Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Trendy Tuesday | Getting Creative With Coral

I feel like this season is made just for girls like me. Not only do I love the signs of life, but I love the fresh and vibrant shades of Spring! This season, runways have been spilling over with one of my favourite Spring hues: Coral. So, I thought I’d pull together a few of my favourite recent sightings of this warm and blushy hue.

ONE: Painting by Michelle Armas TWO: Blondel Coral Club Chair, 1st Dibs THREE: Vintage Coral Lamp Suzani Pillow, Madeleine Weinrib FOUR: Coral, blue and green Aquasilk Rug, ABC Carpet + Home FIVE: David Webb Carved Coral Brooch, 1st Dibs SIX: Coral Sea Fan, Karen Robertson

How will you be getting creative with Coral this season?

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|March 26th, 2013|0 Comments

The Curated Collection | Paulette Tavormina

Art is meant to elicit a response. To move you. To draw your attention to pain or beauty; to provoke thought or emotion. To filter the world into a more meaningful experience. To heighten and distill what is beautiful and unique in the world, and perhaps even make you gasp just a little bit.

“Figs and Morning Glories”

And food? Well food is sustenance. But much more than that, it is comfort. It is a means of expressing love. It is a way of showing honour and celebrating. It is the foraging and forming of nature into beauty and meaning for our bodies and our palettes. It is a way of making everyday life an art form in and of itself.

“Crabs”

Married together, these two forms of sustenance – food for both body and soul – meet in the stunning work of New York photographer Paulette Tavormina.

“Yellow Cherries and Crab Apples”

Weaving together a contemporary medium with an old world aesthetic, Tavormina’s dramatic photographs harken back to the sumptuous lighting and decadent details of 17th century Old Master still life paintings. The vibrant saturation and contrast in the images brings the masterfully styled food and flora to life, elevating the everyday to the status of extraordinary.

“Watermelon Radishes”

“Pears”

“I have long been fascinated by the magic of everyday objects, the majesty and delicacy of nature, and the world of culinary delight,” said Tavormina. “I have blended decades of photography and food styling with a love of 17th century Old Master paintings to create these still-life photographs. My greatest influences have been Francisco de Zurbaran, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, in particular Zurbaran’s mysterious use of dramatic light, Coorte’s unique placement of treasured objects and Garzoni’s masterful composition and color palette. The works of these artists remind us of the irretrievable passing of time – tempus fugit.”

“Sour Cherries”

“Cranberry Beans”

Tavormina’s work can be found in museums, corporate and private collections and have been exhibited all of the world including shows in New York, Paris, London and Moscow. This current collection is showing at MARCH in San Francisco until June 1st and can be purchased by contacting owner and curator Sam Hamilton.

Wishing you a Monday filled with light and contrast and the time to drink in the sumptuous, decadent details in the everyday.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|March 25th, 2013|2 Comments

On Love + Heartbreak

Love is a risk. It’s true. On a day when the syrup-y, saccharine clichés of “love” abound, I realize I may sound a bit like the Valentine’s Day Grinch. Don’t get me wrong. Love is a worthy risk – the most worthy risk. It is the risk of putting all of yourself – the good, the bad and the oh-so-ugly – out there to be accepted or rejected. But the power in being seen for who you are and loved, flaws and all? Yep. That’s what makes it worth it. In fact, it is the kind of thing that can change you forever.

The thing is, opening up to love also means opening up to heartache. Because life happens. Jobs are lost, diagnoses are given and then you have to choose to walk through that sorrow together with the one you love. It is always a choice, but that choosing makes life richer and more meaningful, even when it is hard. And you get to celebrate the beautiful moments together, too, and they are made all the more beautiful for the contrast. Kind of like salty and sweet. You taste each one more distinctly for the presence of the other.

I confess that I had a much cheerier post planned for this Valentine’s Day. Not quite saccharine sweet, but filled with ideas on how to write a real, old fashioned love letter to your love, your family, your friends. I wanted to share this beautiful book with you with inspiration on how to make love last as inspired by a couple who were married for 73 years.

But I learned this past weekend that my Mum has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and is being moved into a retirement home with shocking speed. I’ve been reeling ever since in secret chaos and heartbreak. I can’t actually begin to describe all that has gone on in my heart and my head, but I can tell you that I need to dive into my Mum’s care plan wholeheartedly for the next while. I’m going to take a brief pause from posting while I try to sort out how to help her make this transition safely and happily.

I think this is what love looks like. It means putting your life on hold when the one you love needs you most. It means grieving when they grieve and rejoicing when they rejoice. It means standing up for them when they are vulnerable and celebrating their wins when they are strong. And so, I’m off to love my Mum now. And I have no doubt I will return to our conversation about finding inspiration in design, food, beauty and everyday life with a greater ability to taste the sweetness in it.

With salty-sweet love,
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|February 14th, 2013|8 Comments