A week of Inspiration

 Its been a week full of personal inspiration, one I won't forget.

The beginning of the week had me making the decision to create some 

landscape mural paintings in my home office/studio.  Mind you I have never painted

scenes or anything before (besides furniture and some decorative wall panels I did for

my shop two years ago).  But I was carrying the inspiration of Jennifer Lanne's artistic

style, particularly some chairs she did at the commission of designer Sandra Kelley.

I saw these french chairs with landscapes painted on the backs and I just fell head over 

heels in love.  Jennifer also painted some large landscapes on tarps for Sandra that were

beautiful and restful.  They were the inspiration for my modest panels and I hoped to achieve

the romantic look that embodied them. 

This photo was Sandra Kelly's Brimfield booth, which was happily located in

the same field that our booth was stationed.  It was a delight to stumble upon her

booth and see the chairs that before I had only seen when I discovered them a year 

or so ago on Facebook.  The landscapes are so dreamy and magical, aren't they?

The artist, Jennifer Lanne, paints with a bold and colorful style, and Sandra had 

her create these in the neutral Swedish palette that she loves.  I LOVE them!

 The best thing was that if I didn't achieve what I wanted I knew I could

always paint over it...hah!  So my point is, put your fear to the side and just

have fun and be loose and paint.  I wanted my room to be full of these dreamy

landscapes, and after creating a pair of them on the back wall, I decided to 

try my hand at a Versailles-like scene, based upon our visit there in 2014.

There were many enchanting garden buildings, and this one is loosely based on the Belvedere.

 My choice of paint was what was in my stash, which is a boat load of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  To that I added water to keep it loose and flowing.  I tried to never get nervous when I wasn't loving what was happening on my "canvas".  In the end, I think they came out marvelous!

 Using my favorite Versailles coffee table book as a reference,

I could find landscapes and buildings and classical notes to add to my paintings.

It feels amazing when I walk into my office space now....

so if you are inspired by something, don't overlook a way to bring it 

to life inside of your own home. 

The next day I would travel to a friend's home for an alfresco lunch.

Kaydee and I met in my shops, she was a frequent customer and it was clear

we both liked the same things.  We both would find inspiration in so many of 

the same things, and our talk turned to gardens.  I have been working on my courtyard,

and Kaydee invited me to tour her garden and so I did.

She had this charming menu board set up in her dining room, and it was the sweetest thing!

Her use of color (especially my favorite lilac) was inspiring, and her home

is filled with her own personal style, which I would say is a cross of Boho

and Cottage style.  It is such fun to see a home with style!  By the way,

Matthew Mead and I are on a personal style kick~helping people determine

their own style and make strides to getting the look that they love.  So this visit tied 

into what I am really all about at the moment.  Discovering Personal Style.

  We enjoyed a laid back lunch in the garden, and I was blown away by how many containers and beds Kaydee has growing in her yard.  Tomatoes, potatoes, lettuces, herbs, peppers, beans, and a host of flowers~all grown from seed in the late winter!! I felt like an underachiever hahah!!  Her mom,

Barbara, joined us with her homemade Strawberry Lemonade.  It was a delightful day.

The next day was big doings...I would be joining Matthew Mead on a magazine shoot.
Who is more creative and inspiring than this guy? No one!

As it seems in my life anyways, all points get connected.  This shoot was at

the country home of designer Sandra Kelly.  Yes. That Sandra Kelly.

The one whose booth I ADORED in Brimfield. The one whose commissioned 

chairs and landscapes had so inspired me....well it turns out Matthew had arranged

for shooting her home for his new magazine, and I couldn't have been more excited.

How fun would it be to shoot a video of Matthew shooting a home?  In my world,

its very fun, especially when its a Swedish style home with the color palette I love.

Photo by Matthew Mead

I videotaped him shooting a bit of the house, and we also did a video segment

interviewing the designer about her own personal style.

Photo by Matthew Mead

And there are those amazing chairs!  

I hope you find some inspiration checking out Sandra's home

on the 3 mintue video link above.  My cup runneth over with inspiration this

week, both in fulfilling it and finding it in unexpected places.

How wonderful it all was.

Next week, Matthew will be heading to my home to shoot my office, so 

I better hurry up and finish the rest of my walls....!!

For Instagram peeps you can follow along with us below:

Amy Chalmers: @amymaisondecor

Jennifer Lanne: @jenniferlanne.devilshopfarm

Sandra Kelly: @flax_in_bloom

Matthew Mead: @matthewmeadstyle