The name of this blog is actually an homage to my favorite bakery in the whole world, Sweet Inspiration, in SF. There is nothing that a slice of their poppy seed cream cheese cake can't solve - broken hearts, back taxes, lack of lovin' - whatever it may be, they have a slice of cake for that!

So on the subject of having something for everyone's everything, I just came off of a full-throttle month of creativity that saw me making and buying new jewelry, painting furniture, sewing pillows, drawing garden plans and re-arranging the store. I would say that right now, more than ever before, there is more of me in the shop. For a long while I've worn my vintage Vodka alcohol tag necklace and had gotten so many comments on it that I decided to cave in and make others like it for like-minded folks. As with everything here, there is a very limited quantity and they are of course one-of-a-kind.



Right now I'm also obsessed with the idea of industrial design, but not in the grand industrial sense. I'm more interested in exploring smaller pieces of man-made ephemera such as the re-purposed charms on this line of jewelery:



I'm also loving the antique lock plates I found and turned into sweet little nichos.



I have stuffed a lot of love into each tiny frame and have used only words that are very important to me.



Even in my regular curating for the shop I've changed the way I am looking at objects. I find that I'm less impressed than ever by new items and even more fascinated with those that have some kind of history. I just brought in this hand-carved antique Javanese panel and can see it mounted horizontally as a headboard or on a long wall dividing two windows. It's an amazing piece that invites closer study and definitely inspires conversation.



To round out my frenetic month, I've been working on furniture that has not yet made it to the shop. Sitting on the cement in the garden, hand-sanding an antique Chinese stool, I realized that the dust I was covered in was cedar. I have never come across a piece of cedar furniture before. What an awesome, and great-smelling surprise! I don't think the stool will have a chance to live in the shop though as it's sort of pre-destined for my friend Alicia's house. I suppose the upside of having a friend that is a designer is that I am always on the look-out for things that belong in other people's spaces - a sort of personal curator.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer and finding the time to do things close to your heart that bring you some joy.

Melisa

Last year I posted pics of the Cummings family garden makeover at its earliest stages. For better or for worse, life got in the way and It was in need of a lot of love when they called me back over to give it a face-lift. We made some significant changes after seeing what had survived and what had not. In addition to wanting two palms to flank the living room window, the homeowners wanted a smaller palm at the sidewalk. I cleaned up all the planted areas, added higher mounds of flowers, filled in the holes and planted new succulent arrangements in her special Talavera Pottery.







Currently, the garden is in full bloom and is being well attended to!

All the best,
M

One day it's raining here in San Mateo, the next it's 80 degrees. It's been a strange season to navigate and prepare for. When the weather turns warm, I usually stock the shop with flowers that can withstand the heat. I don't have a floral cooler here and I honestly wouldn't want one. The reality is that if you take an arrangement from a floral cooler and bring it to your house - which is clearly room temperature (whatever that may be) - it's a shock to the flowers. From here they go from normal to normal. If they last here, they'll last at your place. Along with weather-resistant blooms and plants, there are a number of things I switch up during the summer time. I turn off the pilot light at my house, store the comforters in the closet and switch to lightweight coverlets, and I put away big, chunky throws and replace them with featherweight versions. I also put the outdoor cushions on the furniture in the garden so I can sit outside and enjoy the stars at a moment's notice. I am prone to staring at the giant, 100-year-old tree in my backyard for long periods of time.

When it comes to design, I believe that warm weather calls for a color shift. It's time to put away the heavy, dark textiles and accessories, and brighten your space by bringing out the lighter, more organic pieces. Put out bowls of seashells or other objects that evoke a "vacation memories" vibe.



Changing throw pillows is another easy way to freshen your space for summer. Switch to linen, cotton, or hemp based fabric for a more earthy, beach look. Take down weighty drapes and replace with more casual clip rings and woven panels. Linen and cotton instantly lighten up a room.



