Funky Finds and Watercolor Magic

 

Wine Gathering bucket from Barreveld 

 

I am crazy over this fabric from Jane Shelton for an accent fabric in the living area . 

 

These pots were purchased from  www.wisteriaantiques.net.  I think they would make great lamp bases and  would complement the the fabric above as well.

I found this amazing pair of oars on Ebay. I think they will look great hanging alongside the  canoe paddles I purchased from Crawford's Antiques. You can find similar ones here:http://stores.ebay.com/countryantiques

When I am working on a project I become totally absorbed in the whole aesthetic of the particular project.  When a friend  from high school Brian Gordy posted one of his beautiful watercolors on facebook I stopped in my tracks.  This image “Looking Back at Alona Bay”  really captivated me. I could imagine a writer using this as this as a basis for a story. I can conjure up all kinds of scenarios about the whereabouts of the  inhabitants of the canoe.  How about you? 

 

The Hauntingly Beautiful “Tomorrow’s Rain” invokes a  similar mystery

As well as “Visitors at Southpoint”

Brian exhibits his watercolors in galleries throughout the United States and many have found homes in private, corporate and museum collections. His series of turtle paintings have become particularly well thought of.  You can find them at  http://turtlepaintings.com/.
Many of Brian’s watercolors are available as originals or as limited edition giclee  prints.  If you would like to purchase any of the above or just enjoy more of Brian’s beautiful work go to  http://gordyframing.com/.  I am sure they would be happy to frame it for you as well.
The tide is beginning to turn at Villa Cantina now .  Nearly everything has been purchased, fabricated and delivered.  Everything will probably be photo ready at once!

What is Villa Cantina and Justin Love

 

Many of you have asked just what is Villa Cantina? Villa Cantina is located in the heart of the Paso Robles wine country. It is nestled in the oak studded foothills in the gated community of Oak Shores on the North Shore of Lake Nacimiento. Our family first came to lake Nacimiento over 11 years ago as a quick getaway from our home in Monterey County and we later discovered the fabulous wine which sealed the deal. Eight years ago we began watching as Villa Cantina came to life. Villa Cantina is a stones throw from our old house in Oak Shores which allowed us to watch the progress as it evolved. For years we would drive by and wonder about the builder or the family who was waiting to move in and each time we would add to the story we were creating in our heads. This past September the real story unfolded….It  was Labor Day weekend and we noticed a “For Sale” sign in front of the house we had watched for so long and that sparked our curiosity. Several weekends later we came back down to meet a realtor for a tour and fell in love. We knew Villa Cantina would be a great vacation home for our family and a wonderful spot for others to visit and share the same love for the house, the lake and of course the wine!

Villa Cantina was designed by Newport Beach architect Eric Mossman  and is being finished by noted central coast contractors Steve and Colin Hattersley of Hattersley Construction http://hattersleyconstruction.com/. Interiors by Cindy Hattersley Design. Villa Cantina has five bedrooms and four full baths. All of the rooms will be professionally decorated and outfitted with luxurious linens. It has a full gourmet kitchen, professional bbq grill and two beautiful verandas overlooking the Cantinas Creek area of the lake.I am chronicling the progress of the completion and highlighting some of our favorite wines and haunts. Here is a view of the lake from Oak Shores looking over the Marina.

photo courtesy of Selling Lake Nacimiento (Matt Taylor)

For more information on Lake Nacimiento go here

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-11/sports/18384718_1_lake-level-natural-lake-big-bass/3

 Justin Vineyards & Winery  (founded in 1981)  was one of the original 8 wineries in the Paso Robles area , and is just around the corner and up Chimney Rock Road from Villa Cantina and Lake Nacimiento.  Justin is usually our first stop when  a  visiting the tasting rooms on the West Side. It was the very first wine club that we joined and it still remains high on our list. In 1997 Justin’s Bordeaux-style Isosceles , their signature wine, was named “one of the top 10 wines in the world” by the Wine Spectator Their wines continually receive accolades by many of the major publications   Read the latest here http://www.justinwine.com/news_press_accolades.php :The compound itself includes a European Inspired Inn, a bed and breakfast and a fabulous restaurant.  Everyone is extremely friendly, especially the official greeters Sunny and Churchhill (who survives the adorable Zamboni). It is all beautifully appointed and it is a wonderful place to enjoy some great wine and spend the afternoon.

The tasting room

 

The  Wine Society Lounge 

Deborah’s Room

all photos courtesy of Justin Vineyards & Winery Website

Go here for more information or to purchase their fabulous wine:

http://www.justinwine.com/justinwine_history.php

 

In my next post I will feature  some beautiful watercolors by a noted Indiana Artist and some new “Finds”

 

 

 

 

 

Jack and Jill Bedroom Palette

There are only two bedrooms that share a bath at Villa Cantina. One has a queen bed and the other the only full size. I decided to use the same fabrics and colorways in those two rooms for simplicity and continuity. 

