Sprucing up the Entry

Welcome to our home!

The entry is the first impression to your home, revealing much about who lives there and what lies beyond the front door. I have always believed it should be a little dramatic!

We never use the front door! We are a back door family, so sometimes this whole area gets neglected. I might forget to water the topiaries or plant flowers. So, I decided to pay attention to it and give it a little "facelift."

The front door was recently given a fresh coat of black paint.

A seagrass rug replaced the patterned black wool one.

The wreath is a new addition from Vintage Home Lifestyle in Healdsburg.

This vintage wicker settee was a recent find from the Alameda Antique Faire. I had it upholstered with an old European feed sack. The various pillows are still a work in progress.

The walls are an apple green, one of my favorite colors.

The stairs are carpeted with a wool leopard runner.

Vintage oil paintings of roses line the walls.

There is an old hall tree on the landing.

The pair of pine cone urns from Wisteria flanking either side of the front door are now planted with a fresh flowering plant. (We'll see how long that lasts!)

Outside, these old black urns are original to the house. I recently planted them for spring to spruce up the entry.

Inside the front door with a full view of the entry. The dining room is on the left, the living room on the right.

The entry has always been an open space, without furniture as there are too many doors. I once tried a big round table in the middle, but it seemed like it was always in the way. Keeping it staged with fresh floral arrangements wasn't practical either. The wicker settee actually is the first piece of furniture to fit and it really warms up the space.

Front view of our house (circa 1906) taken in the Fall.

I'm linking up to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday. Be sure to visit her and see other projects by fellow bloggers.

I'm also joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday! Come have a look at all the creative mosaics.

My Chandelier Obsession

I'm obsessed with chandeliers, and have quite a "collection."

So, let me introduce you to the chandeliers in my life!

Above is the crystal and tole chandelier in the dining room.

I know, it's a little over the top!

I bought it when I was in love with all things tole.

This is the French crystal chandelier in the entry. I found it at the Hillsborough Antique Show years ago. Love the crystal ball!

It's interesting that when we bought this house, there was only one chandelier--in the dining room. Everywhere else, there was a new flush mount fixture. In a 1906 house? Needless to say, it has been fun finding chandeliers and sconces to replace what we inherited.

I found this vintage Italian tole chandelier at an estate sale in San Francisco. It is perfect for the sunroom.

In the guest bedroom hangs this chandelier which I refinished myself.

It used to be brass until I spray painted it white!

My obsession with chandeliers also includes sconces. Especially ones dripping with crystals like this one in the living room.

In the kitchen, this tole basket chandelier hangs over the table.

And this little vintage fixture hangs over the kitchen sink, casting an amber glow.

This is the iron pot rack fixture over the kitchen island, dressed in little vintage provencal fabric shades.

In the upstairs hallway hangs this lantern that we found while antiquing in the wine country on New Year's Day. It replaced the existing fixture which now hangs in the new "reading room."

Speaking of the wine country: here is an over sized lantern that hangs in our living room in Asti. It came with the house, and I do like it. However, I feel there is another one that is waiting to be discovered.

The room is wired for an electric chandelier, but we opted for candlelight instead. Here is son-in-law Jason doing the honors of lighting the candles.

How romantic!

Even the sconces are candlelit.

This is what I'm really in love with now: This big burlap pendent hanging over the kitchen island. You can read about how we installed it here.

There are even more chandeliers in the garage! I bought them at flea markets, estate sales or junk stores for resell back in the day when I was an antique dealer. This one is a vintage tole piece that I hope to someday find a place for.

This funky little one was an Ebay find. I originally thought of putting this in a powder room. However, it needs rewiring so it sits in the garage waiting ....

This poor chandelier is French and used to hang over the kitchen table until I replaced it with the basket tole piece. It's now a reject!

Which brings us to this one: my header picture.

Yep, it's also boxed up in my garage waiting....

I think about hanging it in the dining room, creating a simpler look.

