Photos 1 & 3 Traditional Home
Photos 2 & 4 Better Homes & Gardens
Photo #5 Pinterest, Photos 6 & 7 Katrin Cargill
Photo 8 Country Living
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Suite Dreams in Shades of Blue
Image 1 Charles Faudree
Images 2 & 4 Architectural Digest,
Image 3 Better Homes and Gardens, Image 5 Southern Accents
Images 6 & 7 Elle Decor
Image 8 Suzanne Tucker
Friday, July 22, 2011
Doggie Decor....um?
Image 1 Melanie Acevedo, Images 2 & 6 Elle Decor
Images 3 & 5 House Beautiful, Image 4 Architectural Digest
Images 7 & 8 Unknown
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Gorgeous Garret Getaways
I've had an affinity for attics since I was a little girl.......what other room in a house could be so out of the way, so invisible and yet, hold such treasures? I spent many a day in the attics of a friend and cousins dressing up in their mother's old dresses and high heels and wrapping myself in an old mink stole with the head on one end and the tail tossed casually over my shoulder! What a glamorous life I could lead in those attics!
Then, as a teenager, my parents bought a farmhouse and it, too, had an attic......and, once again, I was drawn to it as a complete and private getaway. It was completely unfinished, mind you, with nothing more than a window, an old victrola and a brass bed with stairs leading down to the kitchen. But, what a retreat to read a book in, or just to be alone and dream about it's possibilities.
Yes, even then at 14, I was dreaming of interior decorating and even though I had completely redecorated my own bedroom in our new (old) house with blue and white striped wallpaper, floor length blue drapes that I had sewn myself, blue bedspread, painted wood floor and antique furniture with a white faux fur area rug on the floor with pictures symmetrically arranged on the walls and lamps in all the appropriate places.......I still escaped to the attic. When I think back to that time, I had a Laura Ashley like bedroom, but it was only 1964 and I hadn't really heard about British interior designer Laura Ashley in small town Nova Scotia......we didn't really find out about her until the late 70s or early 80s. (In fact, in 1964 Laura Ashley was still experimenting on her kitchen table with silkscreened dish towels!) This was completely my idea of how I wanted my room to look......all that was missing was the chintz.....I hadn't discovered that yet!
So, when I came upon the rooms below, they brought back memories of good times, coziness, comfort and possibilities! A place to dream.........!
Then, as a teenager, my parents bought a farmhouse and it, too, had an attic......and, once again, I was drawn to it as a complete and private getaway. It was completely unfinished, mind you, with nothing more than a window, an old victrola and a brass bed with stairs leading down to the kitchen. But, what a retreat to read a book in, or just to be alone and dream about it's possibilities.
Yes, even then at 14, I was dreaming of interior decorating and even though I had completely redecorated my own bedroom in our new (old) house with blue and white striped wallpaper, floor length blue drapes that I had sewn myself, blue bedspread, painted wood floor and antique furniture with a white faux fur area rug on the floor with pictures symmetrically arranged on the walls and lamps in all the appropriate places.......I still escaped to the attic. When I think back to that time, I had a Laura Ashley like bedroom, but it was only 1964 and I hadn't really heard about British interior designer Laura Ashley in small town Nova Scotia......we didn't really find out about her until the late 70s or early 80s. (In fact, in 1964 Laura Ashley was still experimenting on her kitchen table with silkscreened dish towels!) This was completely my idea of how I wanted my room to look......all that was missing was the chintz.....I hadn't discovered that yet!
So, when I came upon the rooms below, they brought back memories of good times, coziness, comfort and possibilities! A place to dream.........!
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| Love the dog art theme going on in the last four rooms All photos courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens |
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Canadian Coastal Chic
For those of you who may have missed Canadian designer Sarah Richardson's personal cottage reno on HGTV last year, here is a run down of her project.
She took a dark, dreary rustic cottage to new heights by adding an extension on one end, which became the new living room, and installing large windows throughout, painting all the interiors white, painting floors, buying old furniture and re-painting it, recycling old painted wood in parts of the kitchen, and embellishing it all with wonderfully bright, fresh fabrics, old quilts, lots of pillows, candles and fresh flowers.......a winning combination!
She took a dark, dreary rustic cottage to new heights by adding an extension on one end, which became the new living room, and installing large windows throughout, painting all the interiors white, painting floors, buying old furniture and re-painting it, recycling old painted wood in parts of the kitchen, and embellishing it all with wonderfully bright, fresh fabrics, old quilts, lots of pillows, candles and fresh flowers.......a winning combination!
All photos courtesy of Country Living
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Shabby Chic Cottage
I wanted you to see the interior of this cottage that I posted about last week.......hand built by a woman as her private getaway in upstate New York.
It is a perfect example of a shabby chic cottage......recycled materials, everything painted white and feminine details such as the chandeliers, gauzy curtains, slipcovers, old bottles used as vases, pink roses, fresh flowers, silver teapot, red rubber boots, books recovered in white to match the decor......what fun she must have had putting this whole look together with found windows, corbels, window boxes and all.
A pure delight and very inventive! What woman would not love such a getaway?
It is a perfect example of a shabby chic cottage......recycled materials, everything painted white and feminine details such as the chandeliers, gauzy curtains, slipcovers, old bottles used as vases, pink roses, fresh flowers, silver teapot, red rubber boots, books recovered in white to match the decor......what fun she must have had putting this whole look together with found windows, corbels, window boxes and all.
A pure delight and very inventive! What woman would not love such a getaway?
Click on photos for greater detail
Photos via New York Times
Monday, July 18, 2011
American Coastal Retreat
In keeping with our international cottage and country decorating theme, I am today featuring the summer home of Galen and Hilary Weston, who are the owners of Canada's Loblaws Grocers, Atlantic Superstores, Holt Renfew in Toronto and Selfridge's in London, to name a few of their retail establishments. Galen was named by Forbes magazine this year as the second wealthiest person in Canada with an estimated fortune of $7.1 billion. Understandably, this is not a 'typical' coastal retreat......this is something only the very, very wealthy would have access to, so it is definitely worth a peek!
Galen began his career as a bag boy in his family's bakery business and through hard work, education and determination salvaged the floundering company in the 1970s and went on from there.
So, when their latest home appeared in AD this week, I was fascinated. It was built in their own community in Florida which was developed in the 90s called Windsor 'A Village by the Sea' ....... and the interiors were designed by John Stefanidis, who has worked with them on several of their other homes.
Enjoy!
Galen began his career as a bag boy in his family's bakery business and through hard work, education and determination salvaged the floundering company in the 1970s and went on from there.
So, when their latest home appeared in AD this week, I was fascinated. It was built in their own community in Florida which was developed in the 90s called Windsor 'A Village by the Sea' ....... and the interiors were designed by John Stefanidis, who has worked with them on several of their other homes.
Enjoy!
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| Summer Residence |
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| Courtyard |
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| Passageway |
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| Living room |
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| Living room |
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Pizza room (oven to the side) |
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| Master bedroom Hand painted lace design on walls |
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| Master bath Love the coral mirror, chandelier and color scheme! Pink, green and white with a touch of gold and a splash of red! Gorgeous! |
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| Guest room |
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| Swedish style guest room Love this color scheme as well Red, rose, pink (chintz curtains) and white |
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| Veranda |
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| Pool All photos via Architectural Digest |
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