The Importance of an Entryway

Entryways are a very important part of the experience of home. Care should be taken to make it aesthetically pleasing. When you walk into your home you should feel embraced by beauty. Clutter just won't do! Who wants to leave chaos and be greeted by chaos?

Last week I wrote about SNL's entryway, here. Since she is infected with the pottery sickness as well, it is only right that she be greeted by lovely geometric forms. She is loving silver lately. She wrote to me asking about the possibility of adding orange to this still life.

I think this is a beautiful arrangement, and while I had a wonderful time searching for something orange to add, I don't really think it needs it. What this arrangement needs is a pop of white. Perhaps some white capis balls to show off the geometry of that gorgeous bowl. The current balls are cute, but are kind of lost.

SNL and I went to trusty Target to hunt for white capis balls. But we settled on apple green ones instead. Aren't these cute? Great pop and shows off the geometry of the bowl.

So I went to work arranging the still life in her entry way.

I added the grey opalescent vase from Thailand and the vintage Haeger spaceship vase. No this won't do. Too much. This is how I tend to decorate. Arrange things and then edit.

SNL has mastered the art of arranging. I often rearrange her pottery, only to return it to the way she had it! We have a lot of fun in the process, though. Nothing is more fun than arranging pottery.

Here's the final result. Oops! I should have switched the two Vietnamese vases on the bottom, so that the taller one is hiding the outlet. Wow. I am really starting to gain deep respect for stylists and photographers.

Oh well, my assistant, Shelly, approved of the arrangement.

What beautiful things greet you when you arrive home? I'd love to hear from you!

Everything Should Be Beautiful

Do you have something in your home that needs to be replaced and everytime you use it, you make a mental note? There's a rule in decor that I've read many times. Everything in your home should be beautiful. I like to take it one step further, everything should be beautiful and functional. Which perhaps explains my fascination with vases. And even those pieces that are functional should be beautiful.

I have a confession to make. I don't cook much, my brother says it's because I don't have the proper tools. Perhaps he's right. I dream of having an airy, open kitchen. Maybe then I'd want to spend time in there. But I had ugly things in my kitchen that just wouldn't do. I am a believer in feng shui, anything that is broken, not functional or ugly should go. So in my quest to improve my chi, I finally replaced my oven mitt and cutting board.

Yikes! These have been replaced by the following:

Much better! Silicone pot holders, $1.99 and bamboo cutting board, $6.99 at Old Time Pottery.

What's hiding in your cupboards? If you don't use it, or if it's ugly or broken, let it go! Do you have any stories of things you need to let go? I'd love to hear from you.

More Simple Forms

TGIF. My new vase from CB2 arrived today. Can't wait to get home and rearrange pottery, my favorite thing. Wish I had a job in a pottery shop and that I worked on display all day. Here are some beautiful forms to contemplate. Hope you enjoy.

Creamer and suger set from Rare Device. This set is tempting me greatly.

Angela Johe at Shop Twig and Rare Device.

Whitney Smith at Etsy.



Paige Russell at Etsy.

Aren't these wonderful! From Up in the Air Somewhere at Etsy, love that name! Via AphroChic.

Like I've said a million times, Target can always be relied upon. A search for white vases revealed these beauties. Most of them I recognize from decorating magazines.


Happy Friday!

The Simple Forms of Stefanie Hering

Yesterday I wrote quite a bit about orange. Today my thoughts are occupied by white. I love color, but I always return to white. White, simple forms are my favorite. And Stefanie Hering is a master of simple, elegant porcelain forms. I just can't look at her work enough. Even though I have only seen digital representations of her work, the mastery shines through. These are subtle, quiet works. Perfect in their gentle dignity. These are pieces that beg to be touched.

Stefanie Hering at Rose and Radish. Don't these make you want to curl up with a good cup of tea, watching gentle snow through your window as you are nestled up in your favorite comforter?

I want to touch this piece. Marvelous form. Stefanie Hering at Tendenzen-Goldshmiede.

Stefanie Hering at Artedona. Look at the stunning beauty of this vessel, and such amazing balance! Only a highly skilled artisan can pull off such a feat.

On a Mission for Orange (and everything that goes with it)

Oh boy! I have a happy decorating dilemma to occupy my mind. What could be better? SNL sent an email asking about the possibility of adding orange vases to the display in her entryway. I can contemplate this kind of thing all day, and it really eases the pain of my mundane job. Orange is a color I dearly love, so I am excited!

The search for orange vases began. Typically, SNL likes ceramic, but I wondered if she would be interested in adding glass. Especially cased glass. Or vintage Italian glass, which seems to be all the rage right now. An ebay search for orange vases turned up these beauties.

