chitecturaldigest.com/decor/2014-06/scott-mitchell-kurt-rappaport-los-angeles-home-slideshow
Hydrangea laden beauty by Vic Brotherson of Scarlet & Violet
Plum Branches by Nicolette Owen
Anenomes, highlighted by Lilac, Dill, Eucalyptus, Veronica, Phlox and Alchemilla Mollis.
Kumquats and paperwhites featured in an antique milk container. Arrangement Nicolette Owen.
Narcissi and hyancinths in a wine crate by Willow Crossley.
A few weeks ago I wrote about a hardwood flooring that is reinventing the control of air quality in your home. Activated by light and air movement, this super smart floor apparently can convert the toxins normally found in your home into harmless water vapor and cardon dioxide. Well I just found their counter part for the kitchen!
While I originally chose this kitchen to highlight because of the mixture of style and components, primarily the old reclaimed wood ceiling with the modern glass tiles and stainless appliances, once I began to read about the designer Sheryl Schey, a principal at White Picket Fence in Santa Monica, and her philosophies I became interested in her selection of the Silestone natural quartz counter-top she used on the island.
How do you thank a woman for being your friend, protector, supervisor, guidance counselor, stylist, and above all overseer, aka, Mom….you make her a strawberry tart with a marzipan cake and a sugar cookie pastry….of course flowers are always welcome!
Ingredients
1/3 recipe sugar dough, recipe follow
1/2 pound unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Cassis
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups ground almonds
1/4 cup currant jelly, melted
2 baskets strawberries, green tops cut off flat
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.On a floured surface, roll the pastry 3/8-inch thick and line a 10-inch flan ring with it. Place the ring on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill it until needed.Cream the butter and sugar lightly in an electric mixer; don’t let the butter get too soft. Add the eggs and mix lightly. Stir in the liqueur, and almond extract, then mix in the ground almonds. Pour into the chilled pastry shell and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Brush the top of the tart with the currant jelly. Arrange the strawberries cut side down on the tart. Remove the flan ring and transfer the tart to a flat serving platter. Cut into wedges.
Sugar Cookie Dough:
2 sticks butter, slightly softened
3 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 – 2 tablespoon heavy cream
Cut the butter into large pieces and place in the food processor with the flour, salt, and sugar. Mix until just incorporated. Add the egg yolk and cream, continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough, flatten, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Before any Home purchase buyers review and digest the copious amount of paperwork generated by the seller to try to fully explain what is currently known about the home they are selling. When going over Home Inspections there are invariably issues that are highlighted in the reports. Regularly I am asked what the costs for repair and replacement of some of these items are. As anyone who has purchased a home knows, the costs for fixing “what’s wrong with the house” does not come in the disclosure packet, only what needs fixing! Here I have consulted an article written by Chris Deziel explaining the approximate costs for repairing double paned windows. Either due to age or seal failure glass can become cloudy or show condensation.
“After years of exposure to rain, sun and condensation, and if you want more sunlight in the house, it may be worth the expense of replacing it. You’ll probably want to know what that expense is before you go ahead with the project, however, and that depends on several factors. They include the size of the pane, the kind of glass you want to use and the style of your window.
The base price for float glass, which is clear window glass, is about $12 per square foot in 2013, and the price increases with every feature you add. Tinting adds from $5 to $7 per square foot, tempering adds about $2. Double pane glass is priced separately. If you add the cost of the glazing compound and caulk, the cost to replace a 2-by-2-foot pane of glass would range from about $60 for a clear pane to about $100 for a tinted pane of tempered glass. Don’t forget to allow money for paint if you have to make repairs to the frame. Labor costs vary, so get several quotes before you hire a contractor. In all, you should probably expect to pay between $300 to $700 if you choose not to do the job yourself.”
Now if you would like to replace the windows yourself. He provides a step by step process in his article published in SF Gate.
Photo by Susan Gilmore.