Minimalism and Clutter-Free - I Get It

I have been driving for about two hours, Mon through Fri for the past two weeks to take one child to and from camp. She loves this camp at Teatown Reservation in the Ossining/Yorktown region of Westchester County, NY, with all their adventurous, outdoorsy activities.

As a result, I have had two hours less to my hectic schedule. I had planned to "reveal" more pictures of my house but that will have to wait until next week. Maybe. Instead, I decided to share pictures of this amazingly designed home by British architect, John Pawson.

The design involves two slim, cantilevered boxes one over the other. Another level, partially hidden, was built below ground.

View of the Pacific from the top, play area at lowest level. A stark exterior, but I was intrigued - this home was built for a family with two kids.

Random-width oak floors within this double-height dining room and through rest of house...

Night-time views from dining room. Custom furniture. This is someone's home!

Dining table with cove-light effect. The oak flooring is magnificent.

 Oak cabinetry in kitchen.

 The family room.

The study.

I could read a book or two in a space with a view such as this. (I think I would probably feel compelled to line these walls with bookshelves, too).

Serene bedroom. Yes, I could relax here.

Minimalist master bathroom.

Outdoor shower, hot tub and fire pit.

 I will let the next two pictures speak for themselves.

Images and further details via

So, what do you think? Could you live here? There is inspiration in these pictures. This is a minimalist, clutter-free house with hidden storage solutions. This house is home to a family with two kids. There is a warmth to the interior with the wood and the sophisticated, strategic lighting and of course, the natural light. I could live here. I would have to add some pops of color in places, though. Even though I do love color and personally I would need artwork, books, some of my favored items out to enjoy, I do get this house. There is a sense of serenity and balance. I certainly admire the creativity that went into this collaboration - the architect, the landscape designer and the interior designer. It would be interesting (and challenging to some extent) to live like this. What do you think?

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

Lisa

Guest Post on Room Rx

Today, you fill find me contributing a guest post on Room Rx. I enjoy reading Cathy's blog where she shares some great decorating inspiration which includes her series 'Color of the Moment' like this post on stunning Tangerine and Blue . Do visit Room Rx and take a look at my post on Inspirational Bathrooms and let me know which bathroom style speaks to you. I have a few favorites, one of them is pictured below.

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

Lisa

Kids' Canvas Art Reveal - A Favorite Thing

My kids took art classes for a few years. The teacher came to the house and often I would be involved in deciding what they would work on. I wanted them to create items they could use in their personal spaces while learning new techniques.

The girls shared a room at the time. I was looking to add artwork to the walls, painted in those days in Benjamin Moore's Cotton Candy (shown below). The colors in their room were pink and green primarily, with a touch of blue and yellow (accents).

 

 

Cotton Candy by Benjamin Moore

One of the artworks I came across at that time and loved was this one shown below or something quite similar by the artist, Maria Carluccio. I had seen it online at Pottery Barn Kids (if I remember correctly) but it is no longer available. I had kept a photocopy of it but cannot seem to locate it. To give you an idea of the design here is one very similar done by the artist herself. The colors are a little different from the one I saw.

 

Maria Carluccio

I loved the mix of colors and that there is a different pattern to each butterfly and that they appear ethereal and almost translucent. I wanted my kids to recreate something similar for their shared room and I thought this would look amazing. 

Supplies used :

-blank 19x15 canvas boards,

-tissue in white and other colors, 

-craft paints

-Mod Podge.

This is what they created:

With watered-down paint they brushed paint onto the tissue and let the colors run into each other. Once the paint was dry, butterfly shapes were cut out. The stripe effect came about by accident when Emily put Mod Podge on a strip of colored tissue paper, intending to stick it on the canvas. She placed it on the canvas but it didn't quite stick, and the dye from the tissue left its mark in a stripe. Thus followed this new-found method of adding color to artwork (for them, at least). The antennae were added on with a fine tipped black Sharpie. Lastly, Mod Podge was applied over the entire canvases.

