Embrace Your Seafoam Green

Why is this man crying? Like many of us, he probably has a seafoam green Bathroom. There are lots of us - me included - who are lucky to own well-built, 1960's era houses. The bad news is that many of them still have original Bathrooms decked in fleshy pink, pearly grey and yes - seafoam green.

A friend called recently to ask what to do about her childrens' Bathroom. She wasn't ready to bite into a big reno but she was stumped on how to disguise the telltale , dated green tile. My answer? Embrace the seafoam, my friend. Sometimes the most successful way to a room is to work with what you have instead of against it.

The solution? Add big 6" matching green horizontal stripes to a white wall and make the existing green wall tile look intentional. Splurge to change out the brown vanity and toilet for new, white ones. Add a white shower curtain and roman shade trimmed in navy and viola! A crisp, sporty 'new' Children's Bath for minimal investment. I'll post pictures soon.

In the meantime, here are a few seafoam green rooms that are truly beautiful without compromise.

Domino

Design Sponge via High-Heeled Foot in the Door

Kimberley Ayers via Decor
via Decor Pad

via Decor Pad

Inspiration: Peonies

The old saying is true again this year - it rains when the peonies bloom. My burst yesterday and sure enough we had a good old thunderstorm last night. Luckily most of the blooms are still intact. Peonies are so gorgeous, but only for about a week so I really look forward to seeing them each spring.

With this year's color being honeysuckle (the hot pink kind) there are a lot of inspiring pink rooms to choose from. Here are a few of mine.

de Gournay

bhg

This is my summer dream room. Who wouldn't want to hang out here?

domino

This is Maddie's dream room - the more pink the better!

10 rooms

Hot pink does grown up furniture


10 rooms

This is one of my favorite peonies that inspired the watercolor print found on my pillows and cotton voile scarves.

Hope you get out into your garden (or whatever you do to make you happy) this week.Enjoy!

On Mothers and Mother's Day

OK - on the surface a post on Mother's Day doesn't exactly seem to be about design but my mother has been a huge part of my love for fabrics, stylish clothes (check out the fab hat!) and beautiful furniture. My mom taught me from an early age to appreciate art and dragged me to every museum, opera and symphony she could find. Mom always loved mid century modern furniture even when the trend was for traditional. She taught me that it's better to have few really great things that you really love than a lot of so-so stuff. I learned that it's OK to leave a messy house if it's a nice day and your children want you to play. I learned that girls can be confident and strong and that a sense of humor will take you far.

I'm lucky too that I have an amazing mother in law who has taught me how to garden and how to be (a little more) patient. She has introduced me to the simple things that can make you incredibly happy - baking amazing bread, picking blueberries and eating them straight from the garden, the satisfaction of a great scrabble game. Keep fresh flowers in the house.

Both moms taught me to do it myself - whatever IT might be. Power tools and a sewing machine are your best friends.

Now I am honored to be a mom too and I'm hoping to pass all the things learned from my two favorite mothers on to my girls. I've got big, stylish shoes to fill......

One thing I'll pass on that I've learned as a Mom is to make sure you are actually in front of the camera sometimes. I've got a million shots of the girls and Daddy but very few (decent) shots of me


Happy Mother's Day!

Happy May Day!

Whew! We finally got all of our May Day baskets made and delivered to neighbors and friends. I love May Day and the Annapolitan tradition of May baskets. The girls made paper cones this year and Mother Nature supplied tons of azalea, lilac and alium. If the number of baskets keeps growing though, we may have to switch to candy next year.

There are lots of May Day traditions but we follow the one where we hang the basket on a friend's door and then try to get away without being seen. It's supposed to be about giving but I have a sinking feeling that my girls just like the 'ring and run' aspect.

What do you do for May Day?