Creative Home Office: Driven by Color

I call myself an Architect of Delight. I look for beauty in everyday life and am thrilled by the intersection of things that are beautiful and interesting. When we were moving to Seattle, I kept saying that I wanted the office we set up to be overwhelming. I wanted to be able to see what I have and to look at what I love. I needed my huge stash of fabrics, ribbons, beads, threads, buttons, tapes, paint etc. to be clean and organized in a dustfree environment, but I also wanted to be able to arrange an area into a little color story if the mood struck. 

I thought that I would make a creative hive - and that it would be a mess. In truth, it looks great because I found the right wall unit that allowed me to contain and display.

I was hoping I could find something at IKEA and the BESTA cabinet with glass doors turned out to be perfect. They are like a giant Lego wall unit with spring hinge doors. The sections with glass doors also have glass shelves to enhance viewing. 

(Note: We paid to have a professional IKEA installer put this Besta unit together because it came during a hectic week for us. It took him more than 6 hours and he is proficient with IKEA instructions. If you buy this marvelous unit, you may want to budget that kind of professional help into your office project too.)

My home office is working well for me. I can be creative and handle my business all out of one room, depending on which half I'm focusing on. When I'm really making, everything explodes everywhere and consumes much of the first floor. For this post, though, it was important to me to show everything in order so that you could see these fabulous cabinets and get a sense of how they might work for you.

One of my favorite elements inside the cabinets is my bead and bobble storage in empty Bonne Maman jam jars. My best friend in Michigan gave me a steady supply there for a while and it set me up for a remarkable system. Isn't it pretty?

On the other side of the room is where I can write, print, sew and think. This is where my next book is percolating. I'd really like to write a modern coffee table book about Finding Delight in the Pacific Northwest. Someone asked me what my favorite word was recently and I immediately thought: potential. Stay tuned.

P.S. Do you like my watercolor palette? Would you believe it is a panel of fabric by Hoffman Fabrics? I loved it so much I had mounted on foam core as art. 

#homeoffice #creativespace #ikea #craftspace #beautyofeverydaylife #wherewomencreate

Pretty Tablescape: Waverly Dishes Pop with Green Accent Pieces

We can finally entertain! Friends were coming for dinner and as I was setting the table, I came up with this new combination of dishes and glasses that I want to show you.

I decided to use a pattern by Waverly called Norfolk Rose that I bought years ago from a catalog in a 20-piece set. The plates are a soft shell/khaki color with reddish rose accents. Once I knew the color of the dishes, I bought 5 red-orange primulas ($.99 each!) to be the floral focus. They complimented the plates and added a very important touch of green with their leaves.

I had never considered mixing my bright modern green Marta glasses from CB2 (Crate & Barrel's answer to IKEA) with this rather traditional set of dishes, but as I was auditioning different combinations place mats and glasses, this one looked great!

I had some bright green paper napkins from IKEA and they matched the thin green glass perfectly. I pulled out my set of bamboo silverware and the table was set. 

It might seem silly to take this much time choosing the tablescape, but this is what I love and I haven't been able to do it in a long time. The moving boxes are unpacked and all of my treasures are finally within reach. 

In fact, as I create more pretty combinations I'll be sure to show you.

#entertaining #waverly #cb2 

Design Your Own: Cork Trivet

I was so happy to find round cork trivets at Ikea. A set of three is $3.99 and they are thick and would make a wonderful gift if you jazzed them up a little with fabic. 

Jazz them up, I did! I love this tea-themed fabric and I've been holding onto it for just the right project. Pot holders?  Yes, they would be darling, but I've been having a hard time with bias tape lately. An apron? Yes, except I have too many aprons already. So when I realized that I could effectively adhere them to cork trivets, I was sold.

I bought a roll of Heat n Bond Ultrahold and followed the package instructions to iron the 2-sided adhesive onto the wrong side of my cute fabric. Then I traced the cork circles onto the back of the fabric with pencil and cut them out. Then a followed the package instructions to permanently adhere the fabric to the cork. I've been collecting vintage Pyrex and I feel like this fabric underscores my mood in the kitchen right now.  This project is so easy and so great. 
Modern, yet cute. A design element, yet still functional.

I plan to lightly spritz the fabric topped trivets with Scotch Guard spray to help the trivets stand up to the inevitable drips and spills. 

Seattle: Issaquah First Farmers Market of the Season

I used to say that the next season was my favorite season. I'm always looking forward and planning and thinking about what I will make and do next. 

Yet this year, with a bouquet in my arms, Spring is proving that it wins. When I can suddenly buy flowers at the farmers market every week, I am in my element and clearly this is my favorite time of year.

Saturday, May 2 was opening day at the Issaquah Farmers Market. I roamed the market, which is predominately flowers, herbs and asparagus this time of year and settled at the tent of Sweet Blissful Blooms. A darling girl named Maria let me choose the flowers in my bouquet: blue and white lupine, rosy-apricot peony tulips and white phlox. It is commanding, yet feminine. 

I have a blue and white print tablecloth on the kitchen table and the lupine repeating the color looks gorgeous in this small space.  The vase? As I settle into our pied-a-terre, I realize I am missing some key items. One of my new $5 IKEA sugar canisters became a temporary vase. It's perfect, really, because a bouquet of this size needs a vase with some heft to keep it upright. Necessity is the mother of invention. The vase is sitting on one of my museum collection tin plates. It looks perfect and I wouldn't change a thing.

12 Days of Valentines Day: Day 1

Today we begin celebrating The 12 Days of Valentine's Day! I want this to be a fun time for you. Talk with your friends and family about this celebration. When they realize that this is a mix & match series of fun moments, they may jump on board and start celebrating too!
The 12 Days of Valentine's Day is about expressing love and friendship to those around you.

Here are some suggestions that might help you celebrate:

Gestures can be as big or small as you like
Recipients can be anyone you know - friends, neighbors, family
Wearing red & pink "counts" as celebrating

Celebrating this way should make YOU (and everyone around you) feel good and light-hearted.

I will give you an idea here each day, but it is just to get you in the mood.
Would you believe that this gorgeous cake is from...IKEA!? I found it in the freezer section of the IKEA grocery department (read: buy it and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to celebrate). It is called "I love you gateau" - light sponge cake, vanilla custard, raspberry fruit filling covered with a delicious marzipan fondant. This delightful cake comes with a powdered sugar heart dusted on top! Love it.
Day 1: Plan on having a fancy dessert one night this week.