Interior Design Term of the Month- Wabi Sabi

My student, Ellie, lamented that she wants to know more terms to talk about design. And, in giving that some thought, I decided that blog posts were the best way to offer knowledge in a creative way that allowed for inbox delivery and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. So, for Ellie, and all those looking to improve their design vocabulary, I am starting a series of interior design terms of the day. Sometimes short, sometimes long, or sometimes illustrated, these posts are as much for my students as for anyone wanting to learn more about interior design.

Wabi Sabi

I define Wabi Sabi as a celebration of the imperfect as well as an improvement on the perceived imperfect. It is a Japanese term that is not about design, but about life and acceptance of the flawed and the passage of time. However, it can be applied to design and we see it throughout the history of things and currently in some aspects of the green movement.

From typical antique repair techniques, like the Kintsugi repair work with china repaired with gold to the Victorian era repair of staples, both seen below.

Gold repairs in classic blue and white pottery.

Yellow mug circa 1820's with many staple repairs from blog Past Imperfects

To a more modern aesthetic of George Nakashima, known for his "live edge" furniture, like this example below from 1stdibs.com

To the ubiquitous Tobacco Baskets that adorn every newlyweds mantle as a placeholder until they buy the "good art".

Tobacco basket from Chairish.com

This is now so ubiquitous that Ballard Designs is now having them made and selling "perfect" ones.

Wabi sabi acknowledges the passage of time, the bumps and bruises that can come along with it, and the "fixes" that occur. It is the celebration of the perfectly imperfect, or as a antique dealer recently referred to it as "the make do's" of the world.  A key point to know is that Wabi Sabi is not about poor craftsmanship, it is about allowing the excellent craftsmanship to live another day and sometimes in another way.

So tell me, what do you want to know about? What is wabi sabi in your world?

Wedding gifts: New in Porch and Parlor on Etsy

It's wedding season and I am heading to one today. So, I thought I would add a post about the new items in my Etsy store that is perfect for wedding gifts. Check them out!

Wallace Sterling Silver Cordials - Wood Box Set Of 4 - wedding gift - 72g FREE SHIPPING Only $79 and so classic!

Blenko owl glass bookends- Rich Amber. very heavy. American Mid Century at its finest from the classic American glass manufacturer Blenko. $94

Brass Pineapple centerpiece candle holders. Large size. Great Mid Century style. Holiday SALE with FREE SHIPPING $599.00
Perfect for table decor in any season and so many ways to configure it!

Vintage Liquor Decanter set. pump dispensers. set of three. no etching $134

Stocking the bar parties would be more fun with these beauties as your gift! All in working order!

Black Dansk Danish modern candle holder, with original box, MCM design $24

Czechoslovakia glass bowl white glass with clear glass ruffled edge small bowl  $24 each

Pantone color of the year 2017- greenery

The new year brings new ideas, new decisions, and new resolutions to the forefront. It reviews the past year of design with the good, the great, and the please let's let that one go! It brings things like new technology with the CES show and of course, the color of the year from Pantone.

Greenery is hopeful, growth-inspiring, and peaceful. Concepts that we could all use. It is also a reminder of spring in these months of winter, like seed catalogs!

This year's color of the year that every eco-friendly desigher can get behind! 

To quote Pantone themselves, "Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew." It looks great with everything from navy to orange to rich pink. Crisp green has been on the color scene for a couple of years in small furnishings. I am hoping to see it more in a commitment like paint colors.

Navy Chair from DWR.com , Floriculture knob from Anthropologie, Butterfly lamp from CB2.com, Demijohn from Etsy.com, Moss Pillow from Etsy.com,
Kitchenaid mixer, Paint swatch from Benjamin Moore Color: Rosemary Green 2029-30

July Color Inspiration: Dragon Fruit, an intense pink for the home

My latest obsession is the color dragon fruit. I bought a couple of dragon fruit at the grocery store this week for a tropical fruit salad. The exterior is lovely in bright pink with green tipped fleshy scales, the inside can be white flesh with black seeds to this electric, intense dark pink. Mine were the intense pink kind, I am smitten! And, though it has been one of my fave Jacquard brand textile dye colors for a while, seeing the real thing made it even better!

