Month: July 2019

proper hotel, Kelly Wearstler, lobby 3

proper hotel, Kelly Wearstler, lobby entrance

Proper Hotel in San Francisco is housed in a Historic 1909 flatiron landmark building that has been re-designed and updated by none other than Kelly Wearstler.  You can see her signature style of Modernism mixed with Cubism all around the hotel.  It may surprise you to find a few chintz wallpapers and bullion trim here and there, coming from a modernist as Wearstler.  However, it makes perfect sense since those are design details that further enhance the retro look of the hotel.  I particularly love the restaurant, Villon, a sophisticated restaurant and bar with blue paneling walls and a very sexy color combo.  The overall style of the Proper hotel displays a great balance between feminine and masculine style.

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Pink tablecloth on a round table skirt in Janet de Botton's home

Live beautiful is this blog’s most recent post category in which I’ll be posting about how to live beautifully in a more precise way and with details.  Today, we start with how to soften up any space with a skirted table.  Regardless of the shape of the table, round, square, or rectangular covering it with a tablecloth can dramatically transform any space.  From your makeup vanity to the inexpensive table that can serve you as a T.V. stand, they can all be enhanced with a table skirt.

In the case of a T.V. table, for example, the skirt can also hide storage underneath-all that unpleasant but, necessary electric cord, cable boxes, and remotes, can be hidden behind a very tailored, ideally custom-made table skirt.  The design detail can go with any home decor, from traditional to modern.  As a matter of fact, many modern Interior Designers are fans of a skirted table.

Pink tablecloth on a round table in Janet de Botton's homeBring layers of fabric into a room, if you love layers as much as I do.  Above, Janet de Botton’s home in France.  The effect of the two cascading pink tablecloths on the table is noticeable- it softens up the floor, and it adds a level of elegance to the room.

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While walking along the beach early last week, I noticed how far we’ve come.  Nobody is interested in following swimsuit rules anymore.  This is the time for eneryone to wear whatever pleases us.  Whether you came with a short supply of bottoms or have some excess on your hips, you are free to wear whatever you wish.  From high-rise bikini or maillots as well as one-piece swimsuits.  It really is about anything you like or prefer.

swimsuit roundup

Before summer ends, here are six swimsuit to buy.

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soutern living idea home, kitchen stove

soutern living idea home, facade

This year’s Southern Living Magazine Idea House was built from the ground up in the Crane Island, Florida, 14 miles from Fernandina Beach.  The house is absolutely gorgeous, Interiors designed by Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Architecture by Historical Concepts’ Jim Strickland and Clay Rokicki, and construction by Riverside Custom Homes.  The decoration inside is elegant and classic but entirely livable with an emphasis on All American beauty.  I can move into this house and not change a thing.

It took me more than usual to upload all these images, but they are all so worthy that I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t leave one out.  The house has a resemblance to the Something’s Gotta Give’s house, but with a bit more on the classic modern side, with lots of browns, dark blue, ceiling beams, classic or antique furniture throughout and printed fabrics and wallpaper.  Read more about it at Southern Living Magazine.

soutern living idea home, door

soutern living idea home, blue and white living room

The living room with a blue and white palette.

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quinta da comporta villa

We got back from the south last Friday, and you may think that while heading north temperatures would get more chill, but the opposite was true.  Temperatures across the US are scorching hot, and although many still decide to not believe in Global Warming, it’s something to think about, to say the least.  In the ideal world, the government would believe science, and we would all be in this fight together.  On the other side of the world; however, there are still places that do everything with sustainability in mind and all without sacrificing style.  Case in point Quinta Da Comporta: Wellness Boutique Resort is a sustainable signature project envisioned and designed by renowned Portuguese architect, Miguel Câncio Martins.

quinta da comporta villa

One of the villas with the characteristic thatched roof.

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The Lowcountry: From Charleston to Savannah

While we are still down south- as I write this, I’m in my balcony in Palm Beach overlooking the ocean breaking waves in front of me.  I can get used to this.  I’ll be posting a guide to these three cities I’ve been visiting, Charleston, Savannah and Palm Beach soon.  In the meantime I want to share with you 5 books about Charleston and Savannah which give us a glimpse into the socio-political, architectural, and economic history of these historical cities.

5 books to read before visiting Charleston and Savannah.

Charleston! Charleston! : The History of a Southern City by Walter J. Fraser, Jr.

Charleston Charlston: the history of a southern city

This book covers Charleston’s development from its founding in 1670 to Hurricane Hugo in 1989, diving into the towns history from wars, slavery and racial issues, natural disasters as well as its art and architecture.

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