Some beloved family friends just completed the construction of their gorgeous Italianate house (more photos to come). Mr. Wonderful and I were married on the grounds of one of their other estates of Neoclassic style. They just build beautiful things! Its a joy to tour their homes when they are finished and all moved in. Here are a few shots of the Master Bathroom. Enjoy!

Antique mirror and cast concrete columns, a streamlined version reminicent of Bernini's Baldacchino in Saint Peter's Basilica. All of the baseboards, crown mouldings, casings, and cobels throughout the estate are custom cast concrete commissioned especially for this project.

A cast stone soaking tub. Bliss! Out that window is a vista of lush, green rolling hills.

The window threw off the lighting in this photo, so I had to convert it to B+W. Notice the smooth barrel vaulting. Just gorgeous.

All photos are property of J Steinberg Design and may not be used or reproduced without permission. Thank you.

Do you remember my post on Jack Arnold houses and folio books? If not, click here to read it (prepare to be delighted). It was recently brought to my attention that there is a new feature on the Jack Arnold site. Its a "Homeowner Scrapbook". Real photos from real people that have built real Jack Arnold houses. If Jack's portfolio photos aren't enough (which, I'm sure they aren't), be sure to check it out! To visit, click here.

Its that time again...the Annual Floral Park Home and Garden Walking Tour! This is one of the most gorgeous neighborhoods in all of Orange County. Boasting homes on the Historic Registry, many different architectural styles, and that old Americana feel of fully grown trees and white picket fences. A must see for locals interested in fine architecture and home design.

Tickets are $30 at the door. Sat and Sun April 25-26, 2009. Click here for more info on how to purchase tickets and where to park. Click here for the PDF booklet of featured homes and gardens for this years tour. I am going with my mother on Sunday- see you there!

Photo: Federalist style home in Floral Park.

I am stating the eleven-part editorial feature on The List of the top ten things to invest in when starting your interiors in a new place (whether you are paying rent to the bank or the landlord) or a new stage in life. See this post for the full preface. I would also like to state that, even though I am listing these one through ten, some of them are equally important. Its best to think of all ten as items of A-1 importance.

No. 1: Good Bones

Everyone says this...but what does it really mean? I will speak for classic designers everywhere and say that good bones means great architectural features. Great architectural features include baseboards, crown mouldings, an interesting ceiling treatment (such as beams or coffers), wainscot paneling or bead board, chair rails, framed-out passages, wall niches, great banister and balustrades, tread caps, window casings, door casings, great fireplace mantles, good cabinetry...pretty much all the woodwork and trimming. Also included in "good bones" are good windows, quality doors, good flooring (natural stone or wood plank), good counters in non-dated materials, etc. Things that qualify as bones are permanent and attached and require demolition of some sort to remove.

Good Bones means that you don't have to invest or address the envelope much (or at all) before you start to fill the room with fabulous things. If these foundational "good bones" elements are absent, need repair, or need replacing/restoration due to an outdated style or finish, then you need to put some of your budget here before anything else. When I start a project, if the home already has great architectural features- it saves the client a lot of money because that layer of design is already taken care of. Do it first thing.

If you are a homewoner- go for the whole nine yards. I am a self procliamed "trim junkie"- so you really can't overdo it. The style of what you are doing should coincide with your architecture (for example- don't do Arts and Crafts details in a Federalist style home). Invest in really great, high quality base boards and crown moulding. You can always add wainscotting and an architectural ceiling later. Also keep in mind that good and appropriate architectural features increase the value of a home and help it sell faster.

If you are renting, and you have moulidngs (as typical in older buildings on the east coast, mid-west and other major cities of the west- such as Denver, for instance), put in the elbow grease to renovate them. If there are no moulidngs (as typical in "newer" buildings here on the west coast where building is all about making it cheap and fast and selling it at a premium), decide how long you will be in the space. If its over two or three years, go for a few upgrades- base and crown, for sure. Ask your landlord if they would be willing to match your improvements, you would be surprised how many landlords would agree. At the very least, paint. And paint the entire place- make it home. If your rental has those old acoustic "pop corn" ceilings- that's a great thing to match your landlord on. Get them professionally scraped and re-textured. Apartments and condos only need a few upgrades to become a "wow" space- and they are generally a lot smaller than a house, so your dollar really goes far and covers a lot of ground.

