If only it had rained today...

I wouldn't have popped out to the nursery to get a basil plant to replace the purple basil that disappeared over the weekend and been seduced by


the sign that read "20% off Hostas",


the smell of catmint in the air


and the florescent green Irish moss.
I came home with a summer planter full of annuals, 12 pots of moss, three hostas, I catmint, 3 liquorice plants, and a large pot of basil. It's official, I have absolutely no will power.

In the yard

The last blooms on the azaleas and rhododendrons have faded and fallen and although the peonies and the late dogwood are out there's little color in the yard by the second week in June. That means, of course, less admiring the garden and more chores.
So yes, there was a FOURTH attempt at setting the stone on the steps to the front door - this time scraping it right back to the foundation. (Probably should have done that first time). No one is allowed to look at it, much less step on it, so it could be a while before we know if we are successfully cemented in. Last time it seemed ok - until the torrential rain loosened the side mortar. I have fingers, toes and eyes crossed for this one.
There was the horrible moment when I put the gardening gear in the garage and I heard chewing coming form the overhang - which meant we hadn't killed all the bees last session. I stuck a kid's paintbrush in the poison dust and poked it into one of FOUR new holes - and touched a bee. That surprised both of us! It stopped chewing but turned it into a coughing, buzzing, shiny black mass of madness. It flew out and landed dizzily on the path whereupon I put it out of its misery. Next month there will be the ritual filling of the holes, followed by the staining of the siding, This never gets old. Not.
The Guy lovingly painted several new examples of poison ivy with the most effective of herbicides - taking great care not to drip it on the pachysandra or rhododendrons. (I'm a super swelling, steroid needing, extra-specially sensitive soul that gets a full body rash from touching the dog who brushed against it hours earlier so I leave this to the so-far immune member of the family). I feel this is going to be an on-going chore this season.
All the windows were washed - outside and in. We carried the outdoor pool furniture up from the basement, set it out and cleaned that, too. (The pool is actually colder then when we opened it, 66F. No one will be dipping in there this week).
The lilac bush at the back of the pool that was toppling over and threatening to decapitate anyone going back there was pruned back - hopefully we'll get more growth from the base and many more blossoms next Spring.
A gorgeous new yellow Hosta generously donated by the Awesome Designer was planted, but will be replanted this week in a more commodious spot. White Impatiens lovingly planted by neighbor Barbara the entrance to the cul-de-sac were rescued from under the fringes of the day lilies and given some more light at the edges of the bed.
Weeds were pulled and death was removed from the lawn, the flower beds and the pool skimmers.

Of course it wasn't all work: dinner was eaten al fresco, steak grilled by the Loyal Blog Reader for the Awesome Designer's family from New Mexico, The Guy and I. Later, specimen maple seedlings were dug and bagged ready for a trip to the southwest, where we hope they will find some hospitable soil amongst all the sand... (and fewer weeds as well).

Futuro House Auctioned

A mid-century icon, one of the original podlike Futuro houses by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen was sold June 2 by Wright as part of their Important Design auction. The prefabricated house had an estimate of $50,000-$70,000, far less than the 140,000 euros another Futuro house fetched at Christie's in Paris less than two years ago.

A sort of futuristic cabin, Futuro houses were light (made of polyester plastic and fiberglass), easily transportable anywhere by helicopter and first used as ski lodges or summer homes. From 1968 fewer than 100 Futuro Houses were built, but they ended up in places as far flung as Belgium, New Zealand and Mill Creek Park Willingboro, NJ. They were sold in the United States for between $12,000 and $14,000 but by 1978 tastes had changed and oil prices had made them uneconomical to produce. Originally designed to sleep 6-8, equipped with a kitchen and, as an upgrade, a fab fireplace, Futuro houses have since found other uses - as media rooms, gas stations, even the "special room" at a strip joint - but you can still stay in a Futuro vacation house in the woods near Milwaukee, Wisconsin to get the full alien spaceship experience.

