Gorgeous interiors from some of my favorite blogs...

The one thing I miss about the days before I started blogging was that I actually had time to explore the blogs that I love and that inspired me to start blogging in the first place. Well, that's why I started regularly posting groups of images from my favorite blogs - so I get to visit my favorite sites, but still feel like I'm being productive.

In no particular order...

Below are finds from the always elegant Belle Vivir

this is a bathroom!

You can probably tell the 4 yummy images below are Scandinavian interiors, from the wonderfully Scandinavian themed Designpiration

I love this kitchen!!!  It's very rustic, but I think I could manage just fine...

The below are from the lovely "Oh So Beautiful Paper"

these bedrooms are heaven

This amazing cabinet is from the Two's Company display at last year's NYIGF.

My favorite decorating style - and wow was it hard to narrow it down!

The very awesome Amber over at Maven Mama presented a little challenge for me to pick one image that best represents my personal style for interiors. I'll have you know it took me long enough - as she presented me with the question April 1st! It's so hard though, and for me my personal style sometimes depends on what day it is! But today, I'd have to say that I always come back to what I call mid-century modern vintage.

Here is the picture that inspired my decision:
via Sweet Fine Day on Flickr

I still don't feel like this image quite sums it up - and there are things that I would do differently of course. I love the neutrals and wood tones, but I'd have to have some aqua blue in there somewhere. Also some fluffy seating - a shabby chic couch or something....and some more organic forms. I guess I just haven't really found the "just right image" yet, but I love this little glimpse of the room. I also love this style because you can use items you already have - I don't believe in tossing something just cause it doesn't match. Also, items that you use and live with are special - and make a home really yours.

While we're on the topic, here's some more mid-century modern interiors.








9 above images from Desire to Inspire
via Design Shrine


via Hidden in France

via House of Onika

via Curbly

This one was a close contender... I just love spaces that are really lived in and loved.
via Apartment Therapy

House Tour: A moody and eclectic home

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!












via Skona Hem

Great ideas for decorating on a teensy budget

So lately I've been entertaining a dream of mine, which is to move to a warmer climate. In particular, North Carolina - maybe Raleigh or Charlotte. So I decided to find some inspiration over at none other than Southern Living, where I found this really good article full of money-saving tips.

Jessica Duncan is a young designer whose style might exceed her budget, but she wouldn’t let it. Upon graduating from The University of Georgia with an interior design degree, she faced her toughest assignment yet decorating her first house.


Think Outside the Box

Gone are the days of buying a matching suite of furniture at one time. “For a great expression of personal style,” advises Jessica, “explore creative alternatives to incorporate ordinary pieces in unexpected ways.” In the kitchen, for example, Jessica uses two bookcases as a freestanding pantry. “Just because it’s a bookcase doesn’t mean it has to be used in an office,” she says.

Other ideas: A dining table can make a great desk. Small dressers, which offer plenty of storage, can be end or bedside tables. Armoires are the most functional of all. Use one as a closet in the bedroom, an entertainment center in the family room, a bar or china cabinet in the dining room, and even a computer center in the office.

Don’t turn it down: You never know how you might be able to give new life to an old or passed-down piece. Jessica almost declined an unattractive, secondhand dining table. But after covering the structurally sound piece with a new, funky tablecloth, it pulls the whole dining room together.


Know Where To Go

Antiques warehouses, salerooms at interiors shops, and consignment stores are always Jessica’s first stops in Atlanta for bargains. Here are a few of her favorites.

• Ballard’s Backroom (Ballard Design’s Outlet Store), www.ballarddesigns.com/retail or (404) 603-7033
• IKEA, www.ikea.com/us
• Lewis & Sheron Textile Co., www.lsfabrics.com
• Scott Antique Market, www.scottantiquemarket.com

Mix and Match

Furniture and accessories don’t have to go solo. Combine items to maximize their advantages. Jessica created the shaded chandelier over the dining room table by pairing a modern light fixture from IKEA with a more traditional shade from Ballard’s Backroom.

Extra savings: The shade was discounted for a small tear in its lining, but when placed above eye level, no one can tell.

