The secret gardens of Palacio de Deao ... :)

If you are visiting Palacio de deao,at Quepem ... Goa. Chances are that you are going to be mesmerised ... being personal guests of Ruben and Celia Vasco da Gama.We were expected for a lovely lunch ... an Indo Portugese ... yummmmmcious ... and prepared by Ruben and his wife Celia themselves.

Sam, Sarah and Trisha (daughter of our host at Arco Iris) ... went up the steps and rang the bell to announce themselves ... but I was kind of absentmindedly lost ... taking in all the gorgeouness of the beautiful gardens ... I later discover that these gardens on the bank of river Kushavati,have been historically known for there beauty and  Indo Portugese style ... I believe some of the features I saw are all historically dated ...

The gardens aren't really called secret gardens ... but as you walk around this beautiful property ... you move from a little secretly enclosed landscape ... onto another. Beautiful old gates and walls ... holding behind them something more for the heart to do a flip -flop over ... another coutyard ... another secret garden.

These overgrown green and varigated ginger plants ... against the balcony  ... its that feeling you get ... that throws you back on the grass and you want to just stop and let time stand still ... (until ofcourse your kids call out ... mommmmmmyyy .. aaah ... shes lost again ... come on daddy)

The entrance to Palacio de deao ... the Goan bench ... the ferns ... the fragrance of Madhumalti flowers(Rangoon creeper) fills the air ... the moment of irony in life ... should I go in and explore the beautiful antique filled home, I have heard so much about ... and the rumbling tummy says .. lunch ...lunch ... on the gorgeous back veranda .... and the heart says ... turn around ... you missed the little path that leads to the other side of the garden that holds many secrets ... the mind says .... lady you are a gonner ... ;)

... so here is exactly what I did ... agreed with my mind ( a sucker for all things that grow on the ground ) ...I turn around and follow my heart ... running down the little path,through the white pillared gate ... told my tummy ... hold it sweetheart ... theres food for the wild imagination here ... ;)

Through the gates ... past the mermaid pond... Ah .... that (in the left picture) is the back veranda ... all overgrown with bouganvillia ... the coconut palms like natures own fans ... and nearby flows ...  river Kushavati ...

I was just having a bit of a fairy tail moment here ... :) ... Everytime I see such beauty ,such lovely plants... the devil in me feels like stealing it and running away somewhere (giggle-giggle)... I don't know, does it happen to you too ... well to hide away a garden like this I'd need a big place ... really big ... ;)

As I walk around  ... I see these steps ... I can't help but wonder if they too have been around the 213 years that this mansion has  seen ... its very humbling to see the laterite stone wall that holds this raised part of the garden ... they look beautiful with all that aging ... a beauty that no designer can arificially recreate ...

The haliconias in full bloom ... bordered by low trimmed hedges ... the yellow mansion ... the green of the lawn ... oh! those antique seating ... pardon me, I completely forget what I was going to write ... :)

The gardens and the garden ornaments ... accessories ... a lot of styling here and there ... all subtly speak of the cross cultural influence ... nothing loud ... nothing that needs to prove its existence...but I guess after more than two centuries ...nothing needs to ... this garden stands in a league of its own.

If you'd like to see and know more about Palacio de Deao ... definetly book a luncheon with them ... or tea. And in the mean while you can check out their web site as well ... http://www.palaciododeao.com/
Hope you enjoyed ... drop me a line ... would love to have you share your thoughts with me ... :)

Refinement...+ re listed!

via the vintage rose

This room is so amazing I had to show you!

I have been making a story board for the new style I am moving towards and there is just something in me that cant let go of the refinement of French Style. I still want the coastal feel that I have been talking about but I don't want the lighthouse ornaments etc but with some refinement. I know what it is, just don't know what you would call it is all.

johan kalen

Here is another gorgeous room. I could easily use this as a base to add the style I am going for. I have been busy however rearranging our rooms as we get ready to sell our beloved home....lots of rearranging. I am getting to the small bits and pieces now and as soon as the rooms are ready, I will give you a sneak peak.

I also have been busy with a makeover project I am sure you will like.

Oh, I have re listed some of my best seller cushion covers on my Etsy Store like this one

My French Love Letter cover and some others like the Keep Calm And Carry On cover and the La Balloon cover too. If you would like to have a look click HERE.

Ness xx

A Storage Wish

coastal living

Storage has always been an issue for us and on top of my list for our new home will be storage. We never had a problem in our kitchen with storage, just the bedrooms...I just couldn't help but show you this kitchen. I love the drawers everywhere - and the bead board walls!!
Tricia Foley
I love this storage solution in this Laundry room designed by the fabulous Tricia Foley. It amazing and oh so chic too!

Sarah Richardson Designs

...and although I am not overly into open

shelving in the kitchen (we ripped ours out when we re lined the kitchen as it always looked wrong and I was sick of dusting them!), but I am liking this shelving system in Sarah's farmhouse.

So while I continue moving furniture about our house this weekend and getting the rooms ready to out the house on the market, I will be thinking about the 'list' for the next home we buy. Hopefully I can show you what I have been up to.

Ness xx

I have nothing...

via white and wander

I have nothing....in a slump!

.....a bloggin slump, but I did love this beautiful room that I spied over at Emma's beautiful blog White & Wander. I am dreaming of this room and a new home right now and I don't think my head is in the game...but I have found some lovely houses on our new home hunt and have been busy gathering images and clippings of the new style I am leaning towards.

Oh, and I am fast gathering items for my virtual yard sale which I will probably do about the middle of June when my Mum will be here to help me out.

back to work!!

