Still Saladino

But sadly, this may be my last post (at least for a while) on this designer whose work I love.  Saladino's colors, his Renaissance sensibilities, his blending of the old with the new - all speak to me.  Alas, "there are miles to go" in my design journey, so move along I must after this posting. Please enjoy this rather lengthy view of a master.

From my library of magazines, let's look at this issue from October of 1994.  I saved it...

because of the following images.  The exterior is not typical of Saladino, but see what he does with its redesign.

In many home redos today, this design would still  work.

Cool kitchen for the 90's.  You know, I went to an estate sale last week, and there were many crocks for sale similar to those above this refrigerator and none of them were selling.  Even antiques have a shelf life, I guess.  Give it another 20 years and they'll be "in" again.  I like this kitchen with or without the crocks.

He uses this chair design a lot- I really like it, sort of an upscale director's chair.  And the table cloth arrangement reminds me of the the one used in the dining room of his latest book, Villa.  

Isn't the desk niche above a bit reminiscent of his Villa Dilemma office below?  Maybe it's the thick walls that seem so similar.

More of the now passe crocks in such a lovely room.

Onto 1995, and a real favorite of mine.

Everything about this room needed to be incorporated into my home - the antiques, the plants, the wall treatments, the colors, the tablescapes.  But, how could this work in my cape cod house in upstate New York?   It could not.  It's when I realized I really do need about seven houses to meet all the design I love, and this house would definitely be one of the seven.  There are no imperfections here at all.

Again, doesn't this remind you of his Villa Dilemma?  Almost like he was practicing here for his masterpiece later.

Love the windows and doors in this dining room.

Corner of living room also with great windows. 

If like me, you have his book Villa, I'll bet you see many similarities between this house andVilla Dilemma seen in his book.  Sometimes it seems they are the same house.

Isn't this a spectacular home?  It was a great issue of House Beautiful, and I will be using it again later for other design and designers.

Onto 2001 and a very different architectural design in West Virginia.

Salaidino's interior design still evident within a very contemporary architecture.

Very interesting exterior.  Very different for Saladino.

Now to 2011, and a home many of you may be familiar with and one I love.

How pure and traditional is his dining room!  And, he's right, who needs "swags and ruffles."  In this home, he again uses his scratch coat plaster.  Always makes his rooms look so old-European.  Here his scratch coat is hung with a Rothko painting - love it.

Peeks of warm, beautiful views seen below through living room windows.

His designs always suit the environment of the home.  This house feels cool and lovely with no Florida kitsch.  And his bathrooms are always more than bathrooms; they are events!

And now to the home that appears in Paula Rice Jackson's Monochrome.  If you do not own this book, buy it.  It includes the work of some marvelous designers, a Prologue by Saladino and coverage of one of his houses in which he executed both the architecture and the interior design.

The home was built not in California, not in Florida, but in the less clement weather of the Pacific Northwest.   The monochrome color of this home is "griege" and I think I love this house even more than Villa Dilemma.  "Everything in this house takes its cue from wood, stone, and undyed textiles."

Now I think this home  or one very like it must be one of my seven houses.

A small little caveat here.  I am uncomfortable with nudes.  Call me naive, prudish, a philistine even,  whatever. But, be they gods or goddesses, be they men or women, be they nymphs or satyrs, be they angels or devils, if they are nude, I am uncomfortable.  I just don't know where to look.  Despite all that discomfort, I love this room - the stone, the metal, the monochrome colors, the fabric, and at least the nude in triptych is muted.

Different view of same room.  Even love the paperwhites.

The views are spectacular out every window and the windows themselves are all spectacular.

Fireplace niche.

Really love this kitchen.  Just hope it has some of those great windows and views we cannot see in this image.

What a great house!!  Don't you just love all the wood and metal and views??  And how fitting I should end with one of his great kitchens I have loved.

