Category: EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN

Classic favorite design & photos. Inside and out.

Inner Inn (Pt. II)

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS204 Comments

The Mission Inn in Riverside California, built over a sixty year period beginning in 1876, is a living museum full of priceless art and antiquities. It has two onsite chapels, one is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi and has glass works designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1906 for a chapel in New York.

Many Della Robbia style ceramics from Italy,

are on stunning display throughout the property.

The Inn is a National Historic Landmark which you can tour on your own or with a docent. The art and artifacts overflow the spacious Inn and there is a museum with more art across the street that can also be toured.

Ten US presidents have visited The Inn,

and there is a presidential lounge dedicated to them.

The mission style interiors are comfortable and spacious, but the most amazing spaces for me are all the inner courtyards which are like beautiful outdoor rooms full of whimsical artwork and constant surprises.

Exploring is great fun as everywhere you look you find precious art and artifacts.

The clock tower has a glockenspiel with full size rotating figurines that is a replica of the original built in Nuremberg Germany in 1709.

The Inn has over 400 antique bells. One from Nanjing China dates from 1247 and is the oldest bell in Christendom.

Cheers to you from the fascinating and fun Mission Inn in Riverside California~

Mission Inn~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS197 Comments

The historic Mission Inn which occupies several blocks in downtown Riverside California is the largest Mission Revival building in the United States.

The Inn was built in 1902 by an engineer named Christopher Columbus Miller. His son Frank expanded his father’s original efforts, and added wings, rotundas, chapels, museums and galleries.

The building contains a mixture of Spanish Gothic, Moorish and Mediterranean revival architectural styles. There is a Spanish Wing, an Alhambra Wing, and flights of fancy everywhere you look.

Frank Miller traveled the world collecting museum quality treasures to fill the inn, including what some say is the oldest bell in in the new world dating from 1247.

There are two chapels on the property including the one pictured dedicated to St Francis of Assisi.

Louis Tiffany designed two of the mosaics in the chapel.

The Rotunda Wing features a five story open air staircase.

The rotunda tops a suite dedicated to the writer Anne Rice.

Presidents, world leaders, and many famous folk have stayed in the inn over its history and the inn has a presidential lounge dedicated to the many presidents who have stayed here.

The Inn began a period of slow decline in the 1960’s where ownership changed hands multiple times and bankruptcies occurred, eventually forcing the city of Riverside to purchase and close the property for eight and a half years. In 1992, The Historic Mission Inn Corporation purchased the property and reopened it in all its former glory.

I will show you more details and the interiors of this amazing building in my next post. Until then, cheers to you from The Mission Inn in Riverside California~

Port Townsend’s Painted Ladies~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS248 Comments

Port Townsend has to be one of the most charming towns we have visited.

It is a historic Victorian seaport on the edge of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

Click to enlarge if you want to see the details of this amazing house and garden.

The town is bordered by the stunning Puget Sound and the Straight of Juan de Fuca.

It has panoramic views of the sound and the snowy Olympic Mountains.

This beauty with her Mansard roof is perched overlooking the water, with windows everywhere, to capture the views.

Port Townsend is full of art galleries and artists.

The residents have restored the town’s many painted ladies to surpass their former glory.

Bounded by seas and sounds, Port Townsend has wonderful restaurants, as well as fun pubs and cafes.

St Paul’s Episcopal Church is a gothic revival built in 1860.

Wandering the the old Victorian neighborhoods is a architectual browsers paradise.

Cheers to you from stunning and historic Port Townsend~

Valparaiso Open Air Art II~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS200 Comments

The city of Valparaiso Chile is full of over a thousand large scale open air art murals, some like the one above, cover the walls of multi-story buildings.

The first murals were painted by art students from a local university in the 1960’s and 70’s, in an area of the city called Cerro Bellavista.

This area is now a landmark named El Museo a Cielo Abierto (The Open Air Museum).

Valparaiso in entirety was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

Walking in this city wide open air art museum, one is struck not only by the talent of the amazing artists,

but also by their appreciation of the beauty,

joy, and humor of life.

To this day, artists are continuing to add their talented contributions to this remarkable city.

Valparaiso is a magnet attracting artists of all kinds. Their artistry makes visiting here a pure joy.

Cheers to you from beautiful Valparaiso and her amazing artists~

Serenity in La Serena~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS185 Comments

El Parque Jardin del Corazon (Garden of the Heart) is the largest Japanese garden in South America.

It is located in La Serena Chile.

La Serena is Chile’s second oldest city, know for its historic neocolonial architecture.

