While Labor Day may mark the unofficial end of Summer, it’s actually not over until September 23rd. So, today, my time will be well spent flat out on one of those lounges indulging in a bit of vitamin D therapy or refreshing myself in the cool depths of that slate lined pool. Topping the day off with a simple alfresco dinner and an evening fire at the pool house and I’ve put together the perfect  holiday stay-cation.

 

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Photo via: http://cabbagerose.tumblr.com/post/128362395033/green-glass-tile-cd-poolhousemarc-merckx-via

 

 

Cheers!

July 13, 2015

Congratulations to one of my simplequietmodern favorites, Heath Ceramics, the recipients of the 2015 National Design Award for corporate and institutional achievement. You might want to celebrate along as well with a piece of two from their 2015 summer collection

HeathModernCupSet 

HeathSummerBudvase Set

 

Heath CAfe Bowl set

 

 

From top to bottom:

The modern cup set, bud vase set and pair of cafe bowls are available for a limited time only in these refreshing glazes of mint, pomelo and storm. photos: http://www.heathceramics.com/

 

 

While a fence can provide a little privacy where it’s needed, sometimes something more substantial is required. A solid wall comes to mind. But, something with a bit more panache…something with a style reminiscent of early mid-century residential architecture. This example by Kennedy Nolan Architects elevates the lowly concrete block to another level entirely. That’s a lot of style, texture and pattern based simply on a $1 brick. Brilliant. 

 

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photo: http://www.kennedynolan.com.au/

 

and a long full day of July 4th celebration. Phew! I can’t think of a better way to recharge for the rest of the long weekend than in a bed dressed in these crisp, summery cotton percale sheets and shams. Now, if you’ll excuse me…

 

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Photo: http://www.parachutehome.com/products/percale-sheets?variant=4220118657

A summer breeze…

June 26, 2015

a great view and a tall cool one. The only thing missing is a place to relax and take it all in. That’s exactly what Thomas Lee thought when he set out “planking” together what would come to be an icon of Summer while weekending in the Adirondacks in 1905. Many incarnations of this classic design have evolved over the last one hundred plus years, but none compare tho the elegant simplicity of the original. The Westport Chair…inviting you to kick off those flip-flops and sit a spell.

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photos via Gardenista and Remodelista.

 

 

 

Into the Woods

June 17, 2015

Or, maybe the edge of a lake. With a little planning , and these plans, you’re almost there. While it might be too late for a summer get-a-way this season, you can always start scouting locations for next years weekend destination. The “Trapper” model, by Form and Forest, is just 738 square feet of simplequietmodern vacation perfection.

Trapper

 

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Renderings: http://www.formandforest.com/default.aspx

 

In like a Lion…

April 9, 2015

out like a punch in the face. As if another brutal Winter and fourteen weeks in a sling with a fractured wrist and elbow weren’t quite enough fun for one season…Bam!… a two-week bout with some new strain of Spring virus. I might be delirious or just have cabin fever…or, it might be that I just can’t seem to get warm that has me dreaming of the desert. Any desert, the hotter and drier the better. Ahhh…I can almost feel the sunlight baking the chill right out of me.

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Ocatillo-SLB

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top to bottom:

A simple branch parched by the sun and sanded smooth by blowing sands. photo: gp

A T shirt and linen pants. What else do you need to loll around on a 100 degree day?http://madebymuku.blogspot.com/

Ocotillo, or Devil’s walking stick. I’ll have to wait for my get-a-way in the desert to put it’s sculptural qualities to good use.http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/trans-p/nature/images/ocotillo.html

Georgia O’Keefe knew simplequietmodern when she saw it in her Abiquiu home and studio early in the last century. Not hard to get inspired here I’m sure. http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/abiquiu-home–studio.html

 

 

 

 

PS

March 12, 2015

Crack the cover and you’re almost there. Close your eyes for a second and feel the hot desert air. Palm Springs…get-a-way to the rich and famous for decades documented in this reissue of Palm Springs Modern:Houses in the California Desert. Explore the best examples of midcentury design at its most glamourous from the 1940’s to the 60’s. This could be the best spring break ever at $40.

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 http://www.rizzoliusa.com/book.php?isbn=9780847844104

 

 

A stretch…a yawn…

March 4, 2015

a slow awakening. Sloughing off Winter to greet Spring all scrubbed and polished. Feeling like that first lungful of air that just smells like the earth is waking up too.

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My simplequietmodern morning essentials; a Nuetrogena Original Formula Clear Cleansing Bar and Trader Joe’s Savon de France Oatmeal Exfoliant Ginger Almond soap…a fresh loofa and a natural nail brush. A perfectly simple bath environment for that total spa experience couldn’t hurt either.

 

top 2 photos: gp;  bath photo via http://remash.tumblr.com/

 

The Perfect Rx

February 27, 2015

Nothing puts me on the road to Winter recovery like the first of March. And, with the first of March comes that perfect shot in the arm…the Daffodil. Simple joy and happiness found anywhere and everywhere by the generous handful for a couple of bucks. Is there anything quite like their gentle fragrance and burst of color when Winter is still trying to dig its heals in with bone chilling cold?

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photos: gp