The New Park is in at Sterling Park!

Sterling Park is proud to show off its new on site park with gorgeous mature trees, climbing rocks and large inviting lawn area to let children run off their excess energy, while Mom and Dad tour the beautiful 4 and 5 bedroom Single Family Detached Models, ranging from 1850sf to 2340sf, and all with available move-in dates in time for the Fall School season. Oh, and did I mention Sterling Park is part of the Henry Gunn High School district?

Prices start at under $1mm for a single detached home in Palo Alto. I know, unbelievable but true! You really need to come by and take a look. We'll be happy to give you a private tour as well.

Our plan 8's were released just a couple weeks ago and we only have one left in the current phase, so don't delay.

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Aliciabdesigns.com

WWW.ALICIABDESIGNS.COM

Well folks, it's official. I have finally launched my photography website at Aliciabdesigns.com. I've always had an interest in photography and have been working on my portfolio more intensely lately. Please take a moment to check out my work and email me if you have any inquiries! I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. My email is aliciabdesigns@gmail.com. For now, it will remain separate from the blog, but don't fret--the blog will still be here! Thanks everyone for your support, encouragement and help!

Pull up a beach chair, and ENJOY.

Alicia B.

The Big Reveal!

I am so excited about the Spring Round Up from the Remodeling Guy. If you havent visited his site before go now!! Its chock full of great ideas. Today he is hosting a remodeling party- projects big & small. When I was in the middle of my kitchen makeover I actually emailed Tim for some help and encouragment I am sooo glad I decided to take the plunge - I smile everytime I walk into my kitchen (except when the sink is full of dirty dishes).

Its done! (minus a few door pulls & island doors) but its done! The Kitchen Makeover is complete. I first must admit I dont recommend this for the faint at heart-it was a doozey. But I am sooooo glad I did it and I would definitely do it again! I feel quite proud of myself and I have to shout out a thank you to some folks who encouraged me along the way--- Tim- The Remodel Guy for the emails & great tips , Kristen at WeAREThatfamily my in real life friend who told me "I COULD DO IT", and Emily at Chatting at the Sky & Layla at The Lettered Cottage for the inspiration. If you want to read & see some befores go here and here.

I would not have been able to complete this makeover as fast as I did if my in-laws hadn't helped. They came into town "just in time" for the make-over- not that I planned it that way *wink* *wink*- they were amazing. My mother in law was on a mission to get it complete before she left! and a big thank you to my husband for installing all the hardware-I am SOOOOO glad I didn't not attempt that- because all my knobs would have been waaaayyyy off. Sooooo without further ado- here you go.

BEFORE




AFTER



BEFORE



AFTER


BEFORE




AFTER







And because I can't stop myself- this is my next project- staining the fireplace mantel a rich chocolate brown & painting the walls a yummy pale mocha.

"Tøseballade"!

Copenhagen is a Mecca for Design Tourists and a fantastic city to visit any time of the year. Tine at Girlie-Hurly has a lovely little boutique tucked away in Istedgade on the west side of the city. She has a panchent for anything 50s and anything pink! The retro feel of some of ISAK's range fits very well amongst the"lyserød lollypop, plastikpjank, fis og ballade."
Take trip into the past with some very contemporary design accessories.

Address:
Girlie Hurly
Istedgade 101
1650 København V

Opening Times:
Mon-thur 11.17.30, fri 11-18.30, sat 10-15.

Contact information:
Tlf: 33 24 22 41
fax: 33 24 22 51

Hudson Cottage Interior Animation

Simply Elegant Home Designs has added an Interior Animation of their Hudson Cottage house plan.  The home includes an open family and friend gathering room accomodating cooking, eating and sitting areas.  The space features a vaulted wood ceiling with exposed truss framing.

Uncle Dan's memorial potplant garden - storytime

Helen Cooney and Her 'Uncle Dan Memorial Rosemary'

I met Helen Cooney at My brothers engagement party. When she heard my job is balcony garden teacher, she got all sparkley, and told me this story about her Memory-infused herb garden:

My aunty loves rosemary, my uncle didn’t so much. When I was a little
girl, Aunty Frances had made lamb roast for tea and I was excited.

Then my Uncle Dan crushed my little spirit by telling me that it
wasn't all good, because Aunty Frances had put rosemary in the meat.
As a little girl with little knowledge of herbs, I asked "What's
rosemary?" To which I received the response, "Poison." Perplexed about
why Aunty Fran would put poison in the meat, I looked to her and she
said "He's telling fibs. Don't worry about it." No one told me,
however, that rosemary was not, in fact, poison. So I went on
believing it for years. After many years, I began calling by my Dad’s
house for the poison when making a lamb roast, and recently planted
the Uncle Dan Memorial Rosemary. Afterward, I headed to say a Rosary
for the repose of his soul at his parish church. The poison is in a
pot on my balcony. It’s sitting by the parsley, across from the basil.
If it lives forever, well, Dan is living forever too. If it dies, I'll
just attribute that to Uncle Dan making it through the pearly gates.

(Story by Helen Cooney)

Helen, I loved your story. Thank-you!
xx

Entry Foyers for Mini Spaces

James Michael Howard. Perfection in a foyer.

Entry foyers are an important space in the home. They set the tone for the rest of your living space. They should be welcoming but also say something about you. I have an extremely mini entry hall and as you may know I just set up/restored a chest to go in it. After much research, I have come up with some great ways to maximize your space and still have it look gorgeous!

The first element is the mirror. Mirrors have an amazing way of making the room look larger than it is--crazy right??! You can do one large mirror like I did, or several arranged in a fun way!

Pamela Banker used an octagonal mirror here which works quite harmoniously with the wallpaper!

In this foyer by James Michael Howard, he used many small mirrors and arranged them around pieces of art.

This is my sister and BIL's foyer in her apartment in Chicago! The gorgeous console is from Gumps, and I appreciate their symmetry here. Perhaps they could add something under the console? A bench or a ceramic stool?

Another important factor is storage. The entire reason that I needed this wardrobe chest was so that I could store my fabrics and other craft/design supplies. You might not have a chest, but a console. This is okay too because there so so many attractive storage containers out there now! Nobody likes clutter so you can easily store shoes or other things that might have a way of "living" in your foyer.

Robert Stilin put an oversized basket under this console--great for mittens and scarves?? Or maybe tennis raquets?

From Country Living, this designer used vintage suitcases as attractive storage.

Secondary elements should be added to your foyer as well to add interest to the space. I'd love to add this adorable little caned seat chair I saw at an antiques store but I don't have a lot of room. You can also add something functional like a cute umbrella stand or a plant stand.Amanda Kyser placed an intense red modern chair next to her console table. I love the contrast of modern and antique--the table is swaying down because it's so old!

From House Beautiful, Schuyler Samperton placed a stool (on an angle) to counteract the perfection of the scene. Having things look natural is also super important because the front hall is actually a very busy space!

The last part to this is adding objects to the console or chest or table in your front hall. I've decided to put some stacked design books (some of my absolute favorites), an etched brass bowl next to a ceramic candle stick, and possibly a plant. I'd love to add some green to the room. Right when you walk in you say, "Alicia loves design and she sure knows how to kill a spider plant!" See below.


This is just a sneak peek at my newly restored chest! I am quite pleased with what I've done, but it's a work in progress. I have three of my fave design books including Mariette Himes Gomez's Houses, an antique white enamel pitcher, two brass antique candlesticks, and a mirror. I know, the mirror is LEANING and not hanging, but I seem to be handling the trauma of it well. Deep breaths.



Alicia B.

Project Procastinators Party

Melissa over at The Inspired Room is hosting a Project Procastinators Party. Since I just got done with a HUGE kitchen make-over, Im not feeling too pressured to tackle another project- but yet I get that itch, that urge, that deisre to tackle something else. I have to admit- I am a GREAT starter, POOR (very poor) finisher. That great kitchen makeover- umm yea- I still have one more coat to paint on 4 doors and 3 doors to distress. ah-hem . so the Project Procastinators speaks to me- very deeply to me. Here is my next "urge" to tackle.


My fireplace mantle- it is currently the same color wood as the kitchen "was" and because both of these room open up to one another- I feel the "urge" to make them flow a little better. I plan to sand this down and stain it with a rich, dark, espresso color. *fingers crossed* I hope to have this done for the Project Procastinators Party on May 14th.

Lilacs and a Thank You!

I want to thank Michele of My Notting Hill for naming my blog among her favorites in a fantastic interview done by Emily Leaman at Washingtonian magazine! Read the entire article HERE: she has some great solutions for common design problems that I think everyone will appreciate. All of our April showers have brought us beautiful May flowers! These are some fragrant lilacs I picked up tonight, aren't they beautiful!

Save our Urban Centers!

While reading this months Preservation magazine (magazine of the national trust for historic presevation) I came across a plea to save a bank by Louis Sullivan (whom I've blogged about recently here). Of course, Sullivan is a great architect. He was a key innovator in the modern movement and was mentor to such great architects as Frank Lloyd Wright and generations of students. However, I think this is bigger than just this one bank and I'm really upset! Of course, I'm going to blog about my feelings on the matter and I hope you take the time to read this unusually wordy post from me!

Our nation's cities were decimated by city planners in the 50s-70s. They are only now beginning to regain a little strengh and the sense of place they once had thanks to preservation efforts. The powers that be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa are planning on destroying what is left of their historic urban center as well as a NATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL TREASURE in a strategy they feel is a cost effective way to combat nature (building levees).

One of the fundamentals of urban planning is to work with what the land is giving you, in many cases to the advantage of the city! Look at places who have prominently featured rivers and waterways in their recent revitalizations: Chicago, Austin, Pittsburgh, Providence and others are feeling the benefits of creative solutions. Older cities that are based on water management also prove to be popular and successful: Stockholm and Vienna as examples. What do we know about levees? Well...look at how well they worked in New Orleans. Is that a long term or even a creative solution?

So much good work has been happening in the past 20 years to save our nation's architectural heritage as well as our urban cores; to let Cedar Rapids continue on this OUTDATED path of destruction is monstrous. PLEASE join with me and sign the petition to make city planners of Cedar Rapids, Iowa consider alternative ways to manage flood waters and save their urban core! Sign the petition online HERE, I have!

Thanks to Hello Beautiful blog and Fred Camper for letting me use the photographs of the bank.

Round Windows into My Soul

I've always had a "thing" for certain architectural details like thick mouldings, but lately I've been just obsessed with round slash oval windows. What's beyond them? They're so pretty and just plain interesting! At "my" house in the country, we have an octagonal one over the first floor and I literally (not really) have dreams about it. Enjoi.

Three windows equals three times the beauty of this house! I love the symmetry in this white stucco house. I wish I could see what is on the other side of each of those windows. By Suzanne Kasler.

Wow, she's killing me with the exteriors of these homes. I love the Palladian window over the door, too!

WOW. Look at the mysterious shadow this one casts on the floor. Also, they used a chair with a round back to mirror the round element. By Randall Powers.

A round window doesn't always have to be traditional; this one is clean and unadorned and is a nice contrast with the hard angles of the roof. This gorgeous pool house is by Jed Johnson.

I would wash dishes forever if this window was over my sink. How gorgeous is the green and the green tile backsplash? By James Michael Howard.

How calming and therapeutic was that? I feel so much better--the beauty of that little round window is so captivating. The glow that comes through, the smooth curves--woah this is going a little far.


Alicia B.

Modern touches

I've always loved the juxtaposition of the modern with the classical and we're seeing a lot of that latey here in DC. One of my favorite buildings is the Wilson building, otherwise known as the District Building, which houses the offices of the Mayor and city council on 14th street.

The beaux arts facade with the crisp glass curtain wall always drew my attention. Both are great examples of their style and together just are that much more interesting. The original structure was built between 1904 and 1908 and the extensive renovation which includes the glass additions was completed in 2001.Recently I was able to view the interiors. The original building was a U shape which has been filled in with the 'glass box' you see on the exterior, but also leaving this interior atrium. What a great space this creates! I love that the modern additions respect the original structure both in scale and by not overpowering them. They work together as a team rather than fighting one another.

This interesting statue was inside the atrium; a gift from the people of Thailand to the citizens of Washington, DC to celebrate July 4th in 1945 (I think, correct me if I'm wrong on the year). It certainly adds some vibrant color to the very neutral tones in the building. Do you like this mix of old and new together, or do you prefer things to be one or the other?

The $5 lamp

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is hosting a garage/yard sale finds. I have to admit I have not garage sailed (is that even a word? it looks funny-I didnt float a garage at sea) in years but thought I'd try it again. and what do you know! I LOVE it! I found this lamp on Saturday- it was marked $2 but since it was for a Kids Summer Camp I paid $5- still well worth it. This lamp screamed spray paint me! spray paint me! and so I did. Here it is in its new home in my dining room. But dont look too close- I bombed on the shade! I thought I was sooooo thrifty & crafty I said to self "I can paint that shade too" ummm no go- It looks great when the light is off- but when its on- you can see ALL my spray marks *le sigh* so I am on the hunt for a nice black shade. Unless any of your crafty gals out there have some ideas of what I could do. I event tried painting the inside of the shade with gold- yeah it made it worse. So for now it will sit and look pretty just like light up. For more great finds go visit Southern Hospitality.

Sunday Afternoon Beauty

Sunday was a lovely day. I spent the majority of it lying out in the park reading the newspaper with some random guy I met (my bf). It was absolutely lovely so I'd like you to see a few of the pics I took of some of the most mind blowingly (yeah, that's a word) beautiful flowers I've ever seen. Ever. In the world.

Aaa. Park Avenue flowers.

I swear New York flowers are bigger than flowers anywhere else in the US.

In the park, I had to lie out in the shade because I may or may not have burned myself to a little crisp on Saturday. Oops.

Now it is Monday, but I think that Spring is finally here, and Summer is JUST around the corner! Something to look forward to, right? Did you all have a nice weekend? What did you do?


Alicia B.

Miramonte Sales are Soaring!

The energy level has definitely picked up in Mountain View! We’ve had a great two weeks here at Miramonte with 4 sales! We are seeing encouraging signs about the housing market, and homebuyers are seizing the opportunity of lower interest rates and tax credits.