Haus and Home

October 12, 2015

Mabley Handler Hamptons Style

Check out these beautiful images of Jennifer Mabley and Austin Handler of the Hamptons based Mabley Handler Interior Design firm. Hamptons Cottages & Gardens once described their work as "Dorothy Draper goes to the beach!" They live, breathe and sleep the Hampton's lifestyle since they actually live in the Hamptons.

Notice the fireplace area is not a real functioning fireplace, just has the look of a fireplace

Master bedroom with framed sea fans and potted cypress plants.

White washed wood walls gives this room the beach cottage feel

Light shade provides pop of color in this neutral dining room

Silver subway type tiles in the kitchen

Clean look of the light blue and creams

Brown ottoman provides an accent color to this all white bathroom.

Love the gray subway tile and having the larger tiles on the bottom and smaller up top. The gray tiling ties in nicely with the tub.

Built in glass shelving is both pretty and practical

Nautical themed built in day bed for little boys.

Green and white child's playroom. I love how the green flooring is like grass and the seating reminds me of outdoor seating! How adorable are the green themed Warhol type pictures of the children.

Lovely playroom with cute print bean bag chairs.

Bullseye miror and I love the buffet with the white squares and the similar patterns on the chairs.

Campaign style desk used as vanity area with Chinoiserie stool

Upstairs seating area with capiz shell lighting

Beautiful and low key outdoor seating

Orange chain link wallpaper from Philip Jeffries

Outdoor entertaining with green and orange yellow accents

October 10, 2015

Tyra Banks LA Spanish Colonial Home

Tyra Banks has listed her Spanish Colonial Style home in LA for $7.75 million with Sotheby's. The house ws built in the 20's and she has put about $2 million in renovations into the home. The home boasts beautiful architectural detail of handpainted tiles, beautiful outdoor casita, exposed wood beam ceilings and more! The home is styled with a pretty much neutral color scheme throughout so not sure if this was for staging purposes.

October 6, 2015

Intro to Espalier

Espalier is French but is derived from the Italian word for "support", "or rest shoulder against". Espalier is art of pruning and training trees or shrubs usually flat against a wall or trellis to form symmetrical and flat geometric shapes.

Espalier dates back to 1600's in France when fruit trees were getting killed by the frost so farmers decided to plant the trees next to walls. Then space became limited as the trees spread out, so the farmers decided to cut back the trees and realized this "pruning" caused the trees to bear even more fruit the next season.

Assorted espalier patterns that exist from Attic Mag

Famed landscape architect here in Atlanta is John Howard of Howard & Associates who designs the most classic yet opulent outdoor living spaces and gardens. Ironically, a few of his projects featured beautiful espalier designs among other beautiful landscape detail.

Howard Design Studio

Other Beautful Espalier Designs

Blooming espalier from This Old House

Smaller patio using the horizontal espalier design from BHG

Can you believe this magnolia tree is being grown so flat and narrow in the fan pattern of espalier from Barbara Berry's Beyond Beauty book featured on The Style Saloniste. I think this photo truly shows the art of espalier "to train a tree to grow flat against a wall".

Pattern Designs

Vines such as ivy or wisteria may be used, or flowering camellias, pyracantha, jasmine, and flowering quince are other good choices for design patterns against a wall.

Camelia branches create a criss cross design from This Old House

Beautiful belgian fence design on the front of the house from Deborah Silver

Here is an example using ivy in the belgian fence design from BHG

Fruit Bearing Trees

Fruit bearing trees, typically apples and pears, can be grown against walls and this practice allows for typically larger sized trees to be grown in smaller, more compact spaces. Heat generated from the walls help the fruits riped more quickly. The fruit bearing trees provide beautiful blooms in the spring, and vibrant foliage and fruits in the fall. See some of the various patterns patterns below.

I had not seen a citrus espalier yet from Ian Barker Gardens

Circular pear tree espalier at Museum Garden Gaasbeek, Belgium from Avantgardens

2 tier candalabra espalier (Pear tree) from renowned grower, River Road Farms in TN.

Close up of the actual tree bearing fruit

Ready to try your own, but dont want the daunting task of starting from scratch? There are reputable espalier growers who specialize in the "Trees in Training". Most notably, is Peter Thevenot of River Road Farms has estate grade pieces and whose work has been featured at George Washington's Mount Vernon, The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, The Denver Botanical Garden, and The Morton Arboretum in Chicago to name a few.

Ready to try your own? With a little patience and a few years, you can get your own espalier. Check out these instructions featured on P Allen Smith from Peter Thevenot at River Road Farms.

George Washington's Mount Vernon Espalier's

Against the wall you can see some of the espalier from George Washington's Mount Vernon

Close up at Mount Vernon from AD

October 3, 2015

Morbid Anatomy Museum

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to post something a little on the creepy side. In Brooklyn, New York there is a musuem known as the Morbid Anatomy Library & Museum. This is almost like an extreme natural curiosities collection. The Library used to be available by appointment only is now open on Wednesdays, but the museum is open almost daily that features various exhibitions.