Thoughts on Design, Metropolitan Home and Chit Chat

Well Ok....lets just get caught up!

No excuses, just mounds of life stuff that creeps in and makes the days fly by. 

Happily I wave bye bye to this crazy winter and yell hello to spring.

Honestly I have really struggled trying to find something relevant to talk about that doesn't wind up seeming, well, sort of irrelevant.  

We have been working on a little house project in Santa Barbara (photos above) and I will be starting a kitchen remodel in about two weeks.

Unfortunately the only thing I have chosen thus far is this sink faucet.

Looks like I'm having commitment issues but hopefully I will snap out of it quickly or this kitchen project will be really long! 

For those who have followed this little blog for the last few years, you know that we sold our Ojai ranch house and moved to Los Angeles for a year.  

While in LA we rented a very cool condo and I started messing around with modern furniture

mixed in with a few of the usual "country" details....just couldn't help it : ))

I have loved modern design since I first popped open 

a Metropolitan Home Magazine, many years ago.  

It was the first magazine that really inspired me and I tried very hard to emulated the hip modern rooms Met Home featured. 

The magazine published its last issue in 2009 

but Hearst decided to relaunched Met Home last summer 

aimed at Gen X and Millennial city dwellers.  

Many current design trends remind me of Metropolitan Home features from the 80's and 90's.

But design is so much more consumer friendly now and sharing information, sources and competitive pricing are the norm.  

And did I mention FREE shipping!! 

Just about everybody ships furniture for free or for a flat rate.

On a young working mom's meager salary, most of my purchases were from Crate and Barrel and everything else came from thrift stores and antique malls. 

 Extra money was used for diapers and bouncy chairs, certainly not furniture.

Not much of that scenario has changed except I'm no longer young 

and yes, I still like Crate and Barrel.

I especially like the latest collaboration with Ross Cassidy for the CB2 line

I have recently

splurged on a few new pieces of furniture

 that are really modern but will work well in any setting

A Saarinen table...a classic

Here I paired it with inexpensive chairs from All Modern ,

a vintage Gas station sign from the 50's

and collectible American red ware circa 1880..ish

An Eames lounge chair in white Edelman leather...delish!

Looks right at home next to the firkin stack ;)

The coffee table is from Serena and Lily and the English bamboo side tables and some of the new antique pottery pieces are 

from Revival Antiques in Pasadena 

The large Steel Console is a fantastic piece designed by Giulio Lazzotti from Design Within Reach.

This is an office credenza but it works wonderfully  as a media console.

The couches and chairs I designed and slipcoverd in basic white twill 

 with pillows in orange velvet from Schumacher 

I'm loving black accent pieces right now 

 and recently purchase the Antoccino shelving in black oak from RH Modern.

 I don't have a photo of this in our apartment but it is a beautiful piece 

and I can see it in so many different settings.

Now back to the story....we moved (again) from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, a little over a year ago. 

 I know...we move a lot.  Believe me, we are really tired of it.  New places are really stimulating and exciting for the first few months but it just starts to get crazy and unsettling.

Today we are in an older, smaller rented condo but it's still pretty 

and the location downtown is amazing.

Here is essentially all of the same furniture with a few new pillows.  

It really looks different and yet works nicely in this older smaller space.

Interesting however, is that nothing looks very modern here.

The walls are a sage-ish odd green... I'm just living with it

 but I think the paint really dates this condo. 

In our spare time (?)  we work on the little house in Santa Barbara

Many of the things I have purchased for this house have a 

more modern and spare feel as well.  

While this is a 1920's Spanish Colonial house, 

modern and current looks right at home

A dresser in the master bedroom is from Room and Board with swapped out hardware paired with a purple over-dyed rug 

A lovely minimalist painting from Jean Jack mixes with vintage American pottery 

and antique Hubley doggy doorstops

The walls are hand troweled stucco which are left unpainted and raw.

 The original oak floor will be sanded and refinished in the next few weeks

and any thing but this orange will look sooooo much better...

I've changed out most of the lighting 

including the chandelier in the dining area which just didn't work for me.  

I know a lot of people would have kept it but it didn't allow 

for any changes in the dining room configuration 

which is important in a very small house. 

Choosing artwork that has a connection to this style of house 

but can work in a more contemporary setting has been fun and something of a challenge 

because of the limited space.

Add in the garden we have less variety of plant material 

and more linear sight lines, with clean walls and pathways

Vegetable gardens can look messy at times but the stone beds keep things in check 

and the gate provides a private garden room entrance.

Now that the rain is finally letting up a bit 

you can be sure I will be gardening more.

Tomatoes got planted a few weeks ago in February ....seriously Kelley? 

don't you think its too early?

I guess we will find out

xoxo

K  

and follow along daily on Instagram here