Vintage Holmegaard cased glass. Yummy!

Vintage Carlo Moretti for Rosenthal Netter. I'm sure any lover of mid-century modern recognizes this vase. I'm in love. I don't have an ebay membership, but this vase is making me think I should. I don't want to start another addiction!

More ebay vases. Or what about this vintage compote and candy dish from Etsy shop Blue Bell Bazzar? Cute!

Omigosh, look at these amazing vases by the Spiral Collection. They are made of paper! Available at Home Portfolio.

I adore the combination of orange and red. I know SNL loves red too, wonder if she would like these. The middle vase has cool geometry and a pop of white, which is always needed when doing something graphic. I just had to include the blue one. Not for SNL's entryway, but for me! I love it! And speaking of red, look at this incredibly gorgeous red vase from Hip and Zen.

On sale for $40.00! Had been $138.00. Love it!

I also adore the Paloma vases from CB2, for a pop of white. Maybe I should give her my orange glass vase that I bought from White Candle Barn about two years ago (on sale for $7.99). Wish I knew someone who made lamps out of vases, I think this would be a groovy lamp.

In my quest, I did something old-fashioned. I went physical shopping - that's right in a car! This is a dangerous this time of year because everything is on sale. Here are some of the vases I saw.

These were on sale for $10.00 each. Wonder if she would like that sort of brick orange.

Since after Christmas clearance is going on, there was a ton of red. Here's a turquoise vase that tempted me greatly. On sale for $15.00, was $30.00. Love the matte finish.


I wonder if SNL would like a lamp for her entryway. I saw a really groovy orange lamp in a shop window. Looks more like my style though.

I should probably check my old standbys, Target and Pier 1. Although currently I'm boycotting Pier 1. They don't sell online anymore and all the shops in my area closed. This is also why I don't buy from Ikea. It's hard to believe such well-established stores would not have online sales in this technological age.

Target can always be relied upon. Beautiful, tall orange cased glass vase, and hurricane with orange crystals. I love those bowls, and there's more of the red and orange combination. All are $49.99, more than I would spend, but they are beautiful.

Pier 1 didn't have any orange vases, but they did have these cute red glass vases, they are huge! Oversized vases seem to be the rage right now. I think these would make adorable lamps. Again, I have to find someone who makes pottery into lamps. I imagine it would require a skilled craftsman to cut a hole in a vase. They also had these cute vases, which I find tempting. I love turquoise, and they would look adorable in my place, except I am limiting my collection of pottery by not buying pieces with patterns.

During my happy search, I found a cute blog called How About Orange. I'll be adding this to my blog links.



So how about it? How about orange? The next time you are feeling blue, think about orange!

New from Crate and Barrel

Do you remember these gorgeous vases from Lekker Home, that I wrote about here?

Well forget about it! Crate and Barrel has a new vase called the Bianca! Very similar and much cheaper! Too bad I'm trying not to buy anything.

New Stuff from CB2

I'm slow getting to this post, and I know the blogworld is buzzing with all the new stuff from CB2, but I just had to get in on the action. Here are a few of my favorite things.

Ambria vases. Okay, I admit it. I broke down and ordered the smaller one. I couldn't help it. As my readers know, I am in love with white, matte vases in simple forms. And they are hard to find. Most are off-white or glossy. I adore these. They actually remind me a little of Sophie Cook's work, I wrote about Sophie here. Sophie's vases, of course, demonstrate a higher level of skill as the neck is much finer. I tend to measure all vases against her work. I can't afford Sophie's work right now, so I was excited to see these. When the vase arrives, I will be sure to let you know how I like it.Ghost lamp. Adore this. Would look great with my moon lamp and I could start a collection like Ted Allen & Barry Rice's collection (wrote about here). Wait, wait....putting on the breaks. I am hoping to move to a new apartment so I must keep my consumption low.

Lunar coffee table. I usually hate coffee tables. They are almost always rectangular shaped, which looks too severe to me. I prefer ovals, but they are hard to find. Just look at this beauty. I adore this! I won't be buying, but it really is a good deal at $199.00.

Graffiti pillow. Isn't this cute! I won't be ordering this either, it would be so easy to make. But it is adorable! Jessie, this would look cute in your home, but you could easily make it too. Of course, who has the time? Maybe it's easier to order!

Blog Envy

There are so many wonderful artists on the internet. Diana Fayt is one of my favorites. I never cease to amaze at her creativity and how prolific she is. This weekend I discovered her new blog called Muci Muci. This blog will definitely be added to my blog list, but more than that. Muci Muci is now part of my daily read. This blog is poetry. It's cerebral and succinct. It's still very new so it will be fun to watch it unravel. The blog seems to be dedicated to her free-spirited, fearless aunt. I must say when I looked at this blog, I felt envious. Kind of like when we look at others' homes. I wished my blog were more like this. It's soft and restrained and not bogged down by so many words.

