In A Castle: Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle Estate

The history of a castle and at what age or era it stood as someone's home is a couple of the many reasons that make castles in general, of interest.  We wonder what kind of lives were lead  and how did someone go about decorating a castle so that it was home to them.  I am in the belief that as a space gets larger it becomes harder to properly decorate,  I would perhaps find myself a minimalist for the first time if ever having to facing the daunting task of decorating any space larger than my modest Los Angeles apartment.  My sudden interest in castle interiors have led me to compile a few pictures of the famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California that I'm sure you will enjoy.

Front of Hearst Castle

Entrance door

Front entrance room

Close up of the fireplace in the front entrance room

A view of the tapestries & ceiling of the front entrance room

The dining hall

A view of the wall decor, buffet table and flags in the dining hall

The dining table and chairs

The library

View of the archways in the library

Indoor pool during the day

View of the statues in the indoor pool area

The indoor pool diving platform

Indoor pool in the evening

View from atop, the outdoor pool

the Athenian style outdoor pool

The guest house

The guest cabanas

The guest cabanas' entrance doors

Guest bedroom

Guest bedroom

Guest bedroom

Bedroom

Crosley Tech Turntable

Loving and having a fascination for all things vintage I unsurprisingly stopped and stared at this Tech Turntable by Crosley.  Isn't it beautiful?  It's so wonderful to see something old merge with the new to create something so... well, "user friendly" I suppose is the word I'm looking for.

The Tech Turntable is not only for listening to your vinyl records but also allows you to record your records as MP3s onto a USB drive!  And!  That's not even the last of it, the Tech Turntable features an AM/FM stereo and playback for your pre-recorded MP3s as well as comes PAR ready to succumb your every needs even if it means allowing you to plug in it's evil more modern-tech brother THE IPOD.

*sigh... isn't it just wonderful?  I think so.  It's THE perfect vinyl record player.

Crosley Tech Turntable
Materials:  Wood style casing, mirror front face-plate, streamline dials
Components:  3 Speed turntable, USB/SD Card reader & encoding, portable audio ready, AM/FM radio, stereo speaker, remote control
Price:  $129.95
Check below for lower price on Amazon

Home Of: Diane Keaton

Birth name:  Diane Hall

AKA:  Diane Keaton

Year of birth:  1946

Place of birth:  Los Angeles, California

Occupation:  Director, Producer, Writer  

Most famously known for her acting

Front door

Front entrance

Through the front entrance to the formal dining area

The kitchen

A small space set aside as a sitting area in the kitchen

An out door area that was renovated to be e an enclosed office space

The living-room with fireplace

The loggia /hall

Decor in the master bedroom

The Closet

Every girl dreams of a nice big walk-in closet, and boys?... I'm sure they wouldn't mind one either even if it isn't the first on their list.  When it comes to storing clothes people rarely ever think outside the box, why this is I have no idea, maybe the idea of the "closet" has been strongly engraved into our culture.  Maybe if we were able to think outside the box of what a "closet" really is: simply a designated place of storage then we would be able to begin by thinking outside the square and into the circle.

For example... if you have ample space in your bedroom why not set aside 1/3 or even 1/2 the bedroom as closet space, using shelving or divider walls to create a closet space for yourself, and set aside your actual "closet" space as something else?  Take off the doors of the closet and let it be the wall for your bed- I'm sure you can think of creative things to do with the "closet" nook! - This is what I call thinking outside the box, making your space WORK FOR YOU, not the other way around.

And for inspiration, pictures of course!

Below are pictures of closet space that are actually part of the room itself.

This is a good idea for a shelving unit that also serves as a divider wall if planning
to use part of the room as closet space.

Below are GRAND closet spaces that are separate rooms in themselves, one can dream.

Below are normal large closet spaces we can hope to have one day ourselves.

Famous closets....

Kim Cattrall's closet

The hall closet of Sex And The City.

TIP:  One doesn't need a large closet to have a nicely organized closet space just remember: leave room between items and don't stack items on top of each other- this will greatly enhance the clean and organized look in your closet.  If you do need to stack, stack on the floor of your closet and if you can help it put them in boxes first (nice one's if you have them), and above all else... don't hang anything on the closet door, inside or out, mirrors may be forgivable depending on the quality of the mirror.

Spring is just around the corner may be a little closet clean up is in order?

Accent Pillows

A throw pillow isn't just a throw pillow just like knobs aren't just knobs- details count in the complete picture of a room.  Not too long ago I bought a pair of throw pillow covers from CB2 with green birds on a cream colored backing to replace a couple of plain cheap pillows I had bought in what may have likely been Linen's And Things or Bed Bath & Beyond.  I bought the covers on sale for a very decent price of $6.00 a case and used the old pillows for the stuffing.  It worked out beautifully and now my couch looks half way decent, if anything, the couch needs now to be replaced in order to live up to the standards of the throw pillows!

Below are pictures of a few throw pillows and pillow cases I thought were worth looking at.

Sometimes just a nice plain  throw pillow will do, below are pictures of the Leisure Clay throw pillows from CB2.  I was at CB2 last weekend and saw the cushions up-close and personal and  found the pillow definitely lived up to the picture and would even go as far as to say they look better in person.  At 23" square they are a good size, neither too big or too small and with a soft velvety front it's the ideal simple cushion.  The throw pillow comes in three colors:  white, blue and yellow.

 

CB2 Leisure Clay 23" Pillows $39.95/each

Back view of the Leisure Clay Pillows

For a little more comfortable and homey feel with the simplicity still intact I found from West Elm the Alpaca Textured Pillow Cover.  In four different pastel-like shades:  Cream, Gray, Purple and Brown and two different sizes 16"sq and 24"sq - a variety of looks can be achieved, with the variety in color and size giving you the option to mix and match or go for all one-size and one-color.  The Alpaca Textured Pillow Covers are made in Peru and handcrafted; hand-spun and hand-loomed with alpaca yarns ultimately creating a pillow case with "supreme" softness.

West Elm Alpaca Textured Pillow Cover $29-39.00
Made of Alpaca, wool, nylon & cotton backing with zipper

I found that Urban Outfitters is a good place to look for many interior home decor items, such as throw pillows.  Often Urban Outfitters will have unique looking decor such as the Hand Quilted Velvet Pillow below for fair prices.  Keeping to 'simple', the Hand Quilted Velvet Pillow from Urban Outfitters comes in four different solid colors all with dimensions: 15"sq and 4" deep and with a velvet textured front that makes this pillow so attractive.

 

Urban Outfitters Hand Quilted Velvet Pillow $24.00

Comes in colors:  Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green

Below is my favorite throw pillow find than none other than Jonathon Adler the Mod Model Pillow at 15"sq, hand made with 100% wool front with velvet back and zipper and feather/down insert.  A throw pillow can't get any hipper than this.  And with the odd combination of a wool front and velvet back it doesn't get anymore chic.

Jonathon Adler Mod Model Pillow $165
Hand made, 16"x16", 100% wool front, velvet back with zipper, feather down insert

A Very Hobbit-Like Home

A very Hobbit-like house by Simon Dale meticulously planned as if dug out from a hill side.  Made of clay and wood the house is surprisingly spacious indoors and houses a family of three.

The front door which is open in this picture leads into the kitchen & a view of the ceiling

A view from the 2nd floor landing of the kitchen below

A view of the staircase, an outside patio from the 2nd floor and a fireplace
below the stairs

A close up of the windows