Falling in love with blue, part two

Dear readers, I just had to share some more blue inspiration. Loving blue, loving turquoise.

Turquoise walls, check. Pop of silver, check. And fab yellow lamp, double check. Flickr user Fifilynn.

I don't usually like decals, but this may change my mind. Love the color scheme. Blue, white and black pillows, check. Blue bottles, check. Gray textured sofa, check. Beautiful use of color. Romantic and fresh. Image Etsy user Leen the Graphic Queen.

Don't you love room mockups? Here's a really cute one. Love the turquoise, pink and black pops against large amounts of white. Image My Deco Room Planner.

Falling in love with blue

Dear readers, as you know, I've spent quite a bit of time obsessing over darkly romantic rooms. I adore the use of black, gray and purple. I love the smouldering, mysterious look of a feminine room done in edgy colors. But. It's turquoise that's obsessing me for Spring. Such a fresh and uplifting color. And pale blue is making my heart swoon. Let's examine blue and turquoise for the next several days, shall we?

I adore purple sofas. This sofa looks sweet with the little blue table and the blue and pink painting. For a smoldering touch a gray rug has been added. The rug remains fresh looking because of the pale blue table. An ingenious touch adding to the freshness is the pop of the yellow pillow. Yellow is another big color this Spring. All in all a fabulous use of color. (Please contact me if you know the source of this image.)

I believe this is actually an ad for wall paper, but it is the Holmegaard Carnaby vase that is making me swoon. I always have my eye out for one of these at flea markets and second hand stores, but I've never found one. I adore pale blue glass vases. (See post regarding another favorite, Morgantown Bristol, here.)

Another fabulous use of color. The pale blue of these curtains adds a fresh touch. Notice the black and white art to the left, providing just the right amount of edge. Image The Cross Decor and Design. As you know, I've been contemplating adding a couple of small black touches to my decor. This room proves it can be done and still keep the room looking fresh and airy.
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Speaking of edge, just look at this incredibly gorgeous room. I dropped my jaw when I saw it. Let's look closer. Funky lighting, check. Pillows, check. Large painting, check. Blue glass, check. This is a very clever use of color. Blue for freshness and black adding romance. Image via The Style Files. This room sent me straight to my closet where I pulled out the following pillows.
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I love royal blue, turquoise and silver together. Image by Peggy.


As you know, any color I decide to use in my home is going to be juxtaposed with large doses of pink. Fortunately, pink goes with any color. I had blue and pink on my mind when I did the above painting. It may not be Spring just yet, but it's not too early to start Spring cleaning and Spring decorating! xxoo

Pretty Girly Things

When contemplating a color scheme, such as the one I wrote about below, I go to my closets and take inventory. I love the color scheme purple, black, gray and white. So glamorous. Here are some pretty things from my closet.

Pink can easily be substituted for purple.

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And silver for gray.
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... I want my place to be romantic, Bohemian, girly with an edge. I have so many beautiful things, sometimes I think I need two apartments. Or maybe a shop.

All images by Peggy.

Color Scheme: Purple, black, gray and white

This is a totally glamorous color scheme. Purple, black, silvery gray and white. Pure mystery. Very feminine with a little edge. I find this color scheme very tempting. Here are some pictures from my inspiration file. Hope you enjoy!

Selena Lake.

Marie Claire Maison.

Source unknown. Please contact me if you know the designer of this room. I love those paintings!

Haute Design via Plush Palate. I love the beauty of the pieces in this room and the careless way they are displayed. I adore black and white photography, and love seeing art propped rather than hung. It's so unexpected.

Something Unexpected

Dear readers, I've been contemplating decor and color - that's nothing new. But for Spring, I'd like to add an unexpected piece to my decor. Something out of the ordinary for me. Something symbolizing new beginnings, which after all is what Spring is all about.

I've been noticing Haeger's famous panther. Maybe this piece would do the trick. To me it represents sleek, mysterious, feminine power. It's totally strong and sexy. As you know, I've been contemplating adding a few black pieces to my decor, so this piece would work.

There's a new user on flickr, who goes by the name Haegernerd. He loves Haeger and he's skilled at displaying it. He's the one who got me thinking about the panther.

I've mentioned Retromod's home before. I love the way she rocks vintage. Her collections are fab and she uses a restrained hand when displaying them. It's never too much. And her use of color is yummy. She's got the panther in her collection and I love it. See previous posts about Retromod's style here and here.

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I'm going to have some fun with my decor for Spring. Fun colors, something unexpected, a little more glam and unapologetically girly. Stay tuned. xxoo

Blog Love

Dear readers, the editors of Creative Influences are excited to announce the addition of two blogs to our favorites list.

