Our Adirondack Trip, and Our Continuing Obsession With Lakes...

Taking excerpts from this months Elle Decor, Sue Halpern writes,

 "Once the summer haunt of cultured and sophisticated New York, here the Rockefeller's, Posts, and other industrialists built their "great camps", where luxury mixed with rustic style. There are 46 Adirondack mountains over 4,000 feet, known as the "high peaks", and almost all of them have well maintained trails. There is not a better climate than in the Adirondacks in the summer, the average temperature is 73. There is no humidity. Just make sure you come after the black flies have left in early July. Protected by law, as the Adirondack Forest preserve, in 1895, it became the country's first wilderness playground. It is bigger than Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Glacier national parks combined.But unlike those places, which were established to ensure the existence of wild spaces largely removed from human habitation, the Adirondacks is a 6 million acre patchwork of of public and private land where the human community coexists with the wild one."

My entire family history is steeped in Upstate New York or, the Adirondacks. Both my Mom and Dad are from there, and I have always felt a connection to it even though I am firmly planted on the West Coast. My mom just bought an old "Camp" on Chateaugay Lake, that was originally built by my great, great, grandfather, who was once the Senator of New York, after blowing his arm off while duck hunting. (weird story, I know) This was our first summer there, after extensive renovations and clean up, and we had so much fun! The initials of kids who stayed there in the 1920's are still there, all the way up to the 1980's. West Coast history has nothing on the East Coast, everywhere you look there are small, late 1700's early 1800's cemeteries, gorgeous old houses crumbling from age, and a wealth of old timers ready to tell you their story.

One of my favorite things in the house...This phone....

 I love big ol' screen porches, where the breeze can come in, but the bugs can't...   

The cemetery where almost my entire mother's side of the family is buried. 

Cemeteries are everywhere in New York. You don't see them nearly as much in Seattle, especially the tiny little ones that are everywhere, which must have only had a few family's buried there. I feel like the tradition of getting buried has lost some steam in recent years. It seems many more people just want to be cremated, am I wrong? I don't think I want to waste valuable resources, like land, or even money, on getting buried, and yet I have so much respect for the tradition of it, and the beauty. The old tombstones, the beautiful old family gates are so interesting. They always bring me out of my little fantasy world for a moment and make me realize how quick we are to forget about our own mortality.

My sweet boy having the time of his life in the sand.

My mom's amazing house that she grew up in...My grandmother still lives there.

Next up... Sag Harbor... Hope you are having a happy summer! 

Photo's by Jennifer Ament

Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House in NYC...

I was lucky enough to be asked by the UBER-talented designer, GRANT GIBSON, if he could use my art in the  Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House in New York's Chelsea gallery district, where they picked 10 up and coming designers, (paired with vendors), to design a fabulous room. I was super honored, someone I have watched, through the my little blog lens, rise to become one of the A-Listers of Design, in one of the best home decor magazine's in the U.S. And he asked me to do something with him and Elle Decor?!

Obviously I loved Grant Gibson's design, but my other favorites were, Beth Martin's, Sara Story's, and Aurelien Gallet's  rooms....

I cannot believe I can even say the word, "Elle Decor", and my art in the same sentence?

How genius to use Chinese take-out food menu's as wallpaper??

Beth Martin's room was the perfect compliment to Grant's room. I was immediately drawn to the coffee table. It tied everything together with hits of great graphics, and color...

The infamous room above, that was designed by Grant, is iconic in the blog world, and very associated with him and his talent...
What strikes me most about Grant, is that he get's it... He is down to earth enough, that his ego doesn't get in the way. He seems to know how to decorate for a messy family with kids, who still want to be chic, and how to decorate for an older widow on the upper east side, who won't step out of the house in sneakers.
He knows comfort and elegance. I love that.

                                                                    Thank you, Grant!

    

Be sure to check out the June Elle Decor to see some of these gifted designers at this event!

The Modern Concept House is open to the public now for 3 weekends until June 5th,

 so be there, or be square!

My camera broke on the trip, and so these are by the super talented Jamie Beck, from For Me To You, that were taken for the lovely blog Sacramento Street...
Thanks Guys!

The Art of Architecture...

There are only a few rooms in the world that, (i feel), have no need for 

art hanging on the walls, and they are those, where the architecture is the art...

 Images- Elle Decor, and Unknown

Drapery...Artful or Practical?

I am loving drapery lately, more than I ever have.

When I went through my fabric everywhere phase, 
It started to feel like things were collecting too much dust, 
but I think if you stay vigilant about washing or 
dry cleaning your fabrics, it adds adds polish, and elegance... 
Whether they are in a traditional setting, or more modern,
they are similar to a scarf on ones neck.
They add a certain sophistication that cannot be 
met with blinds, my friends.
They are like sunglass huts, all of those blind shacks, or blind
"specialist" stores...They need to stop giving so many discounts, and go 
make themselves some drapes...


What is your opinion of Drapery? Love it or Hate it?


Via- Unknown, Lonny, ApartmentTherapy, Elle Decor, and Lou Lou de la Falaise Apt. in Paris.