Hello!  Hope you’re enjoying this Easter weekend!  Today Abi and I joined forces yet again to bring you our picks for the best of the blogosphere this week. 

This garden table by Marianne at Songbird has me wanting to build a potting bench pronto.

Morgan at Pepper Design blog has a new mantel she stained and installed herself, love this new look!

Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings on this Good Friday friends, we’re gearing up for the Easter weekend festivities, and off to my sister’s house for dinner on Sunday.  My sis lives over an hour away so we don’t get a chance to see each other as often as we should or could. 

There are many things my younger sister and I have in common, but the one thing we share is a love of vintage finds and chocolate mint.   In fact, a perfect afternoon for me would be sitting in her backyard, eating chocolate mints, and pouring over shelter magazines together.  That or going thrifting arm in arm.  

I was wandering the aisles of one of my favorite antique stores a few weeks ago and came across these sweet vintage bunny aluminum tins, so I thought I’d give them to my sis, but I couldn’t help making some chocolate mint Easter bunnies to go along with them !!

Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings friends, today I have a very special writer contributing his perspective on a style I am finding myself more drawn to these days: modern design!   Courtney of Courtney Out Loud is here to share how to pull off modern design in your home without leaving it feeling austere, cold, or looking like a designer showroom.  Courtney Lake is a fellow Bay Area resident, and lover of thrifting, great design, and good eats. 

Please enjoy Courtney’s article on meaningful modern design:

“Modern style typically evokes images of sharp edges, clean lines and monochromatic color schemes.  This style’s “less is more” mentality makes it appealing for those looking to par down their lives, forcing its advocates to only choose and display what they love.  However, modern’s edited approach can lead to stark environments that look more ‘show room’ than ‘living room’.  So the question remains, how can you get an edited and tailored modern look in your home that doesn’t leave you cold?

I posed this question to three design and merchandizing experts to get their take. All agreed that today’s modern aesthetic is less about utilitarian chic, and  more about an aesthetic that is constantly in flux. It’s this constant evolution that makes it one of the most versatile design styles.

Today’s modern design has to look to the future as well as the past for inspiration in order to ground it in the present.  Iconic pieces such as the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair, the Saarinen Tulip Table or the Starck Ghost Chair, are beautiful and speak to modern design of yester year, but alone they may leave a room feeling cold.

Mid-Century Modernist

Read the rest of this entry »

Another email from a reader landed in my inbox on a subject I think we all feel from time to time. 

Hey Kate, I’ve been in a slump lately, feeling overwhelmed and not at my creative best.  Wondering do you ever feel this way?  Where do you go to get inspired?  ~ Shannon

Hey Shannon, yep I go through those ‘dry spells’ too, usually when I’m tired, stretched too thin, and pulled in too many directions.  We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with images and information, where distraction is inevitable and focus becomes difficult.  Also, we all have responsibilities that can keep us from a few hours of creative time.  Everyone goes through creative slumps, but no worries.  I have a few tricks I use to get inspired, then it’s always back to the drawing board. 

Here are a few of my favorite ways to kick start creativity again: 

Visit Etsy and/or Big Cartel.  I am always amazed at the skills of the artisans in these two forums for handmade goods.  An afternoon spent browsing the designs on Etsy or Big Cartel is sure to inspire you, and also introduce you to a few designers that will quickly become favorites.  

Clay flowers by St Jude Creations; Love Birds by Vintage Green Limited; Cake Stands by High Tea for Alice.

Pinterest.   Are you a Pinhead?  I am!  Last year, I heard about this site through a few blogs, so I sent my request for an invitation.   Months went by and I hadn’t heard from them, and I was completely bitter that my request for an ‘invitation’ wasn’t accepted, and I began to feel inadequate.  What’s wrong, why not me?  Then I did a search of my inbox.  Hello?  It was sitting right there. 

Pinterest is an image driven virtual pinboard where you can mix and mingle with like minded peeps by following them, and also ‘pin’ your favorite ideas.  There are a lot of sites out there that can be time sucks, but this one happens to be a favorite place of mine to spend 5 or 10 minutes a day.  Someday, I’ll figure out a way to catalog my favorites on my own site, but for now, Pinterest is the place to be!  

Read the rest of this entry »

The other day, I received a copy of designer Stephen Saint-Onge’s book No Place Like Home.  Many of you know, Stephen’s work appeared in a monthly ‘House Calls’ series in Better Homes & Gardens, and I always looked forward to his makeover features.  He’s been named one of the top 15 Designers by House Beautiful. 

When I first casually flipped through the pages of this book, nothing really jumped out at me so I put it down to ‘read later’.  But then I actually started reading it, and I have to say, after finishing it, I gained so much from the sense and sentiments on the pages, especially Stephen’s insight on simple, clutter free family friendly design. 

My favorite thing about this book that really surprised me is that it is written in Stephen’s voice, with his influences and thought process clearly apparent on the pages.  I love in the ‘Introduction’ how he details his “very Norman Rockwell” small town upbringing, and how so often movies are his creative muse in design. 

I love that too.  

Inside the 170+ pages, you’ll find tips for styling bookcases, quick ways to bring personality to you home, tips for mixing fabrics and furniture styles, tricks for making rooms feel more spacious, and creating better flow in your home.  It’s filled with pages of Stephen’s ‘Creative Thoughts’ on the best ways to make all of your spaces comfortable and inviting, from family rooms to kid spaces, and also make them work for the way modern families gather and live together.  He is a father, husband, and homeowner with a fantastic sense of what families really need and want in their homes.

Read the rest of this entry »