Blue Room

5 02 2010

I’m really loving this color blue right now. There is much more blue paint in my house than I had originally planned, but it just feels right being this near the ocean. This picture is from the now defunct Cottage Living Magazine via myhomeideas.com.  I’m in love with the table and the chairs that are a similar color blue to the walls, but not quite as vivid.  It works so well in my mind and it isn’t a cold blue, it looks pretty inviting.

This is a pretty busy month for me and we are going on holiday at the end of it so posting may get a bit sporadic.





Crisp Whites

24 02 2009

img13mI love whenever I see a sign that sales White Sale.  There is no better excuse to go and update your linen collection.  I’m always in need of newer towels, fresh bed linen or a tablecloth.  Williams-Sonoma Home is having a white sale right now and I love this coverlet and sham pictured above.

Fresh laundry just feels better to me.  I love having a nice set of clean sheets on the bed, or a new tablecloth on the table.  It breathes new life into doing housework, though I freely admit I loathe doing housework.  I wish I was an iron your sheets type, but the best I do is take them fresh out of the dryer.  The power of a sale on housewares is too much for me to resist though.  Do you love White Sales as much as I do?





Tangerine

11 02 2009

15-color-tangerine-0309-xlg-74411822This Tangerine color is C2 Paint’s Tangerine C2-104.  I absolutely love this color.  I would like to paint a kitchen or dining room this warm and inviting color.  I see more and more homes in magazines that have wallpaper and color and this one is a favorite.

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Wouldn’t a dining set like this look amazing in a tangerine room?  Dining set is from Williams Sonoma Home.





Some favorite home images

26 01 2009

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A few of my favorite images.  I like the use of color in all of the different settings.  Color, pattern and texture are used differently in each picture but each feels bold and interesting to me.





New Year’s Decorations

12 01 2009

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Last year I spent my NYE in a hotel in New Jersey with a fever so high I was babbling incoherently by the time James put me to bed.  If made any resolutions, I have no idea what they were.

My decorating resolution for this year is a place for everything and everything in its place. I’ve moved three times in the past two years, some of this stuff I haven’t seen in ages. I would love to have a place for everything.  There are some really beautiful pieces that are just crying out for displays, some books that need shelves and clothes that need hanging.

That said, not everything is holding up well after the moves. My dresser and nightstand are missing corners (thanks movers!) and my mattress is noticeably lumpy in the middle. Combine that with the fact that we never set up the office in Virginia and therefore never got furniture for it, I’m pretty much into buying furniture this year. I want to make a decoration resolution that keeps me from becoming haphazard and sloppy and or too trite.

I mentioned AEro before when I was talking about that beautiful Coastal Living furniture by Stanley. I love water and coastal towns. AEroskobing has become one of my favorite places to look at in pictures, the colors and tranquility of city make me want to visit the island of AEro on all of my next vacations. Not only do I love the colors, but coastal towns seem to have a style of their own, not quite country, but timeless and beautiful.

A few months ago upon our return to Boston, we stayed at the glamorous Millennium Bostonian Hotel.  I thought if I could recreate some of the style in that beautiful hotel, it might make set the tone for a great new year. The Millennium had a modern style, and was undergoing renovations at the time we stayed. I am sure that it will become the coolest hotel in town when they are done.

I want to find a way to bring all of these beautiful and distinct elements into my home without it seeming cluttered or overdone.  I also don’t want to get rid of what I have to try and achieve a new look.  All of these influences can be combined with my current decor and pulled together to make it colorful like the coast, cool as the hotel and timeless.

Lastly, this year I resolve to do thoughtful details and not excess.  It’s pretty hard for me in this somewhat blank apartment do excess, but I intend for my details to be thoughtful and planned.  I want my rugs to make sense and fit in, my curtains to match the season and table to have clothes, runners or placemats.

Photo from Domino Magazine Online, our favorite painted rooms – a great example of coordination and everything in its place.





Coastal Living Furniture

6 01 2009

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CSNstores has exclusive new furniture from Coastal Living by Stanley.  Coastal Living is one of my favorite magazines and I was excited to see it expand at one of my favorite stores.   These pieces come in beautiful colors that reflect those popular in coastal areas and I love the styles and the options they give you.  I particularly love the pastels, which they say were influenced by the Bahamas, but I like to think of it as the furniture you would find in another coastal city I would love to visit, AEroskobing (Denmark).  The pieces begin shipping next month and I cannot wait!  I will let this beautiful furniture speak for itself as only it can.

Read the rest of this entry »





Delight the busy hostess (or host)

8 12 2008

Pottery Barn has some great hostess gifts in their under $25 section right now. I am quite in love with these selections.  At $25 and less, how can you beat the price?   I know I would love to get any one of these hot numbers!

img13m-1This pitcher is sleek and can work at a garden party as well as a cocktail party.

img13mThe monogram makes it personal, the color makes it fun and barware is a perfect gift for the hostess with the mostest!

img41mThese colorful votive holders can sparkle in these days of getting dark early.

img50mDecanter knows best!  A sophisticated decanter is both fashionable and functional for red wine lovers.

img56mOne of my favorite items, these Gem Slice Coasters bring nature inside.  The natural beauty adds to your decor when not in use.

img67mAlways fashionable, the monogrammed napkin is a touch of class for any table.





Entertaining: Casual tablescapes

20 11 2008

1-tablescape-main-1008-xlg-76892419House Beautiful has this casual table for two in their tablescapes library.  For me the anatomy of a great table has several elements, but most of all they have space and are neat.  You can add as many chargers as you like, several courses worth of flatware and centerpieces of all kinds, but if they aren’t neat and put together, your table will simply look messy and incomplete.

However many people you are serving, the best rule of thumb is to keep it simple.  Especially if you are running the show alone.  Instead of setting several places at a table, set a buffet instead and let your guest serve themselves and get a simple centerpiece to be a focal point.  It takes some pressure off you, the host if you can get your guests to serve themselves.1-tablescapes-main-1107-xlg

More formal parties do require table settings, make sure that you have enough silverware, water cups (or goblets) and room in the middle of the table for the food to be put down.  If you are serving more than one course, make sure you have the correct serving utensils so your guests aren’t stuck trying to get food on their plates with their own service.





What is old is new again

18 11 2008

Last weekend a thought occurred to me, I could change the chairs on my dining room table and have a great new look for it.  My table is black and could be accented by a number of great chairs.

I liked these arm chairs by Thomasville45229_822_350This Klaussner chair from CSN stores is also niceklaussner-furniture-ashton-side-chairimgklfklf1138_mIkea has two comfortable looking chairs.  I like the last one because it offers a bit of color.58283_pe163948_s30089779_pe222764_s3Getting new chairs or refinishing old chairs could totally change the look of your dining room.  By changing this small element an old table can look new again!





Time for the weekend

14 11 2008

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Have a good weekend everyone.  I am off today.

Picture from dominomag.com kitchen table series.