Bleached Wood

Bleached wood walls...  

such a light and bright way to finish the room,

as seen in this Cape Cod guest house.

There are various ways to achieve this look. However, you must first determine if the wood can even be bleached. The best woods for this process are oak, beech, ash and gum. Bleach can be used; there are 3 bleach methods to choose from: laundry bleach, oxalic acid and a two-part bleach system. All are rather toxic and require careful protection (safety goggles, gloves and excellent ventilation). This article here explains the process well.

Personally, I would choose a less caustic method, such as whitewashing, to achieve a similar look.

For more information on the limed wood finish, see my post here.

My living room oak floors had never been used without carpeting when I moved in! The floors had no finish on them, but did have various stains. I first sanded them, then rubbed on an artist Japan color in white, followed by immediately rubbing it off so that the white lightened the wood and remained only in crevices. After that dried, the floor was finished with polyurethane. Fifteen years later, they still have a lovely light look to them.  

Beautiful doors, aren't they?

Do you have any whitewashed or bleached wood?

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Can You Smell This?

If only you could! This is a bloom from a Magnolia wieseneri tree, a rather unusual type of Magnolia that has an incredible scent. 

It's scent is very difficult to describe- a combination of melon and lemon, with a bit of jasmine and lilac thrown in.

Magnolia wieseneri is a product of combining Magnolia sieboldii and Magnolia obovata and was first introduced at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 (a world's fair).

It can grow to twenty feet. Unfortunately, the deer and squirrels have introduced themselves to our specimen and it is struggling to overcome their damage. We were so proud to have seven blooms!

Closeup, the stamens look as if they have iridescent edges...

What magnolias do you grow? Do you like their scents? 
 

Spend it Outdoors...

Today is too pretty not to!

We'll be finishing the planting and heading to the lake with our dog- her favorite place to go.

What are you doing on this lovely day?

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A Touch of Paris in NYC

I fell in love with this apartment. Fashion designer Erin Fetherston's find in NYC actually took a bit of sleuthing to find, but her loft is charming! The doors, which came with the loft, set the tone.

It's all in the details: the grand windows, wood floors and blue green walls. She brought many of her furniture pieces, including these Bergère-style chairs, from Paris.

The dining chandelier is actually all electric; the silk flowers are vintage.

Check out the eighteenth century chairs- made more casual with the burlap and two other fabrics.

Her bedroom proudly displays this exquisite chinoiserie silk screen. 

Details, details...

It's all in the details.

Courtesy of Vogue, photos by Claiborne Swanson Frank

A Fox and a Flower

Being a life long city/suburb girl, I am used to the run-of-the-mill critters scurrying about. The deer have invaded as of the last three years and occasionally one hears of a coyote spotting, but usually that is a bit further out from the burbs. Yesterday morning, as I was preparing to leave home, I heard this rather awful bark/yelp. Many times.  At first I thought it was a cat in distress, but not quite.

When I ventured out to take a look, I was rather startled to see the fox. I wasn't even sure that is what it was at first, but recalled a fox sighting two weeks ago in our neighborhood.  He looked at me and I looked at him. Yikes! Turns out he was aiming for a neighborhood cat, which darted out of the bushes and headed into our yard, Mr. Fox quickly following. I dashed into the garage and closed the door. They continued on, the cat winning and escaping. Mr. Fox casually crossed the street and headed to the next neighborhood, snooping along the way.

Later in the afternoon as I was running errands, I was a bit embarrassed to do this, but screeched to a halt as I drove by this gorgeous peony bush in a random front yard. The Coral Charm peonies were perfect, absolutely perfect. This particular variety of peony actually delightfully fades over the period of four to five days. The older the bloom gets, the lighter it becomes, which you can see in the uppermost (and oldest) bloom.

Last year I did a post about them here.

Across the street from the Coral Charm peony home was this lush climbing rose in a most unusual color. One does not see orange-turning-to-yellow roses very often. Quite the colorful street! 

Do you screech to a halt during drive-bys for anything in particular? 

I can't be the only one!

Blooming in Green

Late spring blooms for the room on this lovely day... lime green is always suitable.

Of course, you can always add a pop of color, but just a hint.

Loving the color markings of this lady slipper orchid!

Even on the porch or veranda- you can't go wrong with green.

Do you like lime green flowers?

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Wedding in White

Sharing with you a peak at the wedding ceremony setting that I had the privilege of working on last weekend. The photos do not do the chuppa (the wedding canopy) justice as they were taken as we were scurrying about to finish. The bride's request was a balance of modern and romantic. 

The top half of the columns were lit from within, under the fabric and lace. The lace was saved for years to be used for just the right occasion- and this was it.

The chuppa was created by Pieter Bouterse Studio. Below, in the studio, the lace was pinned on and adjusted before the final attaching. It really is like creating a dress, as Pieter uses dress fabrics for his ceremony structures, with many "fittings" and steps before the structure is done.  

Bella, Pieter's dog, is sniffing the lace- she always has to investigate everything!

 Liz hard at work on the gorgeous lace.

The bottom half of the columns were off white silk with a ruched silk band joining the fabrics. The chuppa was finished off with all white flowers on top and a line of glass vases holding either dogwood branches or floating candles.

The next step was to place the white fabric aisle runner down the length of the aisle, which was blocked off so the runner would remain clean for the bridal party. Clear glass vases with candles lined the runner.

Hopefully I'll be able to locate more photos of the all-white-with-gold-accents reception.