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Sunday Places Notebook - Heaven Must Be Here

My Sunday Places Notebook takes me to a near yet far away place because it can only truly be reached through a child’s heart. We call it Heaven Must Be Here. It leaves tomorrow behind and is nestled somewhere between now and those forever days.

Here, at our cottage on the shores of Lake Huron, time stops as we know it. An old grandfather clock from the early 1900’s has its patinated hands permanently set at 3:34 p.m. We chose not to fix the frozen keeper of hours. I often wonder what happened at that moment on the day of a distant year. I feel that it must have been a memorable one, not a significant event, rather a special moment in time when a butterfly stretched its art wings to the sun, when the forget-me-nots offered a timid wave in a gentle breeze, and when the lake’s ebb and flow circled a beach rock in perfect and beautiful geometry.

Here, the wind caresses cheeks and whispers sweet nothings. Listen. Did you hear that? The heavenly child can play tricks rustling through the old wise trees.

Here, a symphony performs from dawn to dusk. If you listen carefully there are a myriad of instruments that key in harmonically as if guided by a master conductor. Small petals dance to the sonata strings of long summer field grasses and the drums of hummingbird wings keep all to the beat.

Here, silence has its own melodic tune; hauntingly mesmerizing and beautiful.

Here is where my favourite flower blankets the ground each spring. I’ve always loved the delicate little white bells and their sweet smell. They take me back to a childhood storybook where Mother Earth’s root children celebrate new beginnings with large lily of the valley lanterns.

Our Eden tree stands constant in a small garden island within the surrounding waters. It romances the rising sun and purple sunsets with its wispy silhouette. The hot summer surrounds it with bright chlorophyll green, water lilies, and wildflowers and offers a canvas of meandering Monet strokes; my live masterpiece.

Here is where wishes are made through dandelion heads against a fiery end-of-day sky.

And when the twilight touches the lake, illuminated trees strung with hammocks stand still and quite to give the stage to lonely bullfrog calls and distant night bird songs. 

Heaven must be here.

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Sunday Places Notebook : Layers of the Aiken-Rhett House

Today is my first ‘Sunday Places Notebook’ post. 

Sunday is a quiet day of the week: a pause day. It’s a day of reflection that can bring fresh perspectives and ideas for the week ahead. On Sundays, I love to listen to old tunes; shed a wistful tear; smile; read; clean; fill my home with flowers; set my table with some meaningful odds-and-ends pieces; see beauty in the small and significant things around me; and often to pour over images from my far away and near-to-home journeys. It’s a notebook kind of day that collects all the experiences and assembles them into beautiful packages.

My ‘Sunday Places Notebook’ will be a regular end-of-week post that will be as much meant for me to enjoy as it is meant for you by bringing together the captures and perspectives that have shaped me as a creative and a person.

Be prepared to see exotic architecture and the structure of a dandelion head. It will be random, thought-provoking, and filled with inspiration. This will be a travel log where an iron street grate detail may take precedence over the iconic building or a where a butterfly wing may take focus over the picturesque landscape.

As my first post, I am exploring the raw and peeled-back beauty of what once was; a diamond in the rough in reverse. 

This is a historical home in Charleston that I was fortunate to experience with Kravet Inc. and several Canadian designers last spring. 

Showing all its intriguing layers, the Aiken-Rhett House is one of Charleston’s most renowned antebellum mansions. 

Without the polished veneers, this Greek Revival mansion is intensely beautiful in its historically layered and patinated form. There’s a magic here exposing a 150-year evolution of living, fashion, and technology.

 For me, the scenes opened my thoughts to the music that once played through the harp and the flowing dresses that presented down elegant staircases. 

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While in London: My Happenstance Discoveries

Another trip to beautiful London has come and gone. I love this city! I always return with a wealth of inspiration and, invariably, some heavy and indispensable swag items that I usually have to ship home. 

Between two international design award ceremonies, sourcing ventures with my colleagues in the field, and two blog award celebrations, this was my fourth consecutive year in London. It’s clear to me that I need a flat here....and a client or two (just putting that out to the universe)! 

