The blessings that God has bestowed on my life are numerous….this lil girl is one of the biggest blessings of all.

She did not come quickly as we struggled to successfully conceive and carry our first baby for 2 1/2 years.

I’m realizing now how precious time is…how quickly it flies by…how much I want to soak in the gifts of my family.

Certain moments are better reminders than others of what really matters to me in my life.  Life gets busy, I find myself scattered, overwhelmed, and short on awareness.

May I continue to be humbled in parenting with love, awareness, an open mind and a wide open heart.

Peace

Today I thought I’d shed a bit of lighting design inspiration from Zia Priven Design.  Zia Priven is a company comprised of a husband and wife team.  Marcia Zia and Paul Priven began creating clean, classic, hand made lighting designs in 1999.  Their designs show a strong modern aesthetic, grounded in classic styling, materials and finished details.

The fixture above features lovely feminine hand-blown glass drops in soft elongated shapes, with staggered lengths hung from a hammered bronze ceiling canopy.

I’m drawn to this ceiling fixture for it’s simplistic style, play on simple materials, translucent appeal and soft circular shape.  Love the polished nickel faceted bead ball chain and top canopy as classic modern elements.

Similar in design concept to the fixture above, but with a geometric twist, level faceted bead ball lengths with a copper colored finish.  Stunning !!

Same idea and the copper pendant, but with silver metallic finish, slightly smaller scale design..equally brilliant.

Zia Priven is also known for their stellar hand-blown glass finials…above are a few of my favorites.

Lastly, a simple driftwood based table lamp.  The shape, the materials, the negative space within it’s body results in a textural clean lighting alternative for your bedside or a sofa/console table.  (I absolutely adore the console table it shown on—love the organic shaped wood slab with asymetrical metal inserts for support and design appeal).

I have so missed blogging and connecting here.  I sometimes feel like I am drowning in all the aspects of my life….wishing to feel a sense of balance…to give the appropriate amount of time and attention to all that matters to me…sometimes, I just fall short.

I hope to be more consistent here as time goes by in 2010.

Peace!

It has been too long since I posted here.  Somehow in the pace that is my life, I ran out of blogging steam. This image, which I took with my new camera (over the moon excited about her), is a reminder of the power of play in my life; I watch my children lace play into every single thing that they do—it is as natural for them as breathing.  It bums me out that I forget to carve out time to play…with friends, with my children, with my husband, my family, and now, with my new camera.

I love being a mother, and I love creating spaces that people can enjoy….in order to have something to give back, I have to continue to replenish my soul…play is one way for me to do that.

Happy New Year (belated, I realize).  I’d love to hear what helps you keep up with all of the demands and the pace of your life?

Peace

image by:  jana

One of Ben Kelly Design (”BKD”) exhibitions….a design firm, London based…a very impressive breadth of work

wooden telephone poles juxtaposed with brass L brackets housing business gear and lighting—smart and chic

lovely custom woodwork with the repeated pole element…housing a simple Thomas Edison bulb; love the aggregate tile flooring with the weight of the sleek concrete wall

on color…..vivid, rich and decisively placed….complimentary, subtle yet brilliantly effective

custom wood cut and inlay elements mixed with the sleek, yet masculine element of steel; sound architecture and material selection

color and material selection is a delicate rope to walk in design without overstimulating the space—-a fine example of a job well done on all levels

rich, textural, primarily masculine with brilliant red wall and bar beverage pull elements…concrete wall, high gloss red wall, and stainless (thicker edge detail) counter married with a sleek black elevated skateboard counter.  I’m lovin how the stools are floor mounted to blend in as permanent fixture

accomplished in color splashes and mixing materials is clearly evident in this vignette; there are at least a dozen worthy elements to soak in for design inspiration on future projects

Peace

My jaw hit the floor when I saw this phenomenal take on wood inlayed flooring.  Generally speaking, traditional inlaid wood floors are a bit busy for my taste, but these floors, designed by I Vasselletti are completely drool worthy. (Product found via the lovely blog 79 ideas)

Peace

image by:  jana inside studio

I hope your holiday season is going well and finding you surrounded by warmth, good food and good company.

I love the history and the designers that comprise the collection of Fredericia Furniture.  Old names, such as Hans J. Wegner, Borge Mogensen, Nanna Ditzel, and fresh design talent infused by the likes of Christina Strand, Hans Sandgren Jakobsen, Peter Mogensen, Per Borre and Cecilie Manz.  Most of these designers are well known and deeply rooted in danish tradition.

The collaboration between the designers and Fredericia Furniture is based on a common passion for furniture design with a respect for quality.  These pieces illustrate a mastery of combining functional and aesthetics.

In their words, “Furniture that is needed and made to be used. Furniture that is a delight to the eye every day.”

I love the lines, the balance, the materials selection, the finishing quality.  These pieces would fold so well in both residential and commercial venues…..lovely vignettes.

Peace.

Inspiration comes from so many sources for me….a consummate student of all things visual….blending of color, fabrics, textures and materials….a visual seeker of sorts.

Today, I’ll share a bit of runway fashion from John Galliano’s  recent runway show, his Ready to Wear 2010 line found via Vogue.co.uk.  I take it in as an overt example on what is fresh, and scale it back accordingly for future inspirational reference :)

Life is busy, life is full.  I am loving my family and holding my friends close….life is precious, life is fragile…honoring all that I have been given.

Keep your mind, heart, soul and spirit open…there is beauty in everything!

“The only limits are, as always, those of vision”                     James Broughton

Peace

the walls, that is; amazing.  been working on a masculine palette; thoughts of texture, rich, deep colors, contrast and material mixes—the smooth and the rugged.

fresh take on a classic color and material combination—new scale, smooth texture, raised relief;

a departure from depth with a feathery white flavor…who knew tires would compose so lovely herein?

optimal balance….enough said;

sometimes continual material is a brilliant answer to an age old question;

perfection—narrowness and length topped with a solid of equal grace and depth; richness personafied;

Peace

all images via Mutina

seamless transition of neutral beauty via kaikai

sensual outdoor splendor, minimal yes, with brilliant style via kaikai

jewel toned momentum, architectural movement….grounded in sleek hardscape selections

color fused with eloquence…quenched with quiet hardscape

both visuals via Elle Decoration

rich, subtle, brilliantly composed…neutrally speaking

light palette, emphasized and accomplished with thoughts on scale and edge detail

both visuals via International Architect Antonio Zaninovic (found via Elle Decoration)

Peace