powder blue

Powder blue is calming, but still has a vibrancy. It is regal and comfortable somehow. I have it absolutely nowhere in my home, but I definitely wish I did... 

 Images: houzz, homeinteriordesign, indulgy, thelovelymrs, 

thedesignfairy, casahaus

turning art

Described as the Netflix of the art world, TurningArt is really an opportunity to enjoy all sorts of artwork in your home. As we all know,  art for the home is not only personal...it is darn expensive in most cases. Plus, how often do you look at the painting/drawing/photography on your walls and wonder how something else might work in that space?

TurningArt has created a way for folks to obtain art for their home, changing it up as frequently as their taste changes, for a monthly fee. It sounds odd, but when you think about it- how fun to change the feel of a room whenever it pleases you. They send a frame and when you locate a piece of art you are interested in - you request it. It hangs in your home for as long as you like -and then you can request another to switch it out. Genius!

Image:  thepaintbar

adirondack chairs?

Every year at this time (because they are on sale), I consider buying a pair of Adirondack chairs for our yard and painting them a bright raspberry color. It is a very specific daydream- with even the color of my maybe chairs chosen based on the hue of our house and shutters (sage green family). I think it would look great and I know we would use them -yet, every year I only consider and never buy. Why?
I am thinking if I get them this fall-I will keep them at my parents' place and paint them there. That way, I can surprise my husband for Christmas and do all the messy painting away from curious kids....I would even use the above card with this gift.
Hmmm, my daydreams now have coordinating papergoods even....

 images: etsy, etsy, casasugar freshhomeideas, younghouselove

a plan

This photo made me spring into action. Instead of daydreaming, net surfing, and gathering images of all potential workspaces that I could maybe/sometime/one day fit into my house.....I am taking that weird wall area in the nook of my bedroom and putting up some prettily covered clipboards to get the stray paperwork under control. 

It will help with organization- one child to every clipboard, one clipboard for art projects, one for home projects, etc.. It will not require purchasing of furniture or shelving and I won't even need to move anything!

I even have a variety of papers for the covering part. I'm half a dozen clipboards away from home organization :).

Image: ecoetsy

beach towel sale

It is not quite the end of July and already the beach gear sales are in full swing. Every summer I think,  this year I will replace all of the old beach towels that have been with us since Y2K was newsworthy, but every summer they find their way back into storage. Not this year! I will take advantage of at least one of these sales.....

 Images/Sales: Target, Amazon, Land of Nod, Zappos, Crate and Barrel, Land's End, Land's End, Pottery Barn Teen, Kohl's

younghouselove.com

I have a growing obsession with the blog Young House Love. It is a kind of love/hate relationship, because while I am crazy impressed with the renovation/design skills of the couple who blogs about their home's transformation, it can make me feel lazy and like I am living in a "before" photo!
I think the relationship is mostly good though- they have some incredible project ideas and executions, so if nothing else , I will be propelled by jealousy to breathe new life into my own before picture house.

Images: younghouselove

backyard house

I saw this backyard house on the home design/architecture blog Inhabitat. It is a beautiful garden structure crafted from recycled barn boards (multiple barns provide the color variations) .There is something about those backyard dwellings- the carriage house, pool house, or garden house- permanent vacations right there on your property.
I imagine the closest I will come is a plywood tree fort in our pines, but a gal can dream!

Images: Inhabitat

perfect retreat

These two shots of outdoor living space in designer Twanette Tharp's Edgartown Harbor house make me want to be her.....or, at least be friends with her, so I could be invited to visit.

Architectural Digest featured this major project of renovating and designing a pair of 19th-century houses in Martha's Vineyard's Edgartown. The pictorial is very interesting.

Images: The Enchanted Home

Dream House, anyone?

Did you know the HGTV Green Home Giveaway is going on right now? A completely "eco-fabulous" house in Georgia will be awarded to a lucky individual - you can enter twice daily
until 5:00pm EST on June 1, 2012.
Check out the Green Home site for a full tour and videos about design and construction. I am posting just some of the amazing photos they have on the site.....

All images courtesy of hgtv

52 Weeks To An Organized Home

The site Home Storage Solutions 101 is posting a series of 52 home organization challenges to lead you to a completely organized home over the course of a year. Certainly even the most clutter-prone person could tackle this plan since it is mapped out so clearly and methodically each week.
Although they offer you the opportunity to sign up and "join" the free program, I think I will just stick to checking the site for each week's task. Who knows- 52 weeks from now I could be living among rooms like the snapshot I posted above....fingers crossed!

Image courtesy of moss moments

First Project of 2012

The New Year brings a shuffling of the bedrooms in our house. The girls are eventually going to share the bigger bedroom and we are in the long, slow process of setting/filling it up for them. One of the things my three-year-old really wants is a dollhouse bookcase. I have to admit, I think they are pretty cute (yet functional) also.
Whether it is used to store toys, supplies, books or a combination of all three, it is an interesting twist on the classic bookcase. Unfortunately, the models shown in Pottery Barn Kids and Land of Nod are a little expensive for what is essentially a sloped roof set of storage shelves......but this is where Ana White comes in to play. Well, Ana White and a Pop with a barn full of tools!
Blogger Ana White has a site full of building DIY projects and one of them happens to be the Dollhouse Bookcase.
The site has the full tutorial- from materials list to step-by-step diagrams. Pop should have no trouble following this plan once we get the supplies to him!
So this is the first thing on our list for 2012....and the first piece of furniture we will get especially for the "big girl" bedroom.

Images: babble, ana-white.com, sheknows.com, nurserynotations.com

lovely laundry rooms

via Design Sponge

Not too long ago I posted about my love of pretty entryways. Well, here's that companion post that features the other space I'd love to organize in my own home - the laundry room. I'm lucky enough to have a laundry area/hallway, but it looks nothing like these spaces. While mine feels like a dumping ground for dirty clothes, I love how organized, well-stocked, and crisp and clean these laundry rooms are with their white or minty-colored walls. So much promise in these spaces!

via Design Inspiration

via ...love Maegan

via House & Home

via The Nocturnal Nest

Seafoam

Image courtesy of Kathryn Grady via pinterest

The color family/range recognized as seafoam is one of my favorites. It feels odd posting about it in October because I definitely have that strong summertime or beach association with this hue.

Regardless of the season it conjures up for me, I love a seafoam interior year round- whether it is entire walls or a peek of the color, it always looks cool, crisp, and lovely.

Image courtesy of Kalee Haney Webb via pinterest

Image courtesy of Rachel Jane Llloyd via pinterest

Image courtesy of Betty Pauly via pinterest

Image courtesy of Meg Conroy via pinterest

Image courtesy of Gizem Yucelen via pinterest