No Dumb Waiters Here !!!

Sir Charlie Chaplin in a dumbwaiter.

Dumbwaiters, an incredible help and you can still get them installed in home today.

I have played in them as a child, like Charlie Chaplin in the 1st picture.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson is said to have invented the dumbwaiter. There are 2 forms of a dumbwaiter, one is a table with tiers. The other is the very small elevator type built into a homes wall that has a vertical shaft, the dumbwaiter is raised and lowered ( manually) by ropes and pulleys.

After 1920, motors were added.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

http://www.monticello.org/gallery/innovations/index.html ( Monticello Site )

This is a wine dumbwaiter that was used to transport his wine from the cellar to the dining room at Thomas Jefferson's 'Monticello'.

http://www.monticello.org/gallery/innovations/dumbwaiter.html

"When he had any persons dining with him, with whom he wished to enjoy a free and unrestricted flow of conversation, the number of persons at table never exceed four, and by each individual was placed a dumb-waiter, containing everything necessary for the progress of the dinner from beginning to end, so as to make the attendance of servants entirely unnecessary, believing as he did, that much of the domestic and even public discord was produced by the mutilated and misconstructed repetition of free conversation at dinner tables, by these mute but not inattentive listeners. "

More dumbwaiters.

This is a picture from ' The Octagon House'. ( see arrow)
I don't understand why with all these 'Mc Mansions' that have been built do not have dumbwaiters. They are certainly available.

Especially in homes with a long walk to the laundry room . If your laundry room is off your kitchen. this would be great, you could use it for food, laundry .........anything.

Heck, you could just ride in it . Just think of the possibilities !!!

Would you like your very own dumbwaiter ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbwaiter_(elevator)
http://my.execpc.com/~drer/octagon.htm
http://www.verticalvalet.com/

http://www.abbeyaccess.com/index.php?n=15&id=28
http://www.offthebeatenstage.com/AtmosphereActors.htm
Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....dumbwaiters, dumbwaiters,dumbwaiters

Crazy For Shells

I only feel comfortable with a small dose of ' SHELL DECOR ', but as my mother would say;

" It takes a lot of different horses to make a horse race .''

This house is in Austin Texas. I would expect to find it in El Cid, just over the bridge
from Palm Beach, where there are absolutely charming homes.

This picture drew me right in...........and suddenly I wanted to post.

(remember, I have been feeling stale)

The shutters are gorgeous, and the new or old finish is FABOO !!

In the garden behind the house there's a grotto with a koi-filled pond as its base.

This is the fantastic fountain. The owner collected all these shells herself.

This mantle would be the envy of any Palm Beach - er.

I think this room is wonderful, although...........I would have used a much lighter hand while applying the shells on the mantle wall.

But again, I repeat my mothers words; " It takes a lot of horses to make a horse race ."

This actually could be a picture of a Via off of Worth Avenue , in Palm Beach, Florida.

Detail of a shell-covered chest of drawers.

I could see this chest as in a cabana bath, maybe for towels etc. Or maybe small night stands in a guest house ( by the pool ). As I have mentioned before, the Shell Chic look is very hot in Palm Beach. And for Palm Beach , this look will remain a timeless classic.

" Next to the grotto ( koi pond )is a boudoir dans le jardin, a tester bed frame also embellished with shells. Many Austin homes feature outdoor sleeping areas, with beds outfitted in comfortable mattresses, colorful throws, and stacks of pillows—throwbacks to the days before air-conditioning replaced open windows. " I love this idea.

And I certainly could use this in Boca Raton , Florida. For many months of the year, we have nearly perfect weather in the winter months.

My posts on Koi:

http://reneefinberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/meaning-of-koi.html

http://reneefinberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/inspired-by-koi.html

http://reneefinberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-koi-personality.html

Article from:

http://www.traditionalhome.com/gardens_outdoorliving/beautifulgardens/shell_garden_1.html

Design:Landscape designer: Berthold Haas Design, 618 Lavaca St., Suite 11, Austin, TX 78701; 512/236-9645, bertholdhaasdesign.com. Shell art: Emily Haas, Shells on Twelfth, 512/740-1668, shellsontwelfth.com.

