Art Nouveau Dragonfly Brooch

A girl can dream - look at this exquisite Art Nouveau Dragonfly Brooch, with its gorgeous color and intricate details. Ce' magnifique!

Great Design Under $100

Every month, Architectural Digest features Great Designs under $100. Here are some highlights:





















Frazier & Wing Mobiles - $75-$100






















The Queen Clock from Naked Decor - $49.95


















Alphabet Ice Cube Trays from the Conran Shop. S/3 - $26

How to...Ebonize Furniture

Thank you reader for pointing out that the link no longer works! Here are the full instructions for how to ebonize furniture.

Applying an ebony stain is a relatively simple way to revive a piece of drab wood furniture. The general idea is to first sand the item down to bare wood to expose the grain, coat it with an ebony stain and then apply a protective topcoat to seal and protect the stained wood.

Tools You'll Need

• Sandpaper (and power sander)
• Drop cloth
• Screwdriver (to remove hardware)
• High-quality paintbrush (natural bristles for oil-based stain and synthetic for water-based)
• Foam brush (good for applying stain in hard-to-reach areas)
• Ebony stain (Minwax offers an ebony stain)
• Polyurethane or comparable finish
• Brush for applying finish

Before you undertake any type of furniture refinishing, make sure you're not dealing with a valuable antique or heirloom. On the other hand, since staining highlights the wood's grain, you'll want to be sure that the wood is of decent quality. Keep in mind that dense woods can be hard to "ebonize" as they don't absorb stain well. Check this chart if you are unsure.

When you're ready to begin, move the furniture to a well-ventilated workroom. Place a drop cloth or newspaper under the piece. Remove drawer pulls and other bits of hardware.

Sanding

Begin sanding with paper that has the roughest grit—a 60 or 80 grit should work (the grit is a number written on the back of the paper). Go over the piece once or twice to remove old paint, sanding in the direction of the grain. Remember to periodically check the sandpaper you're using and replace it if worn. After one complete sanding, wipe residual dust off the piece with a damp cloth, but try not to get the wood too wet. Then use a finer-grain sandpaper (e.g., move from a 60 to a 150, eventually to a 220) and go over the piece again. Keep sanding until you get down to the bare wood—wood stain can react to chemicals in the old finish if not removed during this step.

Staining

If you use a water-based stain, apply a prestain wood conditioner before proceeding, regardless of wood type. Applying stain is just like brushing on paint. Brush stain directly and evenly onto the bare wood—use enough that it soaks into the wood. Let the piece dry after the first coat. In most cases, one coat should be enough. But if you want a darker finish, apply a second coat.

Finishing

The finish will provide protection and sheen to the ebony-stained piece. We recommend brushing on a fast-drying polyurethane finish. Be sure to follow directions and pay attention to drying times. You may want to apply two coats for added protection. Once the piece is dry, reattach any hardware and you're done.

Making candles

I had kept this article from Country Living on how to make candles.

Scour your pantry, flea markets, and antiques shops for items that would make containers for candles -- teacups, sugar bowls, jelly jars, or sake cups. Choose pieces solid enough to withstand hot wax. These egg cups (below) were found on eBay. While many candles are made of paraffin, cleaner-burning options (think: green, plus fewer soot marks on the ceiling) include soy -- a vegetable wax that burns longer -- and beeswax, which emits a natural honey scent. Most waxes adhere well to porcelain, ceramic, and glass containers.

Directions in the article are below, as well as in the link. I liked the idea of using old tins - Mariage Frères teas have the most beautiful black tins, and love the oyster or clam shells.





































































Photo credits:
Lucas Allen
Keith Scott Morton

Thoughts on Decorating - Baudelaire

A multitude of small delights constitute happiness.
- Charles Baudelaire

Photo - Steven Randazzo

Floating bookshelves

I really like this idea of a floating bookshelf. I need to find where I got the picture, I think it was from a sneak peek on Design*sponge. Will look for the proper reference later, but right now, the painter is here; the counter-tops are getting measured in about an hour; my in-laws arrive from Canada this afternoon and I still need to finish cleaning!! So I have to be quick, to say the least.

We have such heavy bookshelves in our niche now (don't get me started on why new home-builders think that everyone wants a TV downstairs in a niche!!), and I would love to get rid of them. The walls are being painted Alexandria Beige by Benjamin Moore. I do love Alexa Hampton and her style, so I got the idea from her. Of course, I am completely stressing that it might be too dark, but I have good instincts for color, I just have to trust them.

So, what to do with the niche? I would love to make it a bar, but for right now, with adoption - no open liquor accessible to kids. Plus, we have a ton of book, so there needs to be a home for them. I do like the Elton bookshelves or the Woodwind open back shelves from Room & Board. Oh well, once the walls are painted, I can then envision what would look best there.

Bargain in a Box

As we all know (or should know), wines in non-traditional packaging have come a long way since the advent of screw tops and boxes. In fact, wine in a box has been around for more than 30 years. In America, boxed wine has always been viewed as less than desirable, but in some cases, it is a practical choice for an everyday beverage or for large groups.

