Summer Sunshine: Ojai citrus

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The last of our Valencia oranges, Satsuma tangerines and Eureka lemons from our family orchard:


A turtle walks across the lawn and when he gets there summer's gone--Karla Kuskin

Cheers to a fun and happy summer~*~kelley

Herb Garden Window Box

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Fun little weekend project: Two galvanized planter/tubs from Pottery Barn.





Decorators that Inspire: Mariette Himes Gomez

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A true minimalist, Mariette Himes Gomez continues to inspire with her classic design style. A member of the elite Architectural Digest top 100 designers, her work is both varied in location and architectural style.


Always in muted colors, the fabrics chosen stand alone in layers of texture and volume. The grey velvet chair is so wonderful! While not purely contemporary her choice of fixtures is always sharp and new.

Favorite paint colors are Farrow and Ball Khaki String 8 and Celedon Green Ground. She describes these colors as "softly beautiful. They don't scream. They don't dictate-"



Her use of small hallways and entrances is really wonderful.

Always a challenge, a huge living room becomes calm and intimate with a select choice of lighting and a soft color pallet.
Art work is aways a key element and ranges from the very contemporary to classic and old world, striking a balance in all of her designs.


Her drapery treatment are usually very straight forward with out much fuss but beautiful none the less because of the fabric choices.

I absolutely love this eating area above, the curved sofa, the chairs...so wonderful.

The chalkboard is actually an oil painting.

Mariette has a couple of wonderful books out: Houses and Rooms, both of which showcase the variety of her work and her thoughts on the decorating process. The books are wonderful to read as well as look at because she is seems to put so much thought and energy into her work.

Mariette Himes Gomez continues to inspire me. I hope you will look up more of her work here. All photos Architectural Digest.~*~kelley

B's in my garden

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Front porch BELL: Hand cast bronze bells and wind chimes from Richard Fisher in Prospect Harbor, MaineBABY BATH planter: Ebay and other sites of this kind

Black metal BIRDS: Found on Ebay, query; black crow



Rusty metal BATS: The Post Ranch Inn Mercantile

Petite Niche Office

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A nice little face lift:My office is in a small area under the stairs going to the second floor of our home. It has really excellent storage and a nice window but it seemed really dark and dingy lately.
The wall color was a nice neutral tan color but brought the light down a bit. All of the desk top area was stained dark brown as well.

So here is the face lift. I painted every thing in decorators white, a new color from Benjamin Moore. I swapped out the knobs with bronze pulls and added two cute bronze lamps with burlap shades by Jamie Young. The white chair is from pottery barn.


I love these reproduction Nantucket storage baskets. I also repurposed a vintage shoe shine rack. A nice coat of grey paint and some wicker storage that fits perfectly.

The vintage sign is fun and the galvanized message boards complete the desk area. The linen lined wicker baskets are for my "today" and "tomorrow" things to do.
I ordered glass to protect the top of the desk and have a vintage feed sack seat cushion for the desk chair being made. I can't believe the difference! A nice little update for my well used office niche! ~*~kelley