Hey all, happy Friday, and welcome to anyone who caught my appearance on the Nate Berkus Show yesterday!   I”m still on vacation, but promised a peek at our new patio.  I’ve been working on the design for this space over the past few weeks, and I’m proud to announce this patio is one we now call our outdoor oasis!   How about a quick tour?

You may recall how our patio looked a month ago, pretty lousy and void of any appeal, except for the nice view of our vines.  We started this transformation by installing a new stone circular patio which leads to this concrete patio.  We then turned our attention to this 13′ x 16′ long space  to create a place to relax and entertain.   It required an open plan with two entrances, and we didn’t want to obstruct the view from the kitchen window.

The design plan was to create an outdoor “room” protected from the sun with the feeling of an enclosed space, but still one that feels open and breezy.   We shopped four retailers courtesy of the American Express Membership Rewards program:  Home Depot, West Elm, Crate + Barrel, and Pottery Barn.   I also threw in a few of my own finds so the space didn’t look completely ’out of a catalog’.

Here is the patio last month:

And today: 

Come take a closer peek of the inside!

I ordered some new deep seat cushions online from Home Depot, and I’m digging the fact that they’re the same color as our house, an unexpected bonus when they arrived on our doorstep.  Jute trim pillow covers from Pottery Barn. 

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Instead of the mosquito netting that comes with this 12′ x 12′ cabana from Home Depot,  I hung off-white curtains instead.  The “curtains” are cotton/linen flat sheets I found on clearance for $5 at a local outlet hemmed to the height of the cabana and hung with simple rings.  Both the curtains and the cover come down in autumn when it rains, then I imagine the metal structure will look fantastic all lit up with a ton of twinkle lights.

The side tables are halves of wine barrels simply turned upside down.  I found them at a local hardware store for $20, they make the perfect rustic end table and also fit the style of our yard.  Lantern from Pottery Barn, square planter from Crate + Barrel.

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One of the nice things about contributors is how much they teach and inspire me.  This month, Courtney is back and he is talking about his personal experience with a project I’ve long wanted to try: a terrarium! 

Placing anything organic under glass is a hot trend right now.  We’re seeing these mini ecosystems pop up everywhere in design, and more and more terrarium vessels available at stylish retailers.  They were big in the 1970’s and now they’re back!

I learned with a little research yesterday that the art of a successful terrarium is not a new discovery by any means.

The history of the terrarium dates back to the 19th Century, and grew in popularity in the Victorian Era in England.  Their origination is credited to surgeon and gardening enthusiast Dr. Nathanial Ward. 

An amateur botanist, Ward was conducting an experiment on protecting plants from the polluted London air, and observed how certain plants could thrive and be kept healthy under glass. 

An added bonus to his 1827 discovery was that horticulturists could use glass vessels to protect tropical plant species in ‘Wardian cases’ from sea air on long voyages returning by ship to their homeland. 

I am fascinated by these ‘Wardian cases’ which we now call terrariums, and so is Courtney.  He recently attempted to create one himself, and learned a few things in the process.  

Please welcome back Courtney Lake on the topic of successful terrariums!

“Terrariums are the flora equivalent of a ship in a bottle in my opinion. They are beautiful living sculptures that can serve a multitude of purposes from table centerpiece to anchoring a mantel vignette. The terrariums of today are not the ones we crafted for school science fairs.  Modern terrariums combine form, texture and color to create living works of art.

Yet for many, including myself, creating a successful environment can be intimidating.  Every time I see one, I think to myself “How did they do that?”  It amazes me that people have mastered the art of how to create what are essentially miniature gardens within the confines of a glass vessel.

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I can’t recall how I discovered Karen, but somehow I stumbled upon her last year, stalked her blog for awhile, then reached out and tweeted to her that I thought she was awesome.  That was last year and we’ve been internet friends ever since, or as Karen puts it, “I’m so glad we Intermet.”  

