Home candy

I'm in a random mood today. All of my focus these past few weeks has been dedicated to a big project I'm working on, so I thought I'd escape into some of my favorite interior delights, the objects I crave for how they look and feel.  Home candy.

Pewter and peonies

I love the soft blend of silver pewter and pink peony petals. Peonies and tulips are my favorite flowers.  The vase is from Match, an Italian-based company that crafts their beautiful pieces by hand.  I want one!  (Or one for each room!)

Match pewter vase with pink peonies
(Photo Courtesy:   Match )

Wool and silk rugs

One of the best gifts I've received in recent years was a handmade wool and silk Persian rug hand-carried back for me from Iran.  (Thank you again, Dean and Paul, and Dean's friend who acquired and brought it back from her family visit!)  It sits at the end of my bed and caresses my feet whenever I step on it.

Incidentally my love for wool extends to Karastan carpets and flokati rugs.  My tootsies (and eyes) love 'em all.

Modern Living Room design by San Francisco Architect CCS ARCHITECTURE

Animal prints everywhere

Animal prints show up everywhere Chez J, especially cheetah.  They're on pillows and a matching ottoman slip cover, sheets and a vase sitting on my wine cabinet.  Chances are, they'll show up somewhere else some time soon.  (Or in my next place on a carpet, like the one shown here... Yes, I definitely would!)  Animal prints are just sexy.  Always have been.  Always will be.

Eclectic Family Room design by Philadelphia Interior Designer Meadowbank Designs

PS:  I love patterns, in general.  Animal prints, florals, stripes, plaid, checks, paisley, you name it!  Mixing them together is even more fun.

Leather

I love its rustic warmth and practicality.  Leather is livable and very Sensible Style.  My next couch will be leather. And my office will get a leather recliner in the not-too-distant future, too.

Lancaster couch offers sink-deep comfort
(Photo Courtesy:  Restoration Hardware)

Velvet

Rich and touchable.  Soft but strong.  Elegant and durable.  The ultimate Sensible Style fabric.  I own a velvet couch that's seen more naps than I'm willing to admit to.  And I've been shopping for a velvet duvet cover for my bed for a while, thus far unsuccessfully.  I also love velvet drapery panels and my next home will probably have some.

Velvet panels add luxe privacy
(Photo Courtesy:  Pottery Barn)

Seagrass, rattan and wicker

I love strong woven textures like these.  I have them in storage baskets throughout my home, in a living room area rug and a hamper.  They all say 'coastal' to me, and I love living on the coast.  No reason not to bring that feeling indoors.

Contemporary Kitchen design by Other Metros Interior Designer In Detail Interiors

Last, but definitely not least... Art 

No home is complete without art -- certainly no home of mine would be!  I'm not talking about posters chosen because their colors match your couch either.  I'm talking about pieces that speak to your heart and soul, whatever medium and price tag they happen to fit.

Art doesn't have to be expensive.  It doesn't even have to be an original one-of-a-kind piece.  It can be a vintage McCoy vase you picked up at a garage sale that makes you happy.  Or a beautifully-composed photograph of a favorite pet, person or vacation.  Art should make you smile when you look at it.  That's its job.


I have three framed Clyde Butcher photographs in my office.  I see them whenever I walk into my townhouse.  They're hauntingly beautiful pictures by an artist considered to be the Ansel Adams of the Everglades.

I love remembering breakfasts on my screened lanai in Florida watching the herons, egrets, ducks, cranes and wood storks land on the pond behind our house. Art inspires memories.  That's its job, too.

This original photograph of Amelia Island reminds me of a wonderful vacation there
(Photo Courtesy:  Clyde Butcher)

Thanks for sharing my visual escape with me today.