Romantic Living Room Update

Recently I had the pleasure of updating

 a living room for a client.

 She loves the glamorous, romantic, french style.

This before  picture was taken after the painters 
had finished, so the cornices were still down.
What a difference adding to her window treatment made.
The existing cornice boards were already upholstered to match

 the chair and sofa in the living room. I added long silk panels with fringe.

Her walls were originally linen white, now a beautiful pinky beige.

Take a look at the finished room:

I specified a paint change to BM Bradstreet Beige

 and the ceiling in BM Sunset Pink.

There was a lot of pattern with the Aubusson style floral carpet 

and the floral pattern was everywhere you looked.
I wanted to soften that overload of pattern.

 I toned it down with solid silk panels in a melon pink

 with lush fringe in a beige and pink combination.

 I applied a pink and beige brush fringe

 to the top of the lambrequins (cornices with sides).

Each panel was held back by a burnished gold medallion.

Her furniture is in a whitewash oak which

 comes across as a peachy pink. 

The room has layers of beigey pinks

 that are quite elegant and romantic.

A favorite painting won at an auction in Paris 

now holds center stage over the mantel.

 It used to be on a side wall.

 I replaced a contemporary oversized painting

 that was too bold for the room.

A tole candelabra in aged green

 is the centerpiece on her marble coffee table.

The color of the silk drapes is repeated in the coffee table.

Small changes in paint colors and beefing up top treatments

 can give any room the face lift it needs to stay current!

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Mosaic Inspiration!

You have to check out this blog featuring mosaics.  

I have never seen such beautiful mosaic work~ever!

This work is done by Penny.

Pretty Aqua Picnic Basket

Baby pink and blue table

Sweet side chair

  floral rose clock

This was featured in Romantic Homes Magazine!

 House Sign

A mosaic teacart~the detail is amazing.

What beautiful china she uses

 for her mosaic work.

A darling chalkboard

A transferware teapot in mosaic

Penny even does charming teapot chandeliers!

A chocolate pot chandy!

I can't help but notice

 the purple toile draperies!

Recently I checked out this book out of the library
 on how-to create mosaic.
I have been collecting my broken china for years,
and am planning to create something...
but what?

This table caught my eye,
 and now I have Penny's creations 
for inspiration as well.

This pearl mosaic lamp is fascinating!
Wow.

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Marie Antoinette meets Maison Decor in new home office

The plan: 
Marie Antoinette meets
 Dreamy Cottage Girl

My office makeover results.

A drafting table I snagged out of the cellar 

got a coat of frenchy blue paint.

I matched the pretty bookcase I just bought at Rustique.

 The long wide drawer is great for holding plans and

 samples for the current jobs I am working on.

A black needlepoint rug and a 
frenchy leopard desk chair anchor the room.
Bins under the table hold workroom supplies.

The Rustique bookcase has embossed wallpaper on the back panel.

Lots of things that inspire me have found a place here.

My antique thimble collection, cut glass...

Silverplate creamer and pitcher hold my pencil collections.

A magnetic board holds sweet thank-you notes and attractive calling cards over the bookcase..

A cookbook stand holds a decorator book open to an article I find inspiring at the moment.

A thrift store picnic basket holds my spools of thread.

My thinking chair is in the corner~a mombasa mosquito net over a comfy chair.

My frenchy table with marble top sits next to 

the dragonfly upholstered chair.

My vintage trunk holds fabrics and pillows

 for upcoming jobs.

Frenchy blue paint washed over an old ladder

 holds my current job samples. 

Behind the scenes: ladder and table getting a paint job.

I ordered these decals online so

 I wouldn't forget who I was when blogging. 

The crown came from Hobby Lobby.

Tres Cool.

Amazingly enough,

everyone speaks with a french accent

 when they enter this room!

Pink and green toile draperies with tassel trim

 hang from iron rods and fleur~de~lis holdbacks.

Hubby hung my auction find chandelier. 

A ceiling medallion I just painted

 french blue that has yet to be installed. 

Joy! 

 I mixed some pink crystals in with the clear.

twinkle pinkle twinkle pinkle

This space was created to inspire me.

Little bits and pieces of lovely are everywhere.

 Filled with all the things I am attracted to, 

I love walking through the door to work!

 linking to
Show and Tell Friday
and
Funky Junk Interiors SNS
and
Metamorphosis Monday

My office ended up being featured on
 French Obsession

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A Swedish Frenchy Color Palette

Have you been singing the blues?

I find myself gravitating towards the 

scandanavian color palette lately. 

Never been fond of blues, really. 

Now they are quickly becoming a favorite.

Simple Swedish design.

French influence with white and aqua blue.
This color has me wrapped around it's finger of late.

A bit grand: more French than Swedish.
Turquoise with gold is a very current combination.

 Classic swedish grey paint with

        French toile and chicken wire detailing

French all the way

An inspired island color 

European styling in creamy yellow and white

Greige painted cabinet~so lovely

The Gustavian look again~

 and a bit of farmhouse 

This lighter color palette of whites, greys, 

creams,and soft blues have stood

 the test of time for good reason.

Its a classic look with universal appeal.

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Country Living

A cup of coffee with my rescue dog Dillon

is a great start to my day when in New Hampshire.

No makeup, still in my pjs with a sweater as it was early!

I love the landscape here and want to share it with you!

Black Raspberries ripening on the vine in the front yard

A transplanted daylilly from Boston finds a home here

A country bouquet for the kitchen table.

Nothing fancy, just whatever I could pick.

Wild daisies abound throughout the yard

We pick blueberries from our patch all summer

We have 90 blueberry bushes and this year they are loaded!

You can see our patch on the back left corner.
And the lake is off in the distance.

A wild pale pink rose grows along the front near the street

A line of blue spruce trees grow a little larger year by year.

There are old stone walls that ring the property.
It used to be a farm.

There is a peace and serenity to this place. 

 A new rose for our deck planter is called Lady X.

A hybrid tea rose in a lovely lavendar pink.

I love New Hampshire in the summer.

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