MOVING: reimagining where furnishings go in a new house

February 04, 2025

(this sarah kinn painting migrated from above the fireplace in the first home to the open hallway in my clients’ new house)

last june we moved from boulder back to my hometown of berkeley. as it turns out, the new house is almost exactly the same size as the old house. of course, it is laid out differently and i have spent the last few months figuring out what goes where. some things ended up in the equivalent spaces: beds in bedrooms, dining chairs in the dining area… but some pieces found new homes. the living room rocker ended up in my bedroom, the lounge chairs that were separated in boulder were reunited in berkeley and put in our new reading area. artwork was hung in completely different spaces. i’ve been thinking so much about moving and wanted to share how we have shuffled and reorganized the furnishings and accessories when some of my clients have moved.

valhalla reservoir house

January 28, 2025

this modern farmhouse with a sweeping backyard and views of the flatiron mountains is set just off the boulder reservoir. the entry reveals an extensive great room with an open plan that includes the living room, dining room and kitchen. the high vaulted ceilings are fitted with large windows and skylights that fill the space with natural light.

a cozy family room is tucked into the rear of the house with a deck that accesses the backyard. the primary bedroom and bath are located upstairs off the open hallway looking down into the great room.

the graphic palette for both the interior and exterior of the house includes clean white walls throughout, wide plank, white oak flooring, a slimmer tongue and groove white oak ceiling in the flat ceilinged rooms, a mixture of white and black slab front cabinetry, all punctuated with matte black hardware and black steel railings and window framing. texture and color pops are brought in with the art pieces, rugs and textiles, giving the home a vibrant, warm feeling.

happy, happy NINETEENTH birthday my darling boy! x0x0x

January 27, 2025

(this is what i would be doing if i were with my baby boy today… he NEVER feels smothered!)

this is the first birthday of theo’s that i will not spend with him… he is away at college and i’m sure he is crying into the birthday cake i sent him, missing me terribly (or at least that’s what he swore to me.) he MIGHT also be having a really good time with his friends at school, which i KNOW i should be happy about and i mostly am. i just love this boy so much that sometimes i think my heart will burst right out of my chest. i think this is normal, but it is also painful because for some reason these babies grow up. wishing you everything WONDERFUL in the coming year theodore ellis chasnow. happiest birthday… i love you so! x0x0x

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY to my wonderful mama! x0x0x

January 27, 2025

i am just beside myself that for the first time in DECADES i live in the same town as my mama and will be able to celebrate her latest birthday LIVE! it has been such a joy being so much closer (only ten MINUTES!) and i am so grateful for all of the extra adventures we get to have. here’s to bucketfuls of new fun in the coming year lovely mama! happy, happy birthday and loads and loads of LOVE! x0x0xx

last denver interview for CANVAS REBEL

January 21, 2025

shortly before we moved to california, i did one last interview with canvas rebel magazine. THANK YOU to jenny tran for including me in this fun series. THANK YOU always to heather burns knierim of HBK photography for the lovely photos of my projects. here is a link to the article. x0x

to read other profiles click here or here or here

my winter park mudroom was featured in a HOUZZ article! x0x

January 14, 2025

it was so mucy fun to be included in this houzz article by laura gaskill about how to reset and organize in january. THANK YOU again to writer, laura gaskill and to photographer, kimberly gavin and stylist, natalie warady for creating such a pretty photo. here is the link to the full article. HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! x0x

HAPPIEST NEW YEAR 2025! x0x0x

January 09, 2025

(hank in his favorite spot at the new house… in the coveted corner)

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR friends! i am starting 2025 in a very different place than i began 2024. so much has changed in the last eight months that my head is still spinning and i have been trying very hard to process it all… even though i am a woman, a gender universally famous for juggling children and work and life in general, i have learned that i do not “multi-task” well, which is why i have been totally bunkered down in my new house and new life and not writing because all of my energy has been going into SETTLING.

