yay or nay: a different kind of kitchen

While I'll always be a sucker for white cabinetry and carrera marble... there seems to be a growing movement toward kitchens with a touch of tattered soul. I'm seeing more and more wood countertops (scratches be damned!), unfitted cabinetry and retro-styled appliances.

This one in particular captures the look I am talking about - almost feels like an old deli, doesn't it?

Loving the hits of copper, vintage fridge and scale, and all that gorgeous rich wood - although balancing my dish ware atop crates may be taking "unfitted" a bit too far :) Now, what do you suppose that saw is for?!!

a typographic treasure trove

If you like typography (and who doesn't?) I found a fantastic site last week that features the typographic works of it's members, and I thought you may like to know about it...

Aptly named Typographic Posters, to date there are the shared works of 558 members, with links to their other places on the web. Prepare to be dazzled.

Had a fabulous weekend with girls.... and was quite happy to return home again last night - nothing like being away from the family to make you appreciate them, is there?

How was your weekend? Any creative pursuits? Adventures?

peach & the return of pastels

Packing up for a rare girls weekend away (first time using that Missoni luggage!), nothing like skiing and celebrating with old fiends, is there? I hope you all have a wonderful few days.. and here's a little pretty for you... x



We couldn't talk about orange without moving on to peach, could we? I think pastels are poised for a major comeback (but that's another post:) as we move toward blonde/greyed/limed wood tones. Defining peach is difficult - ask a thousand people to show you the colour peach, and you'll receive a thousand different colours.
But somewhere between orange and white, pink and yellow, lies your perfect peach.

We tend to think as peach a a very soft, airy hue - but as shown on these walls, an entire room of saturated peach can be fairly intense - you really have to love it! If you are going this route, an accent wall or half walls may be the best option.  (that bottom room may actually be pink, I'm realizing now, but with the lighting it appears more yellow, so I'm leaving it in, lol)

The more white you add, the more subtle the glow... a very pale peach almost reads as a neutral here.
Below, this is saturated colour well-done - painting a partial wall allows the ceiling to open up for some visual relief.

Placing any peach tone against blue-greens creates a dynamic, complementary scheme.

Here, hits of peach work well with warm-toned neutrals.

If you don't want to make a huge commitment, add just a few pieces....

When you are working with pastels, the concern is that they can look sweet very quickly, and the easiest way to keep your space looking sophisticated is to ground them with greys and blacks. 

(I discussed this in my post on mint green and black as well)

The last room, above, accomplishes this, and the last room, below, is my all-time favourite peach look.

Très chic, non? What's your take on peach?





photo links: cameron boa art  caravan   table   clutch chevron  bicycle  hall view greige living sleeping nook bedroom office vignette bedroom curtains dining room ottoman artwork table   turquoise cup moroccan bedroom favourite hair shirt art

yea or nay: the orange movement

Orange. No other colour does happy so well. Yellow likes shout and be the centre of attention, and pink always want to bring love into it, but only orange is happy for the sake of being happy.

For many years, orange was my favourite hue. I once had a bedroom with walls the colour of tang :)  It was the most wonderful room to wake up in. In our last home, every room had at least a splash of it - even my kitchen chairs were orange!

Pantone has chosen Tangerine Tango as their colour of the year, and while I don't agree with people using a colour just for the sake of being trendy (covered that in last years post about the colour of the year) , this warm orange is quite fitting for the times.

Tangerine Tango skews toward red, and all that warmth is as enveloping as red, but without any aggression. While people around the globe are trying to put their lives back together after a tumultuous few years, we could all use a little extra warmth and happiness, right?

 I have always liked orange best when it was clean, perhaps containing a bit more white, or flirting with yellow, rather than red...

but right now, the softer side of orange is on my radar.... (that's thursdays post :)



What do you think? Is there a place in your home for these exuberant orange hues?








pots   dress   mirrors  sofagreywalls   kitchen   boholiving   outdoor dining   sofa&drapes   espresso kitchen   stools&lights kitchen   cabinet   wall

a spot of summer...

Over at Veranda Interiors today, guest posting while the lovely Melissa frolics in Maui... smart girl, she heads to the beach for a little sunshine while her house get's a whole new look! (and what a house it's going to be - check out this post where Melissa shared her choices in finishes... can't wait to see the pics!!)

Dying for a bit of summer? Then pop over... there's some eye candy and a completely fabulous recipe for a sugar body scrub you have got to try - I'm addicted :) 

Happy friday, all - x

thank you, and you're it!

a big huge thank you to




 Janelle of Ramblings of a Redhead who gave me the

Kreativ Blogger award last friday -

I'm honoured to be in such good company :)

and once I read that you were a fellow leftie, I understood why we get each other!

also

the ever-sweet Carol of The Design Pages has tagged me in a game
 where you answer 11 questions about yourself... 
wish we lived closer because I think we'd get on quite well in real life...

