Outdoorsy Types

I'm not really the "outdoorsy" type, but I love to be outside when the weather is nice. These rooms definitely are the outdoorsy types though, I'd say. They are the nice happy medium between outside and inside. Some of them are outside, but decorated like an interior. Take a look.

This is a "summer house" from a country house tour on Martha Stewart. I love the simplicity of it and how you focus on the architecture and the details instead of fabrics and furniture. Check out the height of that door.

Here is a terrace that is decorated much like a living room: sofa, two chairs flanking, coffee table, and two end tables complete with lamps on each one. I assume they are purely for decoration and they don't really work. LOVE the pink hat on the right chair. I could have used that at the Derby Party over the weekend! Kemble Interiors.

This is the dining room of the same outdoor setting. I love the faux bois dining table and chevron pattern on the dining chairs. Both are by Kemble Interiors.

Jay Jeffers created an incredibly welcoming covered porch with amazing seating with beautiful botanical fabrics and floor to ceiling soft pink drapery.

Here is the rest of the room! How beautiful is this? The shingles on the wall are a nice contrast to the interior aspects like a gallery wall and floor lamps. Jay Jeffers.

I would LOVE to walk out of my front door and walk out onto this wrap around porch. The lanterns are gorgeous and I love the massive columns as well. G P Schaefer.

An outdoor space isn't complete without lighting. If you can't hang a lantern outside, make sure you get these little floor lanterns with candles. There are some really beautiful ones at HERE. By Gary McBournie.

What do you all think? Are you ready to be outdoorsy? I don't have my own personal outdoor space to decorate but I can enjoy the park and my parent's terrace in CT. Do you have outdoor space? How do you decorate it?

REMINDER: This is the last day of the giveaway contest for the super adorable nautical tote bag. Click HERE to get to the contest or scroll down 2 posts. I wish I could win but, you can instead!!

Alicia B.

Easter Interiors

Easter is only three days away and am definitely ready for some jelly beans. I love Easter for many reasons but I really love the pretty pastel colors. Purples, greens, pinks, and yellow are a nice harbinger of Spring and warm weather. These interiors are like beautiful pastel Easter eggs.

I don't wanna brag but I have this rug in my bedroom. Its so cute but a little bit softer than the one above because it's faded. I'm a huge fan of painted furniture so I pretty much can't find anything I don't love about this S. R. Gambrel room--except that I'm not in it.

How great are these shades of blue and green. Like a vibrant robin's egg and a faded celery. The light in this bedroom is generous--designed by Phoebe Howard.

One of my favorite parts of Easter is when they show the local news reports of farms giving away little yellow chicks on Easter. They are so so cute but I'm definitely not allowed to bring home more baby chicks (Long story short we thought it was a hen, it grew up to be a rooster. Not a pretty scene). Anyway, this yellow wall and then the strategically placed Hunters are the perfect dose of yellow. From Country Living.

I wish I could get this color of seafoam green on my eggs when I dye them. This bathroom is simple but has so much going on and so much to look at. Designed by Kerry Joyce.

Perfect beach colors: sand and sky. This living room of a beach house from House Beautiful.

I think the color green is really growing on me. It is a color that reminds me of nature and plants so can be really fresh but also gives a feeling of coziness. I love this little bedroom from Coastal Living.

Yellow is really one of my favorite colors. I adore this little breakfast nook with yellows and whites and the organic elements like the faux bamboo chairs and the flowery chandelier. I will be doing a little DIY project involving yellow next week so GET JAZZED. This yellow gorgeousness is by Celerie Kemble.

I'd never put a shag carpet in any interior but I love the blue stripes running up the wall and the ceiling. I'd also love to have double doors leading to a terrace. So rip out the shag carpet and switch out the bed frame to a white painted country style frame and I'm there. By Betsy Burnham.

Don't you just love pastel rooms? I'm sure even if you're not a celebrator of Easter, the colors and the spring feeling, yes? I'm now at home in CT and I've been instructed that I must dye all the eggs, but I'll be helped when the boyfriend joins us tomorrow. My sisters are also dying eggs in Chicago and carrying out the silent competition of who can dye the best (funniest, too. I know, we're wild!) eggs. What are your Easter Plans? Non-Easter/just a gorgeous weekend plans? Tell me!


Alicia B.

A grey kind of day.

Church Spire Reflected in a Puddle.

If you live in New York or anywhere else on the East coast right now, you know that today was a rainy dreary grey kind of day. When I was walking to work this morning, it wasn't raining on me as much as it was raining at me. Grey doesn't have to be all bad though, especially when it comes to interior design. Here are some grey rooms that feel more lovely than dreary.