So ends my concentration on John Saladino.  He remains today one of my favorite designers just as he was in the 90's and earlier.  By the by, Joni Webb did a recent posting on Cote de Texas revealing that Saladino's Villa Dilemma, his home and subject of Villa upon which he worked two entire years, has been sold to Ellen Degeneres.  Hope she keeps it very Saladino-esque.  By another by, if you google Designer Visions 2009, you will see a video of a great apartment he designed based on "Girl with a Pearl Earring" with lots of his own comments.  I tried to download it for you here, but failed miserably.

With John Saladino so ends my warm and cozy series.  Who needs warm and cozy in the summer?  Next time it's on to southern homes.  My tour of Charleston homes last year and Savannah homes this year awakened a real appreciation for southern design.  Stay tuned.
Your personal philistine,
b

It's All His Fault

And his -

Whether having a bath near the kitchen sink -

Or just hanging out together in the den -

-these two brothers resulted in my very late post.  They are of course grandson #1 and brand new grandson #2.  I had the great joy of being able to stay with both brothers and their parents for ten days.  Obviously, my duties did not include blogging, but I thought of this post while proceeding with my grandmotherly duties.  One "duty" (with great conversations about dandelions and Indians and nursery school projects) was walking brother #1 to and from nursery school.  Since this very sweet family lives in a very sweet and quintisentially New England town, I loved seeing the many colonial homes in all their spring glory on our walk.  Below are a few of my favorites I wanted to share with you.

The dogwoods were in bloom everywhere.

Liked the concrete fence posts and front path.

This was a small but very charming house.  I could have moved right in.

Door knockers and potted plants on either side of front doors inspired me.  Would have loved to capture close-ups of door knockers, but feared the owners would think I was a mad hacker.

Not a reproduction home but an original early colonial across the street from grandsons' house .

While strolling with the baby, I discovered this very pretty garden just down the road.  Lilac tree is so pretty.  (This garden and house were quite charming but would have been more so if the house wasn't red.  Just an opinion, but  red houses seem to clash with vegetation.  If the house were white, or gray, or taupe, everything would have appeared even prettier.)

Red or not, I  still found it irresistible.

Much nicer weathered color.  Looks like it could house "Little Women".

Isn't this a great dogwood!

Looks so wonderfully weathered.

Home of the happy little family.  They want to paint the house white (I like the gray) and the front door black (I'd love that), but have not yet had the time.  My daughter-in-law and son have very definite tastes and thankfully agree on their design aesthetic.  One quiet afternoon, while talking with my daughter-in-law, who once worked for a design firm, I told her what a great job I thought she had done thus far on their home.  She refuses to compromise her aesthetic and buys the best she can when she can.  I asked if I could snap the rooms they had done thus far and she agreed.

In the den is the new bookcase she designed and my son built.   Go team!

Directly opposite with sofa and chairs flanking it is the den fireplace, present when they bought house.

Living room velvet sofa and tables with seascape purchased when they lived in Boston.

New-ish chairs opposite sofa.  Don't you love the wall colors she chose?

Living room fireplace opposite the seascape with a tiny peep into the kitchen.

Chest/bar area in living room corner.  

View out the dining room/playroom (for now) window.  Please note the turkey passing on by.  My grandson and I spied them at least three times during my visit.  Actually, not very graceful creatures but fun to watch and listen to.

In the town center is a floral shop I love.  After ice cream with my grandson, we ventured into this shop for Ama's (me) edification.  My grandson was anything but thrilled with my mission, so the following shots were taken quickly and edited significantly.

Tiny pansies that say spring.

This shop always has beautiful arrangements but may have been a bit weary from mother's day traffic.

Quick view of cherry blossom branches (I think) near the check out counter.  In the foreground are just  a few of their orchids with a wonderful vessel atop very funky column.  I really love this store.

Thus you have had a brief glimpse into my ten days with the dearest family in the world.  I was happy to be there and now am happy to be home again and back into my routine.  Still, I wonder what discussions might have transpired on future walks, and talks, and wonder if the baby has smiled yet.

Next time, one last Saladino post and then I'm done with "warm and cozy" and onto southern climes and southern designers.  Stay tuned.

Ama/b