Home Sweet Home #18

Welcome to Home Sweet Home!  I have shown this spot in my home before on my blog but after over 450 posts I know it is buried somewhere.  This is the ledge that goes downstairs to our basement.  I have had it decorated like this since we remodeled in 2008.  

The basement is the teen man cave, so the nautical theme was fitting as we go down the stairs.  

The teens have even added their own touch to my decor.  If you look on the deck of the Mayflower here you will see Captain Jack Sparrow on the ready for any pirate adventures that may ensue.

 And, what would a  piratey vignette be without a pistol, some pieces of eight, and a little bit of stolen Aztec gold.  Vintage pistol (Captain Jack's affects) being the inspiration here.

 A very good close up of Jack. (that is for you CA) Source: http://pinterest.com/

Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home!  

Now, I would like to feature some wonderful post from last weeks Home Sweet Home.  

First, my friend Sandi over at Rose Chintz Cottage created this beautiful romantic tea.  She hosts a tea party every Tuesday, link up and join her.  Click the link to view.

 Next, Debra over at Common Ground  did a post on ticking for her Vintage Inspiration Party. Such inspiration at her blog, join her each Friday for her party.  Click the link to view.

Next, Birdie Blue created this fantastic space for her and her daughters to work.  Click the link to view.

And last, Sunny Simple Life created this fabulous fountain in remembrance of her parents.  Click the link to view.

Now onto today.

I will join these ladies today:

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Feather Your Nest  at French Country Cottage

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link.  If you find your link deleted, add the link, and then try again.  (I have been deleting a few links.  Inlinkz sets the rules.)

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes!

Thank yous!

I just wanted to send a little shout-out (oh wow, did I really just say "shout-out??" ) to my mom & my grandmother.  They ("Gramma Donna" and "Gramma Cracker") come over once a week every week to watch our boys.  They bring all sorts of toys & games & activities with them and the kids loooove their grammas.  I work in the office while they play & unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to be with them at all.  But today, when they left, I found this pretty little surprise on the table:

{Hydrangea from the garden; ignore the kid dinner in background}

I'm not sure which of them did it, but I love it.  Especially they way the leaves were wrapped around the stems.  Go Grandmother! (I think it was you who did the leaf thing.)

I know I don't get nearly enough time with either of you or get to say it much, but if you're reading this, thank you for all that you do and I love you.

Summer is almost really here and we've been crazy-busy with some exciting new projects at work.  Meghan, my design assistant, has been amazing & just turned 23 yesterday!!  (Happy Birthday Megs!!)  And my best friend, Frammy, just turned 29 this week too!!  (Happy birthday Cheese if you're reading!! I love you!!)

Also, thanks so much to Linda Merrill for the mention in her online magazine, which you can read here:

Surroundings

And finally, thank YOU so much for reading. 

I truly appreciate it and I look forward coming here because of you.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Bringing the Beach Home

I am bringing a bit more beach decor into my decorating for summer.  This vintage poster makes great beachy art for the wall.  

I styled this thrift store mirror into a tray.  You can view that post here.

source

This isn't my birdcage, I found it on Pintrest  If you haven't discovered Pintrest it is a virtual inspiration board for all things pretty.  I have a link on my sidebar if you would like to join.  I found this birdcage there and this a new idea I would like to try for summer.

What new decorating are you trying for summer? 

Sherry

New Irregular Blog Series: "Love" Houses

If you've been following this blog for a while, you might have picked up that I'm not very good with doing regular blog series.  (And if you're new, well, I'm not good with doing regular blog series.)  I like to write about what floats my boat on any given day, so I'm better with irregular posts.  BUT in my mind I like to have some sort of organization so one of the new irregular series I'll be doing around here will be "Love" Houses.  These are the houses that have been featured in magazines or online that I just can't get over.  The articles I go back to for staring at time and time again.  The ones that I feel disappointed about when the text runs out.  The ones that get me dreaming & excited.  Some are old, some are new, but these houses are my favorite and go in the "love" pile and I thought it might be fun to share some of them on the blog.

My first favorite house/ estate is called Cherryfilelds (yes, it has a name :)  and belongs to John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross (of Dransfield & Ross) and was featured in Elle Decor's July/ August 2010 issue.  Text is by Peter Tersian.  Photography is by Simon Upton & it was styled by Carlos Mota.

{I dream of having a massive living toom large enough for multiple interesting groupings.}

Dranfield & Ross actually traded for this house with its owner, Nancy Pine AKA "Princess" (an "outrageous" fabulous widow in her 80s.)   They foudn the house but it wasn't on the market.  They would stalk the house until they finally made an appointment to meet with Princess.  "They made a deal on the spot" and just needed to wait until Princess could find a house to move to.  They waited months while she searched and finally she asked them what type of house they had.  It was an 1806 farmhouse and they ended up swapping houses.  They think of her as their Auntie Mame and she visits when they're out, leaving notes.   My favorite part is that Princess says "The best time to visit someone is when they're not at home."   