I thought this was a clever article. I looked online at Food Network Magazine, but could not find the original article to refer to. It happens to be one of my recent tear sheets. The magazine asked Robert Bohr, wine director at New York City's Cru, to taste dozen of boxed wines and to give his recommendations. The six best are listed above, click on the image, to read the article.

Wallpaper galore

I have been going through my old issues for all magazines from January 2009 up until March and recycling, and noting items I want to blog about. For anyone who thinks wallpaper is passe, you should look at some of these featured wallpapers in House Beautiful. Now many of them are well know fabric houses, which probably mean that they are pricey. However, if you love a design, paper just one wall. Or frame a swatch of wall paper for a pop of color.

What caught my eye was Global Chic in Mint, Echodesign at Kravet (featured above).

I also like Flowering Quince in Green from Clarence House.












Celestine in Cassis from William Yeoward through Osborne & Little.

Hicks's Hexagon in Sage/Grey from Cole & Son through Lee Jofa.

The Vase in Yellow/White from Clarence House











Any of these would look great in a powder room or even a bedroom wall. For a powder room, I keep leaning toward the Arabesque Mirror from Mitchell Gold.














or the Lavello Mirror from Ballard Designs.

Thoughts on Decorating

Forcing yourself to use restricted means is the sort of restraint that liberates invention. It obliges you to make a kind of progress that you can't even imagine in advance. - Picasso

I keep telling myself that it is good not to have an unlimited budget.

Image from www.arts-wallpapers.com

The Best! IKEA Lykta Table Lamp

OK, I admit it. I love it when I turn to a page in House Beautiful, and find this little, inexpensive lamp featured in their The Best column. Especially, because I own it! It makes me feel like I am doing something right.

We own two of them, placed on our beside dressers, which are pretty tall. However, the lamp is a little short (only 10"H), so I would like to find a clear acrylic base to mount it on to add some height to the lamps.

Steal this...map wall art

This idea has been around for a while, but still a great way to give a map (or photo) more presence. I like the light wood frames that they used on the cover of this FLOR catalog and how closely they hung the frames.

I have a large map that has been in the closet for years, not as large as the one above, but perfect for smaller space in our entryway. If you are going to frame large amounts of pictures, it helps to have a well priced frame that you can buy in multiples. IKEA's Ribba frames have been featured quite a bit in shelter magazines, good basic frames at a bargain price. 10 different sizes, in 4 different colors. Perhaps a birch frame, remove the mat and frame the individual sections of map.

Kenneth E. Hobgood house - North Carolina

Architectural Digest has a feature called Open Auditions, where you can submit a project to be featured in their magazine. I just got 3 issues at once, as I recently subscribed, and this house was in the March issue.

Located in Chapel Hill, NC, this is the home of Haig Khachatoorian, a professor of industrial design at North Carolina State University, and his wife, Frances Gravely, the cofounder of Vietri. I was so taken by the interiors, they just seemed joyous to me, lots of light and openess.

I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I did.

Orange-and-Coffee-Flavored Rum Liqueur

The weekly recipe e-mail came from Saveur today. Interesting - I had citrus on my mind. Perhaps it is because it has been sunny, and in the 80's, the last couple of days. Or because I plan to try a new recipe for a warm grapefruit and quinoa salad, and Texas grapefruits were 5 for $1 today.




Either way, Saveur's Yesty Citrus Recipes, looked scrumptious. My husband already makes limoncello (which is why we have a Meyer lemon tree in our kitchen) and I want to try my hand at preserved lemons and lemon curd when we get our next crop.

As our friends know, we always share the "fruits" of our labor; I know there will be takers if we make a batch of Orange-and-Coffee-Flavored Rum Liqueur. It sounds just divine, I can't wait to try it.



Speaking of divine, I could not finish this post without sharing these beautiful pictures of desserts. Since I will have a lot of grapefruit rind left over, why not try to make Candied Orange Peels, using grapefruit instead.














If you are partial to oranges, try a Confit of Oranges Filled with Orange Sorbet. What a beautiful presentation, but the recipe looks a little daunting.

















More my style would be a Roasted Orange Tart, the recipe looks doable.

















Photo credits:
1. Andre Baranowski
2 - 6 Christopher Hirsheimer

Love it! Birkin Bag Cocktail Napkins

"Avoid the two year waiting list and indulge in your very own set of Birkin Bag cocktail napkins (s/4 - $26). Flaunt a new set of cocktail napkins with prints of the most luxurious Hermes handbags at your next cocktail party!!"

Need I say more? These are adorable and a perfect gift for your favorite stylista! From Avrilloreti's Etsy shop. Also check out the Faux Wood Coasters (s/6 - $20) and the Many Mixers cocktail napkins (s/8 - $52).

Clever idea: To-Do-List Mug

House Beautiful has a clever little column on their site called Trading Up.

"They say money can't buy you happiness, but if you're spending it anyway, shouldn't it go toward something that makes your home a happier place? While the economy is down, don't give up: Trade up! By Amy Claire Preiser.

Here's a great idea, trade your Post-its for a To-Do List Mug from Fred Flare, $16. Especially if you are like me, and have lists all over your house.