Red Hot!

I like to visit model homes. I'm not really in the market to buy a house right now, and I think I'd buy an old one instead of a new one, but I like to go look and see how they are staged.  I like to see other designer's work, and not just the stuff you see published in magazines.

This house is done in reds and browns. I love how crisp the colors are and how the red and chocolate contrast with the white trim. I got some fabulous ideas, and thought I'd share a few photos with you! The quality is not the best, but I was in a little bit of a hurry. I hope you enjoy!



 I love how the white placemats reference the seats of the chairs and the white centerpieces and orchids pop against the bold red.

The table in the kitchen mimics the color palatte in the dining room. I love how the vase in the center almost looks like a candle, and the berry garland stuff in the center is the perfect touch!

Wow! What an accent wall! I love what she did to add height to the top of the built ins! Two story living rooms can be a real challenge to fill, and this does an excellent job!

This is a sitting area in the Master Bedroom. Yup, you read that correctly, IN the Master Bedroom. I've not seen columns before in a master, but this is incredible!

And the Master Bath. Can you see the door in the mirror? All the doors in this home had great beadboard like details, with arched inserts to mimic the arched cased openings in the downstairs. All the fixtures were oil rubbed bronze, and the lighting was a simple, clean, transitional look. Perfect to take modern or traditional!

Halloween Pedestal & Egg Carton Spiders

So I had to get on the pedestal/cloche bandwagon, and try out a DIY Goodwill pedestal, and I can say with absolutely no uncertainty that I am THRILLED with mine! It was so easy, I found exactly what I needed right off the bat, and I love the finished product.

I know you've seen these all over blogland and all over the internet, but I found my first one at On the V Side, and you can see the post here.

So, for those of you who already know the how to on the pedestal, I'll give you the details on everything else in the picture and then I'll do the pedestal how to.

At far left, my cute little fabric pumpkin! To see the how to and full post, click here.

I have a white pumpkin under the glass dome that I think came from the dollar store. It's the shimmery kind, and I'm surprised  it didn't reflect in this pic, because it has before. The orange stuff is crinkly easter grass type stuff that was in a ceramic Halloween gift basket thingy. Technical, I know. And the mouse is from Martha Stewart last year, or a few years back. Here's a little tip on the mice though...

When using construction paper, or cardstock and taping it to a wall, place a piece of tape on the backside that you will stick your rolled up tape or sticky tac to, so that when you get ready to pull it off, the paper doesn't tear.

So the pedestal how to:

1. Find some goodies around the house or at a thrift store. Candlesticks and round wooden anything make great pedestals. I found a brass candlestick and someone's Christmas craft project cast off.

2. Spray paint 'em!

3. Epoxy the bottom of the round wooden plate to the top of the candlestick.

4. Distress with sandpaper if desired and place some fun seasonal stuff on top. I distressed the edges of mine.

By the way, the glass dome from the thrift store cheese plate shown here fits perfectly on this pedestal! Great coincidence for me!

Just a few more little ideas for using your new pedestal and fabric pumpkins!

The square bottle in this photo is a goodwill find, and so is the silver sugar container? urn? what would you call this? I printed the label from cheeky magpie. I wrapped some black grosgrain ribbon around the bottle just cause it looked a little unfinished with just the label. I added a few twigs. Too cute!

Another easy little Halloween craft is the egg carton spider. I won't go into too many details as I don't have the how to photos, and I made them last year, but easy -

1. use cardboard egg cartons and cut each egg holder into it's own piece
2. spray paint black
3. poke 6 or 8 holes in sides with small screwdriver for legs
4. thread black pipe cleaners through holes and bend at ends ( I found 6 is better - 8 gets a little crowded since these are kind of small)
5. glue small googly eyes on front.

Ta da! simple crafty spiders

Willow House Inspiration



Meet my new favorite Willow House item! The French Wire Tiered Stand is so versatile, all the different ways to use it seem never ending... First, check out the pic above with great fall items like apples, pumpkins and caramel corn. This is the perfect piece to add height to any display, yet corral like items together. This is a one-stop snack station for any fall gathering!

Let's look at a few more ways to use this piece, both elegant and fun!

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Don't let this picture fool you... The French Wire Tiered Stand is still here, it's just disassembled and paired with a few other classic Willow House pieces to create an amazing tablescape.  Let's look left to right: The top tier is turned upside down and has the Gail Pittman Alfresco Accent Plates sitting on top. Just behind the top tier is the Royal Street Urn filled with a great fall arrangement of pumpkins, wheat grass and berries. In the middle of the shot is the middle tier sitting elevated on top of the French Wire Plant Holders. In this photo, the larger planter of the set of two is shown. The Gail Pittman Alfresco Pie Plate sits atop the middle tier with a yummy looking apple pie baked to perfection!

The bottom and largest tier at the far right sits atop the Santorini Candlestand and functions as a perfect pedestal! Warm colors and clean lines make these candlestand display pieces perfect for any time of year. Front and center, we see the Kensington Large Platter and Stand. This gorgeous platter is not only decorative it is also functional and adds elegance to any buffet. The handles on the side make it a cinch to carry from prep area to table, and the platter is dishwasher, microwave and oven safe... it doesn't get much easier than that!

French Wire Plant Holders

Santorini Candlestands

A few more thoughts for you on function:

1. Make it two tiers to hold fruit on your tabletop.
2. Use one tier alone for serving snacks and drinks.
3. Use at a party to display pretty wrapped favors for guests to take home.
4. Make into a homework station stocked with school supplies and energy boosting snacks.
5. Use one tier to elevate plates on a buffet and the other two tiers together for silverware and napkins.
6. Use in a nursery to hold diapers, wipes, baby powder, lotions, socks, toys and other necessities.
7. Weave ribbon through the tiers and display Christmas ornaments that don't fit on your tree.

