A Sparkling Jewelbox Retreat

It has been many years since I attempted to write a blog post and much in my life has changed.  I think it is time for me to get back to doing my research and writing about the two things I love most - interior design and how it has inspired my jewelry designs.  With that being said - here goes!

Our Vision Board - Because My Hubby Cannot Visualize

Back in the summer of 2016, my husband and I embarked on a total renovation of our master bath and freshening up our master bedroom and another bath near my husband’s office.  I had done lots of research on what I felt I could live with, while simultaneously appealing to the local masses in the event we should want to sell our house and skip away to our retirement.  Arizona is a place where the culture is foreign to me - rustic, masculine and repetitive.  They are just beginning to snap out of a sea of brown and beige!  I on the other hand, I have had Calcutta marble and soft grey with pale aqua in the kitchen and family room for over seven years.

Old Bath With Curved Glass Block Shower Wall, Boxed Soaking Tub and Ginormous Soffits!

It was decided that the huge master bath should have the same white/gray Calcutta marble on the floors, shower and countertops.  A boxed in soaking tub would be removed and a free-standing tub would replace it.  The natural stained cabinets with enormous overhead soffits would be replaced with more classic white cabinets that included towers to accentuate the height of the ceiling and add storage.  The curved glass block shower wall would be removed, straightened and replaced with a glass shower door, adding a bench and dual shower heads (one stationary and the other hand-held).  The shower renovation would also remove the step-up/step-down portion of the floor so the generous shower could become wheelchair accessible, if ever needed.

Shower Mayhem With Curved Glass Block Wall Removed

All of this planning was done with the idea that our community seems to have many retired residents with various needs.  As we all know, aging in place has become the preferred option as we get older and studies have confirmed that the elderly do better when they can stay in their homes.  However, the interior designer in me still wanted to have the bathroom look beautiful for the present time, with small alterations that could be easily added, if needed in the future for another resident. 

Our Entire Living Room/Dining Room/Foyer Became A Storage Unit During This Renovation!

Why Did I Think I Could Leave The Crew Unattended For  Few Hours???  Pink"X" Tiles Were Removed

With all that in mind, we embarked on what was supposed to be a 6 week project, which realistically, I never thought would be finished in that time frame!  We encountered many bumps in the road because most trades people  here just really do not understand quality and/or proportions (resulting in a partial rip out of mismatched marble and redo of the upper cabinet towers because they were just too deep). 

Hours Were Spent With The Marble Installers In Order To Attempt To Match Up The Veining

So Much Better Without Those Ginormous Soffits.  Water Lines Were Moved To Add A Tub Filler Under The Window.  NOT A Good Plan For Cold Weather Climates... But We Live In AZ!

These Venetian Glass Mirrors Hung Over Plate Glass Require Detailed Planning.  Many Nerve Wracking Hours Of Repairing These Delicate Mirrors As They Arrived Slightly Damaged 

The Antique Armoire Replaced The Built In Linen Cabinet.  I Filled The Interior With Neatly Folded Linens And A Collection Of Blue Opaline Glass

Hubby Really Put Up A Fuss When I Informed Him I Had Called In Classy Closets.  Now He Thinks It Was A GREAT Idea!

The Glass Closet Doors Were Added To Help Keep Out Dust - My Mortal Enemy Living In Arizona!

All in all, this seven month project with all its delays and blips turned out more or less just as I had envisioned.  It had been about seven years since my last design project (my kitchen/family room) and it made me very happy to be able to get back in the trenches.  The last piece of the puzzle was put into place when the antique armoire was finally delivered (since the photo - painting completed) to replace the built in linen cabinet which was removed to enlarge the adjacent closet.  Would I tackle this project again - you bet?!  I am afraid I have been spoiled by the soft beauty of this bathroom and the enormous size. 

Madonna & Child Necklace

Cateline II Layering Necklace

 

Clementine Bracelet

Bree Aquamarine Necklace

Dara Diamond & Moonstone Earrings

Brooklyn Gray Moonstone Necklace

Through all of this turmoil I was still making jewelry that seemed to repeat the delicate colors of the new bath.  Many of those pieces have since sold, but the newest designs still have the gentle colors, which remain a favorite - white, dove gray, pale aqua blue and gold.
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Un Noël Chanel

After our first Christmas in Arizona, I decided that our trusty 8” tree seemed a bit, well. . .diminutive, considering our 12’ tall ceilings. Just before our second Christmas here, I apparently had a moment of insanity and purchased a 10’ flocked, pre-lit tree for our Living Room. I guess this was one of those “emotional purchases” and was not at all well thought out.

My hubby is Jewish and although he is open minded about the Christmas tree, seems truly befuddled about the extravagance of all things Christmas. Suffice to say, he wants no part of helping install the tree except on occasion - perhaps adding an ornament or two.

What was I thinking when I purchased that flocked monster?? It takes a team of movers to bring the tree from the air-conditioned storage unit (flocked trees will yellow if left in an Arizona summer 1000 degree garage) to our home and 2 men to set it up (= $$$$) and me climbing up to the tippy top of the 8” ladder to reach the ornaments and treetop angel! Because of the logistics and cost of setting- it up, the flocked monster has only been used for 3 years. Although it is stunningly beautiful and reminds me of New England, it just seems to be far too much trouble and expense.

