My Case for a Second Home

Sometimes, I really think I need two homes...

In the spring and summer, I love bright, light and airy:

But with the cooler months of autumn and winter coming, I lean a little more dark and introspective:

Cool, neutral and serene:

Warm and interesting:

Outdoor entertaining:

Welcome indoors:

All white:

Dark:

Unfortunately, you can't get all this depth and texture by just using a winter throw on your sofa. Psychologically speaking, it may be that because I live in such a warm (hot) weather climate, Texas, with it's long sunny summers, that I want for cool and simple interiors when it's warm outside. Hmmm...

Well, at any rate, I guess this is one more reason to lean towards a dark green, or some other dark color, for our office. Dark and moody... a great place to curl up and read. Or to surf through blogs. With a hot cup of tea, of course!


Tonight, I'm so excited to be going to the TCU/SMU game! TCU is going to steamroll over the Mustangs, and I can't wait.

Hope you have a great weekend! Any fun planned?

I really like this room

It's warm gray walls, those dark linen chairs, that dresser, the unusual wooden table.... It's beautiful and masculine without being *grunt* MASCULINE.

I wonder if I could convince Chris that he really likes this look? ;-)

Have a great weekend!

*photo from Reclaimed Studios (it's her living room!)

It's amazing...

No, this isn't our finished office...
Actually, it isn't finished yet (it's getting better, though).
But! I think we have found a color! "Calke Green" from Farrow and Ball. Well, more accurately, a colormatch of "Calke Green" from another paint manufacturer because, you know, I just can't justify spending that much on paint right now.

Really, I just wanted to touch base here.

It's amazing how quickly two short weeks and a long holiday weekend have gone and how busy I've been.

It's amazing how many empty boxes and old junk paper we've cleared out of the office.

It's amazing how much we still have left to go in there.

It's amazing how soft THIS is! It makes the best dog beds (more on this to come). Soft and cushy like down, but more supportive. And it feels soft and silky-smooth like buttah, baby.

It's amazing that it's finally football season again! Yay!!

It's amazing how how irritated I get whenever I hear more about this story. Just move it.

It's amazing that we're going to New Orleans for Halloween. Sooo excited!

It's amazing how good my pillow shams for our bedroom turned out (pictures coming soon)! They make me a little proud and happy whenever I make our bed in the mornings.

It's amazing how many magazines I have. I'm slowly working through them, but of course, the Dominos and the Cottage Livings are all "keeps".

It's amazing how looking at paint for one room of your house makes you want to repaint other rooms. Right now I'm thinking a Churlish Green wasabi-like color for our guest bath...

It's amazing that it's the weekend (almost) again! Hope you have a good one!!

Black, White and ...

every color under the rainbow...

(Just not all at once, please.)

Happy Tuesday!

Chartreuse Lime Fizzy

Not a drink, but how I'd describe the color on these walls:

I love the color in this room. This weird color somehow makes me strangely happy, and I'm thinking about using it for our bathroom. But, the shade and value of it have to be just right, or else it can turn scary.

Trying to catch up - sorry for the radio silence, but the internet at our house is out, and work has been (thankfully) busy!

And thank you to everyone who gave their opinions on rug designs!!! I really appreciate all the input!

*picture from House Beautiful

New Pillows

Finally.

Used some fabric that I've had for a while to make some new covers for the pillows on the couch (pillow covers with zippers!). I'm really liking the more neutral colors, and the hint of green in the stripe ties into the big green leather chair (that's not pictured). I also swapped out the sage-y green throw that's usually on the couch for this orange one that I've had (from Ikea) because I thought it all needed a little jolt of color.

I think the little guys approve.

A Dose of Sunshine

It's been kind of overcast here the last couple of days, so I thought a little dose of yellow sunshine would be nice...

I think in the right shades, and in the right doses, yellow can be so uplifting! How about you? Do you like yellow?

Have a great Tuesday!


Pictures from: Decorpad, Martha, Cococozy, Absolutely Beautiful Things, Martha, Thad Hayes via Urban Sardines, Nskwood.net, Southern Accents, the Paris Apartment, Decorpad

Color-Combo: Blue and White

Blue and White is such a classic color combination, and it seems like lately I've been seeing it more and more.

It looks gorgeous outside! I love using blue out in the garden, and it looks great here on the outdoor rug.

And there's classic blue and white pottery. Goes with anything!

It makes a serene and beautiful bedroom.

It can be an easy and inexpensive way to decorate a wall.

Still beautiful and serene in a bedroom...

It's interesting over cabinets in the kitchen.

And it adds some color to a foyer.

I'm using blue and white as accents in our guest bedroom to go with a painting that Chris' grandmother did - as a pillow on the bed, and in some pottery around the room.

How about you? Do you like the blue and white color combination??

And in case you haven't already - don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

*Pictures from: PVE, Cathy Kincaid Interiors, Wisteria, Little Green Notebook, Canadian House & Home, Domino, Habitually Chic, House Beautiful

Bright White and Light

Light colored walls are everywhere right now. Magazines, the internet, real clients' houses, my computer's pictures file... I don't know when it happened, but I'm really loving the clean simplicity of the look. And when done right, I don't think it's boring at all.

I love darker trim with lighter walls...

And ebonized or darker floors...

Lots of natural materials to add texture...

The contrast of dark and light...

Different sheens to add depth...

I love this kitchen with it's white walls and darker trim, natural materials on the floors and counters, and contrast of the dark windows to the light walls. It has great lighting too!

I also love the brightness that natural light brings to these rooms!

I realized that I have sooooo many "inspiration" pictures just like these - with white or very very light colored walls - and right now they're making me want to re-paint my entire house. Which is extreme, I realize.

Anyone else like white out there?

*pictures from: #1-3 from My Home Ideas.com, #4-5 from Canadian House and Home, #6 - 9 from Cote de Texas, #10-11 from Country Living, and #12-15 from Head Over Heels.