What Does Boston Mean To You?

Last night I attended a fabulous Christofle event celebrating the opening of their store on Boylston Street. Positioned across from Boston Common and in between the eye-catching turquoise canopies that provide entry for some of the most luxurious boutiques Boston has to offer, Christofle is certainly one store you don't want to miss. Upon entering, I was met with a stunning collection of sterling silver jewelry, flatware, serving platters, and an assortment of decadent home accessories that would add Parisian elegance to any space. The event was complete with a number of charismatic guests and a brilliantly designed champagne cooler at the center of it all.

One of the guests I spoke with plans to launch a magazine that hones in on Boston's high-end fashion for women to remind out-of-towners that the city is known for more than our sports teams and historic streets. Between the loyal Red Sox fans and our distinguished Freedom Trail tours, high-end fashion appears to be an afterthought which is why I'm dedicating this post to highlighting some of the luxurious places I've come across while living here. Maintaining it's historic charm, Boston has managed to produce a number of wonderful boutiques along the sidewalks of Beacon Hill, Newbury Street, and the North End, among others, for all visitors to enjoy!

Phone A Friend

All of the cell phones I've owned have experienced some form of abuse whether it has been dropped in water, on a brick road, or stolen from my purse during a New Year's Eve celebration. My replacement phones always end up being a dorky, Zach Morris (Saved By The Bell) type phone that never leaves me with a good feeling.

If you're anything like me and have a hard time staying on the go without losing or ruining everyday essentials, it's time to invest in a phone that lives in a more permanent and safer location: your home. The VTech LS6245 phone system offers a supportive base and handheld phone complete with a touch-sensitive surface for easy dialing and checking new messages.

One of the most interesting facts I learned about this item is that the VTech phone is the first to offer both landline and mobile telephone service. After a quick and easy Bluetooth setup with your cell phone (and up to seven other cell phones), you'll be able to make calls in no time. While cell service can come and go throughout different parts in your home, calls from VTech will come out clear every time. I wasn't able to make landline calls because I didn't have a DSL filter which is an item you'll need to buy on your own if you have high-speed cable service in your home.

Whether you're looking to add a new modern flair or have been seeking the latest in technology, a VTech LS6245 phone will certainly fill your craving! It's a beautiful addition to the home or personal office that your family and friends will enjoy using on a regular basis.

Reading and Relaxing

It is a bit of a Christmas tradition here at the farmhouse that we give each other books to read over the holidays. This week I have enjoyed lazing around reading about gardens in the Australian countryside and the latest biography on the most famous fashion icon of last century.

I have the movie starring Audrey Tatou and read many books on Chanel before but the new biography, Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life

by former British Voguette Justine Picardie, leads your further inside her life than any other that has come before. You do get the sense that Picardie really immersed herself in the research for the book, even visiting the convent in a remote French village where Chanel grew up and seeking out her closest confidentes. She even wrote some of the book in Chanel’s private quarters on the Rue Cambon. Have a look at Justine Picardie talk about researching the book here and falling under the spell of the legend here.

My daughter usually gives me the latest inspirational garden book. This year I pointed her in the direction of landscape designer Myles Baldwin’s Rural Australian Gardens, a journal of this accomplished gardener's travels from the tropics to the alpine regions of Australia to find the best and most unusual gardens.

It is his enthusiastic, chatty and candid commentary on other designers’ gardens which I find quite refreshing. He visits minimalist David Katon’s Southern Highlands garden but one suspects it’s manicured perfection is not his bag.

The beauty of interior designer Stuart Rattle’s decorative garden in Musk, one of my own favourites, obviously took him by surprise. You really see how non-professional gardeners like Stuart Rattle and his partner become bewitched by their gardens and how they become a real labour of love. (No doubt it helps having a friend like internationally celebrated garden designer, Paul Bangay up the road.)

Baldwin presents gardens owned by real country Australians who are passionate gardeners, exactly as they are - rambling, quirky and honest. I like the fact that some of the gardens he chose are not too perfect as many of them them survive in pretty harsh landscapes.

In The Vegetable Garden

What better way to start a new year than in the garden. For me, at this time of year the beaches have less appeal down here due to the influx of summer holiday makers. (Apologies -this must seem far fetched if you are shivering in blizzards somewhere in the northern hemisphere.)

I have mentioned in previous posts that my vegetable garden had turned "feral" in the last few months because of the huge rainfall and warm weather, not to mention my busy schedule... Well I'm pleased to say that it has now been tamed. The giant, matted wild rocket, jurassic weeds and towering silver beets have been yanked out and new seedlings bought at the Berry markets today are about to go in.

Months of compost my husband has been diligently turning has been spread on top and I'm trying to follow organic principles and rotate the sort of crops that will go into each garden bed. Does anyone have a fool-proof guide?

My seven year old daughter helped choose the eclectic range of plants - a strawberry seedling, watermelon, butternut pumpkin, broccoli, sweet basil, yellow egg tomatoes, various types of lettuce and more wild rocket, amongst other things!

I am secretly hoping this will enthuse her to wanting to actually eat all of the above, fingers crossed.

I'll also be putting in some decorative elements in the vegie patch to dress it up. Too often people treat their kitchen gardens as a messy "work area" when they can be quite attractive.

