{GHP} Randy Boyd of Thurston / Boyd Design, revisited

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Designer, House and Home

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Three years ago I first declared my love of a Laguna Beach cottage, owned by designer Randy Boyd. The home had appeared in an issue of Cottage Living Magazine and from the name of the cottage, “Ocean Peek”, to the details of the home, it was love at first sight. You can read my previous post HERE. I had been blogging for about 18 months and this post made my year since Randy Boyd and his sister both commented on my post.

Traditional Living Room by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Thurston/Boyd Interior Design, Inc.

Randy Boyd’s dining room (below) is one of my favorite rooms of all time. The chandelier, oil painting and wall sconces are stunning. The wide bead board ceiling and walls provide such a warm and welcoming feeling to the room. Brown and white toile with nail heads seal the deal for me. I never grow tired of looking at images of this home.

Traditional Dining Room by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Thurston/Boyd Interior Design, Inc.

Traditional Living Room by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Thurston/Boyd Interior Design, Inc.

Traditional Hall by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Thurston/Boyd Interior Design, Inc.

Traditional Powder Room by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Thurston/Boyd Interior Design, Inc.

As it turns out it wasn’t just the home, it was Randy Boyd’s design work that I so admired. The images above provide a glimpse of his residence, but as you’ll see, Thurston / Boyd design work is noteworthy, no matter what the style or where the home may be located. In fact, Thurston / Boyd Interior Design, provides the services and expertise most of us would expect from a designer but its the focus on the individual clients’ “needs and lifestyles” that earn them the accolades and following that they enjoy.

Here’s some of the magic they perform on other homes…

Garden, Home and Party: Thurston / Boyd, revisited

Garden, Home and Party: Randy Boyd Design, revisited

Happy Wednesday! Enjoy the rest of your week.

{Home} Were you born in a barn?…

19 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Architects & Builders, Architectural elements, House and Home

≈ 25 Comments

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barns

…no, but maybe I wish I were. Did that comment ever come up in your childhood, when you’d leave the door open and you ran outside to play? In my family “born in a barn” was always mentioned when doors were left open. Sorry, I digress. This post was inspired by a friend’s son and his fiance who originally thought they wanted to have their 2014 wedding in a barn.

They choose a different venue but the seed of inspiration was planted…I started looking at barn images. There are some incredible barns. Working barns, as well as barns that have been converted into amazing homes.

Most of these barns reeled me in.

Granted, this barn would make for an enormous home, I love the main entrance of the barn and could imagine the upstairs being a grand master suite with a few extra bedrooms thrown in for guests.

{via}

This is one of my favorites, I love the barn doors and the cupola. I’m also fond of the weathered wood finish on the planked walls of the barn.

{via}

Architectural Digest has several articles featuring barns. As expected, each one is spectacular and very livable, if not luxurious.

{AD Gil Shafer; photo Billy Cunningham}

{via}

{Photo – Mary E. Nichols}

{Photo – Matt Wargo}

{Photo – John M. Hall}

I love the looks of this 2-story beauty, built in 1895 in Connecticut, orininally to house horses.

{via}

{Lonny Magazine}

{New England Barn Company Homes}

I’ve saved the best for last…I love the inside of this barn…

Could you live in a barn? I think I could. I love this final picture. The dining chairs, antler candlestick, even the horse sharing the space is so appealing to me.

Note: If you have an extra minute, would you visit Apartment Therapy and vote for my site (if you think it worthy) for the Homies Awards? Here’s the link, I’d be thrilled if you would!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/nominate-your-favorite-home-design-inspiration-blogs-for-the-homies-awards-the-homies-2014-200251

Garden, Home and Party: I wish you love

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Holidays, Valentine's Day

≈ 24 Comments

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Valentine gift ideas

I wish you bluebirds in the spring, to give your heart a song to sing,
And then a kiss, but more than this, I wish you love.

Frankly, I love the various visual accompaniments, as well as the gastronomical delights associated with this holiday, but have always felt it was kind of over rated. Like New Year’s Eve {IMHO}. Still, I do love some of the things creative people come up with for parties, wonderful floral beauty, inspiring table settings and fabulous menus.

{via}

I wish you love on this and every day of the year. There are so many ways to express love and it doesn’t have to be St. Valentine’s Day.

Some of my favorite ideas for displays of affection…

Entertaining. It can be Mr. B and me, or sometimes we invite a few close friends for dinner the weekend before or after. I’ve made this flower arrangement before (below). You use a straight sided square or round glass flower container. Then you center a smaller glass or vase inside (the glass or vase should be as tall, or just slightly taller than the first container). Then you fill the space between the glass container and the insert glass/vase with whatever valentine colored candies you choose. Carefully fill the inside vase/glass with water and add flowers.

Table settings don’t have to be red or pink.

Other little gestures include Flowers…

A bouquet for anyone, including yourself, says love better than a lot of other things (in my humble opinion)

For the Paper and pen/pencil person in your life, these great journals from Minted would be a welcome item showing your thoughtful care for them.

{Minted journal}

~or~ what the men in my family like to use when keeping a journal…

{Moleskine journal}

Home Baked Goodies are always welcome. I love the idea of giving someone, including Mr. B. cinnamon rolls for two (I’d have to insist he share), wrapped as only Jenny of Everyday Occasions demonstrates…

These cakes could easily put a smile on my face…

It’s the Little Things ♥…any one of these hearts would speak of fondness for the recipient.

Whether you’re staying at home this Valentine’s Day, by the fire, or out for a walk…

I wish you love all year long.

{Home} Television, then and now

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home

≈ 29 Comments

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home theater, television

Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday. Since I love the cooler months of the year, and since one of the many reasons for that is the excuse to watch more TV, I thought it might be a good time to talk television…then and now.

I pretty much like to think of myself as a ‘live in the moment’ kind of gal. I plan ahead, but I truly do try to avoid looking back too much…there are some pretty nasty pot holes that plague me (why didn’t I save 10% out of every paycheck from my first job at Judy’s boutique and all subsequent jobs, why didn’t I become a dental hygienist, and why, oh why didn’t I wear sunscreen when I was a teen?!).

More than that, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be the kind of “older” person who declared, “In my day we _______”. That kind of looking back bothered me when I was younger and still bothers me today.

But…and you knew this was coming…when did television sets become the size of the screen at the local theater? I know technology has made great strides in the size of the overall piece, no more large tubes that create the equivalency in weight of an over-sized box filled with boulders. The weight of most television sets is now very manageable, unlike a large set we once owned that took 3 very strong men to move. But *we have definitely decided somewhere along the way that we have/need to have life sized images staring at us when they speak their lines that broadcast in surround sound.

*we – read people in general

As winter sets in I’m certain there will be more indoor time, which might lead to more television viewing so here you go…

{Better Home and Garden}

I’ve covered the topic of how to hide a TV in a room but I thought this might help with those of us who have thrown in the towel and now have Daniel Craig in HD, a TV picture that shows every eyelash surrounding those dreamy blue eyes, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

{Jennifer Brouwer Design via Home Bunch}

And for those that enjoy keeping up with sports while watching a movie…

{source}

Weigh in, do any of these speak to you? They aren’t me, even though I love to watch movies and television. I’d love to hear how you’ve solved this design dilemma…in my humble opinion, television is a necessary evil. And I’d love to know if you have a new favorite TV show from the fall line-up.