The rules are simple, post answers to the 11 questions Carol laid out for me, then tag 11 other bloggers, 
and give them 11 questions to answer (and let them know they were tagged, of course!)
We all get to learn a bit more about each other this way..






__________________________________________________________






1.  What did you do last Friday night?


I picked up my parents and brought them up to our house for the weekend 
(it was Cam's 10th bday, and we had 3 parties :)
Along the way we took a wee detour to Ikea
 to pick up a couple of the new Storsele chairs for the family room.
A bottle of red wine, prosciutto and cheese was shared over cupcake decorating....

2.  What is your specialty in the kitchen?


Well, my real love is baking. Cakes, pies, squares, cookies, basically anything that qualifies as a sweet!
Since I've been told that you can't live on pastry alone (although I'm not sure if it's true),
one of the goals for this year is to get more creative with dinners -
the kids may just stage a revolt if I serve them chicken, rice and broccoli again :)

3.  What is your favourite nail polish colour?


Only clear on my fingernails, because I am constantly working with paint, or glue, or a staple gun....
my toes, however get done each week, usually in the most saturated colours I can find!

4.  Dogs or cats?


Oh, dogs, always dogs. We have two of the most mental chocolate labs you'll ever meet! Truly mental.

5.  What is your favourite computer or phone app?


hmm... I use the Carpenter app all the time, but my favourite app's are Etsy and Pinterest.
Etsy may cost more, but I get lost in pinterest. For a long time. Must. Exit. Pinterest.














6.  Who inspires you the most?


My clients. I love finding that unique solution that works for each particular client,
it's like fitting together pieces of a puzzle, and that moment when it comes together is sweet perfection.







7.  If you and I were going to spend a weekend together what would you plan for us?


 When I read your answer for an ideal sunday, Carol, 
I thought, "hmm, break out the hunters!" because that's pretty much my ideal sunday as well!
(sleeping in, cruising markets for vintage finds)
We may have to add in some type of craft - 
you're a diy wonder and I'd like to learn some of your tricks :)
 And some patio time - nothing like an evening on a patio in the summertime, is there?

8.  What was the best book you read last year?


It's a bit old, but I finally read Memoirs of a Geisha. 
The strength of this woman throughout her struggle to control/accept her life was inspirational.







9.  What's your biggest accomplishment of 2012?


I got my on-line consultations going, and it changed my business completely. 
It's brilliant to be able to work with people I have gotten to know through blogging.







10. Do you like to dance?


That's our family mantra around here!
One day it struck me that our initials spelled out D.A.N.C.E,
and right now I'm working on a piece of art for the house that says,
"there ought to be more dancing".
One of the first things we do every morning is put on some music...
and then it's a common sight to see someone dancing in the kitchen :)














11. Which is your favourite, must read blog? 




I don't think you can beat apartment therapy for fantastic original content,
and I love design sponge for diy.
But the main reason I read the blogs I do is because I have made a personal connection to the bloggers, 
and I try to get in a visit to the all the blogs on my blogroll at least every couple of weeks, 
just to see what everyone has been up to.


Personality trumps content every time.






_____________________________________________________________








So... now the fun begins...




Tag! You're it!






A Delightful Design
Because It's Awesome
Cardigan Junkie
Chattafabulous
Inspired Lines
Project Gadabout
Rambling Renovators
The Crafty Bee
The Enchanted Home
The Fabulous Design File






Here are your questions...




1. What is your day job?
2. Why did you start blogging?
3. What is the best thing that has come from blogging?
4. How and where do you find inspiration?
5. If you could live anywhere, where would you be?
6. Who is your favourite artist?
7. What's playing on your iPod?
8. How do you spend your day off?
9. Who would you most like to meet?
10. Best childhood memory?
11. What is your favourite colour?








You know I had to throw in that last one! Looking forward to reading all of your posts - x



















wine food 1 2 3 boots&sofa market umbrella sign

the colours of l♥ve

from the palest of blushes to the deepest of merlots...

these hues speak the language of the heart...

 

Which one makes your heart flutter?

Wishing you a few days of amour....x

ladybird print cupids arrow necklace wall birds kissing couple red face painting ruffle scarf thunder tote 

tassel garland pantone ring striped blanket pink phone pink pendant vintage bathing suit 

neon ampersand neon leg warmers geo ring

blushing pink hair daybed entry flamestich pillow garden party red&yellow living room red frames gallery living red bookcases

my blog review - the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Do you read the blog Inspire Me Heather?

If not, you may want to add it to your reading list - 

Heather is a creative diy girl, a great writer and truly gracious, 

featuring diy projects from around the blogosphere regularly.

At the moment, Heather has a new feature that's designed to improve everyone's blog,

called What I Like About Your Blog.

The premise is simple - 

by signing up, you agree to review two blogs, and likewise two fellow bloggers review your own.

The results are private, only shown to the bloggers participating.

Well, one of my reviews is in, 

and it makes me realize there are some areas of the blog that really need improving.

Want to see the review?

