#(In the same way that oak leaves now are such an English icon but also have a wider background because oaks are just cool)

[the-busy-ghost]

Also it's early Stuart rather than Tudor, but since Elizabeth's quite a bit later than Jane I think it's ok to take it a bit further for this bad-ass: I believe dress worn by the indomitable Teresa Sampsonia, Lady Shirley (1589-1668) in the portrait below is generally interpreted as having strawberries in it, possibly symbolising fruitfulness because her son was born around the same time:

Many of her garments were embroidered with naturalistic designs such as strawberry leaves - a typically English motif.

Are any examples still existing? In portraits, perhaps? Google gives me modern dresses embroidered w strawberries.

[gumnut-logic]

Growing up in Australia is weird when a lot of the literature I was brought up with was English, along with the TV being a good percentage American.

You see we have Eucalypt trees as the dominant native tree…well, everywhere - there are 700 odd species 😁

Common Laurasian flora includes common names like beech, ash, oak, sycamore, birch, fir, larch, maple, elm, etc. all from the northern hemisphere.

It has taken me years to work out what these trees are.

Elm - identified, street tree where I went to school.

Ash - weed over here. Also bred to become claret ash.

Oak - couple around the suburbs, at least four cork oaks up in Belair National Park.

Birch - knew that one, silvery bark is quite iconic.

Maple - know what they look like, plus the Japanese variety, but no idea which type is the syrup type.

Beech - this one continues to elude me, despite the fact that beeches have a long history in Gondwana. The Otways and Tasmania host the southern or Antarctic Beech. Unfortunately, I haven’t identified one enough to remember enough detail. I have no idea what the northern beeches look like (I should look this up)

Fir - some kind of conifer, don’t know enough to identify it from Pines.

Larch - no idea.

The reason for all this babbling is today I discovered what a sycamore tree is. No only that, but I have been walking under a closely related if not the same tree every morning on the way to work. Here we know them as Plane trees. Admittedly, ‘sycamores’ are actually a common name used to describe several species across at least two genus. But I now know what one looks like.

Also, growing up with Enid Blyton and her deep, dark forests had me , as a kid, looking for such forests. South Australia only has dry sclerophyll forest. Eucalypts are hear adapted and turn their leaves edge on to the sun direction. There are no natural dark forests in South Australia. Pinus radiata plantations are about as close as we get.

But anyway, I’m a European descendant who grew up in a wildly different land, which I love, of course, but it has taken me half a century to identify some of the trees my ancestors grew up with.

/End babble

Nutty

(Who could always look them up, I guess)

[gameofdrarry]

Drarropoly 2020 Team Activity 2: Helga’s Thimble

Drarropoly is now in full swing, and our players are writing their hearts out as they make their ways around our Drarry-themed monopoly board. Each space has a prompt with different levels, each with different requirements, and players can earn points in a variety of ways. They can write or create art for these prompts, commenting and reccing gets points, and new this year, podficcers are welcome in Drarropoly!

Players are sorted and assigned at random to four different teams. All team activities and discussions are completely optional but can yield extra points to help win the game! These creative team activities are where players can imagine new, fun headcanons in the Harry Potter universe and perhaps a few stories of their own!

Team Activity 2: Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me The Discovering of the Discoveries

The leaders of the Hogwarts Unified Mavens of Protection (also known by their acronym, H.U.M.P.) are pleased to announce that our research teams have released their information as to how they obtained their newly discovered artifacts. Each team was kind enough to provide images depicting the locations of each relic as well, along with a short description of the when where and how of discovering it came about!

For those that would also like to join one of our Relic Investigation and Observation Teams (or R.I.O.T.s,) please check the links below before any irritable owls decide to eat this part of the report.

Signups are from Nov 1 - Jan 22, follow this link to sign up! Still have questions? Follow this link to read our full rules and FAQ!

Team Activity 1

CODENAME: Helga’s Thimble

An Investigatory Report

R.I.O.T Aurors involved in this mission:

Ladderofyears

glittering_git

andithiel

KristinaBird

EvAEleanor

mooshisooshi

GinevraHolmes

Ari

chxrlieweaslxy

Background: The Legend of Helga’s Thimble:

As written by Auror KristinaBird.

When Hogwarts was being founded and the castle was being prepared for students, Helga Hufflepuff was working to make the castle not just a place of learning, but a home for all the students that would inhabit it.

Most people know that she built the greenhouses, and landscaped the grounds, but many don’t know that she worked her fingers to the bone creating bed linens, and curtains in the colours each of her fellow founders wanted for their students' common rooms. But her favourite after hours project was to create tapestries of everything from woodland scenes to famous witches and wizards. Castle walls can be cold and she wanted more than anything for the halls of her school to feel warm and inviting.

One day Salazar noticed at a meeting of the founders as they reported their various duties and accomplishments for their school opening that Helga’s fingers were often raw and pricked from all her tireless work. So he set himself to a task, and made her a thimble. One that would not only protect her as she created, but once worn would cure and heal all wounds. At least that’s what he told her it did.

He didn’t tell her that he also gave it another enchantment. One that he worked on for months to perfect. He wove a spell into the thimble that would make her embroidery once finished, come to life.

It took quite a long time to perfect and he wasn’t able to give it to her until she was working on the final tapestry for the school. She meant it to be a surprise for her fellow founders, an image of all of them together that she had worked tirelessly to perfect. The surprise was on her, after she completed it using Salazar’s thimble, the images came to life and moved about on the woven surface. The original tapestry is lost to history. But the thimble was kept by Helga till she died.

Even after division between the founders, it reminded her that there is kindness and love in the world.

Once Slytherin left the castle and as each house became divided the thimble became even more precious to her. At some point a group of radical wizards tried to round up everything Salazar Slytherin had ever invented so they could preserve the legacy of Slytherin and keep it safe from people with Muggle blood, the thimble being among them.

Helga could not bear to see this beautiful gift, given as a gesture of love between friends taken to become an icon of hatred of those that are different. So she devised a plan and hid it until a time came when the world was ready.

She wove clues into four tapestries each positioned very near a house common room and bordered in the colours of each house.

One was oak leaves, which represent honour. Only when honour was restored to the wizarding world would the thimble be safe.

Another was the moon, which represents enlightenment. Only when the wizarding world possessed the wisdom to see beyond the differences in others, would they be able to see the power in such a simple object.

A third was the apple tree, which represents love. Only once the ancient power of love was recognized for the strength it possessed, could the wizarding world protect itself from those that wish it evil.

And the final tapestry bore the seashell, which represents, resurrection.

Once each was discovered and put together the thimble could be restored to its rightful home. On the back of each tapestry she wove in a map coordinate that led to the small cottage that was her family home. She entrusted the secret with only one person, an apprentice of hers, a kind rising star in the field of Herbology, who also helped tend to her in her old age. She told him to pass the secret down and keep it safe, until the day came that someone worthy came to find her most precious treasure.

