Color Story: Ocean Inspired

On these hot summer days, airy ocean colors have a distinct appeal.  I find myself bringing soft whites, pale teals and blushing beiges into our decor to lighten the look for the season.  This chosen collection of seashells, amassed over many journeys to the beach, inevitably comes out of storage and gets strewn around the house.  It is a summer ritual that reminds me of beautiful days spent on the California coast.   

These photos, taken of a tabletop vignette I styled, capture the serenity of the sea through color.  Faded mauve, warm beige and dusty taupe are all hues that conjure up memories of sand and shore.

Soft teal encompasses the essence of water reflecting the colors of sky and trees on the northern coastline.  

White stock blossoms floating in a mercury glass bowl mirror the tones and texture of a nearby shell.

A sand dollar, washed up on the shore and broken by the waves, is subtly accented by flowing lace and a soft pink anemone shell...   

Leave a Comment Tagged: Reflections, Still Life and Styling, Summer

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Sunshine on a Rainy Day: Daffodils and Ranunculus

Daffodils and ranunculus are in beautiful bloom now in the garden.  Their soft lemon yellow and warm orange colors remind me of sunshine peeking through the clouds on a rainy spring day.  These photos were taken on just such a day, when a few moments of sun illuminated the garden and I rushed out with my camera to photograph the dreamy light. 

A vintage porcelain plate with a pastoral scene of country life shares the same color scheme and captures the character of this peaceful day.  

Gathering the blooms to bring inside before the next rain, I filled several small vases for the entryway. Now the scent of spring flowers fills the house!  Have a lovely week...

Leave a Comment Tagged: Garden and Flower Photography, Garden Inspiration, Spring, Still Life and Styling

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Styling: Summer Fruit Still Life

In the heat of mid-summer, delicate flowers are replaced with hearty blooms and an abundance of fresh produce.  Farmer's markets and fruit stands become loaded with lush fruits and vegetables locally grown and ripened in the valley sun.  Now shopping involves an early morning trip to the farm stand market for freshly baked ciabatta bread, biscotti, fruits, vegetables and nuts used for healthful and delicious meals.

Yesterday, I bought armfuls of local produce to add to the herbs and vegetables we grow at home, and began to think about how beautiful fruit can be when it is picked at its most ripe and colorful.  Then some favorite fruits and a few seasonal dahlias became the subject of today's still life photos.

Cherries are always a treat in the summer and are pretty placed in bowls for snacking...

The Bartlett pears will be made into Ginger Pear Muffins while the dahlias will find a home on our kitchen table where they add a pop of summer color!

This week both traditional yellow peaches and the long awaited Fay Elbertas are available.  The Fay Elbertas are a lighter, softer variety with a spicy scent and rich flavor.  Also, the first red grapes are coming off the vines and they are something special. These are Flame seedless grapes, a sweet and tasty local table variety.

2 comments Tagged: Still Life and Styling, Summer

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Summer Decorating: Seashells and Hydrangeas

Decorating with elements of nature is one of my favorite ways to make our home feel ready for summer.  Since the hydrangeas are starting to fade, I cut some and arranged them throughout the house with my seashell collection to bring in a touch of soft color and texture.  I find the repetition of having the same flowers and natural elements in several different rooms makes the decor appear unified and also provides a gentle reminder of the garden outside the walls...

Here a whitewashed woven tray is filled with hydrangeas I'm drying for a future project.  A few shells, from many trips to the Carmel beach, were added and displayed with the blooms in a dessert dish stacked on a cake plate for height.  This is a portable centerpiece that can be set on a table or credenza.

I filled a small vase with hydrangeas and placed it on a tray covered in seashells to adorn the kitchen table.  This served as a centerpiece for today's luncheon with friends!  The layered plates and neutral colors were light and airy.

Although I usually choose plants rather than arrangements outdoors, we've been outside so much in this summery weather that I filled a vase with cut flowers for dinner on the patio.  (I bring them in after dessert to keep the cut flowers happy in our air conditioning!)  

A few hydrangeas also found their way to our family room mantel, where I have them in small vases with twisted willow branches placed behind.

2 comments Tagged: Decorating, Still Life and Styling, Summer

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Styling: A Mother's Mementos

Among the souvenirs in my Mother's china cabinet I was happy to find some fascinating heirlooms and my mind raced with the possibility of styling vignettes evoking times past...

Then, I was lucky to stumble upon this beautiful blush stock at the market.  The soft Edwardian pink hue and intoxicating scent was irresistible and I came home with quite a large bundle.  I was inspired to create a color story featuring blush, mocha, and gold with this old fashioned tea cup and saucer in an intricate brown pattern.

The delicate pink of the stock and its cottage style blooms were a perfect complement to the vintage china and beige pearls.  Styling with these pieces was such fun.  The antique colors and props remind me of a scene from Downton Abbey!

A touch of cafe au lait seemed more fitting than tea with this color scheme so I made a cup to photograph and then enjoy.  It is true that coffee tastes better in a beautiful cup! 

I was delighted to find this brown card with a gold floral motif which reflects the pattern of the surrounding stock blossoms. 

Finally, the elegance of an antique Swedish hymnal draped with pearls and encircled with soft pink blossoms, enhances the exquisite beauty of these delicate flowers.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Leave a Comment Tagged: Still Life and Styling

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Winterthur Porcelain, Blackberries and Roses

Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware's beautiful Brandywine Valley is a mesmerizing place of beauty and contains America's premier collection of decorative arts.  These demitasse cups are from the Winterthur Store and feature a design based on a French dessert plate created by Edouard Honore during the 19th century and housed in the museum's collection.   We visited there and toured the elegant home, decorative arts collection and extensive gardens.  (See this post about our trip.)  It was a truly unique experience I'll never forget...

When I take this set of cups out of storage to use for espresso in the fall, I remember our lovely trip.  Since autumn is swiftly approaching, I am refreshing our decor with warm transitional colors and elements that reflect the upcoming season.

Styling these photos with golden roses from the garden and faux blackberries scattered amidst autumn foliage has inspired me to host an upcoming get-together. The berries and vines on the front of each cup show the beauty of a late summer harvest and are perfect for espresso after a luncheon of petite sandwiches and berry fruit salad. 

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4 comments Tagged: Still Life and Styling

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