This year it was a three day whirlwind of a time and the Amara Interior Blog Awards night at London’s Design Museum was the highlight. As a finalist for Best Interior Designer Blog, it was a special evening of celebrating our passion for design and the art of putting it all into words. I connected with old and new friends who share a special understanding of the craft. It was a memorable evening!

Three days is a short visit and therefore I explored freely with no plans or regiment. I always see so much more this way because there is not an ounce of expectation; just random wonders and interesting connections that appear as they should if you believe in kismet. With eyes and heart wide open, each moment is complete and the happenstance discoveries are special. 

This city feeds my creative soul. I love the fashion windows and high tea, the grand Georgian homes of South Kensington, the museums and their fantasy gardens, and my lifelong fetish for vintage markets. 

The grounds of the Natural History Museum are simply magical and each year the ice rink revolves around a giant Christmas tree. The wonderland scene, set against the backdrop of Hintze Hall, always stops me in my tracks. I have yet to put on the blades but so far it suffices to watch people on wobbly skates holding on to penguin figures and others that show off their one-foot glides. Truth be known, I haven’t skated since I was a kid. 

Between the buskers, illuminated Merry-Go-Round, and roasted chestnuts, I’m continuously enamored by this along-the-way place. The experience is new and different each time. 

No matter how short my London stay is, I do my best to visit my all-time favorite museum, the V&A. I could spend weeks in this glorious place that houses history, architecture, and design. I would never tire. The fantastical Chihuly Rotunda Chandelier is breathtaking each time I see it. It’s a chandelier-formed sculpture of colorful blown glass that draws on the historic Viennese techniques of the Murano glassworks. Its delicate swirling tendrils perform together to bring a sense of movement through color, shade, and light. This is a space changer and an art form that one can dream around! 

A visit to the V&A is not complete without a bit of Victorian-high-style indulgence in the museum’s cafes. Being the first of their kind in a museum, three refreshment rooms - The Gamble, Poynter, and Morris Room - were opened in 1868 for visitors to immerse themselves in culture and beauty. Reflecting the once contemporary design theories of the day, each room offers a wealth of decorative ornamentation and inspiration. My personal favorite is the central Gamble Room. In opulent Italianate style, this room is extraordinary! Every surface is embellished and nothing is restrained.  

Walls, ceilings and large columns supporting grand arches are wrapped in colorful ceramic, glass, and enamel. A frieze of putti harvesting food, grand mirrors in majolica frames, carved scenes with elephants and camels surrounding doors and stained-glass windows that disperse light into beautiful colorful fragments are the details that can keep one captivated. Today’s large filigree spheres that replaced the original gas jets are strangely in keeping. I have to admit, I spent a good portion of my precious available day here. But that’s perfectly fine. Time seemed to stand still while slowly sipping Earl Grey and listening to the classics on the piano. I imagined the fancy dresses and showpiece hats that once accompanied this scene. 

Each previous year while in London I did some window shopping in the evening and each year I promised myself a return in the day to that wonderful little Fortuny shop, Venetia Studium, in Brompton. The quintessential Venetian lamps of opaline silk and their rich fusion of cultural decoration speak of fairytale places and times. When I walked in by chance, I was thrilled!  I was finally inside the jewel box. The lamps were true sculptures of light. I touched each pleated silk cushion and scarf, and the handbags of silk damask velvet were works of art. I didn’t buy anything but I may just do some online Christmas shopping. The copper and blush damask cushion has my name on it! 

I discovered my new favorite restaurant in London during this last visit. Tucked away on its namesake street, Launceston Place, in South Kensington, is the place to dine! Its deep blue classic facade caught my eye on a particularly sunny afternoon. 

To me, the environment is as much part of the experience than the food and service itself. No disappointments on any level here. French gray walls hold a collection of fine art and I love the bright daylight ambiance that turns intimate in the evening with small quirky lightbulb candles. The creative fare, prepared by acclaimed Head Chef, Ben Murphy was accompanied with the finest choices of wine by Master Sommelier, Piotr Pietras. A special vegan meal was prepared just for us along with a custom menu card. I’m forever spoiled by this experience. Every detail and garnish was an art form. Smoked candy floss was the most unusual dish and it was awesome! Sommelier-approved or not, it paired perfectly with my rose champagne. 

