choices...can you spot the one

they have called identical to Pantone's Color of the Year?

(hint: it's in the first column)

I, for one, was really happy

with Pantone's color

choice for 2011... so far

we need a lot of this color

in our weary world

***

while browsing for additional Lorca fabrics

I found these gorgeous embroidered

linens and velvets on the Interior Library site

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Thanks for visiting! Kit

Astonishing...

Does anyone else find this room as gorgeous as I do?

it speaks to me of springtime, hope and beautiful beginnings

I could spend a lot of time here...

***

via San Francisco Magazine (print, not online)

article and photography direction by Diane Dorrans Saeks,

also of The Style Saloniste

this is the Nob Hill home of architect

Andrew Skurman and

his wife Francoise Skurman;

Andrew designed the amazing table base;

Francoise's silver adorns the table filled

with peonies she arranged;

together they collected the painting

by Cy Twombly's son

***

painting: Fall of Icarus by Alessandro Twombly

table base fabricated by Tom Dixon

Mars chairs

Provence Glassware: Diners en Ville, Paris

Empire candlesticks: Odiot, Paris

Bernardaud porcelain

Puiforcat silver flatware

Silver pieces French heirlooms

Etching: Bromphenol Blue, Damien Hirst

Photography by JD Peterson

***

thanks for visiting .. Kit

Sunday at San Francisco Fall Antiques Show {& Why I Wasn't There Saturday}

I missed all the excitement of Designer's Saturday at the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show..Billy Baldwin, Bunny Williams..(you'll see why at the end of the post!) but on Sunday I scooped up Lisa and we headed over. The day was stunningly clear, the setting on San Francisco Bay always inspiring.

After a quick and oh-so-satisfying lunch of poulet et pommes de terre roti-to-perfection at the Ft. Mason Farmer's Market, we excitedly headed inside. Yes, things were winding down a bit, but we found lots to intrigue in the show and we met wonderful antiquaires from the world over.

Chinese export watercolors of exotic fruits, 1790-1810

at Arader Galleries

stunning Chinese Chippendale chair for the Chinese

Bedroom at Badminton House, 1754, England

courtesy Ann Getty and Associates

some of the stunning

Lotus Collection of fine antique textiles found

at Kathleen Taylor

***

the show was not all Chinoiserie

mid-century and earlier antiques at

the amazing Downtown includes a pair of these

Spanish revival torchieres

I loved Downtown's breezy and chic approach

from Downtown's website, so worth a visit!

***

wonderful polychrome wood cabinet, 1760's, at

Robert Young Antiques as part of their

European folk art collection

toll road sign from the Lakes District in England,

about 1840; early prototype of the current

popular obsession with subway signs?

***

French company Les Enluminures displaying priceless illuminations

and jewelry from the middle ages in

this chic space lifting the colors of

the medieval illustrations for the display area walls

priceless Florentine illumination

from a choir book, 1423

***

the marina at Ft. Mason, San Francisco..that's the fabled

vegetarian eatery Greens on the right, a favorite of ours

for Sunday brunch with visitors from out of town

the fantastic entry into the

San Francisco Fall Antiques Show,

where the theme was "Chinoiserie"

***

so why wasn't I there Saturday?

meet Nicky, our new 4 month old rescue puppy;

does he

not look like a handful?

well he is! nothing is safe if he is awake!

sorry, Bunny:)

***

Vintage Navajo Rug: UpCycle-able?

I was quite distraught about this.....

valuable vintage Navajo Rug of mine that

got damaged in storage

estimates to repair the damage were in the

thousands of $$$

...until I saw these!

really fun sofa and chair upholstered

in antique Tunisian kilim fragments...

very chic in this room!

from Cote Maison

none other than the beloved French interior designer Madelaine Castaing

loved these tribal rugs too and used them with abandon!

from Jeanne-Aelia, my dear friend at Through the French Eye of Design

French designer Pierre Yovanovitch used kilim remnants

to add texture and drama to a simple interior

from remodelista

a very "kilim-like" Missoni fabric upholstering the

venerable Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

from 3rings

Now there isn't an ottoman or chair anywhere that's safe with me! Wouldn't my damaged rug look fabulous as a pouf? or covering a clean-lined modern chair like this one?

What do you think? Ideas, please, brilliant readers!!

{from Kit}