Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Inspired In Indigo | Emma Hayes

I recently stumbled upon a specialty textiles and wall coverings design firm out of New Zealand that has me swooning. As I’m sure you know, inky shades of indigo are very strong right now in both fashion and interior design, but I have seen few design studios use this hue to create such inspired and organic designs. Friends, meet Emma Hayes.

If I were presently designing a beach house, these Ink bed linens {pictured above} would be my first choice for a dreamy master suite! So subtle. So dramatic. So simple. So sophisticated.

I’m also completely in l – o – v – e with the art prints in this collection:

The River pillow shams {above} are silk, just adding the the watery, dream-like quality of these gorgeous bed linens. There is also a stunning silk throw in this collection. Yes please!

What has been your favourite indigo-spotting in interior design or fashion of late? Perhaps Emma will inspire you to keep an eye out for organic and innovative use of this hot blue hue.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 13th, 2013|1 Comment

The Curated Collection | Dionne Simpson

As I’m sure you know by now, I am a lover of process. The process behind any product is always fascinating to me, but perhaps nowhere more keenly than in the world of art. The opportunity to enter into the creativity and imaginative, patient workings of an artist’s process truly fascinates me.

That love of process explains in part my love for the work of Dionne Simpson. Using an ancient African technique, Simpson begins each of her works by pulling threads from her canvas to create lace-like patterns over which she then paints. I imagine this first step in her process to be like “reverse weaving,” perhaps similar to the process of a sculptor, revealing the pattern {or the figure} through the process of subtraction rather than addition.

Simpson’s “reverse weaving” may be an ancient technique, but the result is entirely modern and edgy, almost pixelating the images and layering together concepts and statements through her subtle yet surprising manipulation of the canvas.

The canvas – an intentional metaphor for the fabric of society – is then carefully built upon with graphic and detailed painted landscapes and figures, layered on top of the now delicate and sometimes transparent foundation Simpson has very thoughtfully created.

I find Simpson’s perspective on the world of architecture and humanity truly fascinating and would love to sit down over a cup of coffee sometime to discuss her thoughts on life, art and society as a whole. I hope her art has inspired you to think beneath the surface – or perhaps to consider the surface {or medium} itself as an opportunity for innovation.

Happy Monday!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 12th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Friday | Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

I know that beets are really considered an Autumn root veggie, but I don’t care. I love them year round, and they are one of my favourite ingredients for a simple, satisfyingly gorgeous summer salad.

As it turns out, I am particularly smitten with heirloom beets. Their rainbow {or partial rainbow} of colours and slight variations on earthy-sweetness just make me happy. They also happen to be amazingly good for the liver, so if you need a virtuous reason to eat them, there you have it. Detox away. For me, they fall into the category of “a food I love that also happens to be good for me.” My liver can go ahead and soak up all the health benefits it wants while I’m busy just paying attention to how good they taste. It really is a win-win.

Having picked up a lovely bag of heirlooms at the market last weekend, I decided to make one of my favourite summer {or any season, really} salads and share it with you today.

I started by giving them a quick wash and cutting the tops and bottoms off and then roasting them in a 375˚F oven for an hour or so. I then let them cool and peeled the skins off. {Quite easy to do once they’ve cooled. Some chefs go the extra mile and throw them in a paper bag while they are still hot so the steam helps loosen the skins. I don’t find I ever need to do that. Saving the trees, one paper bag at a time.}

Next I chopped them roughly into 1/2″-1″ chunks. {Don’t you love my über-beautiful cutting board? I so need to replace this one with something gorgeous and thick and wooden. I know, not so tree-saving as my paper bag measures, but I promise I’d keep it forever and a day.}

Next I quickly whisked up a simple dressing…

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
s + p

…and then tossed the beets in some of the dressing so they were beautifully coated.

I didn’t use all the dressing on the beets but saved some for when I added them to the greens. I suppose you could just toss the beets and greens together with the dressing all at once, but I find tossing them in a bit of the dressing on their own first helps them separate and get more even distribution through the salad once it’s all mixed together. I added in some freeze-dried salad herbs {these are amazing but I can only get them in Quebec!} as I have neglected my fresh herbs to the point that there is very little to harvest from my wee little kitchen garden. Oops.

Next, another favourite food that also happens to be good for me. I adore avocado. Creamy, rich, satiating and all-around amazing. It’s a staple in my kitchen for sure. And it’s also loaded with antioxidants, cartenoids, fibre, folate and heart-healthy fats that can help stabilize your blood sugar. Total super food. Totally delicious.

I just sliced a quarter of one up and added it to the plate, topped the salad with three chunky slices of herbed goat cheese {I love me some chévre!} and voilà! A simple and delicious {and not-so-secretly really good for you} summer salad.

Bon apetit!

I hope you enjoy a fabulous summer weekend coming up, friends. I know we will! We are cottage bound and beyond excited for it. Lifelong friends; the soul-restoring inspiration of natural beauty; time to do nothing but read, relax, swim, eat, talk, laugh and repeat. It’s the stuff summer dreams are made of!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 9th, 2013|0 Comments