Here's a fascinating piece from her blog. Diana asks if we wear our emotions on our sleeve. This piece caused me stop and think. About my father, and the mysterious things he used to say to me that I am only now beginning to understand. It also made me think about garbage and how many of the things we throw away can become art. Strange, I know. My brain just works like that, always trying to connect the seemingly unrelated.

I adore the graphic art of Starbucks. I think they should commission Diana to design their sleeves. Although, my guess is that Diana's too busy trying to keep up with her immense creativity as it is.

Great work Diana! Thanks for being an inspiration! xxoo

Liver and Green Bananas

Image from Diana Fayt's flickr set. (link)

Today I put on a baseball cap and sunglasses and went to the grocery store. It's Saturday. Like most Americans who work too much, I have too much to do in too little time. I was breathlessly clicking off a list in my head. As I walked toward the store, a small voice shook me out of my selfish preoccupation. "Honey? Honey?"

The source of the voice was an elderly woman slumped over a grocery cart. I looked in her direction and she smiled. "Can you help me up the hill?" she asked. I walked over to her, put my arm around her, with the other arm I pushed the cart. Together we braved the hill and wind.

Did you walk here? I asked. Yes. Do you want a ride? No. I like the exercise. I'm 84 years old. I marveled at her glowing skin and I told her so. I feel so tired, I confessed, feeling a little ashamed because I am half her age.

She told me to eat liver and green bananas. Then she hugged me, and held on for quite a while. It was the nicest hug I'd had in a long time. With no agenda. I once read that we need eight hugs a day just to maintain good mental health. For healing, much more are required. I'm definitely in a deficit.

I slowed down and attempted to enjoy the mundane. So much of my life is wasted hurrying. As I left the store, a man with blue-black skin and sad eyes asked me for money. I looked deep into his eyes and I did not look away, I told him I did not have money to spare. He looked deep into my eyes with love, grateful for the connection. I felt strangely comforted.

I drove away and the irony hit me. I was trying to be invisible when I went to the store. Two people - who society regularly treats as though invisible - caused me to slow down. And the ultimate irony - how can it be that there are so many people in the world and yet so many are lonely? Maybe these two were angels. They definitely caused me to pause.

...

Update 1/14/10: Due to the severe economic climate, the grocery store described in this story has closed. There are many seniors living near there in a HUD building. Most don't have cars. I cannot help but wonder how they get their groceries now.

Goodbye Shoji Screen

The shoji screen in my living room is hiding my air conditioner, but it has to go.

Friday morning a critter tried to come into my apartment. I heard a noise and peaked around the screen, there was a tiny hand pulling the accordian of the air conditioner, trying to get in. Wish I'd had my camera. I did the only logical thing I could think of, I screamed! It was a squirrel. I swear they are getting smarter and smarter. I gave him a heart attack when I screamed, I swear, he almost fainted. After the shock wore off, he gave me a dirty look and ran away.

At lunchtime I was window shopping when I came across this screen. The gallery was closed, but I'm sure it is expensive. I was stunned by its beauty and it struck me why my screen is not right.

I have been putting off painting it and changing the rice paper. But now I see why. My screen is too dark. The squares are too small. I love the look of these larger squares, they would let in much more light. (Kim, you were right.) The truth is, I am never going to paint that screen, and I really don't like it anyway.

Okay. The screen needs to go and I need to get that air conditioner out of the window, I thought. Before any other critter tries to come in to get warm. I won't need the air conditioner for six months. By that time I might have found a new place.

So Friday night I took the air conditioner out of the window.

What a pain! And what a mess. I had water and leaves everywhere. It was so heavy I had to drag it into the closet on the towel. But - afterward I sighed with pride of accomplishment.

I've spoken about the laws of attraction many times. Since the screen is not working, it has to go. When I decide something must go, I thank it for serving me and I don't look back. I took the screen out to the curb. I don't mind, the curb has been very good to me. And the screen was only $5.00 at a garage sale. I went to the store and by the time I got back it was gone. It pleases me to think of it having a new home where it can be loved instead of sitting in a closet or storage area. Material possessions must not be hoarded.

When I want something new, I let something go. I have my eye on the curb for a credenza.

As I looked at the pictures of my place, I realized I wanted more light, and a little more orange. So today, I moved a few things around (again).

Much airier. Now I just have to take those curtains down and wash them and clean the windows. Ahh, a woman's work is never done.