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Super Kawaii Mama is on a mission to save the world from mediocrity. And this hot mama can do it! She has incredible style, which she makes accessible to those of us wardrobe-challenged, makeup-challenged mamas. She cooks and cleans, she does it all! And does it all with flair! And oh yeah, she has a to-dye-for (pun intended) stripe in her hair. Makes me wish I had dark hair! You go girl!

P.S. - I Made This "is a movement. It's a call to action to re-imagine, re-use, and re-invent." Her words. Groovy. P.S. I Made This will get your creative juices flowing. She makes super cool inspiration collages and then shows what they inspired her to make, with accessible instructions for those of us who are craft-challenged. We want to do all of the projects on her site! Bet you will too.

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If you read Super Kawaii Mama and P.S. - I Made This, you too will make beautiful things and look fabulous while doing it! xxoo

Girl Crush

Today's espisode of Girl Crush features gorgeous Kate Winslet. Kate always wows on the red carpet, and she just keeps getting better and better! Kate, you go girl! xxoo

Creativity influences creativity

Today was a good day. My dear friend, Buddha, and I went to Starbucks. Then the vintage store, then the craft store. It's great to be around someone who understands me and values my creativity. When we get together, the creative juices start flowing. I tried not to buy too many things. Have you ever noticed that there is no shortage of beautiful things to spend our money on?

I bought a couple of cute, inexpensive flower pots. And discovered when I got home that I have yet another collection! Oh dear, I have a collection of flower pots. They are cute, though. I love the simple forms. Buddha and I have always talked about our love of color. I've spoken of my love for pink and she's spoken of her love for blue. Now I'm a convert. I love blue. She's a convert too, she loves pink.

I bought this blue bracelet at the vintage store. It was inexpensive and lightweight, almost like melamine. I love decorating with costume jewelry. I like these three pieces together because they are all vintage, from around the same time period.

I talked and talked about blogging, and how much I love it. It felt good, and I promised Buddha some pictures of a few of my favorite rooms, so here they are.

I want to paint my apartment this color! What a gorgeous blue, looks great with the pink sofa. Image via flickr user Retromod. Retromod has a great home. Lots of great mid-century finds, and wonderful colors.

Retromod is skilled at display. I think I need one of these hands for displaying my vintage bracelets.

Lastly, I promised Buddha I'd show her a room all done in blue. Isn't this gorgeous! I love monochrome. I love that painting. Image via House of Turquoise. My creative juices are flowing and it feels good. Excuse me, a canvas is calling.

New Painting

Untitled, 2010, 16" x 20", acrylic and marker on paper. As I contemplated the blank paper, I was influenced by several things. The new vases posted below, sensual shapes and mid-century modern. I also thought about the colors I plan to use for Spring: pink and turquoise. I thought about painting a bling-influenced dollar sign, which then became a pod-like shape. So there it is. Too many words. Art doesn't really need to be explained does it? It just is.

New Vases

Dear readers, I thought I'd share a couple of new lovelies who have made it into my collection.

This darling vase has the most beautiful matte finish. It is exquisite to touch. It has the mark GMcB on the bottom. A google search revealed that to be Gladding & McBean, the makers of Franciscan. The vase only cost $1.00 because it has a crack in the back. I don't mind, that adds to its character. I like loving little orphan pieces.

I got this lovely pink bowl from ebay. It is vintage Royal Haeger. This is my favorite color and finish for pottery. Pink and matte. Hard to find. I love it. Now I need to rearrange my apartment. Stay tuned.

Love of vases

Dear readers, you already know that I am in love with vases. My first love is ceramic and porcelain, but I also love glass. I've even started mixing glass and ceramic in display. Here is a collection of beautiful vases for your viewing pleasure. Some are private collections, some are contemporary, some vintage. Some are expensive and some not. As a bonus for pottery junkies like me, I'm sharing a couple of need-to-know fabulous contemporary ceramicists: Michael Hamlin-Smith and Richard Baxter. What do all the vases in this collection have in common? Their simple, sensual forms. Forms that begged to be touched. Hope you enjoy!

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Flickr is a wonderful place to connect with people who share our enthusiasms. I enjoy seeing the collections of people who love pottery. Mad Modern is a flickr friend who has an eye for vintage modern pottery (and great lamps too). He says this collection is "like a crazy city scape in Flash Gordon." Groovy. Wish I'd said that. He's got a way with words. Check out his blog, which I am hoping he starts updating again. It's great fun. Love the pictures, love the clippy dialogue.

Richard Baxter. I met Richard on Flickr as well. Richard is a prolific potter. His matte finishes are gorgeous. He makes beautiful bowls in wonderful colors like turquoise and purple. Once on his website, it's hard to stop looking.