Each of the girls did one. I love how these turned out. They were four and seven years old at the time. (Next picture taken while in the midst of hanging curtains therefore none on the right).

These are one (two) of my favorite pieces in the house. These are now hanging in Emily's room which was painted Benjamin Moore's Blue Bayou before it became her room. They work against a blue wall, too. They would work against any color depicted in the artwork.

I love that the girls still enjoy their butterflies as much as I do. I think the pieces are a good imitation of the original, the same aesthetic was achieved and yet they are different. And I also love that they are two different pieces instead of one. Some day when the girls are in their own homes they will get one each although it would be a shame to break up the pair. I guess they could always create another two!. 

Is this something you could see yourself creating or have your kids do? The technique could be applied to any subject, really.

This has been featured on

Linking up to

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

Lisa

Ask The Pro: Plant Shelf Decorating Dilemma on Megan Brooke Handmade

Today, I am contributing to a series called 'Ask the Pro' on Megan Brooke Handmade. Megan is a very creative blogger whose site I came across not too long ago. She works full-time in the music industry while also crafting fun and adorable paper products for her shop on Etsy.

I was excited to be a part of this new series and to be able to help a person with a decorating dilemma - how to decorate this plant shelf.

Do visit Megan Brooke Handmade today to read all about it and leave us your thoughts.

If you require any help with decorating you may click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

Tomorrow I shall reveal my kids' canvas artwork. Do stop by!

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

Lisa

Egypt at The Metropolitan Museum of Art - technical issues fixed

An apology is due for those who were unable to view any pics of my post on Fri. Apparently, if you were  not signed into google you would have had that problem. But now, you should be able to read the post in its entirety and I hope you do. Here goes...

When we lived in Manhattan I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art as often as I could, initially while studying at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in order to obtain inspiration for class projects and subsequently with my first child in tow (an infant, then) when we lived a few blocks away.

It houses marvellous collections from all over the world. One of my many favorite spots to visit within the museum has always been the Department of Egyptian Art,  which houses one of the finest collections of Egyptian artifacts in the world outside of Cairo, dating from ca. 300,000 B.C. to the 4th century A.D.!

A few weeks ago we visited the Met on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The museum was packed. Our first stop was Egypt. I dared not take pictures with my camera (no flash photography permitted) so I took a few pictures with my iPhone. This is a small sampling of what we saw.

These pictures are far from perfect and in some instances it was too crowded to get an unobstructed view. Therefore, pardon the quality. I also did not take note of specifics - descriptions and dates - of most items.

Chair of Reniseneb (left), made of wood, ebony, ivory. ca. 1450 B.C.

I absolutely love these chairs and have seen similar ones made by various global artisans today. It is a skilled craft that has been undertaken for generations. The cane work is unbelievable and these have stood the test of time.

It is always awe-inspiring to see elaborately carved pottery such as these pieces.

Amazing woven basket.

Hand-held mirrors!

Gold leaf in abundance.

Ornate jewellery.

Sophisticated piece of glassware.

Headdress.

Statue of an Offering Bearer ca. 1981-1975 B.C.

The garments worn by the women were so intricate, as is indicated by the pattern on this statue. Carved of wood with gesso, paint.

The Temple of Dendur, built in 15 B.C. by Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. It was dismantled to save it from the rising waters of a river...(must have been quite a feat) .....

...In 1965 it was gifted to the U.S. by the Egyptian government and subsequently given to the Met in 1965. It was installed in 1978 and is one of the popular displays within the entire museum. (Obstructed views follow).

Inside the temple.

This is truly a breathtaking wing of the Museum. I shall have to return soon in order to view the other  many exhibits I did not have time to see and to take down more detailed descriptions of what I see. We are fortunate to have such an array of incredible artifacts (about 36,000!) available to view at the Met. Definitely a must-see for visitors to NY.

Next week, I shall reveal my kids' canvas art, a really good interpretation of the original, with details of how it was done. I had posted a glimpse of it here.

Have an amazing weekend, however you spend it!

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

Lisa