Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Oregon Travels: British Route Sign Designs

British Route Sign Designs at Home Economics
As you know, I and the significants were up in Oregon during Spring Break in the town of Grants Pass, which is situated on the Rogue River. There was scant time to explore as much as I would have liked, especially the antique shops in town. What with kids, husband and hyperactive canines in tow, there was not a lot of opportunity.
More Home Economics
If I had, I would have found the very cool shop, Home Economics in the H Street Antiques Collective. And then I would have discovered British Route Sign Designs. DeWayne Lumpkin is the proprietor of this company that celebrates the graphic quality of vintage British transfer route bus signs, reproducing the designs onto fabrics. He offers fabric yardage, pillows, drapery panels, unique upholstered pieces, tabletop accessories and bed skirts.....and of course, the signs themselves!
DeWayne Lumpkin relaxing at Home Economics
Lucky for me, I have a very savvy SIL who knows me all too well. She sent me an article from the Grants Pass Daily Courier showing DeWayne relaxing in one of his Wing Back chairs. Not two minutes later, I was emailing away to connect with DeWayne to ask more about his product line. A nicer guy, you would be hard pressed to find. He sent me some photos to share with you,

British Route Sign Design Wing Back Chair

Columbia Pillow

Vintage Chairs with British Route Sign Design Fabric
More Vintage Finds

Home Economics Store in Grants Pass Oregon


Already, the products can be found at gift shows and high end retail shops. You can find a list of retailers in your area HERE. But if you are ever in the neighborhood of Grants Pass, Oregon....be sure to stop in and say "hello"!
It is only a matter of time before the knock-offs artists will be snapping at the heels of British Route Sign Designs. DeWayne predicts "two strong years before this look is over".
But keep an eye peeled for this design maverick....he is already two bus stops ahead in planning his next project.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Happy Wet Dogs and Other Sightings



Happy Wet Dogs, Crescent Beach

My family and I traveled to Oregon for Spring Break. I know.... most people flee to warmer climes...Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean. But we had other things in mind. Things that involved dogs and lots of running. After all...they were sorely in need of a vacation from all of the sleeping, digging, eating and sleeping.
Here are a few things we discovered on our adventures:


Rippling Sand with a Mirror-like Finish


Freedom...however brief

Strange and Wonderful Creatures


Ethereal Herds


Rain Forest Cascades


Moss Gathering Stones

Paths Less Traveled

Blooms in the Gloom

Loftier Heights

Solitary Thoughts

River Sprites

Greener Ideas

Lazy Grazers

Wild Beasts

Crystal Crags

And......Misty Mysteries

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Missing You!

Hi all!!
After the whirlwind LA trip last week...you would think a few days at home to get life back in order would be the game plan. Not in the cards. After some very productive client meetings on Friday, it was time to repack the suitcase for a trip on Highway 5...but headed North this time.

I am in Oregon for a little R & R along the Rouge River. I have been thinking of you all and am gathering up lots of inspiration for you which I will share when I return!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Trip to LA: Arrival

The Farmer's Daughter Hotel

I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts this week! I have been away in Los Angeles for West Week at the Pacific Design Center. So much was packed into two days, and I have so much to tell you!
I drove down from Sacramento with a bit of nervous anticipation...sort of similar to how I felt when I drove down for my high school reunion only a few weeks before. After all, I would be meeting a passel of blogger friends in person for the very first time. What would they be like? Would they be just like how I imagined from their blog persona's? I had been corresponding with many of them before my trip to make plans to meet up.
Christain May of Maison 21, Megan Arquette of Beach Bungalow 8, Patricia Shackelford of Mrs. Blandings, Ronda Carmen of All the Best, Eddie and Jaithan from the Eddie Ross blog, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti from A Bloomsbury Life, Brooke from Velvet and Linen , the Style Curator and Scot from Tartanscot were all there, not to mention all of the design and media stars (Here a name, there a name....just dropping everywhere!) . I have to tell you, it felt as if we had really already met and known each other. It has seemed that way for all of the great bloggers I have met before. Chalk it up to one of the many benefits of blogging!
I have so many pictures for you. First, let's start with checking into the hotel where I stayed: The Farmer's Daughter Hotel. It is so called because it is right across the street from the old Los Angeles Farmer's Market. I remember going there as a kid and being fascinated by the taffy pulling machines. It was always such a treat. It is so different now with major shopping like venues like the Grove popping up in next door in an area that was once old bungalows.
Check-in
I had looked at hotels close to the PDC and The Farmer's Daughter seemed fun and in the right "price range" pour moi. I totally got a kick out of it! It was very "urban farm " with concrete floors and reclaimed lumber. Rustic contemporary with a splash of color.
Lobby
It has a very relaxing vibe as soon as you walk in the door. It seemed as if I had teleported to the Napa Valley wine country. It was fun and low key. Quite perfect for families.
Patio between the hotel and Tart restaurant
The Farmer's Daughter goes all out to provide a down home feel. Lemonade and BBQ potato chips are available in the Lobby anytime. There was wine and cheese service in the evening. It shares a patio with the Tart restaurant which was so cute! And generous to boot. They share their recipes online for things like Fried Green Tomatoes and Bourbon Berry Cobbler. They also have their own blog HERE.
Lemonade in the Lobby
I got to relive my childhood memories when Christian from Maison 21 and I walked over to the Farmer's Market for a glass of wine before he whisked me off to the first event of the week: the William Sonoma Home party for Margaret Russell of Elle Decor.
More on that next time!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Window to Another World

Window to China

A couple of weeks ago, you may remember I drove down to Pasadena with Mom and Daughter in tow. We had a chance to visit the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens. Time was short, but one of the things we wanted to see was the new Chinese Garden area. It is simply stunning. Absolutely transportive.

