Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Let's Head For The Hills

The week we were having the house painted, I headed for the hills to be out of the house.


More precisely, I headed to the home of my oldest (longevity, not age) friend in town.


Wendy and I met through Newcomer's Club and formed a playgroup with our 1 year old children (soon to be 39) with a few other mothers.


Wendy is an amazingly talented woman - educated at Pratt Institute in NYC, she has designed children's clothing, decorated a plethora of local homes and now uses her talent to create award winning watercolors and collages.


Wendy's home bears little resemblance to the house I first entered in September of 1977 - the custom made stained glass doors were an early change made to the home.


The living room has also undergone many changes over the last 37 years.


 In the early years, when Wendy was occupied decorating houses, they bought a lot of art and I vividly remember when they brought home, "The Chair", or at least that is what I called it.


I fell in love with the quilted, batiked and painted piece and 35 years later, it still grabs my attention each time I visit.


The fireplace received a gorgeous facelift with beautiful detail.


The dining room was too small for their entertaining needs, but they solved the problem first by extending the room outward 5 feet.


Next they gained space for a china cabinet by going 36 inches into the garage, 


but not losing any space because there were already 36 inch deep cabinets in the garage.


The china cabinet, which is flush with the wall, displays family heirlooms such as the canisters which were given to Wendy's grandmother as an engagement present and a few of her mother's teacups.


The family room is another space that was remodeled - 10 feet was extended into the garden.


I would die to have all that storage along the wall.


One of Wendy's collages adorns the wall


and another smaller piece mimics the colors in the beautiful ceramic pieces that decorate the TV cabinet.


I have watched the kitchen grow through 3 different remodels.


 I love the island in the center of the kitchen and the windows along the wall that bathe the room in light.


Wendy has been a long time collector of teapots, but she has pared the display down to a few favorites.


I might even be tempted to cook if I had a spacious kitchen like Wendy's.


Somehow, I am missing the photos of the daughters' bedrooms - I guess I got a little zealous cleaning out my photos - so we'll just head upstairs to the master bedroom before we look at Wendy's creative space.


Wendy and I were in West Hollywood at the Pacific Design Center when she first showed me the beautiful leather bed with nailheads.


They added a built in dresser with space to display some of Wendy's beautiful (pared down) doll collection.


A smaller built in dresser and a window seat were also added.


The mural on the wall was hand painted by a local mural artist.


The door on the right side of the mural leads to a small office.


The door on the left leads to an amazing bathroom with a gorgeous ceiling, custom stained glass windows, and possibly more space than I have in my entire house.


I think it is time for a rest in the garden, but before we go outside let's take a look at the view from the terrace - the ocean is out there, but I needed a better lens to capture it.


The garden went through a recent change when an old tree fell, breaking the fence, but sprinkling the garden in sunlight most of the day.


Delightful statuary catches the eye


and an old bench creates a relaxing spot to rest.


It is difficult to leave this lovely space,


but we still need to visit Wendy's creative space which is why we stopped by in the first place.


An extra bedroom became an office when Wendy began working as an interior designer.


She continues to decorate houses, but the space is used more frequently these days as Wendy's art studio.


Lately she has been working on children's collages


like these 3 colorful pieces that are perfect for a baby or toddler's bedroom.


My photographic skills (or lack thereof) did not do justice to any of the watercolors in Wendy's home


so I took a couple of images from her website to give you an idea of the beautiful work she produces.


I was able to capture decent photos of a few of her collages.


To get a real understanding of the beauty Wendy creates


click here to visit Wendy's website where you will see professional photos and learn more about her work.


I hope you enjoyed your visit - it only took me 6 weeks to edit the photos and write the post!

43 comments:

  1. Carol, What a beautiful home inside and out. Everything is very nice. I love the kitchen too. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

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  2. Stunning! And what a blessing you had somewhere to go during the painting!!

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  3. Wendy has a beautiful home that reflects her creativity.

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  4. Your friends home is very lovely and such a wonderful artist. What a great place to go while your home is being painted. Her garden is also very pretty.
    Thank you for taking us on this terrific tour.
    Mary

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  5. wow, lovely home. Enjoyed seeing the changes to the kitchen over the years.

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  6. Your friend is a talented artist and I like the artistic touches in her home.

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  7. Such a beautiful home and love love love those paintings!

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  8. Hi Carol,
    Your friend Wendy has a stunning home. I love her beautiful warm and cozy rooms. Her art is beautiful.
    Love love her garden space. Just gorgeous.
    Kris

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  9. What a stunning home and talented artist!! Thank you for sharing.

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  10. A beautiful home, and one that represents Wendy's warmth and passion, in her art and atmosphere.

    Thank you for the lovely tour, Carol!

    Poppy

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  11. Good morning dear friend, Carol!

    I have missed you so much. I seem to remember when you were posting more often, but like me, you have probably found the joys of only posting twice a month? School is way too busy these days for me to post every Friday night (how I did that, I don't know....) but it is great to find you here.

    You always share the most LOVELY of California abodes, and this kitchen and fireplace.....OH MY GOODNESS! Wendy's talents are evident in the visual arts...what a blessing!

