:)

august saw us leave the heat for our cottage up north. so good to get away. but great to be back too!




our new scout regalia table arrived on tuesday! the custom color match is perfect. (to our front door and a parsons side-table in our living room.) a table probably shouldn't make me this happy. but it does. and i'm not alone. it is a great addition to our backyard.

d is busy working on our next backyard project. connecting the deck off the modern shed to the pavers in our garden - off the girls' room and our spare room. this will include a chicken-run. can't have those chooks perching on the new table.

a sneak peek:

looking for some colour

we need some colour on the wall of our bedroom patio...

we are looking at a diy project with the girls this weekend. i think something like these would look very pretty hanging on the wall - and would make good use of our large stick collection.


by artist ginette lapalme originally spotted on poppytalk and living on my pinterest for a while now.

the table con't

we contacted scout regalia and learned that they have a table on display at ReForm School in Silverlake, one of my favourite crafty spots. my neighbor and i decided to make a morning of it and visit Potted (for his quest for the perfect patio chair) and ReForm School (for the table).




it was even more beautiful in real life than i imagined. (did not bring the right camera lens to get a good shot - sorry.) really well designed and fabricated. love the detail of enameled aluminum running along the bottom edge of the bench legs. (which you miss in the picture from the last post as it is set in gravel.) really love. sturdy and strong, and i told d i can imagine our grandkids sitting at it. (he thinks i'm crazy - but happy i like the table so much.)

(they have just introduced a white oak version. gorgeous.)

i am sold on the redwood though. perfect for our yard and climate. now to agree on the color for the metal.

excited about the process

backyard table

In the summer we eat 90% of our meals outdoors and our poor old Ikea table is on its last legs.

Looking at options, I can't stop coming back to this table. It seems to me as much a sculpture as a place to dine. I love that it is fabricated here in L.A. with FSC certified redwood. But it is pricier than almost all the other tables we've looked at.

We talked about going DIY. Then I found this and thought it might work. (However the reviews aren't good - and we need something that will stand up to the heat of the Valley.) A beergarden table seemed a fun option. But are these options for a"forever" table?

We have made a commitment to each other to only purchase things for our home that we will want - and hopefully that will last - forever. I'm done purchasing cheap place holders.

Is this the one?

Better start saving, our old table won't last much longer...

backyard tour pt2

my home office



on days i work from home, once the kids head out to school, i head to our modern shed. (once they are home i tend to move back onto the dining room table.) the space is small. cool and comfortable. d has started a deck extension that will integrate it more into our space. this is the summer we dial things in!



CA modern came yesterday to take a few shots for an upcoming article - so the space was looking extra shiny.



thought i'd take a few snaps myself.



older pics here

more backyard wildlife

we also house a small redeared slider in the backyard. we have a large pond in the breezeway but opted for a simple stock-tank pond in the back. i love these images of the stock-tank pool at big bang studio that were circulating around the internet a year or so ago. while we already have a pool - a stock-tank makes a lovely water feature too.



we run a simple electric pump in it. like this one. i had wanted to go solar - but couldn't find one with the power to keep a turtle pond clean. we filled it with large rocks for her to hide and bask on from local shop Jacobi Building Materials. we also stock it with a few aquatic plants, and fish.

i love the sound of running water alongside the multitude of birds our backyard attracts. the turtle seems to like it too.

backyard tour pt1

with the clean lines of our mcm home we have let the landscape be wild. hardscape has straight edges but i am happy to let the plants take over. i love looking outside our large windows into the greenness. (we are more in line with the eames school of landscape and decorating than a minimalist approach.)

our yard is a grouping of zones: "farm", office, pool, eating, sitting...



we have three raised beds off of our main patio. two we use for veggies (to augment what we receive via our CSA) and the third for cut flowers. it is between seasons right now. i have started to clear a bit. and made room for three heirloom tomato plants. the arugula has bolted. but i love the fine flowers - and haven't had the heart to yank it yet.



d built these out of untreated redwood 2 x 6's stacked two high. two are 4 x 4 feet and the third started life as our sandbox and was tweaked to run 2 x 6 feet.



the fancy chicken wire fence. longterm temporary (a common phrase around here) while we design a new chicken run. we need it, to keep chooks - and the broccoli-loving dog - out. natch.

gone to pot

true to my promise to myself to jazz up our plant life i have made a few trips to potted. convenient: as we are also doing a school re-greening project only a couple of blocks away. inspiring: potted has a wonderful collection of pots, plant material, garden accessories, and installation ideas. and there is a great indian restaurant next door. (which included a moby siting.) win. win. win.

i've picked up two beautiful pots - and my dream birdbath - which k has further jazzed with the addition of a porcelain pigeon i thought i had hidden away. anyway, speaking of pigeons...



i love this pot. and finally ordered it. so much loveliness at pigeon toe ceramics.

so funny to learn that my dear friend received the same pot at almost the same time. this staghorn fern would be oh so much happier hanging out in portland rather than here. to up the humidity ante, it is currently living in our shower. rain in the forecast will hopefully allow it a foray outside over the weekend. and i think eventually - a move north is in its future. i will work to keep it alive until then.

a succulent would - and will - be a much better way to go. (i am working on two macrame hangers for potted succulents. i'm on a bit of a macrame kick. ambitious plans. i will share soon.)

homework this weekend

the poppies really swung into bloom. did some weeding.


attended tomatomania with j. purchased chika; red pear heirlooms; and yellow brandywine varieties. thought about clearing the garden beds - but so loving all the greens gone to seed. the ground is too wet still anyway. should be perfect to plant this weekend.


last of the new windows and doors arrived. did a happy dance! (this has been a labour of love. started by d with the kitchen redo in 2006. we are half-way through five years later with custom mulled aluminium windows on the front-side of the house. the original windows were wood framed bottoms with aluminium tops. cheap and easy off-the-shelf circa 1955. we said no-way to vinyl. so glad. these are beautiful. so excited to be finishing this project up.)

then and now.

gathering up images for a proposed magazine article on modern office spaces for modern homes.

revisiting the "life" of our modern shed.







man that tree - and that kid of ours - have grown!

lights on.

it is a tradition in our neighborhood to get your holiday bling going over the Thanksgiving weekend. D prefers to wait until the first weekend in December. but surprised me yesterday by setting the house aglow. xo

pool inspiration

have had this on my desktop for the last few weeks - and now have seen in popping up again around the internet. better here to remember.

via remodelista.

(and my friend ang.)

yard to do list. part I.

drill holes in that old artwork leaning against the fence and turn it into a vertical garden like that clipping from the LA Times on my inspiration board. (swap out the vegetables for succulents.)



think out the plantings around the pool. think native.



figure out what to do about the outdoor table. can it be saved? paint it grey to match the shed... or say hello to something new?