I grew up in a flyover state (Ohio), and they must be on my mind this week. Yesterday I was thinking about midwestern Seed Bombs, and today I’m taking a virtual house tour in Kansas:

Kirstie Alley was on Oprah the other day, talking about how her first job was being a housekeeper at a wealthy family’s home (she recommends cleaning bathrooms with gallons of cheap vodka), and her second job was at an interior decorator who was high on cocaine a lot of the time. She talked about dreaming of owning this house in her hometown of Wichita Kansas, which was the headquarters of the historical society at the time. She decorated it herself, and there is a fun tour of it over at Oprah.com. Personally, I love the bedroom below, and I love that Kirstie is not afraid of loud, bold wallpaper. The kitchen is beautiful, but because it wasn’t all that large, Kirstie bought the house next door, transformed the entire downstairs into a kitchen, and built a bridge between the two houses. You can see a lot of nods to traditional design and a few moves that seem kinda eighties, but who cares? Kirstie is hilarious and my dad and I sat and watched the segments of her and cracked up the entire time.

all images from Oprah.com

I’m posting these flickr faves a day early because it’s a favorite workspace we missed last week. It comes to us from flickr member lockette. So white. So bright. So ORGANIZED! Those work surfaces and windows make this a perfect creative space. Love the photography too! You can peruse her creations in her Etsy store.

Today I have been admiring this Gastown loft in Vancouver B.C. that I found in our fresh new spaces group on flickr. Thanks so much to flickr member to be, inspired for sharing this! At first, you might browse on by and think “oh big whoop, another gorgeous loft with big windows, exposed brick and beams and huge open space.” However, look closer. This owner really knows how to balance things to perfection. It’s not too rugged, not too sleek. Not too modern, not too eclectic. It’s just right:

This loft strikes a great balance between sleek, modern furniture and some classic glitz; between structural elements like ebony wood cabinets and more worn patinas, like the exposed brick walls and slightly rough-hewn posts. Sticking to the a neutral color palette allows the wide array of textures to stand out.

For more about this loft, link over to this post at To Be, Inspired. Also, this post is hilarious. If you want to learn more about the owner, Sally, click here. She is someone I would love to hang out with!

both images from flickr member to be, inspired, specifically, Ryan. Doesn’t this beautiful photography enhance the palette and style of this space even more? As I watched the slideshow from our group, every one of their photos was obviously theirs.

Yesterday I gave you a peek at some of my friend Lucas’s clever artwork tricks. Today I thought I’d show you his balcony, which is in this flickr set. This loft is right around the corner from The King Center in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. Lucas has really made the most of his balcony. It overlooks Freedom Parkway, Downtown, and Midtown. I was at a party at Casa Luca last week and at one point there were at least seven of us seated comfortably out there.

He has softened modern pieces with pillows, plants, and a rug. At night, he brings out his rechargeable lanterns from Vessel (on the chair in the top photo). Once you lounge on this daybed, you NEVER want to get up. The fabric is weather-resistant, and he also has a cover for it.

Lucas likes to take some time out to enjoy The View. And when he turns his head sideways, he gets this view. Not too shabby!

I am a huge fan of most of the Showtime original shows, so the Metropolitan Home Showhouse Showtime theme is so appealing to me (even a room inspired by by Dexter). The Tribeca tour is running on weekends through October 18, and all of the proceeds from the $20 tickets go to Housing Works.

Whoopsy, the picture above is from last year’s Dexter house, thanks to Maria for clarifying in the comments section! Dexter’s rooms for 2009 are right here. The entire pointclickhome slideshow for this year is here.

Decorated Life is covering each room after her visit. I know I’ll enjoy seeing all the rooms through her blog! Here’s one of her shots of the hospital/pill-themed Nurse Jackie Waiting Room/Lounge:

Tour the Californication house at pointclickhome:

images from showtime.com, Decorated Life, and pointclickhome respectively. Click on photos to link to the original sources.

I stopped by my friend Lucas’s loft in the Old Fourth Ward today and took about a million pictures. Between the funky flash and the fact that I was dizzy, I’m not thrilled with the results, but the ideas are so good I had to share a few with you immediately anyway. I’ll share more of a house tour in a later post after some photo editing attempts, but for now, here are a few of his great ideas.

Aren’t these ticket stub shadowboxes a great idea? I have ticket stubs floating all over my house, some in scrapbooks, some on bulletin boards, I even saw one in my laundry room the other day. I’d love to get them all in one place, as each one carries different memories (side note: perhaps I’ll blow up the one from the Depeche Mode concert this past month – that show was AWESOME! OK, back to Lucas…) Lucas is a singer-songwriter and goes to see live music ALL the time. I even spy Suzanne Vega’s signature on a stub in his collection.

Lucas has a knack with IKEA frames. The piece above was bought from an artist in Provincetown, and he gave it more of a presence with an inexpensive black frame. The piece below is a tangle of old guitar wires that he was gathering up to toss out. When he saw they had formed a heart shape, he popped them in another frame:

Every surface around the loft is well-curated. Living in a small studio instilled the feeling of only keeping things you need and love around the house. Lucas entertains a lot, and I noticed he utilized trays and modern tray tables all over his home for various things. He keeps his bar beautiful with fresh flowers and candles.

