Christmas Traditions Kick off at Barbara Cheatley's

"I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending."

~Fred Rogers

Barbara Cheatley with daughter Kim

Barbara Cheatley's offers a touch of England to Southern California.   Its annual Christmas Open House is my kick-off to serious festivity planning. 

Whether the year's coffers overflowed or not, there is simply no place better to sugar and spice up an abundant holiday spirit. 

Barbara's specialty is inspiring customers to smile. Her decorating style- how can one go dour when there are mice and reindeer watching from on high?

Ms Modern Country would thoroughly appreciate Barbara's selection of Emma Bridgewater mugs.  I love their solid heft balanced with a bit of visual whimsy. 

Some people think romantic style is glamour and glitz. For me- it is a cup of hot creamy cocoa in front of a roaring fire. 

The shop is chock-full of collectibles full of meaning- like this simple bag of birdseed based on Scandinavian tradition of feeding birds on Christmas Day. How perfect is this for the bird-lovers on your Christmas list? 

Every inch of the store is filled with possibilities of future memories. 
  
Our personal Christmas tree, the primary theme is of our family history and hobbies. One of our sons once remarked- we are the only family he knows of with a hunting and fishing themed tree. Many of the ornaments, a special one for each family member each year, originated from this annual pilgrimage.

However, don't think of ornaments as only being for the tree or limited to our love of nature. Your holiday should be authentic to you.

Perhaps you love  The Wizard of Oz.  Warner Brothers is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the film. Why not plan a party. Watch the film. Maybe do a little sing-a-long, then give ornaments of the characters as mementos. 

Have family who live by the sea- or dreams of waves lapping at their feet- a seashell ornament would be a lovely dangling with curled ribbon from their gift. 

For the gardener- imagine a rosemary tree loaded with accouterments of their passion-  watering cans, spades...maybe critters??? 

Context is everything. Certainly a glass grasshopper will bring a bigger smile to the face than any hopping by the rest of the year. 

This stitched owl reminds me of my granddaughter's nursery. Made of stitched fabric- a child can launch into flight- this ornament won't break. 

Having raised boys in a home their cousin Manny described as having " testosterone bouncing off the walls" I suggest the hosts of a celebration including budding ball-throwers plan accordingly. If your the nervous type, maybe take a Valium. 

A confectioner's tree would be lovely in place of flowers on a dessert buffet. Ringing in at zero calories- imagine satisfying the sweet tooth of some disciplined soul who manages to keep to a proper diet while the rest of us indulge like on our next visit all the scales in the doctor's office will pretend the holidays never happened.

If it takes a village... make mine gingerbread. 

If you have a holiday kick-off- whatever your faith- or no faith- please share!  Let the joy of the season join back together what politics puts asunder.

God bless you all!

Linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Barbara Cheatley Antiques is located at 215 Yale Ave., Claremont, CA 
Phone 909 621- 4161

Quote from Brainy Quote

Rose Society of Saddle Back Valley ~ California Tuscan Entertaining Home and Garden

There are many styles of design. What elevates the good and proper to the great and memorable is courage and authenticity.

James is unafraid to experiment, mixing roses with succulents to great effect. 

In his youth, this homeowner mowed lawns for spending money. 

Life was good.  Coming home to his native California after time living in Virginia, he and his partner found this home in the enclave of  Nellie Gail, an equestrian friendly luxury subdivision of Laguna Hills.

Approximately 250 of 350 roses were planted this year 

The home and garden was a bit more ordinary in appearance when the publicity-shy  couple took possession  of the 4,296 square foot home 7 years ago. Then, it was sheaved in proper elements of anonymous origin.

The homeowner recalls the front landscape  at the time they moved in was not much more than  " a big rolling lawn with a stucco planter around the base of the coral tree." Near the garage was " a  no man's land of volunteer palm trees and weeds."

Lawns are used for soft footing to wander through planing beds on.

The well-traveled couple understood that while the home was beautiful, it did not achieve its full potential.  It needed character, a sense of place, an aura of generosity.

With this mission in mind, for each of the past 7 years, the couple sculpted and adorned their home and garden, one area at a time.   James explains the wisdom of  choosing one area at a time to upgrade as "by focusing, we got the detail right." Not only that, the majority of the property remained usable at all times.

Living in an area blessed with the rare climate of Mediterranean Tuscany, many of the design elements and plantings reflect the uncommon commonality of good weather.

From one approach the home is first seen where the horse trail crosses

The garden is about balance. An English garden would be out of place without the strong California influence  created by use of succulents and cactus as well as the more traditional outposts of foxglove and daylily.

Stacked stones visually added textural interest while pushing out the framing of usable planting areas from the lawn.

Iron lighting grounds the froth of roses from visually floating away. 

The garden is both beautiful and serves the practical purpose of providing a cutting garden for entertaining at home and away. As James delightedly reports, he suspects their frequent dinner invitations are due to the lavish hostess bouquets picked the same day as they are presented.

Before we go inside, take a look at the creative mix of foliage and flower potted up at the entrance.

Most of the home was closed to prying eyes, but from what we were allowed to traverse, behind the beauty you sense how the rooms were planned with the intent to entertain larger groups of people who might be enjoying a live performance of the caliber of someone such as David Burnham,  the man nailed the role of Fiyero in Wicked.

The inside renovation began at the front hall. The staircase was originally white wooden spindles. James arranged for cutting back and rounding off the base of the design for aesthetic appeal- and more room for people to move about with ease at the bottom landing.

