house & garden inspiration- Bunny Mellon

Hi everyone!

A dose of beauty for today...

Items from the estate of gardener and style icon Bunny Mellon will be auctioned off by Sotheby's this month. Enjoy Charlotte Moss's description of the beauty of her collections and lifestyle.

Read more about the auction in the NYT article here.

Make sure to view the video in full screen!

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

things I like this week

1.  Ballard Designs has striped sheets that are perfect for summer. I like the ties on the duvet.

2. The grey wallpaper stripes in this foyer paired with a white painted staircase and sharp black banister has a Hamptons feel.

greige

3. What a pretty spring rustic table with apple blossoms.

Kinfolk magazine

4. I would love to catch a glimpse of this curious looking shore bird with an upturned beak along the coast, it is an American Avocet. We have been enjoying bird watching in the Low Country.

Post & Courier

5.  We brought this sweet bouquet home from the farmer's market last weekend....scabiosa, coreopsis and sweet peas.

6.  A delicious twist on a margarita, add St Germain liqueur, recipe here. 

freutcake

7.  Stripes are always perfect on the floor of a coastal house, these are from Ballard Designs.

8. We want to add casual hooks in our foyer. The white walls, cute totes and vintage horse painting make this peg rack special.

Country Living

9. West Elm makes these striped sheets, add a monogram for a preppy touch.

Are you a fan of stripes like I am. Isn't everyone? They are perfect for warm weather living.

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

things I like this week

1. We are leaning towards a cream body paint for our new home with putty windows and trim. This is my favorite inspiration pic. The dark sconces look great with this combination.

Benjamin Moore color charts

2. Our kitchen in the new house will be a creamy white with light countertops. Similar to this but much smaller and without the pendants and double islands. It will be a galley kitchen with one island, windows instead of upper cabinetry and an attached open pantry with windows, refrigerator, cabinetry, shelving, counter space and a bar sink.

3. Blue crabs are in season here so I have been buying their meat at the seafood shop and ordering soft shells at restaurants. One of the easiest quick meals to prepare are crab cakes over greens with vinaigrette.  This watercolor is one variation but there are so many ways to make crab cakes.

source

4. I love this grill cover. Mary Ann featured it several years ago on her blog, Classic Casual Home. I want to have a local lady I just found who is making slipcovers for us to make one for our grill.

5. A new book about the homes of Furlow Gatewood, One Man's Folly by Julia Reed, has just been published. He is a well known but kind of under-the-radar antique collector, interior decorator and house restorer with great Southern style who lives in Americus, GA. You may recognize his homes as they have been featured in Veranda and elsewhere. He has great eclectic style. You can buy the book here.

6. I love the mirror on this porch.  The whole mix is nice. We have similar wicker. I want an eclectic look on our screened porch too.

7.  Libby of An Eye for Detail blog, featured a Euphorbia plant that is growing in her garden this week. We have never grown euphorbia. I love the form of the bloom, little mustaches over pert green double petals and want to try it in the gardens of our new home.

8.  Another eclectic patio, this one is in one of Furlow Gatewood's homes. You can find many images of his homes on Pinterest, go here to enjoy some of them.  This image was published in Veranda.

9. And finally, this been one of my go-to outfits for the last two months...white jeans and chambray. Being a wardrobe minimalist, I only have one pair of white jeans, the J Crew Matchstick Jean. I wash them often and wear them with every warm weather top, sweater and jacket I have.

source unknown

What are your favorite things this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

the leopard Nana chair

Catching up on Google Reader this morning, I enjoyed Tina's (author of The Enchanted Home) post about adding a little leopard print to your rooms. Yay, for once I am trendy and chic! I have some leopard. Mine is on my pretty Nana chair. It sits in the living room/ husband sports television room most of the time. But the little chair moves around as needed when there are more people in the house. It usually moves to the family room.

The little tray table I chalk painted recently is perfect next to it. It can go on either side of the room.

It used to sit in my Nana's beautiful guest bedroom. It had an elegant coral damask on it that coordinated with her floral draperies and monogrammed bedspreads. I was so happy to inherit the little chair as I loved sleeping in that bedroom growing up. I wish I had a picture of that room but my memory of it is quite vivid.

What about you? Do you have a little leopard in your house?

pillow post 2

One more post about pillows...also inspired by Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home.

photo credit Classic Casual Home

Fabric obsession. Those of us visual types can relate. I first saw this fabric on Mary Ann's blog. The happy orange and pink lumbar pillows in her California living room were made by Liana of Woodyliana.  I had to know what this fabric was! I investigated and discovered it is Barry Dixon's Ishtar in Cinnabar. I want to use this fabric somewhere! Looks nice on the desk chairs in the Lonny offices...

as seen on Woodyliana's Etsy shop site...

photo credit Lonny

I love it when special fabrics speak to me. The only place I can imagine using this right now is our daughter's apartment that we have been working on. She has the orange wall behind her bed but we have already purchased an orange Greek key design pillow for her bed that looks great. I am too practical to replace something quickly. Liana is offering a pair of them on her Etsy shop here. Is anyone else as crazy for this fabric as I am? 

photo credit Woodyliana

discovering designers...Tom Sheerer

I love this neutral entry hall in Maine by Tom Sheerer. Classic and traditional but full of quirky, fun pieces with an eye catching floor to ceiling gallery wall. He likes to mix beautiful things in a casual way. Take a look at some of my favorite rooms of his....

Visit Tom Sheerer's website here.

discovering designers...Ashley Goforth

An interior designer based in Houston, Ashley likes to create calm rooms with neutral colors. She uses patterns sparingly. Her aesthetic is clean and open, no clutter. Her style is easy to like. Take at look at some of Ashley's work...

Visit Ashley Goforth's website here.