Green with Envy...

I recently visited a good friend's home where I discovered the perfect green colored kitchen.  I wanted to go home and paint my whole house green!  Well, not really, but it did make me think about where I could use green. 


Don't you love the color green.  Green harmonizes it creates the perfect combination of the passivity of blue with the vibrancy of yellow. It is considered the most restful color to the eye, and of all the colors, green is the one in which the human eye distinguishes the widest range of shades.

Green represents nature in nearly every culture.  It can be seen in the new life that comes in the spring and in the lasting color of evergreens.  BioPulse states, 
(http://www.biopulse.org/color.html)
green is used as color therapy for relaxation and balancing the nervous system.  Green represents money.  Green has also represents fertility, love and sexuality in many cultures.



Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.

Olive green is the traditional color of peace.








I thought I'd share some green pallets I've seen that inspire me.

When choosing a green be sure to put it on the wall in the room it will go.  Greens can look very different when they are in sunlight or shade.


Decorating with green is easy and fun. You will never go wrong using this fresh and relaxing color palette.  Do you need some "Green" in your home?

Be Inspired by 65 years of Pink

Being to true to yourself is so important in life, but also in your design.  For nearly 25 years, I have been inspired by Phyllis Madonna's courageous use of pink to style her popular Inn in San Luis Obispo.  This well know stop for travelers since December 1958 has been known for their extravagant rooms, excellent food and excessive use of the color "Hot Pink"  Reminiscent of the board game Candyland, it may not be my personal taste for my home, but what an example of a designer who is true to herself. 

While my girls were growing up, we used to enjoy the day before school started with breakfast to celebrate the "new year."  I now go to meet friends and catch up on our careers. You cannot miss this hotel restaurant and event center as you travel north or south on 101 Freeway. The style of Madonna Inn is 19th-century Gothic and Swiss chalet but some describe it more accurately as Swiss Chalet meets Disneyland. What is fun is there are no numbers on the doors of rooms but each room has been given a name and each room is decorated uniquely. Madonna Inn is a hit with locals and many celebrities have visited the Inn too. (Ask the front desk clerk and she'll ramble off a list.) There are one hundred and ten unique rooms, each decorated differently to suit many individual tastes...rock rooms, waterfall showers, extensive fireplaces, European fixtures, and fine furnishings make every room special. 

A collectors item from years past the famous Madonna Inn Goblets in an array of colors.  You'll learn more about them in a future blog as I collect them.

While at the Inn, I took some pictures to share with you (excuse the camera phone quality, they are from my iphone 4)  You can see this beautiful hand carved wooden door when you arrive. There are also more wonderful carving on the walls and stair railings.  There are mirrors everywhere, gilded gold furnishings, fabulous light fixtures and wild bright (pinks) floral carpeting.  All this designed for a feeling of fine dining.  It is “over the top” in bright pink, white lights and flowers. You can't help but feel the passion and purpose the owners felt when building and designing the Inn.

Love the hand carved wooden doors

This is Sammy my good friend looking at that large light fixture that is made out of a wine barrel. In the late 1950's several wood carvers were brought in for the specialty work of hand carving the doors, beams, railings and the many other carved adornments you see here at the Madonna Inn.

Notice the use of white lights, hot pink vinyl and wisteria (Phyllis Madonna's favorite flower)

There are gilded gold frames and mirrors everywhere.  The Madonna Inn provided the backdrop for an episode of ABC's reality series The Bachelor. In the season 14 episode that aired on January 25, 2010, look for this mirrored wall.

I love that when visiting the Inn you can just stroll around and see it all:  Madonna Inn Bakery & Pastry Shop, Copper Café & Coffee Bar, Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House, Silver Bar Cocktail & Lounge and several boutique shops upstairs. It is amazing and while you are there you must make a stop in their coffee shop and have their Toffee Crunch Cake. It is one of my favorites and I always want a piece on my birthday.

