New in - painted silk panel and books

There's nothing like coming home from work and finding goodies in the mailbox. Just before I left on vacation I received a few things that I didn't get a chance to photograph until last weekend. First up is a very special piece of art by Juliet Vonturi, a textile designer based in the Bay Area, California. My heart broke when Juliet mentioned she had to flee the area due to the forest fires :( Despite that setback she managed to send me a gorgeous panel of blue silk that she hand-painted - something she recently started offering. 

I didn't have any frames on hand that were square so I improvised and taped it into my antique fireplace screen. 

Juliet's atelier produces marble stone silks, linens, printed fabrics, as well as design coordinate pure botanicals made by expert artisans with sustainable colours. The marble prints are absolutely exquisite and I am totally in love with them. Some samples...

I also received a couple more books from Vendome Press that are just what you need to add to your Christmas list. First up is Life at the Top: New York's Most Exceptional Apartment Buildings. By Kirk Henckels and Anne Walker with photographs by Michel Arnaud.

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Working on a Saturday

It's like I say week after week. If you have to drag yourself into work on a weekend it helps that it's somewhere that looks great! Bibliophile by Mindy Gayer.

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Sprucing up boring bookcases

Do you have some boring white bookcases in your home that aren't really doing anything for ya? Add in some simple display boxes (with raw edges would be yummy, or painted in a really bold neon!), put some rope lighting behind them and BOOYAH! Now they're making a statement! These are by Werner Mayes of north. 

More new books

Friday I featured a must-have book and today I thought I would share a few others you may want to add to your Christmas list. The first one will get you wanting to have lots of get-togethers and get your craft on. Second Bloom: Cathy Graham's Art of the Table is a book that is bound to start those creative juices flowing and you may just want to start heading to your nearest florist now.

 It came in the cutest box wrapped in ribbon with a little notebook. 

Cathy Graham is an entertaining guru and celebrated hostess and artist, and this book is all about her specialty of planning magical events. But it's not just about fancying up your table for a dinner party the photos in this book are of gorgeous settings inside and outside, from mantels to gardens to tables decorated with the most beautiful flower arrangements.   

Some favourites in this book: Cathy loves to make flower arrangements in individual vintage glass bottles interspersed with miniature replicas. She also makes the most charming watercolours and are featured throughout the book.

The photographs in the book are really pretty, thanks to photographers Quentin Bacon and Andrew Ingalls (and written by Alexis Clark). The books in this feature are all published by Vendome Press. This one you can find on Amazon here. 

 

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Haute Bohemians

If there is one book you should buy this year (or put on your Christmas list), it is this one. Hand down my favourite book. Maybe ever. The title Haute Bohemians could not be more perfect. This is bohemian with a glam factor, in some of the most beautiful homes in some of the most beautiful countries in the world. Layers upon layers, textiles and patterns and colours in the most unexpected combinations. Antiques, oddities, vintage pieces you won't see anywhere else. One of my favourite photographers is responsible for this book - Miguel Flores-Vianna. Miguel traveled to four continents to capture the homes of some very creative people. Artist Alexander Twombly's farmhouse and studio in Italy, textile designer Nathalie Farman-Farma's London home, landscape designer Madison Cox's home in Tangier, decorator Gert Voorjans' home in Antwerp and many more. This book will soon become dog-eared as I have already flipped through it several times since it arrived in my mailbox. Thank you Vendome Press! (Amazon link here)

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