Wallpaper

It's great to work with clients who are willing to step out of their comfort zone and it's even better seeing their faces when that idea comes to fruition. For some reason a lot of people are scared of wallpaper! I try to convince clients to go for maybe just one accent wall with wallpaper.... it really can transform a room.

As you know, I love all things British, especially Farrow & Ball. They have an amazing array of paints and wallpapers. They have been making paint in Dorset, one batch at a time, since 1946 and remains one of only a few companies making a full range of traditional and modern paint finishes of the highest quality. Who could resist painting a wall with such colours called "string", "putty" and "pavilion gray". Their wallpapers are quite unique as they are produced using environmentally friendly water based paints and traditional manufacturing methods. Their patterned wallpapers are block printed and their stripes and stries are trough printed. All wallpapers are made to order.

Here's a few examples:

Their "vermicelli" series is one of my all time favourites:

We're about to install the green version in a client's dining room this month:

My first kitchen project starts today!

I've spent the last 6 months looking at kitchen cabinets, appliances, wall tiles, floor tiles, under floor heating, counter tops, etc. Not to mention collecting permits!

Although we are a long way off... demolition starts today! We also need to pour a new concrete foundation and rebuild the back section of the laundry room -- but the exciting part is that we are adding a deck on top which will have french windows leading off an upper floor bedroom!!

It's been fun..... here's a few inspirational pictures and the general direction we're going towards.

Photos courtesy of http://www.housebeautiful.com/

Big Daddy's Antiques opens in San Francisco!

The moment I set my eyes on the goodies being sold by Big Daddy's Antiques, at the Alameda Antiques Market, it was love at first sight. They have a fantstic eye for mixing old and new - e.g., burlap covered chairs with industrial tables, oversized clocks and antlers, old buckets and ladders. But guess what? You don't have to wait until the first Sunday of the month to see this LA based firm!! They have just opened a warehouse here in San Francisco! I am beyond excited... here's a small glimpse of some of my favourite pieces:

Big Daddy's North
1550 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

Don't forget to contact me if you'd like a tour of my favourite stores here in the City!

Night and day at Jema al Fnaa

With my guide book in hand, I was told to head for the heart of Marrakech and find Jema al Fnaa which is the main square and it's HUGE! By day it's a dried fruit and spices market, empty spaces are filled with locals trying to tell stories (give them more money and they will continue their story), snake charmers and the odd monkey doing tricks.

We took a photo of this guy and his monkey and before we knew it, he was hounding us for money!!

If you look closely, there's a tiny chipmunk rounding up the snakes! The snake charmers kept trying to wrap snakes around our necks!!!

As the sun was setting, the daily stall holders headed home.....

... and the night market started to take shape:

In what seemed like seconds - the food stalls were up and running. There was so much smoke from the BBQs and noise from the stall holders shouting that their stall was the best:

We settled at a table and felt like Anthony Bourdain..... here are the small plates we ordered AND we didn't get sick... although the next day we went to lunch at a fancy restaurant and that evening I got terribly sick - which lasted for well over 3 weeks!!!!