Decor Arts Now

By Lynn Byrne. No, make that flowers in a bottle.  Ever since I bought this bottle collection last winter while antiquing in Vermont, I have seen bottles massed as vases simply everywhere.  

Most certainly a current trend.

I spotted bottles at the New York International Gift Fair.

Also, in Canadian House and Home.  

In British Elle Decoration.  

Here, British Elle Decoration suggests embellishments to the bottles, such as tying on some pretty origami paper or painting with a flat spray paint to achieve a clay-like finish.  

More over at Decor8.

Using bottles as vases is actually not a new idea.  Just a resurrected one that is currently enjoying renewed popularity.

Martha Stewart suggested bottling your blooms back in 2002.  This photo is from her book Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets (Good Things).  

If you want to be a serious bottle collector, Martha provides these tips:

1. Bottles without seams date before 1840.

2. If there is a seam but it stops before the neck and lip, the bottle dates between 1840 and 1860.

3 .If the bottle has more than one seam that goes partially into the bottle neck, it likely dates between 1860 and 1880.

4.  Bottles where the seams end just below the lip, and  the lip is “flash” polished by a machine, instead of slowly polished by hand, date between 1880 and 1890.

5. After 1890, bottles were made entirely by machines and the seams reach all the way to the top, including the lip.

Now, on the other hand, you can just forget all that and start saving bottles that you find pretty.

Either way, it creates a very charming display for your summertime flowers.  

Final photo from Good Things.

By Lynn Byrne. Readers know that I drool over the paint colors developed by Farrow & Ball.

Now you have the entire Farrow & Ball palette to choose from for your custom cabinetry.   Crown Point Cabinetry has recently become an authorized stockist for Farrow & Ball.  I have had wonderful personal success with Crown Point’s products.  Their cabinets are in my kitchen and butlers’ pantry.  My Crown Point cabinetry is holding up so well (it is 7 years old), that I doubt that I myself will ever be able to take advantage of these new finish choices (at least in my own house), but those of you embarking on a kitchen renovation should totally check it out!

And speaking of maintenance.  I have been told by Crown Point that the Farrow & Ball finishes are super easy to maintain.

You can touch up the inevitable nick or scratch with a light sanding and a quick brush of the paint color.  Most cabinetry touch ups require lots of sanding and a special top coat to mimic the factory finish.

Finally, way back when I was rebuilding my house after the fire (click here for that story), Crown Point was hands down the most affordable custom cabinetry option out there.  Don’t know if that is still true today, but I would investigate if I were you.  Plus, they were a total pleasure to work with.

Here are some images of Crown Point cabinetry in Farrow & Ball colors.

This first kitchen has cabinets in F&B’s Light Gray.  

This next kitchen has cabinetry in White Tie.  For a super cool chandelier similar to the one shown in this kitchen, try another favorite company of mine, Remains Lighting.  

F&B’s Oval Room Blue was used for this bathroom vanity.  

Crown Point explained that they are a bit behind in photographing completed projects using Farrow & Ball paints, though it has been a very popular new option.  They had a few additional photos of what I would call “naked” cabinetry in Farrow & Ball finishes.  Although the photos are not that “glam”, they do give you an idea of how some of the other colors look.

Borrowed Light.

Straw.  

Pointing.

Hardwicke White.  

For more information on the Crown Point and Farrow & Ball, click here.

I am very excited about this new option for cabinetry.  There will be some beautiful new kitchens and bathrooms coming down the pike.

All photos from Crown Point Cabinetry.