For more information and a complete history of Futoro try to find a copy of the book and dvd package: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday By Marko Home and Mika Taanila

Egg Chair (Leather)

Vintage leather Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair 1958. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.
One of a pair at Wright's Important Design auction. Details here.

Baycrest Beauty For Sale*

Remember this tour and this slideshow of historical houses in the Incorporated Village? Both featured the wonderful domed towers and windows of this Victorian (1887) shingle-style beach cottage. It's been on the market as a rental for a while and is now for sale. If I had a yen for an older house I'd seriously consider this one. It's architecturally charming, the views to the Bay are lovely and I could fulfill all my Rapunzel fantasies from the turret.

4 Bedroom Guesthouse

The 1.6 acre property features a guesthouse and a barn plus all the desired amenities (pool, tennis court, beach rights). I can vouch for the roof being new, as I watched the shingles being stapled not so long ago, and I could hear the thwack of balls last summer so the tennis court is probably in good shape but there are no pictures of the pool, and all I know about the interior is what I can see on the agent's website and that doesn't include any shots of the kitchen. Red Flags!

*The list price is very fair for the size of the house and the area but the taxes might make you choke on your breakfast cereal... so put down your spoon before you click here (or here) for more details.

Another Evening, Another Sunset

Suffice to say every one is different and every one a winner.

This is from Saturday. I had let the battery on the Canon rebel run out and I didn't think it was going to be a stellar sunset so I only had my iphone. It turned out pretty good regardless - a little Turner, a little Rubens - pinks, orange, purple and grey-blue. Click, as always, to embiggen.

Come hither...

Spending too much time communing with nature... I think it's beckoning me

Birds, Jellyfish and Sushi

Thursday wasn't just a successful day in terms of house maintenance, it was also the day I overcame one of my irrational fears.

I'm pretty sure my lunch partner had no idea I'm scared stiff of these things. After all, I managed not to do what I usually do when I find myself in close proximity to flying, flapping, feathered animals: scream loudly and run away as fast as possible.

I was sitting four inches from this scene so it was impossible to ignore mama bird feeding her babies. Every time we tried to take a photo she'd fly off but return a minute later with a tiny worm or caterpillar. It was just so darn cute I was fascinated and, because the nest is in a window box, protected from too close an encounter by the glass.  I have no idea what kind of bird it is but I'm guessing a warbler. Anyone know? Here's a couple of really quick videos of her hopping in and flying off. If you want to see them in person you'll need to go here for sushi.

We were supposed to be snapping shells and sea glass but between spending hours cooing over the baby birds and the earlier thunderous downpour we had to put those plans on hold. Despite the persistent drizzle we stopped at Huntington Harbor for a quick photo shoot.

There's always something to see, boats of course - or pedalos. This time the water was teeming with jellyfish. I'm not worried by sea critters (especially when I'm on land and they aren't) so I wasn't afraid to lean in close.

Of course no photo shoot is complete without a few shots of The Cool House and the yard in the rain. Lousy weather but a pretty successful day.

Not just for cocktail wieners...

Speaking of wood, we've had an issue with the bi-fold doors in the mud room for a while now. The screws simply won't hold the hinges in place anymore, and because these are hollow core doors rather than the solid doors elsewhere in The Cool House using longer screws isn't an option - after all you can't screw into air.

It had obviously been a problem before we bought the house, the hinges had been moved once already. We tried filling the screw holes with plastic wood and gorilla gluing/liquid nailing the hinges directly to the door but the constant back and forth motion eventually loosened the screws, foiling our best efforts and leaving someone holding a falling door and yelling for help!

Last week I'd had enough and marched down to our local True Value to find the answer to my wood woes. I was expecting to be pointed in the direction of super glues and wood fillers but I was offered a really cheap solution: cocktail sticks. The trick is to break off screw length pieces of the stick, two or three or more, depending on the size of the hole and stuff them into it and fasten the screw into these tiny chips of wood.

I was really dubious, after all how many miracle solutions work? But I tried it straightaway and it's held up since. So there you have it, a problem that's caused at least two families endless headaches fixed with one cocktail stick, which we already had, and the right advice from a pro. Cost $0. It was a pretty good day.