It is well known that the story of Helga’s Thimble passed into legend and many of the wizards, witches of Hogwarts weren’t truly sure about the verity of the tale. Many Hogwarts teachers throughout the decades expressed the belief that Helga’s Thimble was only a fable, told over and over like the story of the Three Brothers had been.

Of course, subsequent events have shown the wix of England that the Legend of Three Brothers was no fiction. Harry Potter’s usage of the three Deathly Hallows to defeat Voldemort showed us all that legends can often be the truth. As a result, public interest in Helga’s Thimble grew exponentially.

This was spearheaded by Antiquities Expert Draco Malfoy. His specific interest in this object lay in the role that Salazar Slytherin had in the story. It gave this well known grey figure of history redemption and in doing so offered some degree of redemption for Slytherin House as a whole. The symbolism of Hegla’s thimble is very profound in our post-War world. It stands for unity between the Hogwarts Houses and offers a potent symbol of hope for the future.

Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to share his findings with the Auror department. It was his belief that the location of the Thimble was hinted at in the symbolism sewn into the enchanted tapestries that Helga made. Some of these hints included:

a. A conch shell. This led the Auror team to believe the Thimble was beside the sea.

b. Oak leaves. This led the Auror team to consider that it might be in a wooded area.

c.  An apple tree.

d. A picture of a lake under a full moon.

All of these symbols led the investigating offices to the home of wizard Nicolas Culpepper. (His name was familiar to the Auror team: he was descended from the eighteenth century Herbologist of the same name. His famous book, The English Physician is still used at St Mungos) He was a very distant relation of Helga and his family had been keeping the Thimble under their protection since the days of the Hogwarts founders over a thousand years before. When Culpepper showed the Auror team the precious object it glowed with powerful innate magic. Green sparkles filled the room and the Auror team were awed with the power of Helga’s Thimble.

After a thousand years its time had come once again to reunite the Houses of Hogwarts.

Conclusions:

We must always remember that old legends can carry the truth if we are only willing to listen to them.

[yespoetry]

A Selection of Sergei Yesenin Poems Translated by Anton Yakovlev

Translator’s Note: This selection contains a range of poems spanning his full literary career, from 1910 when he was 15 years old, to the last year of his life (1925).

As you will see, many of the poems are untitled, not unusually for Russian poems, and marked with standard three asterisks (and identified by first line in tables of contents, conversation or scholarship). I've included the years of composition under each poem since that might help add some historic context (which of course includes World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917).

* * *

 High water has licked

The silt with smoke.

The moon has dropped

Its yellow reins.

 Paddling a punt,

I bump into banks.

Red haystacks by the fence rails

Look like churches.

 With mournful cawing

In the silence of marshes

The black grouse

Is calling for vespers.

 In blue gloom the grove

Shrouds the destitution…

Secretly I will pray

For your future.

 <1910>

* * *

 Is it my fault that I’m a poet

Of heavy suffering and bitter fate?

After all, it wasn’t my choice—

It’s just the way I came into the world.

 Is it my fault that I don’t cherish life,

That I love and simultaneously hate everyone,

And know things about myself I don’t yet see—

That is my gift from the muse.

 I know there is no happiness in life,

Life is lunacy, the dream of a sick soul,

And I know my gloomy tunes bore everyone,

But it’s not my fault—that’s the kind of poet I am.

 <1911—1912>

  The Birch

 The white birch

Under my window

Wrapped herself in snow

As though in silver.

 Like snow borders

On fluffy branches,

White fringes of tassels

H    ave blossomed.

 And the birch stands

In listless silence,

And the snowflakes burn

In the golden fire.

 And the dawn, lazily

Walking around,

Sprinkles t   he branches

With new silver.

 <1913>

* * *

 Out came the Lord to test humanity’s love,

Walked out into a field in the guise of a beggar.

An old man sitting on a stump in an oak grove

Was chewing a dry crumpet with his toothless mouth.

 The old man saw the beggar walking

Down the path with an iron cane

And thought, “What a poor, sick fellow—

I bet it’s hunger that’s making him teeter.”

 The Lord walked up to him, hiding his sorrow and pain,

Thinking he couldn’t awaken anyone’s heart...

And the old man extended his hand,

“Here, chew on this... you’ll feel a little stronger.”

 <1914>

* * *

 In the land of yellow nettle

And dried-out wattle

Village huts, like orphans,

Cling to willows.

 In the fields, behind the ravine’s blue thicket,

Among green lakes,

The sand road stretches up to

The Siberian Mountains.

 Lost somewhere in Mordva and Chuda,

Russia knows no fear,

And the people, the people in shackles

Walk down that road.

 All of them are murderers or thieves,

As ordained by fate.

I’ve fallen in love with their sad eyes

And their hollow cheeks.

 There is so much evil and joy in killers.

Their hearts are simple.

But their blue mouths grin

On their blackened faces.

 In secret, I cherish one dream:

That I’m pure of heart.

But I too will knife someone to death

One whistling autumn.

 And on a windy route,

Perhaps on this very same sand,

They will lead me, rope on my neck,

To fall in love with anguish.

 And when I smile, in passing,

Stretching my chest,

The bad weather will lick the road of my life

With its tongue.

 <1915>

* * *

 I’m tired of living in my native land,

Yearning for the vast fields of buckwheat.

I’ll leave my shack

To be a vagrant and a thief.

 I’ll walk the white curls of the day

To look for some wretched lodging.

And, seeing me, my best friend

Will sharpen his boot knife.

 The yellow road is entwined

With the spring and the meadow sun,

And the one whose name I cherish

Will chase me from her threshold.

 Again I will come back to the house of my birth,

Console myself with someone else’s joy,

And, some green evening, hang myself

On my sleeve under the window.

 The grizzled willows by the wicker fence

Will drop their heads a bit more tenderly.

They will bury me, unwashed,

To the sound of barking dogs.

 And the moon will swim on and on,

Dropping its oars into lakes...

And Russia will go on living,

Dancing and weeping by the fence.

 <1916>

* * *

 Swimming in the blue dust,

The moon butts a cloud with its horn.

This night, no one will guess

Why the herons screamed.

This night, she ran through the reeds

To the green backwater.

Her white hand swept her tousled hair

Over her tunic.

She ran up, glanced at the quick spring

And sat down on the stump in pain.

In her eyes, the daisies wilted

The way a swamp light goes out.

At dawn, through the spiraling fog,

She swam away and vanished in the distance...

And the moon, swimming in the blue dust,

Nodded to her from behind the hill.

 <1916> * * *

 Your pensive sigh is calling me

To warm light, to my native threshold

 Where grandmother and grandfather sit on the porch

Awaiting their spirited sunflower-aged grandson.

 Their grandson is slim and white as a birch,

With honey hair and velvet hands.

 Except, o my friend, I see from his blue eyes—

They’re only dreaming of his worldly life.

