Little Inspirations....

Picking out fabrics for clients and myself is still one of my favorite parts of being a Designer. Soooo many to choose from and I think of them as little works of art, to be spread about a room and made to give off feelings of contentment and beauty ....lol, ok so maybe I take it pretty serious sometimes, lol :) But its so easy too, these 2 Fabrics were chosen because they work off the china pattern they are going to share a room with :) sometimes its the littlest things that get us inspired about choosing colors, but what fun it is :)

I went shopping one day, at the cheapest place I know, My Moms house ;) every thing's FREE, lol..... in all seriousness, I played on this chair as a child and I can still hear her saying " dont stand up on the chair Cynthia!"....what a hand ful I must have been :) but many moons later when I had my first apartment, this came with me. It goes to show you Shabby Chic doesnt have to come in just pink and white. I love shabby blues and yellows too!

More things Shabby yellow and some French thrown in too :)

lol, I dont know why I took this one and allowed my "cottage" sign to be crooked , lol, but heres a picture off my blue and white collection that wraps around the kitchen, i've collected so many pieces that it now wraps around into the Living room too ;) I'll post pics of the LR soon!


The colors are'nt exactly as they are in person, my camera was a little off , but this is a view from the other side of the kitchen ...

Little Things.....

I picked this up at TJ Max a few years back, its my Favorite Vase and the colors are even prettier in person! and was a steal at $12.99 too :) its so much fun getting a bargin because its given me something beautiful to look at and thats priceless :)

When I saw this frame and it had cherries too, I knew it was meant to be :)

Limoges boxes just pull at my heart strings, so tiny and yet so beautiful, i've been collecting them for some years now and I dont think i'll stop anytime soon either,lol... I had to have this one, it was actually the inspiration piece to Decorate my kitchen around too :)




2 of my other Favorites, my daughter s first curl does reside in it too, lol

Im a sucker for Fitz and Floyd too, I cant seem to get enough, the attention to detail and color amazes me !

Porch thoughts....

Pull up a chair and relax :) , what a pretty day today!

Such nice weather today, perfect for sprucing up the back porch....its ready to listen to some girl talk now :)

Blue and Whites and florals ...

I love the idea of mixing the fine china with antique store finds, yard sale finds, and even a piece from target, can you guess which is which? :) The picnic basket is an old favorite of mine from Home Goods, such a great store! Mixing and Matching the old with the new, what fun! and the more the better too :)

I adore this coffee table, such a soft shabby blue, with more blue and white :)

Such a Vibrant pink, a girl can never have too many roses....

Such a pretty time of the year, the flowers are all coming out and the colors are amazing!

A weekend of home Decorating...

If I ever need some inspiration to summer-ize the house, I turn to a great book by Susan Branch, while this is also a cookbook, she's got the most fabulous ideas for simple summer Decorating and the watercolors in it are always amazing too!


When I get some time, I love to rearrange the things around the house and see how they look in another area, its like "playing house" ;) that's actually what I call it when friends call to see whats up ? "I'm playing house" ;) that's just about the time they tell me I need to join them for lunch and get out ;) This Rooster has always been one of my favorite finds....very French Country.

I adore this spice rack, notice the little bow at the top? I fought hard for this on Ebay, lol, and now it has a place in my kitchen :) Yippee :)

These are in my daughter Melanies Room..... she wants to re-do it all modern ;) I hate to see the antiques go, but what ever she loves is fine by me :)



I love the detail in this tiger maple dresser , but i've been tempted many times to paint it white, im still holding off , for now :)


This painting below is in Melanies room, I had picked it up years ago at a local shop and had adored it, it reminded me of her....... a couple of years later, we actually got a lab puppy and one day Melanie showed me the picture and said: its exactly what the picture is Mom! I was amazed because our Lab had a red collar and every single marking was the same on her as it was in the picture....so typical little girl, Mel said: "See Mom, it was meant to be", lol.....

A little piece of scrap wood, a little paint, and some knobs.... just to create a place to hang more stuff :)

Off with the winter duvet , time to put out the summer quilts!

Blueberry pie and thrills....

I love to cook , but baking is kinda new to me :) Melanie and I made this on Sunday, and Blueberry Pie is one of her Favs ;) I have to say, lol, it tasted better than it looks :) so its a start, lol...

I got the sweetest, yummiest, Apron from Seaside Cottage! I adore it!

Seaside Cottage is one of my favorite little online shops, I adore her attention to detail and her fine workmanship too! Thanks Jen ! click on the little cupcake on my right hand column to go directly to her store to get one of these and see all her beautiful creations!

A Summer Weekend...

Growing up there was nothing better on a summer day , then hearing the Ice Cream mans little song coming down the block :) ok, maybe that and a lemonade stand :) But im so happy my daughter gets that same thrill ....lol, she was a little upset that I had my camera in hand too, but years from now she'll thank me :)

The weekend was filled with Sun and also lots of stormy looking hours too, yikes!

What strange weather we've had lately, the kids got all excited about this, while I was totally nervous!

My mother always had "rag rugs" in our house growing up, and I'm still drawn to them today! I had to have this one to replace my winter formal rug, simple and practical..

