Instant change in scenery…from the chilly high desert of New Mexico to the expansive beaches along the Bay of Banderas between La Cruz and Punta de Mita. We’re here now enjoying the sky touch the sea and purple mountains shrouded in mist circling the bay creating an awesome scene of tropical splendor. Palm fronds reach from their trunks and crinkle their tips in the breeze like giant green shrimp trying to escape into the air.
Last night we had a dinner party with our fabuous friends the familia Leon de la Vega. Federico, Luli, Victoria and Lupita join us every year for dinner at this magical spot. In anticipation of the evening’s party, I planned the menu on the plane, groceries were purchased on the way from the airport and the first day of our visit unfolded.
Joined this year by niece Heather and cousin Tricia, we are having an adventure! As I explained the plan for the day and tasks to be performed to ready ourselves for the dinner party, one aspect fascinated the girls. I wanted (as I always do) to dress the table – and they looked at each other, shrugged, raised their up-turned hands to the sky and said in unison “with what?” (Can you visualize that scene?)
Always working with available materials the task is like a treasure hunt for me. There were simple woven placemats in a drawer. Their organic color and texture were perfect contrast to the smooth surface of the honed stone table top. Next I grabbed a water glass from the cupboard, went outside and began to prune a trailing pothos plant for the naked center of the travertine slab. In a drawer we discovered a pair of votive candles colorfully wrapped with an angelically handsome face of Jesus in a baggie with a package of matches – intended for emergencies in case of a power outage after dark – until the emergency generators kick-in. Knowing that they probably had these in inventory, I called the front desk to request 6 of these little luminaries – offered to pay for them – but they were delivered to the room gratis. After peeling off the holy wrappers, we stood back and examined our progress…a pretty green trailing plant with small white votive candles…next step…to the beach!! We ventured forth to comb the leavings from high tide where we scavenged gathering our decorative elements… smooth stones washed by the sea and bleached by the sun with white oyster shells pearly and iridescent perfect for bases beneath our little white candles.
Scattering the stones along the center of the table and placing three shells on either side of the center, we positioned the candles on the shells and Voila!! A beautiful tablescape – made more enchanting as night fell and the candles glowed -move over Sandra Lee! All created on-site with the spontaneity resulting from limited, but very successful resources, in perfect context with our tropical beach setting. Mix those margaritas and enjoy!
The Struggle, the Dance of Domestic Design
I’ve consulted in this house for many years. The wife patiently struggles against the architectural grain of her husband in his chosen profession that encourages clean-lined contemporary pieces over her family collectibles (and his for that matter). How to make it all work?
The recent acquisition of a Corbusier “Confort” sofa and chair – the clean lines of the chrome and leather placed upon a brilliant red oriental rug layered on top of burnt orange and yellow clay Saltillo tiles…it could work – yet it’s never done completely. The remnants of previous decisions do not harmonize. The struggle continues… She though compassionately concedes, they (architects) must own these before they die. Like the bucket list of purchases…possessions… She supports this newest statement – but still longs for her traditional environment…the struggle…
“Yes”, I assure her, “the Queen Anne wing chairs can work together with these new pieces.” It’s all about what fabric and what other things, textures, patterns (or not), it’s all about balance. “In fact, often the more interesting interiors do juxtapose disparate styles – but no to the point where it looks like trying and missing”. There’s the art of it all…how to MAKE it work – well.
The trick is to get everyone in the same room at the same time and make decisions that are not concessions so much as they are agreements as to what would look/work best to accomplish the end result – melding the crisp contemporary pieces of modern design and the classic elements of more traditional furnishings…including (from her position)an elegant draping crystal chandelier – well proportioned, this is a key piece around which she wants to create a fabulous new kitchen – in a completely opposite area of the house where it now resides and has for the last 20+ years. He is NOT in favor of this radical departure from the original layout. So this dilemma is not limited to the furnishings but also the architectural space-planning of the over-all layout of the home and how to live in it.
Stay tuned to hear more about the ongoing saga of real-life husband and wife styles and goals, forward steps and lateral moves – the dance of domestic design continues…
Take time to Pause
Knowing when it’s your time to grow up and have an adult interior…I’ve asked myself that and have had many clients voice that same desire. We get so caught-up with life and its daily priorities that designing a personal, comfortable interior takes a back seat.
What defines you as an image (that maybe not many outside your inner circle will ever see) and at the same time makes you feel connected and comfortable? Looking at what you have and deciding what actually pleases you is a focused effort.