 The bright Virgin in the icon corner

Beams joy into their darkness.

 With a quiet smile on her thin lips

She holds their grandson in her arms.

 <1917> * * *

 Here it is, silly happiness

With white windows that look into the garden.

The sunset quietly swims

In the pond like a red swan.

 Hello, golden quiet

With your shadow of a birch in the water.

A flock of crows on the roof

Holds vespers for a star.

  Somewhere past the garden, timidly,

Out where the guelder-rose blooms,

A tender girl in white

Sings a tender song.

 In a bluish fog, the night cool

Sweeps from the field.

Silly, sweet happiness.

Fresh blush of cheeks.

 <1918>

* * *

 Country, o my country!

Autumnal rainy tin.

The shivering streetlight reflects

Its lipless head in a black puddle.

 No, it’s best not to look,

Or else I’ll see something worse.

I’ll just keep squinting my eyes

At all this rusted haze.

 It’s warmer this way and less painful.

Look: between the skeletons of houses

A bell tower, like a miller, carries

The copper bagfuls of bells.

 If you’re hungry, you will be nourished.

If you’re miserable, you’ll find joy.

Just don’t look at me too openly,

My unknown earthly brother.

 As I thought, so I did. But alas!

It’s the same every time!

Looks like my body is too used to

Feeling this shivering cold.

 Well, so what! There are many others,

I’m not the only one alive in the world!

As for the street light, one moment it blinks,

The next moment it laughs with its lipless head.

 Only my heart, under shabby clothes,

Whispers to me, who has visited solid ground:

“My friend, my friend, the eyes that have seen

Can only be shut by death.”

 <1921>

* * *

 Don’t torment me with your icy demeanor

And don’t ask me how old I am.

I’ve got a severe falling sickness;

My soul is a yellow skeleton.

 There was a time when, hailing from outskirts,

In a smoke of my boyish dreams,

I imagined riches and fame,

And being loved by all.

 Yes! I’m rich, I’m rich beyond words.

I had a top hat; now I don’t.

All I’ve got left is one shirtfront

And a worn-out pair of fashionable shoes.

 And my fame is no worse:

From Moscow to Paris

My name inspires horror

Like a loud swearword painted on a fence.

 As to love—isn’t it funny?

You kiss me, but lips feel like tin.

I know, my feeling is overripe

And yours won’t be able to bloom.

 Oh well, I’m too young to brood,

And if I’m sad—what of it?

Fresh grass that covers the hills

Rustles with more gold than your braids.

 I’d love to go back to that place

Where, listening to rustling golden grass,

I could sink forever into oblivion

In the smoke of my boyish dreams.

 But this time I’d dream of something new,

Something earth or grass can’t understand,

Something no heart can express in words

And no human being could name.

 <1923>

 * * *

 A blue May. An eventide warmth.

The ring at the gate makes no sound.

Sticky smell wafts from the sagebrush.

The cherry tree sleeps in a white gown.

 Through the wooden wings of the window,

The whimsical moon is weaving

The lace patterns of the fine curtains

And the window frames onto the floor.

 Our living room might be small,

But it’s clean. I’m here at my leisure...

This night I’m enjoying my life

Like a pleasant thought of a friend.

 The garden blazes like a frothy fire,

And the moon, straining all its powers,

Would like everyone to tremble

From the piercing word “darling.”

 In this blossoming, in this smoothness,

Hearing the merry harmonica of May,

I’m the only one who wishes for nothing,

Who accepts everything as is.

 I accept it—come and appear,

Everything that brings pain and relief...

Peace be with you, life that has rumbled by.

Peace be with you, light-blue chill.

 <1925>

Born in Moscow, Russia, Anton Yakovlev studied filmmaking and poetry at Harvard University. He is the author of poetry chapbooks The Ghost of Grant Wood (Finishing Line Press, 2015) and Neptune Court (The Operating System, 2015). His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Hopkins Review, Prelude, Measure, The Best of The Raintown Review, The Stockholm Review of Literature, and elsewhere. His book of translations of poetry by Sergei Esenin is forthcoming from Sensitive Skin Books in 2017. He has also directed several short films.

One of the most important Russian poets of all time, Sergei Yesenin (1895-1925) was a founding member of the short-lived but influential Imaginist movement, which stood in contrast to Futurism and was related to Imagism in English. Originally from the village of Konstantinovo, Ryazan Province, Yesenin spent most of his adult life in Petrograd (later Leningrad, now St. Petersburg), but most of his poetry continued to focus on nature and traditional rural life. In 1922 he married the American dancer Isadora Duncan, but their marriage was short-lived. Though he initially supported the Bolshevik regime, the poet became disenchanted with it, recognizing the encroaching and destructive effects of Soviet industrialization on the peasant population. According to the official account, on the night of December 27, 1925, he hanged himself after writing his final poem in his own blood, though many experts, relatives, and friends of the poet have disputed the official narrative.

[architectnews]

Westminster Hall Restoration, London

Westminster Hall, London Historic Building, Westminster Building Renovation, English Architecture Images

Westminster Hall Restoration in London

14 Jan 2020

Westminster Hall Restoration

Renovations: Perfect Circle and SCAPE

Location: Westminster, London, England, UK

After vital restoration works, the iconic Grade 1 listed Westminster Hall – the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster �� has been returned to its full glory so it can be appreciated for decades to come. Works to clean the hall’s 14th century hammer-beam roof internally; carry out essential repairs to the roof timber trusses; repair and restore the lead-covered roof lantern; install fire safety equipment, including an automated fire detection and voice alarm system; and install all cabling infrastructure for a future lighting scheme have now been completed.

Built environment consultancy Pick Everard – operating under Perfect Circle’s unique collaboration – provided project management services for the scheme, which was accelerated by SCAPE Consultancy, a direct award framework that drives collaboration, efficiency, time and cost savings.

Gary Buick, director at Pick Everard, which is one of Perfect Circle’s shareholders and founding partners, said: “Westminster Hall is a key thoroughfare to the Palace of Westminster and used by hundreds of people daily. Over the past few years, restoration and maintenance works have been carried out to ensure the hall remains safe for public use.

“The roof lantern atop the hall has been carefully dismantled and restored using traditional craftsmanship. Hidden since 2005, the ornate timber interior of the lantern can be seen once more.

“Not only can the public experience Westminster Hall in its original glory, but the beams and lantern shouldn’t require further conservation work for another hundred or so years, providing a lasting legacy for generations to come.”

The hall – which is deemed to be the gateway to the Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – was originally built in 1097 by King William II and later remodelled to include the magnificent hammer-beam roof by Richard II in 1393. It is the only part of the palace that survives in almost its original form, despite being ravaged by a fire in October 1834 and damaged by an incendiary bomb during the Second World War.

