"When you realize that a beautiful interior has very little to do with objects and a whole lot to do with spirit, general well being and upliftment you find the soul of interior design. If you have respect for your surroundings and everything has it's perfect place you interact with your world differently you carry yourself differently. My father used to say that the state of your surroundings is the state of your mind. Look around your home, let your home be the foundation of your aspiration."

Written by a South African artist, interior designer & product designer.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Sarah's House kitchen

Sarah isn't shying away from color this season.  She mixes up the colors for the cabinetry, brings in a few different fabics, uses two different types of stone for the backsplash and throws in some vintage lighting.  She always makes it look so easy! 
















Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Another spring project

Now that the warmer weather is on its way (fingers crossed) I have been anxious to tackle my front door with a fresh coat of paint.  Well, I'll be honest, I would redo the whole exterior if I had it my way!  Even something simple like a new paint color for your front door can make all the difference.  Yesterday while enjoying a grande non fat extra hot vanilla latte;) I was flipping through Domino magazine (oh... how I miss it) and came across a photo from the November 2008 issue by the style icon Miles Redd who was often featured. It is actually a picture of his own townhouse in NYC and I absolutely fell in love with it. It is the perfect robin's egg blue and it looks so inviting. Don't you think?    

Miles Redd front door




I'm thinking Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore)?










 

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Kitchen redo

I thought I would share some pictures of my home.  Let's start with the kitchen.  I am having trouble locating all of my before pictures of the house so for now I will share my kitchen.  Nothing makes me happier than a good reno.  I can't say my lovely husband agrees although I do my best to convince him otherwise!

BEFORE





AFTER






















Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sarah's House bathroom

I am loving the bathroom Sarah did this week!  It is so fresh and pretty and the color scheme of graphite with the yellow is a great combination.  I happen to have this color combo in my bedroom so of course I'm a big fan. 












Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Decluttering my shelving unit

I decided that my ikea shelving unit needed a major clean up.  I had mentioned in an earlier post how I found the perfect project to start my spring cleaning.  I always like changing things up and making things feel new again.  This shelving unit had become a catch all for all sorts of things.  I didn't buy anything new I just used the things I already had and reorganized it.  Here are some before and after pictures.


BEFORE







AFTER









Some things I like to keep in mind when styling bookshelves:

1.  I like to group books into similar colors.  This makes everything look more cohesive.

2.  Don't group larger items at the bottom of the shelving unit.  This makes it too bottom heavy.  I like to  spread out the larger items so it looks more balanced.

3.  I find that frames can sometimes look lost on a cubby shelf like mine so I removed all of them and put them somewhere else.

4.  I also like to group similar objects together.  Whether its by color or shape it gives much more impact when grouped together.

5.  Alternate books for a more interesting look.  Stack some vertically and some horizontally.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sarah's House bedrooms

I am really falling behind on my Sarah's House updates!!  She did two bedrooms this week and they were both very different color schemes but both share a relaxed fresh country feel.    I love the mix of patterns and the headboard in the blue room is fantastic!  She also used my new favourite rug from Ikea that I now have to have.  Here are a few pictures to enjoy.














Gorgeous headboard!


My new have to have rug!  A herringbone 5'7 100% wool rug for only $199.00!!!  Come on!!!!!!



    

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring Cleaning

I don't know about you but every spring I feel like I need to clear both my head and my home of unnecessary clutter.  This usually entails going through my house and either throwing out things I am sick of looking at (and by that I don't mean literally throwing things out but putting them in my ever growing crawl space of stuff) or moving things around and finding new places for furniture or objects.  I have the perfect project to start this process.  Stay tuned! 

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Glorious shades of blue

I have always been a huge fan of the color blue.  Maybe it has something to do with that fact that I am a pisces!  To me there is nothing better than being surrounded in blue.  My house is painted in a gray blue and I have never grown tired of it.  It is still considered one of the trendy colors probably because it is so versatile.  From the lightest gray blue shade to the darkest navy end of the spectrum.  I love them all!  I hope these pictures inspire you to inject a little blue in your home.

















I am in love with this kichen!