House Beautiful

Tag Archive for 'kristen buckingham'

Casa Covet Living: The Close Overtime Thriller of the Kitchen Island

You guys did us SUCH a solid weighing in last week on Karrie’s new kitchen!  THANK you!!!  We loved hearing from all of you and we’re down to some combo of what was #1 and #2, with the only major decision left to be made being the ISLAND COLOR. First of all, here’s what one side of the kitchen technically will look like (island is in front of it but not pictured in this elevation):

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SEH.  Here’s where we stand:

  • Cabinets: We’re going WHITE on all perimeter cabinetry.
  • Countertops: Carrara-like (Quartz TBD).
  • Backsplash: Classic white subway tile (with a light-to-medium grey grout) as the backsplash and alllllllll the way up the range wall and also all the way up the wall around the kitchen sink (not pictured).
  • Inset over Range: Tabarka Nord.
  • Open shelving: flanking the range (rustic finish, either floating or on oil rubbed bronze brackets).
  • Island: EHHHMAHGAH WE CAN’T DECIDE!!!  What do y’all think?  Karrie’s first instinct is navy.  Or more specifically, Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue… Which I love for being so gorgeous and classic.  But which I do not love for being vomited all over the Pinterestphere in the last year or two.  But DANG it’s pretty:

hague blue

  • My first instinct is to go just a little bit outside of the box and do more of a Peacock Blue.  I pulled an old inspo photo out of the archives of my dome that Melissa Bixby Anderson (of Bixby & Ball and now Perennials fame) did a few years ago (cabinets by San Diego Custom Cabinets – heeeeeeeey… ps did I tell you I do kitchens/baths for them now?) – but for real – THIS kitchen…  I have been dying over it ever since:

Bixby Kitchen

Melissa – who btw is one of the sweetest and most talented people, ever – said something to me about that kitchen that stuck like glue: that that particular client was a really fun family with a ton of personality in the throes of trying to decide whether to go classic all-white, or go kinda fun and crazy… obviously they went the route that was truer to their family dynamic, and so every time I think about Karrie’s kitchen, I really want it to be her, personified.  Ya know?

The kitchen above was what planted the seed, but the inside of this gorgeous bar cabinet by Kristen Buckingham for Global Views that I saw over the weekend at Vegas market tipped the scales for me.  BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST PERFECT SHADE OF PEACOCK I EVER SAW:

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PS there’s my buddy and bad a$$ designer Hope (of Hope Pinc Design).  Hey girl heeeeey!

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Anyhow – we’re on the fence (again).  Wanna help?  Here’s a doodle in po-man’s-photoshop (Microsoft Word) I just flipped to Karrie real fast… What’ll it be peeps – VEGAS PEACOCK or NAVY?!

Casa Covet Living | Stephanie Ballard Interiors

xoxo!

Steph's Scanned Signature

PS: Sorry to you Bach Fans about no post this week.  I blame being at 10,000 feet + a jam-packed schedule 🙂  Be back next week, honest!

Reese Witherspoon’s Ojai Home: Drink It In

Now, I realize I’m about the 500th blogger to do a little write-up on Reese Witherspoon’s Ojai oasis, featured in this month’s Elle Decor.  And people are all up in it right now, because as the tabloids have reported, R-Pat’s been soothing his wounded heart here.  But I just don’t give a rat’s patooka.  Because it is glorious. All of it.  The exposed wood ceilings, the linen slipcovers, the cozy nooks, the unique chandeliers, the sunshine drenching all of the airy, expansive rooms.  OH – and did I MENTION that one of our favorite designers is to thank for all this?  That’s right, Reese-y poo hired the amazing Kristen Buckingham, who created such a gorgeous, inviting desert escape.  PS: Stephanie, remember the time you emailed Kristen to let her know you’d blogged about her, to which she personally sent you a sweet, gracious response?  K.

Reese and Buckingham

Above: Notice how Buckingham managed to layer in several “looks” into this room, without it looking like a discombobulated mish-mash.  The leather chairs, the sofa (Buckingham’s own design!), the velvet settee, the cotton curtains, the apple tree stump (!), the jute rug from Pottery Barn – all are different textures, but all are neutral colors that together create a serene, relaxing place to put your feet up and take an afternoon snooze.

Above: The intricate wrought-iron railing over this darling alcove kills me.  How peaceful would it be to sit at this mahogany desk from Lars Bolander and look out to your sunny yard, draped in shade by a leafy tree?

Above: Loving the mismatched seating around the dining table, including a couple Swedish wing chairs as well as custom-made leather benches.  That tile will be in my future house, too.

Above: Again, notice the non matchy-matchy furniture placed in Reese’s games area. An antique Belgian table, a Swedish chesterfield chair.  A custom-made, supremely elegant etagere sits prettily in the corner of the room, with various pottery.

Above: Ava Phillipe’s room.  Thank you, Buckingham, for crafting a room both delightfully feminine for a soon-to-be teenager, with pops of pink in both the upholstered vintage chair, the pillows, and do I detect a hint of pale pink in the 1920s tole chandelier?

Above: Little Deacon’s room.  Again, also unconventional for a kid, with a collection of antlers, a Turkish rug (though manly, for the little man), and antique desk.

Above: Reese’s itty bitty nieces.  Well hello there!

Above: Surely this gorgeous terrace is where R-Pat soulfully sipped on his morning coffee, contemplating how his wretched girlfriend could’ve hurt him so.   *Sigh.*

xoxo,