Hidden Villa: Humanitarian Awards Dinner

could anything be more appealing than

this beautiful chioggia beet?

The Duveneck family were on the side of the angels a long, long time ago. In 1924 they established a self-sustaining organic farm as an educational center and invited multi-racial children to the summer camps they started in 1945. This is the incredible legacy and mandate for Hidden Villa today.

It was an honor to head the Decorating Committee for the annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner for 350 tented outside under the stars this last weekend in the hills west of Palo Alto, California.

With an almost non-existent budget for decorations, we naturally turned to the Farm itself as a source to interpret this year's theme, Deep Roots, New Shoots, and used our own farm-grown products: olive tree branches, chioggia beets, organic carrots, sunflowers, zinnias, amaranth for the centerpieces. We asked the board members, staff and decorations committee to collect old bottles. We were able to use those as single-stem-vases, jumping on that hot trend. A cornstalk turned roots-up became a holder for the table numbers.

We were thrilled to witness the incredible honorees Chris Bischof & Helen Kim, Eboo Patel, and Susan, Franklin, Katherine, David & Katy Orr receive the distinguished Humanitarian Awards that evening over our farm-cultivated gourmet feast and fine wines.

Plan to join us next year! and in the meantime, be sure to visit Hidden Villa, in person or online. You will be impressed and grateful to know there is an organization that cares so deeply about our culture, our children, and our mother earth.

And, you can get fresh, organic vegetables every week next summer if you sign up early enough!

the theme: Deep Roots, New Shoots inspired us

to use farm produce in the centerpieces

the big tent the afternoon before the dinner

tables are just about ready for the evening festivities

our artistic "melange" of farm-grown

flowers and vegetables;

we wanted a simple presentation

we notched the upturned cornstalk and

let the roots anchor the centerpiece while

holding the table number

the second tent looks so cool and inviting before

we set up the silent auction items

***

A Little Tour Around

a pathway leading to the old stagecoach stop

the old stagecoach house now houses summer interns

from all over the world

a peaceful, pastoral scene

the Duveneck residence built in 1924, now center

for Hidden Villa staff and events, including weddings!

the roadway meanders through the farm pastures,

gardens, buildings with gorgeous views all around

gorgeous zinnias grown on the farm!

{from Kit}

linked to Between Naps on the Porch

A Simple Summer Backyard Wedding à la Chic Provence

The appeal of the backyard wedding is stronger than ever. Brides today want to have their weddings in unique, personalized and..yes, less expensive settings. So, rather than rent the magnificent hotel ballroom or the caves at the local winery, if the backyard has some nice features and lends itself to a little sprucing up and has enough elbowroom for guests, it’s the perfect solution!

Pear & Pepper Fine Events and Catering asked me to designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting for an upcoming bride to see an example of just how charming and effective a backyard wedding can be. She was enchanted, P&P was happy, and she booked us both for the wedding!

For an early evening wedding, nothing is more glamorous than

flickering tea lights casting a soft glow on crystal,

silver, shimmering table linens and beautiful flowers. Don't you agree?

The centerpiece is a simple and elegant arrangement of vintage bottles

on a footed silver tray with a different flower stem in each..

very effective, charming and doesn't cost the earth!

Pear and Pepper designed this pitch perfect menu of delicious

Provencal dishes for the small wedding. The amazing

Provencal wines they chose will accompany each course. Yum!

Because the wedding is small..24 guests..we used gorgeous

dishes, glassware and napkins from Anthropologie for the settings.

The bride is thrilled to keep these lovely items for

her new home. And with the money she saves by having

a backyard wedding, she can keep all 24 settings, or give as

gifts to her bridal party. Notice the plums from the tree?

It's a signature of Chic Provence event design to use things from

nature whenever the opportunity presents itself!

A richness is created by the textures and jewel tones of the

patterned champagne and small tumblers (here used for tea lights), the

Ikat patterned napkins, the rich tones of the flowers and

the plum color of the ..well, plums from the tree!

This version is a little different; the cloches are placed on each plate and

the ikat napkins are hanging to show off their lovely design. We tried this

version earlier in the afternoon and decided the look just didn't work.

That's the fun part of design..it's always a process!

Although I designed the center table only, we Photoshopped in two more

tables to give the bride a realistic view of

three 48" square tables, each seating eight people.

We think we like the

"Louis Ghost" chairs (not sure). Do you?

A sheer lavender layer over old French linen tablecloths

is the perfect color for anchoring our scheme.

