Stunning Garden Door

Near a local coffee shop in a modest neighborhood of small houses and Mom-and-Pop stores, there is this stunning, one-of-a-kind garden door:

Are the faces flanking the oxen possibly monkey heads? Or people heads? Who carved this amazing door--a local artist, or an artist halfway around the world? Who lives behind the door?

And what might the rest of the house look like, if this is just the entrance?

Lovely Los Gatos Houses

Recently I visited my sister and brother-in-law in Los Gatos, CA. I shared some photos of the shops we popped into, here.  While visiting, I also fell in love with the town's adorable houses. There was so much to love, like the blue-and-white paint scheme of this house and its double porches:

Double American flags, too! How sweet:

The strong roof lines, river-rock chimney, and sunny yellow door make for an eye-catching cottage style:

Pale yellow siding, intricate brackets atop the porch pillars, and a pop-out mini-turret. How cute is that?:

It takes guts to paint your house purple. I think these folks did a great job:

This is a very modest row of bungalows running up a alley. Even though they are small, they still look so appealing. If I lived in that first one, with the slightly popped-out, double-hung windows, I'd make sure to have a cat. A black cat in that window would be perfection:

This is a new house, but strongly reminiscent of the century-old Craftsman style. I especially love the slightly exaggerated pillar bases and the built-in white flower box just to the left of the left-most pillars:

A very typical little bungalow with a front porch that spans the entire front of the house. What caught my eye is the plantings on the porch step.

What wonderful pink colors! And look how the hues are echoed in the two pillows tossed on the porch's bench. Whenever you can, pick outdoors fabrics to match what's already growing in your garden. Or, plant things that match fabrics you already have on your porch. The effect is always smart and pulled-together.

Here's another example of a well-done purple house. The wild color is tempered by all the white trim, and the slightly fanciful style places it somewhere within the realm of Victorian Painted Ladies--houses famous for their crazy colors.

To a fairly predictable slate-blue and white color scheme, this homeowner added two red Adirondack chairs and three red lanterns. Perfect!

Another Craftsman-style bungalow. This one has exaggerated brackets under the roof line. A bit of fanciful detail that makes this quiet brown house sing:

I could see myself living in Los Gatos some day, in one of these appealing houses. Now, how to break the news to The Hubby....

Lovely Los Gatos

A few weekends ago, I spent a delightful long weekend visiting my sister and her husband, who live in the town of Los Gatos, California, near San Jose. What a beautiful little place! The old stores and office buildings had architectural charm aplenty:

I poked around several of the mom-and-pop stores. This floral shop, "Bunches," was one of my favorites:

The shop has a resident duck, named "Pete." (They named her before she laid an egg, confirming her girl status.):

"The Maid's Quarters" is a shop filled with Parisian and Continental things, all of them flat-out gorgeous. Love the glittery bee:

A new shop had just opened, and it was filled with the most fantastic, unusual pieces of furniture and things for the home. I was smitten with the rough, gilt-covered table and the tote that looked like a huge, green Puli dog:

One wall was painted a vivid blue. It made everything placed near it sing:

I have absolutely no need for this side table or end table, but Oh! how gorgeous are they?:

Never seen a piece quite like this. A chair-and-a-half, yes:

But with a herd of camels tromping across it? Brilliant!

A stack of painted metal chairs made me want to throw out my kitchen chairs and start all over again, with these:

This wonderful bench reminds me of how kids turn their defunct skateboards into art, or furniture. It's colorful and kicky. Wouldn't it be fabulous in a large entry, or pulled up to a dining table?

"Natural Creations" sells plants and all sorts of natural things for the garden. It is an enchanting little hole in the wall:

Outside, several water features splashed quietly. I loved this one, with an upright branch serving as the "spigot" for a little cascade of water. And floating on the surface, adding movement and whimsy, were some figs. What a fun idea!

Wonderful textures down low: terra cotta, stripped-bark branches, pebbles, and a soft, trailing plant:

I stayed clear of most of the chain and big-box stores, because why bother? I can see those in my own home town any day. But I did pop in to Sur le Table, where my sister and I were amused by these spatulas, because when we were growing up, her family nickname was "Bee" and mine was "Bug":

If you ever get up in the Bay Area, try to clear some time to visit the charming burg of Los Gatos.

It's simply ducky.

A Bit of Provence in My Neighborhood

A few years back, there was a cute little ol' house in our neighborhood that had an English cottage sort of vibe to it:

I passed by it every day as I walked my pugs. I admired the funny little popped-out kitchen nook:

...and the British-phone-booth bright red door:

It had an unfortunate hodge-podge of a garden, with everything from primroses (English cottage!) to banana plants (so not!):

After 60 years of continuous ownership by one family, the house was put on the market. Dumpsters and workmen appeared. One day, I saw the house's five beautiful diamond-pane, leaded-glass windows tossed on the trash heap:

Most suffered from broken glass, but one escaped undamaged. I asked the foreman if I could have it. He not only said Yes, he loaded it into his truck and took it around the corner to my house!

It now hangs above the dining-room bar in the home of Lovely Daughter #1:

The little old house went through quite a transformation. From funky English cottage, it emerged as a beautiful, spare country home that evokes the hot landscape of Provence:

Its grounds are planted with olive trees and lavender bushes. In place of the higgledy-piggledy garden out front, there is now an interior courtyard with decomposed-gravel:

These gorgeous ceramic balls are set next to the front door and function almost like a beautiful pot or planter:

Now the house is behind a wooden fence, and I can't see in to the windows much. What is visible has a spare, architectural sense.

But I always wondered what the inside might look like.

And now I know! The house was featured in an article in Country Living's February 2012 issue. The interiors are just as spare and arresting as the exteriors. The lady of the house is actress-turned-decorator Amanda Pays. She's married to actor Corbin Bernson. They've done a beautiful job of carrying a certain look throughout their home. Here is the kitchen:

I love this rough little cabinet stocked with simple yellow and white dishes. You don't have to be wealthy or famous to steal this look!:

Here is the living room. I love the oversize painting on the back wall, and the casual assembly of four paintings off center from the left-hand couch. (And look how one hot-colored pillow and a vase of flowers balance out all those neutral colors):

This is another bit of the living room. I have sometimes seen the little bust in a front window; Ms. Pays must like to move things around a bit. (Or maybe the stylists for the shot did?) The whippet is "Digby," and the pugs and I see her a lot, trotting elegantly around our neighborhood on her daily walk:

She even matches the interiors!

Below are some shots of the upstairs, which Pays and Bernson built (the original house was one story). The wicker chair, the simple pouf, and the vintage map make a great little spot to sit and read (or pluck the guitar):

Here's an easy idea to copy. They turned this utilitarian box into his-and-hers laundry sorters by setting two hampers inside:

Love, love, love a clawfoot tub. It must be delicious to soak there and gaze out the window at the tree tops:

I can see this little cone-shaped lamp from the street, but I never knew what was under it. Now I do: a nook with a sink:

When this property was for sale, I walked through it. I fell in love with this space, below, which was a ratty old garage/workshop that stood at the back of the property, separate from the house. It was dark, dripping with cobwebs, and lined with rotting tar paper. Little cardboard boxes of rusting nails and odd bits of this-n-that lined the entire back wall. I could imagine it redone as a beautiful art studio. Ms. Pays made it into a separate living quarters for two of her grown sons to share when they visit:

Here's the whole family in their back yard. The decomposed gravel in the front courtyard reappears here, as well as the simple, spare furniture, some of which was made by Bernson:

All the photos from the Country Living shoot are from the talented hand and eye of Max Kim-Bee.

Well done, neighbors!