The best part about it is the crystals. They are acid washed to create the opaque look seen here. The body is a dark green. It needs to be rewired and there isn't any chain or cap.

It would be a project.

Can you see it in the dining room? With a white linen chain cover?

As I mentioned a few days ago, Kim at Savvy Southern Style gave me an award!

I was so flattered! She asked that I come up with seven facts about myself. So in the spirit of the award, here goes:

1. I grew up in Oregon, living the first 28 years there until moving to California for the second 28 years.
2. My husband and I have four grown children. Only one still in college. We also have two little granddaughters. And one dog!
3. Gardening is one of my passions. I love creating gardens for my friends and clients that are easy to take care of and won't cost a fortune to do. I'm lucky to have a wonderful gardener friend, Martin who has helped me with my projects since 1985!
4. I used to be an antique dealer. I had a space in an antique mall for years but retired a few years ago when Ebay got so big. It is in my blood though, and will eventually get another space or storefront so I can sell all that stuff in my garage!
5. Flea marketing and antiquing are one of my favorite things to do. I'm lucky that Mr. A enjoys the thrill of the hunt too. I'm very excited that in a few weeks, I'm going to Roundtop, Texas with three of my dear friends.
6. Travel is another passion of mine. My favorite place in the whole world is the South of France! Second is Italy.
7. My biggest passion is Interior Design. I've always loved change, and enjoy the creative process of creating warm, inviting rooms for myself and others. Even when I was a child, I rearranged my bedroom and my parent's living room constantly! I was always painting something or sewing something. Or drawing house plans! What can I say?

Thank you again Kim for the Beautiful Blogger Award! I will be sure to pass it on!

I'm linking to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday. She has a new look for her blog and it's beautiful! Stop by, have a look, and

read the other participants and what they have to share.

Night Vision

Driving up the driveway to our house in the wine country, I got out of the car to take these pictures. The sky was breathtaking!

As I got closer to the top, the old oak tree came into view.

The sky was so surreal. By the time I walked up the driveway, the pink clouds were gone! These photos were taken at 6:00 pm, and the moon was already in the sky creating wonderful photo opportunities. I was in photo heaven!

Since I was in a photographing mood when we got to the house, I walked around taking photos looking through the windows like a Peeping Tom!

I'm having so much fun with photography these days, even though I have no idea what the heck I'm doing! I was just experimenting with light and exposure here and surprised that these pictures actually turned out.

Peeking in to the kitchen.

What a beautiful full moon!

This was taken at 9:00 pm. The moon in the sky, looking southeast.

Here is an example of how bright the sky was. This was also taken at 9:00 pm! I rested the camera on a chair and pressed the button. I counted 13 seconds before the shutter closed!

Mr. A and I couldn't believe how this turned out. It looks like daylight, but you can see the stars in the sky!

It's amazing that so much color came through.

This was taken around midnight, looking east toward the vineyard. The moon was very high in the sky, casting shadows on the ground.

Looking down the grape arbor. Notice the shadows to the right, cast by the moon.

Another photo taken at midnight looking west toward the living room. Can you see the Big Dipper?

The pool at midnight, looking south.

One of our oak trees, looking north, taken around midnight. The lights of Cloverdale are below.

The same tree with a flash!

Eventually, it got too cold so we went back inside to download our pictures and see what turned out and what didn't. About a third of them turned out. Here is the living room all cozy and warm.

All of these pictures were taken with my Canon Rebel XTi, with a Tamron 18-270 mm lens. The ISO was at 1600, letting in as much light as possible. We didn't have a tripod, so instead I rested the camera on a ladder rung or a ledge. The shutter stayed open for 10 to 15 seconds for the outside shots.

I told Mr. A that I almost don't want to know everything there is to know about my camera and photography. It's so much fun experimenting and learning. Thanks for indulging me on this little experiment with light and exposure. I guess I had a bad case of "night vision!"

I'm linking up to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday. Be sure to visit her blog and see all the other participants and their outdoor photography.