Ness xx

I Love Etsy....

paper acorn

Look at these sweet little paper Hydrangea petals I found on Etsy today. They come in a little paper box with a larger petal on top. I couldn't resit showing you as you probably know by now how much I adore Hydrangeas and ours are dormant right now while we venture into winter.


annachovie

Now, how can you not love anything that Anne Harwell from Annachovie does? Not only has one of her chair prints shown up in the awesome movie 'It's Complicated', but she does amazing room scapes and quote prints too as well as many other gorgeous ones. I am loving this Chinoisere plate print that would go so well with my Ginger Jar print I bought a while back from Anna...don't you think?
medium control
Then there is this. I have been after a messenger bag for a while that will hold all of 'stuff' and look good at the same time. This one with one of the chair design classics 'Eames chair' print on is just perfect I think. It has loads of pockets and pen holders, phone holders etc and I love the colour.
So, if you want to go have a look at any of these items, or any of the other fab items these sellers have on offer just visit Etsy, or click on the small shop name under each photo.
Have fun!
Ness xx

Back to the Blue and White

For some, the difference between right and wrong is as simple as black and white. For others, there are many shades of gray. Some of us live in red states, while others in blue ones. But regardless of where we live and how we see things, I think it's safe to say that there is something that most of us would agree on. Blue and white is always right in decoration.

(The image at top is a foyer that was designed by William Machado. The effect of the blue and white paper not to mention the blue ceiling is crisp and clean and not too sweet.)



I've always loved this photo. There's my favorite Pierre Frey fabric on the headboard. And look at that gorgeous blue and white Porthault linen. But the main reason I love this shot? It was designed by Mario Buatta, one of the masters of the blue and white color scheme (just one of his many design talents!)



Carolyne Roehm is no johnny come lately to blue and white. She was using it long before her recent book came out. Here, in her Southampton house, there is a wonderful blue and white Portuguese table placed in front of the blue and white tiled fireplace and wall. The blue and white quilted fabric with trim completes the breezy look.




Hmmm, quite an exuberant use of blue and white. You've got the Manuel Canovas porcelain print on the walls and curtains; blue and white plaid on the chairs and window shades; blue dining chairs; blue china; and blue and white lattice rug. Oh, and it appears that the top of the white chest is blue, too.



Mallory-Tillis designed this soothing room in the late 1950s. In a weird way, I'm kind of taken with that blue floor. I'm not so crazy about the arched panels over the windows, but I do like the blue-backed bookshelves and white dust-jacketed books. And that marbleized blue shelf is rather wild.


(Machado photo from The New York Times Book of Interior Design and Decoration; Buatta photo from The New Tiffany Table Settings; Roehm photo from The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook; exuberant blue photo from House & Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration; House & Garden's Complete Guide to Interior Decoration)

Smitten...and confused!

from my files - unknown

I am totally smitten by this amazing kitchen!

I would just be happy to unpack my belongings in here and start cooking straight away.
That is one thing which is on my list for the next home, is a nice kitchen that doesn't need work done...oh heaven!

all things cottage
This is what we will need when all of this is done.

Our house is like a bomb site at the moment while the moving room adventures are underway. Our old bedroom, which is the other living room has just small bits and pieces in there while we give it some TLC. Until this is done, I cant move the furniture in there...so it is all in my old office, which is now our main bedroom - confused yet?

It will only get more confusing I am sure.

wish us luck please!!

Ness xx

The China Syndrome

I need more china like I need a hole in my head. But still, I can always come up with justification for just one more pattern. The one I've been smitten with as of late is Tiffany's "Framboise Rose". The pattern was part of Tiffany's Private Stock, meaning it was hand-painted in France and...that it was very pricey. Not an issue, though, as I believe the pattern has been discontinued. It's odd, really, that I'm even drawn to this pattern. You have to admit that the pattern is pretty feminine, and I tend to prefer more "gender neutral" china. I do like the color pink, though not so much on my table with the exception of flowers and linen. And floral patterned china is not my cup of tea, although the "Framboise Rose" doesn't scream floral- at least to me. I guess the reason is as simple as the fact that the china is really beautiful. That Van Day Truex designed it doesn't hurt either, although I didn't learn this tidbit of info until after I had fallen for the pattern.

I've culled a few images of the china in situ. In almost every photo, the china has been placed on pink table linen. Way too sugary for me. I don't mind being in the pink, but this is just too rosy for me. I'd probably mix "Framboise Rose" with plain, masculine flatware and sleek crystal. And for the table linen, I'd choose a color or even a print that might give the china an edge. Can't you see it on a solid aubergine or prunelle linen cloth? What about mossy green? Even saffron might work. Maybe one of these days I'll get the chance to experiment with my very own "Framboise Rose".


"Framboise Rose" in the frescoed dining room of Earl Blackwell.



On the table of Mrs. Guilford Dudley, "Framboise Rose" holds court with Rock Cut crystal candlesticks and those fabulous (and famous) Baccarat decanters, both of which were also designed by Truex.


Denning and Fourcade must have liked the pattern too. As this is a mouthful, I'm going to quote: "A mahogany cellarette is placed before a trompe l'oeil window composed of a nineteenth-century Chinese panel painting whose summer palace garden is framed by lavish Napoleon III Aubusson tapestry portieres complete with deep valance and gold lace inner blind." Whew!


All that pink is excused here since it's a Valentine's Dinner. How extravagant to use those Peretti silver mesh scarf necklaces as napkin rings.

(Image #1 from The Tiffany Wedding; all others from The New Tiffany Table Settings; both books by John Loring)