A Nice Place to Sit

Time has been flying by the last few weeks, and summer will surely be here before we know it.


Wouldn't it be nice to slow down for a few hours, every now and then? To do it in this lovely room would be such a treat. It looks like time is standing still ...

Photo: design by Christopher Maya.

Help Me Find Mirror

I have decided that I "need" a small-ish round mirror over our four-poster bed. There are two egg prints there now, but it's a few too many right angles and I'm thinking of moving them. I don't think I want a sunburst (I think I'm at capacity with three in the house), but maybe a small convex? The one in my mind would have an iron frame, like the one in my dining room. So if this one were round and not oval, it would be perfect! Anyone seen this mirror?

Photo: Kelly Proxmire.

Lanterns in Bedrooms

I adore the lantern in our dining room, and have given it a spot on the short list of things I will want to grab should our house catch on fire. (It's morbid to have such a list, I know.) It's definitely coming with us to our next house, where the trouble will be choosing a room to put it in. Over a small dining table? Yes. Living room? Yes. Bedroom? Also, yes!





Photos: Mary Evelyn Interiors as seen in Southern Accents; Anne Coyle Interiors, photographed by Robbie Caponetto for Cottage Living; unknown source via Little Green Notebook; photographed by Roger Davies for Cottage Living; unknown source via Cote de Texas.

Day 1031's Week in Pictures: Noticing Color

Lovely colors on this dry-stacked stone wall. The rusty orange with the blue-gray particularly caught my eye.


Pretty black door and brass handle on a local storefront. Still dying to paint something black ...


It is super-green at our house. The dogwood blossoms have faded, the azaleas are on their way out, and the green of summer is taking over. Not that I'm complaining. My hydrangeas are starting to think about blooming -- I'm so glad I didn't kill them!

FrogTape Giveaway Winner

The winner of a goody bag from FrogTape is #71, Nichole! Congratulations, and a big thanks to everyone who entered.

I'm really, really looking forward to this weekend. That is all.

Happy Weekend!

Photo is Liz Williams Interiors.

Inspired by: Small Metal Side Tables

I really don't have a place (or in some cases, the budget) for one, but I'm loving small brass (or otherwise gold-toned) side tables, like this Directoire-style beauty in Tia Zoldan's Hollywood cottage (you can see the rest of the house - one of my favorites! - here). A couple of other favorites:


Crate & Barrel's Jules table is one of a few things on my perma-list.


Round gilded iron Martini Table at Mecox Gardens. Presumably called so because a martini is about all it will hold. But isn't it cute?!


Jonathan Tall Round Table by Oly Studio


Round Swan's Neck Marble Table at Mecox Gardens

Giveaway!

The nice folks at FrogTape have a package for one lucky reader! I gave it a try in February when I painted windows and was very pleased. I'll be calling on its paint block technology again soon to help me paint the crown in our bedroom -- should be fun!

If you'd like a few rolls of your own (and a few fun goodies!) leave one comment on this post by Friday, April 23, 2010 at midnight Central Time telling us what you would do with it. One winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!

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.

Day 1024: Week in Pictures

This isn't so much the week in pictures as it's five-minutes-on-Tuesday-evening in pictures. I got home in time to see the setting sun looking so, so lovely on the azalea in the peak of their bloom. By the time I changed out of my work heels and grabbed the step ladder (one of them has got to be six-feet tall!), the light (above) was all but gone. I still managed a few nice shots, I think.