What I've been doing lately

Since I am clearly not blogging like I should, I figured I could fill you in on what I have been doing.

 - Sewing new pillows to give our sofa a little facelift

- Taking Riley to the park on the rare days that we have had some warm weather and following it up with ice cream for dinner. Don't judge - I wasn't the only one at the ice cream parlor with a toddler at dinner time. 

- Like Paula over at Two Ellie, I can not stop listening to this song. It has been on repeat pretty much since the first time I heard it. I think even Riley knows the words by now. 

- Smiling as I changed the date from February to March while preparing invoices for clients yesterday. February is by far my least favorite month of the entire year and I am never sorry to see it pass. I'm ready to add bright colors to my home

DecorPad 

Image via TinyK

and hopefully spend some time outdoors in warmer weather.

Image via Slowernet Flickr

Image via Sunday in Bed

It's Mary Ruffle

 I can't wait for Spring! 

Would you rather

have a kitchen with lots of upper cabinets

Photographer: Don Freeman | Country Living

Canadian House & Home

House Beautiful

or lots of open shelving?

Coastal Living

House Beautiful

Ooh food via Flickr

A pet peeve

If you know me in person you know that I am not short on opinions. I think most designers are this way - you either love something or you hate it and there is usually no in-between. That being said, I try not to use this blog to talk about things that I dislike because, while that can be entertaining for a little while, no one really wants to sit around listening to someone gripe and complain all of the time. Today I am making an exception to discuss a design "trend" that drives me crazy - the unnecessary and usually ill-placed decorative interior column. 

See below for examples:

 

My husband and my mom are probably laughing right now because they know all too well how much I hate these sort of columns. Whenever I find myself in a room with this type of column I have to hold myself back from just kicking the column down right then and there. I can't even focus on anything else in the room because I am so distracted by the columns. 

As a side note, if you happen to live in a house with these columns and they make you happy then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that so please don't be offended by my silly opinion. If it makes you happy then I don't think you have to justify it to anyone else. Trust me, I have plenty of things in my house that I have seen panned on other blogs but I love them and that is all that matters. And, I think I may actually be in the minority on this particular issue because I used to work for a builder when I graduated from design school and almost every single customer was paying extra to install these columns all over their homes. It is just not a particular trend that I could ever live with in my home.

Does anyone else feel this way? If not about columns, is there a particular trend that makes you absolutely crazy when you see it and that you will never have in your own home? 

Seeing Double

It seems like every kitchen remodel these days features double ovens

Elle Decor

Country Living

House Beautiful

Phoebe Howard

or double sinks.

 

J Lo's House | Veranda 

DecorPad

Steven Gambrel

But if I ever get the chance to design a new kitchen for our home, I want two dishwashers.

Unknown

Not that two ovens or two sinks wouldn't also be nice, but two dishwashers are something I would use on a regular basis. Nothing is worse than filling up your dishwasher preparing for a dinner party and then not having anywhere to put the dirty dishes once everyone has finished eating. And, with two dishwashers your husband would really never have an excuse for leaving dirty dishes in the sink, right? 

While we are fantasizing, why not just have a kitchen with all three?

Alisberg Parker Architects

Southern, indeed!

I just made a shrimp salad sandwich for lunch and washed it down with a tall glass of sweet iced tea while watching Steel Magnolias on TV. Doesn't get more Southern than that!

Recipe courtesy of Ms. Paula Deen

Shrimp Salad

1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined

3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, minced

1/2 cup mayo

Dash onion salt

Salt and Pepper

Seasoning Salt

Chop shrimp and mix with eggs, celery and mayo. Season to taste and serve.

I added some chopped onion and reduced the amount of celery and served it on toasted pita bread. It was so good I can't wait to have it again tomorrow!

Change of Location

Today I am having one of those days where I wish I was anywhere but here. Any of these places will do...

Coastal Living

Coastal Living

Elle Decor

Coastal Living

Pinata Time

I spent all day yesterday recovering from our Super Bowl party. And, no, I wasn't recovering from too much alcohol but from the chaos of having 10 kids running around our house all night! How times have changed!

The party was a lot of fun but by far the biggest hit of the night was the football pinata. All of the kids loved it and I am sure their parents loved me for filling their kids up with sugar right before bedtime :)

It was so much fun that I am already thinking about the next time we can break one open. I found my pinata at Target but after doing a quick Google search I saw so many beautiful options out there. 

 Confetti System

Unknown

Confetti System | Crewcuts

Image via Everything Fabulous

Confetti System |Bergdorf Goodman

Of course, these are all so pretty that I don't think I could stand to bust them open. Maybe I will just look for one to hang in Riley's bedroom instead.

Would you rather

live in a home filled with bright, happy color

Jonathan Adler

Anna Spiro

Amanda Nisbet

or calm, serene neutrals?

 

Martha Stewart Living

Sally Wheat

Darryl Carter

Inspiration Found!

Last week I wrote a post about needing a new project to work on. Well, Blogland provided the inspiration I needed. I saw this post over on My Little Happy Place and knew I had found my next project. I have a pair of cane back chairs that are in need of repair. Alison came up with some great paint and fabric combinations and I decided to look into my fabric and paint stash to see if I could make a pairing of my own. My chairs look very similar to this:

 

And here are the possible combinations I have come up with:

Chiang Mai in Alabaster by F. Schumacher

+

New Providence Navy by Benjamin Moore

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Vintage Plumes in Jade by Robert Allen

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Galapagos Turquoise by Benjamin Moore

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Sudan in Sage by Lewis & Sheron Fabric

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Bavarian Cream by Benjamin Moore

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Metallic Linen by B&J Fabrics

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Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore

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Riad in Jet by Kravet

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Black by Benjamin Moore

Which combination would get your vote?

I need a new project...

Yesterday and today have consisted of fun things like snow, 

hot chocolate,

 

and fabric.

And not fun things like taxes, passport renewals, and filling out paperwork for new trade accounts. 

I have plenty to keep me busy lately but my mind is still wandering. I am feeling the need to start a new project. A painting? Transforming a piece of furniture? I'm not sure yet. I am still waiting on inspiration to strike...Are you working on any fun projects lately?