A TV-related tree, currently some sort of shrine to Carrie Bradshaw!

Again, sorry for the photo quality. I’m not sure what happened there, and I feel like they don’t do the art or the space justice! Luckily, I have a bunch of photos from Lucas himself which are much better than mine. You can sort through them all in this flickr set if you’d like a peek before the house tour post!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the note in the shadowbox, “U Cute” was a note left in grease pen on a Burger King bag by a toothless cashier who was staring at Lucas so much that he said “I was afraid he was gonna cut me.” It was only later as he picked up his burger detritus that he saw the note and it all made sense! Did I mention that Lucas is hilarious?

I’m so glad I started following Dwell Studio on Twitter. Otherwise, I might have missed the blog post about Dwell Studio partner Jenna Chused’s feature in Martha Stewart Living! Her apartment is impeccable without being intimidating; for example, I love the way she used this school chart as art:

And I have some serious kitchen envy over this one. Wow, the power of a rug! This kitchen is strong like bull (as my father would say):

Check out the rest of the slideshow over at Martha’s place – I promise it will be worth your while! Also, you can get your own Dwell Studio style by browsing over here.

Photographs via marthastewartliving.com. Photographer name was not listed; if you know it, please comment so that I can add it to this post.

Petunia Pickle Bottom co-founders DeNai and Braden share an incredible tour of their home and design style. Keep an eye out for the school map of the United States, the oversized Chinese ceremonial mask and the mushroom collection. Without question, I could live here and feel well traveled, educated and at peace. Beautiful job, guys! If you want to learn more about PPB, check out our designer interview. Enjoy!

Maybe it’s the fact that in my professional life vibrant color and pattern are my signature style at Petunia Pickle Bottom that make my personal life at home a monochromatic world.  My rule of thumb when putting together a room usually begins with one object.  I am a fan of flea markets or something with a little history.  So when I begin to style a room, it is usually a unique found object that sparks my imagination.

Our home was built in the 1920’s and still has a considerable amount of the original details.  Our family room is where we like to hang out by the fireplace, read books to the kids on our comfy couches, take a nap or set up train tracks to circumnavigate the room.  When I first saw this room, I was struck by the 8’ window and high exposed beam ceiling. It was light and bright so I chose colors that would naturally illuminate.

The focal point I designed around was the natural wood Roost buck head flanked by archival school charts (lobster and bird) that stem from my father’s days as a college biology professor. My recent obsession with mushrooms covers the fireplace mantle.

Friends joke our kids will have nightmares from the oversized Chinese ceremonial mask that hangs in our dining room. Found at an antique store in historic downtown Ventura, she’s become part of the family. We think it was used in the movies or carried in a Chinese parade.

The red lips of the mask were the perfect color to pair the walls, a vintage red wood telephone booth door filled with glass, and our custom table crafted by my husband.

My 3-year-old son Sutton’s room was recently converted to a “big boy” bedroom.  Years ago I found a stunning oversized school map of the United States (chalk printed so you can write on it) that I knew would be perfect for a child’s bedroom. We held onto over the years and it served as the perfect centerpiece for the “Traveler’s odyssey” theme for my son’s room.

Complete with a flying ship, globes, suitcase, guitar, army blanket, old books, and Read the rest of this entry »

As you could probably sense from my anorexic posts last week, I was in deeply relaxed vacation mode on Cape Cod. I had a family wedding near Smuggler’s Notch in Vermont, and then snuck down to the beach for a few bonus days. By the way, I had no idea Vermont was so beautiful in the summer. It was truly breathtaking to drive through the valley surrounded by blue mountains, farms, lovely old homes surrounded by tall Hollyhocks and moo cows! But I digress. I decided to share the little cottage where I stay on the Cape. Also, coincidentally, Big Mucky-Muck Design Public Honcho Matt was coming to ya live from the same cottage a week before I arrived!

It’s not modern, rather, it’s very Shabby Chic, a trend that hit the tipping point sometime pre-Target launch, but I figured what the heck, Hatch readers might enjoy it anyway. I’ll admit it, I’ve never turned my back on Shabby Chic. While I’ve cleaned up and streamlined a bit from the peeling paint and extra bits of clutter that I surrounded myself with in the 1990s, I still find it to be a very relaxing and comforting style. I’ve shared most of my pictures in an ideabook at Houzz.com, so if you feel like checking the whole thing out, hop over there for a minute or two. Here’s a little preview so you can decide if you want to bother!

Where do you go for online house tours the most? I tend to browse The Selby for artistic inspiration, Apartment Therapy for the people who are just like you and me, POINTclickHOME for some American magazine style, Living etc. for that Euro flair and W for total fantasy. While it’s really hard to pick a favorite, the one I find myself anticipating new features from the most is New York Social Diary. I am currently dying over Izhar Patkin’s living space, and the interview that goes along with it is superb. Here’s a teaser; I highly recommend you check it out here A.S.A.P.! Here’s a teaser:

These NYSD features always seem to have the greatest outdoor areas as well:

all photos by Jeffrey Hirsch for New York Social Diary