Kate Spade

Kate Spade's store on 5th Avenue

I love Kate Spade designs they are bright and cheerful and somewhat Preppy! All of which I really like. I just recently ran across some pictures of her weekend Hamptons cottage. Now I  like her design aesthetic even more. Let's face it all of us would love to have a home in the Hamptons. It is on my dream list. Remember that is a list that is not attainable but still fun to dream about. The same woman that designs these.......

.......Designed this cottage

All the colors I love!!

See why I love Kate Spade? How do you feel about her? Inquiring minds want to know!!

"Enjoy the Process" Of: Studying the design aesthetics of some of your favorite designers.

Kathysue

OUTDOOR MIRRORS

Yesterday's post was on fences and I mentioned wanting to add a mirror to the Great Wall so with that in mind I thought I would do a post on using mirrors outdoors.

I love mirrors!  Not so much for viewing my own reflection, but for what they can view in a room; or, even outside. I put mirrors outside. I have two, soon to be three, in my back yard and one on my front porch. I was first inspired by O Magazine's cover. It showed Oprah in her yard in front of a brightly colored yellow table with a large mirror hanging among the greenery with a wreath around it covered in lemons. I thought to myself, "I love mirrors and I have a whole wall of ivy on my back fence. I am going to go and buy a cheap, inexpensive round mirror and put a grapevine wreath around it, minus the lemons." I not only have one, but I put two on that fence covered in ivy. It is so fun watching the blue jays squawk at themselves and peck at the mirror because they think it is another bird. So far no breakage and it has been up there for I believe about 8 yrs. Here is my back yard and my mirrors.....

You can see the mirrors are nestled into the ivy and they are covered with a grapevine wreath to keep it looking more of a natural element. Seriously, I just bought the cheapest framed round mirrors I could find and wired the grapevine wreath onto it and then wired the whole thing onto the ivy. I found some other images to share with you. I hope this inspires you to add some reflective mirrors to your outdoors......

I really like this idea. I have several old iron gates sitting in my garden that I could add a mirror too.

For the more contemporary home, these steel mirrors are wonderful.

Check out the garden topiaries, amazing.

As you can see the ideas are abundant. Start looking around your yard and think of some places you can put a mirror.  As in your home you want it to reflect something pretty. I hope this gave you something to reflect on. ( sorry I just could not resist.)

"Enjoy the Process" Of: Using mirrors in unexpected ways.

Kathysue

Black Fences

I have a file that I put pictures of ideas for my home, my yard and even ideas for family and close friends. I was looking at my files the other day and  ran across one marked, Black Fences.  Last summer we had a fence built that would camouflage an unsightly view of my neighbors backyard. We call it the Great Wall. It is built with lattice panels and measures 32ft long and 9ft high.  It is a natural finish right now and actually, is probably too massive to paint it black, but oh how I wish I were a little braver so I could do this.......

I love the way green plants look against the black.

This picture is also in my black and white striped awning file that I will share with you at another time. I also would really love awnings in the back yard, but the problem is they might obstruct my view of the  trees so I am not sure they will work.

 I know this fence is not black but it is a very dark green and I can visualize it as black and it would be stunning. This is none other than the great designer Charlotte Moss in her backyard. I love the way the fence surrounds the yard and makes it feel as if it is a secret garden. Can you believe the over-sized candelier? I was thinking it almost looks like a couple of firescreens wired together.(Note to self, keep this on file for future reference)

This last image made my jaw drop. It has a few too many statues for me, like the lady in the back and the little planter on the side, but once those are out of view, this is pretty spectacular.

Another view towards the house. I must have really liked this image because I had it in my file 3 different times.

After doing a little research black fences are not a new thing. They were popular in the 18th and 19th century. The pickets would be black, but the post would be white so the carriages could see them at night. In order to get black paint, tar was used.  So glad we can buy black paint in cans!!

Now that I have showed you pictures of black fences, what do you think? Could you see a black fence in your yard?

The jury is still out on my Great Wall!

"Enjoy the Process" Of: Thinking outside the box and painting something a color you would never have done before

Kathysue

PRETTY-UP THE PANTRY!!

It is that time of year where we are all wanting to clean out some of the debris in our homes.  You saw my frigescaping so I thought I would show you my Pantry Re-Do. I get into my pantry quite often throughout the day.  It has been a less than pleasant experience for quite awhile. I decided it was time to do a little scaping in the pantry so this is what my hubby I did last year.

