Interior Design and Beautiful Things
Sometimes when I wake up I’m hit with a wave of melancholy that comes out of nowhere. I stare out my bedroom window and watch the clouds go lazily by and I get this sense of anxiety about how much of the world is out there and how much I have yet to see and how many people I have yet to meet and…It’s hard to come back down to earth and center myself on the things that matter right now, today.
Today an artist friend stopped by in hopes of brightening her mood. Although the weather is gorgeous, and things are relatively okay, things just seemed a little overwhelming and out of nowhere the dread crept in. I’m happy we were here for her to lose herself in. I have those days. When nothing feels “right” and I start to despair, I try to surround myself with people and things that I know make me feel safe, warm, and in a beautiful place – emotionally and physically.
This time of year, when the evenings are still warm and the sun doesn’t set right away, I like to sit in the garden and observe the life outside. It’s tiny joys like this that can lift my spirits, put things back in perspective, and give me the energy to try again tomorrow.
One of the things I most enjoy about floral design is coming up with unexpected arrangements. I have always had a little love affair with the baby artichoke as used in floral design but only recently decided that it is perfectly married to the hydrangea. Combining the two in a striking blue and white Chinese vase and popping in some blue berries and meadow grass made the whole thing feel kind of otherworldly to me. Something I would have on my own mantel or dressing table. I don’t tend to veer toward arrangements that are too soft or feminine. I like them to be weird. That’s really my number one criteria. If it’s pretty and weird, I’m sure to love it.
As I do each year, I am working on ways to keep the Apartment 46 boutique fresh and updated. I’ve been repainting trim, re-arranging (which you know I am obsessed with), and I’ve finally decided that yes, friends, I will be painting words on the awning outside the store – finally!
The other day I was out scouting for new things for the shop when I found this rather disgusting beaded floral arrangement in an even uglier container. Weird then, that it would fascinate me the way that it did. I pulled the arrangement out of it’s strange bowl and realized that if I took the time to pull the whole arrangement apart, I’d have a gorgeous bunch of unique handmade treasure to offer! I brought it here and painstakingly fixed, cleaned and reassembled each lovely bunch of blossoms. It was then that I realized how much time must have gone into making each one of them. They are really stunning, and would be so beautiful in a group or singularly used in a small vignette, tied with a ribbon to a gift, in a small bottle, or just sitting next to something special in your home.
As usual we’ve been up to loads of creative things – finishing gardens, furniture restoration, art projects, preparing for Miranda’s 16th birthday, attending the Lady Gaga concert, curating for the shop – I have to say, it looks and smells beautiful in our design studio!
This page contains a collection of images that highlight the kind of interior design work that I do. I strive to create an environment that uniquely suits the client’s style and budget. Whether it’s choosing whimsical art or personalizing an en-suite bath, providing a warm, inviting place to begin and end each day is of primary importance to me. Please check back as I will be adding to this page periodically.
“Melisa is a creative genius when it comes to both garden and interior design. If I could have her on permanent retainer I would!
Jenny Perez, Hillsborough, CA
I disassembled, re-painted and re-purposed an oversize kitchen china hutch as a console that now serves as a bar area for the family when entertaining, and an ever-changing art gallery for the couple’s two young children.
Vintage liquor bottles and jars hold an assortment of whimsical treasure.
Placed in a kitchen nook, an antique desk and chair, along with groupings of vintage jars, make up the daughter’s art table where she draws, paints, and creates on a daily basis.
The living room built-in was stocked with vintage and antique finds as an homage to an elegant curiosity cabinet.
The children frequently add and subtract items they collect from the antique chemistry jars.
As a break from the usual redwood bench or wicker chairs, I used vintage Italian aluminum bistro chairs and a weathered antique table on the front porch.
In collaboration with the Iudicellos, I chose these two acrylic paintings for the kitchen wall from a local gallery featuring San Francisco Bay Area artists.
“With other designers, I feel like you buy into their look and it’s their way or nothing. With Melisa, I never once felt like she was giving us “Option B” from an A-E set of designs. Frankly, I don’t know if her mind even works that way…her view of the world is completely custom-tailored to the space and the people.”
Lara McCullough, San Mateo, CA
Guest Bathroom
The guest bath was overhauled to give it a seaside cottage feel. I stripped the giant plate glass mirrors off of two walls, repaired, textured and painted the walls and had new glass put in a 1960’s wall mirror to use as the vanity.
Vintage accessories and finds add interest to the small space.
The vintage Lucite clam-shell was perfect for the owners’ monogrammed face towels.
The custom medicine cabinet door was made from a weathered, salvaged shutter.
The name of this blog is actually an homage to my favorite bakery in the whole world, Sweet Inspiration, in SF. There is nothing that a slice of their poppy seed cream cheese cake can’t solve – broken hearts, back taxes, lack of lovin’ – whatever it may be, they have a slice of cake for that! So on the subject of having something for everyone’s everything, I just came off of a full-throttle month of creativity that saw me making and buying new jewelry, painting furniture, sewing pillows, drawing garden plans and re-arranging the store.
One day it’s raining here in San Mateo, the next it’s 80 degrees. It’s been a strange season to navigate and prepare for. When the weather turns warm, I usually stock the shop with flowers that can withstand the heat. I don’t have a floral cooler here and I honestly wouldn’t want one. The reality is that if you take an arrangement from a floral cooler and bring it to your house – which is clearly room temperature (whatever that may be) – it’s a shock to the flowers. From here they go from normal to normal.
When it comes to fantasies, one of my biggest is to own anything at all by Solange Azagury-Partridge. Her designs are so singular and lush that I have been tearing out ads and images for as long as she’s been making gorgeous things to wear. Edgy, odd, dark, and completely playful, she’s my kind of gal! Why would I write about jewelry in my home design blog you may ask? Well if it’s cool and beautiful, I want it.