"The building is long & rambling but it's only one room deep, so all the major rooms have light on both north and south sides."---- ummm, a-mazing. 

{You know I loooove these pools}

I love the conservatory-feel in some of the rooms:

{love their pup!}

...And find myself more & more drawn to black.

Light & airy yet dramatic at the same time:

I love that the house has a combination of airy rooms & moodier rooms. 

The kitchen is so charming.  Again, it's got that fresh-deep thing going on that I love.

I love this shot of the butler's pantry: 

{Heaven}

Everything feels so authentic & collected.  It feels carefree & relaxed yet elegant.  It's a laid-back formality that's really refreshing.  I just want to be there when Iook at the pictures.

You can view the article online at Elle Decor here and I'll be posting more "Love" houses every now & then!

I'm off for the day, but hope you had a great weekend!!  Only a couple more weeks until school's out for the summer & I can't wait!!! (my husband's a teacher)  I have the window open right now & have to be honest that I'm finding it harder & harder to buckle down in the office.  Outside's calling!!  eeeeeeeeeeek

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Summer on the Mantel

I restyled the mantel for  summer with lots of beachy influences.  

Thanks for coming by to view my mantel!

Sherry

Home Sweet Home #17

Welcome to Home Sweet Home!  I haven't shown my house in awhile because I have three kids and it is kinda messy, but today I have something to show.  I have a table that is new to me and I had the perfect spot to put it. 

I have finally decided to go coastal.  I have been trying really hard to set a style to my decor, but everything is white, French, or more white.  My decor is not white, so I was getting lost as to what to do with it.  But, nautical and coastal style doesn't have to be white or bright.  So, my vintage inspiration piece is this table that is from the family and it is not going to be painted.  My thrifty part of the post is the table, it was given to me by family.

The lantern gets a coastal treatment with sea shells and a candle.   Lantern was provided by CSN. 

Pewter lined up on a shelf gives a tavern feel to the space right outside of my kitchen pass thru.

Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home!  

Now, I would like to feature some wonderful post from last weeks Home Sweet Home.  

First, Kim over at Savvy Southern Style styled her mantel for summer with all the right touches.  Kim has fantastic techniques for painting furniture and loads of great decorating ideas.  Visit the link to check out her post and blog.

Next, Bella from Bella's Rose Cottage  had a great idea for a watering can display.  I thought this would be wonderful for a floral shop too.  Click on the link to view.

Next, Jacqueline over at Cabin & Cottage set the most gorgeous table with vintage china and a table cloth that had a storybook flare that even Alice would envy.  Click the link to view.

Laurie, over at her blog Heaven's Walk had a beautiful garden emerging for spring.  Click on the link to view.

And last, Amanda at Girl in Pink had a creative and wonderful way to display vintage jewelry in her antique shop.  Click the link to view.  

Thanks so much to all of the people who join me here at Home Sweet Home!

Now onto today.

I will join these ladies today:

Open House Thursday  at No Minimalist Here

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Feather Your Nest  at French Country Cottage

Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove
And a new one for me- Treasure Hunt Thursday at Blue Creek Home 

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link.  If you find your link deleted, add the link, and then try again.  (I have been deleting a few links.  Inlinkz sets the rules.)

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes!

Easy Crab Feast

Last weekend we had a little crab feast with some of our friends.  At our house (probably like at most houses) we like to use parties as an excuse to tie up all of those loose ends around the house.  (see my last 2 posts ;) 

We finally had an excuse to mulch our gardens & break out all of that wedding drinkware. 

We strung up hanging lanterns & set out a couple of folding tables in the grass.  Here's a pre-party pic:

For a quick & summery arrangements, I filled old ironstone pieces with sunflowers for the tables:

We packed the kids off to visit "Gramma" and their playhouse shed turned into the bar:

I loved having this massive drink dispenser for the margaritas:

(I'm kicking myself for taking this pic before I'd set out the rock salt and hid the tequila to make it look pretty but oh well ;)

I made a couple of different salads including my chick pea one.  (recipe here)

 

We covered the tables in newspaper & topped with sunflowers & crabs:

My husband steamed the crabs in the oven using a roasting pan and they were easy & awesome.  I loooove Old Bay seasoning and sprinkled it on top and then we served the crabs melted butter, extra old bay & lemons.

It was soooooooooo yummy and I want to do it again right now. 

I love how the lanterns looked at night, lighting the patio for games:

I really loved having this party because getting it together was actually pretty easy.  It was a lot of effort but it was pretty planned out, which made it simple.  Food & friends  is always a good time, especially when the weather's perfect & you're outside.  

 

Of course I forgot to get pics of us.  (Fellow bloggers, I know you understand.)

...And I definitely did something to my hip dancing.  I think it was the kip-ups.

xoxo,

lauren

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.