The uses of the hall have included great state occasions, tournaments, coronation feasts, state trials and even a marketplace. Notable historical events include the trials of William Wallace and Charles I and, in more recent years, ceremonial addresses by the Queen, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. Today, it continues to be used as the venue for lying-in-state royals, as well as a raft of events and public displays.

After the hall was bombed in the war, the roof lantern that sits atop the roof was rebuilt in the 1950s. In 2005, a temporary crash deck was installed to ensure the structure was safe, but which obscured the view of the lantern – limiting public appreciation for more than a decade.

Gary said: “As the roof lantern is a timber structure with lead cladding, cast lead detailing and internal timber panels, its restoration required a lot of specialist carpentry works. For health and safety purposes, we couldn’t put any additional weight on the roof so a complex, self-supporting scaffold bridge was constructed so work could be carried out.

“It was of great importance that the lantern remained true to its roots, so the original sand-cast lead was removed, melted down and re-cast using the same traditional method that was applied when it was made in the 1950s.

“Now the repair and restoration of the lantern is complete, the temporary crash deck has been removed, which has once again opened up its true magnificence to all walking through the hall.”

Westminster Hall’s grand roof, which was commissioned by Richard II in 1393, is the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe. It is home to 13 oak hammer-beams, weighing some 660 tonnes, that were largely manufactured off site and transported to Westminster by barges and horse-drawn wagons for assembly.

Gary said: “When essential repairs and cleaning were being carried out on the roof, 360 litres of dust was removed from each roof truss. A fully automated fire detection and voice-activated alarm system was also installed as part of the works. The equipment has been obscured from view – remaining sympathetic to the traditional design but updating the technology to suit modern standards and safety requirements.”

Part of the project’s vision was for Westminster Hall to remain open to the public throughout the construction works, subject to closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“One of the biggest challenges was to maintain health and safety and the operational requirements of the hall so the public wasn’t inconvenienced by the works,” said Gary.

“This involved installing large vinyl canvases that included photos of the windows before the temporary, complex scaffolding was put up. Not only did these cover up the supporting framework but, as lots of tourists visit the hall, it meant they could still experience the oldest parts of Westminster rather than seeing a construction site. “A lot of the work was also undertaken out of hours during evenings and weekends so as not to disrupt the sitting of the House of Lords and House of Commons.”

SCAPE Consultancy is fully OJEU-compliant procurement route that brings together the strongest collaborative team with value for money, while contributing substantially to local social value.

Victoria Brambini, managing director of Perfect Circle, said: “We are delighted to have been involved in such a prestigious project to restore certain elements of one of Britain’s most iconic buildings, which has played a central role in our country’s history.”

Mark Robinson, SCAPE chief executive, added: “After almost a millennium of service, it takes extreme diligence, skill and care to give a building like Westminster Hall the restoration it deserves. The expert guidance and consultation that Perfect Circle has provided to support this high-quality project is befitting of this unique building that contains volumes of British history.

“The refurbishment of the public estate, including that at the very highest end of government, will play an important role in enabling the nation’s economic recovery. This project is an outstanding example of how it can be accelerated through the use of a framework that promotes collaboration and a collective effort to deliver outstanding project results.”

About Perfect Circle: Perfect Circle is a property, construction and infrastructure consultancy, delivering real value with full procurement compliance, for clients commissioning any aspect of their built environment projects.

Its vision is to be at the forefront of innovation, pioneering new ways of working to deliver collaborative and efficient solutions nationwide across the public sector; making a difference to clients, local communities, its employees and supply chain partners.

The company is jointly owned by Pick Everard, Gleeds and AECOM – leading, innovative firms with expert industry knowledge and expertise, supported by an extensive local supply chain.

Perfect Circle delivers the broadest range of consultancy services available to the public sector via SCAPE, the UK’s leading public sector procurement authority, and SCAPE Consultancy, a direct award framework that drives collaboration, efficiency, time and cost savings.

About SCAPE: SCAPE is the UK’s leading public sector procurement authority, dedicated to creating spaces, places and experiences that leave a sustainable legacy within the community.

Since 2006, SCAPE has accelerated over 12,000 projects across the UK with their direct award frameworks, property services and innovative architectural designs.

Working with SCAPE is all about partnership, bringing together the brightest talent from the construction industry and the local economy. SCAPE projects are collaborative, compliant and fully performance managed to ensure delivery efficiency, tax-payer value, targeted local economic enrichment and offer a direct response to the climate emergency.

SCAPE operates with a buying power of £13bn and is actively performance managing over 1,800 live projects. SCAPE is a member of the National Construction Frameworks (NACF) and in 2020, was name in ‘The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to work for’ in the UK.

Westminster Hall Restoration, London images / information received 140121

Location: Westminster, West London, England, UK

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[scotthogsett]

Logo Design Love: a guide to creating iconic brand identities.

This is a really great book from David Airey, who is a graphic designer from Northern Ireland, he has been intrigued by brand identity since the 1990s, when he enrolled in his first graphic design course. ever since David has honed his skills to the point he is now a self-employed graphic designer specialising in brand identity.

He also write two very popular graphic design blogs called logodesignlove.com and davidairey.com which has gathered an audience of more than 250,000 online visitors per month. 

Even though this is seemingly for a “smaller” local electrical company the designer, Josiah Jost has done a lot of research and hasn’t just put a light bulb and wrote ED’S ELECTRIC under it. He has taken the time to look at the various electrical components and analysed to see what shapes can be utilised and where there could be a use of negative space that would look good and also be used as a logo. 

This is a great example of using two symbols that represents the values or something important about the university. In this example you can see the oak leaf signifying strength and steadfastness and the acorn signifying the seed of knowledge, this has been combined with the V of Vanderbilt. 

In his description David says that it is important to leave the trends alone because they come and go and the way to create a brand identity that everyone will like and respect is to develop one really good design that will ahve longevity and have small refinements just to fine tune the logo.

I think that this is a really good way to think about logo design because it is easy to fall into the trap of following the trends and end up not having something original or a logo that catches your target audiences eye. 

SomeOne is a London-based design agency that specialises in the launch and the relaunch of companies, they worked with the Newspaper Marketing Agency.

With the design the initials of the company is complementary to a monogram with the letters made up with four vertical lines and four diagonal lines although I do like how symmetrical it is, not using the horizontal line for the A was a good choice by the designer.  

I am more interested in the wordmark of the logo because the layout and typeface used sets the tone and the captures the style that comes with a company involved with the newspaper industry. 

England based designer nido designed this wordmark for Talkmore, a wholesaler of mobile phones and mobile phone accessories. 

Nido designed it in a way that the ‘A’and the ‘E’ were translated as speech marks, this is a great example of the logo or wordmark giving a company a bit of character and flair but at the same time communicating the purpose of the company to potential customers. 

The wordmark is a bold black with just enough colour added to the speech marks to call attention to the clever transformation to the name of the company. The font used is a bold sens serif type which suit the change to the ‘A’ and the ‘E’.

English based designer roy Smith was tasked with redesigning the French Property Exhibition logo. 

