Candyland

April 30, 2024 by Taneal Landucci

A Candyland party theme is perfect for all ages and delightfully simple to decorate for, especially in the spring when sweet-styled pool floats abound in stores. We discovered giant sprinkle donuts at Target, adding an extra touch of whimsy to the décor. To infuse even more charm into the ambiance, we repurposed emptied candy boxes to create a festive garland and suspended them from the chandelier. The candy from these boxes doubled as party treats and was elegantly displayed in small glass jars, adding a delectable finishing touch to the celebration.

Strawberry Donut Pool Float Bright Pink

Candyland Instagram

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Inspiration

For the Love of Bunnies

March 26, 2021 by Taneal Landucci in decorating, Celebrations

This Easter, with spring cleaning in mind, I decided to go through my bins and only use Easter Décor from the past to decorate our home. It is always fun to go through holiday bins and pick up a piece that floods your memory with sweet past moments. When my children were little, my husband owned a few local pet stores. Throughout this adventure, my kids were constantly bringing home new pets every time they would have a “go to work with Dad day”. We ended up with a few permanent pet residences and one permanent pet was our bunny Floppsy. We eventually decided to find him a mate and they made the sweetest little bunnies. Floppsy and his little family is a shared memory that is cherished by all of my family. I think subconsciously, this must be why I have collected so many bunnies over the years.

Luckily, Easter dreams were made for bunnies and my personal collection of Floppsy inspired decorations easily brought our home into spring and ready for Easter.

To kick off, I kept my bright green ferns and incorporated a bright and hoppity spring centerpiece.

Keeping in the spirit of family traditions and memories, I have my Madonna Inn glasses in spring colors on display.

In the spirit of re-use, I took the entryway branch and turned it horizontal between the two pendant lights above the dining table.

DSCF4787 (1).jpg — I hung Christopher Radko ornaments from our center branch; special gifts from my past that bring back such fond memories.

While there isn’t a style board this week to share, check out our gallery of bunnies and fresh spring flowers that are brightening up our home for Easter. A sprinkle of nature, family traditions, and memories intertwined.

Celebrating the Spirit of Life and Traditions

March 17, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

This week, we had the opportunity to throw a party and celebrate our dear friend’s 85th Birthday. Don has the brightest personality of anyone on earth, so we celebrated him with bright colors and his favorite taco dishes.

Rainbows are not just for St. Patrick's Day, they are a wonderful addition to many parties.

Drinks: We love matching our drinks to our party theme. For Don's party we used Jarritos to add yummy flavor and lots of color.

Colorful fresh cut spring flowers lined our tables.

Family Traditions

Let's talk about glasses. In our family we are three generations into collecting Madonna Inn glasses. These colorful glasses come in every color of the rainbow and they are a great addition to any dining table. My mother was born in the south and raised with southern roots and traditions. As I have shared my love for traditions, I also love traditional pieces that can be passed down. - KAR

"Exclusive to the Madonna Inn, these dishwasher-safe, jewel-toned goblets come in almost every color imaginable and are widely popular. Alex Madonna personally designed our glass mold to go with the pink floral patterned carpet in Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House. "
https://www.shopmadonnainn.com/goblets

Style Board of the Week

We love clients that are brave enough to love in color. This week’s style board is for those that love to be surrounded by bold and rich colors in their homes.

Green Glamour

March 03, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

St. Patrick’s Day can easily be a holiday you skip over when you’re transitioning out of the pinks and reds from Valentine’s Day, and start thinking about Easter. If you choose to add a little luck by decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, you can easily overwhelm your space with an explosion of green and gold. For a sophisticated approach to decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, Kim walks us through her home and her small touches that bring lots of luck.

The first thing you’ll see in the entryway are simple spring branches with white flowers that are a great transition arrangement from winter to spring. Hanging glittering shamrocks adds a small touch of luck that doesn’t overwhelm the room.

In the formal dining room, a stained glass shamrock adds just a simple touch of green amongst another arrangement of spring branches with delicate flowers.

