Since I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings (just started book two of The Two Towers) I wanted to focus on Tolkien for this week’s blog. I have been rather negligent of my other blogs since most of my time is spent working full-time and writing my newest…
Introduction: The Shift Toward Lightness There is a moment each year when interiors begin to feel heavy—when layered textures, dark tones, and enclosed spaces no longer comfort but confine. Spring design is the answer to that tension. It is not about redecorating entirely, but about rebalancing—introducing light, air, and softness…
The weather outside… …right now it is a chilly 38 degree Fahrenheit, with cloud streaking across the sunrise looking like deep grey strips of cloth hovering over the horizon. I have come to love a beautiful sunrise. They bring hopes for the day. Spring is here. My favorite type of…
School days are long behind me. Unfortunately, none of my teachers, not even in college, were particularly inspiring. I wish there had been at least one, someone who would have recognized my strengths and abilities and encouraged them. It may have had made a difference in my life. Wow..the life…
February is often reduced to a commercialized version of romance—roses, chocolates, and fleeting sentiment. But historically and aesthetically, February belongs to something deeper. It belongs to Romanticism. Not romance in the superficial sense, but the 19th-century movement that elevated emotion, nature, longing, solitude, imagination, and the sublime. In art, literature,…
Anne Brontë, the most radical of the sisters, defied the norms of the role of women to the best of her ability at her time.
Traditional design is not merely an aesthetic; it is a philosophy rooted in continuity, craftsmanship, and cultural memory. Among its most evocative expressions is English country style—a look shaped by centuries of landed estates, equestrian life, inherited objects, and a reverence for the patina of time. Few modern designers have…
Currently, I’m dealing with an asthma flair and feeling quite miserable. As it is a holiday, my pulmonologist office is closed but left them a message. Since I have already answered this prompt I wanted to write about what I like to do on rainy days — like today. I…
January is the quiet inhale after December’s long exhale. The ornaments are packed away, the lights dimmed, and what remains is the home itself—its bones, its textures, its ability to hold us through the coldest weeks of the year. This is not a month for dramatic reinvention. January interiors are…
Aestheticism, Romantic Landscapes, and Dutch Winter Scenes Winter has long stirred artists toward introspection, restraint, and emotional depth. Snow-covered fields, hushed interiors, and frost-bitten horizons offer a visual language uniquely suited to mood, symbolism, and beauty for beauty’s sake. For artists, designers, and art lovers alike—especially those drawn to atmosphere…