JOURNAL

Was life more simple 100 years ago? This was the question I pondered when I found this postcard in an antiques shop last autumn. What was life like in 1911? Here are some thoughts to mull over .. The decade leading up to 1911 was a time of great transition, from the way people lived and worked to the…

Having feasted on traditional fare over the past few weeks and all the trimmings that accompany this time of year; one question comes to mind. How did your kitchen function with all that the holidays expect of it? Preparing turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, gingerbread cookies, ham, yams and more. Was it smooth sailing with enough room…

Whether it is a shower at the end of a long hot day, or a luxuriating bath after a busy winter day; nothing soothes and refreshes like water. Our bathrooms have gone from small, utilitarian type spaces to larger areas that encourage relaxation. With much in the marketplace available to create this get-away within our…

What if there was an interior design style that personified what seems to be a growing awareness to care for our resources, to take time to smell the flowers and to nurture our close relationships .. Less is more .. Scandinavian interior design has kept this philosophy alive for many decades and it is this…

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” George Eliot

With summer drawing to a close, cooler days will soon be upon us. Autumn, in turn, ushers in the season that we typically view our home as a haven most profoundly. It shelters us from the harsh elements, keeping us warm, safe and secure. Just as we do with our clothing, adding extra layers to…

As our society tends to strive toward faster, sleeker, and cheaper, it is apparent that furnishings produced with the hallmarks of quality craftsmanship seem less abundant than they once were. These include beauty of line, pleasing scale and proportion, hand-crafted detailing and the use of time honored materials. With so much available in the marketplace…

After decades of larger and larger house sizes, with rooms for every possible function; society is at last seeing a return to homes being designed on a smaller scale. Attention to small details, space usage and an awareness of human scale is again key. This relates not only to the configuration of the floorplans, but…

As many of us remain indoors more-so during winter, we tend to feather our nests with more “stuff” to create a cozy, snug setting. Once spring arrives however, nearly everyone has an inborn desire to clear things out, clean things up and make way for the warm months that follow. With summer just a warm…

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris “The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” Friedrich Nietzsche “He gains everyone’s approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.” Horace