My New "PINK"!!

Okay, I've been teasing my PRH sisters for 2 days now telling them I'm making something "pink" and will post it. This is it! Noooo, it's not a bathrobe. It's a coat.....a pink fleece wrap coat! I have 2 others I've made through the years and love the ease of making this coat. I've gone around the edges with a "trapunto" type stitch and then "pinked" it. Not a single thing is done by hand. Well, except for cutting it out. But it is "pinked" around the whole thing. The sleeves, the hem, the lapel - everything! So easy to make and it keeps me super warm when wearing them. But this one isn't the blue or gray from previous years; it's pink fleece with roses on the big pockets. (I think the store clerks are weary when they see me coming because it looks like a "shoplifter's" coat! Hah. But I downsized these pockets from the other coats and think I like it better. I could get a six pack of Pepsi in the other pockets!

Porches and Conservatories

Is this cute or what?! I love that porch swing and can't remember ever seeing one like before. A vintage piece for sure. But the porch itself is wonderful also with its ancient teacart and pillows, birdcage. stone floor, rug and flowers jutting out of an old vase. But the unique thing I find about this porch is the stripes painted over the header. Those aren't common to any porch I've ever seen. A person could sit here and look at that view for hours with those comfy old cushions.

Imagine the fabric it took for this lovely "room." But I don't think I'd want to clean them! It gives it a tent feel and just so warm to relax here. It it quite large for porches but I can envision it enclosed with glass for year round use. The fabric is blue as is the floor not covered with the large rug. Just lovely.

The enclosed room above reminds me of my friend, Sharon, who lives in Florida. She paints the tiniest most beautiful heart charms and loves victorian things and antiques and is NOT one bit afraid of color. You should see her house! But this seems like something Sharon would like because of the deep colors and the furnishings in this room. I especially like the drapery added across the opening to more garden area.

Simple is the only way to describe this darling vignette. Two vintage chairs with pillows, an antique tea cart and tricycle between 2 windows on a weathered shingle house. The bleeding heart hanging from the porch adds a bit of cheer to the scene. Tea anyone?!

This room is a bit more whimsical in its colors scheme - bright yellow, bright bold colors and fabrics. Plus the brick floor adds flair to the room. It looks tropical but it could be in any climate with the glass enclosure and heat running to it.

Golden sun beats down on this front porch leaving a glorious warm glow on the wood floor and the settee cushions. This is the perfect example of an old fashioned porch in any part of the U.S. - ionic columns supporting pink geraniums, pots of hydrangeas spread around with more foliage, baskets of more flowers, wicker seating, warm colored pillows and a beautifully old fashioned porch light. Of course the green shutters makes the white siding just pop out at you.

Somehow this is reminiscent of classical greeks - the statues, the columns and the fabric coverings on the entries onto this beauty. Purple and blue are favorites also. A jewel of a hammock stuffed with flowered pillows along with the chairs. The ceiling is painted with the vines and echoes the lushness of the yard beyond and within this room.

What wouldn't each of us give to have an old english conservatory like this one?! It looks like a greenhouse attached to the back of a home. Tropically lush with a trellis highlighting a golden back wall. The lacy grillwork adds much to the ambiance of the room and the glass roof lets the sunlight come through to warm it but there are also beams from which to hang pots of flowers.

Same home, different view. Looking out over the gardens from the dining area of this room is the vintage folding chairs looking like they are straight out of a Lawrence of Arabia movie. The delicately lacy pot stands holding lovely pink blooms.

A close up look at a vintage chaise lounge with a downy like cushion, wicker basket to hold your tomes and magazines a tiered planter to have your fragrant flowers near you and vines and flowers climbing the trellis adding even more lusciousness. Then a gnarly tree table near by for drinks and a sun bonnet in case the sun gets too bright. The stone would warm up to keep you toasty on a less than warm day also.
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Especially for Princess Amy Bunnyrose!

