My home's feature in Italy's Casa da Sogno magazine

Last year I was contacted by an Italian journalist asking if she could feature my home

 in an Italian magazine.  Casa da Sogno, which means Dream Home, 

features beautiful homes from around the world.

November 2015 cover of Casa da Sogno

 I was honored to be asked, and although this publication is not sold in the United States, I was able to get the article from my friend, Cindy Roe Blackenburg.  Cindy is also a design blogger and was  featured in the same November 2015 issue.  The cover lists our features, which I translated to read

 "Romantic Interiors for the House of Amy" and "Elegant Brocante for Cindy".   Her home is one of my all time favorites, as it is decorated in the French style with vintage mix that I love so much. 

I will provide a link at the end to her blog so you can get a look at her gorgeous home, 

all of which she has been remodeling with her husband with stunning results.

Cindy provided scanned images from the magazine, as she was lucky enough to get her hands on a real copy.  I finally got to see it this week, and I think it looks beautiful. They did lighten the pics quite a bit, which distorts the colors a bit, but it still looks great and fun was to see.  I took all of these photographs the day after Matthew Mead photographed my house for his DECORATING magazine. 

(That magazine is on my blog sidebar with a link to purchase if you are interested).   If you haven't seen a copy yet, then these images will be new to you.  If you have seen the DECORATING magazine you will note that there are photos of my kitchen that wasn't featured as well as additional angles of many of the rooms.  I hope you enjoy looking through "the pages" of Casa da Sogno, even if you can't speak Italian!  I include an interview at the end, which is what most of the text of the article is taken from, but I have not translated it, so hopefully it is all nice stuff, haha.

The interviewer asked me to answer the following questions, and so I 

imagine the article's translation would contain much of this information

I provided to them.  It is included below if you are interested.

1. What is your favourite room? 

My favorite room is my living room, as it has my favorite things in it.  The antique blue opaline chandelier and the hand painted Italian table are both very dear to me. I love how antiques bring a room to life, and both of these really add a dimension of age and time to a room that is rather new.

What do you like most in decoration? 

I love decorating with antiques and vintage objects as I feel a room has much more personality when it has links to the past.  I wonder, what room and home did this item live its previous life, and who was it's custodian?  Connections to the past feel more real than just running out and picking something up at a home decor store. Color is also  important in decoration.  I like to stick to a neutral color palette and then add one color for interest.  I have an affinity for European stye, and this shows up in the way I have chosen to decorate the interior and exterior of our home.

Where do you live? 

I live in a small city outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston is a small yet fantastic city, my son has a shop there selling antiques called Pioneer Goods! I love to be able to travel to a major metropolitan city to access to all a city like Boston has to offer, yet only a short drive back home where we live our life in a more countrified setting.

  

These are just a few questions but please tell me a bit of you and your home. 

I am an interior designer who lives with my husband, sons and a new puppy.  I loved creating a home that is welcoming and embraces all that homemakers have to offer  their families.  To me it is a very important part of life, creating a beautiful setting, filled with family traditions, wonderful meals and enjoying each other's company and being supportive to one another.  We are a very lucky family and I know that my role is important in that way.  My design business takes up my spare time and I find it very fulfilling to create.  The need to create has taken me on many journeys, from professional curtain making when I was younger to designing and decorating  beautiful spaces for clients.  I recently had a run at the shopkeeping role, and found that took too much out of me, leaving not much left for the family life that I love. Currently I am working with other designers I respect doing collaborative projects.  My other interests are sketching, blogging, cooking, painting,  traveling, gardening, and playing with our dog.  

   

And now take a trip to this amazing home....

Visit Cindy's drool worthy home here at her blog Edith & Evelyn Vintage

Its really incredible!  Thanks again to Cindy for providing the images

so I could enjoy them and share them with you. 

And check out my blogger friend from England, Krissie's home that is the covergirl 
of the December issue of Casa da Sogno.  She has an enchanted cottage by the shore,
and it has been remodeled by her and her hubby as well.

Click here to see her feature. Its one enchanted little cottage filled with charm.
What fun to be surrounded with lovely blogging friends and to share these moments together.
I hope you enjoy these features and find a little pleasure and inspiration along the way.

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New Year Decorating Inspiration

source

Its the last day of 2013! 

When a new year comes along I find it brings a unique energy. 

One of all things new, a brand new start, and a time for reinventing. 

 Naturally I think of my home decor and now that includes the store decor.

Even if just a little bit or a whole lot, everything is 

open to renewing and review.

