"Blue Monday: 7 Nearly Blue Rooms"

I was delighted when I was approached by the online design firm, Design Shuffle (http://www.designshuffle.com/) an American social media site filled with Interior Design Ideas from top tier design talent from around the globe. Registration to this absolutely fabulous online design resource is free, and for those of you who love the world of interior design, contemporary, classic, eclectic or otherwise, I highly recommend you register.I hope you enjoy this post, "Blue Monday: 7 Nearly Blue Rooms" written by Lindsay, one of the Design Shuffle team, and I look forward to sharing more from them, with you, in future.

While a hint of blue Mondays may leave one down and out, blue in the home is anything but. Blue comes in a bevy of tints and shades, its effects are almost always calm, cooling and meditative. Tints of blue in Robyn's Egg, Periwinkle, Sky and Powder work beautifully in the bedroom, office or as an exercise room. Even more vibrant shades with hints of green, think Peacock and Teal, are cool and calm in the living room or den. If you're hoping to incorporate a new, versatile colour into your interior design ideas, blue is definitely a great place to start.The above room is an example of a vibrant shade of turquoise done in the bedroom. It may be bright, but the white and gray accents of the bed, nightstands and lamps, offset the shock and it's still calming. In the bedroom, above, pale blue walls give off a cool, calming effect and are accented by similarly tints of blue in the bed's headboard, as well as the curtains. White of course works well here, but chocolate brown offers a surprising, though understated, pop of colour.

While this sitting room, above is another 'tropical' shade of blue, its vibrancy is well-balanced by chocolate, camel and ivory. In this Nantucket beach house, above, the designer evokes oceanic blues and white throughout, but the high ceilings and beautiful, natural light of the bathroom, together with the pale blue walls, evokes an almost airy quality.


Deep navy walls are young, fresh and feminine, thanks to french mirrors, a Phillipe Starke Ghost chair, and bright pops of lipstick red.


The above classic pairing of white and a deep shade of cobalt blue is stately, yet serene in the drawing room of this villa on the island of Capri. It's one of the easiest interior design ideas to incorporate into your home because of its simplicity.


This room is actually mostly white, but the painted wooden floors in Robyn's Egg Blue together with the sunlight, create an unbelievably serene feeling, almost like the ocean.


These rooms are proof positive that blue can be calming, cooling, even vibrant, but never sad.


Design Shuffle

Wish upon a raindrop...

I wish I may, I wish I might. 

Basically, I want two things: to go camping and to steal my daughter from school and take her on a full-fledged picnic, replete with a pretty picnic blanket, yummy chicken sandwiches, homemade cookies, potato chips, and a flask of a cold, sweet drink. I want to pack a frisbee, bubbles, sunscreen, and even a kite and just spend the afternoon revelling in a sunny afternoon. I want to stop on the way home for popsicles and return with newfound freckles on our cheeks and shake blades of grass from the picnic blanket. 

 

Or maybe I want more: 

I also want to have a barbecue and actually eat outside, hear the sounds of my kids jumping into the pool, and hang clothes on the line to dry in the sun. I want to plant my window boxes and not worry about them growing mouldy from the never-ending damp. I want to have to put my air conditioner in my window and (finally) paint my porch floor. I want to wear flip-flops and put my jeans away in the back of my closet. I want to think that cooking a turkey is a ludicrous idea and eat my first (and probably only) hot dog of the season.

Because, have you ever had the feeling that you are trapped in a time warp where the days literally resemble one another and you are in a state of suspended motion where someone has hit the pause button on the change of seasons?  Where the picture outside your window never changes and that picture is grey and drizzly and, admittedly, a lush green but little else in the way of colour? While we are very, very fortunate that our weather complaints are mild (especially in light of others who have been faced with forceful and dangerous weather events), those of us who have endured a long, snowy Canadian winter are feeling the lack of energy and mood-lifting sun and vitamin D that normally comes with this time of year. For it has been over a month of cool/cold, dreary, uninspiring weather. I am literally craving the warmth of the sun and all the happy things that come with it.

And I will keep on wishing.

You can dance if you want to...

I am so excited!

I once posted a photo just like this of a print I wanted with these lyrics from Men Without Hats' popular song, The Safety Dance. Of course, true to form, I misplaced the link so I couldn't find the source of the art. Lucky for me, Etsy posted this exact image and the shop where it came from on their blog last week and I whooped with delight!

I immediately contacted the seller, Marianne from The Color Bee, who agreed to make one for me in a cheery yellow and white, for the art wall I want to create in my home. I have been collecting some fun pieces from Etsy artists and have quite a collection of great finds. And as soon as I can figure out where I want this art wall to be, I will have a great way to showcase my finds.

