An all-white living space appeals to my obsessively clean nature, but I wouldn’t want it to look cold and stark; I’d want it to be cozy and lived-in to counteract all that whiteness. An Oregon family achieved that in this charming farmhouse renovation.

I especially love the kitchen. It makes my eyes happy.

*All images from Country Living.

Remember this awesome table setting color palette? I was just looking at Benjamin Moore’s 2012 trend guide, and one of their palettes include two colors similar to the dirty aqua and acid green:

Benjamin Moore Color Trends 2012: Earth and Sky

I love how they applied these colors in two different ways to one dining room. Room number one:

And room number two:

Most people are at least two years past their obsession with peacock blue. For me, teal was never really a trendy obsession—it’s more like an ongoing fascination.

I don’t know why this color provokes me so much. But it does, especially when it’s paired with clean neutrals and brights, like in these rooms from the current issues of Adore Home and Lonny:

This image from West Elm showcases Benjamin Moore’s “marine blue” wall paint, which coordinates with their current line of furniture and accessories:

Years ago, when I attacked my first (and only) upholstery project, I was desperately looking for teal velvet to recover my vintage chair. I searched everywhere I could get to by train but found nothing, so I eventually gave up and bought plum-colored velvet instead (you can kind of see it in the corner of our living room here), which was nice, but I’m still pining for that teal velvet piece of furniture. Don’t tell my husband, but I’m secretly hoping to own a teal velvet sofa someday!

Something like one of these, perhaps?

Or, oooooh—maybe the teal piece to invest in is a luxe upholstered bed. And then to accent it with modern geometric pieces, like this:

So while you’re onto bigger and better trends like camel and lipstick red, I’ll still be out there, creating my perfect room with peacock blue!

I was just perusing J.Crew when I realized that their “bright dahlia” color is exactly like the one Brioni used in their fall collection! It was absolutely stunning on the runway when paired with the cantaloupe/camel color. It’s possibly my favorite color palette from the fall runway.

So this week has been ca-razy! One of my closest friends in the world is visiting with her family. Her whole family—as in fifteen of them. We’ve been staying out late every night, talking, laughing, and reminiscing. I guess I’m too old for this insanity, because I’m seriously wiped out. Of course it doesn’t help that my kids wake up at 5:30 every morning! Anyway… I’m tired. That’s my excuse for why my posts have been short and lacking in substance. I need a pajama day.

Clearly I’m not the first person to suggest orange for an October wedding. So although I don’t win points for originality, maybe I can win points for the cake. The cake that, er, I didn’t make but found on the Internet? Alright, originality fail. But I think you can appreciate what I’m trying to do with this inspiration board—freshening up an expected October color palette.

Yes, it all started with the cake. Isaac Mizrahi’s fall 2011 show sent a “waiter” down the runway, carrying this elaborately decorated, three-tiered cake. Some asked why; I just drooled (over the cake, people! Minds out of the gutter, stat).

So I used the cake as my starting point, and the small glints of silver at the center of each flower established the accent color. The result is super stylish.

Invitation: Watercolor Tulips Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas
Favor Box: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cake: Runway image from elle.com
Shoes: Martinez Valero Cimmy Heels in Orange Satin
Dress: ML Monique Lhuillier Strapless Taffeta Dress
Bouquet: Image from stylemepretty.com
Tablescape: Image from aileentran.com
Kiss with Confetti: Image from stylemepretty.com
Earrings: Briolette Carnelian Drop Earrings from yesstyle.com

If I had my own spring 2012 collection, maybe this would be part of the color palette. Pretty pale lilac, delicious cherry red.

As a side note, when I started this blog last year, I never planned to post these illustrations. Since I’m not a fashion designer, I don’t want to pose as one. Yet I admit—it feels good to have a place to store all these images floating around it my head! And now that I’ve started, this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite subjects to post. So thanks for reading!

It’s been years since I’ve been excited about warm tones (which might surprise people who haven’t seen me since my “brown” phase in the mid-90s), yet now they’re the object of my desire. Warm, rich tones upstaged all other colors on the fall runways. Cobalt blues and emerald greens may still be on-trend, but it’s deep reds, oranges, golds, and browns that are the dark horses of fall fashion, and I’m saddling up.