I think we all know that this wall paper is out of this world beautiful. It only enhances the incredible architecture in the room: the fireplace, the dental work moldings. By Thad Hayes.

This bedroom by Alessandra Branca is black, white and grey. It's soft and so subtly beautiful it makes you think that grey is a bright color.

Of course I'm immediately drawn to the two anchors on the wall, which is a nice soft grey, but the more I look at this the more elements I love! How cute is the stack of books on the nightstand? And I love the structure of the bed frame against all the soft elements of the bed. By Susan Ferrier via HB.

Though I despise mirrored furniture, I find this room quite intriguing and warm. I think it's all about the textures: the matelasse quilt, the upholstered wall panels...and the hanging pear. By Celerie Kemble.

Isn't this bath by BNO just so beautiful? The hard marble looks so soft because of the grey and white veining throughout. Looks luxurious.

See how good things can come from a grey day? Especially a grey Monday. Grey is also a wonderful color for other colors to contrast against. You can put a nice turquoise accent in a grey corner and really make it pop. Or you can use grey as a nice enveloping color for a room. Also, no matter how grey it is outside it can always be sunny inside!


Alicia B.

Book Signing: Celerie Kemble To Your Taste

About two weeks ago, I went to a super fun book signing/panel discussion with Celerie Kemble and Thad Hayes and bought their books and got them signed! It was amazing to briefly meet each designer as they were really friendly and encouraging. I'm enjoying their books whenever I have a spare moment. Celerie's book, To Your Taste is full of amazing interiors that she's designed.

I love the use of this bell jar turned upside down to put a spot light on this sweet scene.

Amazing colors here. Light, airy, and timeless. The contrast of the dark turquoise with the chartreuse is really surprising.

So beautiful. The color on the upholstered chair to the right is so pretty!

I'm a huge sucker for painted furniture (if you've ever seen my apt you'll know what I mean.) and that chest reminds me of an old Florentine painted chest.

I highly recommend the book. It was as much an auto biography as it was a collection of gorgeous interiors. I think I was most taken by Celerie when she sniffed the Sharpie marker that she used to sign my book. At least she was honest about liking the smell--who doesn't? Did I go too far there? Whatever, go get the book. HERE. Have an amazing Wednesday!


Alicia B.

Tortoise shells are the new...

Everyone knows (if you read this blog) how much I adore fur. Well, I've taken a liking to another home decor item that comes from "nature:" tortoises! The shell of a tortoise is very beautiful in color and texture and has a certain richness and depth. They can be hung on the wall, or you can use the shell itself in an accessory.

My, that's a substantial shell! Susan Chevalier leans this one casually (but obviously thoughtfully) on this folding chair. The swirling pattern mimics the deep dark floors, too.

This one is hung on the wall. The lamp right next to it reflects light on it showing the curve in the shell. By Joe Nye.

Inspired by a turtle, this lovely drawing or print shows off the gorgeous pattern on the shell. By Joe Lucas of Lucas Studio.

In this very open room by Celerie Kemble, she uses this sideboard to display many beautiful objects and tops it off with a large tortoise shell!

My design hero, Albert Hadley used this Schumacher tortoise wall covering on the back walls of this cabinet. The light reflects off this wall paper so beautifully. What a genius.

Another aspect to this accessory is the idea of collecting. It's not as if you can just pick one of these up off the side of the Third Ave in Manhattan so I think it gives the look of traveling to an exotic location, being well traveled, and a more eclectic look. Thoughts? Also, sorry for the brief silence, I took a three-day weekend and then I'm back in classes for the Summer so I'm pretty busy SO BACK OFF. Just kidding, come back to me!

Alicia B.

Trying to Make It Warmer

From Living Etc, this UBER open plan spaces allows you to enjoy your meal with fresh air coming in but you are still under the shelter of your home.

Apparently, this past weekend was the coldest weekend in New York history. If you live in New York or the east, you would most likely agree. I've had this feeling that I really just want to go somewhere warm and lie on the beach or by the side of a pool. Since I can't do that, I'll live vicariously through my blog! Here are some lovely images of warm places:

I can imagine myself here lounging on these Trina Turk and Ralph Lauren pillows with a mojito in hand (not a Corona. Please.). By Moises Esquenazi.

What a lovely sunroom by Leta Austin Foster. This is in Palm Beach, Florida. I especially love the wooden shades--they let light in so softly and nicely. Nice place to read a book after a dip in the pool, right?

