Dear friends,
Have a look at this wonderful give away!
Summer greetings from France!
xoxo Victoria
August Giveaway N° 4 - a portrait of your home - Sharon Santoni
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
August Giveaway N° 4 - a portrait of your home - Sharon Santoni
Dear friends,
Have a look at this wonderful give away!
Summer greetings from France!
xoxo Victoria
August Giveaway N° 4 - a portrait of your home - Sharon Santoni
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Small details, big impact
There are so many ways to create impact in a space. Sometimes impact is created by subtle additions of colour, textures, or forms or features can be in your face - bold.
I tend to sit in the subtle camp. I enjoy finding treasures in a space and then visually connecting them to create points of interest- a kind of meandering trip while you sit comfortably at your computer or in someone's home.
Art
The three small artworks hung vertically (lower than usually seen) act as a perfect foil for the hanging lamp. The flowers soften all the vertical movement and it is further calmed by the horizontal lines of the headboard and the fluffy pillows. In a space that is neutral, you have to rely on other elements beside colour to excite the eye.
There's so much I love about this room: the simple lines in furniture; the light floor; the minimalist arrangements in the bookcase; the purple over the fireplace. The crowning glory for me is the tall vase of calla lilies by the window. They are like an exclamation point.
Never underestimate the power of pillows to add interest to a blah space. This room goes from ordinary to inviting because of the pillows. The variety in size, shape and textures draws the eye. Who know crocheted squares could look so good? The lushness of the pillows against the distressed headboard and simple bedclothes adds further interest.
Headboards
The inclusion of a headboard that mimics waves below the picture of the whale is striking. The bedding has a simple nautical feeling in blue and white.
Lamps
The symmetrical placement of two lamps in this work space provides a frame for the asymmetrical gold branch. Your eye is led there by the gold chair. The aqua stool creates variety in colour.
Lamps don't have to be huge to be effective. The simple silver lamp fills the empty space above the art work. Remember lamps can do more than shed light.
Doors
Sometimes doors complete a room either through interesting lines or colour. These doors have both.
READ MORE
I tend to sit in the subtle camp. I enjoy finding treasures in a space and then visually connecting them to create points of interest- a kind of meandering trip while you sit comfortably at your computer or in someone's home.
Art
The artwork over the banquette keeps drawing me in. The little hint of blue against the yellow school bus connects to the flowers and pillows. I would be even happier seeing just the banquette, table and art. This would allow the viewer to really appreciate the art. Often less is more.
Flowers
The natural elements in this space keep your eyes moving . Nothing looks as crisp as plants in an all white space.
Pillows
Headboards
The inclusion of a headboard that mimics waves below the picture of the whale is striking. The bedding has a simple nautical feeling in blue and white.
Something as simple as a painted strip behind a bed to act as a headboard can be very inviting. The repetition of lavender makes this a calm space. If you wanted to rev it up a little, magenta pillows would do the trick.
Lamps
Doors
Sometimes doors complete a room either through interesting lines or colour. These doors have both.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Hello from France
The little town has put a spell on us all, we're living a dreamy country life, quiet and yet not boring at all. We explore small towns, markets and enjoy walks around the country side. We take all millions of pictures and mostly enjoy each other. Has it been already almost one and a half weeks? Impossible!
The charming house we live in for the summer...
I've met the sweetest townspeople, often from abroad themselves and home now in this lovely southern corner of the Perigord! The town itself, an old Bastide, which means a ancient fortified church town, is small. A five minute walk takes you trough it, but already I befriended Prudence, a perfume designer with her small delicate shop and delicious perfumes, living here for 20 years, her sister, owning the most charming design store, both from Australia and utmost French by now...
A fashionable jewelry designer, working for Christian Delacroix, creating fun pieces, which are not to be taken too seriously!
We've met an ex-pat American, living here for ten years now, from Boston....
And a wonderful lady, Catherine, who owns the local Brasserie, waiting for us, to enjoy our 'cafe grande' every night.