Just because you don't own your rental doesn't mean you can't take pride in where and how you live. The years you spend renting are years of your life that you won't suddenly get back when you decided to carry a mortgage one day. Good design knows not if you rent from the bank or the landlord.

Do you know about Jack Arnold? Have you seen his work? He's a residential architect that has carved out a little niche for himself in the French County and Olde World style architecture arena...and I am a huge fan. I've noticed (for awhile now) he is running more and more ads in shelter publications, and he also has a few product lines out- so I'm sure Arch_ID minded people are catching the fever. If you remember back about a year, his personal home was featured in Veranda, too. I have the spread somewhere in my files (which I am noting to myself to go and find!).

After viewing many of his houses online and from his folio books of plans (see photos below), I honestly can't pick The One I like best. The hardest part of being an interior designer is "committing" to a home style for us (sorry, Mr. Wonderful- what I say goes!). Its hard to make a final style decision (both exterior and interior) when there are so many lovely choices for everything! Its easy to do for clients, but for me- when I can feel my emotional response to so many different styles- its really hard to pick just one (currently, we are stuck between American Federalist and Jacobean Tudor Revival w/ a bit of French Normandy flare). I want them all- even the stark modern spaces. I love them all.

Anyways, I digress. I do not know Jack Arnold, but maybe our two worlds will bring us together one day. Or maybe I will hire him as my architect one day, purchase an antique from his wife (I'm pretty sure she has a shoppe and does interior decor) or at least purchase his plans (and of course tweak them a little...I am pretty particular and I feel mass produced plans can only take someone so far, especially a classically trained designer who rocks space planning). But oh how I love his work. The character really jumps out at you...the rustic stone, the brick, chimney pots, shutters, and other details...enough to make a (very picky) designer like me very happy- even just to look. I heart Jack Arnold. Jack...if you are out there- I love your work! Consider me a patron in waiting. (I also say this about Derek Gores, the artist responsible for amazing collage portraits).

Go here to see his photo gallery. Really- go, now!

Go here to see his product line for architectural chimney pots.

Go here to see the house plan portfolios he offers....or, walk through the ones I have received as gifts from my mom- who is equally (well, okay, not equally) enamored with interiors and design.

The plan books come in different styles. Each folder has two components: a look book of each plan, and loose plans that relate to the look book. You get a rendering, photographs/details and the actual floor plan (not to scale) of each house. Really fun!

I am quite sure this is the most charming residential architecture style of all time. Its called Storybook...and doesn't it evoke that childhood fantasy of Princesses (I don't know about you- but I think of Snow White in the enchanted forrest) and, possibly, Hansel and Gretel?! I've adored this style as a young person ever since a Storybook style roofline struck me as different (of course, I didn't know it was called Storybook style then!). This style was hot during all the Romantic Revivals in the 1920's, which explains why there are so many of them (well, relatively speaking- its not like there are entire neighborhoods of nothing but this style!) out here in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Just adorable.

This is a house in my grandparent's neighborhood (which is chalk full of revivals of all types- I love their neighborhood!). Its recently received a facelift and of course, I made a note to photograph it when it was completed! I love the roof, which also happens to (typically) be the most defininig element in Storybook architecture. Here is a close up:

How cool and intricate and amazing. This Storybook roof is more detailed than the norm.

I'm not sure if the photo is coming through all that well- but there are metal components in addition to the various size and shapes of the shingles. Just amazing.

Edited on June 14, 2010 to note that Steve Fuller of Storybook Roofs did this work. Isn't it great?! He contacted me after coming across this blog post. Im so glad he did....because now I know who to hire if I ever need his specialty service! He is the go-to "storybook roof man"! Click here to view more of his work on his website.

And, here is a book you may be interested in! I've had this one since design school- what a great addition to your library! I highly recommend it if you love revival style residential architecture (and, if you are here on Maison Classique...I would assume you do!). Book info: "Storybook Style, America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties" by Arrol Gellner and Douglas Keister, Penguin Books, 2001.

A fun Link to check out if you want to learn more and some designer jargon regarding this style: StoryBookers.com

Resource for the go-to storybook roof contractor: Steve Fuller of Storybook Roofs

I just came upon a fantastic blog post highlighting beautiful Classic libraries from around the world. To view the compilation, click here. Enjoy!