Day 832: Friday Flowers

Today I'm thinking about dahlias. The dark ones, particularly (I think they're called Arabian Nights?). I keep walking into stores -- even Starbucks! -- to find bouquets of the biggest, most beautiful I've ever seen, and the shopowners say they were donated by a generous customer. Wonder if it's the same person?


I suppose that means they grow nicely here. I think I will add them to must-plant-for-next-year list, which is getting kind of long.


For now, I'll admire these, and maybe hit up the farmers' market tomorrow morning (it's the last weekend!).

Happy Weekend!

Photos, from top: The Bride's Cafe, this flickr stream, and this flickr stream.

Day 831's kitchens with an edge

Lately I'm finding myself drawn more and more to a kitchen with a little edge. Not an attitude, just one that is a little less-than-pristine. Slightly imperfect (maybe they are recycled?) subway tiles and a stainless-steel table on casters are a pleasing combination in this kitchen, published in Martha Stewart Living (and originally designed by Steven Gambrel).


Unfinished wood floors warm up this kitchen considerably, especially when paired with finished wood countertops.


Another wonderful Gambrel-designed kitchen ... sigh (this one is in his Sag Harbor home, click on it to get a better look). There are those subway tiles again. I love them with dark grout, and how practical must that be for a backsplash? The over-size tile on the floor feels more like a bank than a kitchen, and the elements of wood -- the table and the cutting boards -- give it a little rustic-ness.


This kitchen is in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. Brooke posted the rest of the house here, and those pumpkins and antlers can be found in the article, too. The beams were salvaged from an old barn (you know I love barns), and the island is ridiculous: a massive slab of butcher block, stainless steel and wrought iron paired with delicate spindle stools. Perfect!

The formula for these is pretty simple: Warm white, cream, or gray cabinets + something raw and unfinished + something stainless + something industrial = one great kitchen.

Day 830's bath idea

This isn't really an option for our teeny-tiny bathrooms, but one day I've love to take a great piece of furniture and have it converted to a vanity. How great is this old file cabinet (from Coastal Living)?


And I love this little demilune table in Katie Denham's powder bath. For a small project like this, I'd check out the remnants of stone at my local Southeastern Salvage.

This little table lends a historical feeling to this bath. Small tables are in abundance at antique shops and flea markets. You could probably find a good deal on one with a damaged top.


I also love the idea of building a simple, custom vanity. It could be a great way to give some business to a local carpenter, or if you have a handy friend or relative, even better! (Photo courtesy of Anna Spiro)


The project could be as simple or as complicated as you'd like. (Photo from Blackberry Farm, courtesy of Granny Smith Green)

Day 829: fun combo for fall

Loving the combination of pumpkins and antlers.


Photos: Cote de Texas, Martha Stewart Living.

Day 828: fall flowers

I never quite made it to the farmers' market to look for sunflowers on Saturday morning. Instead, I spent three hours on the patio at my favorite Starbucks catching up with two friends (and hanging out with Maddie). Better than an even trade, I think.


But I did get to add some pretty fall flowers to the house. Goldenrod is blooming all over the place, and I cut these from behind the pizza place near our house (side-of-the-road weeds are my favorite!).


They're so fluffy, and I love the burnt-yellow color. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that they haven't shed a bit while sitting in the vase. Best of all, they are f-r-e-e.


The same hydrangeas that were blue in the summer are now green with red-purple tips.


This is a great time to cut them for drying. They hold their color well when picked late in the season, when the petals feel papery. The method that has worked best for me is to leave them in the vase until the water evaporates. Doesn't get much easier than that.


And I was so thrilled to find some of the beautiful flowers that I admired on a trip to California in May. Erica helped me i.d. them last week, and I was thisclose to ordering them online when I spotted a few plants at a local garden shop.


I've been obsessed with Mexican sage since I spotted it here, at a hillside hotel along Highway One near Big Sur. It was so huge, and has a romantic, cottage-garden feel to it. It's also drought-resistant, which is great for the sunny beds on the front of our house.


I especially love the velvety flowers. What did you do this weekend?

Day 825's pretty

Positively dying over these beautiful sunflowers from Eddie Ross'upstate New York garden. And they're in a pretty pewter pitcher, too boot.


Think I'm going to have to hit the farmers' market this weekend, and hunt for a few to fill my own pewter pitcher (above), and make a mental note to scope out a spot in my yard for some sunflowers. Thanks for always inspiring, Eddie!

Happy Weekend!

Day 824: 2 things you shouldn't miss

Domino alum, blogger and textile designer Michelle Adams, with her business partner Patrick Cline, launched her much-anticipated online magazine, Lonny. I have followed Michelle's blog for a while and always admired her taste (and great attitude), but I am still blown away! It's really fabulous. Patrick's photography really made it so beautiful, and it was fun to hear from some names I think you'll recognize: Eddie Ross and Jaithan Kochar, Ron Marvin, Deborah Needleman, Grace Bonney, Carolina Irving, and more. Check it out here.


Another blogger I always find inspiring is featured in the New York Times. Grant Gibson has totally impeccable taste, and it was so fun to hear the details about how he renovated his San Francisco rental apartment by splurging where it counts and saving in other places. Read the story here.

Day 824: more plaid bedrooms

Thanks for all of the kind words about my little bedroom update. I think the good Lord knew what he was doing when he gave us the changing seasons, because I need -- and even crave -- a little change a few times a year. The lovely fall weather we're experiencing has me feeling so energized, and a few little changes around the house reinforce that.

I kind of hate to say "I LOVE plaid in bedrooms!" because, really, plaid in bedrooms is kind of dangerous. I'm thinking of those beds-in-a-bag that all of my male friends had in college (and some probably still do -- I'm talking to you, Mayo!). That said, when plaid is used well in a bedroom (no cotton comforters, please), it is so good. Like the vintage Ralph Lauren plaid blanket on the bed in this guest room in Mark Badgley and James Mischka's Kentucky home (photographed by Roger Davies for Elle Decor).


Or in this pretty room by designer Nicholas Haslam. I posted the rest of it here, and I still think it's a fabulous room.

If you're loving plaid as much as I am, check out Katy Elliot's round up of plaid wool blanket resources.

Day 823: bedroom updated for fall

I just love fall (have you noticed?). Remember last year when I scored some yardage of a great Ralph Lauren plaid fabric? I wanted to make stockings out of it but never did. Then it occurred to me that it would make a beautiful blanket, but -- surprise! -- nothing became of that either. So I finally just took it off the bolt, cut it in half, and put each piece on one of the two beds in our house.

It really cozied-up the guest bedroom (see it before here) and inspired a few little fall-ish updates.


A stack of old books, a few bits of early-fall foliage, and a deer antler (Wes thought I was crazy for bringing it home from an antique store -- but I love it!) on a copper platter warmed things up a bit. And after I gave the green ceramic yard-sale lamp to my cousin, I brought this turned-wood lamp home from Target. The black shade came out of a closet, which explains it disheveled shape.


I even swapped the blue and white plates for some brown transferware plates I wasn't using.

Day 822's inspiring showhouse

If you enjoy spare, Belgian- and French-inspired design, check out Canadian House & Home's Showhouse. H&H designer Lynda Reeves' guided video tours of the home are much better than my sad screen grabs!