This three tiered pewter tray is a staple in our kitchen where everyone gathers, and it’s an easy versatile piece to make the centerpiece of our space. Antique green glass and this tea set bring the comfort of history and memories, while green apples, succulents and daisies add the touch of green and spring indoors.

Glittering branches from February were swapped out for fresh large Boston ferns to welcome in the spring.

This Italian ceramic slipper is a small touch that doesn’t take away from lush greens of the ferns, but is a simple statement piece for the mantel.

We are ready for corned beef and cabbage with this cozy dining set up by the fire. Touches of green glass and gold utensils keep the theme of St. Patrick’s Day, while welcoming spring with delicate daisy bouquets.

Our style boards for the week include elegant touches of green and gold that you can bring into the home as accent or statement pieces:

A Danish Escape in California

February 22, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

Are you itching to travel far and wide again? For those desperate to leave the country, or just needed a new adventure look no further than Solvang, California. Solvang is roughly four hours from the Bay Area and closer than Santa Barbara.

Solvang is a Danish town established in 1911 surrounded by green rolling hills this time of year. The picturesque town is covered with Danish architecture, boutiques, fabulous food and has great accommodations. Kim and I have made many stops in Solvang throughout the years and it is our go to place to buy our clogs!

Solvang can be a great stop on a longer road trip, a place to find design inspiration, a destination escape for a girls trip, couples trip, or a fun adventure for the whole family. Check out our tips and style board to plan your next trip, or redesign.

It’s all in the details everywhere you look.

If you are planning your first trip to Solvang, here are some of our favorite stops:

Clog Shoes

Solvang Shoe Store ~
You can't miss it, because it has a giant clog in front of the store. It has been there a very long time, since I have pictures as a little girl posing next to the clog.

Stay

Hotel Corque ~
This hotel was fabulous and their new updated Danish inspired interior design was warm and welcoming.

Treats

The Solvang Bakery ~
They have authentic Danish pastries and a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy them in.

Family Fun

Stop into Surrey Cycle Rentals and take the family for a ride the Danish way - on bikes!

Design Store

Copenhagen House ~
Find great Danish and Scandinavian design touches to make your home hygge.

Children’s Store

ONEderChild ~
With their motto being ONE Life, ONE Love, ONE Community, its hard not to love this store. Kids and adults alike will have a hard time escaping the fun in this store.

I love that the center point of Danish Design revolves around the word hygge, which translates to an atmosphere of warmth and comfort. Don't we all want our homes to feel that way? If you are wanting to add a little Danish Style into your home here's a few tips to help you.

1) Candles - Light your home with multiple candles for a warm glow. Pro Tip: when lighting multiple candles, consider going scentless as to not overwhelm your senses.

2) Find simple light fixtures that emanate warm light.

3) Keep your lines simple and clean.

4) Keep open space throughout your home.

5) Minimalistic furniture.

Here is our take on Danish Design

Big Living in a Small Space

February 15, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

Finding the perfect home can sometimes mean giving up style for space or vice versa. However, finding a house with the right bones can give you the opportunity to transform it into the perfect home for your family. We were able to work with a family who had found a house with the right bones, but needed some help turning it into their perfect home. They wanted the comforts of a traditional California Grand home, while staying within the original 1500sqft footprint. We highlighted their passion for cooking and entertaining by making sure to give them a functional kitchen with an oversized island and embraced their desire for an open concept floorplan that would give them the flow and space to entertain larger groups and accommodate their growing family.

To achieve the look they wanted, a large load bearing wall was removed, opening up the kitchen to the family room. The home originally had a mix of tile, linoleum and dark wood floors throughout the home that divided the spaces. To bring the open concept together, we replaced the floors with large planked wood floors throughout the house. With the addition of skylights, we turned the original divided and sectioned off spaces into an open welcoming bright home that invites you to relax and spread out.

Check out the gallery of before and after to see the transition from divided spaces to open floor plan.