So with that we have been working on our shop during

our closed Christmas holiday to do a little bit of tweaking,

some redesigning and remodeling.

Together with my sons, we hatched a plan to create a little

more ambience in the Maison Decor shop.

It was a basic box with 4 walls, which doesn't give us 

the interior display space, nor does it give our shoppers the

experience we want them to find when they visit.

And so a wall. 

Yes, my guys built us a wall in one day. 

Justin used previous builder's experience and together with Colin they

had this amazing L shaped wall constructed in short order.

What a difference it is going to make!

I was so surprised at their skill in getting it up

and so excited to think of the fabulous things to come.

Funny how a simple thing can be so powerful in design.

source

The fun part comes next with using the wall for a backdrop of

placement for furniture and home decor accents.

So look for some changes in our shop and I will 

be sure to share it online here of course.

The guys and I have business meetings where we discuss purely

esthetics and our design vision for Maison Decor.

We are excited to execute our vision in 2014.

Justin and I will head to Atlanta in a few weeks

 to the big Home Decor & Gift Market

in search of things to bring back for our shoppers,

all selected with the Maison Decor esthetic in mind.

source

Our esthetic is going to be a mix of my true love 

of Rustic French style mixed 

with a bit of Shabby Chic along with Justin's preference 

of Rustic American Classic Farmhouse style.

source

This wonderful eating area is a good example of the mix of styles

we will be focusing on for the shop.

Rustic with classic elements that have 

a European antiquity about them.

Lanterns and chandeliers with tons of neutrals in 

greys, black, ivory, white and beige.

Metals, both rusty and gilded, will mix freely side by side.

Its so invigorating to think of decor plans,

whether its for a home or for a retail location.

Maybe you are thinking of switching things up a bit too?

Perhaps start an inspiration board, whether its on Pinterest

or created in reality on your dining room table.

via House Beautiful

An inspiration board will pull all your thoughts together

and keep you focused on what you really like.

I am working on a giant inspiration board for

the shop called Maison Decor Style.

One look at the board will tell our shoppers

 what our design esthetic is all about.

Finding inspiration comes from so many different places,

from fabric patterns, magazine images, paint colors etc.

My newest source of inspiration came from a long awaited book

I purchased for both the store and myself.

by Rachel Ashwell, the Shabby Chic maven and legend,

it is her latest book Couture Prairie.

It is a pictorial compilation of the ranch in Texas 

that she purchased and operates as a B&B.

It is a fabulous book filled with gorgeous photos

and a mix of design styles that I am captivated by.

 I have a copy in the shop opened to a page showing a big ranch hall

that has the most wonderful mix.

I posted this photo on my instagram telling my followers that

Rachel's book is now on the shelves at Maison Decor.

And just look who wrote me back....

Rachel left a comment: "Glad to be on your shelves"

It was the second time she left me a personal comment,

the first was on Christmas day when I instagrammed a pic

showing her book in my home and how I had caved in and couldn't

wait for Christmas morning to open the book and start turning the pages.

She wished me a Merry Christmas too.

She has inspired me through the years, not only in her decorating

style but also her being a small independent business woman.

So much fun on Christmas morning to get a message from one of 

my decorating icons! Thank you Rachel!

I look forward to being creative and having more

decorating opportunities in the new year.

More home decorating blogging and doing,

more exciting things for our store and working together

side by side with my sons Colin and Justin as well

as having Justin's fiance, Madison join the team on a regular basis.

All these things are on our horizon as the clock

dial turns and we head into the year 2014!

via Eloquence

Happy New Year to you all!

Inspired to do just that!

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Shabby Chic Chateau Armoire

 Source unknown

This image is all over the internet~I have always loved it

and the elements in it give the room its style.

Imagine the room without the armoire hutch....it wouldn't

be the same.  Some things make a statement, and I have

just added a piece to my shop that fits in that category!

 Chateau Armoire, custom made and done a limed pecky cypress finish.

It towers above the armoire next to it~at 7 1/2 feet tall its quite the beast!

Did you ever wonder how these things end up in shops....take a peek.

 I had to hire a couple of extra guys just to off load it 

from the truck to the shop.  Justin, on the right, came out to 

the Malden shop to help me get this piece in. 

They all listen as Picker Paul gives out instructions

to how they are going to move this massive 350 pound piece. 

 Paul is at the far end while the three guys handle 

the base and slowly slide it off the truck.

 It gets into a standing position and then they have to hustle it into the shop~

Paul is barking out the orders and all seems to be going smoothly.