The last full day in London was sunny - again! The red paper lanterns were particularly bright and luminous in Chinatown.

 A small narrow alley led to an open courtyard that was colourful and eclectic. This was Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden. I sat down for a while with coffee in hand and enjoyed some people-watching. Another world this little spot seemed to be - wondrous and imaginative with lush vertical gardens and a rainbow of colour on each facade. I felt as though I’d entered a children’s storybook. 

The angels were suspended between the historic buildings of Regent Street and I imagined them in the month of December when the Christmas spirit would dance through their ethereal wings. For now, they seemed a bit out of place in the warm autumn sun but there was a magic just the same and I could sense the quiet stirrings and preparations for a frenetic season ahead.

 And then there will be next year in London. 

All images via Regina Sturrock 

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Friday’s Impression - India’s Extraordinary

I’ve been putting the big focus on our India project this week. Our presentations have been richly layered and detailed for the large luxury penthouse. We connected hand-painted chinoiseries with book-matched and illuminated onyx and shook it all up with contemporary crystal luminaires. These are exciting times here at the Regina Sturrock Design studio!

From this perspective, my Friday’s impression is taken from India; a beautiful country of contrasts and colour. Looking back to my inspiration file and the many snap shots I took during my last visit, I realize that each stirred my creative approach to this project. The images are faceted, from the exquisite pietra dura of the Taj Mahal to the simple and colourful vendor scenes of cloth and fruit. All lead to one glorious impression. 

Perhaps, what intrigued me most is the craft and the making of the extraordinary. After visiting the Taj and marveling the work of artisans dating back to the seventeenth century, I witnessed the same unaltered processes by the descendants of the masters. 

Pietra Dura, an Italian phrase that means “hard stone” refers to the technique of creating intricately inlaid pictures from shaped and cut coloured stones. 

Fanciful flower species in the form of semi-precious stones such as coral, onyx, carnelian, amethyst, and lapis lazuli add to the splendor of the Taj’s white marble. The masterful work extends from outside to inside. The detail is pure, intense and smooth and, even up close, it all appears like a painting. 

The ancient Indian tradition of inlaying stone continues today. 

It impressed me to see the tiny pieces of stone ready to be placed into perfectly chiseled-out surfaces. Artistry, history, and passion are at the heart of these wonders - and nimble fingers.

This is a precision of the hand that no machine could replicate with authenticity. 

The craft of shaping stones with small saws, wires, and metal instruments and adding them to a decorative object or surface is a process of antiquity that remains unchanged. 

My appreciation is continually renewed for those extraordinary things that I find for my clients as I travel the world. So is my understanding of beauty in its pure form.

This leaves a lasting impression. 

 All images via Regina Sturrock 

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Sunday Places Notebook: My Last Day in Paris

It feels like so long ago and so far away; a world away when I walked along the narrow side streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The January morning was brisk and sunny on this last day in Paris and I wanted to explore. I only had a little over an hour before leaving for the airport, so I skipped my long breakfast (a personal ritual) and ventured out into the already bustling city. 

I did not walk far before stopping at a beautiful door, and then another, and another. 

The streets were lined with them; bold entrances saturated with rich colour and ornament that stirred the imagination to what beauty must lie behind them. Their hardware and large ornate knockers (door furniture as I like to refer to them) had stories to tell within each metal turn.

But I had to divert and keep walking. I wanted to visit some of the antique shops (there are many in this area) and possibly find that one last piece of Paris to bring home with me. I did not walk far before looking through a shop window. Yes, I was intrigued with the rather unusual and somewhat whimsical lamps. I’m sure they were worth a small fortune, but they were just fanciful to me.

Window shopping is a layered experience to me. I love to see the city’s reflection mixed within the wares. Architecture and street signs and grand candelabras; I want to buy the scene. And I do, with a few captures that stir my imagination each time I look back.

I did not walk far before the narrow streets opened and the River Seine offered the Louvre that stretches endlessly along its banks.

A world away it seems.