Roy said about the redesign “I explored various directions in the form of thumbnail sketches-a vital part of the conceptualisation process.’ I think that this is a really good lesson for young designers as it highlights the need to go through the process of the thinking of ideas and sketching them out first so that they do not get to attached to the design and eventually the designer will have a solid well thought out idea to move forward with.

The use of negative design is also something I really like about the design with the use of the french tricolour and but the slight adjustment to the blue stripe to make it look like an open door which gives a message of welcoming to the audience of this exhibition. 

The wordmark on this logo is really good because it perfectly complements the logo which is a visualisation of what the wordmark says, the French ties to the flag, the property ties into the door used and exhibition ties into the door being opened, welcoming everyone who wants to come. 

[366daysandnights]

find me a happier place, i dare you

i spent this past week camping at cumberland island national seashore with my friend and REI peer shannon. shannon and i started at REI in the same store at the same time, so this girl has been my boo for 13 years and it is still remarkable to think that i am so lucky to know people like her because of the place that we work. live oaks chandelier the main road

this time was such a gift, because time is a gift, and because nature is a gift, and because friendships are a gift. cumberland island is also one of those places that is hard to explain, and hard to shake. i have camped there several times before – it is never long enough. there is real magic there, sifting slowly through the spanish moss and live oak branches and muscadine vines. it falls lightly on your upturned face like dappled sunlight or a raindrop. it stays with you on the island, and whispers when you leave.

cumberland island is about 18 miles long – it is georgia’s largest barrier island and has at least 23 distinct ecological communities. there are no paved roads or trails. it is accessible only by boat, and only 300 people are permitted on the island at a time. the majority of the island is managed by the national park service, and a small portion of the island is privately owned. although the flora, fauna and wildlife that call the island home could keep an interested person busy for a lifetime, the island also captures the attention of many folks interested in american history. the island has been inhabited by various american icons since the 1700’s, including revolutionary war hero nathanael greene, henry lee (father of robert e. lee), and most notably thomas and lucy carnagie.

plum orchard mansion

at one point the carnagie family owned about 90% of the island, and their ruined and maintained mansions are still dominant structures on the islands otherwise wild landscape. other than a handful of still privately owned residences and a couple of unremarkable outbuildings for campers, the island has four structural attractions: the ruins of dungeness, the former 59-room mansion at the south end of the island that burned for three days, allegedly by arson; the plum orchard mansion, on the western shore of the island, built by lucy for one of her children. it was designed by peabody & stearns and had an indoor squash court, swimming pool, and refrigeration. this property is owned and maintained by the national park service, and visitors can take a tour of the property and grounds (which i highly recommend! shannon and i were lucky to catch a very late, private tour of the mansion with a very old NPS volunteer named bob on this visit. we were both certain that bob was leading us to our death as we descended into the basement of this historic mansion, and we both took no action on this intuition…spoiler alert: we lived); greyfield, built by the carnagie’s in 1900, is still privately owned by the family and run as an all inclusive inn. the final structure of interest is the first african baptist church on the far north end of the island. it is part of an area called “the settlement” – it was bought and settled by former slaves in the 1890’s and John F Kennedy, Jr and Carolyn Bessette were married at the church in 1996. i have always wanted to visit the settlement but have never made it all the way out there. it is 15 miles one way…so one of these days i will do a better job pacing my hiking, or just pay to take the tour from the sea camp dock – but this wasn’t that trip.

cumberland is also famous for it’s wild horses, which are actually domesticated horses abandoned by spanish settlers, then english settlers, then the carnagies – all gone feral now. they are as iconic to the island as the thick palmetto or the ruins of dungeness.

i love to visit this place. it reminds me that nature is not quiet. truly, all those poets that write about the peace of nature have never been to cumberland island. this place is busy with activity and awash with sound at all times. laying down at night, it sounds like cicadas and tree frogs are just screaming at you. i woke up at sunrise each day, unable to ignore the bird chatter and crashing surf. i love how this wild place has survived and witnessed so much, a perennial reminder that nature can entice us, welcome us, feed us, and also ruin us and start again.

camping with shannon was a dream. we hauled about 60 lbs of true necessities to our campsite and enjoyed some amazing meals, cocktails with dinner, rich conversation, rich silence, some decently fierce sunburns, and a very confusing game of UNO. i saved her from a allegedly killer grasshopper. she saved me from throwing all of our possessions into the ocean with a “f*** this!” after hauling that freaking cart through softly packed sand. it is a special thing, to have sort of professionally grown up with a person. we were both pausing in the middle of a busy season in life and work, and i can’t imagine a better companion or better destination.

we finished our trip with long showers, a couple of free drinks (thanks, random bartender guy!), a blasting concert with florence + the machine, and a night of deep sleep in a hotel before dragging our sandy, sunburned asses home. i’m always grateful for this time, for chase, my sister, and my aunt and uncle jenni and dedo – who kept my children fed and loved – and for the discernment these trips offer.

somehow ended up matching my son and embarrassing him at 21 months…

this was the final card in my garden spread reading when i got home tonight. aren’t we all so obvious?

  the quiet of it. find me a happier place, i dare you i spent this past week camping at cumberland island national seashore with my friend and REI peer shannon.

[justbailey91]

Back from the bittersweet journey of self discovery, Natalie May endeavours to serve her own lemonade. Her sweet melodic sound and gentle-womanly attire champions a timeless Black British voice. This Burnt Oak crooner delved into the dark labyrinth of her mind to excavate the hidden coals she could harvest to fuel her art, to unfurl her kinks and quirks to produce crystal clear authenticity. Here’s what happened when I met with Ms Natalie May:

Tell me how it all started, tell me about your childhood and where you grew up…

I grew up in Burnt Oak, where I lived for 28 years up until last week, when I moved outa my mama’s basement. I have 3 older sisters who’re very intelligent, very book-smart and all I wanted to do was watch cartoons. My friends at school were all very pretty, got loads of guys and I bloomed very very late late late. So I wouldn’t call myself a misfit because my friends and my family all accepted me, but I wasn’t studious or the hot-ting like my friends. I always felt different. I always knew that I wanted to sing; I found my yearbook and all the messages were like “Hi Beyonce, I’m gonna miss you Beyonce”.

How was growing up in predominantly female household, has it influenced your music?

I think subconsciously it has; even though I saw my dad on weekends, i’m just so used to being around women. So when it comes to relating to men, its quite startling, here’s a man who wants to be in my space, how do I navigate this? My mum is super driven, very successful, so again its that narrative of being a independent, strong black woman. I grew up in a house full of successful female hustlers. I can definitely see that in myself; but sometimes it can create a kind of boundary when it comes to relationships and sharing a space.

Who were your musical influences growing and what was being played in your house?

Destiny’s Child! Destiny’s Child!! Destiny’s Child!!! My sister went through a goth faze and played rock bands like Lost Prophets. I ended up being a little bit alternative myself and was listening to Britney Spears. I lived for N’sync; Justin Timberlake!!! It was like I’ll wake up today because Justin Timberlake is alive. So very pop/r&b, with a little bit of rock because of my psycho sister. My Mum and Dad would play their Rare Groove and their Roots FM.

How would you describe your music and your style?

Its influenced by experience of being Black and British and having parents who’re of Caribbean descendants. My spiritual journey has brought me closer to my African roots as well. I had the chance to go to Kenya and experience the culture that is huge part of me, But i’m also British. So its about navigating my way through both cultures. Who defines your identity? Is it even a who? Is it family? Is it society? Identity is so interesting because its individual to everybody. I have a lot of peers who’re of the Conscious Community; who’re a group of young black people in Britain who’re interested in spirituality, african history, healthy eating and consciousness. Its a powerful movement. Most of them who’re born here want to move back to Africa; Where as I love the same things, but i’m British and its also apart of my story. My art just reflects all of that down to my personal style, I have an afro but I wear english heritage fashions.

Its almost a political statement; in some ways is that you being rebellious to British society?

Its all those things; but simply as an artist I need to express myself whether it be through fashion, music or art. If i cant express myself I feel stifled and depressed. My hair, my fashion, my class, my job, I have a stall down portobello and all these things have inspired my personal style. I’m a black woman with natural hair, in english gentleman attire. Which then poses questions and statements beyond what I intended.

What artists are inspiring you at the moment ?

I’m living for Solange. Her music is stunning obviously, but its also her message and her courage that I love. I watched her perform F.U.B.U (For Us By Us) at Love Box and the lyrical content…Even I was like, ooh girl you wanna get out of here alive. But the courage to be authentic in her truth is so inspiring. Love Minnie Riperton’s voice and her angelic style. Love my old school, art-deco jazz singers; The grace, the glamour, the poise, the elegance of those artists. Nat King Cole. Lena Horne.

You are well and better known for your first single ‘Sexy Sexy’ that you did with Rudimental, back in 2009; Tell me about about that period?

I’d just finished theatre school and I needed to sing, so I got a little side hustle-call centre job so that I could eat and also to pay for my studio sessions. Then Piers, from Rudimental, was recording in the same studio and he had left the beat of Sexy Sexy for me. I was like “what is this any soca, jump jump song?”, but thought hey i’ll give it a go. I booked the session but hadn’t written anything for it, so I ended up writing it on the tube and it worked. At this point Funky House was just kicking off, I was getting radio play, I played it to events management and It got out there.

That song boomed didn’t it?

Literally boomed, i did so many gigs, we did a video, it was in the film Anuvahood – in the sex scene.

So after the single dropped you went on tour and loads of success, what happened after that ?

I was very grateful for the opportunities and all the gigs that I was doing, but I wasn’t sure if the music really reflected who I was. I didn’t know what direction I wanted to go in, but what was happening now didn’t fit. I needed a break. This was my passion and this was what I loved, but I wasn’t living it. I was becoming lost in it. I got a job in a vintage shop called ‘One of a Kind’ (Portobello Road) and ended up styling ‘Florence and the Machines’, assisted her stylist on her video and worked ‘Rihanna’s’ stylist, just doing amazing fashion things. I was still gigging and still writing also, but I loved the fashion and so ended up juggling the 2 of them. Now that i’ve got my own stall now, I want to focus on the singing again.

What are your aspirations with singing?

All I want to do is just create some authentic, credible, classic music; that tells a story, that inspires and moves people. Tony Robins and Dr Jo Dispenzer, who’re motivational speakers and neuroscientists, talk about state and emotion. A lot of these motivational speakers use music in there seminars because it moves you, it makes you feel something. so I want to create music that alters peoples state; whether it be to their shadow or dark emotions, where they can express their vulnerability or their pain or whether it up-lifting. All in the cause of opening them up, and myself also, to being a better version of themselves.

Tell Me about Alchemy? How can readers get a tangible example of what is and how you use it ?

Alchemy started in ancient Egypt tradition and the basic principle is turning lead into gold. Lead being a dense, black, dark substance that you transmute into something very valuable, Gold. What I love about alchemy is how we can relate that dark matter to us and our emotions, our difficult experiences, our challenges and use it as potential instead of rejecting it. Consciously using that energy for positive use, instead of letting it control you and have you self-sabotaging. Its dark and its difficult, but in doing that I can have more authentic relationships and conversations with people. I can be completely open with where I’m at, not in a victim kind of way, but in a real way. My relationships have so much depth; I’ve learnt so much about my needs and what I want from a relationship. Its just a better understanding of self and finding that gold.

Its like that meme with Beyonce, Solange and Jay Z coming out of the lift; saying that that lift journey created 3 iconic albums? Lemons into Lemonade.

Exactly. Lemonade, what was that born out of? Out of her pain her trauma that she went through with Jay Z. She alchemised that situation. Beyonce is known for being a private person and we all saw that footage. Where do you go from that? She turned to alchemy and she even references it in the visual. Solange, with A Seat At The Table, she took all of her pain of being a black woman in America and she turned it into art. One thing that alchemy has helped me come to terms with is death, imagine if we lived in a society where nothing died. But now in autumn the leaves are turning brown, they’re dying, why? To make room for the new. I’d recommend alchemy to anyone. It’s the process of death, rebirth and transformation.

What advice would you give yourself back in 2009, when you first started working with Rudimental?

Trust the fucking process. You don’t need to know everything. Personally I like to plan, but if it doesn’t go with my plan, there’s no room for anything else and that is a limiting perspective. So open your eyes and bask in what is now.

What was your experience like being in the industry?

I was very anxious. I was very young, I didn’t have a very good understanding of who I was and the industry. In terms of the industry itself everyone was very lovely and very welcoming, but because I was so diligent with what I wanted, I became anxious.

So what are the plans for the future?

I have a lot of shows happening, i’ve started a new self development and awareness workshop with my friend; on mental health, emotion intelligence skills, creating a safe space for people to be vulnerable and to express their authentic truth. All of that as well a singing, doing shows, photoshoots, recording, music!

To anyone who wants be in your position what advice would you give?

Goal set, but definitely allow space for life to surprise you.

Instagram: @neonataliemay

Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/neonataliemay

  COUCH SERIES: Natalie May Back from the bittersweet journey of self discovery, Natalie May endeavours to serve her own lemonade. Her sweet melodic sound and gentle-womanly attire champions a timeless Black British voice.

[taniasinel]

EMPTY NEST

Empty nest.

When did that happen? 

Wasn’t it just yesterday that day Ben and I were sitting in the doctor’s office, faced with a diagnosis of infertility?

The stigma of that diagnosis is branded on the psyche which only starts to fade after years go by.

Years that go by in the blink of an eye. 

Your parents warn you about this – they tell you to enjoy every moment, time is fleeting.  You scoff at that and don’t believe them, but here you are and they were so right.