I told Amy I was doing a special one for her today because she is painting her home's main areas yellow. Hubby said he can stand just so much pink and then he would like to see another color! They've decided to go with yellow. So I thought I'd show Amy the possibilities of pink and yellow together. That is my favorite color combo also. So this is for a young woman who lives in a house with 5 boys and a very masculine hubby!
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I love pink and especially red, pink and yellow together. This is a shabby little cottage I could move right in to. A bright red sofa with a pink cover thrown over the back, lovely yellow pillows, persian rug and pink walls. But the black and white punctuates the room with "punch" and makes quite a statement certainly. Just lovely. Of course, the pink walls are an added bonus in this gorgeous room.

Black and white is carried over to the dining room in the chair covers with the bottom a black and white check and the tops black and yellow. The pinkish red wallpaper takes it from blah to ah in a snap but the french doors and curtains add to the ambiance here. I love this room. And it just flows easily from the living room to there. The vintage chandelier is an extra special treat to have in that room

While there is a lot of pink in this bedroom, it is also punctuated with the yellow tones in the bed frame and green on the bed quilt. Triple layered bed coverings add to the charm of this cottage. Delightful...........

Would you just look at that chintz teapot?!?! And as a table, some old hat boxes have been used with a touch of a napkin for a topper. Carrying through with the theme of yellow there is a comfy tucked yellow chair and a tiny tea tin on the "table" and little yellow blocks on the windowsill. So charming! I'd be spending my spare time in that chair reading a good mystery or espionage book. :-)

What a view to look at after a day of "franticness"!! Blue skies aren't that familiar on the northwest coast so it's a rare day indeed here. The garden has also the pink, red and yellow color scheme. The blue-gray garden wicker table and chairs adds to the serenity of that outdoor room with the trellis framing it. I think I may do that to our patio out back.
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Kitschy, Cute and Shabby Chic!

Oh be still my passionate heart! Here is why I love Susan Rios so much. Always romantic and feminine paintings. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh........

California cottage chic! Don't you just love it? A little footstool as a tray for your cup of tea just adds cutesy to this bedroom. And that little chair? To die for!!! Lush pillows, serene view and vintage fabric draperies. Yuuuummm.......

Same home but the living room of the small cottage. I love that patio view and the lush foliage of California as that view. This kind of reminds me of a friend's redo of her Nevada living room. Look at Katie's blog. She's new but I'm sure she'll post pictures of her desert home redo! I'll "encourage" her to, but she's so thrilled with it all I think she'll readily to it. Be sure and visit this talented sweetie!

The living room above is in Seattle area and it just popped out at me. It is so sunny and light filled and that's very unusual for that area. But the couple achieved sunny, bright rooms with the colors they've chosen and the way the mirror tiles send light back into the room and make it look larger. Just a stunning project and it achieves much more than the effort it took. I had a kitchen in California that I did this to on the stovetop. It looked great, gave light and was sooooo easy to clean - just spritzed it with glass cleaner when the grease popped back there and it was clean. Wonderful thing to have in the kitchen!!

In the north midwest this kitchen is a summer cottage. I just love it for it's kitschy cute decor. The beadboard gives it even a more summer cottage flavor and doesn't take itself too seriously. Very cute.

Same summer cottage but I've shown the bathroom here. This could be done in a shabby cottage also. But this looks like it just needed a coat of paint and some antiques thrown in to give it the flavor it has.

This is more photos of the Oregon cottage from yesterday's post. I love the way she adds little flowers in vases to her window. Such a sweet and easy thing to achieve the dramatic statement.

The Oregon cottage dining area. I don't see anything in that room that is new. Just old accumulated junk! But how darling she made it. Little wooden pickets for her window dressings.........very original!

This struck me because of my recent laundry redo. I purchased a little vintage shelf to put in there to hold our shoes and put laundry soap and softener and such. The middle shelf of mine has some fluffy towels. After looking at this I think I'll add a little curtain to the middle shelf to hide those towels! How cute is this with all her vintage "stuff" to make a darling vignette!

