CB2 opens in Georgetown!

Last night I was so excited to get a sneak peak of the HUGE new CB2 which is opening this weekend in Georgetown. After both potterybarn and west elm closed in the city, we really lost all locations for inexpensive, fun home items.

CB2 offers fun, colorful and modern home furnishings and accessories at a startingly low pricepoint (no, they didn't pay me to say that!). While I wouldn't advise filling an entire apartment or house with their products (overkill), a piece or two in a room really would liven up any space by adding color and good, clean design.I loved this green coffee table, the wheels really are so practical!The red metal shelf over the bed really caught my eye; not just for the pop of color but also for the unique shelf layout. I could see this in an office or even a bathroom, providing extra storage.These 3 Pablo side tables were my favorite piece of furniture in the store. The best part -the set is ONLY $129. SERIOUSLY. They look like amazing mid-century pieces to me!This 'Fold' desk was very elegant; I loved the yellow top and the lady bug rug was so fun; great for a kids room (especially at $199)!Speaking of rugs, they carry FLOR tiles in store! I had never actually seen them in person and was surprised by their quality.More than just furniture, their accessories are an easy and even less expensive way to add some color to your house. This buddha pillow would bring a smile to my face everyday for sure.

Yellow seems to be the really big color everyone is pushing. These yellow canary tealight holders were so cute. I could see them lining your kitchen table, much like they do this headboard.

Or use them to decorate your houseplants! A percentage of sales from this weekend (April 30-May 1) will go to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank; a great excuse to shop for a great cause!
CB2 is located at 3307 M Street NW, across from Cadys alley.

Spring Dance

In honor of this spring weather (nearly summer!) we're having here in DC, I thought I'd share with you a photograph of one of my favorite paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Spring Dance by Arthur Mathews (1917). The painting is based in aestheticism; the custom frame being a part of the whole work of art by including designs and colors found within the painting. Mathews was a prominent Arts and Crafts designer and artist practicing in San Francisco who depicted his native California. Enjoy your spring dance!

Georgetown Housetour this weekend

Don't forget that the Georgetown Housetour is this weekend, April 30th - from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm. Pre-order tickets on their website or at St. John's Church located at 3240 O Street. Hope to see you there!
house pictured is not on the tour, but rather is one of my favorite houses in Georgetown.

Under the sea

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. These gorgeous shells, on display at the Smithsonian Castle, are similar to intricate jewelry. They are part of the exhibit The Smithsonian Institution, America's Treasure Chest.I urge you all to visit the historic Smithsonian castle and check out the treasures of the institution! And just to accompany these gorgeous shells, a gorgeous voice singing about the fishes in the sea....Nina Simone, Feeling Good

Canaletto at NGA

Have weekend plans here in DC? Why not stop by the National Gallery of Art to see the current show entitled Venice: Canaletto and his rivals. Canaletto seems to be in the air here in DC, with numerous galleries and antique shops throughout Georgetown showcasing paintings in similar style. At the entrance to the exhibit is an original 19th century gondola that was purchased by the artist Thomas Moran and brought to his house on Long Island.The timing seems ideal as I'm currently obsessed with the Venetian fantasy that is Vizcaya. You'll find me at NGA on Saturday!

Photos taken with my camera phone a few weeks prior to help me to remember to visit the exhibit!

Touch of spring and random sidenotes.

On my walk home last night I stopped and got some lilies, not only to help mask the steak smoke smell but because it's our first taste of spring in DC.

I spent St. Patricks Day evening eating shortbread for dinner (ok, and a more nutritous salad) and watching The Irish Country House narrated by the magnificent Angelica Huston who was lucky enough to be raised in one of these grand mansions.

I also wanted to share with you the progress of my friend Maxine's house (hi Maxine!). You may remember I've been helping her in setting up her new townhouse (remember the colored lites?). These are some rough snapshots of the work we've accomplished so far.Maxine travels the world for work and is always bringing back new treasures. She is not afraid of color and her home is beginning to show this! I loved this blue updated damask wallpaper we chose for her stairwell along with one of her many moroccan lanterns we hung throughout the house.

These lanterns really add a lot of additional color to the neutral backdrops we chose for the bedrooms which don't benefit from the colored lights with the exception of the mater bedroom. This wallpaper is subtle in person, the pattern being an embossed silver over an ivory background which matches the wall color. The mirrored nightstand and nickel lamps pick up the silver accents in the wallpaper and also help reflect the natural light which streams into the master bedroom in the morning.

One last hint of color we brought into the bathrooms was by painting the wood builder-grade cabinets in bold glossy colors - why not bring a smile to your face in the morning with color?

