Dallas Talent! Renovating an Old Cottage

My blogging friend, Rebecca, over at Gardens, Houses,People posted (August 16, 2009) about this cottage a few weeks ago. I got so excited when I read it. I love seeing older houses in Dallas remodeled and renovated, rather than being torn down for yet another "MacMansion" to be squeezed onto a small lot on already crowded (charming, but crowded) streets. This trend was happening when we lived in Dallas 15 years ago and seems to have continued, much to my dismay.

Rebecca introduced her readers to the young design duo of Sarah and Miles Durham. Their story is quite interesting - go here to read more.

I snatched these photos from Rebecca, (with her permission), but didn't want to copy the whole post, so to see more of this great house, visit her blog.

Just LOOK at this old kitchen! Now look at the next shot at the magic this talented team did on it!!

What a good looking kitchen - fresh, crisp contemporary design. Rebecca has some more great photos of this newly re-done house. Click on over to see them, now!

My FUN Friend and Amazing Artist, Jodie

Jodie and I became fast friends when our now teen age girls were in preschool together. Often, our girls would play together after school. When the time came to be picked up, one of us would politely say to the one arriving to get her child .... "Won't you come in for a few minutes?"... followed, oh so politely, with, "and have a glass of wine?"

Minutes would turn to hours - we would have wonderful, deep conversations, or laugh until we cried, or talk and cry. Over time, we became dear friends. We both had husbands who worked late and if it was Friday we would completely blow off the dinner, bath, story and bedtime routine and talk until someone got hungry - sometimes one of us, sometimes our girls! Then, we'd thrill them with more play time and pizza delivered!

We have been through many creative efforts together and separately. We've shared the joys and sorrows of marriage and children. My sweet friend now lives in Houston, but our friendship endures.

She was recently in town for a visit, AND to drop off some of her latest paintings to red to be exhibited and sold. She struggles to find the time to paint like many of us do when daily responsibility has to take precedence over our passions . When she does fine the time,though, her talent flows - here is some of her lovely work and more about her, in her own words.....................


"Still Waiting"

"The Eyes Have It"

"Good for You"

"Keep on Truckin' "

"Resilience"

When did you start painting? Actually I started painting pretty late in life. I probably would've started much earlier if I hadn't had a 3rd grade art teacher who ridiculed my mushroom sculpture that I painted with polka dots. Polka dots apparently were not part of the lesson. After that little experience I just assumed I wasn't an artist. The idea of painting stayed in the back of my mind for years but I didn't pick it up again until I was 35. I guess I had had enough therapy by that point to cover the mushroom incident.


How often do you paint? Not nearly often enough. I tell myself I'm going to paint every day, but between the 5 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats and now one dead fish (may he rest in peace) I have a hard time squeezing it in.


Do you have a studio ? do you always paint indoors? I have an art room in my home, but I prefer to paint outside. Something about the light and the breeze and the freedom from walls really inspires me to move the paint across the canvas. I used to paint outside naked (we had a VERY HIGH fence)...now THAT was freedom. But then age, gravity and a few too many desserts took over and instead of feeling free I just feel like a freak painting outside naked.


Have you had any instruction or are you completely self taught? Thanks to my 3rd grade art teacher, I'm completely self taught.


How do you think your style developed and what inspires you? When I first started painting I painted with a brush but was never satisfied. Much like my life, I prefer the edges to be not so defined, so I moved to painting with palette knives. I love the texture that the knives create and the way I can get a lot of paint on the canvas fairly quickly. I'm inspired by anything that makes me smile. Whether its women laughing or the face of a cow, I want to create art that lifts peoples spirits and encourages them to take a break from the have-to's of life.



Do you have a favorite kind of art or a favorite artist? I love art that makes me smile. Whether its a collage, a sculpture, a photograph or a painting, I want to walk by it and have my heart lifted. I'm a fan of Melinda Hall. Her work captures my philosophy about my own art.


What do you hope to do artistically in the future? What do I HOPE to do??? Well I hope Oprah decides that the world needs to see my work and puts me on her show. That's what I hope. But since there's a small possibility that that may not happen, I guess my other hope would be to just move forward with the artistic process of experimenting with different mediums and continue to get my work out there to anyone who wants to have a little more joy in their life.

"Not Just a Piece of Meat II"

For more information or pricing, please visit red at www.redinfred.com

Blue Trucks and New Work!

Wowza!! I have been playing with Photobucket. I have always wanted to post larger photos but have not been able to because I use a Mac and am a self taught, slow learning blogger. So, when I "get it" I am so excited! This is a painting by my friend, Jodie. I am awaiting her email telling me more about her work and then I will do a full post.

Meanwhile, enjoy this cute, old blue truck!!

P.S. - African Headdresses

Several people have asked about these wonderful puffy things hanging over the sofa in the Soiree office in NYC. I emailed Callie and she informed me that she and Nicki are actually selling these fabulous, feathered African headdresses!

Photos by Liz Banfield

They can be ordered in many colors: white, pink, purple, orange and brown. They are selling them for $300 and you can email them directly at callie@scoutdesignsnyc.com or nicki@scoutdesignsnyc.com.

Have fun!!

Scout NYC - Part II , The Office

I mentioned the satellite office in NYC of the event planner, Soiree, in my last post. I am not sure I did the office justice, though, so here are a few more shots of this charming work space.

Decorated by Callie Jenschke and Nicki Clendening of Scout Design, the office is both elegant and whimsical , fresh and modern.

Color is vibrant and interesting texture is abundant.

I read that Nicki found the green chairs at an antique mall in Charleston. This is the kind of thing that keeps antique dealers and collectors addicted to the hunt. We will peruse the worst of antique malls, "just in case"!

The screen adds an element of glamour and I suspect is quite functional at hiding the stuff of daily business.

Small accessories lend texture and form to an otherwise tech setting.

Love the vase - glass with some sort of woven covering - very nice.

Yep, these girls are good, very good.

All office photos by Liz Banfield.

Scout Design - NYC

Much ado has been made over this green chair, by Haskell Harris here, and by Courtney here.

Scout partners, Callie and Nicki

In fact, you may have read recently at stylecourt about the NYC satellite office of Charleston event planner, Soiree. The new office, decorated by Scout designers, Callie Jenschke and Nicki Clendening, is fresh, colorful and modern.

Soiree office photos by Liz Banfield

Better yet, this duo was able to do their magic on a modest budget. So, enough about the wonderful green chair! Now it is time to make a fuss about the talent behind it!

Callie is an old friend of mine and I am so excited to feature Scout at Hill Country House. You see, Callie grew up in the hill country, left the small town life for college and has established herself in NYC as a very talented young designer.

Callie was in high school when we first moved to Fredericksburg and it has been such fun to watch her become such a sharp and creative young woman. I interviewed Callie via email to get the story behind the great work shown here. Featured is her partner, Nicki's, apartment, a perfect example of their combined great eye and very good taste. I hope you enjoy the photos while getting the full scoop from Callie!

Tell me a little about your background - how you came to live in NYC and what you have been doing there.

I am, as you know, from Fredericksburg, Texas. (Confession–I babysat for Ann's girls Emma and Hannah from almost the first day they all moved to Fredericksburg until they were young ladies!) I went to the University of Texas at Austin and received my degree in journalism and minored in visual design. I have always been a design magazine junkie. I cut my teeth working at Austin Monthly and interning at Texas Monthly during school. I had always dreamed about working for a magazine in NYC so, I moved here right out of school. For almost 4 years, I have worked on and off at Metropolitan Home magazine as well as a short stint at Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine. I covered the home market as well as produced and styled photo shoot for both magazines and others like Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, Everyday with Rachel Ray, O at Home and many more.

Have you always wanted to be in interior design or is this a fairly new interest?

I have always had an interest in design. With a father and a grandfather that are builders, I grew up on job sites and was influenced by my mother who loves to renovate old homes. After cultivating my design eye at Met Home, where I was also mentored by the venerable Linda O'Keeffe, I realized that interior design was definitely a field I wanted to be in.

How did you and Nicki meet and how did you decide to go into business together?

Nicki and I met last year while working on the Greenwich Hotel, a new boutique hotel in Tribeca. I was hired to help buy for all of the rooms, and Nicki was supplying books. It was design kismet! We instantly became fast friends and realized that we loved working on interior spaces together. Our shared sense of aesthetics got us talking about starting a company. After the New Year, we dove right in and just went for it.

When did you form Scout?

Scout was formed right after the New Year. And, we officially began work on our first project–the Soirée office in New York City in late March.



What makes Scout unique?

We're interested in helping people create their ideal environment, be it at their home or their office. We want to create spaces that people walk into and immediately feel at ease, inspired, happy, comfortable, welcome, and inspired. We offer a total soup to nuts approach to design. From the sheets you sleep in, to the glass you drink your juice out of every morning, to the art on your walls, every detail is important to creating a lifestyle for each client. Our ultimate goal is to create spaces that feel like they can grow and evolve with a person's life.

What are your favorite sources?

We are flea market devotees! You can find us every Saturday and sometimes even Sunday mornings scouring the fleas in the city and in Brooklyn searching for the next one of a kind piece.

Is there anything in particular that is your inspiration?

NIcki and I both love traveling and experiencing other cultures and art. Countless museum visits and culture club outings inspire us on a daily basis.

What are your favorite jobs and do you have a typical client?

We love working with individuals, and love developing the creative collaboration between us and the client. Each one has been so different but, the majority of our clients are very successful people who know what they want...when we show it to them.

Nicki's apartment photos by Imogen Brown.

Thanks so much to Callie for sharing Scout's story with us. She and Nicki have a refreshing approach and great design talent.

Scout is definitely a design team to watch and I hope to feature more of their exciting projects in the future!

More Great Texas Modern

Just a few more great looking Texas houses.

