Wildflowers Everywhere!

This is just so charming.....

Don't get me wrong.  I love living at Lake Tahoe, especially in the summer time.  It has it's very own charms.

Here's what's going on at my favorite beach this week...

Lupins in full bloom!!!  These are actually chest high now.  

Otis amidst the lupins.  

Aren't they amazing!!!  

It's beautiful here year round, but these are perhaps my very favorite weeks of the year.  All around, the wildflowers are bursting forth in bloom, the leaves have that fresh green, just budded out look to them and the grasses are bright green and growing inches every day.  Streams and creeks are flowing and small animals and birds are everywhere you cast your eyes. Life in all its exuberance is all around.  

And speaking of wildflowers, I'm working on a project right now, where we have a tile artist creating a custom tile mural featuring Tahoe wildflowers.  Below is another piece from the artist, but ours will not be roses, of course.  I have sent the artist photos of all my favorite wildflowers. We have approved a sketch and now the artist painstakingly carves the new design into a mold from which she will cast the actual tiles.  Can't wait to see it when it's finished!  

Cabin Charm

Every once in a while, I get to work on a gem of a project.  This little kitchen is just that.  A charming 1940's cabin nestled into a lakefront lot on one of Tahoe's best sandy beaches, it was big on character and low on modern function.

When it came time to remodel, the homeowner wanted to update and shore up the place, which was originally built for summer living only.  The main concern was that the modernization be done without destroying the "Old Tahoe" character of the place.  We tore out, but replaced, most of the original pickwick pine, ripped out the bathroom and the kitchen, lifted the ceiling, installed a fabulous river rock fireplace and rewired and replumbed.

One day, the contractor called absolutely stunned, "When we removed the shower pan, we found... sand. No pipes, nothing.  The water just drained right out into the beach!"

Anyway, back to the kitchen...

You can see in the photo how tiny the kitchen actually is.  The cabinets were all made up custom on the site from knotty pine and the floor is antique hickory in random planks.  Over time, the pine walls, ceiling and cabinets will become honey color with age and use.  The antique antler light fixture is something I found for the client in Europe.  

Wanting, to keep the 1940's feeling intact, we purchased "retro" appliances that are actually brand new.

The client fell in love with this hand-crafted series of pine cone, bear and bee motif tiles.  They were all made up custom in our color preferences.  In order to order the tile for a complicated installation like this, it was necessary for me to draw the backsplashes with every tile sketched into its exact location.  These drawings then gave the tile installers a map with which to work.

Here you see a detail of the tile.  We used many shapes and patterns, putting it all together like a jigsaw puzzle.  On the bottom row, next to the counter we used a little pine cone liner, above that, a pattern of bears, above that a series of green and yellow 2 x 2's featuring several dozen different woodland animals.  This is topped with a twig liner, then a stunning pine cone border tile which we used to wrap around the windows instead of using wood trim.  

Another view of the charming yellow retro fridge and stove.  

Above, details of some of the bear tile insets and bee patterns we used.  On the left hand side of the photo, the little projection is a twig shaped hook that can be used to hang a kitchen towel.

More of the backsplash.  Notice the bee patterned tile that was used to trim the apron front on the counter top.  

Because the kitchen was so small and we wanted to include as much of the tile as possible, we elected to take the tile up to the ceiling and to surround the windows with it.  

This client doesn't cook much and she's usually only up for a few days at a time, but she does use her kitchen to prepare breakfasts and to serve up snacks and drinks for beach-goers.  It is the perfect little kitchen for this.  It's such a pleasure to be in, filled with light and whimsey.  

It's a jaw dropper, too.  I've been on the site countless times when someone new comes in and usually there is a moment of speechlessness... and then pure delight breaks out!

What a Hoot!

What could be more charming than this delightful Arts and Crafts inspired tile from Pratt and Larson:

Pratt and Larson has a beautiful array of colors, textures and creatures to choose from.  

Tile, Tile, Tile Part 3

This past summer I had the opportunity to work on an absolutely charming little 40's lake front cabin.  The client and I had so much fun creating all kinds of adorable details throughout the cabin, but the real icing on the cake is the tile in the bathroom and kitchen.

All the tile in these two rooms is from Pratt and Larson and it is hand molded and hand painted.

