Search results for 'cranberry'

Color Friday is: Cranberry!

17 Dec

It’s not quite Christmas yet, but I still wanted to go with a holiday-themed color for this week’s Color Friday.  Not an overtly theme-y hue, but an unmistakably festive one.  So without much deliberation I settled on the elegant shade of Cranberry: rich, distinct, and equal parts edgy and feminine.  I think this is a great, warm color for a chilly and celebratory time of year.

Cranberry colored glassware of all shapes and shades. (image via Houston Museum of Decorative Arts)

I happened to come across the above image while doing a little research for Color Friday.  It’s from the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in Chattanooga, Tennessee; a city that is near and dear to my heart because I grew up there between the ages of 2 and 9.   Chattanooga is wonderful place, and in my almost-yearly visits since leaving I’ve seen it grow in terms of culture and cool-factor, resulting in a burgeoning arts scene downtown and a unique commercial district featuring everything from organic grocers to an incredible aquarium to numerous swanky clothing boutiques.  The museum sits in the Bluff View Arts District, which overlooks a large swath of the city and has one of my most favorite coffee shops in the universe (Rembrandt’s) and a fantastic art gallery, The Hunter Museum of American Art.  The Houston features pieces that were owned by Anna Houston, a seemingly eccentric Chattanoogan who left her extensive glass collection to be shown to the public; she especially had an affinity for cranberry pieces!  I hate to admit that I’ve never been, but now it will be one of the first stops on my tour of the city when I go back.  Can you tell how much I love it there?

L: the modern interior of the new wing in the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee; R: me on the Hunter's massive terrace overlooking the Tennessee river (both in the summer of 2008)

Southern-style Classic architecture meets Gehry-inspired modern architecture. Both wings of the Hunter at night, as photographed by my then-fiance, now-husband.

It seems fitting to me that I celebrate the wonderful coincidence of finding such a personal image that is the best representation of my color selection by showing you a collage of cranberry colored glass pieces.  I hope you find it interesting, and just a little bit festive!

Enjoy!

Clockwise from top R: 19th Century American Cranberry Bowls from Ann Madonia Antiques (image via 1st Dibs); Cranberry Diamond Facet Ornament by Glass Eye Studio, $23 (image via House Beautiful); Cranberry Swirl Pull Cabinet Hardware, $5 (image via Hot Knobs); Pair of mid-19th Century Cranberry Glass Sconces from Alexander Westerhoff Antiques (image via Alexander Westerhoff Antiques); Fruit Salad Bowl, $35 (image via cranberryglassware.com); Elenor Cranberry Chandelier by Laura Ashley, £150.00 (image via Laura Ashley); Rokki Bangle by Phuze, $230 (image via Vivre); Kosta Boda Zoom Medium Pink Candlestick, $195 (image via Kosta Boda)

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.


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Cranberries Galore!

9 Oct

I’ve been hearing about a neat installation/viral marketing thing that Ocean Spray, of cranberry fame, is doing today and tomorrow over at Union Station. For those of you who are not from or familiar with Washington, D.C., Union Station is our main train station, and the building is a stunning, gleaming white mixture of Classical and Beaux-Arts styles of architecture. My parents used to take me there as a kid and I still love the building. It usually looks like this (image via about.com): 

Union Station

Today, however, those fountains in front are filled with something other than water…

Union Station Cranberry Bog(image via Ocean Spray via Prince of Petworth)

2013-10-8-CranberryBog(image via Washingtonian)

Ocean Spray has made us our very own cranberry bog!

Isn’t it beautiful? I understand it contains 2,000 pounds of little red berries, and will be open only through today – so get there FAST!

For more cranberry-ness, revisit my post from a few years back about the lovely color here.

Or you can check out this lovely chair, beautiful pendants (from my favorite, Niche Modern), or pretty pillow:

2013-10-09 10.24.19 am

…or you can make this delicious looking cranberry martini!

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Enjoy the day!

 

 

 

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

Guests For The Holidays…But You Don’t Have a Guest Bedroom.

22 Nov

Make room for guests at your house...even if you don't technically have anywhere for them to sleep. (image via Stoopidgerl's Etsy shop).

It happens to all of us, especially those of us who live in DC: your parents/cousins/old college friends are coming to town for a few days and they’re looking for a place to stay.  At your place.  Which has just enough bedrooms for everyone who lives there.

In the middle of July most people would either happily blow up the air mattress in the living room or give them the keys to the street.  For the holidays though, you might want to be more accommodating and create a special, comfortable environment for your friends or family.

Here are a few ideas for making the most of your space, your resources, and your host and/or hostessing skills.

Got An Air Mattress?   Instead of blowing it up at night, by mouth (like my husband once did while my mother-in-law and I watched him), try setting it up in advance and making it with fresh linens that aren’t just your spare white sheet set (Target, Home Goods, and sale-time at West Elm or Crate and Barrel are great places to get a nice set of bed linens on the cheap).  Bonus points for matching your air mattress linens to the room it’s temporarily living in. Also consider hooking the fake-out guest room up with some essentials like a nearby tray or basket filled with bottled water, a nightlight, a tiny alarm clock, some of your favorite books and a kitschy chocolate treat for bedtime.  This may be going on in your den, but at least it’ll look welcoming and make your guests feel special.  Plus, you’ll save the effort of getting them tucked in when you’re exhausted after a day of entertaining.

A guest tray: easy and cheap to make, but a really lush detail. (image via Sunset)

Don’t have an air mattress but have an extra futon, daybed, or couch in a spare room?  Then do the same thing…except just get a cushy, twin-sized foam mattress pad and cover the couch cushions in lieu of a mattress. No one will know, and I won’t tell.

Still want to put your guest to sleep on the floor next to your speakers?  Fine.  Just at least lean the mattress up against a wall during the day so you’re not stepping over it to get to the cranberry sauce.

No unsuspecting grandma deserves being forced to sleep in this bed. (image via Amazon)

 

Now, if you have kids, sometimes the solution is giving up your own bedroom and crashing with them.  That’s great…except not really fun for you.  Plus, if your kids are at all like my 20 month old they’ll look at this as an excuse for an all night party.  Though this most likely won’t work for a clingy toddler, you can definitely move a little baby (via pack n’ play or bassinet) or an adventurous older child (via sleeping bag) to another location – quiet hallway, open walk-in closet, living area, you get the idea – then take their room over with your lame air mattress.  You get privacy, the child gets quiet (baby) or a fun sleeping experience (older kid), and your guests get comfort and a door to close.  It’s a win-win-win, and all you had to do was be a little creative about the sleeping arrangements.

I’m sure other people have solutions they’ve tried when faced with this dilemma. If so, please share your successes and your not-so-successful attempts in the comments.

Happy Hosting!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.