Reupholster and reuse: Embrace all of your inherited furniture. Older pieces can give your home character and timeless charm. Paint, fabric, and even wallpaper can go a long way to taking a dated piece and making it new again. Just be sure you’re not ruining the value of a nice antique by altering it.

Two heads are better than one: More people equals more ideas. While shopping, you might stumble across a great find but have no idea how to use it. A girlfriend might be able to offer a terrific suggestion.


Buy the Bolt
The inspiration for Jessica’s design struck in the form of a 30-yard bolt of black-and-white houndstooth fabric that was on sale for an amazing $30. “I loved that fabric,” says Jessica, “and it was such a bargain. Even after the window treatments, upholstery, and pillows, I still had plenty of extra.” Leftover fabric doesn’t have to go to waste. Use it down the road as seat cushions on new finds, lampshades, and even place mats or a tablecloth.

If you can’t score a bargain on fabric, definitely find a pattern you love and use it. Get more usage out of smaller yardage by covering accent elements such as pillows, lampshades, stools, side chairs, and the backs of cabinets with it. (FYI: It takes about 1 yard of fabric to make one 18-inch pillow.)

For large pieces, such as a sofa, opt for a neutral slipcover. You’ll save your budget from reupholstery costs and give yourself more freedom to alter the look. This is always a good thing!

Images and captions via Southern Living

Yes - cabin decorating can be done without taxidermy!

Shocking I know, but I still have nightmares about the deer hoof coat rack my parents had when I was a kid. So even when going for the country, "one with nature" look, I try to avoid dead animals. And when reader Carrie proposed a little challenge for me to provide her with inspiration for her newly renovated cabin - I agreed to take a stab. Anyone else have some ideas?

Carrie's cabin:

Carrie's own little "Shady Nook" - what a dream!



Of her *gorgeous* home she says,

Definite likes would include Adirondack, Mission and Shaker... a rustic chic.... Bold, warm colors, even though most of our space is filled with wood. Our cabin is outside of Philadelphia, that's why I say rustic chic. I'm a city girl, living in a cabin an hour from the city... we're not exactly in no man's land and I love the city. But how does I combine the two without things looking Felix & Oscar?

Dislikes include whites (in the woods nothing stays white), those cutesy bears that accompany so many cabin decor sites, and those metal chairs from the '60s (that my husband already collects). I don't have any interior shots, but I can give you some exterior shots of our cabin, "Shady Grove", for inspiration. The outbuilding with the canoes is my husband's workshop, and the cute one with blue and red trim is my "Shady Nook", and guest room."

Some yummy ideas I found:

Rich warm colors like navy blue, red, golden-tan, and plums offer bright color without being too worrisome of dirt showing through.
via Sunset


Don't you love farmhouse sinks?
via Cottage Living

The use of wood for seating and cabinets says cabin - while the back splash and clean lines ads a little touch of the city.
via Cooking Light


via Sunset
via Whole Living
Though an entire supportive column from a tree trunk may not be a realistic possibility for most of us, you can bring the forest in on a smaller scale like this tree branch used as a towel hook.

"At left, the open-air dining room features reclaimed redwood siding salvaged from an abandoned water tower that once served a local stage coach station." -
via Sunset


Use ample soft home goods to juxtapose wood and rock
via House to Home


I always equate open shelving with rustic-chic. The numbers on the back of the dining room chairs also add refinement to the country look.
via Southern Living


via My Home Ideas

via Dwellings and Decor via Country Living

via Marie Claire Maison

Little details and "imperfections" are actually nature's embellishments, and personally, I find that's where the charm lies.
via Marie Claire Maison

Wood needn't mean "cutesy bear" carvings and animals made from corn husks - wood can be sensuous and elegant like in this bedroom!
via Marie Claire Maison (?)



Dark furniture and glass accessories, and designing in symmetry or "pairs" ad elegance, and the Tuscan-style paint finish ads polish.
via Marie Claire Maison (?)

Accessories with a more organic shape and feel will fit in better than "manufactured" items.
via Hudson Goods

-love this table
via Hudson Goods

via Hudson Goods

Vintage accessories will lend themselves better to a cabin than objects shiny and new.
via Hudson Goods