Film: Design & Architecture

Baby Face (1933)

“She had it and made it pay”. This salacious tag line caused some controversy in those days.
“She had it and made it pay”. This salacious tag line caused some controversy in those days.

Forbidden Hollywood at its best. This Pre-Code film follows Barbara Stanwyck as she climbs her way to the top one floor at a time. From her father’s speakeasy to the final scene’s lavish penthouse apartment, the interiors mirrored her own transformation. If you want to find out more about Baby Face go here, but I’m only interested in showing you the intriguing and telling interior spaces.

Interior Design

What Is This?

Still don’t know what it is? Then click on the photo for a larger version. Does that help? By the way, I’m not referring to the artwork by Scott Barber. But just in case you want to know, this piece is called 'Swell,' a Giclée print on Lysonic paper, first edition, October, 2004, limited to 500.
Still don’t know what it is? Then click on the photo for a larger version. Does that help? By the way, I’m not referring to the artwork by Scott Barber. But just in case you want to know, this piece is called ‘Swell,’ a Giclée print on Lysonic paper, first edition, October, 2004, limited to 500.

Designed by Charley McKenney and built by my contractor, Bert Watford, this contraption is not intended to cover up a giant hole or a bad plaster job, but is meant to conceal what most folks take great pride in displaying.

Interior Design

Ornamental Orange

This glass bowl most likely dates from the 1960s.
This glass bowl most likely dates from the 1960s.

A new but old centerpiece adds a lively contrast to the green and blue tones of my library/dining room. With its northern exposure the room needed some color punch, and orange was the perfect choice to serve as a complimentary color. Now that most of my new furniture has arrived, I’m slowly adding thoughtful details. And each object must pass the color, shape, purpose, timeless, and quality tests.

Landscape & Gardening

What’s Blooming Now

Black and Blue Sage
Black and Blue Sage

Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’), an herbaceous perennial that will bloom consistently April through the first frost, has been a big attraction for bees and butterflies. I have read that it’s also a hummingbird favorite, though I have yet to see any. The leaves and stems when crushed or broken have a wonderful scent. Now if I can only train my dogs not to charge through it on their way to check out noisy attractions in the alley.

Landscape & Gardening

Backyard Jumble

My Texas Lilac Vitex is surrounded by White Gaura, and Powis castle artemisia.
My Texas Lilac Vitex is surrounded by White Gaura, and Powis castle artemisia.

Texas Lilac Vitex. Sometimes called the Chaste Tree, this specimen is really a shrub and not a tree, but over time it can be pruned into a tree-like form and be quite spectacular when in bloom. I’ve been told to allow a few more years of growth to happen before breaking out the clippers. Though the Vitex isn’t native to North America, it has naturalized and thrives in our hot and dry Texan environment.

Surrounding the Vitex are wands of white to pink flowers called White Gaura or Whirling Butterflies, and the silver gray foliage belongs to the Powis castle artemisia. Currently the artemisia is trying to swallow up the Gaura, and I’m continually cutting it back to allow the Gaura more breathing room.

Just Because

A New Day, A New Look

Photo by Harrison Evans
Photo by Harrison Evans

Welcome to my new website. Everything is now visually under one roof. What I mean is that it’s not just a blog but much more. I purchased a premium portfolio theme (template to those not in the industry) and extensively customized it. It’s powered by WordPress and uses some newly available web tricks such as HTML5, CSS3, and media queries. Media queries is just a fancy term for a fluid site that will shape itself to fit all devices.

Please understand that a portfolio website is one that is loaded with heavy graphics and will have slow downloads on handheld devices. This kind of site is best looked at on any display larger than a smart phone. Another problem is, unfortunately, Internet Explorer which has been less than cooperative in keeping up with all the newly available technologies. It’s the only browser that required me to include gobs of extra code in order for my site to be seen somewhat as I designed it. IE is so hated that a lot of web designers have stopped catering to it. The browsers that are perfect angels are Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari. Love them, but hate Internet EXPLODER! Anything older than IE 9 will cause my site to look like doo-doo.

It still requires tweaking, but is ready for prime time. Have fun!