(Insert grunting noises here)

 Once in the shop some adjustments are made and voila~

 Paul stands next to the piece to try to show the scale of it~he is 6'3.
Paul went to the auction and he tried to tell me this might not be the piece to get
due to its massive size~and the potential damage to his back!  But I am in love
with anything French or Gustavian in nature and this piece just had to come to Maison Decor!  It was custom made and is the highest quality.  Its in excellent
shape and ready to transform a room with it's elegant French country style.

Here you can see the limed wood with the pecky look~yummy!

www.shopmaisondecor.com

Come on down and take a look before its gone~!

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Swedish Blue for the Mora Clock

 The clock is soft blue and white now~

 Blue or creamy white would be the color I would pick if

I buy an old Swedish clock...

 So it was natural for me to want to make 

this reproduction as close to the real thing in my mind's eye.

I mixed up a custom color of Chalk Paint

to come close to a color called Glass Slipper that I love.

Essentially using Louis Blue and Old White together,

I was able to copy this Ben Moore favorite.

The crown at the top of the clock has a pretty little 

french looking heart and lacey carved details.

 Overall I am quite pleased, however, 

I still need to wax it. A little dark wax 

will add some age without darkening it too much.

I'll show this wax step in more detail as I was 

asked to elaborate on this process by a reader.

Initially I thought I might keep the dark ochre color 

with the pale blue, but when I hung it up on the wall all 

you really noticed was the outlines that the ochre called attention to.

There was too much of a contrast, so I used old white Chalk Paint® 

to lighten the accent areas.

I wanted two colors, as many of the examples I studied

of antique moras used white as accents on pastel pink or blue bases.

 I've sold quite a few of these clocks.

They are wonderful decorative pieces.

The original color was a favorite of many who commented~

but I like it soft blue.

And of course, I hung it a little lower

and so then I had to lose the little chair~

 The inspiration for the clock to be blue 

was that pale blue chintz pillow~

That wonderful old Mario Buatta chintz 

is going to be back in my bookcases soon,

and this room will feel like springtime in Paris!

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Wishes can come true

Welcoming in the first day of 2012 finds me excited and reflective. 

I am so grateful for all I have~and so excited to start another year.

 Dream it, Wish it, Do it is a saying around this house~

encouraging one's self to dare to wish and then accomplish!

 Discovering blogland has unleashed the creative forces inside me

in a deeper way than ever I have ever experienced. 

On New Years Eve I happily spent my time drawing and painting.

Mr. Maison Decor was preparing to tame the lions 

down at the police station on the midnight shift.

So as he went off to bed early for his prework nap, 

and I spent most of the evening creating.

I will be sharing this project later this week~

it is something that stretched my creative tendons.

 So grateful and excited to have the Canon DSRL camera~and look what I learned already. Trying to move away from Auto focus into custom settings I discovered "Creative Autofocus".  The main reason I did not like auto is that you cannot eliminate the flash, and since my house tends to be dark, it was popping off all the time, creating an image like you see above. This is our remote control.  Hubs snapped this pic with Autofocus.  It is nice and clear~but look how it looks on Creative AutoFocus.

This picture was taken ten minutes later. Same interior lighting, but now I could control it by selecting that the flash be off, I was able to brighten the picture taking setting and make the background blur. You can make the background sharper or blurrier with Creative Auto. You can lighten every pic or darken every pic until you change the settings again. It is so much better!! 

I was amazed at how much better this picture was. Another wish I want to fulfill this year is to learn how to take better pictures by truly understanding the camera and what it is capable of doing. I will be sharing what I learn here and there along the way~so if you are on the learning curve of DSLRs I am hoping you will find this helpful.

The winter is a good time for reading and learning and being creative.

It has yet to snow in Boston, with the exception of one freak storm early on.

I find once there is snow cover, it makes me feel like

 cooking stews and soups and reading by the fireplace and painting and sewing.  

I also read so many great books on design in 2011 and I will be sharing these with you too.  My latest read was Patina Style, which was a Christmas gift, and it really resonated with me. Last Christmas I got Barbara Streisand's book, My Passion for Design, and it was a tremendous book, one of the best I have ever read! Reading design books is one of my favorite past times, always tons of inspiration in the pages from so many different perspectives.

My best wishes for the coming year to all

 of my blog readers, followers and friends.  

A special wish goes out to Nita who had a difficult year 

and I know better things await her in 2012. 

Wish it, Dream it, Do it!

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