Nakashima Woodwork

Conoid bench with back, 1968

For the longest time I have been in love with the distinctive benches, tables and chairs of mid-century designer and furniture maker George Nakashima.  I adhere to his philosophy of "no style", which I take to mean let the object be itself, showcase the raw source and use its imperfections to make a more beautiful piece of furniture.

Arlyn Table, 1988

Not rough-hewn but lovingly finished, natural splits in the wood are tied with his signature butterfly ties and the unique form of burl wood is celebrated for its dynamic shape. 



Other woodworkers have been inspired by his aesthetics and style to produce custom handcrafted furniture. This 6' bench was recently for sale on ebay.

via remodalista

Nakashima influenced designs fit seamlessly into almost any decor - Asian, Modern, Country, and every room - here on a porch,

in designer Shamir Shah's living room (featured in Interior Design), and even in tile designer Sarah Baldwin's bathroom.

Conoid Chair 1988

The beauty and radiance of genuine Nakashima furniture is outstanding.  To wonder at the range and craftsmanship of this unique designer visit the online gallery of vintage pieces at Moderne Gallery or the slideshow of the George Nakashima and Knoll: The Making of an Object exhibit that runs until June 6 at The Design Center at Philadelphia University.

The Nakashima legacy continues under the guidance of his daughter Mira and a team of dedicated woodworkers at New Hope Pennsylvania. Tours of the showroom and property are given throughout the year, contact George Nakashima Woodworker for details.

It's Friday so go visit old houses at Hooked on Houses and Fifi Flowers is giving away a Coco Chanel book (small girly scream)

Ben: Capturing Color

I've been having some difficulty pinpointing the exact shade, tint and hue of paint I need to decorate The Cool House but come June 1st my problems will be solved by Ben.

Ben, or more properly, ben® Color Capture™ is a free iphone app developed by paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore that digitally matches photos to to any one of the 3,300 or so colors in Benjamin Moore’s system. I'll tap the app and let ben do the rest.

Using the iphone camera, I'll snap my inspiration image and zoom in on any part of it.  A strip of colors will appear on the screen under the image, with the closest match highlighted, I can then save my preferred shade to my favorites. Shaking the phone will give me four co-ordinating colors or I can use the app to access the BM full spectrum color wheel. 

Then all I need to do is go to the nearest paint store (using the iphone's GPS system to locate it) and say "I want it this color". Ben should making choosing paint easy and fun, and I'll be downloading it from iTunes first thing Monday morning.

Hues, Tints and Shades

I've been pondering the difficulty in defining a color, an issue I illustrated while trending pink and chartreuse.

There is, of course, the dictionary definition:

   "color refers to the wavelength composition of light, shade is a gradation of color referring to its degree of darkness, tint is a gradation referring to its degree of lightness, and hue indicates a modification of a basic color... hue is the quality of a color that makes it possible to call it bluish green, etc. (the color of a color); shade is a color variation having to do with the value of a hue (lightness or darkness), and tint is a pale variation of a color". 

But that lacks the necessary visual clarity.

Now, thanks to a link from VSL, you can take the Munsell Hue Test and arrange colors in hue order to determine your color I.Q.

I scored 33, which while not bad is far from perfect. You?

Luminous Landscapes

Sag Harbor artist April Gornik's exhibition at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington presents twelve huge canvases, including Suspended Sky (2004) (above) that blur the boundaries between representation and imagination to produce works of mystery, luminosity and power.

In this collection paintings inspired by trips to the Caribbean, China, and Namibia are shown alongside landscapes of New Mexico and Long Island. In each piece Gornik plays with the juxtaposition of light, in the form of water, moon/sunlight or a lightening strike and dark weight: rocks, sand dunes, pounding seas or a threatening sky, contrasting calm and menace in a way that provokes an almost physical reaction to each painting.