With the mild Northern California weather, it’s easy to utilize your backyard to add more to your footprint with an outdoor living space. With the renovations to open the floor plan, they lost their indoor fireplace, so one was added to the covered outdoor patio in their backyard. The L-shaped sectional is perfect for large gatherings and giving everyone a good seat by the fire. The warm wood ceilings of the covered patio and the custom fireplace creates an inviting extension of their home into the outdoors.

The family sofa was from Bassett Furniture.

To find the right cabinets for the home, we ended up traveling to Utah to work with Wallace Woodworks.

Heels or Slippers this Valentine's Day?

February 08, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays, not just because I am a hopeless romantic, but because it is a day, that can turn into a week, that can be an all month celebration of love. Valentine’s Day holds treasured family memories. Being the first grandchild on both sides of my family, Valentine’s Day became a day where I was not only showered with treats, but also surrounded by love. One my favorite traditions as a child was with my mother, who was a great seamstress. We would go down to the dime store and purchase Valentines fabric and she would make me a new dress to wear every year. That special tradition along with the love from my family made me think that it must have been my holiday. These traditions and the feeling of comfort and love is why I enjoy sharing and celebrating this holiday with everyone.

<3 Kim

Here are my TOP 5 favorite things about Valentine’s Day this year:

1) Homemade chocolate strawberries with toasted pecans.

2) Soft pink sheets for my bed. Sheets are a wonderful way to bring a new color into your room.

3) Tulips for the month of February. I know most people think of roses, but I love filling my home with in season tulips.

4) Valentine's Pajamas. I love these silky Kate Spade jammies, that make me feel completely in season.

5) Fur slippers. They are incredibly comfortable and make me smile every time I see my feet.

PS. In case you’re wondering which one I will be wearing this Valentine’s between heels and slippers, the answer is comfortable and fabulous slippers.

Valentine's Day at Crowned Cottage

February 01, 2021 by Taneal Landucci in Crowned Cottage

Children make celebrating and setting up for Valentine’s Day a lot of fun. At Crowned Cottage, where ‘anytime’ is the perfect time for a tea party, my kids give me all the reasons to transform our home for the holiday filled with hugs and kisses (both literal and in candy form). The kids love to make cards, crafts, delicious treats, and the girls love to have daily tea parties. Decorating our home for Valentine’s Day often means bringing out heirloom pieces filled with memories, and delicate but still kid friendly décor.

With three young children in our home, I only have time for quick and easy table settings, that also make for quick and easy clean up. Since every day is a good day for a tea party, and in our house we always find a reason to celebrate, here are some quick tips and tricks to decorate your home and celebrate this sweet holiday.

<3 TRL

Heirlooms - I am very transient when it comes to art. I like to rotate pieces throughout the year. These six pieces were given to me by my Aunt, they are pictures of Savannah, Georgia that she had purchased from a local artist during a trip.

Utilizing art brings a classic and often subtle touch to decorating for a specific holiday. The pictures and painting that hang have hews of pink, so it reminds me of Valentine’s Day and my Aunt. .

During Valentine’s Day I always like to take out and admire my teacup collection but because of little hands I like to display things very high.

While decorating for Christmas, I used fishing line to hang stars over our dining table. I made a really easy transition by leaving the line, taking down the stars and hanging hearts in their place. I used a shuttle ombré pattern to add more dimension.

If you don’t have a lot of surface space for décor, banners are the way to go for decorating for holidays.

Sometimes one banner is too small of a scale for a wall. Like in this case, try layering multiple banners to allow it to take up the right amount of space.

To add a dramatic change and some color I highly recommend a table cloth with chargers. In my opinion, tablecloths don’t seem to have a finished look without chargers.

I also often use a variety of vases and spread them out on the middle of the table. Vases and flowers add height and color and really give the table the perfect finishing touch.

**Trade tip:** If you buy a cake with fruit on the top - it’s best to take off the berries and add fresh ones right before your party starts.

There is always time for a tea party at the Crowned Cottage.

