sandr018

Do you decorate for Halloween? I've never been interested in the holiday other than the candy (and I don't even have much of a sweet tooth!) but I do enjoy seeing how people have fun decorating their houses. This house above in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington (recently renovated by BarnesVanze Architects ) got into the spirit with this spooky ghost in the vestibule. Georgetown is particularly spooky over Halloween with many houses decorating their front yards. Trick or treating in Georgetown is INSANE. I loved this corrugated plastic BOO! along O street in the East Village. Don't forget to brush your teeth!

I was thrilled to have lunch recently with one of my favorite bloggers, The Blue Remembered Hills , while he was traveling through DC. As so often happens when bloggers meet for the first time we began chatting at once like old friends and eventually the topic naturally veered towards design. Both of us have 'pet peeves' with wordage, his being the incorrect use of the word couch  instead of sofa (mine is the incorrect use of  home vs. house ). Above you see the famous couch of Madame Recamier. The term sofa is what we normally are talking about, the article of furniture found in everyone's living room. It's not a 'formal' term or interchangeable with couch -they are DIFFERENT things. A couch is a specific term reserved for pieces of furniture on which one lies. I immediately thought of Madame Recamier, so well known for having been painted in repose by numerous artists. While in the Louvre on my last visit I loved Madame Recamier's furniture made for her ...

  image by don0626 on Flickr One of my favorite parts of traveling, particularly in the northeast and midwest, is that you never know what you may stumble upon house-wise. Every city or town no matter the size has its area of inspiring houses. Recently I was in Alliance, Ohio, and stumbled upon a castle. The castle seen here isn't in Wales or Scotland this is small town America! Glamorgan Castle was built in 1904 by Cleveland architect Willard Hirsh for the Morgan family. Col. Morgan sent Hirsh to travel Wales and study medieval castles to come up with an original design for the family. I wish I could find a client like that! I was recently reading about porte cocheres on Things that Inspire and this is an impressive example she could have added to her post! I've never seen such a large porte cochere before, particularly one with a flight of steps up to the front door. Don't let the scale fool you -this front door is massive. This enormous ornate 'door knocker' ac...

I had the pleasure earlier this week of attending a presentation by husband & wife fabric designers Elizabeth Hamilton and Peter Fasano at the beautiful John Rosselli showroom here in Washington earlier this week. I had first heard of the design duo on everyone's favorite design blog Style Court who frequently references their work. Events like this aren't only great learning experiences but a fun chance to catch up with friends. Due to some unfortunate weather the crew was small but vivacious.  The ever lovely Sally Steponkus , Josh Hildreth , Frank Babb Randolph (who doesn't have a website but then again is a self-professed NON-reader of blogs), and Atlanta's notable blogger ' The Blue Remembered Hills ' (amongst others) were on hand to learn about hand printed and hand painted fabrics. The banter between Elizabeth and Peter was almost as interesting as the discussion of how they produce their fabrics; both those readily available (at John Rosselli ) a...

Join the ICAA next week (Wednesday, Oct 22 2014 from 6:15-8:30 PM) for an exciting tour of the newly restored Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office in Washington's recently gentrified Gallery Place / Chinatown.   image by Pepper Watkins The tour will include the museum director relating the history of Clara Barton followed by how the research was conducted to fulfill the 16 year conservation and restoration of this forgotten gem from the Civil War era. 2 AIA learning units are available for those who need them and fun will be had by all. Join me there! image from OLBN  architects The cost is $10 for ICAA members and $25 to the general public. To reserve your spot please email Susan Sapiro at susan.sapiro@classicist-washington.org.  The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office is located at 437 7th Street NW.

I'm so proud of my good friend Michael Hampton .  Not only is he a talented designer but did you know he is an accomplished artist as well? Next Friday evening, October 17th, from 6-8 is the opening of a show of his Architectural Watercolors (some pictured here) at Susan Calloway Fine Arts here in Georgetown. I recently purchased one of his architectural watercolors myself and the amount of time and research he spends on their execution is really impressive. Michael continually hones his watercolor skills through the many recent classes he has taken including ones offered by the ICAA . One can always learn and grow! If you're in Washington I hope you will take the time to visit Michael's exhibit (on view until November 15) even if you can't make it to the opening at Susan Calloway Fine Arts  (October 17, 2014 from 6-8pm).  Also be sure to check out his website for more of his watercolors as well as his design portfolio; prepare to be impressed!

This past weekend I visited charming Middleburg, Virginia, the heart of Washington equestrian life. While there I shopped -  naturally! One of my favorite finds was the antique & design shop Foxfire . Located in the heart of town Foxfire features a number of continental antiques, primarily French, but a few in particular caught my eye.  These French metal armchairs would be great sanded and painted a deep forest green or even black. I spent a lot of time lounging in these 1930s club chairs with original leather. I love that the seat has been reupholstered in a brown velvet so your legs won't stick or slip on the leather cushion, depending on the time of year. These artistic mirrors were my favorite piece in the store, though clearly not real antiques. An artist takes a number of different minerals to the backs of regular mirror to create very colorful versions of 'antiqued' mirror (the stylish smoky glass you so often see). Some versions of this were imprinted with desi...