For me, summertime means less stuff and more space. Tis' the season of de-cluttering at my address. As I've said before, I never want to have more than one grocery bag of stuff to donate at any one time. If I have more than that, I have issues. I seriously just want to plop down on my couch after working all day with a glass of wine and not have to look at a bunch of stuff I don't love, need, or find beautiful.

In fact, reading the latest issue of Elle Decor I got really inspired by something unexpected in Meg Ryan's beachfront home. It wasn't even that the photographer wanted readers to see what she'd done, it was just something by-chance in the pantry, but a light bulb went off in my head. She had all her used candles stored away in a cubby. I have always left mine out regardless of when I would use them next. They take up space, get dusty, and are just another thing I have to visually categorize. So I put mine away as well and when I next feel like burning my candles, I'll take them out. The coffee table is now free and clear of everything except a few design mags and some coasters.

Once your home is clean and clear, so is your head!

Have a wonderful week!

Melisa

When it comes to fantasies, one of my biggest is to own anything at all by Solange Azagury-Partridge. Her designs are so singular and lush that I have been tearing out ads and images for as long as she's been making gorgeous things to wear. Edgy, odd, dark, and completely playful, she's my kind of gal!



I'm especially in love with her fat lip rings. SO sexy!



I get lost in her web site, always amazed at the things she pulls off. For me, jewelry is to be worn and it should tell the world who you are and what you're about. I love LOVE. I'm constantly searching for it, feeling it, and harmed by it. Who better to wear her human heart necklace than Moi?!



What self-respecting style lovin' girl doesn't need a platinum and diamond fish skeleton ring? What? You must be mistaken. I think you DO need it. I know I do!



Let me just say that if you're ever inclined to walk into my shop bearing gifts for me, I'd gladly accept anything at all from this fabulous lady's fantastical imagination!

All my best,
Melisa

Made my weekly pilgrimage to the SF Flower Mart to pick up some fresh blooms for the shop. Each week I am looking for something new, something interesting, and something that inspires me. I absolutely love flowers and I love creating arrangements, but I am nearly obsessed with creating arrangements that no one else would create. I won't mix roses and baby's breath for instance. Although it seems to have become a part of our collective floral consciousness, it's a very tired look in my opinion. Way too textbook. I'm a huge fan of single flower bouquets. The more amazing I feel the flower is, the less I want to combine it with something else. I am madly in love with Chocolate Cosmos and nothing is more classic to me than putting them into a tarnished silver vase or cup:



I also really appreciate the delicate beauty of tulips and feel that the more unique the container, the more they shine:



I happen to be particularly averse to filler. I rarely have fern in my store and if I do, I don't use it in place of flowers. I may use it in conjunction with flowers, but not in place of. There's a difference. The "greens" I overwhelmingly use are already part of the flowers. My bouquets are crazy full because there are actually flowers in them! With wildflowers I feel that the greens attached to the bloom are perfect as is. They are usually very fluffy and feathery. Adding any more green to it seems really overdone to me:



I get really frustrated when I see super artsy arrangements that cost a fortune and involve very few actual blooms. It's a preference definitely, but I can get kind of righteous about it. You won't find my twirling grass inside a vase to create a submerged origami art project. Although it may seem avant garde, it's really practiced. It's not how I roll. I'm always going to lean toward the odd when it comes to flowers. One of my favorite things to use are the leftover pods that occur when Scabiosa blooms lose all their petals. They are actually very much alive but feel dried to the touch. They remind me of alien planets. By themselves or in with other flowers they are much more avant garde to me than a long piece of flax or a branch with a rose glued to it.



Back to unique flowers, I was excited to find a type of Gerber daisy I had never seen before. I asked the growers how long their heads would stay up without the help of the clear plastic tubes. Gerber daisies are nearly always presented with these tubes on the stems. I don't want to put plastic tubes on my flowers. If they can't hold their heads up, then I may wire them but it seems so odd to spray, glue, wrap, stuff or do anything other wordly to flowers to make them "behave" in a way that isn't natural for them. I guess I'm a purist. I don't even like to use floral foam but I will in extreme situations. I'd rather stuff a vase FULL than fill it with foam and poke in a bunch of God knows what.



On the subject of strange and beautiful flowers, I took my friend and client Lara to Flora Grubb Gardens this past weekend to check out weird and unusual plants. We are attempting to finish off the backyard mega-makeover we've undertaken. She's been such a great student, learning to grow her own veggies, replacing the annuals in her planter box and embracing the practice of gifting friends fresh cut flowers from her own backyard.



We happily reveled in the bizarre surroundings and I was especially taken by the succulents growing out of car parts - being the car loving girl that I am! Such a cool, Mad Max sort of idea.



I encourage everyone to visit someplace new this summer to discover the wonderful ways in which nature can inspire and surprise you. I highly recommend Filoli Gardens, Flora Grubb Gardens or the Edgewood Preserve!

All my best,
Melisa

Like anyone in a service related industry, I don't often do for myself what I do for others - as in, the shoemaker's children have no shoes. In fact, my own home and garden are more like aesthetic laboratories than bastions of great design. I'm fascinated by magazine articles featuring designer's homes if for no other reason than I can't believe they actually finished their homes.

I'm not sure I could ever get to the point where my home is "done" enough to have it photographed. I am continually learning, revising my style, visualizing new ways to group objects and changing the way I use my space. Often times I'll be relaxing on my couch when I decide that a certain picture looks like crap on my wall and if I don't move it immediately I may have a panic attack. Thus begins a several hour exercise in re-arranging.

The other day I was talking to my daughter about the upholstery fabric I bought for a chair in the living room and she said, "Is it a temporary or a permanent chair?" It occurred to me that I move things so often that she has no framework of reference for permanence in furnishings. Not that it's a bad thing. She's able to let go of just about everything very easily. In fact, no one gets comfortable with anything in my home because it may just be visiting for a short time.

Although I am constantly collecting, I am also constantly purging. I am on the complete other end of the spectrum from a hoarder. I also raised my daughter with the belief that if we can fill more than one grocery bag with things we don't use, love or need, then we have a full day of cleaning ahead of us. That said, I am also completely infatuated with the late Tony Duquette and I could easily live out the rest of my days in any of his over-the-top fantasy homes. He was one of the last true design geniuses. Although he did things on a very grand scale, he was actually very thoughtful about what he added to a space. There are a lot of colors and textures in his rooms, but he knew how to create otherwordly spaces that you could move around in. I love to stare at images of his rooms, knowing how each piece was placed with care and a desire to make a statement.



However, purging is the first bit of homework I give all my design clients - EDIT. You hear it all the time on design shows and it truly is the foundation for a fresh new look. You have to get rid of stuff to create new energy, new feelings, and a new outlook. I often suggest making piles or sections of things. Things you love so much you'd die without them, things you're not sure of, things you are embarrassed to have or don't know where they came from. Then you take the second two sections and make donate, re-finish, and sell sections. If you can get money back to use on cooler stuff then why not? Purging hurts sometimes. It's psychologically hard to have someone like myself come in and tell you that you have no style or that your collection of vintage toilets just doesn't work. I do try to have some sensitivity to people's love of a thing but I also realize that people don't hire me to agree with them - or if they do, they have hired the wrong designer!

I want the process of redecorating to be one that invites an "AHA!" moment when the clients see their new rooms for the first time. They "get" it. They understand the use of their space in a new way and they enjoy being in their own home, no longer taking for granted that they have a place to call their own. I want people to feel pride, and believe it or not, many people feel nothing when they come home. It's just home. For my newest client, a gentleman in Fremont living with two teenage boys, it's been a huge experience for him in many ways. I challenged his ideas on what "classy" looked like. I challenged his idea of pattern, texture, metals, woods, just about everything. As his home is coming together piece by piece he is understanding that it's about the big picture, not about the singular switch plate or the nesting tables. I no longer get emails with links to items that make me shudder. It's a slow process sometimes but a good one.

