My Sweet Little Beach Cottage

Hello dear readers!  I hope you are having a great weekend. It's a hot one here in Ohio. Hope it won't be like this the whole summer! A strange thing happened to me over the last several years, I actually prefer the quiet and solitude of winter.  And rain, I love rain. Not torrential storms, but gentle, misty rain, cool breezes on my face. And the beauty of gray skies.

So, I'm stuck in the A/C, and damn grateful that my sweet little beach cottage has brand new central air.  Whew, hew!  What luxury.  I'd like to mention quickly that I have the best landlords in the world. I will be talking about the all-important landlord/tenant relationship in a subsequent post.

Since I'm stuck in the A/C I'm cleaning the place, and of course rearranging. Who knows what the place will look like by Monday, so I thought I'd show you it's current incarnation, minus the mess.  I receive emails saying hey there's no way your place is that neat.  Well yes and/no. I do keep it simple. But I don't usually photograph it when it's messy.  Maybe one day I'll do a post of it messy. But not today. :-)

So...you remember the new painting I've been talking about?  It was intended for over the sofa, and ended up in the dining room.  I'm still contemplating if I'm going to put a painting over the sofa. In the meantime, I found a large, blue throw pillow at Gabriel Bros. for $6.99. What a deal. Since I can't paint as often as I like, I've grown very reliant on textiles for color and coziness. This place was freezing when I moved in. So luckily, I had a small collection of blankets, sheets, scarves, pillows, rugs, all of which can be moved around on a whim - and all of which came on the cheap.

Here's a little secret about my living room. I use it like it's a studio apartment. The back pillows come off the sofa - which is actually a very old Danish mod daybed on its last legs,  not a futon. It's just not in the budget to have it repaired and reupholstered.  It's amazingly comfortable to sleep on. And while it's small, it's actually helped my sleep because it's taught me not to toss and turn. Sometimes I'm too lazy to put the pillows back on.  There are two bedrooms that are too small to put beds in!  I'll have more to say about these little rooms in a subsequent post.

Little dining area is a study in using what you have. This is actually an outdoor table from Target. Have you noticed how cute outdoor furniture is? It can easily be used inside. I love the simple shape of this table.

I love my kitchen!   

It's the perfect marriage of form and function.  I'm not gonna say too much about the kitchen now, because I'll be talking about it in a subsequent post. But, don't the landlords have great taste?  Love the tile. And dig that awesome hanging glass lamp in the window. Oh, and a window, what luxury!

Color Story: Shades of Blue and Green

I've been falling in love with blue. But no ordinary blue, shades of blue. Turquoise and periwinkle. I've also been falling in love with green. But no ordinary green. Emerald, aqua and chartreuse. Here is some inspiration for your Monday morning. If you are feeling stressed, just think about beautiful shades of blue and green.

 

Love this sitting area. Chairs look beautiful with the wall color. Love the lamp too! Turquoise and aqua are colors that work very well in mid century modern decor.  Image source unknown.  Please contact me if you know the designer of this gorgeous room.

A sideboard gets a new life painted emerald green. Also love the cohesive display of green pottery. An object displayed in repetition like this gains prominence, and also maintains a simple look. Image via ciao! newport beach. For more ideas on creative display, see my pinterest board here.

How fabulous is this turquoise kitchen?  This may be my dream kitchen. Love the pop of chartreuse. Image BarlisWedlick Architects via Desire to Inspire.

I showed this picture before in a previous post about blue lamps.  Love the lamp and sofa. I want a turquoise sofa!

I need this over sized turquoise Buddha head for my balcony. Image Jessie Miller via HGTV.

Call it mint green or aqua, but this color makes a very tranquil room. I love that the trimmings are also painted the same color, and the fireplace bricks are painted white. Image via covet garden.

No one mixes color and pattern better than Tricia Guild. Touches of orange look great with blue. Wouldn't this furniture look fab in the room above?

How fab is this bohemian abode?  I dig the wood floor painted turquoise. When I build a tiny home, painted wood floors are on the agenda! Image via Moon to Moon (if you love Bohemian style, you will love this blog)..

Modern takes on mid century modern are my favorite. Periwinkle sofa and green chair look fab together and are unified by similar patterns.  Also dig that rug. Scandinavia collection at Heal's.

Periwinkle has long been one of my favorite colors. I love this chair paired with the large orange painting. BTW - that painting is done on a mirror. How cool is that? Image via The Apartment.  If you are a color lover like I am, you never get enough of periwinkle either. Check out this amazing pinterest board curated by Carole Kancar.  It's devoted to periwinkle and is a slice of heaven.

Royal blue chairs are a bit traditional for my taste, but that painting and chandelier help the room look modern. You know what I always say about art - go big! This gorgeous painting proves, once again, that blue and orange look great together. Image via Ashley Darryl.

One of my favorite rooms of all times. This is what I call perfectly layered. Love the blue sofa, with orange pillow. Love the pottery on the coffee table. Love the lamps and paintings. Love the mix of old and new, love the rugs and the gray wall. This is the home of none other than Patrizia Moroso, Creative Director of Moroso. The home is designed by one of my favorite designers - Patricia Urquiola.

A Couple of Perfect Kitchens

I fantasize about having an open kitchen.  This is one of my favorite kitchens of all time.  I adore rustic, industrial elements with hot pink accents, and of course a lot of white.  The concrete is the perfect foil to the pink and, once again, proves that pink can be used in a modern, edgy way.  I apologize for forgetting where I got this image.  My bad.  Please contact me if you know its source.

I think this is actually a cafe, but isn't it fab?  There's lots of inspiration for the home here.  I could see this as a studio apartment, with the counter area serving as an open kitchen. I adore the color scheme of gray and pink, the wood floors and, of course, the lanterns.  I think this is going to be my color scheme for Fall.  Image via Solid Frog.

Smeg Refrigerator!

The Smeg refrigerator is the most beautiful refrigerator ever made.  I've mentioned the Smeg many times on  this blog.  If it's possible to be in love with a  refrigerator, I am in love.  When I win the lottery,  I will buy one.   I especially love the look of a pink Smeg in an industrial loft.

Gorgeous minimal loft designed by architect Romolo Stanco.  (Featured in Elle Decoration, December 2008)  Love all the white with pops of pink provided by the Smeg and the sofa.  (See also gorgeous loft space with pink Smeg below).

 Desire to Inspire.

House Beautiful.

Desire to Inspire.  What a beautiful color palate!  It's just a matter if personal preference - but I'd never put magnets on a Smeg.
 

 

 Three above images from Apartment Therapy.

The Smeg has a vintage 50s look to it, but it looks great in a modern room.  The Smeg looks great in an open environment like a loft, because you definitely want to display it.   This room is gorgeous - love the modern lighting juxtaposed with the rustic looking ceiling beams, the white floors, the stainless steel and, of course, the Smeg.  Image via Elle Decoration, January 2010.

Think Pink

Dear readers, I'll admit it. I've been suffering from the holiday blues. Well, there's only one cure for the blues - and that is pink! It never fails, when I think about pink I get cheered up. You can never have too much pink. As I've said many times, pink is not just for girls. Pink can be done in a thoroughly modern and edgy way. Have a look, you'll be in the pink too!

Image by Peggy, from my previous apartment.

Isn't this room awesome! Image flickr user my3senuff from a 1970s decorating book. It looks relevant to today. Love the modular storage and that hot pink is just too - ahem - hot.

More hot pink. I know you recognize the use of pattern here. It is, of course, Tricia Guild. No one does pattern better. And check those Hella Jongerius vases on the table! I want them. Image via HGTV.

Perfect little night stand, phone and lamp. Image via flickr user sparklerawk.

I always wanted a pink kitchen! This one is so fab, and fresh. It looks totally modern. Flickr user rosaperfecto via My Mod Style. I love how sparse the kitchen is, and that it's not overly-girly. Clutter and tschotskes would ruin this look. The Hello Kitty toaster is totally fab, it works because it's not competing with a lot of stuff. However, I do think she needs some dishes that really pop in those glass cupboards.

These fab dishes from Karim Rashid would work well.

I am dying to paint my place fuchsia with white trim! Love this. I know this is probably blasphemy - but I'd paint that fire place white too. (Image source unknown - please contact me if you know the source.)

Love the pop of that black lamp against the pink wall. Image Darian Darling.

I know, I know - you've seen this a million times. But I can't help it. The fab apartment of the equally fab Betsey Johnson.

I had to include a picture of her. She makes me smile! I want to meet her! Betsey, you go girl! Images via New and Worthy.

Beautiful dining room and kitchen by Caitlin Murray. Love the mismatched black and white patterns against the pink. Images via Apartment Therapy.

Normally, I'm not into the alien motif thing, but here's an alien I could live with. A pink alien! How cool is that? Painting by the exceptionally talented Ben Heine. Awesome. I could see this hanging in an all white modern loft.

Feeling blue? Think pink!