Cool, Calm & Collected { & Lavender Peach Ice Cream Recipe Alert! }

Well other than sweltering in the heat, how has your summer been going? I've been busy designing... bedrooms! a master and a guest... and of course how can I not be influenced by the soaring temperatures this exceptionally hot summer here in North America...

So I have gravitated towards all things cool... soft aquas, blues, greens, silver, white. I've been collecting images from all over the internet as inspiration...  irresistibly appealing now and surely will still be refreshing when the winter rains come around again!

Hope these images help you cool off... let me know if you feel a few degrees more chill!

all images via Pinterest except oil paintings and silver, 

which are at auction this week in Provence,

and Benjamin Moore site

Feeling cooler?

Now go have some Roasted Peach & Lavender Ice Cream

and a Pomegranate Cooler

Roasted Peach and Lavender Ice Cream *:

Use any stone fruit you like best. Do not worry if you can't remove the pits before you put them in the oven, both skins and pits will yield under your fingers once the fruits are roasted. Cook, peel, mash and throw in with the ice cream base which is nothing more complicated than milk and cream and a little sugar or honey.

Best is to prepare the fruit and ice cream base the day before you plan on churning it.

Ingredients:

6 peaches

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon dried edible lavender buds

1 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup whole coconut milk

1/3 cup honey

Prepare the ice cream:

Preheat the oven to 400F. 

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits.

Place in large roasting pan, cut side up. Drizzle with the honey and lavender. Roast until golden brown and soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely and peel the skins off the peaches (you can roast them the day before if you want). Reserve.

In a large saucepan set over medium heat, cook together the cream, milk coconut milk and honey until they barely come to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Refrigerate until cold.

When both fruit and ice cream based are chilled sufficiently, mash the peaches with a potato masher or a fork (no need to puree fine), add them to the base and process the ice cream according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instruction.

Freeze until set.

* this lovely recipe is from the gorgeous Tartlette; I used her recipe to make my ice cream, it was so much fun to make and eat!

If Martha Were My Best Friend :)

I'd ask (no, beg) her and her editor Kevin Sharkey to design the pied-à-terre I would love to have in NYC! Their collaboration in transforming his apartment resulted in this very chic, "meticulous-attention-to-detail-as-only-Martha-can-do-it" and glamorous showstopper. Kevin's been working on the home makeover for over a year, and he blogs about it on Martha's blog. You can read about The Big Reveal and get lots of great design ideas (how to choose paint color, how to use mirrors, etc) In case you haven't seen the pictures, take a look.

Pretty nice place to call home, no? What do you think?

Kevin started out by choosing a paint color for

the entire apartment, and went with Martha Stewart's

Heath...keeping the palette subdued so the eye is

drawn to the views

I think those are framed pieces of Japanese

papers...they look great at a super price point...also

note the collection of silver on the left..trés Martha, non?

I'm sure the Buddha wouldn't mind chilling out

with the ipod every now and then!

If you did not already know Martha was involved,

you would when you see the drabware and the

elegant subdued kitchen

an inspiring perch for a little work desk

I love those mirrors marching up the wall from just

above the baseboard...in the entry I think..to great effect!

and those chandeliers came all the way from Florida (I'm

just guessing Miami)

another brilliant use of mirrors...here mirrors gives diners

a view of the outside balcony, and of course, double

the visual space of the room

Kevin's collection of Japanese lacquerware brings a

shot of color to the dining room

les dernières roses de l'été

A little bouquet from my garden to say "au revoir" to summer and welcome Autumn! Hope yours is productive and busy, like all the little squirrels in our yard running after acorns before I left this morning!

{from Kit}

Would You Rather Float Down the Nile, or Do the Spring Cleaning?

It feels like I've been buried in that necessary ritual of spring cleaning: sorting, editing, tossing, donating, painting. I'm just a little..weary of it, on the brink of the lovely days that aren't quite here yet. Maybe I'm daydreaming a bit while I pile things to donate to charity and paint the closets. How would you like a refreshing change right about now?

What if you found yourself floating gently down the Nile River, in a houseboat as luxuriously appointed as any fine hotel, but with a continually changing view outside your window or from your floating veranda? A comfortable sitting room, a balcony deck, a shower that rained gently down on your weary shoulders, melting away the stresses of the day.

floating down the Nile on the bateau Nourelnil

past palm trees, camels, birds, people going about their daily lives

images from Marie Claire Maison

What if visiting Egypt inspired you to research the ancient Egyptian motifs that Napoleon brought into style when he returned triumphantly from his conquest of Egypt, ushering in the Empire style in early 19th Century France?

portrait of Napoleon on his throne

Empire Chest ca. 1806, France

Napoleon's Egyptian Sevres dinner service, 1806

Empire tripod table with griphons

Egyptian column designs, including the Palmiform, lower left

Egyptian sailing vessels

ancient Egyptian fauteuils

Egyptian design motifs and colors

What if you looked closely at the colors the ancient Egyptians used in decorating walls, floors, art objects and furniture in their sunny climate thousands of years ago, and were surprised to realize they are the same palette found in the Art Deco/Moderne era?

from Decopix website

If you get really inspired by your trip down the Nile, you could go to this YouTube video and learn how to get the Cleopatra eyes look for yourself!

Which reminds me, it's time I got back to that spring cleaning and seriously edited the makeup drawer :)

.........................................

in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The Knees Go Weak at Emery & Cie

For certain designers, this is the stuff of dreams. A palette derived from (mostly) analogous colors, painted floors, nothing too perfectly "done". Exquisite silk and wool materials. Interesting shapes and juxtapositions. Lots of empty space. Mirrored glass and ceramics. Gorgeous lighting. Metals done tastefully. Decorative elements that draw on the classics but are interpreted in very modern way.

Welcome to the sheer genius that is Emery & Cie.

Or rather, go to Paris or Brussels, and walk into their storefronts. I'm told it's a lot like the trip through the Looking Glass that Alice took. You can get this look here in America, but you will need a designer (THAT would be me!) to help you.

Founded by the eccentric and brilliant architect Agnes Emery, Emery & Cie is the darling of the European design world. Their product line is extensive: paints, fine cloth, furniture, fabrics, rugs, tableware, tiles, lighting, ironmongery and wallpaper..and all utterly delightful.

And while a visit to her store is said to be an adventure, a visit to her website will also do nicely. Don't miss it! We'll see you on the other side!

all images shamelessly re-used from

Emery & Cie

visit and enjoy!

.........................................

in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design