a well lived life...: July 2011

Quotes...

The best decisions are always made at the last minute. Just know when the last minute is.
Holly Hunt

Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style.
Billy Baldwin

All rooms ought to look as if they were lived in, and to have so to say, a friendly welcome ready for the incomer.
William Morris

... to ensure a successful mix, I treat cushions, trimming, lampshades and other accessories as the shoes and handbags of the home. The right shoes can really make an outfit - and equally, if you have the wrong shoes, you can feel old-fashioned in the smartest of suits.
Nina Campbell

Each item in a collection has its own story, its own memory - the search, the day you bought it, who you were with, the vacation, etc.; a collection provides a special satisfaction and sense of achievement.
Tricia Guild

Good design has to tell a story. It has to stop people, and it has to make them wonder. Good design is a conversation.
Zahid Sardar

We are almost a month into summer, and in Vancouver I don't think we have seen a week of sunshine. On the one hand, I like to brag that Vancouverites look younger than our years (thanks to our dewy complexions), and on the flip side I am so thankful this summer for my California projects bringing me 80 degree temperatures and blue skies daily.

Between the heat and the hacienda I am reminded of last summer's three week holiday to Tuscany. Although my time is split between Vancouver and San Diego, and I am working long hours, it is easy to draw a parallel between the two locations. The home I am working on has me thinking of an architecture style that crosses between Old California, Spanish Colonial and Tuscan - while considering the client's European antiques, cleanlined upholstery and contemporary art collection.

Here are some inspiring villa's from around the world!

San Paolo - Italy

Casa Crystal - California