Tulips

Sometimes I come across a picture that stays on my mind all day.  Such was the case yesterday when I saw this beautiful image on Decorology:

Just looking at this scene makes me happy.  I always love a casual dining area that has windows with light streaming in (if I ever build a house, I will need to have the kitchen facing east so I get the morning light at breakfast).  However, what really inspired me about this picture was the bunch of tulips on the table; the burst of red in the middle of the fresh light room is striking (and I love how the branch of the tree in the backyard looks like it is part of the tulip arrangement).   Without a doubt, tulips are my favorite flowers.  So great is my love of tulips, that I had my bridesmaids carry a simple bouquet of white tulips, and my bouquet was comprised of white tulips and pale, pale pink roses. (Photography by the very talented Annie Schlechter)  

In this room, designed by Ginger Barber, the tulips are a nice little burst of color in a neutral setting, and pink is an unexpected color in this room.  Via Cote de Texas.

I am not a tulip expert, but I believe these are parrot tulips.  I once went to a wedding where the theme was red and yellow (it was the most fabulous, dramatic, and sophisticated wedding I have ever been to).  Parrot tulips, red roses, and red/yellow orchids were all used to great effect.  Image and interiors by Caldwell-Beebe.

I saved this picture for the beauty of the window in the background. However, I also love the contemporary tulip arrangement on the table - how many tulips did it take to make this arrangement? Quite a few! Image Slettvoll, via Willow Decor.

I remember really liking the way in which designer Ty Larkins used tulips in this room - look in front of the mirror on the right, and you will see small vases with just one or two tulips in each vase. It is the small details like this that make a room so beautiful.  I recently went to a friend's house for a meeting, and she had such a memorable arrangement of tulips on her kitchen table - one or two stems in small bud vases that were of varying heights.  I wish I had taken a picture!  Image via Cote de Texas.

One of my all time favorite designers, Gerrie Bremermann, uses a lush arrangement of tulips on an antique French commode.  Via Cote de Texas.

Barbara Barry is one of my favorite designers, and I was not surprised to find tulips in a picture from her furniture line for Henredon (white, no less - perfection).  The white tulips play off the calligraphy style script etching so beautifully.

Another Bremermann designed room, with an arrangement of white tulips. This is one of my favorite rooms, and I love the art by Amanda Talley.

Either I have an affinity for pictures with white tulips, or the designers I like tend to use them more than any other color!  This is one of my favorite rooms by Kerry Joyce.  Look at the profusion of tulips on the mantle - in vases with different shapes and sizes - plus a big vase of tulips on the table. This would be a hard look to maintain day after day (not to mention expensive), but it is beautiful styling for a photo! 

Another great picture by Annie Schlechter.  There is something so right about red tulips in a blue vase.

One of my highlights of 2008 was being invited to a White House Christmas party. Huge arrangements of tulips were all over the White House that evening; this one in front of a portrait of President Reagan was my favorite.

In the spring I love to buy tulips from the grocery store, and this month I have been selecting different shades of pink.  Normally I do not gravitate to pink, mainly because it looks horrible with my coloring. However, I love how it looks against the green walls of my family room; it must be the preppy in me.  (The screened in porch in the background is getting cleaned and painted as soon as the weather improves - which is why it is empty right now!).

I personally love the life cycle of tulips when they come home from the store: the first day, they are upright and proud. Slowly but surely, over the next few days, the heads of the tulips begin to droop under their own weight, which adds a beautiful sculptural quality to the arrangement.  When I googled 'drooping tulip', I learned that tulips begin to droop because they continue to grow even after they are cut, and eventually droop because the stem can no longer support the weight of the flower.  Some suggest to put just a little water in the vase, and change it every day. Others suggest putting a pin through the stem just below the flower, when the tulip is newly opened; according to anecdotal evidence, this not only prevents the tulip from drooping, it also makes it last longer.  It might be an interesting idea to get a bunch of tulips and put a pin through the center tulips, so they stay nice and upright, and let the outer tulips droop. I may have to try that when I buy next week's tulip bouquet.

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Dining Room Wall Decor - Part II

In part I of my dining room wall posts, I showed pictures from my inspiration files in which there are mirrors on the wall of the dining room. I think that mirrors work so well in a room that is mainly used during the evening; perhaps it is because candlelight reflects so beautifully in a mirror, and a mirror can highlight and enhance a chandelier.

Another common theme in my dining room inspiration files is art in the dining room; most of the art that captures my eye is contemporary art. I particularly like when designers pair contemporary art with traditional furniture, and isn't the dining room usually one of the more traditional rooms in the house? To me, it is the perfect place to experiment with contemporary art.

Which came first, the painting or the molding? I love this dining room by Caldwell-Beebe, because the neutral color scheme really makes the contemporary art the star of the show. (Hmmm...where is the chandelier? I have gazed upon this picture so many times, but never noticed that there is no chandelier).

Gerrie Bremermann, one of my favorite designers, creates beautiful dining room scenes. It helps that she has such great architecture to work with; she lives and works in New Orleans, and many of the homes in her portfolio are large Garden District manors. Here, one of my favorite looks: traditional furniture, billowing silk curtains, and contemporary art. I love the juxtaposition of the old and the new, the antique and the contemporary. Image via Cote de Texas.

The Cy Twombly takes up an entire wall in this dining room, and isn't it much more dramatic than a buffet? I am assuming that the owner of the house does not have young kids who will smear the priceless painting with dirty hands. Interior design by Jan Showers, image via Habitually Chic. (I don't see a chandelier here either - maybe it is the camera angle?)

The architect for this home is Bill Baker. Pictures only reflect two sides of a room, so there may be something else on another wall, but this is the side that the photographer chose to feature. I think it is interesting that there is a painting with nothing underneath, as you would typically expect a buffet or cabinet. I love the sconces on either side of the painting, and the chandelier is striking.

(Sidenote: Bill Baker is a well known architectural designer in Atlanta, and it is interesting to note that this is the architect that Suzanne Kasler chose for the complete renovation of her own 1930s Georgian. I am keeping my fingers crossed that her new home is published in one of the shelter magazines sometime in 2009)

This is the picture that almost caused me to almost change the decor of my entire house! The chandelier is gorgeous, and I love how the large wall of the room is broken into an alcove that is the perfect size for a console, two lamps, and a great piece of contemporary art. Interior design by Shane Reilly.

Again, the photographer chose the angle, so we cannot see what is on the wall, but a small painting in between the windows makes a lovely vignette. Interior designby Kimberly Seldon.

Another dining room from one of my favorite designers, Jim Hawes of Caldwell-Beebe. A beautiful table, a great chandelier, and a nice piece of art above the buffet. The French doors add to the light and clean feel of the room.

I saved this picture because of the beautiful painting, which takes the room from good to great.

I should know who did the interior design of this room...but I did not make note of it! Please e-mail or comment if you know the designer of this colorful and varied room. There is a lot going on, and the art on the wall really provides a soothing balance to the activity in the room. (Update: the interior design is by Sheila Bridges)

I originally saved this picture because of the contemporary art, but I just noticed that the chairs are the Barbara Barry for Baker script chairs. I love it when you save a picture, and see something new whenever you look at it. Interior design by Steven Miller.

Last but not least, a dining room by Suzanne Kasler. I am not a fan of pink, but I love Suzanne's style, I love the console, and I love sconces in a dining room, so this room became part of the dining room file. The artwork is not my style, but it is an interesting shape and emphasizes the horizontal rather than the vertical. It actually looks like a stretched piece of fabric, or even a panel of handpainted wallpaper.

I started this series to help me clarify what I like in a dining room. My conclusion: I love contemporary art on the wall, especially when it contrasts with traditional furniture. For the time being, I have a nice mirror in my own dining room, because it was easier for me to find a mirror than a great piece of contemporary art (I am very particular when it comes to art). I will still keep my eyes open for the perfect piece of art, but like everyone else, I am not out there making any unneccesary purchases. That's most of the fun, though...the search, not the purchase.

For more dining room wall decor, please see part I and part III.

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