Hanging Pictures

Slim Aarons

Yesterday I scheduled my art installer. He is coming over next Thursday to hang all the art in all sixteen areas of the house. It is a big project for me to figure out where everything goes. He sounds great - he was recommended by a follower of CC and the name of his business is The Hanging Man. Perfect. 

I worked all day yesterday on this project. I have it well in hand, but have a few loose ends.

I have always sworn by hanging art at the iconic 57" center height, but wonder if we will raise this to 60" or so with my high ceilings.

I would love to do a gallery wall in my walk in closet inspired by Danielle Rollins' stunning closet. This will take some planning.

Danielle Rollins - Veranda

Danielle Rollins

I have way too much art and will not be using everything, but I want to acquire one very large piece for above the living room sofa. I think I would like a very large framed photograph and have narrowed it down to two choices. One would be a Slim Aarons photograph - I have always wanted one. Especially one taken in Florida. The other option is this - last winter in the Sarasota house a follower mentioned a photographer in Venice who does palm trees and the like - very Old Florida. I need his name if you are reading this and thanks!

I am really looking forward to getting this project done now that all the furniture is here and I have gotten to know the house. 

Amanda Lindroth and Old Florida

Tommy Bahama/Kayu

I had a lovely day in the garden yesterday and got lots done. I did take an hour to come inside for a great Zoom presentation by Amanda Lindroth. I find many of these interior design zooms I get invitations to are a waste of my time and I either leave it or multi-task, but this one was wonderful. She spent much of it talking about growing up in Florida in the sixties and seventies and Florida style and of course the Bahamas where she is based now. She talked about....

*Jack Rogers sandals that I live in - 

Jack Rogers - Southern Living

*Slim Aarons photography and vintage Lilly Pulitzer. Amanda mentioned the smell of the Lilly Pulitzer store because of the unique smell of the fabric and how when you shopped at Lilly in Palm Beach they would wrap your purchase in a cellophane bag with ribbons matching the fabric you chose. 

Slim Arrons - Vintage Lilly Pulitzer

*The John Deering estate in Miami that I would love to visit -

Vizcaya

*I was fascinated to learn that she grew up in a stark Danish modern house as did I as our styles now are very similar and not at all like the homes we grew up in. She said she had to learn about pattern and color because her mother slipcovered everything in white cotton duck. The house I lived in during law school was very grand and in the summers the owners pulled up all the antique oriental rugs and covered all the furniture in white cotton duck. It's a great look. Bunny Williams does this in light blue in her Punta Cana home.

Bunny Williams

*Since moving to Florida, I rarely buy cut flowers and Amanda mentioned how in the Bahamas they are very hard to come by and very expensive, so she cuts palm fronds and bougainvillea and gardenias from the garden. I have lots of palms and bougainvillea, and would love a gardenia bush, but have read they are difficult. I would love to plant one near the lanai to enjoy the smell while sitting out there.

Gardenia

 *That every room needs books even if you don't read them  - I'm not sure she meant the kitchen and bathrooms - LOL - but I agree.

Bunny Williams

There are so many more gems to share I think I will do a Part 2 of this post. Hope you enjoyed it. And that cute little raffia pouch pictured at the top arrives today in the mail.

Monkey Business

Herend Monkey

My daughter and I both collect monkeys and yesterday I added four to my menagerie from HomeGoods. I thought you might enjoy a little tour of my monkey house - but it smells great! Monkeys are quintessentially Chinoiserie and I love their whimsy and charm.

I learned that Florida has a growing population of Rhesus Macaque monkeys not native to Florida because in the 1930s and 1940s, the owner of a glass bottom boat business released a dozen of these monkeys to increase his tourism business and they now number in the hundreds.

Herend Monkey

HomeGoods Monkey

HomeGoods Monkeys

Mottahedeh Monkeys

HomeGoods Monkey - previous find

Goodwill Monkey

Goodwill Monkey

HomeGoods Monkey

From My Kitchen Window & Sofas!

This is the view from my kitchen aquarium window I wanted to share with you - a rare overcast day here in almost always sunny Florida, but still stunning. So Old Florida.

The hurricane(s) will apparently be missing here, and I ending up staying in all day and just relaxing - there may have been a Bloody Mary for brunch involved (Back Pocket Provisions - the best Bloody Mary mixers). I am trying to decompress.

I did take some photos despite the lack of sun and lack of art on the walls yet. I mentioned that I am having all the art professionally hung and have been waiting on all the furniture deliveries first. The dining table should arrive shortly.

Chinoiserie Outdoors

Les Ensembliers

I posted about this Palm Beach home back in February and interestingly, my new home reminds me of it a bit. Both are one level, stucco, palm trees in front, oversized coach lanterns, more formal Palm Beach than Tuscan.

My Home

You may recall that we chatted about the two pairs of ginger jars in front of the Palm Beach home and decided it was risky in terms of the ginger jars being stolen or toppling over.

I have an idea I love for adding more blue and white Chinese porcelain to the front of my home. I already have added a pair of vintage blue and white Chinese garden stools that have been outdoors in my garden for over thirty years!

Here they are with my gorgeous reclaimed lobster rope door mat from 30 Fathom that I adore if it is possible to adore a door mat. I do!