The list goes on and on, but however you customize it, just know that you are getting a piece that can be used in so many ways!

Farmhouse Tiered Basket - Willow House Style

I just got this yesterday from my favorite new friend, the FedEx man! This caught my eye the very first time I flipped through the Willow House catalog! Even though I am still finding new things every time I browse through it, I saw this and knew instantly that I just had to have it!

I think one of my favorite things about Willow House is that they are so design oriented! The catalog is not a catalog as much as it's a Design Guide. The Inspiration Guide details the three style trends that are highlighted in the Design Guide. More on those later, but the very best thing about the Willow House products are that they are so versatile!

Who wants to buy something that they can only imagine using in one way? Not me! I love to change things up, and use items in different rooms and in new ways.  So, I'll share some ideas for the Farmhouse Tiered Basket:

 - Hang on the wall in your master bath with some extra hand towels and washcloths, a loofah or bath sponge, some luxurious lotions, soaps, and bath salts, and a yummy smelling candle. You'll feel like you're at the spa!

 - Hang on wall in laundry room to hold delicate laundry soaps, sprays, starch, and dryer sheets. Add a sewing kit for quick repairs, or store a delicates bag that is hard to locate at laundry time. Add a jar of extra buttons and some iron on patches.

 - Hang in the kitchen and add decorative pastas, olive oil jar, and gourmet spreads and dips for easy access whenever guests stop by. You'll always have something to serve! Throw in some linen dish towels for color and texture and voila! Instant decor with many items you already have on hand.

 - Try it by the back door to catch mail and magazines, and help keep track of all of the items you need right before you walk out the door. This is a great organizer for the garage door opener, dog leashes, and extra keys.

 - As shown below, use on a buffet for flatware and beverages. The containers help to keep the flatware upright and seperate and the linen napkins soften the look.

 - What about outside hanging above a potting bench? Can you imagine this with a potted plant cascading down over the ironwork? I can see another container with a few small garden tools in it, a bag of bulbs, and my cute gardening gloves! Don't forget the different hose nozzles and packets of seeds!

The design team at Willow House describes this product below:

A place for everything, and everything in its place. This tiered metal basket is one of our favorite decorating and organization pieces. Try it as a spice rack or fruit basket! Useful on a countertop, it can also hang on the wall, or pair two back-to-back as a centerpiece. Includes hardware for hanging. :: 16" x 7" x 20" tall.

To order: Visit my personal Willow House website!

Gray - The New Beige

Willow House has paved the way for all you style mavens out there who LOVE gray! I've been seeing a lot more gray and even noticed in my clothing choices starting last fall that I was really trending toward gray. As far as I'm concerned, it's the new black, because my closet is about 3/4 full of black clothes... (what? black is slimming!) but I now love gray even more!!!!

Plate and Pattern, the sister company of Willow House, recently posted a great blog about gray color palates. Check it out here.

Here is my little tidbit for the day:

Inspiration Board using products from some of my favorite companies! Willow House of course, west elm and Uttermost. I would just love to get my hands on these pillows, don't they look like they feel incredible?!?!

5 Favorite Style Tips

1. It’s okay to be odd — Arrangements in groups of three or five are pleasing to the eye.

2. Invite texture to your table — Add layering textiles that complement your tablescape.

3. Soar to new heights — Add interest by introducing various levels.

4. Add a hue and pattern too — Introduce color and design with fabrics and accent pieces.

5. Keep your cool — Gray is a great way to anchor any color palette.

Cozy Little Dinner Party for 4

I have a great little eat-in kitchen, that I have had a blast sprucing up recently! And, believe me when I say little... the eat-in part is only about 5 1/2 feet by 7 1/2 feet. The table takes up almost all of it!

I wanted to have a cozy little dinner party for 4, and wanted all the decor for the party to match what is in the room already.

Paint on the walls is Benjamin Moore "Honeymoon" from the Affinity Collection (AF-345). It was really a new idea for me, because it's a yellow and I hadn't done much in the way of yellow before moving into this house.

I envisioned a warm palatte of yellows and reds with a touch of black. I had some great little black and white vintage grocery salad plates from Ballard Designs that started my inspiration.

Pictured here hanging one above the other on my wall in my kitchen. There are 4 total and they flank the door leading into my office. (Said office happens to be a lil' bit messy right now, hence no pic of all 4 salad plates)

I then found a fabulous fabric at JoAnn's of all places! I used this to recover some hideous looking chairs.

So, on to the dinner party! First, the centerpiece... Had all of this already. Red gerbera daisies were left over from my son's first birthday party. (It was a Dr. Suess theme - if I get pics together I'll post someday!) They are in a clear glass vase with some green bamboo and are sitting on top of a black painted wooden charger.

I then added some tealights for ambiance on either side of the vase.

Next, white dinner plates, red salad plates, and white napkins with felt flowers. I wrapped the napkins in black grosgrain ribbon, and added the silverware inside the napkins for a nice clean look on the table.

View of the microwave stand from the table. The leaf is a metal tray I hung with a plate hanger, and the red vase and red cookbook stand are thrift shop finds!

And now, the shot from the kitchen.

And every great hostess knows that your dinner party isn't complete unless you look great, so don't forget your cute little apron that says, "I've been slaving away all day, and I still look fabulous!"