How about I mix in some eye candy?!!

What I liked about their blog: I love all the white. 

It makes it look clean, and it makes the images really stand out. 

I LOVE the large photos. They are so inspiring and it is nice that they are easy to see. 

I like the frame around the buttons -

 that that theme carries over throughout the whole blog (including photos). 

I like the brevity of words. The author does a great job at describing what she likes without going on and on. It is the perfect combination of great pictures + great words. 

**blushing** thank you very much... 

I was thinking about making the buttons smaller, and simpler -

but still using the frame.

Perhaps in black and white.... I'll try some better versions out shortly.

And I'm wondering if you like the way the text reads - centred.

Is it more difficult to read?

I know Barbara's reviewers covered this one (that's where I first heard about Heather's feature).

I like symmetry, and having it all off to one side just feels so unbalanced,

but I'll change the alignment if you would prefer to read it another way.

LOVE the header - but I wish it were centered over the whole blog instead of over the posts. 

me, too! 

I made it the right width, 

but I think I need to decrease the height (does anyone know?) 

because blogger keeps shrinking it like that :)

I love that she has inspirational blogs to read - it would clean up the sidebar if she made that a page instead of links on her side bar. Not a big deal though. 

need to share love for the people that inspire me - I can move it down, 

but many of these people have become friends, and there's always room for friends, yes?

She does not link back to the original sources (or at least the pinterest pin where she found) of the photos. 

That is a huge no no.

Okay, this one surprised me, because I actually work hard to include links in my posts.

But it's pretty serious, because I don't want people to think that I don't give credit - I think it's really important.

I usually do a source "line" under the last image of the post, where the links are presented as numbers.

I used to link under each image individually, 

but it seemed that placing links under each pic is visually distracting, and I usually do photo collages.

It's the second time someone has said this to me, however, 

and so I'm thinking that what I am doing is TOO subtle -

thoughts?

What about listing links at the bottom of the post under the signature?

Would it be better to skip numbering and present them as words, such as, "pink vase", etc...?

I don't like the shadows around the images. They seem a little much, and sort of distract from the photos. 

I have actually been feeling the same way.

Frames will be going....

I don't like that the followers widget + subscribe, etc. are all the way at the bottom of the page. 

I was trying to keep down the sidebar noise, and I don't like the number of followers to define a blog -

there are so many great undiscovered reads out there!

That said, maybe I can work these back in - I agree they feel a bit awkward down there.

The font is just a little bit too small. Maybe up the page font size by 1 or 2. 

I don't think it's the size, but more what a light font it is -

I would like to keep it, 

but I could move it up in size a little -is that better?

It feels a little big.

** can't help it - must interrupt just for a moment - I NEED THIS BAG!!!.... okay, back to the review.... **

Move the photo of Anne Marie above the text that begins with "Colour Consultant" - I'd like to see her pretty face as soon as the page loads. Would like to see some pages - especially about who she is. 

Will add pages. And I'd like a new photo, in colour - that one doesn't feel very happy, does it?

There are three buttons - "Crushing on Color" "Palm Beach Week" and "The Great Clean Out" - 

you don't really know what they're for. 

When I clicked on them I was kind of surprised they were labels for her content - they didn't seem to fit the rest of the blog. 

(I thought they were "I've been featured" buttons for someone else's blog.).

I know. That needs to be re-worked somehow.

 The Crushing On Color series is one of the best parts of my blog. 

I really enjoy catching that glimpse into all you talented lovelies.

Maybe just a button for that one, lose the other two, 

use the same scalloped frame I use for my logo, and placed up higher, with the other buttons....

Also, how about a my house tour page? Would that be something you'd be interested in seeing?

Overall, not too painful!

Thank you very much for being gentle, mystery reader.

I'm hoping you all will share your thoughts in the re-do process...

 Then I'll get on with it -

design and colour, more pics and less talk, that's what this space is all about.

Thank you!  x

(now go over there to Heather's and sign up, and get your blog looking it's spiffiest!!!)

***update***



okay, I've figured out how to make just the links to other sites open in a new page, rather than all links opening to a new page - because it drives me crazy when I get a zillion pages open from one site - you?


Just go to your blogger overview, click template, click add new gadget to your footer, choose the HTML/JavaScript gadget. No title, just copy and paste the following code into you gadget, save, and voila - link magic :)


Just be sure to change the xxxxxxx in the code to your blog name, without spaces - for example, I substituted 10rooms. Let me know if it works for you!



<!-- code for turning all non-blog links to new page links -->
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
   var arr = document.getElementsByTagName("a");  //get all links in the page
   for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
   {
      if(arr[i].href.indexOf("XXXXXX.blogspot") < 0 //not links that are 'inside' blog
         && arr[i].href.indexOf("javascript:") < 0) //not javascript links
         arr[i].target = "_blank";
   }

that's it, and yes, I'm having fun....

photo links: bracelets feather necklace mint ring packing hair bag