In the Company of Good Books

January 25, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

I just love my grownup picture books! I read them from cover to cover and as I read I soak up not only the words but the pictures. In a way it’s a type of study for designers where we learn and grow and create through what has inspired us. In every room in my house you will find my favorite books on display. I continually change them in and out as I revisit them and their inspirations. When I entertain I like to leave a variety of my books stacked and opened in various ways on my coffee table. I love seeing others pick up my books and love and feel inspired by what they see. ~TRL

**My Stylish French Girlfriends-** This book was given to me by one of my clients. I read it cover to cover on a road trip to Santa Barbara and found it absolutely fascinating. The book is about real women of different ages at different times of life that are celebrating passionate lifestyles. The author mentions in the beginning of the book that all of her friends wanted to be represented in their most natural way and they requested to not be touched up. What a breath of fresh air, right!? I loved that through their words the became even more real to me. These women all live authentic lifestyles. When we are honest with who we really are and what we really love we can then figure out how to love the life we live. This book was like going on vacation for me. Each of these women I find very inspiring and I would love to meet each one. ***~KAR***

**Starting a Collection:** We have found many books in bookstores, but always have the greatest success in little boutiques. When we travel we always keep our eyes open for a book to take home as a souvenir. Our suggestion for you is to look for books that inspire you and bring you joy. A book that is a keeper should sing to you in the first few pages.

Kim’s Favorite Books: My Stylish French Girlfriends, by Sharon Santoni, and Soiree, by Danielle Rollins

Click Here to View My Stylish French Girlfriends

Click Here to view Soiree

Taneal’s Favorite Books: Slim Aarons’, Once Upon a Time and Reese Witherspoon’s, Whiskey in a Teacup

Click Here to view Whiskey in a teacup

Click Here to view Once Upon a time

A Royal Birthday

January 18, 2021 by Taneal Landucci in Celebrations

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to stay at a palatial estate on the water and celebrate Taneal’s birthday. Keeping the gathering small and intimate, we were able to utilize the space to throw a royal soiree fit for a queen (and a few little princesses). Hosting smaller parties gives more opportunity to have a more personalized experience and a sprinkle of magic that can often get lost in bigger celebrations. Here are our top 3 party tips to throwing a fabulous soiree:

Plan to your venue! Whether it is a park, your dining room, or a vacation rental, your venue gives you the stage to set your creativity free. Catering to your venue opens up a better understanding of how you will entertain guests and bring everyone’s imagination to life.
Find your theme. Themes not only inspire our menus, but also can also whisk away guests to new destinations, from a night in Monte Carlo, to a tropical luau, to a royal gathering of Kings and Queens, themes transform the ordinary into extraordinary. With small intimate gatherings, themes also give your guests an escape to dress up, become new characters, and play the part in your magical world. We think that themed parties are just what this year needs to be new and exciting.
Highlight your foods, because it’s all about the food! With small parties, you have a little more freedom to really get creative with your menu. For our Royal Birthday Party, we found all of our recipes from the latest addition of Southern Lady Magazine. Our menu consisted of:

Orange and Radicchio Salad
Wine-Braised Short Ribs
Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan

We hope these tips help you take your next soiree to new heights.

Cheers, Kim & Taneal

Modernizing

January 11, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

This project was a creative collaboration with a client that was seeking a modern update to their home. Their children had moved out and they were ready to transform their space to reflect this new era in their life. They wanted their home to feel like a vacation and remind them of places they had stayed while traveling. We did a wide plank beautiful matte hardwood throughout the entire home. For color we used a reverse technique and made the baseboards, casings, and molding darker than the wall color. The homeowner wanted a neutral palette where they could add in pops of colors during different seasons.

Before & After

Home Rejuvenation

January 04, 2021 by Taneal Landucci

When the Christmas season is over and decorations come down, our homes can start to feel bare. January, is a great time for us to plan, dream and rejuvenate our home for the year ahead. One of the quickest ways to bring life back into your home is by adding greenery. We love to visit our local nurseries in the new year and find a plant or two to bring home.