First the bathroom:

Since the cabin is located at the lake we decided on an underwater scene below and an above ground scene above.

We chose water colors for the lower section on the walls and the decos all feature swimming fish, turtles and frogs.  At the very bottom there are aquatic plants (sorry the photo doesn't show these very well).

Below, a detail of the charming pine trim and picwick pine ceilings we installed throughout this cabin.

Above, you see the water line freeze with the pebble border detail and a delightful soap dish above the vanity.

There are a series of towel hooks featuring woodland creatures.

Above, the toilet paper holder.

Birds and bees fly around the sky area.  The window molding features a flower and bee trim piece.  

And now the kitchen:

Since this is Tahoe, we selected bears as our theme.  We also added a bee hives series and lots of flying bees.  

The bee hive is trimmed with twig shaped tiles.  Right above the counter top you can just make out a series of small pine-cone decos.  Above the bears is a border of mountain animals in green and yellow 2 x 2's.  Trimming out the front of the granite counter-top on the apron is the same bee and flower trim tile used to surround the window in the bathroom. 

The appliances are new retro style in an effort to fit in with the 1940's age of the cabin.

Below, a detail of the kitchen windows shows the beautiful detail on all the border theme pieces.  

Tile, Tile, Tile Part 2

This is the second installment in a series chronicling my summer tile adventures.

The photos below are from a brand-new Arts and Crafts style house. It's such a charming little house and as the project progresses I'm really falling in love with all the custom woodwork and one-of-a-kind detailing that is going into it.

I have to say that this is the most enjoyment I have ever seen a client get from tile.  This client collected authentic Arts and Craft decos as well as modern reproductions from many sources.  They are tucked into the tile and flooring throughout the house.  She had a wonderful time tracking down each and every deco tile. After all, the fun is in the hunt, right?

Let's start with the fireplace. This was the first tile we purchased and it set the tone for the house.  We found this tile in an antique mall in Sonoma County.  The 4 x 4 Monterey Pottery tile as well as the decos are all original Arts and Crafts tiles that had never been used before.  We were so excited to find the whole cache that we scooped it right up, though we knew we would be a little shy of the total needed for the fireplace. 

We solved the quantity problem by topping the hearth off in brand new 2 x 2's that we had custom made in colors to match the older tile. 

There is a lot of woodwork in this house and the floor will be wood, too.  I'm really glad we added this colorful fireplace because I find that in houses with wood walls and floors, color tends to disappear making it easy to end up with dark, bland rooms.  As the antiqued wood floors and antique Arts and Crafts furnishings go in (primarily dark stained wood and leather), this tile will tone down and become one of the few color pops in the room. 

By the way, the other bit of color planned for the room will be curtains in this fabulous large-scale Mulberry Flying Ducks fabric.

http://www.dragonflytahoe.com/mulberry-home-flying-ducks-fabric-choose-from-4-colorways/

Isn't it beautiful!  You can buy it here, and it comes with matching wallpaper, here.

Although many authentic antique Arts and Crafts furnishings and fittings will be used in the house, the client did not wish to sacrifice modern function and practicality, so the house is becoming what we like to call an "updated mountain version of Arts and Crafts".  This is especially true in the kitchen where we used modern appliances and granite counter-tops which can easily be wiped clean.



The photo above shows the kitchen tile above the cook-top.  Unfortunately, I don't have a finished photo with the tile grouted.  Here, we mixed modern and old.  The ginko tiles are current but are made from old patterns.  We mixed them with slate, Pratt and Larson 4 x 4's in an Arts and Crafts glaze and a fabulous Art and Craft inspired mosaic from Syzygy Tileworks.

In the master bathroom, we used custom Syzgy tile again in an Arts and Crafts inspired deco panel. 

There is a gorgeous copper sunflower tile featured in the center of this.  The strip of glass up the right side of the back shower wall is also trimmed with Syzygy mosaics.  Here is a close up of the deco panel:

And below, the vanity back splash has just been installed:

Finally, here is a photo of one of the guest baths:

And a detail of one of the flower decos:

This house isn't finished yet.  We are still busy tracking down just the right antique Arts and Crafts furnishings.  Someday when it is finished I'll be sure to publish more photos.