***

inspiration pieces: the rich purple votives,

and the bottle arrangement centerpieces we are designing

for a large fundraiser in the fall

***

some photos by Kit and the better ones by

Chris Golson Photography!

Celebrate Independence Your Way {Très Americaine!}

yes, you can make this double-layered American Flag Quilt yourself!

I have been (irrationally) in love with Alabama Chanin for years (irrational because the clothing is un peu trop ingenue for moi, and I'm not a needle and thread type!). Natalie Chanin originally hooked me with her one-off chandeliers crafted from found wood, wire, feathers, stones, bones; and her charming chair seat covers, tablecloths, for the elegant, rustic handmade touch for the home. Uniquely designed and handmade at her atelier in Florence, Alabama from natural cottons, linens, dyes and materials, her things are definitely in the "you won't see this anywhere else" category!

I'm thinking these DIY flowers could be perfect for the

fall farm dinner I am designing

fabric you ink yourself then make into a little summer dress!

(pickles not included!)

Now she has created a series of DIY projects of the most unique, touchingly hand made, sweet and rustic-chic kind. I'm not one for mail-order kits, but these are quite another story!

Celebrate your independence from buying readymade, and get over to Alabama Chanin DIY for these fabulous sewing, stenciling and beading projects...many are perfect for the home, some are great for simple skirts and scarves, and all will help you spend some old fashioned productive time as the summer days lengthen long into evening. You won't have to do these by candlelight!

Then brag to us here...or put your creations on etsy! I can guarantee a visit to Alabama Chanin will leave you inspired, and maybe even inspire a daughter or son to put down the iPad/iPhone/iPod for a few precious minutes and take that first handmade stitch towards creating something with their own two hands! La route d'independence!

medallion boudoir pillow with backstitch reverse applique

spiral applique and beaded camisole dress

bandana kit comes painted, stenciled and ready to sew;

do you know someone going through chemo who might adore this?

sampler quilt comes stenciled and ready to sew

I love this rooster and rose tablecloth...would someone just make

that one for me, please?

***

Alabama Chanin

BOOKS

just above are some fabulous books you can find at

Alabama Chanin's online store, or Amazon

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

A Simple Alfresco Lunch

Our bounty from the Mediterranean stand at the farmers' market provided us with the perfect alfresco lunch and inspired setting an Italian table after a morning of gardening this past Saturday.

The table is set with all vintage things: old linen French sheet for tablecloth, embroidered apricot table runner from Chris's French grandmother's handmade collection, ceramics we picked up in Deruta, Italy a few years ago, my grandmother's old ironstone, silver from a French flea market, a very old pressed glass vase my mother gave me, 1970's Fitz & Floyd luncheon dishes and old square hotel silver dishes.

the combination of rabbit's ears lavender and

geranium leaves from our garden in a vintage French glass

makes a wonderfully fragrant tabletop arrangement

please join us!

just outside our back door, under the arbor in the shade

a well-earned reward for a morning's hard work!

***

.........................................

in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The Wisteria: Inspiration for an Easter Brunch

Even though it's still Lent, I had to go outside and design an Easter Brunch table beneath our incredible showing of wisteria early this morning. Who can blame me for these gentle excesses?

I started by covering two square tables with a long white cloth, then topping that with my grandmother's lace bedspread (which I noticed needs some attention: mending and cleaning!). On top of the lace, to take some of the sweetness out and to give a little edge, I tossed a lavender cowhide left over from a design project, suede side up. I thought it would be great with the color of the wisteria, and it is!

I then tried a couple of different centerpieces: an arrangement of Lenten Roses in my chinoiserie tea canisters was casual and elegant. Then I tried the Easter Egg Tree I made last year, and I like it too. I guess it's nice to have a couple of choices next Sunday.

Place settings are Malvina Golson's embroidered pink placemats (my husband's grandmother), Limoges luncheon plates, and bread & butter plates from my grandmother Amie in yellow paisley pattern I adore. I used the silver I bought at a vide grenier just outside the front door of my dear friend Camilla's house in Rians, France last year. The adorable straw domes are from Anthropologie, and I placed a French sacerdotal relic at the head table, for Easter.

Voila! A little bit ready for our big Easter celebration with lots of family and friends coming over..let's just hope it is nice enough to be outside. They're forecasting rain for the next several days. We might be sitting inside around the fireplace roasting marshmallows!

.........................................

in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design