Bie You Dong Tian

The garden has been named Liu Fang Yuan, which means Garden of Flowing Fragrance, referring to the large numbers of scented flowers and trees. One enters through the Main Gate, or Bie You Dong Tian, Another World Lies Beyond.....and truly, it does.

Here are just a few of the photos I captured that day.

Jing Yun Bi, The Wall of Colorful Clouds

Tea House: Yu Ming Tang, Hall of the Jade Camellia


Plantain Court: Ba Jiao Yuan


Paving Detail in Plantain Court. So Beautiful!


Fretwork Detail at the Tea House


Bridge of Verdant Mist, Cui Xia Qiao

Paving Detail of path leading to the Bridge

Pavilion of the Three Friends (Very appropriate for the three of us!)

Detail of the ceiling in the Pavilion of Three Friends

Terrace of the Jade Mirror, Yu Jing Tai

Love for the Lotus Pavilion, Ai Lian Xie
We wished we could have spent a full day here, but the park was closing, and we had to go.
I encourage anyone planning a trip to Southern California to make a full day plan to visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens. There is so much to see, and it is truly one of the treasures in the area.
For more information about the Chinese Garden click HERE. To learn more about the next phase, click HERE.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Elle Decor Travel Issue, and Things I Have Been Up To

As usual, I will be anxiously awaiting the latest Elle Decor to drop through my mail slot this month. The April Issue is the annual travel issue, and this is what I am hearing :

The new April Issue will be on newstands March 16, and features an amazing tour of Tokyo, the stunning Fiji home of Fiji Water's David Gilmore,the Buenos Aires home of polo player Nacho Figueras, and the London home of Christine d'Ornano (of the family who founded Lancoe, Orlane, and Sisley), as well as designer Olivier Gagnere's Left Bank home, which is featured on the cover.

Something to sink my teeth into!

The Oscars are also coming up this weekend...so you might have fun clicking over HERE to see Elle Decor's online article about Oscar Worthy Rooms!

Speaking of travel....I just got back from a weekend in Pasadena where I went to my High School reunion! I took my mom and oldest daughter along (not to the reunion...my daughter would have died) and had so much fun showing my daughter all the places I remember growing up. Pasadena never disappoints. We stayed in the historical Huntington Hotel, did some antiquing, and went to the glorious Huntington Library where there is a brand new Chinese Garden. I will post all about our adventures later this week!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas in New York City - Art Galleries & Theatre

Christmas in New York City - Galleries & Theatre

This Christmas visit to New York I was fortunate to see the Musical, South Pacific at the Lincoln Center, and two Art Galleries; Georgia O'Keeffe at The Whitney Museum of Modern Art and Kandinsky at the Guggenheim Museum.  I love theatre in New York.  There is something very special about getting dressed up and the excitement of the opening strains from the Orchestra.  It was a toss up between the new play 'A Little Night Music', the latest revival of Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical with Angela Lansbury and  Catherine Zeta-Jones, or the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical 'South Pacific' at the Lincoln Center.  I am happy to say that I saw South Pacific and it was as good as the concierge at my Hotel said it was.  There was something soothing about hearing songs that I have grown up with and are so familiar.  The theme song "Some Enchanted Evening," stayed with me for several days. Here is the YouTube version of 'Some Enchanted Evening' you can listen to.

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South Pacific at Lincoln Center 

The Guggenheim Museum had a wonderful exhibit of the work of the Russian artist, Vasily Kandinsky, who was a pioneer of Abstract Art and broke new ground in painting in the first decades of the twentieth century.  The Guggenheim designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was opened in 1959 and, rightly so, is claimed to be one of his most famous masterpieces. The spiraling design of the interior makes this museum one of the best venue's I have ever been in to view an art exhibit.  As you walk up the spiral ramps you can view the pieces of artwork as a whole.  Magnificent!!!

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The view from the roof top of the Guggenheim across the reservoir & jogging trail of Central Park. (above left & below right)
I want this townhouse!! (above right)

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These are two of my favourite pieces by Kandinsky from the exhibit.  You can view the exhibit on line here.

After the exhibit we got directions to a local's favourite restaurant on E. 73rd Street and I had a most memorable lunch of Arugula salad topped with sliced roasted artichokes and topped off with large, (very large) paper fine slices of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Yummm!!

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Via Quadronno on E. 73rd Street. (left) A Beautiful piece of street sculpture outside the restaurant. (right)

The walk back to the Hotel was in typical New York style; down streets lined with beautiful townhouses all decorated for the holiday season, past apartments with uniformed concierges, amongst the locals walking their dogs, across streets backed up with bumper to bumper honking taxis, and a short jaunt through Central Park.



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Townhouses decorated for Christmas on E 73rd Street

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Fifth Avenue

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart.

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Ano y Felicidad.

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Ano y Felicidad.

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas

From the bottom of my heart.

Patricia Gray is an award winning Interior Designer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada who blogs about "WHAT'S HOT"
in the world of Interior Design: New and Emerging Trends, Contemporary Design, Modern Architecture and Travel,
as well as how your surroundings can enhance the world around you.
© Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™ 2009

 

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