Creative Chandelier

Here is another great chandelier made out of recycled material.  This one is made by an artist named stuart haygarth , he designs projects which revolve around collection of objects that are normally overlooked and can be collected in large quantities.  Then he assembles them in a way that they are transformed into a significant piece of work such as chandeliers, installations, functional and sculptural objects.

He cut a small detail section (the base) from approximately 1800 bottles collected and placed them in a cement mixer containing sand and water.  This slightly modified the appearance of the plastic by creating a sandblasted quality which made the plastic appear like frosted glass.

What great use of the plastic bottle that would have simply ended up in the landfills!  Besides, this chandelier is so beautiful, a great coversation piece!

Hope you are having a wonderful and creative week!

Nature made decor

My friend Kristin is involved in a huge design project for a local beach club.  She is challenged with decorating a 3500 sq. ft. bar/restaurant area for the club before Memorial day, yikes...  This room is extremely out dated and appears to be dark and gloomy.  She wants to brighten up the space with paint and new lighting, add interest with natural elements such as driftwood, add art, nautical accessories and plants.  All new furniture has to be purchased along with installing new floors.

I plan to post the progress of this soon to be an amazing transformation.  I know it will be beautiful, because Kristin has wonderful taste and very talented when it come to coastal decor, just take a look at her home.

So, this past Sunday Kristin and I slipped away from our families for a few hours to find organic style furniture and accessories to put into the beach club.  She had stumbled upon this amazing store/warehouse called From The Source in Brooklyn.  They had the largest collection of exotic woods and driftwood I have ever seen.  They had tree trunks, large vines, driftwood to make tables, desks, chairs, sculptures, etc...

Great organic chandelier!  How great would this look in a modern space.,,

Kristin rummaging through the barrels of Liana vines to find the right pieces for a sculptural art installation she is creating.

Here are some examples of beautiful use of driftwood.

I have seen unique pieces of wood that have made into chairs, have been crafted into lamps and coffee tables.

These tables make a spectacular centerpiece for a room and a great conversation piece.

 The wood can simply be hung on the wall or propped in a corner.

contemporary dining room design by photographer Elad Gonen & Zeev Beech

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Beachy home

This past weekend my family and I went to our very good friends Marguerita and Sal's house for their son's 21st birthday.  They live steps away from the ocean and have the most comfortable home.  They love to take trips to the beachy towns along the coast and shop in the quaint little stores.  You can see all of their collectibles they have gathered along the way displayed throughout their house.

Here are some gorgeous artwork that were created by a sand artist from San Fransisco that hangs above their fireplace, I've never seen anything like that!.  The artist had told them that his artwork was made with sand collected from beaches all over the world, the sand is not colored.  I never realized that colors of the sand varies so much in different beaches, it is amazing!

Lets' take a closer look at the incredible detail...

One of the reasons Marguerita and Sal's home feels so comfortable and relaxed is because they display all of the things they love and have bought on their travels throughout their home.  Even when they go to a new  restaurant, Marguerita likes a little keepsake of just a match book or a menu to remind her of where they have been.  She loves to take pictures and has tons of photo albums that we take out every time they have a party and we stroll down memory lane, I call her "Fuji Mama".  Such fun!

Adorable little adirondack chair lamp.

I don't want to end this post without mentioning their grandson, our little cutie pie Joe and his adorable girl next door.  Sooooo sweet…

Hope you are having a wonderful week!  What do you think about the sand art, have you ever seen anything like that?

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Simple Home Life

Visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  What a beautiful weather we have been having here in New York… We decided to take advantage of the weather and go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens to see the cherry blossom display, they are spectacular!  My son Kyle is away on a trip to Washington DC so it was just my husband, my daughter and me.  As soon as we arrived, my daughter got a hold of my camera and started snapping shots of all the beautiful flowers.  I didn't mind as long as my battery lasted so that I can take picture of the beautiful cherry blossom show Mother Nature put on for us, it is magnificent! 


Well, my daughter was so trigger happy with my camera that right before we came to the cherry blossom display my camera stopped taking pictures, the battery died! Grrrr…


But, she did manage to get some beautiful pictures.

Japanese Garden looks so serene with its beautiful coy fish lake and perfectly shaped trees.

My daughter hamming it up with my glasses on…

The beautiful lush foliage makes you feel like you are in a tropical rain forest!

The outdoor cafe was so crowded that the only place to sit and eat were on the steps (we were definitely not alone in taking advantage of this beautiful day!)  Its' all good… We enjoyed sitting and just watching people from all walks of life admiring the surrounding.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and took a moment to see the beauty around you.