Birthday at the Santa Monica Pier!

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30Mar

Birthday at the Santa Monica Pier!

Posted in: Hotels

Yesterday we celebrated Luke’s 9th birthday at the Santa Monica Pier. For his birthday he wanted no gifts just unlimited rides on the roller coaster and the dragon. A place where people have been entertaining themselves for a L-O-N-G time!

Santa Monica Pier 1923

Yesterday we were going to CONQUER this!

Two very eager boys, Luke and his friend John, waiting an extra long time in line to get to ride in the very front of the roller coaster.

My friend Julie and I, a lot less eager…

(Asked the hotel to scan the funny image we got from the ride, but they couldn’t. Bummer.)

As the sun was setting we headed to the beach for Luke’s favorite pass time.

Digging for sand crabs.

We’re staying at a really cute hotel in Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica It used to be an apartment hotel where I lived every time I came out to here for work. A couple of years they gave it a complete makeover and upgrade, and today it’s a charming full service hotel. Very cute, beach style design.

Part of the Oceana Lounge facing the beach.

Here are a couple of images I took myself. It’s just as sweet as their website if not better. Love the old bathing suits on the wall.

The breakfast/dining area.

Here is the breakfast bar. Image from their website.

One of the many cheerful bedrooms.

For those breezier beach nights- a fire is always going down by the pool.

In a couple of days we’re moving in to another hotel I love. A lot less “beachy”, more old world Hollywood…I’ll post some images when we get there.

Have a great time until then!
25Mar

LA Summer house

Posted in: Interior Designer I Love

Work, work, work, work, work work, sleep, more work etc…. That’s pretty much the way my last couple of weeks have been getting ready to launch www.LiveLikeYou.com. There’s just not enough hours in the day. I need another me!! So I’m counting the days until we get off to LA. Been thinking about how many interior designers work I love out there. Not sure if it’s the entertainment industry, the easy going indoor out door living, the beach, or the casual lifestyle in LA that inspires so many fun, imaginative, relaxed interiors. Designer Ruthie Summers is definitely one of my favorites.

A dining room done with different colored vinyl chairs.

Summery Hollywood regency.

Aaah again the pool…that perfect accessory to the LA House.

Here are some really cool items from her store Chapman Radcliffe on La Cienega boulevard.

This is the cover to Ruthie Summers book The LA House.
22Mar

40′s Glam for today

Posted in: Glamorous Interiors

I’m so ready for our trip to LA this Sunday for spring break. I can’t wait to visit all my favorite haunts, breathe some ocean air and enjoy some glam Hollywood interiors and furniture stores. There’s a look I’m completely addicted to of late and it’s this feminine 40′s glam that feels like an old Hollywood movie set, yet very current. Although a bold color addict I would love to do an entire house like this, or how about a hotel?

Via Desire to Inspire.

A perfect 40′s glam look by designer Ryan Korban.

This pale tan zebra printed cowhide could also be nice in this look.

Very Hollywood chic night stand from Patagonia Trading Company. They have great retro glamorous furniture designs.

Love this pale minty green. Another genius vignette by Ryan Korban.

These two images via Habitually chic – feels like an old Hollywood movie set, but current. Timeless.

Red leather and light brown velvet…great mix.

Hollywood style sofa from Patagonia Trading Company. Every time I go to the Raleigh hotel in Miami I’m dying to redesign the foyer and put two of these couches in there. ( It’s one of my favorite hotels but they have yet to do something great with the foyer…)

Again, pale mint with cream fur. Interior design Ryan Korban…perfect glam space.

Really like the curtains here. Thinking of doing that in my dining room.

Chic Hollywood sofa from Patagonia Trading Company.

Two ultra glam coffee tables from LiveLikeYou- Greek Key coffee table.

Treillage coffee table.

A simpler look with sisal and muted tones, but nonetheless completely glam.
19Mar

Space for the soul

Posted in: Musings

The house was small, the rooms were few but there were loggias, terraces, and pergolas all around it to watch the sun, the sea and the clouds - the soul needs more space than the body”

- Axel Munthe

Okay so that’s one of my favorite quotes on interiors…

For you not familiar with Villa San Michele on Capri, it’s a beautiful home (now a museum) situated at the top corner of the mountain as you arrive in to Capri from Naples. It belonged to the Swedish doctor Axel Munthe in the 1800′s. While officially the doctor to the king and queen of Sweden, he traveled to Naples to help poor people during the plague. During a mountain hike he came across a ruined chapel and fantasized of owning and restoring the property. The chapel, dedicated to San Michele, had been built on some of the ruins of Roman Emperor Tiberius villa. Axel Munthe realized his dream, and has written a book about his life and love of his home on the hilltop .

I was there years ago, the house I hardly remember, but the view lives with you forever. To get there you have to take a long winding staircase up the side of the mountain. The vistas during your long hike up, and from the many terraces when you arrive is breathtaking. And I’m sure….that’s definitely good for the soul!

I know sitting in traffic on route 7 in Tyson’s Corner (which I have to do most days) is probably really bad for the soul, and driving past endless strip malls not good either. But you can have great company in the car, play a cool tune in the car, or perhaps take a different route to your destination.

Sure most of us can only dream of a view like this, but we have to do the best we can. It doesn’t matter if you live in the smallest apartment, and can’t afford expensive things. The tiniest place can be your palace. It’s up to you! I was thinking of a few things we can do to create a home that’s good for the soul.

Spring is here so why not…

…live outdoors as much as you can. Bring furniture outside, hang out door curtains, bring cushions and with some imagination create an out door room. People always forget the yard can be an extension of your interiors.

Put a small table out on the lawn or terrace (if you have one) and eat meals outside.

Make sure to have a really comfortable bed with soft sheets!!

Keep things simple and clutter free. Things never made anybody happy.

You want a shiny pink bathroom? Paint it. Create that space that makes you smile– even if nobody else likes it. Who cares? It’s your home.

Open up the curtains and let the light shine in.

Always have space for a good friend, even if it’s on the floor.

And buy yourself flowers!

HAVE A NICE WEEKEND!