From Turning Waterfall (1997), where the viewer seems to be enveloped by a swirling cascade of silken water, pinned on either side by foreboding rock walls, to Mirror Lake, China (2004), where we gaze from the side of the lake upon an ethereal hazy landscape, the sun only a reflection in the water, we are compelled to be engaged in her landscapes.

The Luminous Landscapes of April Gornik runs through July 5, 2009. In conjunction with the show, Heckscher Museum's Voices and Visions series will feature a lecture/gallery talk with the artist on June 18 at 7pm. Admission to the talk $5.

Check List: Monday PM

bees: hunted

weeds: pulled

beach: walked

weekend: complete

Weekend Achievements...

Monday AM edition:

 

pots of purple basil and oregano added to herb garden

  

Tomatoes, peppers, basil, lemon balm and cilantro in the jumbo container by the barbecue

  

Third attempt at setting the stone (if this doesn't work we'll be calling in the mason)!

Still to do this afternoon:

  

more weeding needed

and it's time for the annual carpenter bee hunt. Those guys will be going down. Spotted four so far, two dead (from the white powder I dusted in the holes last month) and two bent on making the siding into a holey mess.

Certain traditional Memorial Day activities will not be happening:

 

The pool is covered with a layer of pollen and only 73 degrees. Brr

So far...

the weekend has had...

a little of this

a limited amount of that

one of these...

and a lot of...

Craftsman Modern

If I had the need for a bar stool, which I do not, if I even liked bar stools, which, unless they are in a bar, I really don't and if I had $1,400 in the budget, which is never going to happen, this warm, handcrafted, uniquely modern Tractor Bar Stool is the one I would buy.

Designed by BassamFellows as part of their Craftsman Modern collection I love everything about it: the ergonomic solid walnut seat, inspired by a Swiss tractor seat; the leather wrapped footrest; the mid-century feel of the tapered legs. I want to look at every day; to touch it; to sit it on it, elbow resting on the counter, one foot resting gently on that leather bar.

Despite the seductiveness of the image I just painted, practically I have no use for a bar stool but fortunately The Tractor Stool also comes in a regular height model ($1350). That would be better suited to our needs; it's just the thing to add to the table when extra guests turn up unexpectedly and would look gorgeous in The Cool House, or any modern, or Craftsman, interior.

The Craftsman Modern Collection, which includes tables, credenzas and a deceptively simple daybed, is available from The Conran Shop. You can see more of BassamFellows' furniture in a New York Times slideshow of their Philip Johnson designed house.

Trending Pink

OK I'll be honest, I have a sort of pink obsession going on. Maybe I'm influenced by all the azaleas and rhododendrons flowering in the yard right now... but they've bloomed every Spring since we've lived here so there must be more to it than that.

For instance, I've never been tempted to put five shades of shocking pink in one planter before. I'm a minimalist and that would normally drive me crazy.

Maybe it's the really vibrant shades of pink Geberas and Impatiens that the local nursery had on display

Or maybe it was From the Right Bank to the Left Coast who blogged this Radiant Pink sink. A pop of fun pink in an otherwise white space that I'm seriously considering for our kitchen renovation. It would bring a rosy glow into my kitchen every time the sun shone and would do wonders for my skin tone. But I'm a fickle sort... What if I tired of the pink in a year or two?

Luckily there is be a way to get a fuchsia fix without permanent commitment. Danish design group Bodum are bringing colour to their kitchenware this summer - cafetieres and toasters in green, purple, red and pink! They're also introducing this ergonomic Gravity Spice Grinder $29.95. You can enter to win one from PointclickHome here.

Deep, Hot, Hollywood Pink - it's coming close to replacing Chartreuse as my current color of choice. But no matter how enthralled by pink I may become there's still one place I won't go.

There must be something in the air because Fifi Flowers is drinking Pink, while Hooked on houses is swinging on the porch.

Babu the Boar Bookend

Love Babu the cute limited edition leather boar bookend by Zuny. Also available: adorable Lion, woolly Sheep and black and white Dinosaur, at Generate $49 each