Simply Grove: July 2008

Peter Frank

One job that I would be more than willing to take is a prop/set designer. I cant imagine a better design job. Its as if you are an artist starting with a blank canvas. You are able to create something beautiful and use furniture, accessory's and art to complete the picture. (I get giddy just thinking about it.) Peter Frank is a set designer with quite the portfolio under his belt. He is represented by Thomas Truehaft.

Cutie room of the day

Knack Studio
Check out Barb's latest before and after here.

Magazine Monday

Every Monday I will be posting my favorite magazine of the week and why. Maybe it was an article that stood out to me or a room that I fell in love with.
This weeks pick is Belle. June/July's issue (yes, I am a little behind) is all about what Luxury means today.
Hmmm, good question. For some Luxury is in the little things. Flowers, soft blankets, pieces passed down from family, spending a whole day with loved ones. For others Luxury comes only from expensive things. Cars, real estate, designer pieces. What does luxury mean to you?

Anyways, Belle visited the homes of Randolph Duke and Emanuele Castellini to name a couple. Randolph's home is glamor ten times over! (The A to Z of style posted about his house.) He calls his look 'Glam- Organic combining natural elements with sleek polished pieces and antiques.
My favorite featured home was a Toorak home. The formal living room has this crazy (in a good way) late 17th century french timber and gilt mirror from Robertson. Its gorgeous!!!
And since I am very much into French design at this moment, "French Twist" was just the eye candy I needed.
There is so much more to gaze at so you need to go to your local Barnes and take a gander!

Yay, its a new week!!

Happy Monday everyone!

Anthropologie is having a great sale on there dishes so I decided to do a mini plate wall to display my adorable finds. My favorite dish is the middle one with the butterfly!

I Spy...

I found a few great products at Angela Adams. Rugs must be on my mind because I fell in love with 2 of her rugs. I also adore the Morning Wing's print!

Next week i am going to be starting some new weekly posts so stay tuned for that. Also I have some new photos of some fabulous art from some fabulous artists in my home that I want to spotlight.
Have a great weekend!!!!

Morning Wing

Flora/Peony Rug

Canopy/Indigo Rug

Pink Deco

I love pink powder rooms but I'm not sure what I think about this room with its strong deco paper. What do you think??

Living Etc

Top Floor

Going along with my flooring topic from last week are these rugs that are about the coolest things out there right now. I found them today on Brocade Design's fabulous blog. How amazing are these against dark hardwood!?

Jennifer Squires

Jennifer Squires has already been seen around the blogging community and has made a stop here on SimplyGrove. She is a fabulous photographer with a gorgeous portfolio. Check out more of her work here.

Shopping Cart - 3.75x3 Photographic Print Matted to 10x8

And while Im at it....

Weego is having a great sale on some accessories.

My Saturday

I usually never post about personal things and I usually never blog on Saturdays but I thought doing both are well deserved today!
I have had the luxury of having my mom within 5 to 15 miles from me my whole life. Well today that changed! She has started a new chapter in her life which includes moving about 6 hours away from me. I am so happy for her but I can't deny how strange it feels. Fortunately both my kids are to young to understand that Grandma moved. They just assume she moved to a new house and that they will see her soon like always. Mommy knows the truth. :)
So there is my sob story (not really even a sob story) which leads me to my next order of business. I wanted to do something fun today to distract my mind from her move and from my hubby being out of the country so my cousin, friend and I went to our local farmers market which totally made my day. My cousin and I both love to receive and to buy fresh flowers, candles and cleaning supplies! I know. I should want jewelry or clothes but the fact is these 3 items make my heart go pitter patter. So of course we were on the hunt for all 3 and left totally satisfied!

This bouquet looked so organic to me. Like a huge wildflower field.

I love fresh lavender. It makes your house smell like a spa. This candle is made locally out of soy. They had tons of scents. It took forever to choose!

I found this Umbra wastebasket at a health food store. Its degradable.

I purchased this last week but had to post about it. I found it at a local consignment shop and fell in love. It's an antique ladder and I can imagine it being used to climb into the tall beds that were so popular in the early 1900's. I thought it would be perfect to display some of my favorite design books.

Happy Weekend!! Have an extra fun weekend!

Cookie Home Tour seen on A CUP OF JO

Carpet

I have been thinking alot about how I want to rip out all my downstairs carpet but unfortunately budget does not allow. We wanted hardwood floors to cover all of our downstairs when we were in the process of building but it just couldn't happen in every room. My carpet has become dull and worn in just a year. We even paid extra for upgraded carpet but I'm pretty sure we got ripped off.
So now I'm intrigued by patterned, printed and textured carpets (not that I can get all new carpet). Carpet has come such a long way from just berber carpet. Stark Carpet, which was featured in this months Domino, has many BRILLIANT options in carpet. They also carry rugs, wall coverings, fabric, furniture and even car couture products!

Robin Moore Ede Art

I received 2 beautiful prints in the mail this week from Piers Moore Ede whom has started a business, Robin Moore Ede Art, with his father, Robin Moore Ede, a British Interior Designer since the 1960's. They print images onto a handmade paper from India. They call them "Watergraphs" which is a term that seems to describe the marriage of a photograph and a watercolor. The "khadi" paper comes from an ancient tradition of paper making. (The factory which supplies there paper provides employment for 47 people in rural India.)
I love the vintage feel they give and the paper is quite cool. I'm thinking I will frame mine in a simple white frame. Thank you Piers! SimplyGrove is quite a fan!

Wallpaper Project

So my wonderful hubby hung wallpaper for me ( if you know me you know I can't stand hanging wallpaper) Monday night and I absolutely love how it turned out!! I decided to go with a flock design in white with a light mocha background. It immediately gave our master bedroom a great focal wall that I can wake up to every morning. The wallpaper makes our room feel larger and surprisingly brighter. Thanks babe for being my personal carpenter!!!

Before

After

Poolside

Its been a super hot day today in my neck of the woods. This pool would have been perfect for me to lounge at!
Happy Monday everyone. I have lots of fun stuff coming for this week including a project that my husband has been working on in our abode. See you all soon!

Richard Powers for DWR catalogue 2007.

Loungy Room

Everyone needs a room to lounge. A room where you can kick your feet up, keep warm snuggly blankets on hand, snack on some yummy ice cream while reading a good book or blogging :). A room that can become stylishly messy with the things you love. A room like this!

fotograf trine thorsen

The Ivy

I'm not sure how I feel about a restaurant and bar looking more like an hip condo than a place to eat. Ivy Restaurant and bar in Sydney has incredible interiors!!! I can't keep my eyes off of the mustard tufted bench seats and the massive yellow and white lighting in the restaurant. I also love the turquoise room!!! I love all the textures and colors but I love it for my house. It seems like a waste to have such beautiful interiors get destroyed by messy food eaters and partiers. I don't quite understand what every room is for (you can read more for yourself here) but I do know that this restaurant should win a design award!! What do you think?

I Pretty much love this....

....Table! The Justin Couch Wilhelm Coffee and Alexander Dining Tables are just ridiculous and ridiculous in a good way!!! I love the clean lines with the curvy details. Rorschach-esque walnut veneer is what gives it a sophisticated look. I'm sure this piece is not a 3o min project!

Monday Monday, so good to me.

I hope everyone had a delightful fourth of July weekend! Here is some fun eye candy (focused on little ones or little things) to start your week off with.