The garden was built in 1994 as a cooperative effort by businesses in Japan and Chile to celebrate La Serena’s 450th anniversary.

It is full of lagoons, waterfalls, and native Japanese flora and fauna.


This is a Spot Flanked Gallinule, native to distinct areas of Chile and South America, making himself quite at home in the lush Japanese gardens!

Note: There are Golden Carp swimming in the gardens, but I photographed the Koi in San Diego and added them, feeling they fit in nicely with the landscape ambience.

Cheers to you from Chile’s Garden of the Heart~

Valparaiso Open Air Art~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS221 Comments

There are hundreds of wall sized open air painted murals all over Valparaiso.

Click to enlarge this photo to see how the artist recycled plastic soda bottles to create living window planters for her imaginary town and writes about the need to creatively recycle plastics .

The talent and creativity of these artists blows me away.

In this hostel, I zoomed in on the art around the doorway in the photos below, so you can see the detail.

What strikes me is how talented these artists are,

and how many of them will remain unrecognized.

It is often luck that makes one famous, and another unknown.

In a fairer world, all these artists would be recognized for the true talent they have.

Valparaiso is full of gifted artists, but it also has so many poor people, and the largest slums in Chile.

The unfair fact this illustrates is that talent and poverty often reside together.

Please note: I am traveling by sea now and have limited access to internet. I will check in when possible but please excuse my inability to be responsive online.

Cheers to you from the talented artists of Valparaiso~

Café del Pintor~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS220 Comments

Wow! The everywhere art in Valparaiso Chile exceeds it’s reputation for being arguably the best street art in the world.

There is so much amazing talent to share with you, but let’s start here, this is the front door of the ‘Café of the Artist,’ painted by a male Chilean art student depicting everyday scenes from the town of Valparaiso.

The waiter explained to me that the art in this restaurant was painted by two art students, one a French female whose mind boggling talent you are looking at now. (Please click to enlarge).

Since internet is slow, I can’t look these artists up, but I will when I can.

Maybe you can find out for me?

All I know is pure talent when I see it.

The first two paintings of the café sign and the entry door were done by the Chilean student, and are depictions of Valparaiso, as is the one above.

Here is another mural focusing on culture and heritage.

I didn’t take photos of the food which is a shame because I was too distracted by the art, but the food was ethereal. If you come to Valparaiso, eat here and bring your camera.

Cheers from Valparaiso, the city of living art and excellent food~

La Quinta~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, Flowers, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS268 Comments


La Quinta Resort was built-in 1926.

It is located in the town of La Quinta, which is in the northwestern portion of The Sonoran Desert, in Southern California’s Coachella Valley.

The resort is adobe, made of over 100,000 handmade adobe bricks. The roofing contains over 60,000 handmade terracotta tiles.

Hand painted Talavera tiles are everywhere.

The resort is famous for it’s extensive floral gardens and fountains.

It is especially beautiful when the cactus are blooming!

Cheers to you from hot, but lovely La Quinta California~

Chilean Open-Air Art~

On By cindy knokeIn EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Patagonia, TRAVEL REVIEWS293 Comments


Chile is full of stunning street art.

Throughout Chile, large and small towns, are decorated with amazing open-air art, that is valued by the country and citizenry.

In Punta Arenas for example, the local government issued a statement saying that street art, “is a cultural manifestation, scenery which makes the walls more attractive and vital.”

The Punta Arenas city council actually financed a 400 metre section of street art.

They actively encourage street art in other parts of this most charming southerly city.

Santiago, Valparaiso, and Puerto Montt, all have a plethora of amazing open-air art.

Post the repressive Pinochet regime,

Chilean citizens exuberantly embrace and exercise their artistic talent and freedom of expression.

Walking amidst these amazing street art displays, is a wonderful experience.

Cheers to you with Chile’s stunning open-air art~

French Old Wooden Treasures~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS201 Comments


The Alsatian Museum in Strasbourg France is located in three adjoining homes built in the 1600’s.


All the homes have inner courtyards with multi-storied covered walkways.


We stayed in the Hotel Corbeau nearby that was similar in style and built in 1528.

The museum homes are filled with over 5000 artifacts depicting everyday life.

Hand carved and painted woodwork is especially charming as you see in this very cozy bed.

Flour mill spouts attest to the emphasis placed on artistry in everyday living.

Many homes of this era contained family businesses like this old pharmacy.


This typical traveling prayer case demonstrates both faithful devotion and an artistic sensibility.
Cheers to you from the old wooden treasures of France~