IDEAS: home design and me

California Dreamin' Bobby Womack

I've finished staging the living room bookshelves, mantle and wall space above mantle. It's funny how this always begins with a small item and then branches out from there. I really hadn't pre-conceived how I wanted to do this and usually I can envision a layout.

When Jeff and I were discussing the way of which the living room will go... the only things I told him were that for the current design I was leaning towards a retro Coffee House funk which would embrace all of our fav objects, art and books. I'm long over the traditional, matchy-matchy furniture set up; you know... the sofa, love seat, coffee table arrangement. It's just not for me. As Jeff and I were saying to each other 'the kids' own their own homes, their families are growing, it's just us and we can decorate however we want, so why aren't we? The only prerequisite is that the art, books and objects have to be pieces we love or make us laugh, a whimsy element is important to us.

I should preface this with... having grown up in Santa Clara within a stone's throw of two early California mission churches; St. Clare's (where David and Tara were baptized) and Mission Santa Clara De Asis (on the grounds of Santa Clara university) as well as the Carmelite Monastery has had a cultural as well as a spiritual impact on me.

I love ALL things Old California, like Spanish pueblos and hacienda's with clay roof tiles. Wooden crosses that crown church tops, eucalyptus trees that line both sides of old 2-way highways, groves of oak trees clustered on hillsides, historic San Juan Bautista with it's roosters roaming it's old streets, the seaside town of Santa Cruz, California Impressionist art....

So, while I hadn't intended for this influence to make itself known this is the vibe that the living room has captured.

Let's begin with the first piece I put together:

The living room is blue and white so this was an obvious choice. I love the wood bread bowl but was not using it. I love the blue ceramic ball collection, but they needed a home to be displayed in without being able to roll about. The solution was to add moss to the base and then place and arrange balls. The rough bark trim and color of the smooth wood bowl with the moss remind me of eucalyptus. Don't ask... it just does.

Then I needed artwork for the very large paneled wall above the fireplace. This wasn't as easy as you'd think as we have so much art to choose from.

This was the first art piece that Jeff and I purchased together for the master bedroom of our 3rd floor master bedroom when we lived in Forest Meadows (Murphys). The artist is our friend, Diana Boyd. Love her artwork!

So then I needed something to balance opposite of the ceramic ball collection.

A mantle needs candles and I needed a place to display my cross collection, you'll see more in a minute.

Well, what about more art to fill in the space beneath the large acrylic cat painting?

Jeff and I love Sutter Creek, Jeff grew up there and has boyhood memories which we've expanded into great family holiday/vacation get-away memories with our family all these many years later. So, this artwork was a given. The photographer/artist is our friend, Laura Faye Mah.

Well, what about something organic to place on the mantle in front of Laura's artwork?

When Amanda was in elementary school her class went on a field trip to Indian Grinding Rock in Volcano. She carved her name of this rock and created Indian hieroglyphics on the upper side of the rock. One of my fav childhood gifts from her.

What's better than a rock? Two rocks.

(A few years ago) Landie gave me this rock to pair with her mom's as she thought her mom's rock needed a friend. She was right.

So, what about something to place on the fireplace wall above the ceramic ball collection?

Yep, another cross candle holder. I like to have a collection of the same items grouped together, instead of one piece here and there. It's more of a visual impact.

So, what does ALL of the above look like together? Glad you asked...

I just happen to have a few pix to share with you.

That's the fireplace. And now for the adjacent bookshelves. We'll start with Jeff's side.

This is an overview of what it looks like. In color.

Jeff loves all things eclectic (you'll lose him in a salvage yard) and he loves jazz. So, this little African musician holds special appeal.

Jeff is and always has been a HUGE fan of Opus by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. It so happens, I'm going to mess this up, Berkeley's uncle or grandfather, I think it's uncle, Jeff will have to correct me, is a client of Jeff's. When he learned of Jeff's admiration of Opus, he surprised Jeff with this wonderful gift of Berkeley's , Opus, 25 years of His Sunday Best. A wonderfully thoughtful gesture and so very appreciated gift. This book holds prominence on Jeff's book shelf. Especially, since Berkeley autographed it especially for Jeff from one cartoonist to another. He refers to Jeff's political cartoons in a local newspaper.