A Vignette Can Be Many Things

Vignettes can be anything we want them to be. The sweet photos above and below are perfect examples of this. The one above is an antique cabinet that has been stuffed to overflow with quaint old boxes, snippets of beautiful old lace, roses fabric, books, antiques, a portfolio of love letters or stationery, spools of antique rick rack and even ivy. I absolutely love this idea. Isn't it just beautiful?

Now what woman hasn't imagined her bedroom looking like this romantic one? I certainly have. Well, there is nothing wrong with "setting" our bedrooms like a stage and having this to feast our eyes upon every single day. It's a "mood" we're looking for here. A teapot, teacup, plate, even a faux pastry and a small silk plant can assure it looks like this every single day. The plethora of soft, cushy pillows add to the ambiance, of course. I plan on getting an old breakfast tray I have and "setting" it up and displaying it in my bedroom just as soon as I can today! A lovely vignette with not much work involved at all, my sweet chicks and bunnies!! Get on it now!

This tiny section of a cottage living room on the Oregon coast looks like it just wraps its arms around you and welcomes you like a nice feather bed. Ahhhhh..... Isn't it adorable? The wicker settee wrapped in a vintage rose fabric or even an old quilt that has been softened with many washings. Put books around your home on the floor. I DO!! Put them under coffee and end tables. I don't have enough book cases so I do it this way too. But you can also put the books on little stools. Hang an old pretty hat somewhere in a room. Put fresh flowers around when your garden is blooming and at other times get the beautiful silk or paper flowers that look so real and are available readily in today's world. Hang things in your window to reflect the light and throw it into your room. Be bold!!

A tiny room can double as a guest room, craft or sewing room or home office and can be beautiful as this one is. It's just a different view of the living room above but can certainly be adapted to something else. Nothing says rooms have to be used as intended. Adapt this to a little used room. Also use different kinds of shelves in a room. It gives a "flair" to a room that says you've collected through the years and not just bought the "suite" off the showroom floor. Mismatched chairs or chairs with pretty fabrics thrown over them show a creativeness. Personally, I love the look!

A small dining room such as this one can be receptive to small vignette displays. A vintage high chair would be glorious if you can find a small one. If you have a curtain that doesn't quite "fit" a window, so what? Put it up anyway. Look at the piece of old lace in each window above. It adds bravado to the room and is still in keeping with the design. Set an old teapot, a basket of napkin rings, a ceramic bunny or cat or a beautiful pot of foliage on the table.

A view such as this one should not be covered up! The sheer lace lets it show through plus they have been hung low on the door, which in itself makes a glorious statement, and then they are drawn back with a flair for drama. The other vignette is on the table. Nothing says that tables have to be kept "clean" all the time. By this I mean "swept of all adornment" but can have place settings that can be swept up for meal time. Nothing too fancy need be on, just something to draw and please the eye.

Vignettes certainly don't have to be in the house; they can be outside also, such as this one. Very simple! Just an old settee, and a few wreaths attached to the wall and voilà you have it! Maybe a pretty thermometer, garden signs, old garden gate, mirror or an old clock out there. It can be anything your imagination comes up with.

Lastly, and I'm almost embarrassed to show you mine after all those beautiful ones above, it can be something as simple as your paint brushes. Since we've moved from a large home to a much smaller one, storage space - actually, just "space" - has been a problem. I'm having to be more creative so here is what I'm doing with some of my things. I just strew them about the house as adornments. This area needs some foliage and it will get it when I get time(!), but I've always been an advocate of "hiding in plain sight." This is an example - my paint brushes and our scripture markers. Placing them in beautiful cups or candleholders and just setting them on an end table (which, btw, is actually an old Marine Corps field desk that opens up to reveal old reel-to-reel tapes and stereo equipment) covered with a scrap of an old damask tablecloth. If you were to look at the back you'd see a cut edge where I used part of it for a pillow!