Just wanted to update you that the home in Greece that I posted in my last post is owned by Paola Navone and the photographs were taken by Jerome Galland.  You can see more of it on a post by the Style-Files.

Been working on getting photos done of my house for Design Sponge, so I will be back soon!

the greek know how to get away (as their economy tanks)

I found photos of this amazing vacation home in Serifos, Greece.  Can anyone take me there?

Love the repeated paintings on the floors.  There is so little fuss and such simplicity that it works.

portlandia

These are from the Pendleton Portland Collection.  Two very hot topics combined.  I think they are very well done and especially love the colorful one.  This is just something that I quickly wanted to share with you, since I've been a bit M.I.A. the past couple of weeks.  

Please encourage your friends to give me a call or email if they are interested in any design consultation for their house or commercial space.  I am giving two-hour consultations for ideas, if people are interested at a very reasonably low price!

historic austin

The images of this historic home in Austin caught my attention and turned me onto watching Tim Cuppett Architecture and stay up with whatever Tim is working on.  I think he did an exceptional job on this home.  There are details in it that actually look similar to my house, maybe that is why I like the design so much.  Hey, when you know your taste, you know your self....ha!

The other thing this homestead has in common with mine is that it has been moved and this one was moved twice in semi-recent history.  Apparently the updates after moving were not done well, so Cuppett had to renovate and do a better job of restoring and complimenting the original structure.

week of years past....a collection

I just put together a collage of many inspiring images to sum up my "week of years past".  These are all over the board and maybe don't completely all fit into a interior design or architecture category, but they in some way have influenced my ideas for design, therefore I felt they were worthy.  You'll see photos from Marfa, TX, Austin, Post, TX, Thailand, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Sonoma, Southampton, Chicago, and there is even an LA bar in there.  I had to sneak one in of my most precious little nephew, who was born last August.  New life is always an inspiration to live your better!  

(Feel free to ask me more about these photos, if you are curious.)    

week of years past.....woodshop sf

 photo by Todd Selby for Dockers, styling by Sara Leete

During the same photo shoot for Dockers that I talked about in yesterday's post, we shot Danny Hess.  He is another example of someone doing what they love.  He makes handmade sustainable surfboards out of wood.  Well, we got to shoot Danny in his "office", which is the Woodshop in the Sunset District of San Francisco.  He shares the space with three other guys and as you can see their aesthetic is inspiring.  It is simple, clean, handmade, and current.  (Again, excuse my low quality iphone photos.)

photo via woodshopsf.com

These stools and the other handmade wood furniture is made by Luke Bartels - it combines mid-century narrow lines with organic wood shapes and I'd love a piece in my house!!  Hint, hint.  The painted signs and things around the shop are from Jeff Canham.  His work is all very colorful and stylized and fits perfectly in balance with the other boys' wood pieces.

Chairtastic finds old chairs and refurbishes them in the same woodshop.  Check out his site and you can see many amazing different pieces with a real range.

week of years past...scribe winery

This week I want to post things that I saw over the past couple of years that I was inspired by.  Going through my photos, I thought.....there are some great things here to share.

 Photo from Todd Selby for Dockers, styled by Sara Leete

Today.  Photos from the vineyard estate of Scribe Winery in Sonoma County's foothills of Arrowhead Mountain.  Andrew and Adam Mariani are the young hip owners of this place.  I was working on a Dockers' shoot with the esteemed Todd Selby.  The Mariani brothers were chosen as inspiring guys that were doing what they love.  I took lots of photos of the old house on the property that they had plans to restore in the future.  The hacienda was built in 1858 and then rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake, but has been abandoned for almost three decades.  The house has been used by Andrew and Adam for large, sometimes wild, parties.  I just read on Nowness that the Marianis are in the midst of renovating it back to its former glory, so maybe I can do a post that covers that in the future! Yea! I also took photos in the office that was so nicely decorated in a simple antique clean feel.  The whole thing was inspiring.  I love when people take the old and keep its character, but can make it contemporary and current.  Some of these (the ones of poor quality) are my photos from my iphone and some are ones from other people giving Scribe its due attention in the press.

These were taken in the office.

photo taken by Luke Gilford, via Nowness

photo from Anthology, via Scribe Winery

Here is where Andrew and Adam make farm fresh homemade pizzas for their guests in the pizza oven, while friends sit around a fire on hay bales covered in woven blankets, next to an amazing run down house. Delicious fun! As Andrew said, "It's all about getting together at a table, eating, drinking and connecting."

photo from Food and Wine, by Cedric Angeles

homes series

My home series...

Just a little peak at a corner of my living room.  You can see the repetition of the black on the window frames.  In the living room, I did sunshades in a very dark charcoal to go with the black.  I love them!  They really make the room look more contemporary.  The leather chair was another Sacramento find for almost nothing.  Kind of a strange piece to choose, but somehow it works and everyone loves sitting in it!  Also got the lamp in Sacramento - it was a wallpaper printing roller and a lamp from the 60's. Think I've decided it's time for maybe some different pillows, so I won't comment of those.  The coffee table is a left over piece of glass from a coffee table my mother had way back when and I just decided to put my collection of W magazines to good use and make a table out of them.  

photos by Sarah Wilson

How Ms. Doe-eyed Indian Princess......I love this.  Found it at the large show in Round Top in the Marburger tents.