One minute you are in the doctor’s office praying to have a baby and the next….

you are ready to be a grandmother.

When did that happen?

For years you are happily ensconced in the family home of your dreams and the next, that house has become too big, filled with empty rooms that are hidden behind closed doors you no longer open.

Empty Nesters.

When you start to imagine moving – you study the possibilities:  there’s the high-rise, the apartment, the one story bungalow, or the 4 story townhouse (but only if it has an elevator.) Those are the realistic choices.  Then there are the dreams.  What about a cottage in Galveston’s historic East End?  Or New Orleans’ French Quarter?  Or maybe a ranchette near hilly Round Top?  The possibilities are endless, if only the bank account is.

While thinking about a new address can be exciting – a garage and attic full of memories and junk is the cause of much anxiety.  What do you do with a lifetime of possessions you no longer need or want? The mere thought of a full dumpster is enough to paralyze anyone. 

Or, you can choose to live vicariously through others going through the painful process.

The new Milieu magazine has an Empty Nest story that is quite inspiring, to say the least.  It’s enough to send you looking at local real estate listings.

It’s not every day that one of Houston’s most influential designers downsizes and invites Milieu along to document it all.  HERE.

Enjoy!

Years ago I wrote about the One Perfect House.    It had come on the market and  I think of it as the “one that got away.”   I like to pretend I was out-bid for it.  The truth is the house was never in our budget.  

But design is about dreaming, right?

Still, that house remains my ideal.  Owned by designer Carol Glasser, she had decorated it in her own brand of English Country Manor which she alone is an expert in.  Her style of decorating is so beautiful, that she inspired a legion of fans all influenced by her aesthetic.   I can’t stress how important she is to design in Houston and to the south.

Her house was her laboratory.  She decorated it and redecorated it and each time she changed it, a magazine was nice enough to photoshoot it for the masses to drool over.  And drool we all did.

A new design magazine with a Carol Glasser house was newsworthy.   I still have all those original copies and the stories continue to inspire me to this day.  Her designs are as relevant now as they were twenty and thirty years ago.  Classic doesn’t age.

Glasser’s style isn’t extravagant nor dressy.  Instead, it’s that fabulous mix of cozy and warm, layered and inviting.   She fills her house with what she spent a lifetime  collecting – there is her fabulous transferware, ironstone, chinoiserie and art - all with a patina. 

An early photo from the living room of the “One Perfect House.”  While this is located in Houston, Texas – it could just as well be in Cotswold.

Years later, the same room looked completely different.  Edited and updated with white stucco walls and creamy upholstery. 

The dining room was always part library, part reception area.  For each photoshoot – Carol tweaked it just a bit to hypnotize us more.

This was a Christmas decor photoshoot.   Doesn’t it look like a still life painting?  I absolutely love this.

Later, the room was edited just enough to blend with the new white walls in the living room.

Carol was known for her transferware collection and she started a trend in Houston.  Anyone who read Veranda or Southern Accents wanted one too.

An early version of the sitting room.   So cozy.  So perfect!!

Later, she showed a new set of rattan furniture and did a bit more editing.   Somewhere along the way, her iconic Irish dresser was sold.

…

After several decades in the One Perfect House – it was enough. 

Next came a move a few miles away.

The new house was larger, grander, and it provided Carol with a chance to spread her wings and show us what she could do with more space and more rooms.

Oh my God!  What CAN”T she do?

The house was her masterpiece.

I thought I had loved her old house but the new one was in a league all its own.   At a time when everyone in Houston was doing white slips and gold accents – Carol stayed true to her roots.

It was a vision.

The new house was sprawling – an ivy clad, two story Georgian, which had been added onto over the years.

The entrance set the tone.  A gorgeous damask wallpaper in soft aqua paired with an exquisite painted console with gilt mirror.  Underneath, a beautiful rug in coral and blues.

A peek into the living room which is lovely in coral.

Is there a prettier room?  A velvet sofa matched with casual linen striped chairs and two antique bergeres in persimmon and checks.  Antique red painted chests with beautiful stone lamps.   I love the casual English matting underfoot.  Of course there are curtains in a soft print.

Against one wall is a striped settee with herbiers above it.

Another view.

The dining room was in blue with checked chairs and matching demilunes.

The stairhall with a Swedish center table.

And more antiques in the stairhall.

The library in coral and blue.

The kitchen is a knockout with brick floors and beamed ceiling.  French mantel.  Bennison fabric.  LOVE!

Another view of the kitchen.  Instead of an island there is a table.  The breakfast room is then freed up for seating.

The family room with a casual slipcover sofa and chairs and blue and white stripes.

I’ve only showed some photos of Carol’s two former houses.  To see more extensive stories with more pictures – go HERE and HERE.

When I heard that Carol and her husband had sold this large house in River Oaks, I wondered where she would go next.   I thought for sure they would downsize, but how do you downsize when you own the most fabulous antiques?

Carol and her husband own a second home in California and I felt perhaps that would be their permanent house, after all, that area of California is the stuff of dreamy vacations.

  But there is work, still.

Last month Milieu Magazine was so nice to answer all these questions for us!  We didn’t even have to ask them!!   And I have to tell you, the story is a lesson in downsizing and moving on and how to enter our golden years gracefully and with class and beauty.   Of course Carol would be the one to lead the way.

Faced with the sale of their very large house, Carol and her husband were stymied.  Where would they go?

At first she held onto her old desires and needs.  She planned to move to a townhouse with a small garden to tend to.  Except they couldn’t find that townhouse fast enough.

“No highrises” she told her husband.  In Houston, when you reach a certain age, many choose to go the route of a Versailles in the Sky.  But that choice didn’t appeal to Carol.  At first, that is.

But time was moving on and that perfect townhouse with the small garden was elusive.

So, they rented a loft style apartment in the trendy Museum District, planning to stay just long enough until they decided on their next move.

Except once they were settled in the 13th story highrise, Carol discovered she liked the cozier quarters.   She also liked being able to just lock the door and leave without any worries about the yard or that garden or that large house.

It was a freeing feeling. 

She said she is “amazed” at how easy it is to take care of an apartment instead of a large house and garden.   She enjoys the open concept – cooking in the same room where she entertains means she isn’t isolated away from her guests.  Carol told Milieu that she and her husband still entertain, just with smaller groups of friends, such as two or three couples.   

Their apartment faces west Houston, offering a view she had never really seen before, living only on terra-firma in her past life.  The sunsets make for a pretty show to offer her guests over cocktails.  The real surprise she says is that she hasn’t looked back.

How would YOU choose what to keep from your old house and what to sell or give away?  

Remember, in Carol’s old house – she had a living room, family room, office, TV room and sitting room.  And each room was furnished with fabulous antiques and upholstered furniture.  How could you choose?

The Loft-Style Apartment:  A large main room with high ceilings, exposed ductwork, and an open kitchen/dining area behind the sofa.