All are extremely helpful and ready to share their stories. We feel very much 'at home' here and in love with the magic of this place. Many 'Bastides' around here were founded in the 13th Century by the English and a lot of Brits visit every summer!
We have had a country fair here, complete with live animals- huge cream colored cows with their calves and oxen.... markets with everything from the most delicious cheeses to Fois gras and strawberries, delicately tasting of raspberries, old linens and crockery, honey and home made jams.
We enjoy the wines of Bergerac, Bordeaux and St. Emillion.
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| Detail above the door |
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| Old posters |
Today's 'brocante' yielded some old posters and a small linen towel, at least as old as I am....Ha, not old at all....Or an antique??? It all depends, right?
I dug through paintings, brass buttons, plates and derelict pieces and odd ends....
Then we lounged by the pool, nibbled some cheese and fresh vegetables, drank a little wine and slept in the sun!
This is a wonderful daily routine, beginning every morning with a two minute stroll to the 'Boulangerie' to get fresh baguettes, croissants and something delicious, called pain de noix, a dense dark bread with walnuts.... Hmmm. So good!
We often cook in the evenings, fresh fish and salads, with more baguette and cheeses, the local, stone hard salami and the freshest and juiciest peaches.
Or we explore the local restaurants, which are amazing and always refined.
This is also the home of canard and fois gras, duck and liver pate, where almost every town has their very own specialty of it! No menu is without it!
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| Fountain in Bergerac |
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| Small sidewalk cafes |
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| Fois gras advertisment |
I will post a little more in the next week, I do enjoy sitting and just feeling everything! So to tell you I am very active would simple be an overstatement....It's a lot of small joys ....the boys, the sister coming tomorrow, my darling in- laws.... Just simple pleasures!
Greeting, my friends! Here is a glimpse of about half the gang!
All images private.
Monday, August 13, 2012
In praise of circles
What is the most used shape in home decor? It's the rectangle of course!
Tables, sofas, beds, dressers, area rugs etc; even the shape of our rooms are rectangular. When you have that many similar shapes, it is important to bring in another shapes to create some variety in a space. Of course, the perfect pairing with all those rectangles is a circular shape .
Nothing pleases me more than circles and spheres. I use them liberally in both my art work and in home decor. I don't consider a space complete until I have several circular shapes in a room. I have a fondness for circular tables in particular. Then there are all those objects you can find that are circular: mirrors, globes, glass spheres, clocks, ... the list is endless and there are so many ways to weave them into a space. A poke around my Pinterest vignette board revealed lots of circular motifs.
I spy with my little eye lots of ...
Moving your eye around a room by creating constants (shapes, textures, colours) is a well known design principle. Can you see how this homeowner created visual flow with circular shapes?
Love the freshness of this arrangement. There's nothing like the colours of nature to attract our senses. There are circles/spheres everywhere here.
This high contrast room has a similar design aesthetic to the one above, but there is more variety in sizes.
In this room we are first drawn to colour and pattern and the coloured spheres in the lamp add to the overall effect. The lamp is stunning and not easily ignored . The second lamp looks almost insignificant and perhaps (in my mind) it needs to be a tad larger. Scale is so tricky! Purple and light wood- it doesn't get any better than this.
One of my favourite tricks is to overlap shapes when I pair objects. Love this simple mantle arrangement that sends your eyes round and round. Additional circular shapes are repeated with the table, vases and wheels on the coffee table.
Another circular shape overlapping a rectangle. Notice how the handles and the tufting creates visual flow? If I could wave a magic want, I would make the mirror just a tad larger.
When you pair something red, with print and add in a circular shape, you have the ultimate pairing if you want to create a focal point. The additional rounded shapes in the carved letters move our eyes throughout the vignette. This odd assortment of objects is very eye catching. I'd edit the hide rug because I would like to see the cabinet without visual competition.
