4th of July Decorations

It's not too late to deck your house out with 4th of July decor. With the oldest 4th of July Parade in the country celebrating its 225th anniversary this year and it being just two towns away from me in the quaint seaside town of Bristol, RI, I decided to head over and look for a little inspiration to share with you. I'm pretty sure there is a town ordinance or something that insists that if you own a business or home on the parade route you must decorate your house. Even the traffic lines on the main road, Hope Street, are painted red, white and blue all year long.

Wishing you all a sun filled, lobster filled, friends and family filled weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

Etsy Pick of the Week: Vintage Metal Drawers

When I first saw this vintage metal drawer painted bright yellow, I just wanted to paint a room gray and place it in multiples on shelving. Then as I looked further into Etsy shop Hindsvik, I saw the other great primary colors they had as well and I just love how bright they are. You could place them just about anywhere in a room to add a pop of color. I think bright colors make people smile so add a pop of color to your rooms to put a smile on your face even when you least expect it. This shop also has lots of other cool vintage finds so check it out if you're looking for some treasures.

18 Century Colonial Renovation: Part V

I am very excited to announce that the 18th Century Colonial Renovation we've been following finally has walls! It has been a long haul since this project was started last October and I think there is quite a bit of relief in knowing that they are finally are in the home stretch. Back in October the goal for a move in date was by July 4th, and while it's clear that won't be the case, it's actually pretty impressive that these two people who work well over 40 hours a week, have a 3 year old and decided to tackle such a large project, doing so much of the work themselves, are not that far off track.
So a quick tour of the house so that we can now get a little bit better of an idea how the space is coming together. The kitchen (above) is a fabulous open space and the exposed beams add so much character and are so visually appealing. While it's typical for colonial paint colors to be a bit on the darker side, having a lighter color will make the beams really stand out. I am madly in love with the diagonal exposed beam in the dining room/library (top). It just looks fabulous and was the perfect divider for the ceiling which is higher in the dining room/library than it is in the pass through to the kitchen which allows for recessed lighting above the wet bar.

As you may recall, there was not a drop of insulation in this house prior to renovation so in order to add it, the windows (which had already been replaced prior to this) are now recessed a bit more than you would normally see, but I think once the molding is in, it will actually be a nice architectural element.

The master bedroom is a great size and features a walk in closet (on the left) and an attached bath (on the right).

This is bedroom number two.

The 2nd full bath is quite large and there is a fabulous antique vanity going in here.

The third bedroom is definitely on the smaller side, but it is still plenty big for a twin bed or futon.

This is the upstairs hallway outside the 2nd bathroom door facing towards the front of the house. I thought this space might be very dark, but it's actually plenty bright with the window at the end of the hallway, and you can see that there will be recessed lighting as well. Because the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms are at either end of the hallway, these great big walls actually make the space seem much larger.

The attic space has also been transformed into great usable space with a long window seat from which you can see Newport Harbor as well as extra built in storage (the drawers on the left). Whenever you have empty space behind the walls, it's a great idea to add built ins for extra storage.

In other big news, the front steps have also been installed. It is traditional for colonial homes to have this double sided staircase at their entry, and many of them are brick with stone treads. Unfortunately, they also tend to be very expensive. To reduce costs, the decided to go with a cast concrete set of steps with a brick and stone facade which were installed by Flagg-Palmer Precast, and I have to say that you can barely tell the difference.

Now for the fun part, selecting colors and finishes!!!

Easy Party Decorations

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the Buttonwoods Park Zoo fundraiser, Wild Night at the Zoo. I was going to the event to support this fabulous little zoo in New Bedford, MA that I frequent with my children and also support my very good friend who is the executive director there. I had no intention of doing a story about it, but there were some very simple, fail proof party decor ideas that I thought you would all enjoy. That being said, I apologize that the pictures aren't as clear as I'd like, but I only I had my iphone on me since I wasn't planning on taking pictures. The first thing that struck us (me and my highly critical counterparts) was the amazing plants! Famed horticulturalist David Haskell provided brilliant jasmine, butterfly bush, agapanthus and more planted in oversized pots at the entry and along the paths and tent.
This burlap fabric hung with metal clips and wrapped with raffia is so simple it seems like an obvious thing to do, but we often over complicate things and miss the beauty in simplicity. While it was used here for a safari theme, it could easily work for a beach or harvest theme too. And you could add a little more interest by using shells or fruits tied in with the raffia.
It seems that flag banners are all the rage these days, but if you are like me, you hate buying something that you'll only use once or twice a year, and while I've even contemplated sewing one for my daughter's room for a more permant installation, I just can't seem to bring myself to do it because it seems like such a big task. I thought this DIY flag banner was brilliant. Simply fold napkins over a string and use clothespins to secure them. Wouldn't this be adorable with red, white, and blue patterned napkins for your July 4th cookout?

Besides these great ideas, the Wild Night at the Zoo was a great event. I don't know what other event out there has two asian elephants as their official greeters when you walk in the door. Getting to pet them and get a picture with them was worth the price of admission alone. It was a fabulous night to enjoy great food, drink and music surrounded by the wonderful creatures who call it home. If you love in the area, mark your calendars for next year!

