Create mystery...hide the rest

We hung these beautiful, but inexpensive, paper parasols at Nest, because the high ceilings and fluorescent fixtures made it impossible to achieve the intimate, mysterious atmosphere we were going for. So, we veiled the harsh lighting with the warm glow of parchment and chocolate brown. The parasols, hung overlapping and at different heights, created the cozy ambiance we wanted.

I got the idea for this years ago, when I moved into my first apartment. It was in an old house that had been divided up into one-room studios. My room had rotted wood floors, high ceilings with horrible, brown water spots, and a light fixture that consisted of an electrical cord hanging down about two feet, with an exposed light bulb at the end. But, it was mine!

I painted the walls a soft shade of lavender, and the yucky wood floors, glossy black. I had a hand-me-down dresser that I painted black, as well. I took off the ugly drawer pulls, and replaced them with elaborate antique ones. My bed floated in the middle of the room. There was no headboard, so I draped a huge, white spread over it, and piled on a bunch of pillows in all sizes and shapes. On my dresser, I placed a white alabaster lamp with a red silk shade, a bowl of exotic bangle bracelets, and a vase of red flowers.

But, what to do with that ceiling? I went to World Bazaar...remember World Bazaar? I bought twenty paper parasols. (In 1974, they were about a dollar each :) Mine were white with black borders, and each one had a red cherry blossom branch on it. I hung them from the ceiling at varying heights, so they would hide the water spots and mask the light bulb. Voila! The parasols took the room from pretty...to exotic and mysterious!

Did Harry and Sally live happily ever after?

When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time. Made in the late 80's, it's still the gold standard for demonstrating that men and women just don't think alike. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal are hilarious as idealistic, perfectionist Sally, and cynical, commitment-phobic Harry.

Over a period of twelve years, they argue about friendship, love, and sex, only to realize in the end, that they are best friends who are in love...with each other. The scene in Katz's Deli when Sally fakes an orgasm is classic. (The woman who says, "I'll have what she's having," is director Rob Reiner's mother.) Harry and Sally show us that, in spite of our inability to agree on, well, anything, love can eventually conquer all.

The movie ends with the newlyweds discussing their recent wedding. They seem happy, but, my question is, did it last? I've never known a man and woman who think alike, but Harry and Sally are particularly "polar" in their belief systems. However, does that automatically doom a relationship?

Did they still find their differences quirky and charming after a few years of marriage? Or, did Harry get tired of Sally's OCD small-talk and turn to one of his numerous old girlfriends for a night of hot-monkey sex? Did Sally grow weary of Harry's dark side, and leave him for a more sensitive, communicative type?

I'd always hoped that one day they would make a sequel, so we could find out what happened to Harry and Sally. Did the magic last? Did they move to the suburbs? Have children? Or did they fight over the books that they didn't put their names in and go through a nasty divorce?

Did Harry and Sally live happily ever after?

Santos/Saints...

Santo (from the Spanish word meaning "saint") is a traditional New Mexican genre of religious sculpture. The word "santo" is also used to refer to individual works in this genre. Santos are carvings, either in wood or ivory, that depict saints, angels, or other religious figures.

This beautiful Santo is from the Eric Cortina Collection. Artists in the Phillipines start with Eric's original design and hand carve each figure piece out of mahogany. A different carver then creates the head and hands using softer wood. Every piece is unique and has it's own personality which is displayed in the carving of the face and glass eyes.

After each piece is carved, it is entirely covered in gesso which provides a surface for the various layers of paint used in Eric's finishing process. They are then packed, crated and shipped to the Cortina studio, where they are stained, painted, sanded and hand distressed to make each piece unique.

Sweet dreams...from Belgium to Atlanta

This Belgian-style beauty of a bedroom belongs to Atlanta interior designer, Kay Douglas, who owns one of my favorite home furnishings stores, South of Market.

The bedroom's quiet elegance and European charm are so fresh and appealing. I love the two comfortable chairs and the primitive wooden stool at the foot of the bed, the rustic, but sophisticated paneled headboard, the clean lines of the chest and mirror, and the touches of orange for contrast with the soft ivories, beiges and grays. The use of various textures creates interest, but the lack of clutter and the neutral color palette provide a sanctuary of calm to relax in at the end of a hectic day. All it needs is a Belgian chocolate on the pillow...

The most adorable child on the planet...

I know everyone thinks that their grandchild is the cutest kid in the world. But really, you have to admit, this IS the most adorable child on the planet! He's my grandson, Jameson. Good genes just run in the family..:)

My Dream Home...

I want a warehouse...not to store stuff in...to live in. I adore rafters, pipes and ductwork, crusty exposed brick, gigantic metal and glass windows that crank open, creaky old wood floors, and feet and yards of raw space with no interior walls to dictate how that space should be used. I prefer a place that hasn't been renovated to death. And most warehouses used to be something else...a workroom or a factory...which gives them a sense of history and timelessness that I find irresistible. I've been in some of the most beautiful houses on the planet, but my dream home is an urban warehouse loft, in the heart of a city, with quirky boutiques, multi-ethnic restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, museums, galleries, and all kinds of interesting, wacky people just outside my door...

Minimal, elegant, or just easier?

In an interview, the artist Georgia O'Keeffe was once asked why she always wore black. In a time when the mode of dress for women was petticoats, corsets, elaborate hairstyles and lots of powder and rouge, Ms. O'Keeffe was an oddity, with her very plain minimal black wardrobe, no makeup, and long hair pulled back into a severe bun.

She replied that if she wore color, she would have to live up to it. She went on to explain that color greatly affected her mood and that she needed a neutral, non-agitating wardrobe so her clothing wouldn't compete with the colors she put on her canvases. Her answer was probably true, however, I'm sure she was also aware that her unique, un-fussy demeanor set her apart.

The infamous designer, Coco Chanel spent much of her childhood in a convent, and claimed that the nuns, in their strict, black habits, and the no frills school uniform that she wore daily, greatly influenced her tailored design style. She became famous for her use of somber colors with little or no pattern, menswear fabrics, unstructured silhouettes, and of course, for creating the perfectly timeless, little black dress.

Diana Vreeland, the noted tastmaker and flamboyant fashion magazine editor, once wrote, "elegance is refusal." When I first read her comment, back in the 70's, I had no idea what she meant. Refusal? At the time, my concept of elegance was indulgence and extravagance...something like, "if one flashy necklace is good, then adding the matching bracelets and a pair of dangly earrings is clearly better!" Also, since Mrs. Vreeland herself was a little over the top, I wasn't really sure where her observation was coming from. Why would a woman who wore kabuki makeup and whose signature color was fire-engine red say such a thing?

But, over the years, I've come to appreciate the beauty of minimal. I understand the allure of editing one's options...of limiting oneself to one color...or rather, sticking to the absence of all color...which is black. Black is my friend. It goes with everything, even itself. And I detest fooling with ruffles and extraneous frou-frou. Dry cleaning? No need. Linen? I don't even own an iron. Hairstyle? I roll down the car windows so my hair can blow dry on the way to work. I put on chapstick at red lights.

If indeed, elegance is refusal, then I truly must be one of the most elegant gals on the planet. Is that possible? Am I following in the footsteps of two of the most innovative, fashion forward women of the twentieth century? Am I an artist who doesn't want to compete with my work? Or am I just lazy?

I'll have to get back with you on this one. Right now, I'm going shopping for a simple pair of washable, no-iron, black pants that don't make my butt look big...