Boscobel

Boscobel from the South (garden)

Boscobel (Build 1808), a wonderful old estate and garden, also the summer home of a Shakespeare festival, sits high up above the Hudson, in Garrison, NY, near Cold Springs. The mansion once belonged to a gentleman and his family, who came to money, perhaps not in the most honorable way, which sounds not that unusual. He became one of the first millionaires. He build himself an amazingly large house, but  never lived to see it. After completion, his wife and son moved there and in succession the only granddaughter with fifteen children.
The house was eventually abandoned in the 1890 and stood empty until the Forties, when it was bought by the State of New York. Fortunately the house was saved by a Foundation, which secured the house, moved it to it's current location and restored the 
place in the most detail oriented fashion. 
The mansion today houses the largest collection of Federal style original furniture and brings an era to life from long ago. 

In the foreground the Constitution Marsh, behind the Hudson and West Point Academy

Not only this, the grounds have been build 1961 to complement the setting high above the Hudson with magnificent views, the former owners could have only dreamed of.
At the time of designing the gardens the trees and shrubberies were planted mature, so the impression of an old, settled in estate is absolutely perfect! 

The rose garden holds many beautiful species and this year, so I have been told, it has a record on rose blossoms.
The orangery is a charming addition and the herb garden a delight. 

The grounds are completed by an apple orchard and a lake with a large fountain...

The labor of love... Speaking of:
We are going to see Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost,  a pleasure I can't wait to indulge in!


When you're in the area, it would be a wonderful addition to any tour along the Hudson.




All images by Victoria Zlotkowsi

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Summer weeks

 Last year's summer...they all have grown!

Since yesterday our children are off to happy summer days. Traveling plans, hatched out many long months ago, came finally true, our youngest one at sleep away camp for the first time. Our next older daughter away in Europe.
What are parents to do without kids? Enjoy the gift of extra time.
No calls for this and that, no breakfast on time, not too much laundry, reading on the deck without being mocked for spending yet another boring hour with a book?!
Spending time with friends at a spontaneous dinner invitation? Heavenly!
Out in town with my husband, not caring for timely returns home to make sure everybody is off to bed....in other words: A few precious weeks of childless, care free summer days.
Do not get me wrong, we love to spend time with our growing children, but after a year of parental chores, checking, cleaning, cooking, prepping and grooming, we are as much in need of a break as our beloved offspring, who are telling us gleefully, that spending time away from everybody in the family is the best thing that happened since last year at this time....
And so, here we are, happy as kids in a candy store, enjoying the well deserved break from parental responsibilities.... until a phone call early this Sunday  morning wakes us from sweet innocent slumber: Our son cannot find his contact lenses, please advise....
And off I go, explaining in detail where I stashed the goods in his massive trunk...
Never a dull moment!




Happy summer days to all!




Picture private.

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How to choose drapery hardware

The devil is in the details and simple decisions can lead to big impact both good and bad.  Since there aren't any  absolutes in decorating, things often  come down to personal preferences.  One of the the things I'm fussy about is what colour rods to use to hang drapes.


There's lots to choose from.

Metal hardware is available in a variety of finishes : wrought iron,  aluminum, chrome, brass, and oil rubbed bronze. Wood hardware is available in almost any finish, from natural blond to dark espresso.

Styles of drapery hardware

 There's two ways you can go when choosing a colour for your rod. Choose a color that matches:

•  other items in the room
•   the colour of the drapery   

  When you choose to match  other items in the room it is often a good idea, but it doesn't always work as you can see in the photos below.

 Pinterest

It is obvious that the rod colour decision was based on matching to the dark woods in the room, but why would you want to break the lofty look that is going on here with horizontal dark lines?  When I look at this room, my eye automatically goes to the ceiling.  Contrast always draws the eye.  You probably don't want a focal point near the ceiling! 

This rod is also dark, but the same thing isn't happening because the drapes are highly coloured and patterned.  I still would not use black.  In fact I probably would rarely use black because it is too harsh unless you have black drapes or it is a very modern decor. In this room I would look for something lighter that blended with the wooden blind too and make the whole thing more of a unit.

This is a good neutral colour when you have golden tones in a room. 

You also have to watch where you use wooden blinds. The combination below really works.   

 

 Pinterest

 This is a very cohesive look.  When you add wood blinds you automatically introduce a more casual element to the space and usually the colour is lighter. Choose your rod accordingly.

  Pinterest

 This rod has enough colour to be noticed and it allows the drapes to have center stage. Imagine what a different room it would be if the rod  were black.

 Pinterest

How do you feel about this rod choice with these drapes?  Certainly  the black isn't as harsh as in some of the other examples, but it does compete a little too much with the horizontal banding for my taste. Personally I would choose something more neutral  to  match the top of the drapes.

Pinterest 

A pulled together look. 

What are your thoughts on choosing an appropriate drapery rod for your space. Do  you have an aversion to black rods in light spaces?

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Not your average colour scheme

Some colour schemes are a dime a dozen and others are just daring and interesting. Today I'm looking at salmon/coral/melon and pink/rose/magenta.

Now I'm not saying I would use these colours in my own home. You can appreciate from afar without committing!  These rooms have just too much colour for my personal style.  I'm attracted to them because they are so vibrant and fresh.  Isn't it a good thing we don't all like the same colours?

 How do you feel about these rooms?  If you could transport any of them into your own home would you?

This colour scheme seems to be most popular in bedrooms. 

 Interior Designer Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

The white bedding  and accessories work well to balance the hot colours.  White has many uses in decor and acting as a backdrop is just one of them.

You can't deny that these colours are great for a kid's room.  I'm really liking the hit of lime green as an accent.

Better Homes and Gardens

This is the subtle version of this scheme.  Just a hint of melon with a deeper pink. Both are tempered with lots of off white.  That seems to be a common thread through most of these rooms.

Phoebe Howard

More vibrant colours against light walls and furniture. The pink is leaning toward purple and there isn't that much of it. 

Jessica Lagrange

 This room turns it around and focuses on a rich magenta with smaller pops of orange. Do you think the headboard is dramatic enough or would you like to see a big piece of art over it?

Do you fancy one of these?

Living rooms

 Better Homes and Gardens

 Lots of white to play with these two vibrant colours. I'm longing for a little more pattern, perhaps a stripe with a third colour thrown in to replace the pink cushions. 

Here are some choice....

I would go for the purple one. How about you?

 

 While we're at it what let's think about the white vase... Hummm...

Choose one.  No matter what pillows you choose there's a vase that works.

  Can a room be over matched?  YES!

source

Deeper pink leaning toward red with just hints of orange give a totally different look.  In this room a neutral tan  in varying values serves as a backdrop to the vibrant colour. I like the fact that this room is not too over matched.  Lots of pattern in the pillows.

Simplified Bee®: Sweet, Modern Pink & Orange Nursery Room for Baby...

Go for it !

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