Here is a list of plants that we personally love to bring into the home:

Fiddly Fig - It’s a great window plant and likes lots of sun. This low maintenance tree only needs to be watered once a week.
Grape Ivy - This plant is featured in the French hanging basket in the pictures and is a great accent plant. This plant is very hardy and does well with minimal light, often thriving in spaces with just a sky light or small window.
Maidenhair Fern - The Maidenhair can easily be the featured plant within your home. The Maidenhair fern does well in a kitchen windows and with lots of water to thrive.
Succulents - Succulents are great low maintenance centerpieces for your dining or coffee table. It will not survive without sunlight, however they will last for two to three months indoors. Just remember to bring it to a window every so often to soak up some rays.

We went to our local nursery to get inspiration on pot colors. Our recommendation for potting plants indoors is to keep your color palate in the same tones. It will help give your home a cohesive feel.

Design Reflections

December 27, 2020 by Taneal Landucci

As soon as Christmas is over, we go into a time of reflection on the year that has passed and goals for the year ahead. 2020 started off busy, juggling family and client projects, but in March, everything changed as we pivoted to a virtual environment to accommodate county-wide orders to shelter in place. As months went on, as we integrated back to face-to-face client work, we found that many clients were needing new design inspirations after living differently in their homes. Although this year has brought many challenges, one thing that we have grown to love with new appreciation is living close to each other and working together. As we count down the last days of the year, we reflect on the simple ways we found joy this year and look forward to inspiring your design goals for the year ahead.

We wish you all a Happy New Year!

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Need quick themed table décor? Utilize wrapping paper as a table runner!

Mixing pink with earth tones brought warmth to our Galentine’s Tea Party.

I love creating designs for my children and seeing how it inspires them to use their imagination. These Valentine’s flamingos were a hit with my kids.

MARCH

We tried something new this year and created our first balloon arch!

St. Patrick’s Day decorations can be subtle and classy with rainbow link streamers and gold accents.

APRIL

Spreading Kindness throughout our neighborhood as we all adjusted to new challenges.

Just like we dress up our tables.. We also love to dress up our babies!

We brought Hawaii into our home to celebrate a special birthday. Bright colors made everything more festive as we welcomed spring and celebrated Capri.

MAY

Mother’s Day decorations can be simple and sweet so the main attraction can be the women you’re celebrating.

JUNE

“Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.” ~Al Bernstein”

JULY

Kim’s Birthday! It’s always fun to dress up a simple park table with a colorful cloth.

AUGUST

We all have been dreaming of travel this year, so a travel theme fit 2020 like a glove!

A lot of things had to change this year, including plans for a big wedding. We were able to accommodate the shift from a large reception in the woods to a small intimate dinner in Kim’s backyard without sacrificing the bride’s vision.

SEPTEMBER

We love to bring tablecloths and other small accessories along when we are traveling to make our rentals feel extra special.

Our little Wynsor turned 2 with a kitty cat and puppy dog party.

When throwing parties for littles, make sure to accommodate the target age group. A table cloth they can draw on kept them entertained, while Cocoa Puffs cereal in dog bowls made for fun and edible decorations.

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Soup and Pie Party keeps everyone warm and cozy as chilly fall weather settles in.

Utilizing the fallen leaves outside to add color to our Thanksgiving Dinner table.

DECEMBER

Home For The Holidays

December 21, 2020 by Taneal Landucci in Holidays

Did you know that most holiday design work happens in early November!?! As designers, November is the busiest month of the year. In past years, we have decorated trees for events and clients homes for Christmas. As we looked at this years calendar and saw a lack of events during the Christmas decorating season, a fabulous idea popped into our heads. We were feeling the need to spread Christmas joy and decided to book a quick trip to Roseville, California where our dear Noni and Popi live. As the years have past, decorating has become more and more challenging for them, so we surprised them by coming to give their home a magical Christmas makeover.

We dressed for success as helpful fun Elves! Our littlest elf Capri, joined us on our girls trip and was a wonderful helper.

Fun Fact: Noni (Karen Pollock) is an artist and all of the paintings in her home are her own works of art.