Oyster stick Mirror from Wisteria.  You can find it here www.wisteria.com

                                                                  
                                                                Duvet & Shams will be Historians by Kravet


                                                   Bed skirt & Shams Jonathan Khaki Linen from Chandler Collection

                     

Great Vintage Egg Prints from A Tess Mendel of A  Hint of History,http://shop.ebay.com/ahintofhistory/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

beautifully framed by my favorite framer Artistic Hangups of Salinas   www.artistichangups.com

             

Chest from Dovetail Furniture

                 Carpets will be wall to wall Sea grass .  If any of you read Joni Webb’s blog Cote de Texas.  She chose it as one of her top ten design elements http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2009/07/cote-de-texas-top-ten-design-elements-3.html.  If you haven’t read her blog you should.  She has one of the most informative researched design blogs out there.  Apparently it is as comman as a cowboy hat in Houston, but here on the Central Coast of CA they are not so sure. I have encountered similar problems like House and Garden Style of New York http://houseandgardenstyle.blogspot.com/2009/11/seagrass-headaches.html.  However the bedrooms of Villa Cantina are going to be sea grass!
  

I am going to use these lampshades from Shades of Light

with these old balusters from Capitol Salvage as bases if I can convince the “boys” to turn them into lamps

On these little night stands from Dovetail Furniture

What do you think? Any suggestions?

Kitchen Completion and Beautiful Art

It was a long weekend for Colin, Lauren, Steve and  I.  I apologize.  I was tired when these pictures were taken.  The kitchen is done except for a few finishing touches.  I am now looking forward to gathering friends and family to enjoy it!  Here is a shot of the bar before with Colin working on it



Here is what it looks like now with  those fabulous Wisteria stools




I am even loving the countertops now that all is complete. I like the chalky textural look of them.



Here is a photo of the "cows" with some vintage shutters that I purchased from Capitol Salvage



Here is a sampling of some beautiful paintings from my friend and wonderful artist  Pat Huber
If you stay at Villa Cantina you can view and/or purchase some of her work.  You can also go to her website at pathuberfineart.com to view all of her current offerings.

Here is a sampling of her work.  I am coveting this one

I can see it right here

  I check her website weekly so I can drool over her latest works.  I love this one of Moss Landing Harbor as well

                                                   
  And this one....





 This vineyard painting found a home in our wine room at home.  She has many lovely vineyard paintings on her website




 And this painting is of our beloved dog Bridger who passed away this past year






 I will leave you with her beautiful paintings I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
.

Kitchen Progress and More Great Wine

My adorable, talented,  industrious, hardworking daughter took three days off and helped me tackle the kitchen cabinetry



Here is what they looked like before.  Not only is this finish ugly it has absolutely no relation to the rest of the house. It doesn’t appear anywhere . The beautiful mahogany doors (I will post a pic later) are stained a dark walnut.








Here are a couple of  after pics












We applied a light coat of Ebony Briwax with a brush  over the cupboards and the hinges.  We then dry brushed it off.  Finally we  rubbed with OOOO  steel wool until the desired finish was achieved.  Later apply a couple coats of clear briwax  and buff heartily for a tougher finish.  Hopefully I will finish the kitchen this weekend so I can post some final pics next week.  I think we achieved a richer more custom look.  What do you think?

Meanwhile drop by and visit another of our favorite Paso wineries Booker.

 

Booker Vineyard is located on Paso Robles' Westside. They produce mostly Rhone varietals. The name Booker comes from the two orphan brothers Claude and Dick Booker who had owned the land, as well as hundreds more acres on Paso's Westside. The Booker brothers were Paso's favorite sons, dedicating their lives to being great farmers and humanitarians. Aside from lending their farming knowledge and manual labor to neighbors and those in need, they were the area's biggest philanthropists, leaving 100% of their estate to charity when they passed.
After making wine with Justin Smith for five years and Stephan Asseo for two years the Eric Jensen decided it to create his own wine with Booker Vineyard. The 2005 Vintage was Booker Vineyards first release. The esteemed Robert Parker said  of the debut  vintage that the "wines were impeccable right out of the gate".  The Wine Spectator describes their wines as “stylish…brimming with ripe fruit flavors” Both Parker and the Spectator awarded all of their wines 90 points or more.
According to their website they bottle "50% of our wines after 18 months, with the rest going roughly 30 months in oak prior to bottling. The two exceptions are Grenache, which gets bottled after 18 months and the white which is bottled after a year of aging."







They honestly do not make a bad wine.  You can't say that about many wineries, particularly such a young one. If you would like to purchase some of their wines go to bookerwines.com and join the wine club.   They sell out quickly. Their tasting room is open Friday through Sunday 11-4.  We just found them last fall and are huge fans.

Cheers