Michael Hamlin-Smith, is another artist I met on Flickr. I love Flickr! He makes beautiful vases in sensual forms with gorgeous soft finishes. I think I need to order one. I may have to admit to myself that I am collector.

Stig Lindberg for Gustavsberg. These are vintage and expensive. Image via Freeforms USA. I love Lindberg's work, although I've never found a piece I could afford. I've featured his work before. See previous post here.

Another collector I enjoy on Flickr is ivy style33. Her decor is beautiful and soft. She has a knack for creating gentle vignettes like this one. I adore it! None of these pieces are very expensive, but they are all beautiful and work well together. Proof that beauty doesn't need to cost a lot. That said, I'm getting ready to show some expensive work. All gorgeous, but out my reach. It's fun to admire it though.

Glass works by Robert Kuo.

Holmegaard Carnaby vases. I adore these! I'd like to have a whole collection of them. I never see them at flea markets or thrift stores. LSA glass is much more accessible. But still, these are gorgeous. Image via Freeforms USA.

Large glass jars by Elizabeth Lyons Glass. Aren't these gorgeous? I'll take the pink one, please. If you are a collector of glass or ceramic vases, I'd love to hear from you. Maybe I'll feature your collection here. I'm always interested in the artful display of vases. xxoo

Bedroom Inspiration

Dear readers, I've been obsessing about bedroom decor lately. I think it's because I live in a studio apartment, and I really miss having a bedroom. A bedroom is a special place where we shut the door and rejuvenate. The only purpose for a bedroom is rest and love. TV, work and computers are best left out. I love all white bedrooms, pink bedrooms, luxurious bedrooms and stark bedrooms. I love unusual headboards and even no headboards! Have a look at some beautiful bedrooms. Hope you enjoy!

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Oh how I love this bedroom. Let me count the ways. I love this color scheme, and as you know I love white floors! I am very intrigued by the large art over the bed. I wonder if it is a painting, or actually a large piece of lace. I love how the cut out motif is carried over to the rug and the ceiling light. Image via Living Etc.

Beautiful all white bedroom. Love the butterflies on the bedding. Image via Living Etc.

More white. More beautiful bedding. Linda Barker.


Love the red canvas above the bed. jjlocations.

Stunning simplicity. Interesting headboard. Love the rustic combined with the sleek table and lamp. Jenny Andrews Anderson.

Love the starkness of this room! Love those shades, love the gray walls. Apartment Therapy.

In my post below, I wrote about large paintings anchoring a room. I love the idea of a large painting instead of a headboard, and I adore this one. Like sleeping in a tree house. Also love the table and cute little black lamp.

I believe this is actually a sitting room, but it would also make a marvelous bedroom. Love the colors, and the white floor. Swoon. Have I mentioned I love white floors? Image via The Style Files.

The Style Files is one of my favorite blogs. This is the bedroom of Danielle, the author of The Style Files. Love when architectural features are used to anchor a bed. Love the simplicity of this room.

Another example of a canvas used instead of a headboard. Such gorgeous bedding! Love the colors! I love a simple room that is also luxurious.

Okay, this breaks my rule of no computer in the bedroom, but I love this room nonetheless. Love its airiness. Love the simplicity, love the clothes rack. Alvhelm via Desire to Inspire.

This is an early incarnation of the bedroom of Holly, the writer of Decor8 and haus maus, when she first moved to Germany. I'm sure she's made changes to it since I put it in my inspiration file, but I love the simplicity of this room. And dig that light fixture. Have you ever seen such a wonderful fixture in an apartment?

Divine. I've shown this room before, I absolutely adore it. Lucinda Symons.

Love the yellow headboard. Love the lamp. Love the casual way the bed is made, in contrast to the formality of the bed. Source unknown.

Love the bedding, love the enlarged photo, love the yellow table! Vanessa's New Oakland Digs via Apartment Therapy. I wonder if Vanessa got her bedding from West Elm.

I have been obsessing about this bedding. Also loving the bedding from Anthropologie I showed in a previous post.

Another sweet, simple bedroom with canvas instead of headboard. The lamp adds a classy look to the room. I love that lamp! Source unknown.

I have been saving this vase to have made into a lamp. I don't even know if it's possible. Please contact me if you have any tips. Doesn't it look amazingly like the lamp in the photo above?

What a beautiful room. Love the mandela over the bed, the lighting and the cute slipper chair. Image via Desire to Inspire.

I mentioned recently, that Shine is one of my new favorite websites. I adore their side tables! I could see this table used as nightstands in the room above.

Aah. You can never have too much pink. Marie Claire Maison.

I thought I'd throw in a bit of funky. I think this space age bedding is so cute. Of course, you'd have to have lucite shoes placed next to this bed. Images Von Murr.