We have five weeks left until our first wedding. What do you think would be a perfect addition to a wedding venue?

The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion was built for Edward “Ned” Doheny, Jr., and his family, including five children. A gift from his oil tycoon father, the home cost over $3 million to build in 1928. Doheny Sr. was a major character in the Teapot Dome scandal. (Before the Watergate scandal, Teapot Dome was regarded as the “greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics”.)

Would you enjoy a mural like this in your home? The satin headboard and Lucite pillars seem more Hollywood than Beverly Hills. What do you think?

I’d like to create a lamp with crystals like this.

What kid, any age, wouldn’t love this musical hideaway/bed?

This was my favorite takeaway from the home tour. I’m going to frame my Main Bedroom TV.

Would you like to read more about creating a magnificent home without spending a lot of money? Check out Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design!

The clever spa design takes full advantage of the view setting overlooking the Los Angeles basin to the ocean.

All of this will be featured in an upcoming Joy TV special “Joy to the Home” series.

No matter how many times I have updated the following photobucket slideshow, it still doesn’t delete deleted slides or show the titles.

1. Countertop Choices
   I always preferred plain, simple countertops because kitchens get so cluttered. There’s no way I’m taking out the special granite (I believe Brazilian Bianco Antico) counters with gold sparkles which came with my home. After a few months of keeping the countertops cleared off except for a few strategically placed useful accessories, I’ve fallen in love with the busy pattern. Since we used the plain cream limestone counters in the party kitchen, I’m happy with the pattern balance.
2. Drawers vs. Cabinets
   If you could take away my lower shelf cabinets and replace them with drawers, I would be pleased. Drawers provide easy access without bending and reaching from an uncomfortable angle. I’m grateful for the KraftMaid large drawers next to the cooking area.
3. Green Kitchen Lifestyle
   It’s not clear why the kitchen designer put in a pull out and up shelf. It’s totally perfect for our Vitamix Green Smoothie machine. Since we eat mostly fresh garden foods and don’t require a separate electric deep freeze, KraftMaid’s Multi-Storage Pantry and Double Waste Basket systems make the most sense for the ugly space.
4. Multiple Kitchen Rooms
   Because we don’t store packaged or canned foods, we turned the large pantry space into a party kitchen with an extra dishwasher and a deep, deep sink. There is a mud room used for small hand tools, garden supplies and a hallway with a water pipe waiting for an ice machine and more cabinets. (I still have boxes and bins full of kitchen pottery to unpack.) The Design Psychology update for me is the idea of separate rooms in a perfect kitchen. During a party, you can load up the “dirty kitchen” and close the door.
5. Growing Up with Color Psychology
   This kitchen, painted the same buttery yellow as our Florida 1878 Queen Anne Victorian home where I discovered Design Psychology in 1986, has taught me about color combinations. My color preference change? Expresso cabinets. I’ve grown from loving Golden Oak to loving rich dark cabinets and walnut flooring.

Our Victorian Florida home surrounded by the butter yellow walls in our new home.

One Wabi Sabi observation… While most faucets were stripped, the kitchen came with an oiled bronze faucet. A gold plated faucet purchased with many items off craigslist, fits the bar sink perfectly and sets off the antique fruit framed eagle mirror. Using what we have… mixing metals, iron, stainless, gold, bronze, and nickel feels just right!

What is the ONE thing you can’t live without in your kitchen?

More about Wabi Sabi.

When my friends Leslie and Carrie asked me to help design an imaginary home for Prince William and Kate as part of a event happening near my home, I wanted to join the FUN! Imagine designing a home with no budget, with no thoughts on environmental impact, with no real work–just design pleasure.

As I post this fun daydream design details this week, I will keep in mind my basic design psychology beliefs, our Earth’s safekeeping, and blend style, form, function, and JOY into the Home.

I do call my home my castle. The gold chandelier, a second-hand purchase reportedly came from a $20million estate sale. You can furnish your home with extravagant fun on a budget.

Have fun with me and post your ideas as we explore luxury without limits.

Joy!
Jeanette

When I thought about what my family has been through over the past six years, I realized we were given a piece of heaven to enjoy, to refresh our spirit and soul, and to share grace with our family, friends, and acquaintances.

The house was striped of lighting, heating, air conditioning, sinks, all doorknobs, dishwasher, garbage disposal, hot water tanks and more. The dirt road is impossible to pass on rainy days without four wheel drive. We have so much work to do. This property needed us to rescue it just as much as I need a project home to rescue me.