HAPPIEST OF FATHER'S DAYS to my darling father! x0x0x

June 16, 2024

wishing my wonderful dad an amazing father’s day. i’m so HAPPY to be back in berkeley so we can celebrate together! x0x0xx

boulder FAVORITES! x0x0x

June 07, 2024

(vintage boulder postcard)

as our time in boulder comes to a close i wanted to share some of my favorites that i will MISS terribly. of course the PEOPLE (and DOGS!) are first and foremost:

happy, happy mother's day! x0x0x

May 12, 2024 in family, hank, holiday

(back in days when all of my loves would end up in the same bed by morning…)

i LOVE being a mama… especially when my kids are asleep! they look like little angels (even now that they are teenagers and hank is technically middle aged.) their rhythmic, peaceful breathing (hank’s sounds more like a train) is really soothing and makes me feel like everthing is right in the world. i do not have a consistent meditation practice, but when i do it, i always crawl back in bed with my sweeties and lay one hand on someone’s chest so i can feel it going up and down. these days that sweetie is usually hank because my other babies sometimes tell me they need “space” and sometimes they even lock their doors! luckily hank never needs space. when they wake up we never know what will happen. sometimes they are delightful and sometimes they are less so. even when they are less so, my love for them feels so BIG it’s almost painful. i am so GRATEFUL to be the mother of these lovey darlings. loads of LOVE to all of the mothers and those who mother. x0x0x0x

my winter park project was included in a HOUZZ article! x0x

May 07, 2024 in art, residential interior

THANK YOU to georgia madden of houzz for including my winter park project in her article “10 Spring Home Upgrades to Do Right Now.” many thanks also to the super talented berly gavin of kimberly gavin photography and natalie warady, stylist extraordinaire, for the beautiful photography and styling of this mountain house. and of course, thank you to my amazing clients for this wonderful opportunity! x00xx

to see more of this project click here

just in time for mother's day... NOTES FROM MOTHERLAND the wild adventure of raising humans

May 02, 2024

i am so honored to have one of my parenting stories included in this collection of pieces on mothering by a group of super talented authors: chris chandler, sierra melcher, sandi phinney, audra romeo, sierra lynn riddle, joellen leigh irizarry, jessica stokes, erika hull, brandee melcher, ashley wize, reah hagues, rena mcdonald and frances trejo-lay. it’s the perfect gift for your favorite mama! x0x0x

AVAILABLE NOW: amazon, barnes & noble

profiled for BOLD JOURNEY magazine! x0x

April 30, 2024 in residential interior

i was so delighted to be interviewed for a series on “optimistic entrepreneurs” in denver’s bold journey magazine. THANK YOU to the superstar duo: kimberly gavin (photographer) and natalie warady (stylist) for the first four photos shown from my winter park project and heather knierim of HBK photography for the lovely photos of my chatauqua project and gorgeous hank! read the full article here! x0x

to read other profiles click here or here or here

REPOST: the order of a seder

April 23, 2024 in family, holiday

* this is the last seder i will be hosting in our boulder house… i have so many wonderful memories of passover celebrations around this table and i am so grateful for all of the lovely friends who shared in them! HAPPY, HAPPY PASSOVER! x0x0x

seder means “order.” there is an order to every aspect of the passover celebration from the way the seder plate is prepared to which course is served first and second and third to what prayer is said, what song is sung, what question is asked and when. even though i am not jewish, i have been hosting passover dinners for nearly twenty years. inevitably i mix up at least one aspect of the order. sometimes i even schedule the seder for the wrong evening - the jewish calendar is confusing and i am not always sure if “begins at sundown” means the dinner should take place that night or the next. i give myself a pass on this as a shiksa mama raising jewish children. i have enough trouble with simple time telling (my mom thinks that’s because i had the chicken pox the week i was meant to learn it in first grade) and adjusting to different time zones and daylight savings.