I really do walk into a room and quickly make mental notes of what I'd change. It's maddening sometimes. Not that my style or my way are the best ways. Clearly there are many interpretations of beauty and style and I have one viewpoint. Just know that if you ask my opinion, I will give it. Good or bad.

I have a friend who hired me to redo her gardens - front and back. We don't really talk about her house. She's a minimalist in the extreme. She doesn't have anything because she sees herself as a gypsy, constantly moving. However, her next move is almost 4 years away! I can't really relate to a space that has a couch, a chair and a tiny television and that's it. That, to me, is prison. :) This same friend accompanied me to Golden Lotus Chinese Antiques today and was so inspired by "stuff" that she had me select a beautiful vase for her guest bathroom and throw pillows for her living room. When you realize that your space is about relaxing, existing and hiding away from the world you start to appreciate how important it is to decorate it properly. Make it yours.

I hope to always inspire you to move forward with your style until you find where it is you are meant to be.

Melisa

It was an incredibly busy weekend for us with the fundraiser, the flea market and going to Alameda. I kept telling myself that if I could get through my overlapping activities everything would be unicorns and roses once again. It was so humbling to be a part of the Samaritan House's chosen designers. In fact, I had a self-esteem meltdown pretty soon after I saw what the other participants were putting together. I'm not a table decorator by trade nor do I really know how many spoons, knives and strange ladels have to go on which side of the plate. I just like pretty things. It's as simple as that. When I decorate my own events or those of others it's always with my heart firmly focused on what looks fun, fresh and interesting. I have to admit here and now that I probably shouldn't be hired to do a formal setting because that is completely alien to me. However, if you need me to create an unforgettable tablescape, I now know who to call!

My theme for the event was "Nature in Bloom" and I centered it around a piece of hollow birch bark. Many quail eggs, tiny nests, branches and pieces of antique Chinese porcelain later, this happened:



I used a piece of sheet moss as the table runner and a glass cylinder inside the bark to hold the live branches.



I used two large birds in the branches as they made me smile.

I was particularly in love with the antique turquoise porcelain tea cups and saucers. So Spring-like and unique.



I put little secret messages in the water goblets to liven things up.



I met an amazing woman there, Christine Andiola, who has a custom event designs business called "The Perfect Setting." Her table was gorgeous and of course it was my favorite since it featured all things ocean-tastic! Tiny glass crabs holding beautiful and poetic quotes, seashell vases filled with bright blue orchids and candles candles everywhere! I must immediately find a way to work with her!



I was so appreciative of her kindness and support. Her attention to detail is stunning!



Another great shot of Christine's work:



Another table I really loved featured a simple, classic, but whimsical theme, "Chinese Takeout". I loved the little fighting fish in their individual bowls. Several people thought they were dead, and ended up screaming when they looked closer and the fish moved! Who doesn't want to scare the hell out of their guests at dinner?! I thought it was hilarious.



I liked the fact that the setting was elegant enough for a formal dinner (at least, MY idea of a formal dinner) and a classy luncheon. I would have spent the whole time playing with my fishie.



One thing that really caught my eye were the machine parts that Stacy Rhodes used for Dream's table top place card holders. Definitely want to incorporate something this industrial in my next design! Love the beautiful weirdness of it.



No doubt I couldn't hold a candle to Denise's table for Shelby's garden. It looked like a giant, fancy, fun, teenage birthday cake! A compliment of the highest order coming from me! I thought the big Eiffel tower in the center was so pretty and the themed glasses were such a great touch:



It was a wonderful event and I was so excited to have been chosen to be a part of it. I heard from the organizer that it was a great success but I'm far too embarrassed to call and ask if anyone actually bid on my table so let's just forget about that part!

Have a wonderful week!

Melisa

The other day I had a heavenly Caligula moment. I was indulging myself in anything and everything involving design. I went to the local bookstore and filled my arms with every imaginable publication - from designing southern style mansions to decorating tiny big city apartments. Flipping through the pages it's easy for me to decide which ones are worth taking home. If even one picture deeply inspires me, I buy it. This time around I brought home only European design mags, among them, Elle Decor UK (who unfortunately doesn't let you see the site without a subscription) and Home and Design. Compared to the American design mags, the rooms are much more eclectic and individual. They seem warmer and actually livable. Traits I have built my business on!