 You can see from the first picture it was part of a romantic (OK romance is different for everyone) weekend. I started by emptying the pantry out and decided to paint it in a color I would enjoy looking at every day.  I proceeded to go out in the garage with mixing bowl and measuring cups ( my official paint mixing tools). I mixed some paint that was left over from some other projects until I got the palest, most pleasant blue I could get. I started the painting, which I normally am not allowed to do. I seem to have a problem with spilling paint and stepping in the paint tray. My sweet hubby took over and finished it in no time.

I was doing this on  a budget so I had gone to GW's and other thrift stores to buy containers for my new look. I bought some containers at Lowe's that are actually for the closet by Febreze to put snacks for the kiddo's and to corral larger items. I bought some great shelf paper in a linen and white check, a clean, fresh look. I also got some iron-on laminate tape to finish off the edges of the shelves. Here are the results..........

On my someday list is to have pretty baskets and all the containers matching but for now I am quite happy.

With it organized and all the proper containers it has been much easier to keep it this way for the last year. What they say about compartmentalizing is true when it comes to organizing.

"Enjoy the Process" Of: Organization

Kathysue

BTW: Lauren at Pure Style Home blog is doing a series on organizing different parts of your home . She keeps it real and interesting and has some fun and fresh ideas. Go here to see what Lauren has to say.

"FRIDGESCAPING"

We have all heard of tablescaping. In fact Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch actually hosts a day called Tablescape Thursdays . Have you ever thought of other areas in your home that you could do a little scaping?( is that a word?)
  I have admitted I am a bit of a perfectionist but have learned to say,"Okay is good enough. I can actually walk away from something that was maybe a little less perfect than I wanted it to be.  I want you to realize that when I  clean or reorganize something,  I will try very hard to cover all the little last details. I am telling you all of this because when I thorougly cleaned out my refridgerator I did a little "Fridgescaping." Only if it could stay like this.....

As you can see I like lots of fruit and drinks!! I also like to keep them in pretty bowls and containers. You know my kitchen cupboards are green. Notice all the different green bowls?  Why not put your everyday food items in pretty containers and have something pretty to look at when you open the door. You know something to make you smile. That is a technical design test. Does it put a smile on your face?

You know I sign off all of my post with,"Enjoy the Process".  I think you can do that even with the mundane, such as cleaning the refridgerator.

I looked on-line for some fun containers for the refridgerator. These are sold as such but you could come up with all kinds of fun things, even shopping your own home. If you love a bowl, put it in the refridgerator with eggs in it. How about that pitcher you love? Add your carton of orange juice. You just might be surprised at what you come up with once you get going on this. Here are a few of the lovelies I found for your "Fridgescaping Process."

These are just cheerful (note to self-these go with my kitchen). I found these at Sur La Table. So much more appealing than a paper carton of any juice or even milk.

If you prefer plain white you can find these at Crate and Barrel, they are also less expensive, I guess you pay more for the color green.

If you like a sleeker more contemporary look these stainless containers would look great all stacked up in your refrigerator.

If you like to see what is inside these glass containers from The Container Store are just the right answer for you. Take a look at the other fun glass containers while you visit them on line.

For you that are fun loving spirits how about these cheerful dot patterned containers or the stripes if you love lots of color.

How would you like to open your refrigerator and see this lovely little maiden looking at you? This holds butter from Anthropologie I am seriously thinking about her.

I am dying for this!!! I have a thing for pretty eggs. I have been known to buy eggs just for their color and put them in a pretty bowl in the refrigerator. A very dear friend of mine took me to Berkeley Calif. to a store called the Berkeley Bowl where they have everything organic known to man. Well they had a dairy section with cartons of eggs that I opened up everyone looking for the perfect soft blue/green eggs,(be still my heart). I know we are talking about Fridgescaping today but I am seriously planning my easter table around a couple of these ceramic egg holders. We shall see what evolves!

Now that you have been introduced to the new articstic endeavor of Fridgescaping, what do you think? Next time you clean out your refridgerator, will you think outside the box and add some pretty bowls and containers in the mix. Try it I think you will like it!!

"Enjoy the Process" Of: Painting a beautiful picture inside your refridgerator with the art of "Fridgescaping."

Kathysue

BTW: Since I wrote this post I have purchased the egg holder and some other great containers for my future fridgescaping,more on that later.