Pepper Design Blog

San Diego Magazine: June, The Good Eats Issue

Wow, I can’t believe that June is almost over! The latest issue of San Diego Magazine is all about food and delicious places to find it locally. Jump out to page 76 in the digital edition to check out my contributions this month.

I still can’t believe it’s nearing the middle of summer {sweet July} and that the weather is really crankin’ up the heat around here. Our summer vacation will be spent, in part, biking across Iowa with our family in an event called RAGBRAI. I’m not really a biker nor do I particularly enjoy humidity in late July, but the entire family (in-laws, my parents and all of the brothers) are game so we’re making a go of it. If you’ll be sipping fruity drinks on a beach somewhere I’m not sure I want to hear about it.

We’ve been training a bit so that I don’t flat pass out after 20 miles, but yesterday was the first day that it really felt like the summer heat wave had arrived. The weather has been just beautiful.

But back to the magazine. This month’s issue features chicken hideaways (we have some of those), best San Diego restaurants and a feature on a gorgeous, sustainably built La Jolla home that I had the chance to tour before writing an article about it (for the full article, here’s the digital edition).

The June issue was all about good eats and so I assembled a collage of favorite kitchen renovation finds for a variety of styles. The spread was supposed to run parallel to a great full page kitchen but an ad snuck its way in instead.

I’m loving those stools and the mix of runners – nevermind the great pendants (especially that Glabraith & Paul one) and the tile.

Back to RAGBRAI training I go! Hope you have a few exciting adventures planned this summer, too!

San Diego Magazine: Personalizing an Outdoor Space

Back with another issue of San Diego Magazine! It’s really so fun to work with our local city publication to share design inspiration and ideas – and of course I always love to post the collages here as well because I hope they’ll be equally inspiring to readers from all over!

Whether your backyard features the great outdoors or a pocket-sized patio, my contribution to May’s issue of San Diego Magazine focused on all things design for lounging, entertaining and dining outside.

It’s the perfect time of year to create an outdoor retreat – a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and to enjoy those flowers that are blooming at their best.

I love the idea of mixing a variety of styles so that an outdoor space can grow and change with cool finds from over the years. Speaking of favorite finds, the above retro Anthropologie banda arm chair mixed with modern West Elm ceramic lanterns and a bright floral pattern (in the C&B cushions) is just what I have in mind for a cozy, eclectic personalized space.

The entire digital edition (including a neat gift guide from Mrs. Lilien – another SD native) here! Find my outdoor design tips and resources on pages 82 & 83.

San Diego Magazine: A Picnic in the Park

For April’s issue of San Diego Magazine, we took our monthly Treads article outdoors to feature a bohemian-style picnic beneath the giant Monterey oaks.

I had a wonderful time styling this shoot! It involved quite a bit of running back and forth between Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie, Target and West Elm, but choosing the bright, vivid color palette and the products to be featured was plenty of fun.

You can check out the full online issue of San Diego Magazine here.

In addition to the spring picnic spread, I wrote about an ultra modern loft in downtown San Diego that boasts all of the latest eco updates and modern touches:

More behind-the-scenes from the photoshoot:

The four local design bloggers featured in the shoot included: Heather of La Feem, Kelley of Mrs. Lillien, Julia of San Diego Songbird and Alexis of Fern & Feather.

Photography by Terry Rippee.

Florals by Organic Elements.

Read more about the featured bloggers as well as their entertaining tips in a short interview here.

It was a beautiful day and the perfect setting for an afternoon of lounging on lazy floor cushions besides a low table (made of two West Elm benches) and a lunch of clementines .

The beautiful glassware from Anthropologie had to have been my favorite – I might have to pick up a set of the above pink Helianthus goblets!

My May feature is nearly finished, I’m just now wrapping up a Trends article on the perfect outdoor entertaining space. More to come…