The Polished Pebble: Wabi-Sabi

It's often interesting what can inspire us....
is it an image on Pinterest?

a fabulous evening silhouette and big green lawn

a simple humble work table

beautiful natural elements

clean and modern spaces with interesting antiques

whimsy and white

a place to have tea

a chic and warm restaurant

a simple morning in the garden
filled with sunshine

It's probably all of those things
or
a patchwork of a bit of each

My inspiration usually comes from the colors and textures
of things that I enjoy looking at

and most often a house and it's architecture
will tell you what needs to be placed inside

But since I'm not sure where or what style exactly our next house will be
I have chosen this little Plein Air Painting as my inspiration
for a few new furnishings

It has wonderful coral and turquoise hues

as well as yellow, rich greens, terra-cotta and salmon

The colors of this old Roseville Wisteria vase are similar

And something about the terra cotta, greens and blues in this glaze

are so beautiful together

I think this vase dates from 1920-1940

so those may have been the colors that people really liked

during California's golden era

This old basket has wonderful old paint in oyster white with just the right amount of wood peeking through....
beautiful simple color

Old storage firkins are a beautiful example of how color can become

more rich and interesting with time

So I purchased a few things to get me started....keeping in mind the colors of the little painting

first up
a clean and calm Ushak rug

Millie...of course is quite pleased with this purchase

I found a few old indigo batik pillows
with blue-green

and cream

For some of the larger pieces I like the neutral texture of linen in stripes and solids

and maybe some ticking thrown in

These are a fun colors to use as large pillows....
I really like the bright melon and turquoise velvet
colors found again the the painting

And a really unique fabric I purchased is this
Antique Japanese Boro panel

Japanese boro's are folk textiles,

pieced together as the fabric became worn

because cotton was highly prized for it's warmth

The fabrics are all hand loomed, died with indigo

and stitched together by hand

randomly... but with great care

this beautiful boro dates to 1800-1850

the color and texture is really quite amazing

and I have never used anything like this before

I love the fact that all of the patches are sewn by hand

and the textures are both rough and soft

So I need to get started right away

to furnish a new living room

and I will be using

my patchwork of inspiration

see you soon

About this time each year, I clean out my shelves, closets and over loaded drawers.

I donate the items that have lost their usefulness (at least to me)

But books are sometimes the hardest to part with.

Book lovers would say that a good book never looses its value to the reader and I suppose that is true... but decor and lifestyle books are as bit different.

Like all book lovers, there are the old decorating classics that I can't seem to part with even though they seem outdated today.

But looking through these older books (I found a few from the 80's...yikes) gives me an opportunity to re-discover things I really like.

And what is really interesting is how my taste has come full circle... from when I was young and a new wife and mom and loved really modern contemporary design...

then fully immersed myself into folk art and antiques

and finally here I am today...

back to those more modern and spare rooms which are really appealing again

The blurry definition of what is a "country" look

is really at the center of my decorating style...and I suppose my dilemma.

I like to think today it is more about what is left "undone"

than what is clearly "overdone"

I have been a huge fan of Tricia Foley for many years and find her style to be so wonderfully pure and admire how effortlessly she masters the modern country vernacular

In her book: At Home With Wedgwood

She writes about about the history and design of this most beautiful and popular

pottery and china

and shows the reader the beauty

of the simple well set table

I love how the flowers are not in the center of the table

and the lantern is placed at the very end

The history of Wedgwood is actually really fascinating

and the variety of china amazing

Wedgwood is really beautiful!!!

and all of the settings photographed in this book seem so natural

The fork and knife on the napkin and the spoon on the far right...love that

what is more beautiful than this drab ware with the silver chargers!

Her style is somewhat Wabi Sabi in the true definition:

finding beauty in the most basic natural objects and perfection in the imperfect

everything is set a bit off kilter

but perfect none the less...

perfectly imperfect

She seems very comfortable styling photos that are both formal and rich in texture and layers but manages to find that balance of simplicity and natural beauty in

what are very detailed, formal objects like the Wedgwood lamp