Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It's All His Fault

And his -

Whether having a bath near the kitchen sink -

Or just hanging out together in the den -

-these two brothers resulted in my very late post.  They are of course grandson #1 and brand new grandson #2.  I had the great joy of being able to stay with both brothers and their parents for ten days.  Obviously, my duties did not include blogging, but I thought of this post while proceeding with my grandmotherly duties.  One "duty" (with great conversations about dandelions and Indians and nursery school projects) was walking brother #1 to and from nursery school.  Since this very sweet family lives in a very sweet and quintisentially New England town, I loved seeing the many colonial homes in all their spring glory on our walk.  Below are a few of my favorites I wanted to share with you.


The dogwoods were in bloom everywhere.


Liked the concrete fence posts and front path.

This was a small but very charming house.  I could have moved right in.


Door knockers and potted plants on either side of front doors inspired me.  Would have loved to capture close-ups of door knockers, but feared the owners would think I was a mad hacker.

Not a reproduction home but an original early colonial across the street from grandsons' house .

While strolling with the baby, I discovered this very pretty garden just down the road.  Lilac tree is so pretty.  (This garden and house were quite charming but would have been more so if the house wasn't red.  Just an opinion, but  red houses seem to clash with vegetation.  If the house were white, or gray, or taupe, everything would have appeared even prettier.)

Red or not, I  still found it irresistible.

Much nicer weathered color.  Looks like it could house "Little Women".



Isn't this a great dogwood!

Looks so wonderfully weathered.

Home of the happy little family.  They want to paint the house white (I like the gray) and the front door black (I'd love that), but have not yet had the time.  My daughter-in-law and son have very definite tastes and thankfully agree on their design aesthetic.  One quiet afternoon, while talking with my daughter-in-law, who once worked for a design firm, I told her what a great job I thought she had done thus far on their home.  She refuses to compromise her aesthetic and buys the best she can when she can.  I asked if I could snap the rooms they had done thus far and she agreed.

In the den is the new bookcase she designed and my son built.   Go team!

Directly opposite with sofa and chairs flanking it is the den fireplace, present when they bought house.

Living room velvet sofa and tables with seascape purchased when they lived in Boston.

New-ish chairs opposite sofa.  Don't you love the wall colors she chose?

Living room fireplace opposite the seascape with a tiny peep into the kitchen.

Chest/bar area in living room corner.  

View out the dining room/playroom (for now) window.  Please note the turkey passing on by.  My grandson and I spied them at least three times during my visit.  Actually, not very graceful creatures but fun to watch and listen to.

In the town center is a floral shop I love.  After ice cream with my grandson, we ventured into this shop for Ama's (me) edification.  My grandson was anything but thrilled with my mission, so the following shots were taken quickly and edited significantly.
Tiny pansies that say spring.

This shop always has beautiful arrangements but may have been a bit weary from mother's day traffic.


Quick view of cherry blossom branches (I think) near the check out counter.  In the foreground are just  a few of their orchids with a wonderful vessel atop very funky column.  I really love this store.

Thus you have had a brief glimpse into my ten days with the dearest family in the world.  I was happy to be there and now am happy to be home again and back into my routine.  Still, I wonder what discussions might have transpired on future walks, and talks, and wonder if the baby has smiled yet.

Next time, one last Saladino post and then I'm done with "warm and cozy" and onto southern climes and southern designers.  Stay tuned.
Ama/b





Thursday, May 2, 2013

Still Saladino

Excuse my inconsistency lately.  Haven't posted in about a month - blame it on spring.  It sprung in upstate New York, and the birds, the sun, my gardens all beckoned to me and I couldn't resist.  Now, to get back to John Saladino and coziness, I have two more homes that prove a "cozy Saladino" is not an oxymoron.

Images of the following Saladino-designed home are the reason I kept this House Beautiful from May, 1991.  Because it is an updating of  an older home, rather than a completely new one, it has similarities to the home in the last post found in Litchfield.

Again, this home is in New England, and, in this view, the addition can clearly be seen.  Love all the stone work in landscaping and addition.

Mudroom - so necessary in New England.

Front view very reminiscent of the front view from last post's home and very New England.

View from rear of the house.

Pardon the crease.  This room is so different from today's style with its dark walls and unpainted woodwork, and, crease or no crease, it had to be included. Clearer image to come.

See - clearer!  Distinctive Saladino trademark - the mix of antiques with contemporary.

I love this sitting room - shutters instead of curtains and the mottled walls that look a bit like Saladino's "scratch" coat used in many of his new rooms.

The leather sofa and chair from 1991 could fit right into Restoration Hardware today.  Saladino, definitely an icon.

New addition with view of the stream from earlier.  How about that beam!  Bet this is where the family spends most of their time.  Looks like a linen swag on the window to the left - again so ahead of his time or just timeless.  And cozy, right?  The wood, the antiques, the plants, the beams all make it so.

And, of course, the massive fireplace wall.

The other side of fireplace wall works perfectly in the kitchen.

More shutters and mottled walls in upstairs guest room.

So what do you think?  Doesn't John Saladino have quite a few cozy bones in his body?  

Even when working on a new home in the Hamptons, he never forgets his classical training. This next design appeared in the February/March 1992 issue of Vogue Decoration.  It has several other great articles, but I'm sticking to today's topic.

How great is this!!  A new house in a shaker style in Amagansett.  It sounds like something Newell Jacobsen would do, but it is strictly John Saladino style.

Beams and bricks take on a whole different flavor int this home.  Very contemporary foyer with antiques blending old with the new.

Beams and long dining table similar to house above.

Doesn't the living room below remind you a bit of his Villa Dilemma?   Love, love, love it.
Upstairs guest room.

Bath and dressing rooms.

First floor bedroom.

Same house but different views was featured in this September issue of House Beautiful.  Let's take a look.



I'll let the images and captions do the talking.

Better view of kitchen and eating area.

Love the modern art work with antique table and bowl.


First floor bedroom.


More mix of old and new in dining room.  Cozy?





When Saladino does old (as in today's first images), he adds modern.  When he does new, he adds antiques, beams, shingles and brick.  Does it result in cozy?  You must know by now that I think it does.  He uses the perfect touch, never cloyingly sweet, never cold and stark but rather...just perfect.

More Saladino houses next time.  I organized all my magazines featuring him in one pile, so before putting these issues away, I'll add at least another John Saladino post.

Apropos of nothing or just apropos of spring, while perusing these old issues, I came across two lovely images of white hydrangeas in pots and decided to end with them.  I actually grow this hydrangea in my garden, and it turns the softest shade of blue-pink in the autumn.  I grow blue hydrangeas everywhere and in pots next to teak benches, but the deer are deciding they like hydrangeas.  To discourage their rampages, yesterday I discreetly hung two bars of Irish Spring soap on two bushes. This morning one bar was eaten.  Arghhh.


Till next time, happy spring.
b