Ivy League : Vertical Gardens

From the simple stray vine of ivy to the lush and beautiful gardens of Patrick Blanc, 

Vertical gardens bring sustainable beauty that only Nature can provide: 

Simple. