Seura magic tvs!

Recently while doing some research at work I came across Seura tv's. They're the company that makes those bathroom mirrors that have little tv screens hidden in them. Well - apparently they also do full size mirrored tvs too!
While the picture quality probably won't be winning any awards, I think this is such a great idea for a secondary tv, dont' you? I love the look of the tv above. Beveled edge even on the mirror! I could see one of these with a big chunky antique frame. It would be great if they came in an antiqued mirror finish, but that may be asking too much.please ignore the ugly room, but here you see the tv in action. Not theater quality but not bad!
Maybe in the living room? They really do look like mirrors! I think in my dream house I'd have one over a fireplace in the living room (as my prefered tv watching location is in bed!). What do you think of them?
Pics courtesy of Seura, see their Website

Radiator Cover

In the March / April 2009 issue of 'The English Home' magazine is an radiator cover in a beautiful London home. While this is a table provided by 'White' in Paris, it could easily have been 2 old limestone or terra cotta corbels from your local salvage yard with a marble slab resting on top. Such a great solution for those ugly radiators many of us have in our homes!

Houses in Houston

Just a little more house love from Houston....

The Charleston style houses seen at the top of this post all had exterior entries through a door into gated gardens. These brick verandas led you into all of the public spaces of the house through french doors with no proper 'front door' - interesting, huh? I love the ceiling fans that line the porch.Above you can see the 'front door' onto the veranda. Great for the Texas climate! This Vegas style beauty below was next door to the house I featured yesterday. While maybe not as tasteful as yesterdays post, this house still has its charms, doesn't it?

Mediterranean style house tour

While in Houston this past weekend, I was able to tour this Mediterranean or Spanish style house being built. It was quite a treat! I hope you can all appreciate these photos and not just the geeky architect in me: you have to use your imagination somewhat as it's still under construction.
The front door had this beautiful limestone surround and mahogany door.On the left hand side of the front was entry to the motorcourt with seperate guest suite off to the far left side (with the ventilation hose going into the window!).
You enter into a beautiful round stairhall with walnut floors and a curved staircase (no banister yet!). The treads and risers on the stair were also walnut (unfortunately covered with paper here to protect them). All of the trim, casing, doors and floors in the house were walnut.From the stairhall you entered into a gallery which opened up to the living room ahead. Terrazzo was in the process of being poured on the floor in a geometric grid, which you can see below.Below you see the living room as seen from the gallery. There is another gallery on the back side of the living room which faces the backyard seen through the french doors. Notice the vaulted ceilings in the gallery! Every opening in the house seemed to be an arch.Off to the side of the entry was the dining room. It had this unusual arabesque entry way that will hold an iron gate which guards the walnut paneled wine cellar.
Seen from the french doors in the living room gallery is this beautiful poolhouse with 5 french doors, spanish tiled roof to match the house and even a decorative chimney.If you look to the left you will see the sides of the house which wrap the backyard. Below is a view of the kitchen area and gallery. You can see the pool being poured as well as a hot tub.Also off the living room was a huge powder room. It had this really beautiful blue shimmery tile in the W.C. that I had to share with you.Off the kitchen was a secondary staircase, also in a round hall (with a windowed tower above providing light).It had an opening into a bar which was visible from the gallery when you entered. On the lefthand side you see the pantry, silver closet and housekeepers office. This is the top of the stair hall with windows providing light.But save the best for last. My favorite room of the house was at the top of the main staircase: a gamroom.
It had a beautiful wood cathedral ceiling and a whole wall of storage built in below a counter.
And the view you ask? It faces a lake of course! I hope you enjoyed the tour!

On the Cote de Texas.....

I spent the weekend in Houston, TX - remember how I mentioned I was going someplace warm and sunny? Warm, comparitively at least for a northerner like me, but it ended up being gray and drizzly unfortunately :-(
I spent Saturday with the super stylish Joni of Cote de Texas. We met for lunch at the yummy Raven Grill (which has an adorable trained pet chicken roaming around the front of the restaurant, seen below) in Rice Village and then hit some of her favorite shops, many of which she has mentioned in her blog. The shopping is as fabulous as Joni claims and her taste was exquisite of course! She kept pointing out hidden treasures that I might have missed otherwise and was full of great stories about each store! I coudln't have had a more knowledgeable tour guide. I'll show some of my favorite pieces from our adventure. I forget the names of some of the stores but will write them in where I can remember!By far, my favorite shop was 'AREA'. Unfortunately as I was busy shopping I didn't take many photos, just these 2. The store has a great mix of antiques and modern pieces, books and gifts -all put together very creatively, sort of like a fabulous house. I could have spent all day in this store alone but there was so much more to see.....
Joni has blogged about Shabby Slips, my next stop.Shabby Slips had just repainted the walls white from gray for a very fresh and open feeling in the store. A mix of beautiful antiques with a few upholstered pieces thrown in to live up to their name filled the space completely!The last store Watkins & Culver, adjacent to shabby slips, was so exquisite. The walls were newly faux finished and were really just incredible. They looked like 200 yr old stucco walls in Europe. All of the pieces were out of my price range but so fun to see including some really unusual pieces there that I think Joni will mention later this week. I ended up getting a really great candle here as a hostess gift. I recommend anyone to go shopping in Rice Village!I was very tempted to buy these 2 pastel drawings above - very picasso'esque of harlequins in beautiful colors.photo at the top of the post is of a wall of amazing framed antique 'weeds' available at Neal and Co.