The New traditionalists

Bed No. Ten Forty

I just about died yesterday when I was reading the Elements of Style Blog and saw her post on this new furniture company, The New traditionalists. And the more I looked, the more I swooned over each and every piece. They say, "If you believe that "traditional" and "cool" are not mutually exclusive, you are one of the new traditionalists." Call me whatever you want, I just want this stuff! Here are a few, and I mean really only a few, of my favorites. Chair No. One Eighty
Armoire No. Sixty Four
Side Table No. Seven
Sofa No. Twenty Two
Regency Crib

This crib makes me want to have another baby! Seriously, navy blue lacquer-could there be anything better? Oh yeah, the kelly green lacquer! And just to make this furniture even more amazing, it is all designed in Brooklyn, manufactured in New England and built with the environment in mind. I am one very excited "new traditionalist".

Etsy Pick of the Week: Shell Mirror

I am a complete beachaholic. Admitting it is the first step, right? I could literally spend all day, every day at the beach and never get bored with it, and because I've grown up on the rocky and beachy coastline of Rhode Island, I've got a pretty good collection of shells and seaglass. Naturally, it would make sense for me to incorporate some aspects of the beach into my home and I know a lot of you would like to do the same. Sounds easy, right? Well, actually it is, but for some reason I constantly see people who love the beach crossing the line when bringing it into their homes. Sorry, but flip flop coasters are not the way to do it. If you happen to have them, it's not too late. Just slowly go pick them up and bring them to your closest trash can. I think the best way to do it and still be completely chic is to just pick one bold piece such as a shell mirror- the bigger the better- like this one from Etsy shop Beach Grass Cottage. The nice thing about this shop is that they has a variety of sizes and shapes available and can make it to order. They also have a variety of colors and shells available, but I would suggest sticking to all white for a more sophisticated look. It would look great over a nice entry table in a foyer that isn't too cluttered. If you want to display those treasures from your beach jaunts find a few nice glass jars where you can put them. You also can't go wrong by adding a few large scale shells like starfish or coral branches to your decor, but just remember to keep it simple and you can have a very chic but beachy space.

Vintage Printable

I am always drawn to vintage style botanical and curiosity prints, but they are generally a bit of an investment. However, now you can get the look for a lot less, at least on a small scale. Vintage Printable is a web site where you can download and print vintage images mostly from rare books whose copyrights have lapsed as well as newer images uploaded by their artists that are available for free. There are images of just about every plant and animal species you can imagine and a whole lot of other topics as well. Here are a few of my favorites.

Keep in mind that you'll only be able to print them to about an 8" x 10" size or else the quality of the image will not be very good. Also, some of the images are much better quality than others to begin with so you'll want to look carefully at each one as your making your selections. But these would be great in a series of 4 or 6 prints on a wall or if you just need something small to fill an empty spot on a wall in a bathroom, bedroom or hallway then this is a great, inexpensive option to get the look of something more expensive.

PS Maskros

I was walking down Bellevue Avenue last week when I noticed the very cool light fixtures in one of the new shops in town. Much to my surprise, I then saw them featured on one of the blogs I follow (although I cannot seem to remember which one) and that they were from Ikea. While the flower shade makes it fun, at 32" in diameter, it is the size of the fixture that really makes the PS Maskros Pendant Lamp stand out. I would love to see it in a girl's room against fuschia or turquoise walls hanging centered over the bed or even having one on either side of the bed over night tables. And at only $89.99 it makes a big statement without a big hit to your wallet.

Etsy Pick of the Week: Rubbish Rehab Chair

As far as I can tell, the only problem with this chair is that there is only one of them! As you know, I love revamped furniture and that's exactly what Etsy store Rubbish Rehab does. I must admit that it's probably the fabric, which is Thomas Paul for Duralee, that really sells this chair for me. But I think it would be a perfect desk chair or extra chair tucked into a corner of a living room or bedroom. The store sells smaller objects as well and as their motto goes "Everything deserves a second chance."

First Harvest

For a few weeks now, we've had ripe strawberries in our garden, but the birds seem to be getting to them quicker than we do, at least until now. The garden has filled in so much in the past week that the bright red berries are hidden and don't seem to be catching the eye of the birds as much. So this morning my son and I went out to see what we could gather for our first harvest of the year and we found a half dozen strawberries and 3 heads of broccoli ready for picking with several more of both that will be ready any day. I am surprised my children haven't turned into berries with the amount of them that they eat so his excitement over the strawberries was not very surprising. However, usually when I mention the word broccoli his immediate response is "I don't like broccoli. It's too yucky for me." But today I heard, "I'm going to just try the broccoli." It's amazing how much more connected we become to our food no matter what our age when we plant it, nurture it and pick it ourselves at just the right time.

If you've been thinking about planting a vegetable or herb garden, but just haven't found the time, or you want to get your children to eat more fruits an d vegetable, it's not too late. You can even plant in pots, and a lot of garden centers have herb gardens already planted in pots that you can buy ready to go. Whether you do one tomato plant or a full scale garden, you will not be sorry. My garden is looking better than ever this year so I think it's going to be a good year. Our first harvest may have been small, but I know there is lots more to come. Happy planting!