Sunrooms

One of my favorite local projects is an addition to a 1920s tudor house here in the city.The original house, as many tudors are, was rather dark with a small original kitchen. The architects, BarnesVanze, came up with the solution of adding a sunroom onto the back of the house housing a kitchen above other needed spaces along a stone terrace.The interior of the kitchen is made even lighter by eliminating overhead cabinets and instead going with open glass shelving.Who wouldn't want to spend time in this bright and cheery Sunroom?

Mirror, Chrome, and Gin Fizz: Art Deco in Britain

On March 1st, Emily Eerdmans will be in DC to talk for the National Institute for Classical Architecture. Cohosted by the prestigous Royal Oak Foundation, the lecture will take place at the National Trust for Historic Preservation at 1785 Massachusetts Ave, NW. Emily is a natural choice to speak on art deco as she wrote the excellent book Regency Redux. More recently, she wrote the book on Madeleine Castaing that I got for Christmas and was unable to put down!
Specifically, Emily will be discussing art deco design in Britain. While not as prevalent there as elsewhere, she will cite and talk on examples such as the Cunard ship, The Queen Mary, Claridges hotel in London, Coleton Fishacre and Eltham Palace (seen above).
Tickets are $35 ($25 for members) and are available by emailing alissa.ardito@gmail.com.
Hope to see you there!

A grand instrument

In 1903, Roosevelt had a very grand piano commissioned from Steinway & Sons for the East Room. Steinway commissioned noted Aesthetic artist Thomas Dewing to paint the inside of the gilded case in a patriotic theme which he entitled America receiving the 9 muses.

In the painted scene, women in colonial revival gowns representing art, music, poetry and learning pay homage to America, the new steward of western culture, as represented by the seated woman. The piano now resides at the National Portrait Gallery, but I think it should be brought back to the White House, don't you?

House of Sweden

While walking home last night, I passed the House of Sweden along the Potomac right at sunset, when the building disappears into both the sky and river. As much as I love classical architecture, I have a deep appreciation for moden buildings such as these, especially when done right. Given the site, a classical building would have been highly out of place.

However, I'm not sure how I feel about the back. The use of lighting is odd (hello Vegas?) and the glass panels are actually patterned a faux wood. What do you think? Tomorrow I'll pick up on the tour of San Simeon that I dropped earlier this summer. Still so much to show there!

excuse the poor quality of the photo -again from my cell phone!

White House: East Wing

As I mentioned in a previous post on the White House, unless you are on official State business, you will enter through the East Wing, seen above. This allows for the extensive security to be hidden around the side and rear of the building.

The entire house was decorated for the holiday. I loved the red berries and ribbons in these iron urns decorating the porte cochere.

Inside the vestibule is access to the first ladies' offices. The wood paneling is beautiful and a handful of presidential portraits decorate the space.In the holiday decorations, I especially liked the use of these magnolia garlands.From this hallway, you enter into the east colonnade which was originally open when constructed in the 1902 renovation. It was enclosed in 1942 when the east wing was expanded.These transoms let light into the spaces adjacent to the colonnade which includes the family theater.

The length of the colonnade was decorated with these enormous beautiful wreaths, each made of a different fruit.

The east colonnade leads you though this archway into the Visitors Vestibule, decorated for Christmas with more uplit glittered branches. Centered on the archway is an enormous bronze bust of President Lincoln. I liked the playfully decorated trees in this area the best.

These spaces lead you to the ground floor Main Hall in the original block of the White House, off of which are the Library, Vermeil Room and China Room which I discussed last week.

I hope these photographs I've shared over the past weeks have helped you become familiar with the White House. If visiting Washington, I highly recommend trying to get a tour to see this lovely house, rich with so much history!

White House: China Room

The China room on the ground floor is now also referred to as the Dining Room. Architects McKim, Meade & White had designated the room a cloak room in the 1902 renovation, but in 1917, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson requisitioned the room to display the growing collection of presidential china. The room has a red color scheme based on the elegant 1924 portrait of Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Grace. The shelves that display the china are red velvet, the curtains are red silk taffeta and the room is finished off with an early 20th-century Indo-Ispahan rug. The room has more of the salvaged wood paneling, which was again, painted under the Boudin redecoration. I love the regency style chandelier!

Before paneling, the room had smaller built-in cupboards which you can see below in 1948. I guess thats fitting as there was less china at the time! The cupboards were created more shallow however, after the paneling, and a few of the larger items could not be included. I call that a major oops!

This image below shows the Boudin Kennedy-era redecoration. The paneling was glazed grey with white details.

As the collection continues to grow, parts of it are housed in the corridor in pieces of furniture.

I loved the china of President Harrison, with the edge band of navy blue with raised gilt stalks of corn!

Included in the same case was President's Harrison elegant cut crystal.