Dior, 1948

What was Christian Dior up to in 1948? Well, for one thing -he was designing 'Abandon' for autumn & winter . Why don't clothes or houses have names anymore? I think a name can add so much! You wouldn't have a pet or child without one obviously! This dress of silk and cotton was noted for its plunging neckline. Supposedly, for more modest women, you could adjust the silk to cover up more......I'm not buying that. Still -it's a beautiful dress! Below is a more modern version of the dress -recognize it?
Pics courtesy of the Met

Georgetown by night

While walking home from work the other day, I snapped some pictures of Georgetown by twilight. I just love this early spring-like weather -it brings out the best in everything! I wanted to share them with you, I hope you enjoy them!brick sidewalks, brick walls -brick brick brick!
I loved how this modern building along the canal looked at night -almost like a Mondrian with all of the differently colored rooms. reflections of an office on the canal.....someone is working late!Lighting can make or break a building, don't you think?
along the canal, I just love all of the little lights in the darkness.

Collection: Jasperware

I have a small collection of wedgwood Jasperware. You know the stuff I'm sure; everyone has a piece or two from their wedding!a sugarbowl and creamer; ignore the dust on the shelf!
Jasperware is a type of fine-grained, unglazed stoneware invented by Josiah Wedgwood (founder of Wedgwood potters) in 1772. It was named after the natural stone 'jasper' because of its hardness by Josiah after a lot of experimenting with different techniques of porcelain making. This quickly became what made Wedgwood famous and is still one of the products it is known for today.a small vase and another larger creamer
While most people seem to know the blue, it comes in a wide range of colors. The natural porcelain is white however and the color is added into the mixture during the manufacturing. Typically it has white applied porcelain mouldings of neoclassical scenes. I really like the deep blue color and that is primarily what I collect - something about the deep blue with white trim is just so pretty. I do however have this one pale blue vase, I couldn't resist it!
CARE: from waterfordwedgewood
We recommend that you should hand-wash your jasperware in moderately hot water with a mild detergent. For more stubborn stains, rub the Jasperware with a toothbrush or a small brush with polishing powder.Never use your Jasperware in a microwave oven, conventional oven or refrigerator. Sudden changes of temperature are likely to cause cracking or breakage.

Labels

1 (2) 2 (1) Architect (189) artists (36) Barcelona (15) Best Collection Home (36) blogging (28) books (10) California (4) chicago (3) China of the week (12) collections (3) covet (4) DC (88) design (16) Design Acoustics (1) Design Your Own Dream House (3) desin for home theater (4) DIY Home Remodeling (1) DIY Reader Home Theater (1) Dream House (1) Dream House Plans (2) ebay (1) Education (1) events (1) fashion (4) Filoli (11) flowers (21) fonthill (1) furniture (4) Gardens (27) giveaway (5) Guest blogging (1) Health (1) history (81) holiday (16) Home Design (10) Home Design Software (1) Home Entertainment (1) Home interior (3) Home Interior Design (2) Home Theater (5) Home Theater Design (1) Home Theater Design Tips (1) Home Theater Furniture Planning and Layout (1) Home Theater Guide (1) home theater of Southern California (1) Home Theater Seating (1) Home Theatre (1) hotels (8) houses (33) Indirah Auguste (1) interior (1) Interior Design Ideas (1) Interiors (147) just for fun (53) Kristina Berdan (1) lectures (1) Luxury Mandarin home (1) magazine (32) marie antoinette (2) Miriam Harris (1) modern (1) modern home terior (1) Modern-bedroom-in-luxury (1) movies (11) museums (15) music (4) my apartment (4) my dream house (2) On Air. Tags: Danielle Parham (1) paris (58) parties (3) Persuasion Home Theater (1) Petit Trianon (13) photography (6) pittsburgh (14) place settings (1) Posts Tagged ‘Beautiful Contemporary Flat’ Interior Design Style Apartment (1) products (1) quotes (13) Real Estate (1) Restaurant (1) RICKY my home theATER (1) RICKY my home theATER 1 (1) RICKY my home theATER 2 (1) Room Interior Design (1) san francisco (19) San Simeon (3) save the world (4) shopping (23) Stadium School (1) tablescape thursday (2) teather beautiful (1) television (1) thanks (2) theater decorating (1) travel (126) travell (1) tv (1) vacations (1) versailles (5) Washington (93) weekend (35) white house (4) Youth Dreamers (1)