Alfresco Sunday

Sunday .... the perfect time for an outdoors lunch - enjoy!

Sweet Saturday

Fill your Saturday with sweet and pretty things - enjoy!

Happy Weekend

I'll be very busy this weekend. Tomorrow is the designer tag sale which I'm very excited about. I'll also be cleaning out my garage and hopefully starting a new desk project. Hope you guys have some great plans...Happy Weekend Everyone!

Picture from The Decorista

i am not the only one who loves macaroni and cheese....

Ou Ravi Provencau restaurant in the village of Maussane les Alpilles makes the best macaroni and cheese. I know that sounds like a strange dish for a place like this but believe me there is nothing but foodie heaven after this taste sensation. I am sure the chef Jean Francois Richard would prefer that I write lyrically of his boeuf en daube, his home wood-fired jambon or his fois gras with petit radis and cornichons but I am a woman with simple tastes and sometimes macaroni cheese just hits the spot. Let me clarify ....the macaroni cheese is an accompaniment to his Provencal cooking but I wouldn't be all together truthful if I didn't admit to sometimes ordering for this side dish alone.

Ou Ravi has the prettiest decor imaginable - in the French country way - Pierre Deux meets Souleiado with a touch of Anthropologie thrown in. The fabrics are colourful, richly patterned and in abundance on the tables, chairs, banquettes and in the heavy curtains that keep the chill at bay on winter evenings. The china, pretty as a picture with floral motifs, changes for each course - I always want to throw my simple whites away after eating here; there is something so cosy and so comforting about old-style Provencal decor. I often think I prefer Ou Ravi in the winter, when we are tucked up inside with the log fire burning and the velvet curtains pulled tight against the night. A balmy summer evening sitting in the courtyard out back with flickering candlelight and I am not so sure.... All I know is that the macaroni and cheese tastes pretty good whatever the temperature.....

....The wall of photos is in the entrance hall....and it would appear that many famous folk have enjoyed the mac and cheese too....xv

Ou Ravi Provencau

34, av Vallee des Baux

13520 Maussane les Alpilles

+33 4 90 54 31 11 

www.ouravi.net

image - me

Fabulous Room Friday 07.30.10

I’ve been brainstorming all types of ideas for an upcoming project and have been spending even more time in my office than usual. Naturally, this draws me to inspiring work spaces even more. I love this office by Los Angeles interior decorator, Vanessa de Vargas of Turquoise. The room is filled with various patterns, yet it maintains a very streamlined feeling through the use of furniture with clean, straight lines. The chevron stripe rug is easily the boldest element in the room, but it’s geometric nature and black and white palette keep it from taking over the room.

{ The wallpaper certainly makes a statement, but again, it acts as a sort of neutral given the colorway that was selected. It adds interest to the room without being too much! By the way, isn’t this console fantastic? I love the knobs and I’m sure it makes a great storage piece. If I had the room in my office, I would definitely think about finding a vintage console, buffet, or credenza in it.}

{This throw pillow is done in the same fabric as the desk chair in the first image. Vanessa frequently updates and redesigns vintage furniture. The lines of this chair are fantastic. I have a bit of an addiction to vintage chairs and beautiful lighting.}

 

Image Credit: Turquoise

All Washed Up

Washing up may not be the most popular chore but it would certainly be better at one of these beautiful sinks!

Love .... (More) Peonies

Sharing The Love

Sign up for One Kings Lane from now until August 12th and get an instant $10 shopping credit. They have some great sales going on at the moment from Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams to Arcuisine. Who can say no to a good sale?...Happy Shopping Everyone!

P.S. If you would like to invite your friends click here so you can share the LOVE.

The Style Files: Gale Singer

{The Circa Lighting store in Houston}

Circa Lighting has become synonymous with timeless, classic, well-made lighting. The company was founded in 1998 in Savannah, Georgia by Gale Singer, who is the face behind this wonderful company. Prior to opening her first store in Savannah, Georgia, she spent ten years working for Visual Comfort (owned by brother Andy Singer), the company which manufactures most of her lighting. After the Savannah store proved to be a success, flagship stores were opened in Atlanta, Charleston, and Houston. The company continues to grow and will hopefully expand into other parts of the country in the future.

