This has been a low-energy week for me, dealing with lower back pain after falling the week before. I finally went to the doctor, who diagnosed sacriliitis–inflammation of both joints connecting the pelvis to the spine–and sent me home with prescriptions for steroids and a muscle relaxer.
Dreamy kitchens
Maybe that’s because I took my fall last week in my OWN kitchen. This plum-colored kitchen, however, did take my mind off my pain–for a little bit anyway. I don’t like the garrish stone countertops, but I do love the purple and the hexagonal backsplash. Check out more colorful kitchens in “Beyond the All-White Kitchen” on the One Kings Lane blog.
Here’s another kitchen that caught my eye and not my toe on the rug, which led to the fall. The cabinets are white, but that lovely mural brings so much fun to the table, figuratively and literally. Love love LOVE the elephant, and I think the marble counters and backsplash seem almost a continuation of the mural.
At the other end of the spectrum is this minimalist Norwegian townhouse kitchen with lots of natural woods, deep drawers paired with a row of open shelving in place of upper cabinets, and built-in display shelves surrounding a short divider wall.
I love the look of an all-against-one-wall kitchen, usually tucked into one end of an open-concept living area, (remember, I’m a maximalist most of the time but have minimal leanings when it comes to kitchens). But I wonder how well they function day-to-day? Nothing much to trip over anyway, that’s for sure.
Take a look on the upper shelves at the item that looks like an “S.”
It’s a cleaning brush, raised to an art form! I bet the handle design helps the user pack a ferocious scrub.
Where artists dwell
Who doesn’t like to peek into the places where creatives live and work? This is the living room in the Cotswolds home of interior designer Nicky Haslam. You’ll want to see the rest of this place, so follow the link for the full tour.
At the other end of the spectrum is this re-creation of folk artist Maud Lewis’ Nova Scotia house in the 1920s. It’s part of “A Century of the Artist’s Studio 1920-2020,” an exhibit at London’s Whitechapel Gallery through June 22.
If you’re not familiar with Maud Lewis, she lived most of her life in poverty, painting the walls of her small home. She often accompanied her husband, a fish peddler on his rounds, and sold many of her handpainted cards that way. Later she sold her paintings, mostly done on wallboard or masonite, from her home.
Cats were a favorite subject, and I have version of this painting hanging over my study desk.
If you ever visit Nova Scotia (I hear it’s breath-taking!), a visit to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia will introduce you to her works and show you the original preserved cabin.
DIY or HIDFY (have-it-done-for-you)
Sometimes it’s impossible to own the original version of something you love–a painting, a photograph or, in this case, a textile. Done in hand-colored plaster, the wall mural in this 19th-century Hamptons home was copied from a textile owned by someone else. Follow the link for the full tour of this stunning house.
If freehand’s not your thing, something like this could be done with wall stencils, but it would require a bit of planning and a bit more time cutting custom stencils.
I don’t have quite the steady hand for a wall mural, but I could easily swing this simple outdoor tabletop fire bowl, It requires only a bowl, a fuel source and some lava rocks. Follow the link for the full instructions.
While I may not use my fire bowl on a tabletop, I do have several large hypertufa pots, as well as a case of sterno, I could use for this project. I would only need to buy the rocks. Eventually, I would like hubs to build an in-ground firepit, if neighborhood covenants allow, but something like this will do for now and put those empty pots to use. I may even make more than one!
Color porn
Not porn actually, butthe word got your attention, right? Particularly if you’re a splashy-love-color gal like me…
…give “33 Funny Paint Color Names” a read. Some of these, like “Arsenic,” you could use to send “poison” pen letters to people you don’t like. You don’t need to send the paint itself, mind you, which could be misconstrued (and also is probably against postal regulations), but tuck the color chip into an acidic anonymous note.
This makes me wonder even more about who comes up with paint names. I always thought that would be a cool job to have, but how do you prepare for a career in naming paints? I’m thinking I read just this week of a blogger or interior designer who said they have chosen paints based on the creative names rather than on the actual color.
And here’s one for Earth Day: “The Nuanced Beauty of Natural Colors.” It’s color psychology stretched to color actually drawn from nature and natural materials.
And speaking of nature, this “French-braided field” just wows me:
Angela Eastman is an artist working in sculpture and installation, focusing on environmental concerns, relationships and materiality. She started the “braiding the knoll” project during a two-year fellowship at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. A meadow nearby the school is mown each year into walking paths and picnic circles, and Eastman edges these areas with braids. Follow the link to read about the project and see even more photos.
Meanwhile, on the homefront…
Since my back is somewhat improved from last week, thanks to the meds, Chris and I went shopping for perennials and herbs Friday afternoon.
Here’s what I picked out for the strawberry pot I usually plant up with culinary herbs:
Plans are to fill this nine-hole pot with one each of these herbs. Then I bought extra lavender to plant in the top.
Here’s what I picked out for my front window/walkway garden:
‘Royal Candles’
Blue Yelllow
Red White
I’ll also mix in these three plants as groundcovers:
And here’s the edging stone we picked out for the front window garden and around the Japanese cherry tree the builder planted in the front yard:
Chris planted the two new shrubs last weekend and moved the three existing ones to my liking, and we worked together to stake the cherry tree. It’s a late-spring blooming variety and currently has pendulous buds on it, which should be beautiful when they open.
We originally planned to use our daughter’s lawnmower, since she has someone mow for her now, but Chris gave up trying to get it to run consistently on Thursday and went out and bought a cordless electric mower and trimmer. He still managed to get the lawn mowed and trimmed before the rain hit around 5:30 p.m.
Whatta guy! Only now his back hurts almost as much as mine. Hope both backs hold out this coming week as we try to get this additional outside work done.
The redbuds are in bloom around here–my favorite time of year in Indiana–and my hydrangeas have finally started leafing out. Maybe they’ll speed it up after I get some companion flowers planted for competition.
Hope you had a great weekend. Enjoy the upcoming spring week,
