Dark

A little charcoal grey is about as spooky as I get.





Happy Halloween!

Photos: House & Home, Pinterest, via Wit and Delight, via Preppie Bettie, m. elle design.

Goldenrod Yellow

It's that time of year - the goldenrod is blooming everywhere. I clipped some from an empty lot near our neighborhood (I sure the guys in the pizza parlor next door think I'm crazy), but it wasn't as photogenic as it has been in years past. And while I am not usually a big yellow lover, I was quite taken with the color in House & Homes' Princess Margaret Showhome. Isn't this the most cheerful kitchen? Pairing the hue with a dusty charcoal gray and light wood finishes was unexpected and chic.



Photos are by Michael Graydon for Canadian House & Home.

Aqua + Linen + Rust

I'm always on the hunt for interesting color combinations, and lately I am taken with this one. It seems just right for late summer/early fall and even inspired me to pair an orange linen skirt with an aqua silk top for a wedding recently. Hopefully it was as cute in person as it was in my head. Anyway.

If I were turning it into a room, I would start with this smart sofa and add a nice, long lumbar pillow in Windsor Smith's Riad.


A pair of these cuties in Saffron Linen would sit opposite the sofa, with a sleek table in between.

* Top photo from the always-inspiring Purl Soho.

** Apologies for my recent prolonged absence(s). I have still been reading my favorite blogs, but the desire/inspiration to write my own has temporarily been lacking. I think I might be getting my groove back and look forward to reconnecting with you all.

Fall Color Inspiration

Fall color in our neck of the woods has been a bit lacking, probably thanks to our end-of-summer drought. But I still love the muted grays, greens, and browns of the leaf litter constantly falling onto our deck (and everywhere else in our yard).




There are plenty of ways to use the colors when decorating for fall, which is great for our house, where an orange pumpkin stands out like a sore thumb.




Photos: top three are mine, Colin Cooke, bottom three from Saipua.

Lovely Letterpress

Loving these letterpress suites from Stripe & Field. Simple and beautiful, with colors perfect for this early fall morning.

Outdoor Paint Inspiration

The exterior of our house (seen here last fall) is a combination of red brick and gray board-and-batten siding with white trim and black shutters (and blue doors). There's a lot going on and I've wanted to paint since day 1, but that project isn't really on our short-term radar. Not that this deters me from looking for inspiration.


I had nearly decided that we would paint all of it either creamy white or a dark charcoal (with a tiny hint of green) when I spotted this house on Tracery's facebook page. Designed by Hudson Architecture, it is the best of both worlds and I think I am in love.


I love that the windows are the same color as the siding, and to me, this is more interesting that swathing the house in one color and trying to pretend it's all one material. I think I would lose the shutters (I prefer them to be working -- Charleston, South Carolina spoiled me on that), but what color should the columns be?

Inspired by: Green and Yellow

I'm usually a neutral girl, but lately the combination of green and yellow, in various forms, has been catching my eye.





Photos: Cote Maison via Oh Happy Day, Veranda, via Simply Seleta (I think), via Little Big House, Lynn Karlin Photo.

Okay Fine, I Like Color

I used to claim to prefer neutrals, but the truth is -- and as you may have noticed yesterday -- I do like color too. And I've recently come to terms with the fact that I might even need it. Who am I?


This blue cabinet is really speaking to me today!

Photo: styling by Jessica Thomas.

Colors Between Colors

It's hard to say what my favorite color is, because they are sort of colors between colors. Like a blue-green-gray.


Or a teal-navy-green.


Or a gray-beige.

What is your favorite color?

Color Palette Inspiration

I love the story in the May issue of Martha Stewart Living on decorating with color. The selected 18 colors and dubbed them "super-neutrals" and then decorated five rooms with them. The palettes are a combination of contrast and tone-on-tone. I tend to use more tone-on-tone, so it's nice to be reminded that contrast can be very beautiful too, and doesn't have to mean black and white, or a similarly stark combination (the yellow and blue below is one example).

Here are the paint colors:
1. Buoyant Blue, No. 6483, Sherwin-Williams.
2. Dragonfly, No. AF-510, Benjamin Moore.
3. Gray Horse, No. 2140-50, Benjamin Moore.
4. Blue Fir, No. MSL124, Martha Stewart Living Paint.
5. Cooking Apple Green, No. 32, Farrow & Ball.
6. Titanium, No. 2141-60, Benjamin Moore.
7. Punch, No. MSL014, Martha Stewart Living Paint.
8. Stonington Gray, No. HC-170, Benjamin Moore.
9. Babouche, No. 223HC-170, Farrow & Ball.
10. Heath, No. MSL212, Martha Stewart Living Paint.
11. Natural Twine, No. MSL217, Martha Stewart Living Paint.
12. Lancaster Blue, No. UL34, Ralph Lauren Paint.
13. Makaha, No. 19-32, Pratt & Lambert.

You can get a printable version of the paint palette here.






Speaking of paint, Benjamin Moore retailers in the Southeast are offering free color samples. Great for a testing out a color or a small project (say, a couple of picture frames). Visit benjaminmoore.com to download your coupon and get a complete list of participating dealers.

Inspired by: Matte Black Furniture

I don't usually love black painted furniture -- just not my thing, I guess-- but when the finish is matte I can't get enough. I blame this on my obsession with black basalt.


The new black furniture kick was set off by Haskell Harris' cabinet (I first spotted it on Style Court). She painted it herself with chalkboard paint, which immediately sent me on a quest through my house looking for something I could take a paintbrush to. I didn't come up with much -- the inside of my living room shelves and my blue chest are the only contenders.


I then headed for 1st Dibs for a little more eye candy. I'm quite sure I could find a place for this darling writing desk. Doesn't this hardware remind you of some I was mulling over last month?


And I think I have posted a similar painted secretary before but I couldn't resist including it again. We have an Eastlake secretary (on semi-permanent loan from my dad) but I don't think I could bear to paint it. Though it is certainly tempting!

Day 794: Happy September

House Beautiful

For some reason, I never feel quite right wearing black during the spring and early summer.


But now that we're officially in late summer, I love it with my white jeans.

Elle Decor

With just a little bit of color (muted or bright), black and white feels just right on this first day of September, don't you think?