Art in the Kitchen

When I say Art in the Kitchen, I don't mean wine labels or pictures of fruit.  I mean the good stuff, what you would put over your mantle.


I think most kitchens are sterile and devoid of personality, even in a kitchen as stunning as these...

While utilitarian, it doesn't reflect the lives of the people that move and function in the space.  The kitchen is the most lived in room in the house, where family and friends gather (whether you want them to or not).  That's why I love the idea of art in the kitchen.  It makes the room feel warm, inviting and gives it that extra layer that is needed to become a complete space.

A cool backsplash tile or wallpaper can do great things for a kitchen, but it still needs more....

Modern with a dash of spice

Here's some great examples of infusing art in the kitchen...

Large is good if you have a big wall.  Love the pop of color!

Or Small

Love the textured wall of grass cloth which makes the painting pop!

Bright and fresh

Mixing in Art with your dishes. Open shelves make a nice display and practical for items you need to access often

Black and white is always a classic

Or create your own art with chalk!

One piece of art may be all you need

Add art that speaks to you or is different from the rest of your decor

A gallery or collage of art really makes your kitchen a "living" room, like these for example....

I challenge you to add some life to your kitchen.  Think outside the box.  If you don't have walls in your kitchen or open shelves, hang art on the cabinets.  ~ Brandy

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

We've been working like crazy to try and get our new website off the ground, so hard in fact that I ended up having to go to the eye doctor to get some glasses for when I am on the computer all day!!!

I love Zooey Deschanel so I was kinda excited about getting some geek chic glasses!

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to let you in on what we've been working on....

I'm sure you all have Pinterest boards filled with images of rooms that you love. We all have those inspirational images of what we want our own house to look like but not everyone can actually make that happen.

Here are a few of my dream spaces:

I could sit in here forever! I love the eclectic messiness of it all, but when your eyes need a break, just close the curtain!

Bunny Williams masterpiece. I love me some good symmetry.

Throw in some pops of yellow and a collection of beach finds and I am hooked.

Gotta have some "antiqueness" in my rooms and beachy blue walls are a must!

So how does one accomplish this look? Well, this is where Twine steps in. Here's what I've been working on!

This.....

+ This

with a little of this

and that...

Becomes the perfect eclectic mix of all my dream spaces!

Do you love it? Not quite your style? Do you have a more simple and modern stye? Don't worry, we're having fun creating all kinds of styles and designs so that you will find the one that represents you. Now you know what we've been up to, well enough to keep you intrigued but not give away the whole pie! 

Jessica

Mod Squad

Last night was the first Mid-Century Modern home tour for Historic Tyler.     

The house that was chosen was built by famed architect E. Davis Wilcox in 1952. This was the private home of the architect until his death in 2000 when it was purchased by the current owners Wendy and Ray Gallagher.

Wendy Gallagher 

The house is constructed of redwood and brick that was salvaged from an old fire station in Tyler. The  large windows and flat roof are characteristically Mid-Century and allow the integration of nature into the house. The interior is filled with original built-ins made of redwood. 

Come on in and enjoy the tour!

The house is filled with great pieces of art and furniture.

The house is built around a central atrium that lets in natural sunlight to the whole house.

I would love to sit out here with my morning coffee!

The dining room has these amazing original built-in buffets on both sides of the room. 

You might recognize the kitchen from the fabulous remodel by Studio B Designs. You can see before and afters here.

Brandy is a member of the "Mod Squad" of Historic Tyler and was there to tell visitors about the history of the house. Doesn't she look pretty!

Wendy converted one of the bedrooms into a fabulous dressing salon.

The master bedroom

The Gallaghers converted a breezeway into a powder room and made the current half bath into this awesome master bath. 

There was a great turn-out for the tour with people constantly coming and going for the event.

I really liked how they painted the original paneling in these fun stripes for their office.

The house sits on a gorgeous lot with tons of trees and a really great brick wall for privacy.

"We feel so privileged to be living in this home of E. Davis Wilcox and feel he would be pleased with what we have done to bring this home into the twenty-first century while maintaining his great design and legacy." - Wendy and Ray Gallagher

I had a great time touring this Mid-Century gem and can't wait for the next one! Did you love it as much as I did?

Jessica

Temp

Well, we just couldn't keep quiet any longer! Our website isn't quite ready to be launched so until then, we've set up this temporary blogspot to tell you all about the fabulous things that are happening.

Brandy and I headed to Dallas on Wednesday to attend the launch party for Rue magazine's Texas edition. Even though I drove in from the Piney Woods of Tyler, I couldn't help but feel the ahhh feeling that fresh breath of city air gives me .

    

(Completely figuratively of course as the pollution level was Orange: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups)

Our first stop was to the Duralee showroom to check out the new John Robshaw fabrics and do a little shopping for some pieces of cool furniture we are going to be recovering. Stay tuned for that excitement. 

After visiting Duralee and Kravet (they won't have the new Jonathan Adler fabrics until December), it was time to get gussied up and head out to the launch party of the Texas edition of Rue Magazine!

The Wisteria retail location was a beautiful backdrop for the party. We couldn't help shopping around while mingling. 

Loved this vignette!

Anyone in the market for a huge, wooden elephant? Only $14,000.

Everyone at the event was so fashionable and it was so much fun mingling. We met Bradley Agather of luella & june who was just named the Fashion Editor for the Dallas Morning News. She was wearing a fabulous Thakoon Addition Silk Caftan Tunic that she so graciously relinquished her source for, The Out Net. 

We also met Albertina of Mimosa Lane. She was so sweet and featured me and my adorable chevron clutch on her blog. Love the clutch? You can have one too!  

And it was so great to chat with the stylists Brandon Frien and Arlene Matthews of kit this. They were the creative eyes who styled the fashion segment in the magazine. 

It was a great night of shopping, mingling and trend-spotting! 

And of course, we couldn't leave Dallas without having pancakes at Lucky's!

The best pancakes in Dallas!

After eating a while, I looked down to see that my pancake had turned into PacMan.

Next stop was some morning shopping at the Architectural Savage Warehouse. 

It was our first time to check it out and it was packed with all kinds of stuff from doors and windows to columns and fireplace mantels.

Will enormous old sign letters ever not be cool?

And lastly, no trip to Dallas would be complete without a trip to Northpark to visit my favorite store, Anthropologie!

Loved this sign, you have to crafty when taking pics at Anthro because it's definitely not allowed!

All in all it was fabulous trip! I always have a little pang in my heart when I leave the city but it's nice to come home. I'll be heading to Austin next week for Austin Fashion Week so stay tuned!

Jessica