To be able to get rid of things that are either extraneous or bothersome, unpleasant or annoying will take time to pause…time to pause and study your environment…time to pause and evaluate your things…take time to pause and think about how you live or want to live…time to pause and make the conscious decision to change things.
Start with stepping back and looking at your interior world. Have you accumulated things that do not mean much if anything to you? “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. DONATE!! Truly, if you have spent any time in Goodwill, consignment shops or thrift stores you will acknowledge that you can find treasures that to your way of thinking are just that and to the one who sent them there only see disposable items. But for the good of the re-cycling cycle – it’s quite good.
So take a moment to evaluate your space…see what makes you happy and what might be dragging you down. Cull…weed out that which is not important, or worse – that which makes you unhappy. It will be a revealing if not exhilarating experience. Try it. Happy Holiday season – give to those places that know best how to re-cycle your less important accessories for the good of you and the whole.
Visiting the Rest of the Planet, Upon Occasion
Back after a week of visiting family and friends in my hometown of Washington DC and the surrounding Virginia suburbs, we find that we have compiled myriad observations about the contrasts between our two worlds. The sensory overload and ideas galore give us energy, if not exhaustion.
Lights, graphic designs, shopping extravaganzas, all the chain restaurants and those individually owned – those mega enterprises and the more personal entrepreneurial endeavors. So much design is universal and obviously certain cultures have their own. Multi-cultures within one complex setting is startling, fascinating and worth consideration.
I met with a new client. His needs were like others, to create a homey environment where there once was more activity – to re-invent a new version of life in the same environment. Starting with the basics that he already owned, some from long ago and others recently purchased, we set forth to design his interior.
Listening to what he liked and enjoyed and what he hoped to achieve, we began the process. To hear what a client is saying and to discern what they mean differently from what they actually speak is a fine line. We weaved through the discourse and moved between statements of seeming fact only to be dispelled in the next few minutes by new considerations after careful and thoughtful exchanges of ideas took place. His life was comfortable, in a beautifully intimate setting, fairly insulated in a pleasant pocket, paced well and not too different from ours far from the bustling city. More on this in a later blog.
But comparing our relaxed, fairly even pulse and predictably manageable pace to the frantic, blitz of traffic and graphic overload that we’ve seen – we are reminded that people do live in “pockets” of larger environs. They shop close to home and work if possible within a reasonable radius. Less fortunate have lengthy tiresome and tension-filled commutes and interact with a broader, more complex set of people and places. It’s a mix.
Yet, in summary we find that, well, we love our life here in the Land of Enchantment and very much enjoy visiting the rest of the planet upon occasion!
Gather ‘round and Give Thanks – It’s All Relative!
A community table… in a place, like the “stand-in-line for days until your table is announced – but WELL worth the wait,” Pasqual’s in Santa Fe, is a stimulating and spontaneous experience. You elect to be seated at the “Community Table” where, in the center of the space, you are seated with total strangers to commune over your meal. Not unlike speed dating – because you are placed between people that you don’t know and conversing about whatever comes to mind and connects from there…however, not fast like “speed dating’ nor as engaging because you are not searching for a mate…
So, where does this place us in this blog? Tonight, we gathered at a friend’s for dinner. The hors d’ oeuvres were many and they were placed on the kitchen island where people usually gather for a party. But the hostess had different ideas. She had a perfectly comfortable farm table nestled into a banco filled with grand, over-stuffed down pillows WHICH that very day she had taken out back and vacuumed to a fare-thee-well.
With encouragement and the talents of a herding dog to steer us, we migrated to the table, where the hors d’oeuvres were transferred in the middle for central reach, and where began an animated collective of multiple conversations – simultaneous and energizing. The drinks were generous and the hors d’oeuvres were plenty. Complex and purely traditional cheeses and crackers, toasts with blue and walnuts, Shitake spread and veggies for the crunch and relief from the decadent and cheesy – yet elegant – proteins of it all!
As it becomes that cozy time of year…we gather with friends and make good conversation…durable, moisture resistant Crypton fabrics have made these kitchen banco pillows/cushions, in the aforementioned very real scene, easy to maintain over the years. Now, in an incredible variety of types, styles and colors, Crypton can be YOUR new best friend. Please don’t abuse it with oils…all other liquids will race off the surface – wine, water, coffee and tea – all other than oils – and even with oils, ACT FAST – and you will mitigate the problem.
Nearing Thanksgiving –we give thanks –gather round and know that others have it much more stressful than we – and if you are stressed – put it in perspective and KNOW that there are others less fortunate. Happy almost Thanksgiving! Think About It!!!!!!