Last year, I was diagnosed with a torn tendon in my elbow so the huge flocked tree was truly out of the question. I found a darling little white boa-feather tree that could easily be set up and decorated without re-injuring my elbow. Last year, the little boa tree was decorated with delicate vintage ornaments in pastel colors and really looked very quaint and charming.

"Un Noël Chanel" Tree

This year I decided to change it up a bit (that’s the beauty of a smaller tree – fewer ornaments and expense for those of us that like to try out new creative ideas). With tons of “decorating ideas” dancing in my head for the Kitchen/Family room renovation, I decided to only use items that were already on hand to keep the expense down. Voila – the “Un Noël Chanel” tree was born!

A simple tree as a tribute to Chanel – my little 4ft. boa feather tree consists of only items that I had on hand from previous design projects. The black quilted table skirt, blush pink tweed “tree skirt” and creamy white Chanel camellias with their iconic black bows were from a tablescaping event I did 3 years ago. The black urn was originally purchased as a pair for my jewelry booth display at Scottsdale Fashion Week. And lastly, the frosted pink ornaments and jumbo pearl garlands were from previous Christmas trees many, many years ago.

I think Ms. Coco would approve!

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Designing Jewelry in Chaos – Who Moved My Island?

Someone mentioned to me recently that they were reading my blog to see the progress of my kitchen renovation, but wanted to see what the project looked like in the “before” photos. Of course they also mentioned that it was a “unique” concept for a blog – interior designs as inspiration for jewelry design. Well, I am afraid to say. . . it is a strange combination - but it is my life. I was an interior designer for 25+ years until I moved to Arizona and decided to try my hand at jewelry design. This of course, is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened.

Kitchen Before All The Mayhem Started

As it turns out, I actually had taken some photos of the kitchen and family room before we began this little odyssey. The last two weeks have really been about moving plumbing & running electrical lines in addition to more demo.

Family Room Fireplace Before

We bought this home from the original owners who apparently thought “outside the box” on some of their ideas. Such was the case with the fireplace. When we moved into the house, much to my chagrin, we were dealing with an electric fake fireplace that was truly an eyesore. It was not until the painter was changing the color from a very unappealing flesh color to riotous red, when he discovered what appeared to be a wood burning fireplace unit that had been pushed back into the recesses of the corner with the electric fireplace taking center stage! The entire concept was unimaginable to me! Who in their right mind would prefer fake logs to the real deal? I had to go outside to check if we actually had a chimney. Eureka – we did!

Family Room Fireplace After "Mantle", "Crown" And Electric Fireplace Are Removed

Suffice to say the idea of hooking up the original fireplace and getting rid of the ridiculous “mantle” that was apparently installed by someone with a severe case of vertigo and also removing the equally absurd decorative “Santa Fe” crown – was like finding a stash of diamonds for me! This idea has been stewing around in my head for several years, but I had no idea what might be involved in correcting this little horror or how much it might cost. Since the kitchen and family room are visually one space and we were making a mess anyway – it seemed like a good idea to rip everything out. More demo – more dust!

Kitchen Island Moved 6" - A New Wall & Base Cabinets Installed

There was a light at the end of that dusty tunnel. When the house was built, I suspect the crew must have been working on a Monday after a hard week-end of partying. The lines for the plumbing in the island were much too far away from the rest of the kitchen – 57” to be exact. As a result, the island made for a space planning nightmare! I made the decision to move the island back 6” to give us a smidge more room around the table. This little folly is pretty much like fixing a gunshot wound with a ban-aid – but it’s the best we can do! In any event, the island was torn down, the plumbing moved, a wall constructed and base cabinet boxes installed. The jury is still out on this idea.

My Favorite - Calcutta Oro Marble

Today the crew will begin the process of making the templates for the marble and I am so thrilled. My hubby knows that I have a radar for choosing the most expensive items in the showroom and this marble was no exception. Once I got a look at the Calcutta marble slabs – nothing else would do. Of course, that means we are already very much over budget. The truth is that even though I will take the blame for this budgetary disaster, hubby really liked the Calcutta as well and it became the inspiration point for the kitchen.

Somehow (and I don’t really even understand this myself), I have been a very busy bee making up jewelry for custom orders in the midst of all this confusion. Beading must be much more therapeutic than even I realized!

Densely Embedded Tourmilated Straws Create A Very Dramatic Feature Bead

Merlot Colored Pearls And Softly Cupped Petal Pearls Create A Dramatic Cluster

Since red is the color for fall - I decided to make up some earrings with some intriguing tourmilated quartz beads falling from a cluster of merlot red pearls. I loved the way they turned out and will probably make up a necklace using the same colors to add to the “Flora Collection". These colors remind me of the velvety deep red found in Celosia or Cockscomb. So, here I am again, designing jewelry in the midst of chaos!

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