“I think that’s the definition of eclectic,” Carol says, “the juxtaposition of the old and the new, the country and the gilt. To me, it’s the mix that makes a home interesting.”  And notice that is exactly how she designed her apartment – the gilt antique mirror with the country styled coffee table and the casual slipcovered sofas. 

“I’d rather have an eighteenth-century piece than something new.  An antique gives character and patina to the room like nothing else.”   Every new piece of upholstery is framed by an antique – a console, a table, a dresser.

When is came time to choose, Carol went for comfort – the large slipcovered sofas were maintenance and worry free and they were comfortable.  Gone was the velvet sofa.  And also gone were scores of antiques collected over a lifetime.

Did she cry?  I would have!  I’m crying looking at all that is gone.  But, Carol was lucky enough to know designers who were looking for those very antiques.  She knows exactly who now owns what she once did and it makes her happy knowing that “other people are now giving them life”something that truly pleases her.

Key pieces stayed with Carol – like this mirror which has she had for decades. Underneath it is a large console that holds her collection of French pots and antique santos and candlesticks.

Today, these Raphael engravings sit above her baby grand.  An antique chinoiserie chair is chosen over a modern piano bench.  Of course!

Carol said:  “Color and texture make a room elegant.”   When you use antiques in a room – it is unique and isn’t something you will see again in an interior with new pieces.  “And when you buy quality, you can use it over and over again in any house in any style.”    Something Carol has proven here.

My favorite accessory – her collection of biots, filled with beautiful roses. 

And notice too, how beautiful Carol Glasser is!  She is such a pretty woman – a classic beauty. 

BEFORE:  An early photo from two houses ago – the mirror is still with Carol, as is the side chinoiserie table, the putti on the walls, and the chandelier, which is now in her master bedroom.  By picking and choosing key pieces, she is able to add texture and layers to her new apartment, making it classic and timeless, two terms Carol admits are overused today.

A peek into a side room shows the rattan furniture with the Bennison fabric is off in another area, probably where the flatscreen is.

BEFORE:   The rattan furniture with Bennison fabric – I love that this stayed in the new apartment.   It makes sense Carol would choose this grouping for the TV room.

In the kitchen – this blue painted 1850 English cupboard is being used to hold her transferware and ironstone.

This are her dishes that she uses everyday.   Carol says her antiques aren’t just to look at!!

This piece was formerly used in her master bedroom.  Now, it used for much needed storage.  

The kitchen.   One thing Carol kept was her collection of kitchenware – antique ironstone, faience, Delft, and transferware. 

In the article, she said that one of her favorite pieces are the antique dairy slabs which she uses to serve cheese or appetizers on. 

Carol chose to use the breakfast table and chairs in her former kitchen over the dressier and larger table in what was once her dining room.

Love this room so much – the herbiers become the focal point.  She bought them loose from a book of one man’s collection.  Framed and hung together – they make a such a visual statement.

The chairs are fabulous – a country take on Chippendale.   And against the wall is the painted dresser – you can just barely see it here.

In the entry is her French buffet.  This piece was once in her stairhall.

In her master bedroom – Carol used the furniture that was in her former house.  I’m curious who inherited the Bennison Roses bedroom that was in her guest room?!!  Lucky person. 

But this is the right choice between the two bedroom schemes.  The quiet green and white stripes and checks are a bit more sedate that the romantic Bennison Roses print.

Even the chandelier made the move.

Across from the bed is the sitting area, with the sofa in Claremont fabric.  And she mixed in the two linen striped chairs from the living room, here in the bedroom. 

Remember this decor?  Her beloved Raphael engravings are in the loft apartment above the piano. 

But how do you edit and choose what stays and what goes?

I absolutely love this entrance with blue wallpaper and gilt console.  It might be my favorite piece in her all houses.  But, it isn’t right for the loft, I know.   The English buffet in cream is the better choice. 

And there was this:

I absolutely LOVED the decor in the living room.   But I think she made the right choice.  The loft is not the right mix for velvet.  The slipped chairs landed in her new master bedroom.  The white slipcovered sofas and matching chairs fill up the room and look good with the concrete and exposed ductwork.  Still, the piano gives the room a touch of elegance.   And, the herbiers actually work better in the loft – put together as one piece of art work, they make a much bigger statement.

But, those matching buffets.  And those lamps.  Sob. 

What would you do?   If you are faced with a large family home and no children left at home, do you stay or move?  And where do you go?  An apartment, condo, cottage, or highrise?

One dream would be a smaller, one story cottage – old and renovated – and reasonably priced.  But that’s almost impossible to find in Houston.

And there is something to be said for a large loft.   Last year I saw this unit in an old downtown building that had been converted.  It caught my eye and I have thought – would this be somewhere to move to?  A new life, downtown, where we could walk to dinner and plays and concerts.   Doesn’t that sound romantic?

The loft is located in an historical building on the fifth floor.  The only drawback?  There is no balcony for the dogs.   Those are reserved for the second floor lofts only. 

The front door opens to a foyer with painted paneling.   Other walls are original brick and concrete.

Looking back to the front door with the original glass transom.

The large loft is technically two bedrooms – one on each side of the loft.  There are no walls between the bedrooms, only curtains divide the space.

The view into the guest bedroom – which is set up as a TV room.  This would make a good space for a library, if one is needed. 

The curtains are just for show – and softness.   They don’t close.   But you could easily change this is you needed privacy.

And the view towards the other side of the loft where the kitchen and main bedroom are.  This wall would be a perfect place for ceiling to floor shelves for books.

Another view from the guest room towards the other side of the long loft.

This has been decorated in taupe paint.  I wonder how it would look painted white, including the brick and ceiling? 

The guest bathroom with the same block paneling and mosaic tile floor with standing sink.

In the center – these owners placed two tables across from the kitchen.  To the right is the master bedroom, also could be behind curtains if privacy is needed.

                                                                                              The view from the tables toward the guest bedroom.

The kitchen and bar.

Concrete countertops.  Wonderful kitchen was custom built in this unit.

The master bedroom is on the corner so it gets lots of light from the windows.

The view from the bed that looks throughout the loft.

The master bathroom runs along one side of the loft and the windows let in much light.  Love that sink with double faucets.

Love the mosaic tile floor.

  Large shower.

The bathrooms and kitchen are really nice for a loft.

                                                                                                            The owners obviously like antiques, industrial sized and repros from Restoration Hardware. 

I wonder how French antiques would look in a space like this?

Ideas to Get The Look:

I’m loving faux fur throws for bedspreads and sofas.

FAUX THROWS HERE

Loving  accent chairs in wicker and rattan.

ACCENT CHAIRS HERE

In black

BLACK RATTAN CHAIR HERE

                                                                    A little pink goes a long way.

BLUSH THROW HERE

from COTE DE TEXAS http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2017/10/empty-nest.html