Lonny Magazine

Newest edition of Lonny Magazine is here!

Garden Inspiration

With the construction of the house almost complete, it's on with the next phase of this house's facelift and my focus is on the landscaping, especially around the front door. I love the look of gravel against shrubs of lavender and sage. I am interested in growing vines against the cinder block wall but I also like the idea of having roses as well. There are infinite ways of going about the design but I am geared toward indigenous and drought tolerant plants (not sure if rose's are in that category). Here are some of my inspiration photos, with more to come in the future.

Progress Report

The addition to the house is almost complete. We are waiting on some more reclaimed wood from a barge in Hawaii which we are expecting today. The reclaimed wood is being used for the siding and wood decking. I thought I would post some progress photo shots of the house.

Ojai Calling

We arrived home from our leisurely trip less than two weeks ago and I already feel like I need another vacation. I hit the ground running as soon as we landed from Miami. We found a tenant and he wanted to take possesion in a week so I have been hustling coordinating painters, cleaners, movers, etc. It's a shame that the house we rented is not cash flow positive because I would love to justify a weekend jaunt to the Ojai Valley Inn to partake in some sun bathing by the pool, spa treatments and delightful cuisine. The Spanish style architecture of the inn and the grounds are gorgeous! The inn was developed in the early 1900s as a private country club and has gone through many transitions before it was privately purchased and transformed in a 90 million dollar renovation. The interior design reminds me of Kathryn Ireland's style though I am pretty sure the inn hired another firm. The rooms are decorated in stripes, florals and geometric cotton fabrics in shades of blue, marigold and rust. Charlotte, I think we are due for another visit soon!

Lulu DK

I have been in awe of Lulu De Kwaitowski ever since I saw her featured in the book Bright Young Things by Brooke De Ocampo many years ago. I wanted to know more about this beautiful, sensual, creative woman. It seemed shortly after the book came out I noticed that she had launched a colorful and bold fabric line which had an immediate following among designers. Needless to say, the fabric line is hugely successful and she has expanded her design influence to include a line of bedding for Matouk and a leather collection for Elite Leather Furniture . She also published a book featuring her collection of collages that are now currently showing at CLIC Gallery in Soho in New York. All this and she has time to write a blog. I just found out about her blog today and read that she just spoke at Pottery Barn in Santa Monica. Bummer! I would have loved to have been there. As a mother of a one year old, I don't understand how she accomplishes so much with three children and a husband. Once again, I am in awe.

Lulu DK Moondance on settee

Lulu DK Chant on shades and pillows

Pillows for Matouk

Bedding for Matouk

My favorite Lulu collage

Tim Clarke

I have been crazy busy since we arrived from vacation last week getting our rental property in Venice move in ready. We had an offer from someone who was wanting us to fully furnish the house and it sounded very tempting. Though the timing could not be worse. Justifying the cost to furnish from cutlery to linens was not feasible after considering we are only seventy percent done with the construction on the house we live in. In order to avoid a coronary mid way through the project, we reluctantly passed on the offer. But it has really got us thinking about converting the standard rental in Venice to a vacation rental in the future. Not only would it bring in more income, but Marc and I could use it on the days it is not rented and hang out with our friends. (I know this sounds ridiculous for those who do not live in LA but if you move more than eight miles from your friends, you will probably never see them again. The traffic is just hideous here.) I have been on Tim Clarke's website dreaming of what the rental could look like if I had the necessary funds to hire someone at his scale. A girl can dream. His "Coastal Modern" look is my favorite.

Sheila Bridges

I've had Sheila Bridges on the brain ever since I stayed at Casa Tua. I watched episodes of Designer Living on demand about a hundred times. Her manner on the show helped me understand good design and made good design approachable. I went on her website today and saw that she updated her portfolio. This roof deck is breathtaking. I hope to see more of her work featured in more shelter magazines. I know she has been spending time developing her own product line as well as designing outdoor furniture for Arthur Lauer.