my guest house cottage was featured in a HOUZZ article! x0x

April 16, 2024 in family, hank, living room, residential interior

(the sun porch of the cottage)

i am so excited that my pine street guest house project has been featured in an article on houzz by becky harris. this charming cottage was redesigned by architect lisa laursen of lisa laursen design and photographed by heather knierim of HBK photography… hank, of course, served as the primary model. it was so much fun to work with my superstar clients, jess and zach zeldner, after having collaborated with them on their primary residence a few years prior… (that project ended up on the cover of 5280Home and was also really fun and rewarding!) MANY THANKS to all involved and especially to becky harris of houzz! x0x0x

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY my darling lucy! x0x0x

April 11, 2024 in family, holiday

i am flabbergasted to share that my dearest, darling baby girl is FOURTEEN years old today. i honestly can’t believe it. maybe because she is my youngest, i never anticipated that she would actually grow up. but in her powerful, spicy, hilarious, cheeky way she has marched ahead and become a full-on teenager, a YOUNG WOMAN even (i can’t say “lady” - she burps and swears like a sailor!) this last year has been a doozy with loads of changes and milestones both for lucy and for our whole family: her bat mitzvah, theo preparing to leave home for college, ALL of us planning a move to california this summer, lucy’s grammy worthy lashes, theo’s mustache, the sale of both of our boulder homes, the purchase of our new berkeley house and lu preparing to attend my old high school… JUICE THE JACKETS! i have already pulled out my old cheer uniform for her - maybe she will wear it for halloween?

we're MOVING back to cali! x0x0x

April 02, 2024 in family

our family has made the decision to move to berkeley, california (my home town) this summer. we are feeling EVERYTHING: excitement, sadness, fear, hope and loads of gratitude both for the amazing friends and experiences we’ve had in boulder and for the opportunity to return to california and all the places and people we love there. things have been pretty hectic with the selling and purchasing of homes, planning and packing and paring down and trying to squeeze in extra time with special friends. we also have two pending graduations: theo from boulder high school and lucy from casey middle. but i wanted to officially share the news… AND let you know that as part of the paring down i am selling off the following items:

REPOST: easter brunch

March 26, 2024 in family, holiday, recipe

my whole life there have been two essential easter recipes served at our brunch: my mother’s mushroom crust quiche and her easter buns. they are both a little trashy… the quiche has smashed up saltines in the crust and the buns are made with the dough that comes in a can you bang on the counter to pop open. but they are both delicious. the quiche (or KWEE-CHEE as theo used to call it) LOOKS a little more elegant, but the buns are never pretty. the filling always squirts out and the jam slides around so they are just a mess. i have tried and tried to clean them up to no avail. when new people come for easter, they usually bypass them on the buffet and i have to force them to try one… no one has ever been disappointed. AND they are both still yummy, cold, the next morning as leftovers. happy, happy easter all! x0xx

MOTHER LAND ... a collection of stories from all kinds of mothers! x0x0x

March 19, 2024

i am so excited that one of my parenting stories: (greatly) modified parenting goals is going to be included in this collection of essays on mothering. the book will be out in time for MOTHER’S DAY! i will keep you posted on the details! x0x0xx

girlie weekend (with hank of course!) at THE BROADMOOR! x0x0xx

March 12, 2024 in family, hank, holiday, travel

(how PRETTY is this hotel nestled into mountains?)

there are few places i like to visit as much as the broadmoor. my heart just soars when i am there and i feel kind of giddy. set against some group of colorado mountains and centered around a big, beautiful lake, it is unbelievably scenic. the interior spaces are so detailed and intricate and layered you are always discovering something new. on this visit, i really started noticing all the swans. aside from the actual swans who live on the lake, there are swans throughout the resort painted on the walls, tiled into floor mosaics, featured in oil paintings and even edible meringue swans available at the little patisserie. i HAVE been watching “the feud” featuring truman capote and his swans obsessively, so maybe that’s why i was so drawn to them.