Karen is daring and crafty and funny.  She cooks and builds and decorates, all with finesse and a sense of humor, hence the perfect name for her blog The Art of Doing Stuff.  One time in an email she signed her name “Karen!” and I replied that she should always sign her name like that.  Because she’s not just Karen.  She’s Karen! 

I like to pretend that Karen! and I are twins separated at birth.  She’s just like me except for the fact that she’s tall, thin, blonde, and Canadian.  

Please welcome my Intermet friend Karen!

“Hi everyone. I’m new here.  My name’s Karen.  I do stuff.  A lot of stuff.  I design stuff, repair stuff, cook stuff and even do crafty stuff.  Partly because I’m incredibly curious and partly because I’m cheap. And perhaps a bit of a control freak.  But only perhaps.

Oh, and sometimes I swear. But I won’t in this post because I promised Kate that I wouldn’t. But since she’s taking a brief holiday and probably won’t notice, maybe I will.  Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite cheap outdoor design ideas.

Get ready for it … this one’s a doozy.  Doozie?  Doosey.  It’s a humdinger.  It looks high end with a side of huge impact, and it costs next to nothing.  You’ll be able to do this. In 3 minutes flat.

When I redid my backyard (like an idiot) a few years ago, I found out that outdoor lighting is expensive.  Like, really expensive.  If I’m gonna shell out a whole whack of cash for something in my backyard it’s gonna be on a beef tenderloin for the BBQ.  Or a better BBQ.  Or a talking parrot who refers to me as Princess Leia.  It isn’t gonna be for lighting, if I can help it.

So while perusing my local second hand store I came across some truly unfortunate stains on the carpet AND these ubiquitous opaque glass shades.  You’ve probably thrown a few out in your lifetime.  Stop doing that.  Stop it right now.

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Ah summer, I confess I’m getting lost in it.  I love the casual ‘kick your shoes off’ attitude of this season.  Long hours spent by the pool or simply watching the kids hop through a sprinkler.  Late night lingering over BBQ with heirloom tomatoes and berry cobbler.  The welcome evening breezes that arrive just in time to to blow away the heat of the day.  Toes in the sand and sunsets at the sea, that is quintessential summer to me.

Don’t we all love summer style at home too?  It is equally casual, filled with cotton slipcovers and toss pillows in stripes and bold textiles.  What is summer without the natural textures of rattan and driftwood, and the treasures that come from the sea.  All of these ingredients combine to fill the home with breezy effortless style. 

Naturally, I couldn’t help but become distracted by the colors of sea and sand, and particularly the classic combination of blue and white.  Today marks the beginning of a week long summer vacation for me, and what a perfect day to be feeling the blues. 

west elm collection via bright bazaar

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Hello my friends, I have a very special visitor today.  Many weeks ago, I had a long conversation with Gina of The Shabby Chic Cottage and I was so inspired by her story I asked her to tell it here!  I first met Gina at Blissdom and we’ve been friends ever since.  Many of you know her already, Gina is the creator behind The Shabby Chic Cottage blog and Etsy shop. 

Gina has been a comforting presence and voice for me on all topics of small business.  If you have a desire to create and sell your handmade creations in an online forum, Gina has years of experience and an inspiring story to tell. 

Please welcome my friend Gina to share her story of how she started a successful business on Etsy, one that gives her the ultimate satisfaction of creating hand crafted goods, and also a few extra dollars in the bank for her creativity and efforts!

“Hi y’all!  I’m Gina from The Shabby Chic Cottage.

I’m so very excited to be here today!  Kate is such a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration for me, I was honored when she asked me to write up a post about how I started my business.

I didn’t start my blog with any aspirations of making money.  I had blogged for 2+ years on another blog that barely had any readers, but I’m a writer, so I wanted a place to write what I wanted instead of writing obituaries all day (part of my old “day job” duties.)  After 5 years of living in my childhood home, we finally were at a point where we could begin to remodel, and so I started The Shabby Chic Cottage in April 2009 to journal the changes as we went along, sort of a virtual scrapbook.  I had no idea where it would lead.

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