A strong colour and variety in shapes create an eye catching arrangement. Imagine how boring this vignette would be if all the objects were rectangular!
I think the textures, light wood and circular motifs make this a very inviting room. I just want to see more of it.
Links to all of these rooms can be found on my Pinterest site highlighted at the beginning of this post.
READ MORE
Tables, sofas, beds, dressers, area rugs etc; even the shape of our rooms are rectangular. When you have that many similar shapes, it is important to bring in another shapes to create some variety in a space. Of course, the perfect pairing with all those rectangles is a circular shape .
Nothing pleases me more than circles and spheres. I use them liberally in both my art work and in home decor. I don't consider a space complete until I have several circular shapes in a room. I have a fondness for circular tables in particular. Then there are all those objects you can find that are circular: mirrors, globes, glass spheres, clocks, ... the list is endless and there are so many ways to weave them into a space. A poke around my Pinterest vignette board revealed lots of circular motifs.
I spy with my little eye lots of ...
circles and spheres
This arrangement of two circles inside a square is simplicity at its best. Our eye is drawn to the juxtaposition in both shape and colour. Isn't it interesting how contrast continually draws us? You could not sit in this room and ignore this wall.
Another circular shape overlapping a rectangle. Notice how the handles and the tufting creates visual flow? If I could wave a magic want, I would make the mirror just a tad larger. 
I think the textures, light wood and circular motifs make this a very inviting room. I just want to see more of it.
Maybe you can have too much of a good thing. What do you think?
Links to all of these rooms can be found on my Pinterest site highlighted at the beginning of this post.
How do you feel about circles. Do you consciously use them when decorating?
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Can you mix metal finishes?
I love reader questions because they give me a writing focus a post. So here goes...
Can you mix metals in your finishes? The answer is a resounding YES!! You can also match all your finishes. I personally find that a space can look somewhat boring if you choose to slavishly match every metal finish, but that's me. I like harmony with some variety.
Here are a few guidelines that will ensure that you have a cohesive look.
Work with what you like best
If you are renovating/ updating, choose the finish you like the best / is the most stylish and match to it. Be aware that a dull gold/brass look is trending right now as is chrome, and it may not be long before all that brushed nickel will have a new status.
Limit the variety of tones
If you already have things in silver tones (brushed nickel, pewter or chrome) consider mixing them with wrought iron or black finishes. Two to three tones would be the limit or you will end up with a hodge podge.
Connect with other tones in the room
In the picture below black is used predominately in the light fixtures while the faucet has silver tones and the handles are either pewter or brushed nickel, still in the silver family. Because black carries such visual weight it works best when there is something else black in the space to help anchor it.
Many older homes have brass or copper fixtures that look good when paired with oil rubbed bronze or black. If you already have something that is dark in the room this is the tone you should select to supplement with. While copper and black breaks the keeping to the same tone guideline, it can work when you have other black furnishings.
Copper in this space is paired with stainless steel and possibly pewter. The copper is picking up the tones in the wood and your eye is moved around the space very nicely. It's all a matter of creating flow.
READ MORE
Can you mix metals in your finishes? The answer is a resounding YES!! You can also match all your finishes. I personally find that a space can look somewhat boring if you choose to slavishly match every metal finish, but that's me. I like harmony with some variety.
Marc Jacobs "Love Edge" Heart Bracelet shows that metals really do work well together. 
Here are a few guidelines that will ensure that you have a cohesive look.
Work with what you like best
If you are renovating/ updating, choose the finish you like the best / is the most stylish and match to it. Be aware that a dull gold/brass look is trending right now as is chrome, and it may not be long before all that brushed nickel will have a new status.
Limit the variety of tones
If you already have things in silver tones (brushed nickel, pewter or chrome) consider mixing them with wrought iron or black finishes. Two to three tones would be the limit or you will end up with a hodge podge.
Connect with other tones in the room
In the picture below black is used predominately in the light fixtures while the faucet has silver tones and the handles are either pewter or brushed nickel, still in the silver family. Because black carries such visual weight it works best when there is something else black in the space to help anchor it.