This is the last of a series of dream homes I have been fortunate enough to have lived in. This is not the largest, the grandest, or most valuable of houses. I gave up other homes for many reasons before I wanted to leave. In the eighties, we owned an oceanfront home in Newport Beach we had to give up for hospital bills. After numerous moves, I got to live in a Florida Victorian mansion for ten years. Later, I cried for months after leaving a riverfront estate to move back to California for our daughter’s health.

It always seemed that as soon as I got a house the way I wanted it, I had to leave. I don’t plan on moving again, but you never know what life gives you. Living every day in a home full of love, light, and laughter is all that matters. The house can be magnificent, but without family and friends to share, what difference does it make?

I hope you gain some insight into designing your home for happiness from this blog. Joy to YOUR home.

Celebrate everyday life by adding glamor, elegance, and excitement to a shared meal.  These seven dining room ideas help you create a joy filled memory.

1. Dining Table Shapes

Less formal round dining tables enable full conversations, with everyone participating. Without a head to the table, guests feel important–treated more respectfully.

If you have an oval or rectangular shaped table, consider placing guests at the head of the table or honoring a child for good behavior occasionally.

2. Dining Table Coverings

Dark wood absorbs light for intimate dining, keeping the room moody and romantic. Simply changing the colors and textures for the season or occasion makes each meal seem more festive and important. White and light colored tablecloths reflect light upwards providing more illumination for large parties.

Eye-catching tissue lame fabric never fails to impress with its tiny pattern of metallic hexagrams shimmering and rippling like flowing liquid. Gold or silver lame fabric sparkles under lace tablecloths.

3. Seating for Longer Conversations

For comfortable dining, the seat height feels best when it is nine inches from the tabletop. Padded seats invite leisurely dining. Compare soft to hard seats purposely used in fast food restaurants where management wants you to eat and leave.

Placing dining chairs close together makes some feel uncomfortable with little personal space; however, touching elbows and knees gives your sense of touch pleasure and spurs feelings of bonding, especially good for families… or groups you want to work together.

4. Glass and Crystal Sparkles

Stemware gives a buoyant, bubbly, and upbeat feeling. Heavy cut glass, even for young families (liquids taste better in glass than in plastic), encourages manners by teaching carefulness, with proper, polite, and refined behaviors.

5. Fine Tableware

Fine tableware creates memories and traditions that last a lifetime. I’ve found delightful porcelain china dinnerware designed to instill an impact at thrift stores and yard sales. Besides being fun to play house with, alternating tableware and decorations makes every meal unique.

6. Surprise Ornamentation

Take a look at your decorations and accessories around your home. Have fun mixing a favorite trinket, figurine, sculpture, mirror, icon, jewelry…

7. Luminous Lighting

When people feel pretty, they feel happier. Soft lighting enhances beauty and makes eyes stand out. Avoid florescent lighting during daylight dining. Opt for light bulbs designed to replicate natural daylight, frequently labeled full spectrum, light bulbs which produce light similar to the bluish-white tint seen by the human eye. Decorative lighting and candlelight make an ordinary meal taste scrumptious.

Live life fully. Celebrate the joys of dining with your friends and family!

My Twitter friend, Caroline Di Diego, AKA @CASUDI, started a great dialog on architectural kitchen design. She invites you to share your kitchen in ”show & tell” format.

This is the current scene as I write this post early Saturday evening. My kitchen has two islands, an antique bar corner, a pool table, a fireplace, and a TV. Most people call this a great room. We call it the kitchen.

college kids playing

My mother Jayne St John’s easel is also in the kitchen.

I didn’t design my new kitchen. Since some of the pieces were missing in the bank-owned unfinished home, I did get to add my design ideas. We’re still working on the kitchen; you will see holes where features like warming drawers go. At least I got to specify the absolute quiet dishwasher and garbage disposal. (Sleek Frigidaire Professional from Lowe’s… already did the two drawer expensive mistake.)

The antique bar and mirror with fruit frame are from our Florida Victorian home; light from Istanbul. Bringing my furnishings with me keeps me from missing my former homes.

I’ll take better photos soon.  The kitchen is a work of art in progress. I love the walnut flooring, the busy sparkling granite, the self-closing drawers, the view… We still need to decide about a pantry versus a sub-zero freezer, a warming drawer, a pot filler, and a 48″ stove.

Stone sink

Another amazing coincidence about this house, I have a photo on an old interior design website of a similar sink I liked!

I did get to design the “dirty kitchen” which has a larger sink and a second dishwasher.

A shelf has been added under the cabinet; mirrors and iron baker’s racks coming.

What would you put in your dream kitchen?

Joy to your kitchen!