An Instant Family!

It's always fun getting to know my customers and imagining their decorating style. I love it when people send me photos of their homes/rooms to see how they integrated their vintage purchases into their decor.

I was thrilled to receive this photo from my customer Lisa. Lisa recently purchased this large aristocratic lady oil painting to add to her collection of portraits. Isn't it fun amongst her other portraits, and in in front of her cute white chair? From Southern California to San Francisco, and final destination, Atlanta, Georgia, glad this lady found a nice home!

If any of you have any photos of your home that you'd like to share, please send them my way.

Thanks again Lisa!

The Charming Willa Home

I have been looking forward to posting about one of my favorite Bay Area haunts, Willa Home. Elena Duggan, the original owner of Willa, recently partnered up with Lisa Wilson, formerly of The Pickled Hutch. This dynamic duo reinvented Willa by adding Lisa’s meticulously selected vintage items, with Elena’s great eye for contemporary home and garden décor.

You may already know Lisa and her cute poodle Alfie (above), from her shop and blog, “The Pickled Hutch.” When Lisa's lease expired in her San Francisco shop, her longtime friend Elena approached her to merge their talents together at Willa. And walla! What a beautiful job they’ve done!

This charming shop is brimming with treasures, including a wonderful selection of vintage portraits...

This fabulous early 1900's boxer painting of world heavyweight boxing champion, James Jackson Jeffries, sits proudly in the shop window. It's over 6 feet tall and I am obsessed with it!

The store's mix of contemporary and vintage is the perfect balance, such as these vintage aqua pottery pieces with wine glasses...

Colorful vignettes rest against muted backgrounds...

And the shop's mascot, Alfie, happily ready to greet all of the customers. Looks like Alfie is getting ready to gift wrap a bag of goodies!

An eclectic mix of mid-century modern, bohemian, shabby chic, and old world French, Willa Home has something for everyone.

Willa Home carries a wide selection of Juliska, a French company whose ceramics are made in Portugal, as well as, glassware made in Poland.

My favorite... master calligrapher Bernard Maisner greeting cards displayed in a vintage towel holder...

The store has a wonderful selection of fun table lamps and beautiful chandeliers...

Elena Duggan, co-owner of Willa Home, and inspiration for the store's name...

John Derian decoupage trays sit next to coral top bottles...

Lisa, from Lisa Golightly, in front of Willa. We took a little drive down yesterday...

If you're in the Bay Area, be sure and stop at Willa Home. It's located in the charming city of Burlingame, just about 20 minutes south of San Francisco. You can also catch up on Lisa and Elena's latest happenings on the Willa Home and Pickled Hutch blogs.

Willa Home
1414 Burlingame Avenue
Burlingame, CA 94010
650.375.1213

Happy Father's Day!

my Dad and I

To all of you special Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, Sons, Brothers, In-laws!!

(above) My Papa Stan, Uncle Claz, Papa Bill...

some aren't with us, but we'll always remember them...

My Dad

And to my Dad (who lives in Spokane, Washington), wishing you a wonderful Father's Day! Wish we could be there to share it with you!

Laduree Le Bar

Traveling to Paris? How about a cocktail at the Laduree Bar?

The Laduree bar opened last fall at their at their Champs-Elysées location. The design is a contemporary take on an Art Nouveau butterfly cocoon. Stained glass walls with butterflies. The resin bar is surrounded by stools that resemble chrysalises. Ahhh...

In addition to these scrumptious-looking cocktails, they serve savory dishes as well...

How about a macaron cocktail in rose, pistachio or coffee? I've never seen prettier drinks before...

If you're traveling to Paris, this looks like a "must stop." That is, after you've had your pastry and tea for breakfast.

Laduree Bar, Paris
75 ave des Champs Elysees
or 13 rue Lincoln, Paris 75008

photos from laduree.fr

Bygone Fashion Photography: Walde Huth

Fellow blogger Deborah from Design Cracker, has been collecting Walde Huth's photography for about 15 years. I had never heard of her before, but am familiar with some of her beautiful images.

Born in Germany in 1924, Huthe later had a career as a portrait, theater and fashion photographer.

She studied photography in the 1940's. She then worked on commissions for textile companies and leading German fashion magazines, and she was one of the first to use color photography for these subjects. She was commissioned by the Frankfurter Illustrierte to take photographs in Paris (1954-6) and by Freundin and Elegante Welt to photograph in Florence (1956).

You may have seen this image above. So beautiful!

To see more of Huth's work, as well as more fashion photography, visit My Vintage Vogue. Jessica has amassed the most amazing collection of vintage photography. You can also see her photostream here on Flickr.

photos from My Vintage Vogue

How Can They?

My favorite year 'round nail polish is Chanels', "Marilyn." It is the prettiest shade of reddish-pink, and looks great on the fingers and toes. Quite a unique color. I just found out that it's been discontinued. Oh, what to do. Don't you hate when you find the perfect make-up color or perfume and it's discontinued?

Do you think we can all write Chanel and rally to bring it back? Any suggestions for nails colors?

Just in at Paris Hotel Boutique!

Lately I've been crazy about orange. Perhaps it's the arrival of summer that makes me want to add touches of color to my decor. Orange is such a great color. It's warm, cheerful and vibrant. I was excited to acquire some orange pieces this past month!

I flipped when I found this pair of mid century Asian figural lamps. The pale tangerine shades were the icing on the cake. What a great addition for a Hollywood Regency room. Just that extra pop of color adds the perfect touch to these lamps!

I fell in love with this vintage ballroom dancer oil painting. So cheerful with the brightly-colored gowns.

The orange cover of this vintage classic, Breakfast at Tiffany's, could add just a pop of color on a shelf or coffee table. Just like Hermes boxes. I have a few of them in my bedroom, and that little burst of orange lightens up a drab space.

I am crazy for masculine type of pieces. Lighting, mirrors and old desk accessories, I'm getting more and more into unusual pieces. This early standing shaving mirror would look perfect in a bathroom or corner of a bedroom. I have never seen one like it before and was thrilled to find it!

If you've been to my website, I am a big fan of globes. I had never seen a globe like this before. Globes coated with slating material were produced in the 19th and early 20th centuries as educational aids for the study of geography. Students practiced drawing maps in chalk on the surface. So unusual.

And this globe thrills me. It's a French glass globe. Never seen a glass globe before. It's going to hard to part with it!

Another fun find was this lyre-shaped gilt wood mirror. The glass is convex with an old, cloudy patina. Just the way I like them!

This old English office sign would look great on my desk, if only I had the space. That's the problem with selling antiques. You don't want to part with anything!

Come check out our new arrivals here at Paris Hotel Boutique.

And congrats to all of your Dads and Grads, and have a Happy Summer!