Hydrangea Hill Cottage

Friday, June 24, 2011

Loving the Art of Jennifer Lanne!

I discovered Jennifer's art a few years ago while perusing a Country Living magazine and have followed her work since.

The article described her happy life on a farm in New York state where she resides with her husband and a band of characters better known as her happy family.....their two Saddleback pigs, Violet and Olive, cats, araucana hens.....all of whom have names, I'm sure, it's just that I don't know them! I do know they are all cherished and I was delighted to note in the article that vintage doll cribs are used for her cats beds! What a great idea!

Jennifer's studio is a large barn on their property, so her work is inspired by her surroundings - her beloved pets, flora and fauna, other farms, birds and nature in general. Her painting style is a mix of rustic and refined with an overall vintage look........and her art speaks volumes about her daily life.

Sounds idyllic and looks idyllic......despite the fact life is very busy as Jennifer travels about to country fairs and displays her work in many retail outlets throughout the United States.

For more on her art and where to find it, go to jenniferlanne.com and you will find another source of her paintings at earthangelstoys.com.

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Serendipity

One for the Money

Don't Be Shy

Precocious

White Noise

Swanky

Green Velvet

Crow Cherries

Barn Studio

Beloved Violet and Olive

All photos via Country Living and jenniferlanne.com

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Storybook Cottages

These storybook cottages were part of a short-lived design era in the 1920s. American architects with a flair for detail built upon medievel European cottage designs and embellished them with turrets, dormers, stucco, timber, rounded doors, asymmetrically placed windows and sloped rooves among other things. These cottages are also sometimes referred to as Cotswold Cottages, Hansel and Gretel and other whimsical names. While they were built in many countries, America had its fair share and hundreds still exist, mainly in California and particularly in Carmel by the Sea.

They are fascinating and cosy little places and exist in a world of their own!

Enjoy!

Google

This is such an enchanting little cottage in

Carmel by the Sea

Flickr

This Old House

Verbena

Google

John Robert Marlow

This cottage was commissioned and built for Charlie Chaplin.

Flickr

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Oprah's Santa Barbara Guest House

I saw Oprah's estate in her own magazine a few years ago and have never forgotten it's jaw dropping beauty. Yes, she paid $50 million dollars for it (and that was before the decorating)! And yes, she has her own tea house! And a flower garden with 'hundreds of rose bushes, thousands of hydrangeas and a sea of dahlias!'

But, it was the guest house interiors that were featured that day that left me wanting to move in there.....she can enjoy the 'big' house, but who would want to leave the guest house? Would you?

And guess who her decorators were? Her hairdresser and his partner......who were wannabe decorators! I'd say they are pretty good at decorating, wouldn't you? Of course, when it comes to decorating, money talks.....sometimes! In this case, it helped.......along with a lot of great taste!

Hope you enjoy! I'll do her Hawaiian property another day!