Thursday, January 24, 2013

Dreaming in green...

Every year, around this time, I begin to reflect on what I should have done, should do more of, or not at all!

Inevitably, it always reflects around my surroundings, especially in the garden, when we all dream of what could be, when armchair gardening is so much more entertaining and achievable.... I look out at the snow covered beds,which have taken a bit of abuse from the work which was done to the exterior....I should have planted more trees, in lieu of annuals and perennials, more flowering shrubs instead of capricious climbing vines and more boxwood, never enough boxwood!

....but clarity, promotes wisdom, albeit too late it seems!

The lovely little rose above, The Fairy, has been a consistent performer in my garden, and I wisely chose to include her several winters ago, while perusing the Pickering Roses catalog in January.

She is thriving happily among Limelight hydrangeas in the south west border of the garden.

All manner of armchair pursuits are possible in the gloomy, cold days of January...

Pinterest surfing yields an abundance of inspiration for decorating, with the garden as inspiration.

The photo above has a lovely, soft palette of the colours of Nature....and green which I am currently obsessed with!

The above serving as a colour board for my interiors.....

Beautiful inspiration from This Ivy House......

Shades of green and ivory are the two colours I have chosen as colours for fabric .

With a touch of black.......

I am hoping to utilize all of our existing furniture with just a few minor touch ups, either with paint or fabric...

This is the Fairy in my garden, this summer, in white. It is far more prolific in pink, but the white looks beautiful with all the green foliage in my shade garden......

 

 

This is Cinderella Fairy, more of a shrub rose.....again co existing very happily with hydrangea.....

My days armchair dreaming and plotting will soon come to an end....countless boxes are ready to be opened and sorted as we prepare to move back home in mid February.....

 

The new open concept kitchen, above, courtesy of my husband, taken with his iPhone.

Please excuse the poor quality photo....the marble, honed counter tops in the islands,

have a soft green colour through them....I am hoping to bring the outdoors in....

The wood floor, currently covered in large sheets of cardboard, is dark, distressed hickory.

I thought it would anchor the all white cabinets and trim.....the hardware is oiled bronze.

In the meantime, I am hoping that all my sources of inspiration, years of reading and learning from some of my favourite designers will serve me well over the next few months.....

I admire Bunny Williams, Kate Forman, Lisa Luby Ryan, Loi Tai.....all very different, but classic and timeless.

I hope to post more pictures soon, my severe dust allergy has kept me away from our house, but in the meantime, I wish all my readers a cozy, serene and comfy Winter season!

N.xo

All the garden photos are my own, rest from Pinterest.

 

 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Thinking ahead....

 

I always had a bad habit of not thinking too hard or long, when making decisions about decor....I usually know what I want when I see it, and don't have the need to see more samples or continue looking for the better alternative.....my Aunt Carlotta taught me to stop looking....when your eye has made your heart respond.....I like that, and it has served me well! I have been thinking about how to furnish and decorate now, for seven long months! It is now time to move ahead with a few basic steps.....

I have always admired the tufted ottoman, and liked it's use as a coffee table, multifunctional, topped with a lovely tray....I have just the large, vintage silver tray.....no ottoman!

This photo, is as close to what my two love seats resemble now. Previously, they sported pink and green floral fabric...." Floribundas " as referred to by my friend Trish, from Trouvais, lively, bright, little flowers for the living room!!

Now, in a heavy cotton duck fabric in cream....the chairs on the right are fairly accurate facsimiles, eliminated the skirts and stained the existing legs darker....they are finished, and the upholsterer is graciously storing them for us....

Two bedroom chairs will join the love seats, upholstered in this green pastoral toile... I found the fabric at E. Villeneuve Antiques, a favorite haunt....I have been contemplating it's use for some time...both seat bottom and backs will be tufted....originally I was going to use it on dining room chairs, but I decided differently.....
Hopefully, all of my original furniture will be used again, with just minor changes, like paint or fabric....

Here, you can see the detail of this very pretty toile....

Most of the furniture has gone from stained wood to variations of white, distressed and antiqued pieces....

This example below, is what I have used as inspiration for my own interpretation...

Beautiful, I think!

Images from Pinterest have been an amazing source of inspiration and ideas, and it has been a virtual sample board for design solutions for every room....

Colour palettes can be drawn from everywhere.......

This beautiful linen chest served as inspiration for painting my own powder room vanity and dining table....

This week the kitchen will be completely installed, as will the fireplace and mantle....

I hope to post them soon...in the meantime, thinking ahead, to restoring the comforts of home, like seating and tables to get us adjusted back to our own surroundings...

Hopefully, our projected move in date is early February....

I am posting from my iPad with Blogsy....please bear with me as I attempt yet another learning curve....

This is my 100th post!

Moving ahead in 2013!!!!!

N.xo