Their garage was packed with more Christmas than we could have ever imagined. Noni and Popi loved that we found treasures that had not been seen for many years.

One of our favorite finds were these vintage skis. The skis were used by Noni in her youth and hand painted by her Father.

Under the tree we featured Noni’s retired ski boots.

Each ornament that hangs on the tree has one thing in common.. and that is a pop of the color RED!

Due to COVID-19, our sweet Popi and Noni were not able to join us for Thanksgiving, and we will also be missing them at Christmas this year. Our early November project for them was one of the highlights of this year and we feel extra blessed to have… — Due to COVID-19, our sweet Popi and Noni were not able to join us for Thanksgiving, and we will also be missing them at Christmas this year. Our early November project for them was one of the highlights of this year and we feel extra blessed to have had the time to build these memories with them.

Taneal's Homemade Christmas

December 14, 2020 by Taneal Landucci in Holidays

Why do I love the holidays so much? Growing up, holidays were truly a magical time. When I look back on my memories they are filled with love, happiness, and hope. As a mother of three young children, holidays for me are all about making magical memories for them to hold dear for a lifetime.

We are all in need of an extra special Christmas this year. Along with the many impactful changes and challenges this year has brought, we also lost a loved one to COVID. In searching for a way to celebrate her this Christmas, I have read and thought significantly about Angels. The nativity scene that kept coming to mind was that of the Shepherds and Angels - Luke 2:7-20; the night of Christ’s birth is my Christmas theme this year.

There is one more factor that played a roll in the selection of decorations for our cottage. Wynsor, my youngest, is 2-years-old, which means this is a very hands-on Christmas for her. I learned very quickly with my first child that having babies and toddlers around breakable ornaments is not a good idea. Decorations shouldn’t make life harder and if they do, it’s time to change them!

I had my older two children help me make all the decorations that are hanging on our tree this year. Below is a list of our homemade ornaments and a few details about them:

Salt Dough Sheep - These ornaments are basically like making sugar cookies, but they won’t want to eat the dough. After the salt dough was baked and had hardened we wrapped each sheep in wool.
Wool Ball Ornaments - We took plastic ornament balls and went to town wrapping them in colorful wool yarn until they were giant balls of fluff.
Angels - These were so fun to make! The only materials for this ornament was a wooden bead and doilies.
Wooden Bead Ornaments - Capri, my 6-years-old made all of these ornaments by herself. I gave her a pattern and she was able to follow it. As a first-grader they are learning about patterns right now, so what a great opportunity to sneak in some math skills!

My children are thrilled by their accomplishments and love the finished result. We are spending more time in our home than ever before and I’m grateful for the constant joy we feel being surrounded by our homemade Christmas.

Love, Taneal Rochelle

presents under the tree lots of them.JPG

Kim's Comforting Christmas

December 06, 2020 by Taneal Landucci in Holidays

Why do I love holidays so much? Holidays give everyone something to look forward to. They are all about spending time with the ones you love and give us all a sense of togetherness. Holidays create excitement and my favorite part about them are the memories that are kept as little keepsakes in our hearts forever.

This year my Christmas design had to be RED. I have never used it in 33 years of marriage… imagine that!?Being a designer I have always wanted to mix it up! A few years back I even painted my entire dining room a true green for just the season to match that year’s décor. Oh how my husband loved me ; ) My Christmas décor has also reflected special occasions. These occasions include babies being born into our family, from the birth of my children to the welcoming of grandbabies. We have also had two white Christmas' for both of my daughters marriages. You truly never know what to expect each year in my home. Most of my decorations always hold a base of neutrals, whites, greys, silver and gold. I then add in whatever is striking my fancy!

So back to RED.. 2020 Has left me in need of comfort. My mom who has always made my world beautiful has always used red in her Christmas design. The red is making me feel closer to her at this time of so much separation. Xo Kim

We look forward to sharing with you each Monday something that is inspiring us! We will be sharing projects, our homes, parties and a little about us. We hope to spark creativity and bring joy to you. ~ Kim and Taneal