Hurricane a Comin'

French table with hurricane candle holders

Once I have a proper dining room, I plan to find a set of oversized hurricane glasses to hold pillar candles.  While originally designed for outdoor use to block wind gusts from the flames, hurricanes also look elegant inside a home.  Then they can be carried outside and filled with cintronella candles when entertaining in warmer weather.  I prefer vintage style hurricanes made of mercury or wide urns of patterned glass.  One of my favorite handmade glassware companies, Simon Pearce, has elegant, simple hurricane candle holders in different sizes that can be mixed together for a statement center piece.

studio hurricane by Riado
(sydneymarcus.com)

vintage mercury hurricanes
(mothology.com)

a whimsical country style
(esty.com)

mix hurricanes with candle sticks for an eclectic, yet elegant look
(thisnext.com)

a simple, geometric version
(zodac.com)

Last month's issue of Elle Decor has a piece on hurricane candle holders.  You can see a wide variety of styles from the article here.

Rub a Dub Tub

Ellen Pompeo's bathroom
(Elle Decor)

I thought finishing my fulltime job in DC two weeks ago would allow me more time to dedicate to writing. I had grand visions for my summer as a true lady of leisure. When we weren't off on our European jaunt through Greece, Italy and France, I would find myself in a sun hat, oversized sunglasses, lounging poolside with a stack of home magazines and my design journal. I should have known that my life is just not that simple.

my vision for the summer; not realized
(Slim Aarons Photography)

My lack of posts is mainly attributed to working through the many steps of the promise of home ownership.  If all goes to plan, there is a house in Norfolk that will be our's shortly. I will leave it at that until the closing (I'm quite superstituous). And if this home does indeed become my first house, what a first house it will be.  It has all our "must haves" and many of our "wish it has," however it will need A LOT of work (read: vision, demolition, and renovation). It will certainly make for fun "before and after" pictures for the blog.

First up will be the full bath on the first floor. It will be gutted and we will start from scratch. My inital vision includes black and white tiling, a stand alone bathtub, curved pedestal sink and other accessories in polished chrome true to the period of the 1920's house. I love a bath at the end of a long day, so a roomy bathtub is an essential. Until we know if the house is our's, I will continue to cull magazines, websites, and blogs for bathroom inspriations. Here are a few in my files.

I can't resist a Morroccan styled room
(Elle Decor)

Elle Decor

the all white fixtures and robin's egg blue walls create a sense of serenity
(Coastal Living)

Decor Pad

(Coastal Living)

Love this tiling and pedestal sink
(Decor Pad)

The bathroom of one of my favorite designers, Windsor Smith,
(House Beautiful)

Decor Pad