Summer Colours & Light

If you dwell in a warmer climate twelve months of the year then these colours might be with you all year round, but here in the city of Toronto (where I currently and probably always will have a permanent home) and in Edinburgh (which I call Home as I spent the first thirty+ years of my life there) they are more than likely reserved for the hotter summer months. 

Hot in Edinburgh means something very different from hot in Toronto but you hopefully get my drift, it’s all relative. 

In Mexico City the exterior and interior walls of Casa Barragan are ubiquitously painted in these warmer hues. I am captivated by this home turned museum and listed it as a must see in our current summer issue of Shelter.

Now even for me and my love of saturated colours, committing to these colourful shades for twelve months of the year on the walls of home would, in my humble opinion, with our blue winter light, look off. I’d rather plant marigolds by the flats and don a pair of fuchsia pink bobble earrings and call it summer when it’s summer.

Maybe seeing things in a different light is what draws me to travel and my love of photography. I refer to my travel photos not simply to remind me of a good time spent, but to immerse myself in another colour palette and another light. 

Good light enchants me, makes me comfortable and at peace and I think when I travel, I am always in search of this and the colour palettes it connects me to. Spaces, places, people, however fleeting, can feel like home simply because of the colours and light in that moment of time. 

Travel Finds

We’ve all travelled, purchased something whether it be clothing or a souvenir from our trip and returned home and found it goes with nothing in our wardrobe / home. 

I used to sometimes dread when clients would tell me that they found a great piece of art on their travels, sometimes the piece just did not travel well and once in their home and in their light it could look odd. 

But who doesn’t like a memento of their trip? For me, if I am visiting a warm climate then I generally find clothing for wearing on vacation, rather than something that is going to be a wardrobe staple, although in Mexico City I did find a fabulous pair of summer leather sandals that I have worn religiously this summer – but then that’s a comparable city summer to city summer experience so maybe that is why they travelled so well. 

Pottery is another thing I frequently covet; a small bowl or dish never goes out of style and is easily curated with other found things to make a small collection.

I do like to hunt for textiles on my travels and have a stash that I need to do something fun with soon. Friends that cook and enjoy being in the kitchen love to bring home spices and dried herbs. I enjoy bringing home tea but know that it never tastes quite as good as it did in that moment and in that light, but it can take me back there with a sip or two. 

What do you love to bring back from your travels? Do you have a collection of things that you are adding to. 

I’ve been swooning over plate racks recently and can see adding one to my home in the near future to showcase colourful pottery and glass from far flung places. 

Gwyneth has a particularly lovely one shown above with all the plates front facing. Art comes in many forms, and it doesn’t always mean something framed on a wall. 

De Gournay Showhouse

However sometimes it can be something framed on a wall, and it could take the form of an incredible wallpaper. 

In June I had the pleasure of spending a fact and fun filled three days with Lutron, I spoke about this trip in last month’s journal. 

What I omitted to talk about was the stunning de Gournay Showhouse in West Hollywood that we did a quick side trip to. 

De Gournay is a British wallpaper and textile company who specialize in hand painted designs. You can source from their Pret A Porter collection which is in stock and offers no customization, their Made to Measure collection which allows you to have designs rescaled and recoloured or you can bring them your own design and have them create it just for you!! 

The options are endless. To be immersed in an entire home full of their designs was a real treat. Their designs range from the traditional all the way to modern and playful. 

Their wallpaper can be supplied on several backgrounds depending on the overall look and finish desired. I adore their Indian tea paper background which is made from overlapping pieces of tea paper.

I particularly adored the mohair upholstered handrail up to the third floor terrace……….never have I ever seen anything like that. I was literally lying on the stairs attempting to photograph it from every angle to figure out how it had been constructed.

This is my favourite kind of travel memory and these photos I look at on repeat in my inspiration library. I don’t know how you could not feel joy and inspiration in these spaces. 

Summer Reading

Summer hopefully brings some time to sit and read by the water or under a leafy tree canopy.

I just read and really enjoyed Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. It really is the perfect summer read and I enjoyed the cadence and the lead characters recounting of time spent in her late teens and early twenties on stage whilst still staying firmly grounded in the love and joy of her current life. It’s a good story. 

I’m also enjoying leafing through the latest offering by Veere Greeney – Seeking Beauty. Aren’t we all? And isn’t that at the core of why we love to travel and see and find beautiful things and people and spaces. This book features four of his homes, one of which I have been inside – his London townhouse (with his permission of course!)

His London home is tall and skinny and filled with textures and very clever space planning and the most irresistible yellow kitchen that made my clients agree to a bright yellow Smeg fridge in their city apartment!

Travel Plans

Wherever your summer takes you I hope you have a wonderful August.

Dean and I are heading to Cape Town next month for a dear friend’s wedding. Cape Town has always been on my bucket list but there is nothing like having a lovely reason to go there. 

The flight is long so we are flying via Amsterdam and will spend a few nights here on either side of the fourteen-hour flight to and from Cape Town. 

Reba will be happily staying with her beloved Amanda whom she trained with when she was a puppy. At the sight of Amanda’s car, we are simply forgotten, and she skips and jumps into her car without looking back. Whether you are travelling or not, I hope you enjoy this last month of summer to its fullest – whatever that looks like to you. 

We are working away on so many lovely projects and can’t wait to share with you some new photography in the fall.

Happy August,

Credits, images, musings and some more contents of my head.

1-Casa Barragan, Mexico City, photo from flickr.com by HectorVaM. 2-Barefoot in the sand, source unknown. 3-Gorgeous textiles from Christopher Farr Cloth. 4-Casa Barragan, Mexico City, photo from Dwell.com. 5-The humble but mighty marigold, photo source unknown. 6-A photo that captures the light and warmth in a simple restaurant I stopped to have lunch in Stockholm last year. I loved the oil lamp even in the middle of a bright and sunny day and the layering of plants in the window. 7-My ever so comfortable Mexico City shoes from Simple By Trista. 8-Gwyneth Paltrow’s home in Mendicino, California. 9-12-Photos taken by me at the LA de Gournay Showroom set in the Hollywood hills, so worth a visit. 13-Tom Lake by Ann Patchett – a fabulous summer read from Cristina Sanders’ blog. 14-Veere Greeney’s sunlight filled yellow kitchen, image from Seeking Beauty by Vendome.

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