I do not know these houses personally. They are designed by McKinney Architects in Austin.

Besides being a shelter magazine addict, I also scour architectural websites when I have time.

If you live in Texas, you know how nice this pool would feel right now!

To learn more about this firm and their work go here.


All photos courtesy of McKinney Architects website.

Texas Architecture Favorites

I have had this image in my files for years. It is still a dream - a classic Texas modern house built around a courtyard with a simple, rectangular pool.

Another favorite, kept for inspiration..............

A San Antonio courtyard entrance...........love it. All images from Lake/Flato architects in San Antonio, Texas. More to come on Texas architecture. Stay tuned.....................

Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

My time in Boston is winding down so today's post will be brief. I have got to get out there and soak up all I can with what time I have left. I feel as if what I have seen and learned in the past few weeks is just the tip of the iceberg in this interesting, vibrant city!


Yesterday's outing was to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, an absolutely exquisite building housing an amazing art collection. The home was built to evoke a 15th century Venetian palace.



Isabella Stewart (1840 - 1924) was born in New York and married Bostonian John Lowell Gardner, Jr. in 1860. Their wide travels inspired a passion for art that became a passion for collecting in 1891 when Isabella's father left her his fortune. Isabella and her husband gathered over 2500 objects of art. They initially amassed their collection to decorate their home. The collection includes paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, drawings, ceramics, photographs........the list goes on. The collection is from Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, the Islamic world, and 19th century France and America.

Isabella Gardner Stewart painted by John Singer Sargent in 1888

"Years ago I decided that the greatest need in our Country was Art… We were a very young country and had very few opportunities of seeing beautiful things, works of art… So, I determined to make it my life's work if I could." - Isabella Stewart Gardner, on the creation of her Museum, 1917




I so wish I had been able to take photographs of the collection. This was one of my favorite rooms. The walls are entirely adorned with Spanish gilded and painted leather panels.

The house is built around a courtyard with beautiful flower beds and seasonal plantings. It is covered with glass above the four story building, so one has the feeling of being in a huge greenhouse.
Beautiful decorative arts are scattered throughout the museum - I loved these chairs. There were 4 of them, each with different details.

For more information (and much better pictures) visit the website for the museum here.

All photos and information courtesy of the museum website and guest brochure.

Fascinating Inspiration - RISD Edna Lawrence Museum

My new friend Nikki, over at Acquire in Boston's North End, posted this video today. It is am amazing place and I can't wait to visit someday.We all get our inspiration from different places!

Congrats to My Pals, RED, ROOT, and SOMETHING DIFFERENT II

I am so happy to tell you of an award given to three of my favorite shops in Fredericksburg. In a vote by customers these three shops have been determined 3 of the 45 best stores in Texas!

One of my first posts was about my friend, Carolyn, and the amazing shop she manages , red, in Fredericksburg. See that story here.

I also did a story about Something Different II, here.

Not too long ago, I posted about my friend, Cassell, who owns Root and did an amazing auction using decorated Toms to benefit the charity work of Toms. Read that story here!

All three locally owned shops are either owned or managed by incredibly creative and hard working women. I want to congratulate them and say how proud I am to call them my friends!

Exquisite Glass Flowers at Harvard MNH

Image from the Harvard Museum of Natural History Website

Everyone we talked to about what museums to visit during our stay here in Boston said it - "You must see the glass flower exhibit." " You HAVE to see the glass flower exhibit." "You cannot leave Boston if you haven't see the glass flowers!"

Sunday we went to see the glass flowers. Housed in the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the famous flowers are indeed spectacular and actually kind of hard to really, really believe. As I walked along the aisles, peering into the cases full of glass specimens, I kept thinking, "These are glass........... not wax or some other composition that looks so authentic? How did they do that!?"



This collection of over 3,000 glass models was made by glass artist Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph. The 19th century glass artisans, who perfected their family craft, were commissioned in 1886 to create models for teaching purposes. The father and son team lived in Germany and continued to create these incredible flowers for over 5 decades, from 1886 until 1936. Their studio was near Dresden, Germany and it is believed that the desk shown above was one of the work spaces for the duo.

The life size models are crafted entirely of glass using wire internally for support.The models are life size and include anatomical sections and enlarged flower parts for study.

Visitors examine row after row of realistic specimens . One can appreciate the flowers from a beauty perspective or study for hours for a scientific knowledge.

I loved both - the presentation for study, as well as the absolute beauty of each and every one of the flowers.

Can you even imagine that this is not a real cactus, but in fact a model made ENTIRELY of fine colored glass?

I loved this one - so, so pretty and so many delicate parts.

Although we went to see the glass flowers exhibit, the museum is an amazing place to see and learn so much about all aspects of the natural world. It is easy to navigate and chock full of examples of all kinds of animals, birds, fish, bugs, you name it ; if it is part of our world and natural history, it is there. One could spend days here, and it is a wonderful place for families with kids. For more information on the museum, go here.