Cary Grant - Palm Springs

Say what you will about Cary Grant's acting... but in his day he reflected the image of the classic debonair leading man during Hollywood's Golden years...a by gone era of contract studio actors and actresses. These were the days of image and illusion about who people really were and who the studios portrayed them to be. Everybody had a pseudonym even Archibald Leach. Surprisingly Grant's 1927 Palm Springs hideaway, now up for sale, seems very real and unpretentious. Grant named the house Los Palomas and it still maintains it's original hand made terra cotta roof tiles, thick white washed walls, and hand painted Talavera Spanish floor tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms.

The 6,000 sq. ft. 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath Spanish farmhouse sits on 1 1/2 acres on a tree lined street in the Movie Colony neighborhood... asking price... $4,995,000.

images: L.A. Times

Window Seats

There's something charming about a window seat. Traditionally it's been a place for storage with a cushion atop under a non descript window in a corner of the house where one seldom visits... not anymore! These window seats are made to be visited often. They are fashionable, functional, and provide a getaway in the confines of home. If you have a spot like this make it a place you can call your own...or a place for the kid in the house that likes to read... but not be alone.... or whatever....

The London shades seem to billow like clouds in the sky....what a lovely place to knit.

Can you sit high above Boston Harbor and find the line between water and sky?

Isn't it Romantic?

With stock kitchen cabinets there is always plenty storage available at this window seat. Cafe curtains and coordinating check cushions add to the simplicity of this decor.

image: This Old House Magazine

A perfectly traditional home with a perfectly traditional window seat...I like it!

With a table pulled up it's a cozy corner to dine.

I could pen my memoris here.

image: House Beautiful

The perfect reading nook.

Charlotte Moss Townhouse

I am a big Charlotte Moss fan and this month's issue of House Beautiful celebrates the first anniversary of her NYC retail establishment Charlotte Moss Townhouse. HB editor Stephen Drucker interviews Charlotte and dubs her," the accessory queen". From featured shots of the home interiors townhouse I would agree. Just like the rooms she designs there isn't much negative space. Every inch is deliciously outfitted with unique upscale accessories for the home. Charlotte thinks accessories bring life to a room... they speak to who lives there. Candle sticks, bamboo pens, hand cut tumblers, pagoda lanterns.... add personality and ambiance. When asked where she likes to shop she mentions designer Suzanne Rheinstein's shop in L.A. and Todd Romano's in Manhattan and would you believe it she loves Target...my kind of lady.

images: House Beautiful

Contemporary Life

When I think of contemporary design and ideas I think updated... new.... a different way to do what we've always done. In design and housing it can be updated building materials, new ways to stylize a fixture. Contemporary is always a more linear look... less is more, everything in it's place. That's my perspective. Here are a few takes on design I call Contemporary Life.

Euro-mobile kitchen- great for condo living

What an inspiring home office

A sleek Italian designed kitchen

Linear designed kitchen storage keeps everything in it's place...it's just what I need

In a highly contemporary dining room add traditional chairs for a twist

New trends in a small space... mount the sink and faucet from the wall

Don't you just love this highly stylized sofa interpretation?...Mumba

French Style in America

French influence in American interior design is everywhere... from the foyer to the bedroom, and everywhere in between. Even the vocabulary of design is saturated with French, my favorite being... chandelier and armoire... don't we all value antiques? Everyone already knows how I feel about toile from my previous post. Americans have always felt more sophisticated and fashionable with what comes out of France. After all Paris is still viewed as the fashion capitol of the world. As America developed it's interior design aesthetic it's no different.... All roads led from France....It's tres chic?

18th Century Walnut Armoire

Toile fabric on chair and drapes

image: Traditional Home

Country French daybed

Country French inspired kitchen

Cotton canvas covered settee

Musicians go green

When Weekly photographer Danielle Vernon and I saw this low-hanging branch on a tree behind the Bus Barn Theatre in Los Altos, we knew it would be a perfect place to photograph our interview subjects, kids' musicians Doctor Noize and Andy Z. The guys were all for it, and even gave us an impromptu concert. Is it Arbor Day already?

Cutstom Window Treatments-Online

Roman shade-flat

Raman shade-waterfall

Roman shade-flat with black band

Green pinch pleats

Pinch pleats

Roman shade-waterfall

I love designing window treatments for projects I'm working on but don't do it nearly enough. With years of knowledge working with fabrics, and putting rooms together I'm exploring offering custom window treatments online. What I want to offer are drapes but I'm also considering Roman shades. What's popular on windows now is a relaxed but finished treatment...nothing that resembles your grandmother's drapes. I'm in the process of selecting vendors and fabrics... styles and working with a workroom to have the work done here in Virginia. I'll be able to exercise high quality control standards over the finished product. I've seen too many offshore inferior constructed products in the market place at prices that are too high for what you're getting. Red River Interiors producs will be " Made In America".

I like classic pinch pleats, inverted box pleats, goblet pleats and relaxed shades....My goal is a well designed and constructed product...lined and interlined in poly/cotton or 100% cotton. A high quality product at a reasonable price point is what I'm after:...let me know what you think... what would you like to see on your windows?

Toile

Toile is an especially versatile print. It's origins are 1800 French. I like toile because it has staying power...It never goes out of style. Toile depicts scenes from peasant life and usually has a cream or white background. When creating rooms with softness or romance in mind such as a child's room or a bedroom toile drapes or bedding are a great choice. There are an abundance of color pallets available so there is a print out there that will work with most accessories. In 2006 New York interior designer Sheila Bridges brought toile fashion forward with a line of fabrics and wallpapers depicting early African American life.