But I LOVE this one!

Because really, if you won't get up and dance you really are missing out on all of the fun!

Treasure Hunt...

(inspiration for my new chairs!)

On Mother's Day weekend I headed to Bangor with some of the women in my family for our annual shopping trip together. It is always a weekend of good (and too much!) food, laughs, and fun. It is also the time when I try to pick up some spring/summer clothes, just in case I will ever need them.

 

(Mum and me)

 

(my sister-in-law, Denise, and I after a breakfast of champions)

 I love the affordability and feminine fashions found at New York and Company in the Bangor Mall (and online). The deals there were amazing and I came out with a bag full of spring clothes for just over $150. You can't beat that! While there, I found the best white jeans ever...perfection! I wish there had been other colors:

And some pretty new tops:

I also bought new lights for my hallway from Lowe's. They have pretty, pale grey linen-look shades:

And for my front porch: outdoor retro-inspired metal chairs, also from Lowe's:

  

I wish we had room in the van for the matching garden glider:

Now, if only the weather would warm up so I could paint the floor of my front porch, assemble the chairs, and plant some flowers in my porch planters. We NEED the warmth of the sun...any amount of it! I am itching to start a house-related project, if only I could decide upon one. It seems I am a bag full of lazy bones when it comes to getting motivated this spring. To be perfectly truthful, I just want to fast-forward to a hot day in July with kids cannon-balling around me into the pool as I keep one eye on them and the other on a great summer novel. 

So, any suggestions for a great summer book?

Marketeering!

 Christine Chitnis, the winner of the holiday home tour contest for the Holiday with Matthew Mead  2010 issue, reached out to me with her good news that she has had a book published! I am happy to share her news and a little background about her book, Markets of New England, which highlights fifty of the most unique and vibrant farmers markets and art events in the region.

Writes Christine:  " Combining my love of writing, photography, and travel, I set out to unearth the top fifty markets- both farmer’s markets and art markets- in New England for my first book, Markets of New England (The Little Bookroom, May 2011).  Although this was to be a travel book, I wrote it with a greater purpose in mind.

When we use our collective consumer power to support artisans—beekeepers, cheese mongers, weavers, and woodworkers—we are insuring that our communities remain unique, thriving places to live. In this age of big-box stores and mass-produced items, it has become all the more important to invest in our local economy. . . one artist, one farmer, one shop at a time.

 

People worldwide are discovering the immense pleasure that can be had by living a thoughtful life full of farm-fresh food and handmade possessions.  This return to the “good life” is reflected in our increasing interest in buying locally grown and produced goods, and there is no better place to ‘shop local’ than at neighborhood farmer’s markets and art events."

Chech out Christine's book...look for this cover:

 

 (all images courtesy Christine Chitnis, and used with permission)

Natural Winter Warmth

Natural, neutral, white & cream together, timeless, chic, warm, always works & looks divine

The sun only shines on T.V...

After days and days and days and days of rainy, muggy, foggy weather - mixed in with damp cold and weather forecasters who downright lie to get your hopes up - I am bringing sunshine into my days all by myself.

"Me and my bad/frizzy hair" seek out anything that reminds us of summer. Because a big pffft to spring, we all know that isn't coming.

So, I have been donning yellow clothing, smearing on fake tanning products (orange beats white), and wearing shoes that leave my toes cold, all in the hopes that by sporting a positive attitude, I will bring. it. on.

I picked out this pretty dress from The Shabby Apple, which I wore for my story in the new issue of Summer with Matthew Mead. 

Although I also added a cardigan over top of it, it made me think summer as I smiled and posed and resisted the temptation of the beautiful food Matthew prepared for the feature.

Do you want to see a sneak peek of it?

Because it is gorgeous and centers around a summer tradition that I embrace each year with my kids.

I wasn't kidding about gorgeous, right? and that little girl? Well, she looks a lot like my little Sophie did when she was younger:

Funny, huh?

You will have to wait and see the magazine for yourself to know which tradition I am talking about.

By the way, have you ordered yours yet? 

Because if you have (or haven't) you will be thrilled to know that Matthew is tucking a golden ticket inside ten of the magazines that are ordered before noon on May 6th! 

And what will those golden tickets be redeemable for?  

Well, go here to find out!

A hint though: one is worth $1000 of goodness!!!

Which, if you are like me, will make you feel all warm and sunny inside.

Because lately, the sun really does only shine on T.V: