Fika Cups

As featured in Junior Magazine these two lovely Fika Cups will be available in the Isak web shop from mid to late November. One of each design, Harvest and Familjen in a beautiful gift box.

The old yellow mansion

A few weekends ago I attended a wedding at a beautiful mansion along 15th street here in Washington DC. If you're not familiar with the area - it's right along Meridian Hill park: one of the hidden gems here in DC. Now in a bustling urban residential area above U street in Columbia Heights, for years the park was overrun with drug dealers and prostitutes. Designed in 1914 by George Burnap to copy the city parks in Europe, it soon became lined with grand mansions which now house embassies and beautiful apartment buildings. One of these mansions is now home to the Josephine Butler Parks Center. This 18,000 SF Italian renaissance revival mansion had been home to two embassies, Hungary & Brazil. Designed in 1927 by George Oakley Totten Jr., a prominent local architect who designed numerous embassies, it now it houses a diverse range of community groups and can be rented for private events.What better place for a wedding than a lovely mansion facing a park! The yellow walls with white stone trim are magnificent against the greenery.

The distinctive yellow stucco makes the mansion stand out along a street of imposing buildings. The exterior has been recently renovated and really was well done.The house still features a lot of its original ironwork which is really impressive.A circular drive takes you to the entrance under this grand portico. The roof is a balcony facing the park.
The drive is bordered by this beautiful terra cotta guardrail - amazing details!

I love the figures on the scrolls at the bottom of the drive.Even the backside of the scrolls have this beautiful detailing -only the black eyed susans get to enjoy these though! Lets go inside.The building has been renovated many times but still has really great porportions and beautiful light due to the huge windows. Above is the rather utilitarian entrance which brings you to the grand stair.The home has a piano nobile design (the main floor is what we Americans would call the 2nd story) , a typical Italian renaissance feature; all the better to enjoy views of the park. At the top of the stair is a more grand foyer with entry to the portico's balcony.To the left is a room now used as the dining room. These main public rooms still feature the original fireplaces and mouldings and have huge french doors looking over the park. Behind those doors flanking the fireplace is a corner study which is practically a conservatory because of the amount of glass.Here you see through the foyer into the ballroom from the dining room.

This room has all you could ever want: tall ceilings, huge windows facing a park and beautiful detailing. The distinctive yellow color from the exterior continues all throughout the interior.

The antique chandeliers are a bit under-scaled but still a nice touch. I assume they're not original.In other rooms you can see this has been a busy, functional building, altered over the years. Walls have been moved and details stripped as needed. Here you can see a little bit of former glory above a fireplace.In other areas you can see where new walls have been added - the crown moulding here dies into the new wall.The servants staircase still has these original sconces. I was happy to see they're using energy efficient bulbs but wow, aren't they ugly? It was so exciting for me to explore this old mansion and the dreams of retoring it to its former glamour filled my dreams for nights to come!

Le Corbusier liked it...

La Lampe Gras! Brook Farm General Store in Brooklyn is apparently the ONLY store on the east coast to sell this gorgeous original architect's lamp designed by Bernard Albin Gras. Many repros have been made, which are gorgeous too, but this lamp is the only one of it's kind on this side of the country! I'd love to have one to attach to my drafting table while I toil away at floor plans and elevations. Rumor has it that Le Corbusier loved this lamp. Was it the secret to his success?? Something to think about... Anyway, I was drawn in to Brook Farm by this lamp but then discovered that it had SO much more to offer! Take a look at my favorite things. Ever.

Friend and fellow designer, Amie of Cafiero Lighting Design, just had a baby girl and this little ticking stripe blanket, $85, would make the snuggliest gift for her!

If I had this watering can maybe I would remember to water my plants! ...YUP, just bought it online for only $25.

Baking could never get more fun, but could it get better looking with these porcelain measuring spoons? I think so. HERE only $15.

I think my heart stopped when I saw these gorgeous colored pencils. I MUST have them. NOW.

And last but not least, an antique level. Have you ever seen anything more gorgeous? It's mahogany with brass inlay. I think you know what I mean.

I'd love to go check this store out in person. It looks like tons of home-store fun and I guess I could go shopping a little more often...you don't have to force me. Speaking of drafting and floor plans, I've been super busy lately with school so I just wanted to thank you all for being patient as the posting has taken a bit of a hit. Thanks for reading, following the blog, and following me on twitter! You guys are great!


Alicia B.

Sill i Dill

more moments from eden

did i forget to mention the magnolia grove, the fruit trees, the dahlia bed? the steamed edamame from the garden, the tomato and mozzarella salad with the greek basil? the pot roast with a 1/2 jar of horseradish in the sauce? how about the strawberry rhubarb pie? the vases of freshly cut flowers all over the house? i haven't forgotten. nor has my heart or my stomach.

In Honor of Randall Ridless

Very sad news in the interior design world today: Randall Ridless passed away on Friday. He was an amazing and revered designer. Though I've never met him, I greatly admired him and thought he had incredible style. Here are a few of his interiors:

Via The Devine Life. This white interior is so serene and the painting over the sofa is so fabulous. I'd love to work in an interior with such high ceilings--notice the very large shade over the whole space.

Another gorgeous white interior. I love every single piece of furniture here!

Clearly he's talented, but also versatile. This little boy's room is so full of character! I really love the wall paper here.

Randall Ridless was an amazing designer and he will be sorely missed.


Alicia B.

down on the farm

i should be in my usual monday morning cleaning frenzy, but i'm sipping iced latte and looking at pictures from yesterdays' visit to our friend's farm in maryland. sad i'm such a sorry photographer, i would love to be able to capture the scope of all 5 acres of beauty: the orchard, the nuttery, the long beds, the vegetable beds, the pond full of open water lilies and the peacocks perched on every railing, the roof and wandering in and out of flower beds. the woods are full of blooming cyclamen ,the viburnum rich in orange and red berries and iris are reblooming everywhere. since i can't capture all this on my little sony camera, i'll content myself with eating a soft boiled egg from their chickens, eating a piece of toast spread with honey from their hives and posting a few shots of our garden walk. more later.