1. Vintage Christian Lacroix pin from OneKingsLane.com 2. White armchair from OneKingsLane.com 3. Velvet Ottoman from OneKingsLane.com 4. Moroccan PomPom wool blanket from Chairish.com 5. Silk Velvet pillow for Chairish.com  6. Pencil Rattan Chest of Drawers from OneKingsLane.com 7. Overdyed Turkish rug from Chairish.com

Though this color is intense, when used sparingly, it can empower the viewer and the space. It is best combined with other crisp colors like white, navy, gold, orange or malachite. Avoid using casually with muddy or pastel colors like taupe, mauve, or jade. 

Danish Design in the Kitchen

Danish Design is a white hot trend in home design! However, if your living room is settled, but you still want a little Danish Mod in your home, let's move to the kitchen! Dansk is an old name in Danish design and this kitchen ware is not only durable, but high style! Check out these top picks from the online vintage shops!

Dansk Peppermills- be still my heart! These beauties are cool and collectable! Mostly designed by Jens Quistgaard, a name to know in Danish Modern designs.

Found here!

Found here!

Found here!

Dansk Flameware coffee set... Coffee would taste awesome from that cup!

Found here!

Dansk Flamestone Beehive casserole with warmer! A WARMER?!?! Yep, is there anything better? A small candle or sterno can fit in the bottom and keep that famous hot dip of yours hot.

Found here!

Then there are the classic Dansk Kobenstyle flame proof, oven proof enameled steel pans in fantastic colors. You can keep you heavy Le Creuset, in my opinion, these have all the color at a third of the weight! Nothing says "I'm unique" like those handles!

Extra Large Paella pan can be used in lieu of a baking pan for oven to table serving! Found here!

Red casserole is perfect for every kitchen! Found here!

Soft Turquoise would look fantastic with your stainless steel! Found here!

This fondue set is outstanding! Found here!

Want to see more? Check out the keywords Dansk, Kobenstyle, Flamestone, and Danish Modern at you fave vintage shopping sites like Ebay, Etsy, OneKingsLane, or Chairish!

Birmingham Decorator ShowHouse- The Nerve Center of the Home

I have spent the last two months working in the Birmingham Decorator ShowHouse on a space I call the Nerve Center of the Home. The space is all about functional, practical design that is also, green design. It is a mix of modern, industrial, and vintage with whites and grey surrounding the pink and orange center piece of the space- the desk and chair.

Most of the items in the space are recycled, recyclable, or from a renewable resource... but nothing about the space looks any different from a less environmentally friendly space.

These antique ceiling tiles have the original baked on finish which allows them to be used as a dry erase board, as well as a magnetic pin board!

Neutral greys with orange snakeskin rain boots! Natural elements like the sheepskin pillow and an antler as a tieback on the linen drapes soften the starkness of the modern space.

Picking and grinnin'- by fave find this weekend

I haven't posted a fave find in a while. Once I found this set this weekend, it was a must post.

This doozie is so large, I can keep part of it for take-out dinners and sell the rest! Hot and sour soup just got a bit fancier with this place serving for 12!

The pattern on these dishes is called Rice Grain because grains of rice is added in the clay before firing the piece. When the dishes are fired, the rice grain burns away leaving rice shaped holes in patterns which are filled in during the glazing process. This gives the pieces a translucent pattern all over, the addition of the decorative blue and white pattern is an added bonus.

Innovative design work from long ago!

Pickin' and grinnin'- the best of shopping this weekend!

Every week I have one or two favorite items that I have purchased from the variety of shopping sources. This weekend was no exception, though this week, it is something I will keep mostly for myself!

This is an exceptional collection of paint brushes- though not the entire collection. Beautifully kept, this is about $500- $600 worth of brushes, many sable. Super excited about this buy, I will be sharing these with my mom and sister with the hopes that we will all have time to paint in the coming year! It's proof that you just never know what you might find when you open your eyes and take off the blinders!