This leads me to my current train of thought on designing a successful space - defining who you are. This requires both in-depth philosophical and emotional analysis. When people come to me to help them redesign their homes, they often tell me what they were trying to achieve before I got there. They see a picture in a magazine, go to a nice hotel, or visit a friend, and they are inspired. They go about buying furniture and accessories they think will help them get that look. The problem is, they can't recreate that look or feeling because neither is truly who they are.

Those of you that know me know that I am neither a minimalist nor do I love overstuffed, over accessorized spaces. I'm a clean and tidy girl who wants warmth and comfort in a kind of retro high style way. I am a restrained gypsy I guess. However, I can appreciate a luscious dose of Rococo style like what you'll find in the Hotel de Varnegeville, in Paris:



But honestly, I don't want to live in that type of space. However, I like aspects of Rococo style a lot, and I love to mix the swirly, curly, beauty of it with harsh, clean-lined furniture. Take for instance my Alice in Wonderland inspired mirror, it's a 1960's take on Rococo style. It was even gold before I painted it matte black:



I would put this mirror above a very straight lined desk, console or dresser. I would not mix femme with femme usually. To me, that's just too much femme going on. It's taken me all of my 41 years to know who I am design wise, but I did figure it out, and to my family's dismay, it's an ever-evolving style that finds me bringing in and taking out pieces of furniture week after week and never being "done."

I recently consulted with an awesome woman on her single family residence. She felt a deep need to create a fresh new space for herself yet she believed that it meant forgoing what she truly loved design-wise. She felt she had outgrown her cottage style and wanted to move on to something more modern and "grown-up". The ideas she had and the accessories she had already bought were fighting with the space she truly wanted. When I explained to her that she could love cottage style and still have a modern home, she seemed relieved to hear it. If you aren't a glass and steel loft dweller, why try to be one? Modern cottage style can border on contemporary if you do it right:



There isn't much that's shabby chic about this room, but it is more traditional than a true contemporary style.

I find that nearly all of my clients are eclectics like myself. Undoubtedly that's why they gravitate toward giving me the privilege of designing their rooms! I want people to live in homes that are lovingly curated. Whether over a course of months, by me, or throughout their own lives. I want rooms to have a dose of personality and class and most significantly, be about the people that live in them. This isn't an easy task, as most people haven't spent a great deal of time figuring out who they are stylistically. Sadly, many people are "mimics". They walk into Pottery Barn, see a nice vignette, and purchase the whole deal. It's like they transported a movie set into their own living room. To me it's both sterile and depressing, no matter how cool the leather club chair and industrial light fixture might be. If a person bought a "room kit", I can feel it - and so can everyone else.

So when you are considering what you want your home to feel and look like, sit down with a notepad and figure out how you like to feel when you walk in your door. Do you want to look at a piece of art that reminds you of a once in a lifetime vacation? Do you want to plop down on an extra plush sofa and nest? Do you want your friends to wander from space to space with endless interesting things to look at? Write it down. Collect pictures of things that inspire you and identify why. Choose colors that make you feel comforted, classy, proud, expressive, etc. All of these things together will begin to outline the story you want to create with your furnishings and accessories.

And of course, if all else fails, you know where to find me!

Happy analysis friends,
Melisa

We are so excited about the table design we're doing for the upcoming Samaritan House fundraiser. The theme of our table is "Nature in Bloom". I've changed my china pattern and my mind too many times to count but I do know that I'm covering my table in blanket moss and there will be a big tree coming from the center of it. We're hoping our table inspires people to come visit our wonderful, eclectic little mad science lab.

Best,
M

Beautiful cream and brown ceramic pitcher featuring spring flowers


Pink hyacinth in a vintage creamer


White hydrangea in a 1960's ceramic vase


1960's teal ceramic handled urn vase - my favorite!