In California, Kathryn Ireland designed this lovely bedroom. I love that arched window behind the bed and the inset bookshelves. This looks so relaxing and light.

This is one of my favorites I think. I love the throw pillows and the soft white fabric forming a canopy over the settee. The ivy and the potted plants add to the tropical/island/resort feeling.
By Celerie Kemble, also in Palm Beach.

Another one in Florida, by La Maison Fleurie. Look at all the green/nature in this indoor outdoor space! I love the fabric canopy here, too.

In South Carolina, this dining room lets in a lot of light from the outdoors. What really caught my eye though was the glass jars and lamp on the sideboard (don't LOVE the sideboard, though) and the four candlesticks on the dining room table. By Barrie Benson.

Anyway, I don't know about you, but I feel warmer already! Could be the fact that I'm next to a heater with a scarf on; but I think it's because of the warm/tropical interiors!


Alicia B.

Striped Love

Okay, who is with me when I say that I'm super sick of the downtrodden mood that the "recession" has brought down on the world? I know we are all cutting corners and saving and that's REALLY GREAT. Really. But, it's the mood that goes along with it. Maybe it's the rain, or the fact that people have to "shop their closets" now but I say let's take that attitude and turn it around! Let's enjoy beauty in simple things. I chose the theme of stripes for today! Enjoi!

I know this isn't an overwhelming use of the stripe but it is accentuated by those cute little Gothic mouldings above it. LOVE IT. Robin Bell astounds me.

Markham Roberts used these stripes diagonally. How clever. This makes it super busy but using the colors that he did, it appears more subtle.

Eric Cohler designed this amazing horizontal striped shower. Is that an ipod I see on the right? Rad.

Uber glam Victoria Hagan used a tone-on-tone green stripe on the wall and then mirrored it in the fabric of the chair. Subtle and pretty. Love the nail head accents on the bedside table!

One of my fave designers, T. Keller Donovan used Jane Churchill fabric on these chairs. I love the wide stripe of alternating blues but I do NOT care for the flat screen t.v. above the fireplace. Woah.

Miles Redd designed this busy little room, but I feel like the stripes on the walls really ground the space very well.

Miles Redd uses a horizontal stripe which makes the space seem wider. I love this cute sitting room right off the water. Is that my little tug boat I see through the window?

Michael Whaley used these striped curtains to frame out the space in the transition from room to room. I love the colors he chose.

Designer Joseph Abbati used a painted stripe that continues from the wall and onto the floor. This looks uber vintage glam to me with the mirrored surfaces, the Phillipe Stark Ghost chair, and the overall graphic feeling of it.

Celerie Kemble. Again, in a small space stripes are used to create an illusion of more space. I love how she used vertical stripes on the wall and then placed the throw pillows so that the stripe was horizontal.

As beloved (by me) designer Barry Dixon says, "Wallpapering horizontal stripes on the ceiling of a long, narrow room can make it look dramatically wider."

I love stripes. I'm the type of person who had to be TOLD that horizontal stripes are not slimming. I took that advice slash comment and threw it out the window because with interiors it seems to do wonders for the space!


Alicia B.

First Impressions

First impressions are very important; with people as well as homes. Besides the actual facade of the house, the front hall entrance can be the most important room. It sets the tone for the rest of the house; lets you know what kind of people live in that home. A front hall can be understated and modest or it can be grand, and make a big statement.

Noel Jeffrey. This one has a lot of visual interest in the eclectic collection of frames.

Miles Redd. This entirely mirrored front hall makes a dramatic statement and expands the space with reflections.

Suzanne Kasler. The tiled floor leads your eye to the beautiful curving staircase.

Suzanne Kasler. Uses the black and white tiled floor again for a classic yet dramatic effect.

Kips Bay In the Kips Bay showhouse, Beale-Lana uses a black/white/silver contrasting combination. I like how the staircase is so open at the bottom.

From Living Etc, this front hall makes me want to live in a little Victorian home with stained glass windows!

Living Etc. A bench is often a good solution in a smaller space. This driftwood bench is amazing.

Martha Stewart. Understated perfection with flowers!

Bilhuber. I like the neutrals and soft colors in this entry hall.

Celerie Kemble.

Victoria Hagan. Subtle architectural elements.

Jason Bell. I love this entrance hall. It's so perfectly country and I love the white painted beams that lead you into the next room. Plus it's in CT, how could you go wrong.

I wonder what kind of first impression I make. Too eager? Too Shy? Fake? Something to think about I guess.


Alicia B.