Office Minimalist

Life Is Good

Posted by Mr Wong at 1:40 PM 0

Life Is Good.

Notice anything different in the picture below?

If you guessed that I was not wearing my sling, you are right! I am being weaned from my sling. I still have to wear it in public, like the grocery store, mall etc. But at home I can leave it off.

I still can't raise my arm above my shoulder to blow dry my hair. I still have therapy twice a week for the next two months , but things are progressing!

I case you were trying to read what my t-shirt says...

Yep....Life Is Good!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Sunday Showhouse...and you're invited!

Posted by Mr Wong at 5:09 AM 0

Good morning! Its another lazy Sunday (thankfully- I need an excuse to take it easy) and today you are invited to take a peek into two different homes, two extraordinary homes. (We can all dream). Since I am still very much in my "French state of mind" (can't quite seem to shake it-yet) we travel all the way to the magnificent storybook land of The Loire Valley in France. I LOVE French homes and these certainly show them at the their finest. Amazing what the magic wand of a talented designer can do!
The first is one of my all time favorites.....it was "love at first sight" and certainly a true dream home. Timothy Corrigan, a U.S. designer took both of these incredible 17th century chateaus and lovingly restored them to their former splendor. The result on both is just breathtaking and a dream. Both were featured in Architectural Digest. His story is fascinating and something I think many of us dream about................

This home, lovingly restored by Timothy Corrigan is in the Loire Valley and is a fabulous 17th century chateau. Named Chateau De Grand Luce, this is nothing short of perfect in my book.

The very tall ceilings make for such a dramatic and elegant room, the soft ivories with hints of color is so soothing

A dining room fit for a king....love the colors..so warm

Love red and green together, this is a beautiful shade of green isn't it?

If I was a guest in this jewel of a bedroom...they might not ever get rid of me!

The ridiculously beautiful master bedroom in soothing soft colors

Almost too perfect to be real!

Then we go back to 2005, to yet another fabulous chateau also restored by the uber talented Timothy Corrigan...he certainly has the Midas touch, doesn't he! This fabulous home is named Chateau de Gallerande and is also located in the Loire Valley. Dreamy!

You can see how tall this home is when you look at the dwarfed front door!

Elegant sunlit drawing room

Beautiful Aubusson tapestry in the dining room

Beautiful rich wood paneled walls

Part of the exquisite library

These colors are sooo beautiful together, the pale blue/green and apricot

Another elegant bedroom

Part of the amazing formal gardens, a boxwood parterre

Hope you enjoyed these fabulous homes and that you have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday!

Playing

Posted by Mr Wong at 12:00 PM 0

Playing....playing with my camera. Trying to learn how to use it.

I have it on manual...that is a step in the right direction :-).

Aren't these wooden birds cute? I got them at a local nursery this Christmas and used them on my mantel.

The bowl was made by a Louisiana artist from reclaimed Cypress wood.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Blast of Color!

Posted by Mr Wong at 10:44 AM 0

Hello everyone,

I just popped in to share some colorful pictures of our garden that I took mostly last summer but a few are older ones. I see from reading blogs that many of you are starved for color so I thought I would give you a little shot of color today. I am starting to get excited about the return of the garden but living in Canada I know I will have to be patient for awhile yet, but still I enjoy looking back at past summer with a cup of tea in hand.

The photo above is our allee garden path- the lovely blue is six hills giant nepeta .

The arbor that my husband built several years ago.

Graham Thomas - a beautiful David Austen English rose.

The rose blooming here is Therese Bugnet- a hardy no fuss rose.

our garden in June.

Phlox gives a good shot of color in August and September.

Lots of color in the mid summer garden

I love these tree peony blossoms- they are the first of many peonies to bloom in our garden.

Love that first shot of color in the spring garden!

How I look forward to lilac season!

I am looking forward to picking bouquets from the garden again.

Love this Japanese peony but sorry I have forgotten the name so I call it beautiful!

How I love those big beautiful peony blossoms.

The garden in full bloom.

Miss Kim lilac standards in the foreground and a Canadian lilac behind.

Vile de Lyon clematis growing up around a birdhouse.

August has so much color in our garden.

One last blast of color for you- a beautiful bouquet!

Well, now since you probably already know I love to show off our little bit of garden paradise I am joining Hakan (who has a beautiful rose garden paradise) for Show off Saturday over at Maleviks Rosentradgard in Sweden. This is my first time entering and there is so much beauty-garden and otherwise to see.

Thank you for visiting me today,

Enjoy your weekend,

Carolyn

Come with me on a magic carpet ride...and go wallpaper shopping!

Posted by Mr Wong at 5:55 AM 0

Ok finally coming off my high from Paris..not easily though and so not by choice! Back to reality and the drawing board of getting my house business in high gear. I thought (emphasis on the word thought) I knew what I wanted for the carpeting for the bedrooms. This AFTER I won the argument with my husband to put in wall to wall carpeting (so much cozier and prettier in a bedroom in my opinion and remember we live in New York where we get very cold winters, case in point the 10 degrees it is right now) so carpeting to me, makes oodles of sense for all our bedrooms. So....I have started looking, though its one of the last things we will be putting in, some take 6 weeks and after waiting over two and a half years, I sure am not going to delay my move for, of all things.......carpeting! Let me know if one below is screaming out "master bedroom" or "boys room" or "guest room"...would love to know what all you tastemakers think!

Well I have discovered the wonderful world of carpeting by Patterson, Flynn and Martin (a Schumacher brand) and they nearly knocked my socks off. They are so amazing looking, I couldn't even begin to decide. I think I want a soft palette for my master, think pales gray/blues and pale greens with a creme, many of the carpets below would work beautifully. Its always easier to start with the carpet and work my way up. I THOUGHT I knew what I wanted and now I am at a total loss for all the bedrooms, though some of the ones below I think scream "young mans room"....so please tell me what you think, and which is your favorite!

Then I move on to the wonderful world of wallpapers......way too many choices. I am just starting to scratch the surface, but have included some pretty standouts below as well as some great paint hues from Zoffany....I love to know what you think, so please let me know!

As if those aren't breathtaking enough..onto walls, I am also really loving Farrow and Ball's wallpapers and paints. What do you think about these papers and colors? So pretty and inspiring! The colors (the last 3 are just so pretty, soft quiet, putty gray/blue/greens which I think could be gorgeous for a master bedroom)

Love this pattern.....colors are gorgeous too, would be pretty in a bathroom

Love this color..so regal!

This would be sooo opulent, can see it in a dark room with rich woods...

This is such a great color, neutral with just a hint of blue (parma gray)

A beautiful gray/green (light blue- don't get the colors' name either)

Beautiful soft gray (skylight)

Zoffany has long been one of my favorite sources for papers and paint....they do have some beautiful papers. Here are some beautiful pictures of some of their papers, hard to pick a favorite...do you have one?

Looove this pattern and of course it looks smashing with the blue and white!

Beautiful color and pattern

A close up

Love how old fashioned looking this is....

This would look great in a gentleman's study or small cozy office or a masculine closet/dressing room

And of course there is the fabulous house of Scalamandre....I used them for a few rooms in my old home and never tired of walking into the rooms I put them in....always so beautiful, here is some Scalamandre inspiration.............(all pictures from Scalamandre)