Plain plaster pillars were cut, fitted with molding and painted in a replication reminiscent of fine European woodworking found in manor houses.

The old gold of the chandelier adds a restrained pop of elegance against the deep wood tones of a formal library.

This library benefited from the luxurious appointments observed on a trip to India just 2 years ago.

Michele Dawn Designs  brilliantly executed depth of color on the interior walls. The magic glow conjured from wines, copper  and metallic gold rubbed into each each other....  magnificent! Equally stunning were the lighter tones of Venetian plaster- a technique requiring patience beyond the  typical house painter. 

Let's walk through a bit of the home without any words. Let my humble images let the house tell its story....

Ah, in the backyard were wonderful reminders that fine design is not about being high end. Fine design is about comfort and beauty appropriate to the owners and the setting.

Little vignettes I found absolutely charming included this hall tree  in the shelter of  the patio . 

James says "I needed something tall and narrow to cover up an old intercom system that we have yet to remove.  I found the damaged hall tree at a second hand shop for about $20 and used some leftover fabric from redoing the headboard on the bed in the master suite. I tacked it to the back and used some of the gardening tools." Voila!

Close up detail

Different proportions of related warm colors highlight the architectural interest. Tall urns are available at Lowe's. 

For those of us old enough to remember the decade of brown, tan and sand- how dreary that color scheme dated so quickly. Here's the design note to explain  what saves this arrangement from the same decorate- by- numbers dullness. The traditional tones of gold, brown and terracotta are saved from cliche' by the  jade rim on the slender ceramic urns. Repeated further back in the picture, it little touch of diversion from a strict colorway adds charm.

James  says of the enchanting cabana on the far side of the pool, that  when they moved in, it was an avoided eye-sore of weathered wood and worn-out fabric overlooking a dusty horse trail.

Fresh paint, clean fabric and dense plantings- voila'- a destination perfect for an intimate chat between friends.  

This lovely outdoor room...

 on a chilly night- the double armed heaters allow more guests to linger before heading home.

Thank you dear readers, for joining me on this tour of  a home loved to its full-potential. 

Until we meet again, Thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful!

Michelle Dawn 949. 350.3340

Rose Society of Saddleback Valley Elegant and Enchanting- Part IV

Forever Young: The gardens of Patricia and Steve Buice enchant with stories abounding with what a life well-lived looks like. 

If you spent 4th grade in the California classroom you studied missions. Remember building a model of sugar cube "adobe". This rustic representation of our heritage in a rusted wheelbarrow rates an A++. 

Why should the inside dining room have all the decorative fun? The blessing of the Southern California region is how much time we can spend out-doors. Objects of art do not have to be expensive to be full of memories.  See them and dream. 

When my soul departs,  I would not mind if my remains were set in a ginger jar and positioned to watch over the garden. 

What makes Steve and Patricia's recessed entry so delightfully restful? Soft layers of design elements executed with the care of a traditional inside room. Colorful tile outlines the point of entry to the home. 

  

The expanse of a bare wall is tamed with a trio of art. A soft pad on the seat offers a place to put your feet up or a package beneath. Ferns. Fountain. A tracery of vines. 

Not just the portal for entry to their home- this is a place for private contemplation.  

Guests to the garden on the day of the tour were side yard guests, passing plump plantings of  sunshine  yellow iris then under the metal arch covered with roses set to shower their petals. 

Just past the gate, pet chickens welcome visitors. In a serious world it is important to find  triggers to childlike joy. To keep little farm animals makes one feel like living in a storybook farm. 

Nearby, a tea set is at ready for a party for two.  This is just one of many ideas I am saving up for when my granddaughter toddles under her own power):-  

Patricia shared that the late Bea Grow was a mentor to the couple. The doyenne of Orange County gardeners taught that when making a choice- "Go for the wow." In this case, with splashes of deepest blue. 

Little mice scampering between chunks of slag glass add just the right sense of humor. 

Ripe strawberries hanging off a a classic cement potted up  offer delicious contrast. 

Design note: the ancient appearance of the pot bridges the modernity of  the furniture to the many vintage elements of the garden. This is much more inviting than if an end table matching the set defined the furniture arrangement's outer edge.

If this garden had just this fountain, it would be enough. Lucky for us- there is still more. 

The lawn was as it should be, lush and large enough to play in. To lay on staring up at the stars then rollover to pick between all the shades of green; hunting for snails and other crawly and flying things. 

Fairies live in this garden. This one proudly showing off his fresh lilliputian harvest. 

Just to the side of the fairy's post is this lounge chair Patricia rescued from a garage sale. Steve reinforced it with rebar, stretching landscape fabric over the horizontal frame- forming the cushion on which his wife quilted a coverlet of moss and ivy. 

Shade is from above. At night- can you imagine the romance these vintage hanging lamps sourced from e-Bay have seen? Hubba. Hubba):- 

Steve explains to my friend, Marilyn Bowery, how he built the platform to the tree house from used lumber he was given in 1986. He is pointing up to where the little ice-cream soda style chair his daughter sat in when she was a sapling and the tree was not much taller than the railed platform. As the tree grew, they let the branches carry the chair to where it marks how far upwards the journey in life has carried them. 

Nature and art. This magic little scene is just below the bridge leading to the tree house. It seems a good spot to rest. Something a garden should have lots of are places to rest the eye. To contemplate that the real world is not just work and trouble. The real world is ripe with love and goodness. If we only care enough to look. To create. To enjoy. To give thanks for. 

Until we meet again, thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.