Check out these amazing burgundy-red looks from Carolina Herrera, Anteprima, Caroline Charles, Azzaro, and BCBG Max Azria:

And that deep red next to this honey-toned yellow? Drool. Osman Yousefzada, Thakoon, Bottega Veneta, Akris, and Aquilano e Rimondi thrill me:

Since I seem to be in a wedding mood these days, a wedding inspiration board with this color combo was inevitable. Dang, don’t you just want to get married (again)?

Drinks: Liqueur Lollipops from Martha Stewart Weddings
Cookie: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cupcakes: Graduation Cupcakes from thetomkatstudio.com
Pomegranate “Place Card”: Image from stylemepretty.com
Dessert: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cake: Maroon Heart Cake at ffffound.com
Invitation: Dappled Glade Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas
Bouquet: Maroon and Gold Bridal Bouquet from Petal Pusher
Guest Book: Burgundy Velvet Guest Book from etsy.com
Wreath: Mum Rectangular Wreath from etsy.com
Tie: Burgundy and Yellow Silk Necktie from Buy Your Ties
Bow Tie: Mustard Child-Size Bow Tie from etsy.com
Boutonnière: Image from stylemepretty.com
Dress: Donna Ricco Asymmetrical Taffeta Dress from Nordstrom

My Style Me Pretty inspiration boards don’t seem to be functioning properly, so I created this one the old-fashioned way: manually in Photoshop. Woo! I guess I’ll just have to add the product links below.

Alright, so I wasn’t intending on doing anything with this color combination, but a friend of mine is going to be a bridesmaid in this palette and our conversation got the juices flowin’, so here you go.

Surprisingly, at first thought, “sapphire and lavender” conjured up images of butterflies. (Butterflies! Shocking, I know! I guess you can be terrified of butterflies and still want to use them on an inspiration board. Who knew!) But I wouldn’t go overboard with the butterfly theme, or it can get too cutesy. Stick with just a few components: maybe the invitations, the cake, and place cards, for example.

Good luck to Ee Lynn, bridesmaid extraordinaire!

Dress: Silk Taffeta Adrienne Dress in Warm Riviera from J.Crew
Bouquet: White and Lavender Bouquet from Cross Lanes Floral
Invitations: Watercolor Butterfly Wedding Invitation from Momental Designs
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Satin Crystal-Strap Sandal at shopstyle.com
Cake: Cheryl Kleinman Butterfly Cake at theknot.com
Tie: Pronto Uomo Lilac Extra Long Silk Tie from Men’s Wearhouse
Macarons: Lavender Macarons Photo from dreamstime.com
Earrings: Czech Glass Flower Dangle Earrings from etsy.com
Cupcakes: Wafer Paper Edible Butterflies from etsy.com
Table Setting: Blue and Lilac Table Setting from chillipit.co.za

How did I ever live without HGTV?

Seriously, of all the things I miss since moving overseas 4.5 years ago, HGTV is at the top of the list. So the past ten days of our vacation have been filled with a lot of eating, relaxing, and HGTV-watching.

I’ve seen a couple of Florida-centric episodes that got me thinking about Florida design in general. A home should reflect its environment, but so many Florida homes look too “theme-y.” And then I saw this living room online by Lisa Krul DeFrances:

I love how DeFrances’ room feels tropical, yet there are no palm tree fabrics or pineapple prints. The colors—with the punch of lime green—feel beachy without being obvious, and the style is absolutely timeless.

I’m saving this room in my tropical/beach/Florida inspiration file (yes, I have one).

Alright, back to HGTV!

All afternoon I’ve been sipping limonana, one of the greatest summer drinks ever, and it got me thinking. Or, more accurately, daydreaming.

I don’t even have to close my eyes to imagine myself with good friends, lounging on a cushioned wicker sofa, eating hot dogs, drinking limonana, and watching our kids jump about in a lawn sprinkler. We’re enjoying each other so much that we stay through nightfall, Citronella candles flickering in the moonlight.