Showing posts with label sunroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunroom. Show all posts

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Bringing peonies home

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one poem
per blossom is not enough
for a peony

                              
   —Ryumin


I’m lucky to have a neighbor who plants peonies but spends the month of May in Florida. Luckier still that she invited me to pick her peonies whenever I want, and when it comes to peonies I don’t wait for a second invitation. 

Seeing them out our bedroom window every year is, indeed, glorious. They’re a flower I grew at our previous house, and I miss them.


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BoHo Home

I've been watching those buds, and after Monday's deluge, I just knew there'd be blooms Tuesday, ripe for the picking. And all that beauty unplucked seems a great sin, you know? As any gardener worth the dirt under her fingernails will tell you, picking flowers begets more flowers, not fewer.


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BoHo Home

Maisie-Cat agrees. My morning harvest amounted to seven huge blooms, which I divided into the two arrangements shown here and in the previous photo. Thank you, Nelda (my neighbor)!


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BoHo Home

Both her pink bush, across the lane from our bedroom window, and her white bush out front (which I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t started walking) are FULL to the brim with buds. Now if only the storms will let up and not destroy what’s left. I want to try to pick some to dry and perhaps reward my neighbor with a wreath after she returns home.


You didn’t know they dried well? 


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Via Just Grand

They’re stupendous dried flowers and retain their color well. The white blooms dry a lovely antique white. Just pick when the bloom first opens so the petals will remain tight. 


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My Mother's Pearls

Then hang upside down singly or in bunches of two or three. I tie them together with rubber bands and hang the bands on a nail, around a cupboard knob, or strung on a line. A clothes rack works well, too, if you use string.If I make a wreath this year I’ll take pictures and post instructions.


Waiting for these beauties to bloom got me thinking about peony motifs in home décor


I’m forever seeing bouquets of peonies in interior design magazines, but peony designs have populated the decorative arts since what seems like the beginning of time. At the least, since the beginning of decorative arts.


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Linda Merrill

For instance, look at the suzani tapestry spread beneath the tray this bouquet sits on. What inspired the huge, round flower motif? It could easily have been a peony.


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One Kings Lane

And what about the pattern in this quilt? Looks inspired by peonies to me. What other flower that shape do you know of that gets so large?

Marco Polo, after all, reported back from his visit to China, where peonies were first cultivated, that he found roses as big as cabbages. He was writing about peonies. Indeed, peonies open larger and wider until the heads fall over from their very weight.


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Thomas Darnell photo / Martha Stewart Living

There’s something positively wanton in a peony bloom—something blousy and sexual and free, like a Rodin sculpture—and that certainly comes across in the wallpaper used in this bathroom. Even the mirror looks like a white peony opening further and further from its center.


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Chinese Peranakan Style, Herry Ashari Collections

The Chinese have, in fact, been putting peonies on china for centuries.


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Austin Monthly

You’ll also find peonies blooming on rugs….


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Hometeka

…pillows…


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Natalie Shelton photo / via Keltainen Talo Rannalla

…and upholstery, as on this pair of matching ottomans.


The peony motif is versatile, too


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Miguel Flores-Vianna photo

Sometimes it lends an oriental look, as on the pagodas of peony blossoms in the fabric used for these wing chairs.


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Photo courtesy of Kit Kemp / via Lonny

While other times the look achieved is more of a traditional/modern mix.


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It can even look decidedly boho. That's my favorite, of course.


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Alexandra Kaehler Designs / via Mix and Chic

But whatever style it graces, the effect is always romantic. 


It’s a sexy flower, I’m telling you!


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Husman Hagbery photo / via Planete Deco

I’d be hard pressed to miss the peonies in this wallpaper. They have a William Morris feel to them and look so senusous in this otherwise minimal scandi dining room.


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This wild tangle of peonies on a mural with a midnight-blue background makes a perfect backdrop for a bed. Peony seeds, according to legend, glow in the dark just like the images here seem to.


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Design Loves Detail photo / via Domino

Even peel-and-stick, repositionable peonies are available these days to customize the effect you want without the work or permanence of wallpapering.


Peonies are also popular subjects in art and prints


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Kimberly Gavin photo / Studio80 Interior Design

I love how this print brings together all the elements in the room.


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Society Social

And I am absolutely, positively, swooning over this juju hat tipped in magenta to look like a peony. I’m not even a big juju-hat fan, but I’d hang this one in a jiffy, right above my bed, of course! No sense wasting any of that good juju, right?


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Via DigsDigs

And what’s that pendant light shade meant to emulate, if not a peony? There's even a pillow to repeat the flower's shape, and the crosses on the throws do the same, though in a more abstract way.


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Here, the sunburst mirrors, painted pink, remind me of peonies against all that spotted wallpaper and fabric (which represent the plethora of buds!) in this sweet little girl’s room.