Easy Flower Arranging- breaking down the big one

For the past several years, I have been helping with an art auction that benefits the University of Montevallo scholarships for art students.

Part of my job includes the floral centerpeice. I'm no florist, but I'm not afraid to cut some stems and stick them in oasis foam.

This years them was shades of purple and gold. Since purple is a great color to find a variety of flowers,it was perfect for the shades of purple!


It doesn't look like my original inspirations arrangements, but I still love to look to Pinterest to find great inspiration!



I assumed everyone breaks down a large arrangement into smaller arrangements after an event was over. Flowers are not made to live in oasis for long. However, some folks seem surprised that I would do that. I guess the assumption is that once you go to the trouble of making an arrangement, you would want to keep it in that form.

Here are the flowers I was working with... the theme of the event was shades of purple and gold, our school colors. There are also to small cabbages from my yard in the arrangement.

So,  I thought I would share two of my arrangements from the larger arrangement. For tips on how I generally do arrangements check out this post HERE! And to see my inspiration for this year's arrangement, check out this post HERE.

The spray roses, caspia, and a purple cabbage from my yard

Since making the arrangement for this event for the University of Montevallo was not something I would bill my hourly for and the container was one from my antique space, the only cost was the flowers, which came in at under $80! That's a lot of look for 80 bucks!

Lilies, caspia, and some spray roses

The key to both of these arragments is to make one type of flower the stare of the arrangement and the rest as the back-up dancers. Each arrangement have different stars, so they relate, but do not look like the original arrangement or like each other!

When re-arranging flowers that have been in a less than ideal environment, remember to re-cut the stems and change the water frequently. You don't drink three day old water, why would your flowers want to either. To prolong their great good looks, keep them away from direct sun and heat sources, like the TV or other heat producers.

New Markdowns in my Etsy vintage shop- Big Sale!

I've just marked some fab finds down in my shop! Please click on the light grey links below each item to take your new favorite Etsy Find!

Southern Comfort double old fashion glasses, set of 6

Southern Comfort promotional glasses from the 70's in the cooler size, set of 10

Green hobnail vases with a milky top, very handsome!

Silver plate trinket box, who's lost almost all the silver, but gained in great good looks!

Marble and jasper eggs, pretty colors

Large glass pineapple box, perfect for the holiday candy jar

Antiquing in the ATL- 24 hours in Atlanta, shopping and sampling

This weekend was the monthly antique extravaganza called Scott's Antique Market, or just Scott's in the antique and design circles.

 It is everything from new handmade furniture to 17th century furniture, new clothes from old doilies to old furs, thoughtfully curated booths of antiques, to piled tables of treasures and stuff.

Possibly treasure filled, piled up tables... or it could just be a pile.

Lovely beach-y or lake-ish booth!

loads of great mirrors and painting inviting you to dig through them.

I resisted the siren song of bead tables... it was hard. And found some amazing tables.

Pair of brass and marble tables made from antique fire screens- would be great with a low armed sofa! 

Handmade rusty patina iron with a stone top- one of a kind at it's best!

This guy is just waiting for the right top! It could be stone or barn wood! Great as a console or bar!

This is more of a desk, but with the top down, it would be a lovely table and it was a steal! Too bad the car was full.

Lovely Bernhardt chrome end tables. I would tale out the inside glass shelf and add a dog bed! 

I love this little table! I think it is made from some New Orleans corn iron fencing.

Real Steampunk! This old table was originally used for laundry and had a crank for adjusting the height!

Not technically a table, but I love stacked trunks and suitcases as a storage table!

After 5 hours of walking Scott's I headed for Food Truck Friday in Duluth, GA, North of Atlanta. There was some great options, but I wanted to sit down to eat. So my sister and I went to her face Caribbean/ Cuban restaurant, Armando's, for Picadillo and Carnitas.

Then to Food Truck Friday for Dessert. I had a creole praline and my sister decided to walk to Crave pies for a larger selection of pies!

My last photo of the night was the cute window display of the store next door.

Makes you want to go to a party in a tutu!

Next day was using my Scott's finds to style the kitchen I just finished in Atlanta... but that another post! Here's a preview!