Circa's mission is to offer "quality lighting, lamps, and accessories that are as beautiful as they are timeless." The product line is comprised of thousands of items, each of which come in a variety of finishes and all of which are sure to appeal to various design aesthetics. The pieces in the collection were designed by some of the country's foremost designers including Alexa Hampton, Thomas O'Brien, Michael S. Smith, Clodagh, Barbara Barry, Bill Blass, Sandy Chapman, Eric Cohler, Suzanne Kasler, and J.Randall Powers. There is something for everyone from traditional hand-finished bronze pieces to crystal lamps, and industrial-inspired ceiling fixtures.

 

Name: Gale Singer

Occupation: Owner, Circa Lighting

Hometown: New York, New York

Current City: Savannah, Georgia

 

{The timeless Abbot Single-Arm Sconce adds glamour with its Greek key detail to this beautiful vignette by Melissa Warner.}

 

LDV: What inspired you to found Circa Lighting?

GS: After working for Visual Comfort for ten years, I moved to Savannah. While trying to figure out what I was going to do, I said “go with what you know, the lighting business”. No one was doing a well-edited, boutique-like lighting showroom at the time. I found 375 square feet in Savannah’s historic district and the rest is history!

{The fabulous Hicks Pendant is a perennial favorite of interior designers and design enthusiasts.}

 

LDV: What do you love most about it?

GS: I love how both Visual Comfort and Circa Lighting have grown and how lucky we are to be selling this beautifully-designed product. I love retail. I love the reaction when people walk into our showrooms.

{Industrial Redux: Country Industrial Pendant, Eugene Pendant, Yoke Pendant}

 

LDV: What is the most challenging aspect?

GS: Teaching clients to think about lighting first, instead of as an afterthought.

{Image via Real Simple}

 

LDV: Where do you find inspiration?

GS: Magazines, magazines, magazines

{A Room featured in Thomas O’Brien’s book, American Modern}

 

LDV: Who is one of your personal style icons?

GS: Thomas O’Brien for his diversity.

{Circa Lighting’s Statement-Making Zodiac Pendant and Studio Floor Lamps

Image via Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine}

 

LDV: How would you describe your own style?

GS: Eclectic. I know that may sound cliché, but it’s pretty accurate.

 

{Lucky Clover: Basil Flush Mount and Quatrefoil Floor Lamp}

LDV: What is the trait you most admire in a person?

GS: Honesty

{A Home featuring Circa’s Boston Functional Two-Arm Wall Lights}

LDV: What is your principal weakness?

GS: My son.

{Circa’s Gorgeous Alabaster Ring Lamps (a personal favorite), as featured in the August 2010 issue of ELLE DECOR}

LDV: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

GS: Whatever you do, do your best.

{Side by side Vendome Chandeliers add an unexpected touch to this dining room.}

 

LDV:  What do you consider your greatest achievement?

GS: Being a good friend

{The French Deco Horn Sconces add Glamour to this bathroom by Angie Hranowsky}

 

LDV: What is your idea of living “la dolce vita”?

GS: Having joy everyday. Maybe not all day, everyday, but everyday. Loving my work, friends, family…

 

 

{Image via Domino}

Bloom: Sunflower

Drink: Wine

{Delectable Image via Mary Ruffle}

Food: Crusty Bread

Thing to Wear: Ugg Boots

Season: Fall

{Parisian Breakfast}

Meal: Breakfast

Musician: Bruce Springsteen

Artist: There are too many. I am surrounded by so many incredible local artists in Savannah.

Film: Harold and Maude

Television Show: Modern Family

Book: Anything by Anne Tyler

Magazines: There are too many to name!

the french market and hats... hats and more hats...

Each summer I find something that I 'can't live' without that is sold in the weekly markets. Last year it was a particular basket, the year before it was patterned quilts (they have become my tablecloth of choice) and this year....it is hats. Panamas and straws are in every market in the greatest shapes. I have taken a liking to the cute style that covers low over the forehead and flips up jauntily at the back. 

My little routine, to justify my growing hat obsession, goes something like this ....I leave the house for the market and conveniently forget to take my hat which means I must buy another one to protect myself from the sun. Last year same routine...forgot the basket....and the collection expanded in no time. It was so much more difficult the year before to rationalise the growing number of quilts .......Besides, whenever has too many of anything been a valid excuse for not buying more.... Click HERE for the market days in Provence.

So this year, hats it is .........xv

image - me