I love seeing what Target has , they have been known to get the little accessories so right! I picked up this lantern, good for a windy night :)

I spent this weekend catching up on some reading, finding inspiration for new projects...I need an entire library to hold all the books :)

A few Favorites on a very hot day!

In the house I grew up in , we had a dutch door, I always loved it, it kinda felt like Dorothy and the wizard of Oz, as if any second your friends were going to peek over and say HI...and now this house had one too when we moved in and how happy was I that it did?!!

and the best part is, my best friend leans in and says HI all the time. :) Its the little things in life that make me happy! and btw, I only opened the top part for the picture today, it was 95 degrees and no breeze, so right after the shot, I slammed it shut, lol....

Isn't she pretty ?!

I think my rose is a little big for the vase, but what a beauty, I was proud :)

When I moved in here the cabinets were plain and dark and everything was a bit out dated, but since all the lines of the house were good to start and the cabinets were solid wood, I decided to get out the trusty paint brush and paint it all creamy white. I used Ralph Lauren Sugar Cookie as the color, I think I loved the name and was sold on it, lol, but I've been happy with it ever since. Then I added beadboard to the back wall in Nantucket Robins egg blue, and new fixtures, appliances, and hardware ! oh yeah, and a Vintage stainless steel stove top and I was done ;)

Im a little kitchen Crazy...after a long day, theres no place id rather be...ok, wait, maybe my favorite chair in the family room comes pretty close, with a chilled glass of chardonnay and good tv show too ;) or a cup of tea, depends on the day, lol.

Susan Branch has always been a favorite cookbook writer and her artwork makes me envious, I wish this came out clearer, but its of a Vintage Stove and says: Home Cooking....so I had to have it ;)


Hmmm, this one came out a little blurry, but its a print by Susan Branch that I love of a sweet Vintage kitchen and the quote says: " Things taste better in small Houses" from Queen Victoria herself.....lol, she should know ;)

Whats for dinner?

Cooking and Decorating are by far my two favorite hobbies , besides playing on the computer ;) and many other things, I love to keep creative...but cooking is probably the most relaxing way for me to unwind. And the little veggys always take a beating if my days been stressful and work-packed :)


I have cooking rules in my house, unless you're helping, stay clear, lol. With 2 older boys and my 12 year old daughter, I dont get too many arguments there, the boys run and Melanie likes to stir... lol




My Daughter helped with Dinner tonight, shes such a cutie and it didnt hurt its one of her favs....BBQ chicken strips and Risotto with red and yellow peppers and a splash of peas ;) Im still hiding her veggys in things when I can , and shes 12, lol...



Its so nice to see all the Roses starting to bloom, its a slower start this year, but the 90 degree temps we had today might help. I like to walk about outside after dinner and see the new ones

The Elements of Cottage Design...

Cottage Design is Simple and Elegant with hints of Whimsy...




The art of Display....for a Cottage look, Grand or Small, its Simple and Elegant!



Blues and Creams and hints of pink, help add to a Cottage feel...




I happen to love all things cupcakes :) its a whimsical way to add some fun ;) These were hand crocheted by Jannets Romantic Cottage..




This Italian china plate blew me away when I saw the set...Its pressed Lace into pottery. Cottage Design is everything from your furniture, down to the very last detail...

Creativity in Design....

With a true passion and love for Design, I haven't left too many spaces "un-decorated", but the wonderful thing about walls are, is they are all like Canvas's waiting to be adorned....






My little sweetie Lab, Sierra :) Along with painted Risers on the steps too, this is a boat scene ... I tend to bring in Nautical Design any where I can without over doing it....Its the small spaces we often forget can benefit from a nice color punch. If the pattern is too much for you , try just painting yours a color to let them "pop" ....




When you Design a room, never neglect the picture frame that is your window :)




When you find the perfect pillow, sometimes you just gotta have it :) I love Needlepoints






This picture below is actually a Vintage Apron that I framed and I also used some of Susan Branches Cookbook pages as a back drop in the frame, it probably cost all of 10$ to make this and that was just for the frame, I had everything else. Look around your own home and see what kind of personal items you'd like framed and out for everyone to see!




This little stool was inspired by a Susan Branch Cookbook, she has such beautiful art work in her cookbooks, so with a little practice, I Handpainted some of her Designs onto a vintage stool...and trust me, lol, I couldnt draw stick figures before this, so anyone can do it :)

Gardening...

Decoration and Design accounts for Interiors , but it also serves as a means to "decorate" table, Buffets, vignettes, and any place thats visual.... which mean almost everything we see, can be Designed and made Beautiful...


Simple mason Jars serve as great vases when we are decorating in a cottage style
My Side Garden in full bloom
Table-Scaping is another way to express Creativity...




Interior Design has inspired me on many fronts, one of them is Gardening, The Design Principles are the same as they are for outside as well as in...its about Balance, color, shape , form and function. I tend to keep my outside simple, that way when the flowers bloom, they can be spread around in pots and moved. I took the deck pictures this week and the flowers are just starting to come out now...