    I hope all is settled at home now? Enjoy your day my dear. Anita

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  12. Your friend seems to be a very interesting and nice person with creative energy and good taste.How wonderful is her garden!How!!!
    Have a nice weekend Carol and thanks for your visit.It's always so much appreciated.
    Olympia

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  13. I DID enjoy the visit and her lovely art work and home. Off to visit her link now :)

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  14. Hi Carol, WOW inside and out, Wendy's home is amazing and her art work is incredible. Loved this tour. Thank you for sharing.
    Have a great day,
    XO

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  15. It must have been hard to choose just a few photos to share. She is amazingly talented and lives in a gorgeous home. I loved the kitchen best until we got outside. Very lovely...what a wonderful place to visit! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  16. This home is stunning! I love how it has been remodeled to really reflect your friends needs (displays for her collections) and style. The gardens are also so pretty. Her art is wonderful, I'm a big fan of watercolors! Thanks for the tour.
    hugs,
    Linda

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  17. A truly amazing artist! I love her creations, the colors are stunning and I love the variety of her skills. Great tour.

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  18. Wendy's home is truly lovely, Carol. She has a bit of an eclectic style that I find appealing. Her home seems "real" to me, filled with the things she loves. I admire how she has displayed the art and collectibles in her home, and her use of color and patterns. She's very talented and I absolutely love her watercolors. Thank you for the tour. ~ Nancy

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  19. Carol,
    Another lovely tour! Wendy's home is gorgeous ... very gifted artist, amazing collages, wonderful watercolors.
    One of my closest friends taught Industrial Design at Pratt.
    Please,take care of yourself and thank you for always posting beauty.
    xoxo,
    Vera

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  20. Looks like a lovely hill to head for while your house is being painted.

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  21. Hi Carol, wow how nice to be able to stay at your friends beautiful home while yours is painted. Your friend is such a talented artist and loved looking at her art work and house. Enjoy your time there. Take care and have a nice day and weekend.
    Julie

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  22. Carol, I enjoyed the tour of your friends beautiful home. I love the way she has added local craft with the mural and stained glass windows. Sarah x

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  23. Hi Carol, you sure do hang out with some very talented and interesting people. I have enjoyed this post and I just love tagging along with you on your adventures. I'm always amazed at the gardens, but then . . . that's California for you.
    Simply Beautiful!

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  24. What a beautiful home (especially love the red sofa and the kitchen)! Her watercolors are beautiful, too. Very talented woman.

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  25. what a delightful place! I covet that studio!!!

    xox

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  26. What a lovely, artful home, and I love the story of how you met! It's so wonderful to have 'old' friends, isn't it?

    Her garden is fabulous! I don't imagine I would ever want to leave.

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  27. Oh Carol, what a beautiful home and great studio! Your friend is very talented in deed! Thank you for sharing her with us! I'm impressed but also just enjoyed tagging along as you visited! Blessings, Cindy

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  28. I love home tours and you always post the best ones! Mimi

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  29. Carol, you truly have the most creative neighbors! :)

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  30. Your friend has a beautiful home. The kitchen with all the windows and the island is so pretty.

    Her art work is beautiful. Nice creative space too.

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  31. I enjoyed the tour of Wendy's home. They made such interesting changes to their home.

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  32. Wendy is very talented and has a beautiful home! I wish I could paint half as well as she does. Love the stained glass windows, too. I also have one that's about to turn 39. I can remember my mother saying that she was too young to have such old kids, and now I know how she felt! :O) I enjoyed your previous post, too, and your husband's art is awesome! Blessings to you and yours, Bess

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  33. What a beautiful home! Storage, storage everywhere, I'm so jealous. Thanks for giving us the tour.

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  34. Your friends home is very pretty. I love all the natural light she gets.

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  35. What a beautiful home, I sure wish I had storage like that. Small homes never can keep up with our treasures. She is also very talented and boy she can paint. I'm not into flamingos so I wasn't too keen on that! Love the windows in the kitchen.

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  36. Wow, your friend has a beautiful home and amazing talent. Thanks for sharing the pictures, a real treat.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  37. What a beautiful home and I love, love, love the mural on the wall. Thank you for sharing so many glorious photos, it was worth the six weeks. :-)

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  38. Wow Carol, your friend is so talented and her entire home is gorgeous! I love 'the chair' and the built ins are wonderful! Her home is so fresh and airy with all of that natural light! Thanks for sharing it!!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  39. What a beautiful home. I don't think I'd ever leave there if it was mine!! : ) It's so wonderful that you've remained such good friends thru all of the years. Such a blessing for you both!!

    ~ Wendy
    http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

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  40. That was an epic post! Not only did you share your friend's art and talent, you shared your talent in making that post. Just repost this every few months and we'll be in awe again!

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  41. Thank-you for the heads-up about this post. WOW I love Wendy's home and garden! So pretty. Thanks for the tour! I'm very impressed with Wendy's watercolor art, too. I always say that the true artists work in that medium (because oils are sooooo forgiving)! Her collages are very neat, too….this is a great post, Carol. I'm happy I didn't miss it!

    xo
    RJ

    PS I hope you're having a great day today, and that you're feeling better!

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  42. beautiful.love the dragonfly plates and most of all the gardens. beautiful

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  43. Thanks a lot for your information.That's a great siteto sell your work
    Sell Your Artwork

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