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Area Environments

But I think us adults need to save some of the peony’s lustiness for our own private spaces. One poem certainly may not be enough for a peony blossom, and one peony blossom is certainly not enough for a home.


www.BoHoHome.com @bohosusan
1. Pink Peonies Chenille Pillow Cover
2. Black & White Wool Felt Peony Pillow
3. Bring Me Peonies Pillow Cover
4. Peony Fabric Shower Curtain
5. Floral Print Desk Mat
6. Asian Bowl
7. Peony Flower and Antler Print
8. Hand-Embroidered Peony in Embroidery Hoop
9. Pink Peony Cone Photo Print
10. Robert Allen Peony Vine Fabric
11. Waverly Reflection Pool/Darjeeling Fabric
12. Peony Adhesive Wallpaper
13. Peony Peel-and-Stick Repositionable Wallpaper
14. Felt Rose & Peony Garland
15. Handpainted Peony Mandala Stone
16. Vintage Chinese Peony Floor Lamp
17. Peony Bespoke Matchboxes
18. Peony Placemats
19. Lychee Peony Candle
20. Bunch of Dried Peonies
21. Pink Peony Chinese Fan
22. Vintage Cloisonee Peony Egg
23. Vintage Handmade Peony Parasol.


If you want more..


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Thursday, April 27, 2017

Amazing cats and their boho-tastic homes

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In celebration of National Hairball Awareness Day tomorrow, I decided to show you all some spectacular cats and their boho-tastic digs. So curl up on the couch, grab a brush to entice your own rockin’ feline to join you, and perhaps you can collaborate on a redo of the space the two of you share.


Sticky rollers at the ready? GO!


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Bart Kiggen photo / Design Sponge

An IKEA daybed never looked so good as in this townhouse in Belgium. I’m betting that kitty spends some long hours curled up either against that gold velvet pillow or on the sheepskin throw.


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Emily Billings photo / Apartment Therapy

Every boho home needs lots of plants. Looks like Snowboots and these cacti have learned to live and let live in this 655-square-foot rental in Boston’s south end.


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Carley Summers photo / Domino

I love the mix of printed ethnic textiles in the home of interiors photographer Carley Summers. You can see more photos of Summers’ home, as well as her sleek black kitty-cat, on her Instagram feed.


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Benjamin Holtrop photo / Design Sponge

Ellie the cat shares 500 square feet in the upstairs of a 1920s-era farmhouse in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, OR, with her florist owner. I’m ogling that macramé wall-hanging and wondering if Ellie uses it for climbing practice.


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Sharlene Kayne / Via Home & Garden

This is home sweet home to maker, artist and designer Sharlene Kayne. See more of her work and her own abode when you follow her on Instagram.


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Heather Keeling photo / Apartment Therapy

These cool, midcentury-modern antique chairs are the favorite perch of Bootleg the cat. Follow the link for a full tour of this 1,500-square-foot home in the Kilbourn Park area of Chicago


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Melissa Nichols and Jake Durrett photo / Apartment Therapy

What is it about kitties sleeping just at the base of the pillows their owners use? If it were ME curling up for a snooze, I’d be burrowing under that colorful kantha coverlet. Follow the link to see more of this 400-square-foot studio apartment in the lower Pacific Heights area of San Francisco, CA.


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Cesar Segarra / AD Espana

This beautiful brown tabby—so much like my own Maisie-Cat!—shares this stylish and eclectic space in Barcelona, Spain, with designer Paloma Lanna of Paloma Wool. Take the full tour and don’t forget to [alt mouse click + translate to English], unless, of course, you read Spanish.


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Almost Makes Perfect

I love how this beautiful fur-baby complements the colors in the pillow and the wall-hanging. Be sure to check out the DIY tutorial for that pompon quilt conversion.


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David Merewether photo / Wealden Times

Do British cats speak with British accents? Maybe the answer lies in the full tour of this delightfully eclectic home in Tunbridge Wells, UK.


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Via Casinha Colorida

This baby is pretty in pink (the room, not the cat). Follow the link for a complete tour of these cherchez-la-femme boho digs, but [alt-click + translate to English] unless you speak Portuguese.


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Hannah Puechmarin photo

What a sweet face this Aussie snowball has! Don’t miss the full tour of her equally-Aussie boho home in Ipswich, Queensland.


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Emily Billings photo / Apartment Therapy

Siddharta lives with an interior designer and a builder in a 2,400-square-foot carriage house in the Harrison Hill area of Dorchester, in Boston, MA. Cats, as we all know, love to take cover in bookshelves. What a neat idea to have an empty basket there, ready to protect her from the big, bad person at the door!


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Steph (owner) photo / Apartment Therapy

Now THIS feline puts the attitude in cattitude. Am I right? Follow the link to see the rest of the Silver Lake, CA, studio apartment he (she?) reigns over.



If it seems there’s a preponderance of brown tabbies in this post, I admit to a bias


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BoHo Home

Here’s my very own terrific tabby in a rare docile moment, taking a snooze on the sofa. You can see more of my boho modern chic living room HERE and HERE.



If you want more…


www.BoHoHome.com @bohosusan


  • Become a BoHo Home follower in whatever way works best for you: Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or, follow my blog with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
  • If the "more" you want is CATS, please adopt a rescue. Check with your veterinarian for reputable rescue organizations in your area, or search on Petfinder. Wherever you find your new best friend, be sure to love 'em to pieces, K?
  • See more funky felines on their own interior turf on my House Cat Pinterest board. Or go HERE to follow ALL 92 of my mostly home interiors boards.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

AD Top 100 designer Mona Hajj leans boho with global style

I wouldn’t exactly call these rooms from the portfolio of interior designer Mona Hajj boho. But they certainly contain global elements and an eclecticism nearly always present in boho home décor.

Translation: Boho enthusiasts can learn a lot from how her rooms come together.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com
Pieter Estersohn photo

This living room from a Hajj-designed Maryland home featured in the September 2016 House Beautiful is initially what turned me on to the designer. I love her use of textiles—particularly the tapestry that echoes in the area rug and throw pillows—and the folk pottery bowls that accentate the wall-hanging, top and bottom.

The room is also a lesson in mixing high and low. The armchair and drop-leaf table are high period style, whereas the chest as coffee table, the side table at right, and the lamps lend a more relaxed, rustic feel. And yet it all works together! (I think the textiles are the secret here!!)

Whether this room and those that follow are wholly your style or not, there’s a lot to file away from this Beirut-born designer’s bold mix of global elements.


Welcome in any language


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

The long, long, LONG repurposed industrial work table softens the formality of this foyer, while the rug brings it all together. What I wouldn’t give to sink into that deep blue velvet settee! Yumm!!


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

More beautiful ceramics overhead accent the tile work in this craftsman fireplace surround. The mantel arrangement lends a primitive feel to the space, I think. And don’t miss that sweet cradle with its intricate carvings, topped with an embroidered makeshift canopy.


Sitting pretty


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Again, it’s all about the textiles. Who would have thought a toile sofa could read boho? That’s thanks to the coverlet hung behind it and the dhurrie area rug. Notice how the trim around the side edge of the coffee table repeats the striped area rug, but at a diagonal, which energizes the space.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Wowza! This family room is a change of pace!! The pint-size egg chair and rattan ottomans are a kick, and I’m digging that Moroccan ottoman in red leather PLUS a print. Thanks to an all-white sofa (not my choice for a room that suggests the presence of young children, or adults, for that matter), the art work takes center stage.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Who wouldn’t love this room? Again, it’s the textiles that speak to me—a kilim-upholstered ottoman, a Persian area rug, wonderful pink throw pillows and sumptuous draperies.


Sleeping Tight


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Oh my stars!! I am SOOOOO in love with this bedroom! Who couldn’t sleep soundly here? The hammered metal Indian mirrors, lantern, and nailhead chest are to-die-for, but it’s that headboard that puts me in a swoon. And notice the thin swath of linen that unrolls  from the purple bolster pillow, on down past the bedskirt to the floor. What a subtle finishing touch!


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Okay, THIS bedroom is nothing to sneeze at either. I like how the tapestry curtain hanging behind the bed emphasizes the old world elegance of the carved chest at the bed’s foot. I also love the simplicity of the accessories—stacks of books and oriental pottery. Dreamy!!


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

This daybed demands to be used around-the-clock, don’t you think? I love how the coral walls blend into the pink/violet textiles that dress the bed. It’s the color of a sunset and so relaxing to sink into.


Form marries function


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Kitchens, no matter how state-of-the-art seldom impress me, but this one stands out because of the simplicity. The straightforward finishes work as a stunning backdrop for the custom tile behind the cooktop and the sumptuous patterned area rug in the same palette. At least I THINK that's tile behind the cooktop. It certainly emulates the patterns of a handwoven Persian carpet.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Certainly not boho, but I had to include this photo only to show how one modern element changes the entire room. Everything is period except the shade on the lighting fixture over the dining table. But instead of clashing it adds energy to the room. The secret to making it work rather than clash? I think it’s that Hajj used fabric similar to the window treatments in color and texture.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

I’m on a real bender these days for oriental rugs in bathrooms, and I really like how the yellow leaded glass picks up the gold in this rug and vice versa. What an elegant yet relaxing bathroom!! Calgon, take me away!!


Inside out


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

Talk about outdoor rooms, this one would be just as comfy inside as well. All the care given an inside living room is in play here, down to that cute horse on wheels. I’m hoping all of this is, at the least, under roof. I couldn't bear to see it rained on.


You found this photo on BoHo Home @bohosusan. I found it at monahajj.com

And who wouldn’t adore a sunroom with sunny yellow accents? I love the wavy glass in the light fixture, as well as how the pillow patterns repeat those in the Arabic wall panel displayed as art.


If you want more (and who wouldn't!)…



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