Little Details Tell a Larger Story

Alright.  We are just going to move right past the fact that I haven’t blogged in a few and get right to important things.  Details are on my brain - well, anyone who knows me well knows that details are always on my brain.  But right now, as I go back through my over large archive of magazines, poring over past holiday issues and devouring the new ones, my eye keeps returning to the little details that elevate a room.  Likewise, considered details caught my eye in the latest online releases of Matchbook and Lonny.  This is my take on what details worked and why...

The next few images hardly need an introduction.  Ever since the home of Mark D. Sikes first graced the cover of the Dec/Jan 2012 issue of House Beautiful, I have been a woman obsessed.  I will never tire seeing images of his West Hollywood home and Lonny’s most recent coverage does not disappoint.  This is one house that I could move right in and not change one single detail.  There is the right mix of everything that I adore:  natural elements, animal prints, Chinoiserie, stripes, masculine and feminine touches, gold, and copious amounts of blue and white.  His blog is equally perfect.

The considered casual elegance that Mark and his partner, Michael Griffin, have created no doubt make a guest feel immediately welcome, and in fact, probably feel right at home.

For me, the attention to detail is reminiscent of Scot Meacham Wood's home, seen below.    I imagine walking right in to Scot's to find a libation at the ready, and pick right up in the middle of a great and entertaining story. Who wouldn't feel right at home here, as well?  Don't ya just know that you would have a jolly good time.

In this regard, great design is less about design and more about the details that tell the larger story of the way in which we really live.

Image 1 & 2, Image 3-8, Image  9 & 10.

All layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V

New England Architecture

New England Style Details

This little spot of warm weather has me pining for Summer in a big way.  Last Summer, Pieti and I took a jaunt up to Maine to visit my aunt.  Aside from all the beachy goodness, I found myself obsessing a bit over the architecture.  Lots of shingles, clapboarding, and worn saturation that comes from prolonged exposure to the elements.  Let’s take a look…

Ogunquit along the Marginal Way

Ogunquit along the Marginal Way

Perkins Cove

Even the storefronts were inspiring - especially in Kennebunkport.  And I discovered one of the coolest shops around.

Kennebunkport

Daytrip Society in Kennebunkport - so cool!

That store in the LH part of the picture with the striped awning is the Daytrip Society.  I stumbled in there and what a treasure trove of cool and considered things.  They have a great kids store too just around the corner. Lucky for you they have a website so you can experience a bit of what I am talking about.

B & B up the street from the village center

Little moments of joy everywhere - the red doors, hanging plants, and profusion of hydrangeas

A photographers studio - something about the bike and that upper open door slayed me

the green on the church doors!

Nott House in the village of Kennebunkport - complete with old ladies gardening!

Now, the houses from the village of Kennebunkport.  My traditional loving heart died and went to heaven.

oh, that cobble lined drive...

spectacular colors everywhere you looked

red on a garage door.  yes!  paired with taupey gray clapboards and inky blue shutters.

another statement garage door - hard to see but it is a rich brown on a lemony yellow house

the carriage house situation here is awesome and huge - half of it is cut off the picture

I just need a moment with these lanterns

white picket fence and garden flowers, you slay me

To those Kennebunkport residents who looked askance at a crazy person snapping pictures of your homes, I say 'sorry.'  Not to worry, I am not casing the joint.  I was merely walking some more tree-lined streets and dreaming away again.

All pictures taken by me.

kisses,  mrs. V

Life at Chez V - Details are Everything

Life at Chez V – Where Small is the New Big and Little Things Matter

I have always longed to be part of the establishment.  This stems from my upbringing as a Greek American in a predominantly WASPY tree-lined neighborhood where monogrammed sweaters, ski vacations, and club memberships were de rigueur.   New construction was almost unheard of and many of the mansions date back to the early 1900’s.

Hawthorne Hill - home of the Wright Brothers

As a young girl, I walked the streets of Oakwood - my hometown - with dreams of living in one of those gorgeous stately homes.  I began my habit of real estate stalking back then.  I would scour the classifieds to see what homes were for sale and spend hours drawing floor plans filled with beautiful furnishings. 

Image via

Image via - this is actually a family friend's home

We lived in a very modest bungalow but it occurred to me the other day, how despite its size, my mother was able to make it feel rich.  She did this by filling it with quality pieces and antiques, adding dressmaker details on things like window treatments and linens,  and scads of interesting art.  I remember her working like a dog to peel up layer upon layer of linoleum so that she could have hardwoods throughout that tiny bungalow.  I wish I had some pictures on hand of that house.

I have realized that I am applying the same touches to Chez V.  Even though I left the WASPY neighborhood behind, I still long for a stately home.  As a wife and mother, I find myself in my first home and it too is a modest one.  A postage stamp rancher.  But I am slowly filling it with pieces that I really love and adding special touches so that every corner feels rich and considered. 

A house doesn’t have to be big to be stately.  It doesn’t have to be big to feel rich.  The difference is in the small things.  The little details lend the richness.  Monogrammed hand towels in the bathroom, fresh flowers, painted interior doors, outdoor meals with china, little collections, hand written thank you’s.  Just because my house is small doesn’t mean that I can’t make it feel stately and rich.  I'm not of the philosophy of waiting to do those things in my Someday home.  It is my aim to so this in my 'everyday' home.

The floors throughout Chez V are over 100 years old and came from mr. V's family farm, 20 Mile Farm.  His grandparents walked these same floors while raising 4 kids.  mr. V also grew up in that farm house as the middle child of the youngest of those 4 kids and he walked these same floors as a child.  Now my daughter is the 4th generation to scamper across these floors.  I am surprised by how many people remark with wonder that we would install these floors in this home rather than save them for our Forever home.  Forever is never guaranteed.  We live in the now at Chez V.  As we embark on refinishing these floors this summer, I will think about how this little detail is so meaningful and rich to us and also reminiscent of my own mother who worked so hard on her hardwoods.

what the banquette cushions are supposed to look like if we can ever get the back right!

Over and over, I find myself emphasizing the importance of the little things, when consulted about a party, an event, or an interior.  Details are everything.  Details elevate the ‘everyday’ into something special.  These little things turn into little moments of ‘a ha’ and wonder.  They begin to tell a rich and stately story about us…

kisses,  mrs. V