time travel made easy

christmas in connecticut (yeah, i wish i were there, too)

i've always said i was born in the wrong time.  ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you i would have fared beautifully as a 1940s twenty-something.  i covet the clothes, the music, the houses, the lifestyle.  when i watch old films (i love b&w hollywood classics), i feel akin to them somehow.  i feel a longing.  a desire to somehow experience what they had back then in some way.

flashback to 1945.  everyone was so effortlessly fabulous.  ever notice that?  grace kelly.  katharine hepburn.  vivien leigh.  there was a formality to things - not in a stuck-up way - but in an appreciative way.  those people knew how to live.  watch any old movie and when a guest enters someone's home, they immediately walk to the host's fully stocked bar cart and treat themselves to a (modest-sized) cocktail.  why don't we do that anymore?  and when people went out to dinner (or even had a meal at home) they got dressed up and truly savored their meals and their conversation.  (yeah, yeah i know i just wrote a post about couch picnicking... i'm just multi-dimensional : )

mr. blandings builds his dream house
mr. blandings, too
so you can imagine my genuine excitement, when i found a site that has images of some of my favorite movie houses from mid-century.  what a treat!  mr. blandings.  christmas in connecticut.  north by northwest.  rebecca.  first off, if you haven't seen these films, you should.  they're true classics and afford you a glimpse into a simpler yet more glamorous time.  but for now, you should definitely check out the movie images and enjoy some time travel made easy.  ahh, the good old days...

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Designer Show House Update

The room I'm designing for the annual Bucks County Designer Show House in Lahaska, PA (now called "The High-Society Bedchamber") is really coming along quite nicely. When I began, it was covered with old, tattered ivy wallpaper and had huge (and I mean huge) cracks in the plaster walls. After a lot of help from friends and family, I'm happy to report that we are not only sans wallpaper but have the walls and trim painted!

Three of the four walls are in a cool-toned, gray-blue and the fourth wall is getting a faux treatment with an elegant, iron-work style stencil and will be coated with a pearl glaze - very glamorous! The trim is in a high-gloss light white-gray which really makes it shine. The overall effect is quite chic and sophisticated in nature, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Next week, I'll begin moving in all the pieces I'll be using in the room, starting with a 12ft by 15ft handmade Persian rug that is drop-dead gorgeous. After that, I'll begin moving in the bed and silk tufted headboard, mirrored-door armoire, Lucite table, Jens Risom wing chair, mirrored-top vanity, marble-base lamps, etc. etc. etc.

I've been chronicling the entire process with my digital camera and will have pictures to share soon!

For more information about Cailen Ascher Design or my upcoming book, Well-Designed Living, visit www.CailenAscher.bravehost.com or email CailenAscher@gmail.com.

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