(Miles Redd)
This week has been quite eventful and exciting in Houston. We were fortunate to have several design legends in town Miles Redd, Marjorie Skouras, and Jonathan Adler. I know, right?! Its been decorator heaven around here lately. 
This is a little last minute, but I wanted to let you know about a great art show in Sugarland. 25 local artists will be showing their work, which ranges from sculpture to photography. I actually saw a sneak peek yesterday and found some pretty cool stuff. The event will be sponsored by a group called Amplify|Sugarland. Their goal is to "Strengthen a local culture of inspiration", by providing more opportunities for artists to show their work. So I hope many of you will support them:) The show will be tomorrow evening (Oct. 15) from 6-10pm.
Happy Monday, everyone! Mine was brightened by an early morning email from Joni. A quick glimpse into a fantastic home that makes me feel, oh so envious. Especially this kitchen! I can honestly say, this is the first time I've seen a kitchen so perfect for me, that I would not want to change a detail. I LOVE it! Sadly, some other lucky person will be enjoying it, since it recently sold. Whoever you are, if you are reading this; please don't change that kitchen!
The rest of the house's color scheme is beautiful too! I love the earthy neautrals with an occasional bright, bright color. So exciting:) Also, check out the black stained concrete floors. Ahhh, I'm so smitten.
This house is located behind one of our favorite family restaurants, so I have been admiring it's exterior for a couple of years now. Mark and I always said we would want a house that looks just like this, who knew I would feel the same way about the interior too!
Yes? No? I never know how I feel about cottages. I love their character but many feel too restrictive. Small choppy floor plans. This house on the other hand, I do love. It was obviously remodeled and opened up. Now it has a great loft feel! It also helps that at over 1700 sqft. It isn't tiny.
OH, I WANT A NEW HOUSE SOOOO BAD!!!!!
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Houston developer Carol Barden. It was an interesting series of events that got us in touch. Several weeks ago I posted photos of one of my favorite Houston homes that is on the market. The photos were picked up by several other sites which brought them to the attention of Carol. Why is this significant, you ask. Well, Carol is responsible for saving the home from the scrap heap several years ago. Swamplot wrote an interesting article breaking down the time line. So, we got in touch and I got the opportunity to visit with a fascinating woman with strong convictions on what makes a house a home. 
As the developer, Barden conceives of every new project and then infuses her personal touches throughout the space. Several details I like in her homes, are first, the importance of nature. When a new home is ready to be built, existing trees are left standing. This is not something that is done nearly enough in Houston. Also, windows are placed to allow the homeowners to actually enjoy the beautiful greenery. This doesn't sound like an Earth shattering idea and yet many builders never actually do that! Perhaps my favorite details are the natural feeling brought inside via natural materials and textures. For someone who loves texture and earthy colors as much as I do, these homes really entice me:)
Carol believes women have a natural advantage when it comes to building and designing homes because they can visualize all the small details that a home needs. For example, the idea of having natural light in a bathroom for applying makeup. Separate vanities in the master bath, so couples don't have to watch each other spitting into the sink every day. Hey, we gotta keep some of the romance alive somehow! Barden's company is especially known for their beautiful and well thought out kitchens. Of course, designed with real people who cook in mind.
The Wabi Sabi house is one of Barden's most recent projects that garnered a lot of attention. It was based on the ancient Japanese concept of essentially finding beauty in imperfection. Personally, I am a believer in this concept and I'm sure many readers would not be surprised to know that about me;) If you are unfamiliar with the concept of Wabi-sabi, I highly recommend studying it.
This beautiful home was completed so succesfully that Carol already has a second one in the works. It should be scheduled to finish in the fall of '09 and I can't wait to see it! Hope you find these photos as inspiring as I do and have a great weekend, everyone.
As is often the case, I'm very late in writing this post. Remember the whole "no internet" thing? Last week I had the pleasure of photographing one of my favorite Houston homes. Located in the my usual stomping grounds, I have been admiring for a few years now. So a few weeks ago, I drove by and was surprised to see it for sale! Click here to see the listing. Being the house stalker that I am (Yeah, I admit it), I called to see if I could see the interior.
The house was shown in a local magazine a few years ago, but the owners graciously indulged my desire to take some pics myself:) What I always admired from afar was the beautiful color scheme of the exterior. Its very bold but has a Zen feel, especially with the bamboo.
This house is like a wonderful gift in a beautiful wrapper. You know sometimes, you wonder if what's inside is as great as the exterior? I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed when I walked in the door. The decor is restrained elegance with a modern twist. I can say that I haven't seen many homes with such a wonderful attention to detail. Something I really loved were the creative vignettes placed around the house.
Check out the ebony stained floors throughout the house! I know lots of you love them as much as I do.
The kitchen is simple and clean. I think this is one those rare kitchens that actually inspire me to cook. That is saying a lot, trust me!
The large open doorways are a remnant of when the house was a beauty salon. Instead of replacing the doors the owners either left them open or installed heavy draperies from tracks. The bedroom also has a fabulous dressing room that once was a porch. P.S. The cool framed numbers are from Ebay!
So was I right? Beautiful, huh? One last amazing detail. The backyard is a small garden. Inorder to expand the space, a mirror was installed along the back fence. With the large plants in front, the yard seems to go on forever...without all the trimming that is;)