Many older homes have brass or copper fixtures that look good when paired with oil rubbed bronze or black. If you already have something that is dark in the room this is the tone you should select to supplement with. While copper and black breaks the keeping to the same tone guideline, it can work when you have other black furnishings.
Elaine Griffin Interiors
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Little post in between
Returning from one trip and preparing for another, time to post is spare and yet I long to talk to you.
Some of my dearest bloggers are back from their own travels and adventures, I apologize for not commenting often enough, but believe me, I read! My thoughts wander to Scotland and England, Hungary, France and Germany, Poland, Australia, around the corner and around the world! They travel around America and I adore your thoughts!
You all inspire me! Thank you all. I can't say it often enough, blogging and reading all your posts lifts me off the ground...
After coming back from New Orleans - oh, has it been two weeks already ? - we had the younger kids back from their respective camps, loads of laundry piling high, medical check ups before school, a new client - hurrah, and plenty of social engagements, mostly all last minute, before going away again.
Still I found time to marvel at the raindrops and the birds flying around the house....I am a hopeless nature watcher and I can drop everything to follow that woodpecker with my camera....We fed hummingbirds with honey the other day....
We are going away in August, to spend time at a wonderful place in France, the Dordogne area, near Bergerac.... yes, the place of Cyrano De Bergerac fame.
And the wonderful landscape near the Dordogne river, which has been made known around the world by the prehistoric wall art at Les Eyzies, Lascaux and Font-de-Gaume.
But most of all to reunite with our family, the older boys and their beloved ones, my in-laws - the sweetest people around and my sister and her family.... All to have and to hold for awhile in our arms, to make again memories together and fill up the emotional tanks....
I can't wait, I can't wait!
A house is awaiting us, a wonderful old house, in a tiny town, which we will discover. And more then that, the people, the food, the wine, the landscapes around and the sure treasures to be found!
More about that soon to come!
I promise to post, I can't help it sharing with you all!
Au revoir, mon amies!
Photography by V.Zlotkowski, images via websites
READ MORE
Some of my dearest bloggers are back from their own travels and adventures, I apologize for not commenting often enough, but believe me, I read! My thoughts wander to Scotland and England, Hungary, France and Germany, Poland, Australia, around the corner and around the world! They travel around America and I adore your thoughts!
You all inspire me! Thank you all. I can't say it often enough, blogging and reading all your posts lifts me off the ground...
After coming back from New Orleans - oh, has it been two weeks already ? - we had the younger kids back from their respective camps, loads of laundry piling high, medical check ups before school, a new client - hurrah, and plenty of social engagements, mostly all last minute, before going away again.
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| Woodpecker, hammering away.... |
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| As busy as I... |
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| The beauty over the neighbor's fence... |
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| Our regular visitor... hope the cat never gets him... |
Still I found time to marvel at the raindrops and the birds flying around the house....I am a hopeless nature watcher and I can drop everything to follow that woodpecker with my camera....We fed hummingbirds with honey the other day....
We are going away in August, to spend time at a wonderful place in France, the Dordogne area, near Bergerac.... yes, the place of Cyrano De Bergerac fame.
 |
| Cyrano! |
And the wonderful landscape near the Dordogne river, which has been made known around the world by the prehistoric wall art at Les Eyzies, Lascaux and Font-de-Gaume.
But most of all to reunite with our family, the older boys and their beloved ones, my in-laws - the sweetest people around and my sister and her family.... All to have and to hold for awhile in our arms, to make again memories together and fill up the emotional tanks....
I can't wait, I can't wait!
A house is awaiting us, a wonderful old house, in a tiny town, which we will discover. And more then that, the people, the food, the wine, the landscapes around and the sure treasures to be found!
More about that soon to come!
I promise to post, I can't help it sharing with you all!
Au revoir, mon amies!
Photography by V.Zlotkowski, images via websites