The owners, Phyllis and Alex Madonna, were friends of my grandparents when they lived in San Luis Obispo.  Mr. Madonna, who's known as a rancher and a local philanthropist, with his wife, Phyllis, were the imaginative force behind the Inn.  The story goes that he designed it on a napkin. Everything from the street lights to the vending machines is painted in a shade of pink, which the couple thought set a romantic mood for honeymooners.  (When I was a girl the entire Inn was painted bubblegum pink.)  Mr. Madonna built the Inn with his wife, making sure to consult with her with each and every detail. If nothing else, this trip to Madonna Inn has inspired me to really be true to myself!

If you are interested in checking out the Madonna Inn, you will find it off of HWY 101 on the Central Coast of California (http://www.madonnainn.com/).    The Inn is noticeable right off the freeway with its bright pink and white sign and its stately appearance.  The hotel is a stopping place for travelers from all over the world because of their reputation for excellent food (and lots of it) and unique architecture and design.  It is a wonderful place to meet up with friends and be inspired by something totally unique!

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring Color!

Hues of Yellow

Have you noticed the change in weather brings out the desire to freshen up your place.  As many of you know, I love to browse through the color palettes on the Design Seeds website (http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/yellow-fresh).  I recently found this palette and oh how excited I am for spring!  These colors have really inspired me to start thinking of how to spring-up my house!  Hopefully these colors help improve your Monday a little bit as well!  Check out design seed next time you are looking for creative and new color pallets.

This little bouquet is sweet.  I enjoy hydrangea's and find that they are in almost all of my very favorite bouquets. 

Don't you love the look of this grey and natural pallet?  I like the way it's arranged and the animal print table that has a multi use.  I'm off to my room to see if I can arrange it in a similar fashion for spring.  Enjoy your Saturday!

Time Travel: Alexandria, VA

Alexandria, Virginia is a lovely town that tips it's hat to the past.  Because of it's close proximity to the nation's capital it is populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government.  The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. With its boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, all being a major draw for tourists. Alexandria neighborhoods are compact, walkable, high-income suburbs of Washington D.C

Some of the historic landmarks in Old Town include General Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Lee-Fendall House, and a replica of George Washington's townhouse. 

I toured the Gadsby's Tavern, and the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop.  These are two Must See’s in Alexandria that I came across while on my visit there.  The Apothecary Museum and Gift Shop was easy to find and offered a guided tour.

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum was a family business founded in 1792 and operated in this very same location for many years. It represents one of Alexandria's oldest continuously run businesses that combined retailing, wholesaling, and manufacturing. 

The museum is filled with a wonderful collection of beautiful antiques and moldings, botanical herbs, hand blown glass, and medical equipment.  The guide told us their spectacular collection of archival materials, including journals, letters and diaries, prescription and formula books, ledgers, orders and invoices is superior to other museums. The names of famous customers appear on many documents, including Martha Washington, Nelly Custis and Robert E. Lee.

While on the tour of the Apothecary Museum, I was taken back by how beautiful those hand blown glass bottles were.   I loved the design of the fireplace and all the lovely moldings.  I also enjoyed the old world charm of the antiques and the way they stored the medicines.  There were some wonderful gift items in the Gift Shop.  Note to self: a great place to do some serious Christmas shopping.

Next I strolled a lovely old street, lined with brick homes and businesses.  I loved the architecture and the front door design. (see below)  I decided to lunch where  "George Washington" ate: the Gadaby Tavern  and Restaurant.  I loved how the servers were dressed up in 17th century finery and were so polite and formal.  Gadsby Tavern's  building has a special designation by the U.S. National Historic Landmarks. Next door is Gadsby's Tavern Museum, a cultural history museum.

Originally the Tavern was part of the social, economic, political, and educational life in Alexandria. Today the Tavern houses exhibits of early American life in Virginia and the restaurant serves up some traditional foods in a fun and fanciful way. 

Important visitors to the tavern included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. 

There was a wonderful fireplace and the tables were set with old style pewter, some very traditional old pattern china and cut glass water glasses.

Most everything on the menu could have been served in the 1800’s.  I ordered hot onion soup and it was simply delicious.  There was home baked breads and I added a cup of hot tea (It was a very cold day).  I loved the hurricane candle lit with one tall tapered candle.  In fact candle light was what illuminated the entire room.  I had a relaxing and inviting lunch and almost forgot where I was!

nienie

nienie