I have an old victorian gate, a set of obelisks and some gorgeous Italian terracotta stake toppers (from Heaven In Earth). Jane Campsie's vegie garden in Hampshire, above, is one of my inspirations and a great example of a decorative garden.

Modern Retail Design

The “crowded house” mentality of retail design is a thing of the past. Moving forward, retailers want to offer environments that are less distracting for consumers. As a result, say leading designers, “streamlined,” “tidy” and “uncomplicated” are among the buzzwords that will define design in coming years. “Some of the largest design issues are centered on simplicity and clarity,” says Bob Welty, vice president and creative director at Chute Gerdeman, the Columbus, Ohio-based retail design, planning and branding firm.
Even before Sept. 11, consumers in all segments of retail felt somewhat overwhelmed by various burdens — from tough economic pressures to busy schedules to information overload. In response to these increasingly stressed-out shoppers, many retailers now want to simplify their business models from top to bottom. They're changing product mixes, marketing strategies, store layouts — anything to reduce clutter and clarify the message. “I think the issue is not about less inventory, but about simplifying the story retailers are trying to tell,” Welty says. “The customer can only comprehend so much. And if retailers want a product to come through, then they need to scale back.”
For starters, Welty advises retailers to reduce the amount of merchandise in displays and to use more white space as a rest for the eye. Wider aisles, better site lines and more flexible fixtures are all givens.

Great modern retail spaces by Found Associates. I grabbed photos from a few projects due to the diversity of styles. From Industrial Modern to Ultra Modern and then back to Natural Modern they do all of these very well. They have a very nice site too, more pics after the jump.

The Story

One of the neighbours knocked on our door the other day. No, it's not the very unfriendly one who keep throwing fallen twigs and branches over the fence just because the tree is on our side of the fence, it's one of the better ones and thank God most of them are like that in the neighbourhood...

They told us someone broke into their house on a windy Friday night. The couple were watching tele in the family room downstairs (from around 9 pm to 1 am) and their 2 school age kids were sleeping upstairs in their own room. The intruder somehow climbed up the roof of family room from the backyard undetected, removed the fly screen from the guest bedroom window, forced the "closed and locked" sliding window open, sneaked into the main bedroom, took some valuable stuffs, and left the house probably also using the same path. And they didn't even notice it until the husband found the fly screen on the floor in the backyard next morning.

We all thought it would be a disaster if the intruder enter either of the kids' room and accidentally woke up the kid - hope they would be smart enough not to scream or make any noise - this would be a very important thing to teach/remind your kids...

Why bother?
You might think most new houses have alarm installed and this shouldn't be a major issue. Don't forget that for situations like my neighbour's, the alarm isn't even on yet. Also, we all know that most alarms can be configured to only monitor downstairs while family members were sleeping in bedrooms upstairs, if intruder entered the house through upstairs windows, it's basically useless...

A few things I can think of...
Please note that I am NOT an expert on home security, you should always consult your builder or some security specialist for professional advice. This post is just to share some of my thoughts...

If you are still in design and planning phase, a reminder for you to think and check whether any of your upstairs windows can be easily accessed from outside (normally through roof of rooms downstairs), would suggest to change it if possible.

If you are way over that phase, a few things below might help too, please be patient and read on :-)

If you are using awning window, it should be safer as I think it's much more difficult to enter from outside for awning window (just guessing as I don't have awning windows, please correct me if you think this is incorrect). For sliding windows, there are quite a few options:

1) install window locks, google for "window locks" and you should be able to get lots of information.

One of the simplest ones are locks like below, personally I don't quite like it as I have seen windows been scratched and the paint came off due to this lock.

Sliding Doors

The NanaWall® sliding doors are designed for large glass openings. The elegant, precision, engineered NanaWall sliding doors meet the most challenging architectural specifications. The custom made NanaWall sliding doors are available in aluminum, wood or clad frames with a selection of over two hundred colors. Independent testing confirms that NanaWall sliding doors meet or exceed industry standards for air infiltration, water penetration, structural & thermal performance and forced entry. Enjoy the best of both worlds: a room with a view that opens to the outdoors yet gives you the peace of mind only weather resistant NanaWall sliding doors provide. NanaWall's are panels connected together in a train. Panels can be hinged off both side jambs to meet in a number of ways. When open, panels remain 90 degrees to the opening. Advantages of the NanaWall • With an odd number of panels stacking to one side, a single acting operable door is possible • Versatile functions with swing enter/exit panel(s) options and with flexibility to fully or partially open. • Ease of operation to quickly open or close wide openings • No auxiliary track support is needed as all structural loads are within the plane of the opening. • Both top supported and floor mounted systems are available • A multitude of stacking configurations, as well as inward or outward opening options, is available. Variations include paired panels and center pivot options. With NanaWall sliding doors you can choose from hundreds of configuration options. Shown below are some examples. The total number of panels in your wall opening depends on your design and the combination of panel height, width and glazing. With a limit of six hinged panels stacking to one side, a maximum width of about 36’ is recommended for exterior applications and about 40’ for interior applications. With top-hung systems—with additional unhinged paired panels—the maximum number of panels and width is virtually unlimited.