My new idea is that outside the covered area I will use my pair of blue and white Chinese porcelain fishbowls with a pair of topiaries - either lemon or lime trees or Eugenia. I rescued the fishbowls from Sandbagger where they were in the lanai with a pair of palms. Using palms here would be silly because I already have massive royal palms in the front yard and they would get lost in the shuffle.

Here are lemon topiaries in fishbowls via Mary McDonald.

Mary McDonald

BTW, Venice is very low crime, my gated community is very safe, and I feel that they would be fine outside here. I might buzz over to Home Depot and see what they have. Any experience growing lemon or lime trees? I think it would be very chic and very Old Florida.

BTW, I had five guys working on my garden yesterday and it looks wonderful. My gardener is extremely knowledgeable about Florida plants and things went absolutely great. Now I can start having fun in the garden since all the "heavy lifting" is done.

More Projects

Robin Weiss - Traditional Home

I slept in this morning and it felt so wonderful. I have always slept great, but not these last few months. You can't sleep when you are not safe. Wasn't there a movie "Sleeping With The Enemy" several years ago?  Now I am back to sleeping like a baby.

My handyman comes over today and I am excited to get my punch list taken care of, including of course hanging the lighting. I have never had 10 and 12 foot ceilings before and the conventional wisdom is to hang fixtures higher - like 3" higher for each foot over 8.' Advice on this?

Thanks to my follower who recommended an art installer for me. I spoke with him yesterday and he sounds wonderful - I am having him over for a day to hang everything for me as soon my sofas and dining table arrive. I timed the orders to arrive after my painters finished but still not shipped. The best laid plans of mice and men....

Just now as I sit in the lanai. Good morning.

There was an ocelot sleeping under a tree at my old neighborhood the other day. Seriously?

I am so far ahead of the curve, that I am ready to attack the garden - in a good way. I met with my lawn/shrub/tree care guy yesterday. I also met with my gardener. I'm so excited to get this garden beautiful - the sellers were here part time and had health issues and the garden is lovely, but needs my TLC and filling in some spots. I know lots about gardening - for my new followers I studied landscape design at my law school alma mater GW and am a Master Gardener, but am a new Florida gardener. I had hoped to take the Master Gardener course here, but it may well be on hold.

So to my Florida followers, advice on favorite books, plants, and the like would be of great help. Things are quiet here - the VAST majority of residents are snow birds, and this is great timing to get things done. I am excited to start this project. I am hoping to combine a more formal English garden with a very Palm Beach Old Florida feel if you can envision that. The Palmer Weiss Palm Beach home pictured above is a great example.

I met two new neighbors yesterday and have been invited for cocktails in the lanai with the puppies. Lanais are a great way to socialize and social distance. Speaking of puppies, I went grocery shopping and got them their veggies - they love asparagus, Brussel sprouts, corn, carrots, edamame, you name it. So cute. Last night we all had linguine with Boursin. "Lady and the Tramp" LOL

They eat what I eat every night for dinner. They are serious gourmets.

This and That

My Garage/Staging Area

Yesterday I arrived at the house around 9 AM and the painters were already hard at work with classical music and opera wafting throughout the house. Not your typical painters for sure.

We decided on Benjamin Moore Aura Matte in Classic Gray for the walls. The Samplize samples were great and I highly recommend this product. Beautifully painted (with the actual paint) and packaged with quick arrival, they are easy to use - peel and stick and you can move them around from room to room.

Samplize paint samples

It's the one in the middle.

And we selected the orange for the guest bath. Benjamin Moore Tandoori - we are using it on the wainscoting, baseboards, crown molding and door. It will be a little jewel box.

Here is my Chinoiserie wallpaper with Benjamin Moore Tandoori.

Each day I take two trips to the new house with breakables and such. So much easier than packing and unpacking. I'm using my garage as a staging area while the painters are in the house.

I ordered the pink Dyson cordless stick vacuum. Why? It's pink. End of story. LOL

I usually read a hundred reviews and research for hours and not this time. It had me at pink Dyson. It has been shipped already. BTW it's the V7 Motorhead.

PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I texted with the owner weaver of the lobster rope doormat business. Turns out they are from Baltimore and Annapolis and now have homes in Canada and Florida. They are hand delivering my two mats this weekend to my house.

I think these reclaimed lobster rope doormats are stunning. Durable and so unique, they are woven from rope that once tethered lobster traps in the sea. To protect whales which often became snared in the rope, a heavier sink rope is now used. Tens of thousands of tons of sink rope slated for landfills is now being used by a few companies to create these historical and authentic mats. Lobster rope doormats are also woven out of new lobster rope which comes in a huge variety of colors, but I love the muted shades of the reclaimed. Someone commented to me yesterday that she has one and they are the only doormats that hold up beautifully year after year with our intense sun.

While researching these doormats to purchase one for my new home, I happened upon 30 Fathom Doormats and learned that, as I mentioned, they have a place in Canada and a place in Florida not far from me and the owner even weaves doormats from locally sourced Florida recycled rope. I was thrilled that I could source this locally.

I am getting two for my new home and will post pictures next week. One of the doormats I have chosen, the charcoal colored rope was from lobster fishing at Big Pine Key, and the pale blue was deep water off Ft. Lauderdale for golden crab. The owner was telling me they spend hours retrieving, detangling, and cleaning the rope. This is the Old Florida I love so much. This is charming.


Please check out the website. The owner is happy to work with you on custom colors and sizes.

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats