Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Wedding anniversary!

My husband and I got married 14 years ago today! I was finishing my interior design exams in London and hubby was working in San Francisco! So I did a fair bit of commuting that year! We arranged our wedding via emails and phone calls. I saw pictures of the Swedenborgian Church and fell in love with its architecture and interior space and was inspired that Bernard Maybeck designed and built it!!


Although I am not a huge lover of Arts and Crafts for residential interiors, I do appreciate the beautiful interior of the Swedenborgian Church and it's grounds. We had the fire blazing and the candles lit. It was very intimate and romantic.



Maybeck also built The Palace of Fine Arts for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. It was one of ten palaces at the heart of the exhibition, which also included the exhibit palaces of Education, Liberal Arts, Manufactures, Varied Industries, Agriculture, Food Products, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy and the Palace of Machinery. Maybeck took his inspiration from Roman and Greek architecture in designing what was essentially a fictional ruin from another time.


After the ceremony we headed to the Ritz Hotel. Our guests (five in total) sat down for some pink champagne while we quickly checked into our room. The receptionist told me that there was a problem with the booking and they had to move us to another room but it had a prerequisite. Looking rather perplexed, she told me I had to be able to play the piano!!! Then she started laughing - they had put us in the Presidential Suite. We gathered our guests and moved the champagne reception to Suite 910! It was amazing and funny to see my friend, Annette, laying on the piano, my Mum sprinkling petals into our bed and my Dad just taking it all in. We later went downstairs for a beautiful dinner.

Outside of The Ritz Carlton Hotel, San Francisco



The Ritz Carlton Hotel's dining room


The Presidential Suite #910, The Ritz Carlton Hotel, San Francisco

Monday, March 21, 2011

Black is back!

I dream of the day when I suggest to a client that we paint a room black and they agree to it! I've suggested it a couple of times now and no one has even entertained the idea!

Look at these beautifully painted rooms - aren't they gorgeous? See - there's no need to be scared at all!



All photos courtesy of http://www.lonnymag.com/

Friday, March 18, 2011

Bouquets to Art 2011, de Young, San Francisco

I was so pleased when Laura asked if I'd like to go to the Bouquets to Art exhibition at the de Young Museum. The 27th Annual Bouquets to Art features 150 floral arrangements by prominent Bay Area designers and garden clubs that interpret and complement the museum’s permanent collection. It's the largest fundraiser held to benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and one of the country’s premier floral events. Organized and produced by the volunteer members of the Fine Arts Museums Auxiliary, Bouquets to Art raises funds to support acquisitions, special exhibitions and education programs.

These are some of my favourites, but first here I am (a little blurry) as Super Woman - notice my new Coach handbag on the floor (birthday present from hubby):