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

The Life Of Two Rileys

As I mentioned in my last post, I am feeling a bit jammed up.

Not just creatively, but emotionally as well.

I feel as though there is something in the wind....
and I am not sure if that wind will be a good one,
or a bad one when it finally blows through.

Enough about me ........let's get back to you.
I looked everywhere, and finally found this little gem of an idea/inspiration photo for you.
Is this not the best ??? This certainly looks and feels to me , like 'The Life Of Riley' for these two.

If you had banquette seating in your kitchen, and a beloved dog, would you want this in your house ?

I have done this for a client, it is not that costly if you have a Carpenter that you work closely with.
BTW - the seat cushion fabric is what I have on my kitchen chairs.

? The Life Of Riley :http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041590/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Riley
Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

Feeling Stale

I really can't think of anything...............

I have no idea of what I want to talk about, or show you.
So , I am going off to contemplate.

Have a nice weekend

xxx 's


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

' In The Closet ' About My Secret Love

This has always been a 'thing' with me ( and I am sure I am the only one who has known about it ).
All of my life, I have been afraid of red.
I like red, but I was always afraid of it.
It's just so.......RED !

Since my earliest memories, green , cream, taupe, and BLACK have always been my colors. They are my comfort colors.

I still love, love, love, black. I don't know.... it's just is so strong, in a quiet way.
If I have to do something important ( especially work related ), or go to a function where I might feel a bit insecure, I will wear black.
I feel much stronger emotionally, almost protected ( it's in my head, I know ).
It is like my very own 'magic armor.'
Weird, I know.
But hey , it works for me.


Now , when I was a skinny b-zitch, I always wanted a long, tight fitting, slinky ,bugle beaded gown.
In Chinese red ( orange /red )!!!!
It would have a very high neck line in front , and in back, cut way down, almost to the 'blank' in my ......... as low as you can go in the back ,and still be considered a nice girl.
But I am terrified to wear red . For me, going to a party or a function wearing red would totally freak me out!!
I have tried to do it.
I feel like there are horns blowing, bright spotlights following me where ever I go, and people pointing........and that was just in my house ! LOL
......I have purchased a beautiful red dress, and chanted to myself over and over;
" I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS"........only to flip out when it is time to go. And then I have to change all over again into something black ,because I am so flipped out that I can't wear red.

But I can do this.
And this.

I really , really hate red cars too. But , since I have wanted this car since the age of 17 and I still do not have it......I can do this.

Anyway, this, brings me to this...

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared, or below red and cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Red is used as one of the additive primary colors of light, complementary to cyan, in RGB color systems. Red is also one of the subtractive primary colors of RYB color space but not CMYK color space.
In human color psychology, red is associated with heat, energy and blood, and emotions that "stir the blood", including anger, passion, and love.

A few years ago I had my office painted a deep Chinese red. The color might be paprika or chili pepper. The upholstery/sofa is olive green, and all case goods are dark walnut. The walls are filled with HUNT Scene paintings where there are horses, riders with red jackets , and a lot of green. There are other 3 dimensional items , such as brass bugles, a crop, riding hats, blah , blah ,blah.

It is a fabulous room. Very Cozy.

This room is popular with friends and family, and now is more like a den than an office.

My daughter ended up with a red room as well.....go figure.

ME, who was afraid of red , has two red rooms in her house.

I guess I have always been 'IN THE CLOSET' about my secret love of red.

( the educational portion of the post )

If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.

Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?

Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.

I can do this, and I have.

It is a rich look if really done just right.

However, No animal blood is needed.

They way I made myself get over my fear of red was by slowly introducing red accessories ( including accent furniture) into design jobs. After a while, and practice , I became fearless when it came to using red in other people's homes.

And before I knew it ..................or you will know it .........we will be loving red.

It became second nature.

( BTW, my living room has 22' high walls of soaring deep coral )

WSHOME Summer Colors.

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red
http://www.wshome.com/seasonal-styles/index.cfm?cm_re=SummerD1A-_-stylelink1-_-Shop%20By%20Style
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50300864/Red_Cabinet_Set.jpg

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....