Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pee Gee Hydrangea Love

via reason to breath

Nothing says the end of summer like the giant blooms of the Pee Gee hydrangea.  They look fantastic in the garden, and lovely as cut flowers in the house.  Looking around my yard and my neighbor's yards, I'm realizing they are at their peak right now.  I love the shape of the really old specimen "trees", with the twisty trunks and the larger than life white blossoms.  However to see them at their peak is a little bitter sweet; I know very soon these blossoms will be turning a fantastic pinkish green...but just as quickly summer will be turning into autumn.

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via cloudfront


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Via Houzz

 
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Via Tone on Tone

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Monday, August 13, 2012

Display your collections

Tone on Tone

I find photos of peoples collections very compelling.  And I definitely gravitate toward  the monotone  collections of things like English Cream wear or china.  I also like the combination of art and pottery like the image from Tone on Tone above.  How do you like to display your objects?

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Ok, this isn't quite monotone, but the range of color palette is limited.  Love the gray and turquoise together.

Martha Stewart?
Love this cabinet by Martha Stewart, I think...Beautiful colors! The turquoise of the cabinet back highlights the shapes of the china.  I also particularly love the details of the cabinet.


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I love displaying old silver, the problem is that it tarnishes so easily if you leave it out.  Does anyone have a solution for this?  I'd be grateful to know!


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I love this beautiful cabinetry, and the combination of different collections.

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Glassware against the giant marble backspash is beautiful.

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Habitually Chic

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The Pink Pagoda

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Zoe Hoare

Friday, August 10, 2012

Kitchen Blues

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One of my clients has asked me to select a paint color for her kitchen, the catch is it has to be blue. Blues are very tricky and viewing on a small fan deck of paint colors can be very deceiving.   So the first thing I did was look through our image source books and digital files to see what I liked and what they responded to.  I was amazed by the variation of blue kitchens I found, not all are in the running as inspiration for this particular project, but are striking none the less. 


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 I love the English kitchen look.  The blue cabinets, cream colored AGA, and white tile are a great combination.  I have an obsession with AGA's but that's another post.

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I think this kitchen is very pretty, the carrara marble, dark stained wood and light blue walls are a nice combination.

Kitchens by Deane
I like the blue and green of the drapes...also the very cool limestone hood is in interesting feature in the otherwise very traditional kitchen. 

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 I have to say this one is a little too "country kitchen" for me, but the French blue is very appealing.

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 Another approach is to have blue accents. I think the blue slip covers and flowers are a nice punch in an otherwise neutral kitchen.

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 I love this kitchen!  Fabulous farmhouse table island with a very thick marble top and cabinets and ceiling trim to die for.  Also I think this is a pretty great blue.


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Another great neutral kitchen with blue furnishings. 


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 Wow, this is a bold kitchen.  Very cool lights.


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 Just a pop of green blue on the island.  I love the beach house look.  I'm also a huge fan of beaded board kitchen ceilings.


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 Great blue chairs and art.


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Sometimes I think blue works best when you also have a lot of white in a room. Here the gray blue is a nice foil to the white arch.
 

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 I like the blue walls and the cork floor of this modest kitchen.


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I love the blue and green theme in this relaxed, cheerful kitchen


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House Beautiful
The blue lacquered ceiling is nice detail.


Veranda
Here the blue cabinets with the black stove are a nice, elegant combination.


Aerin Lauder Elle Decor
The blue is nice with a bold pop of yellow.


 Fawn Galli
Gorgeous chairs in neutral, modern kitchen. So pretty


Sarah Richardson Designs
 I think these are very pretty blue cabinets...the polka dot look of the backsplash tile add a bit of whimsy to a sophisticated kitchen.

Steven Gambrel

I admire Steven Gambrel so much.  He is fearless with his use of color, textures and materials.  Note the blue stone slab floor tiles, the boldly veined marble sink and counter top, along with a great hood and lights.  It's so eclectic and fun.


Which one would you choose?  Happy weekend, stay cool and don't get the kitchen blues.
Jennifer