I have a confession to make. I have never liked blue in decorating. Oh, I wear blue, and it’s cute in my little boy’s room, but whenever I saw blue in a living space, I just didn’t love it. Perhaps it’s because my parent’s house was blue for many years (every room, mind you!) but for whatever reason, it was just not something that spoke to me. My family room/kitchen area is neutrals and cream with pops of red, and it has been like that for quite awhile now. Red toile curtains, red toile chairs, red checked roman shade and a few red striped and/or floral pillows on the cream couches. And I have always loved it. It is fresh and cheerful, and it looks great at Christmas. That is, I loved it until recently. I don’t know what happened, but I sort of woke up one day and thought, “I cannot look at this red for one more day!” I know blue is a huge trend in decorating. And of course, I’ve been seeing a ton of it; in blogs, in catalogs, on websites and on Pinterest. But I’ve certainly seen trends I didn’t follow before. And I’ve certainly seen blue photos that never spoke to me before. But now…..
Friday Favorites – To the Letter
I love letters in decorating. They are so personal and unique. Not only do they add some personality to the room, they also add dimension and irreverence. A room with some kind of metal or wood letter, whether it be old or new, seems to say “Relax… take a load off.” It doesn’t take itself too seriously. I personally like vintage ones more than the new, but they are actually pretty difficult to find. However, there are a lot of reproduction letters out there that do a great job of giving the look of vintage, without all the hunting!
Friday Favorites – White Hydrangeas
Love them in a simple vase. Design by Linda McDougald. |
Love them in vintage urns. Via The Enchanted Home. |
Love them in baskets in the yard or house. (Source unknown.) |
Love them in a silver bowl. Via Country Living. |
Love them in the yard. Via Houzz. |
Absolutely love these by this pool (would love to do this in my yard!) (Source unknown). |
Simply stunning! Via Atelier de Campagne. |
Wishing you have a lovely weekend! I’m off to the garden store to buy some new white hydrangeas to add to the front beds and to TJ’s to get some for the kitchen counter…..
Sheila
xo
Coffee Talk
Today coffee table styling is on my mind. I’m one of those people who once I start thinking about something (design-wise, anyway… or clothing-wise :)) I become a little obsessed. I was literally up until after midnight the last few nights looking online and at pins on Pinterest for interesting ways to style a coffee table. I recently purchase a new one and it’s twice the size of the old one so I’m feeling like I want to add a little bit. I don’t like them too full (and the hubby usually doesn’t like too many things “in his way”) but I don’t like a big empty table either. My new table is a full 48″ x 48″ so that’s a pretty big space if there is nothing on it. There are a few things I noticed that were consistent in the tables I liked:
Friday Favorites – Preserved Boxwood
Something I was recently turned onto is preserved boxwood topiaries. These are not the plastic, fake topiaries that don’t look real, oh no, these are hand made from real boxwood plants and are specially treated to retain their deep green color. They even have a faint hay-like smell that makes them seem more natural than just a plastic topiary. I have only had two fake (plastic) topiaries in my life and I had recently thrown them out, vowing to go only “real” from now on.