» Inspiration

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth!

Sarah — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:40:58 +0000

I hope you all have big plans for tomorrow! I love simple and easy holidays like this where you only need to add a little color, throw some food on the grill, and lounge the day away! Unfortunately, I work all afternoon and then will be driving two hours to visit San for a couple days (that’s not unfortunate) so I will barely get to lounge or celebrate my favorite country.

But, hopefully you all get to relax and spend time with the ones you love. I thought I’d share one of my new favorite inspiration photos that comes from the July issue of Better Homes & Gardens.

I love the relaxed vibe this red, white, and blue room gives out. I’m gushing over the painted ceiling and the white and blue lanterns. I wish I could be celebrating somewhere like that, but I will hopefully get to squeeze a small picnic with my parents in. I guess that’s good enough for me!

Have a safe and happy weekend, everyone!

Rainy Day Rooms

Sarah — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:00:00 +0000

While my birthday weekend was amazing, I must admit that it has pushed me back – way back – with plans. I’m holding a garage sale with a few friends in two weeks (more on that later this week), I would like to clean and organize my room (it’s a mess with presents and just random lack of care this week), I’d like to write some really interesting and detailed posts, and I really just need a day to myself! As much as I love my friends and family, I need time to myself to rejuvenate every once in a while.

This all is important, I promise! It’s been rainy and crappy out lately, so I’ve been dreaming of the perfect space to veg out and do absolutely nothing but relax in, or catch up on my blog reading and posting in.

I’m thinking of rooms like this…

New York Times

Source Unknown

Elizabeth Martin Design

Design*Sponge

Lonny February 2010

House to Home

Leibowitz and Mclachlan

House Beautiful

Coastal Living

Requirements (these photos may or may not have all of these elements):

A big comfy couch
A warm fireplace to lounge by
Windows
A coffee or side table to pile my magazines and books on
A cozy feeling

And, if none of these rooms would work for me, this one wouldn’t be bad either:

Domino

Where do you like to spend your time on a rainy day?

Dreaming Of: A Blank Slate Attic

Sarah — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

In my dream house there is a third floor attic waiting to be completed – full of possibility. What would you do with the extra space?

A master bedroom?

A bedroom for kids or visitors?

Coastal Living

My Home Ideas

LivingEtc

An office/craft room?

SILive

Home Interior Design Themes

Martha Stewart

Country Living

An extra living/family room?

Source Unknown

A play room?

Closetmaid

A home theater?

Candice Olson

An “everything” room for napping, playing, working, etc?

Candice Olson

An art gallery?

A man cave?

I think I would go with an everything room that focuses most on the office/craft room portion. It would be so hard to choose, though!

Sorry about all the inspiration photo posts – I am swamped with stuff from school and don’t have the time to do anything crafty (much less the money to buy crafty things) or decorating-related. Still cooking away though!

Have a great day!

This post is a part of the Inspired By party at The Inspired Room.

Pining After the Simpler Life

Sarah — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

With all this unseasonably warm weather during the past month and a half, I have found myself cramped and confined within city limits, wanting to reach out to my roots in the simpler country life I’m so accustomed to. I gathered some photos to help myself rejuvenate in the city since I am not able to go wonder through the woods or feel the crunch of gravel beneath my feet right now. Plus, school is becoming incredibly jam-packed and I need a break! There’s nothing like some relaxing photos to refresh my mind!

Enjoy!

Southern Living

Source Unknown

I am so painting a fence blue after seeing this photo – who is with me?

Old House Dreamer

Architectural Digest

I can’t take much more of this. The breeze coming through the windows? It’s too much!

Marien Nichols

*All unlabeled photos are from Country Living.

Food would taste so much better in a kitchen like this, made with love. I don’t know what draws me in to this kind of decorating, but I am starting to drool over rustic, vintage houses, even though they are not necessarily practical in the modern day.

I hope this made your day a little brighter – it sure did for me! I am destined to always be a country girl at heart. No matter how much I love glamorous, tailored houses, I will always gravitate more toward the simple, rustic, vintage spaces of the country. I surely don’t mind!

Happy Monday!

I Love Lamp…Er, I Mean Ladder

Sarah — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

We all have things we have treasured and adored since we were children. My childhood came at a time when there was an explosion of Disney cartoon movies of classic stories like Cinderella and Snow White. One of my longstanding obsessions, and one I think many people find themselves obsessed with or mildly addicted to from time to time are ladders. I don’t mean ladders like carpenters use, but sliding ladders like the one Belle used in the library where she spent lots of her time in the great Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. I have been smitten with them ever since seeing them in the movie. They are not the most practical items for indoor decorating, especially in a home full of children, so I have a feeling this post of inspiration pictures is as close as I am going to get to having a sliding ladder of my own, unless I open up a bookstore which is one of my dreams to do.

I do not discriminate against indoor ladders, which you will see by the photos below – I love them in all sorts of rooms from the traditional library, to kitchens, and even in bathrooms! I hope you find as much joy in these photos as I do!

Houzz

House Beautiful

Little Green Notebook

Peter Pennoyer Architects

House Beautiful

This Old House

Architectural Digest

Source Unknown

Fabulous, right? I can see why they would be helpful when reaching for items on high shelves, but I have a feeling I’m going to be a family with a little stool floating around the kitchen to reach the top shelf since ladders can be dangerous, and even regular height cabinets cannot be reached by me easily since I am short.

If you could put a sliding ladder in one room of your house, which would it be and why?