valentine's day Dreaming of Morocco: Architectural Digest and St. Tropez Boutique

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Architectural Digest, March 2009, Photos by Ken Hayden

Where could this paradise be? One might assume it would be found in Morocco.....but they would be wrong. This magnificently crafted fairytale hide-a-way designed by New York designer Todd Black ( Architecture by Bender and Associates, Landscape by Craig Reynolds) was built in Key West, Florida for Veronica Webb (former Vogue cover girl), George Robb and their young family .

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Living Room. Veronica Webb and family.

The Moorish aesthetic was adhered to with meticulous detail. The designer even had craftsmen and apprentices from Morocco flown in to work on site for a full year carving stone, setting tile, and seeing to every intricate detail. The domed ceiling in the Living Room above and the Dining Room ceiling below were both produced in Morocco. The cloud wall panels are mixed media work by Teresita Fernandez. Dream-like!

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Dining Room

Everywhere you look there is a kaleidoscope of color and pattern that somehow all works together in harmony. The inlaid chair patterns, the lattice screens, the patterned ceilings, the tiled floors are all so very beautiful.

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Pool

Is this just a little piece of heaven? This pool area is situated along a canal side of the house. Craig Reynolds used Buccaneer Palms and other salt tolerant native species to create this Shangrila.

I was coming back to this article again and again last week, and just by a blogosphere heavenly collective consciousness coincidence , I was contacted by the wonderful St. Tropez Boutique. For those of you who are not familiar, Saint Tropez Boutique is a designer, manufacturer, and the exclusive dealer in California of fine Moorish architecture elements and Moroccan arts & crafts. They carry beautiful tile, hand carved screens, lighting, furniture, Moroccan tents, and Mediterranean architectural antiques, just to start.

I was lucky to receive these images of Moroccan magic created using the beautiful offerings of St. Tropez Boutique:

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Lanterns, screens, mosaic tile and furniture all by St. Tropez Boutique in this soft grey and ivory living space.

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Hand Carved Lattice Screen inset into the wall makes for a beautiful room divider.

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I love this brass fireplace lattice screen. It is so unexpected and perfect in this contemporary setting.

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Two brass Egg Lamps on this coffee table add a sense of the exotic to this Living Room.

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This bedroom fit for an Arabian princess is graced with wall sconces and cool glazed floor tile by St. Tropez Boutique.

For the complete offerings of St. Tropez Boutique be sure to visit their website here!

AND..........

If you want to dream a little dream of Morocco, it always helps to visit Maryam at her beautiful blog My Marrakesh. She has a way of making you feel like you are right there beside her enjoying a cup of fresh mint tea and gazing at her Olive grove at her soon to be realized Peacock Pavilion Bed and Breakfast outside of Marrakesh. Be sure to visit!

valentine's day Green....Gotta Get Some

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Western Interiors, February, March 2009, Photo by Roger Davies

Color me green with envy. As soon as I saw this living room designed by Helene Aumont for a house in Santa Barbara, I started thinking....do I just have to start all over? There is alot to love in the latest Western Interiors this month, but this room is "it" for me. Helene painted the oak paneled walls with this beautiful shade of limey green with a umber glaze that just brings the room to life. She refers to it as "avocado puree". I refer to it as perfection. The formality is tempered with a pair of Cappellini chairs with woven rush seats and the natural jute rug. (Helene if you are reading this, please correct me if I'm wrong!) The white upholstery (Rose Tarlow) and tangerine drapery fabric ( Cowtan and Tout) add even more freshness. Another thing: the careful editing is a strong suit for Ms. Aumont!

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Photo by Tim Street-Porter

Speaking of Rose Tarlow...you know....the white upholstery above....I was flipping through her book, The Private House, yesterday and came across this photo. Love. I will have to wait until kids and black dog are out of the house before I could even think of white upholstery....but one can dream. The touches of green in this room are just "right". Having all one pillow style creates a more modern feel, along with the art and sculptural qualities of the individual objects. Again...I think I am drawn to the casual, yet very sophisticated quality of this space. If you do not yet have this book, I highly recommend it. The variety of high and low, formal and casual, modern and traditional are all captured beautifully in full bleed color pages.

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Western Interiors, February,March 2009, Photo by Roger Davies

Back to Helene Aumont's design for the house in Santa Barbara. This outdoor "room" is the perfect place to hang out. I just wanted to draw your attention to the beautiful green mosaic table. Couldn't you just spend a whole day here....um...probably longer.

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I am sure many of you have seen this room in the latest Domino. The Dining Room of Mary McDonald's Guesthouse is a beautiful balance of color. The dashes of green in the vases, lamp and obelisks add that needed spice to the dark grey walls. I love her attention to detail with the addition of the green fabric hiding the chandelier chain as well. I am not a big shirred fabric on the chain kinda person....but in this case the vivid color takes the seriousness out of the formal chandelier....and I like that.

There is a pattern here. Green, with white or ivory and dark woods or dark neutral colors like the grey in McDonald's dining room, work together very well.

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Domino, February 2009, Photo by Ditte Isager

Another image from the latest Domino is from the Hollywood home of filmmaker, Maria Maggenti. Again we are seeing the green of the chairs with white and the darkness of the wood floors. This clean edited space still packs a style wallop. Very do-able for us all: Table, chairs, and sideboard from IKEA, art by Maggenti, candlesticks from the 99 cent store!

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House Beautiful, January 2009, Photo by Victoria Pearson

This "room" from House Beautiful draws it's decoration from all of the beautiful and varied "greens" in nature. Again I like that contrast of the green, ivory and the dark bronze details in the windows, doors and light fixture. This space was designed by Chris Barrett for KAA Design Group (which incidentally designs websites for some of the top design stars you all know and love!)

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Just a very cool tile pattern from a book I received or Christmas this year: Morocco Modern by Herbert Ypma. Well worth taking a look at. Beautiful images in this book!

So, if you are all ready for a little green to come your way...I thought I would help you out and get the ball rolling. Here are a few things that might appeal:

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I just saw this today on Eddie Ross' blog. It is not a plate, but a customizable (is that a word?) piece of art from Artaissance's Biltmore Collection. So fun...so check it out on Eddie's blog for lots more info and check out Artaissance for lots more art!

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I caught this on Ebay today. Just search for "Green Glazed French Pottery" and it will pop up along with alot of other green glazed goodness.

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Mars Vase from Oly Studio. Other-worldly!

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One-of-a-kind Limited Edition Antique French botanicals from Wisteria...."Limited", so when they are gone, they are gone. 4 for $999. Lovely!

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Suela Porcelain Lamp from Arteriors Home

And so ends my little jolly green jaunt. Hope you enjoyed!

Have a great weekend!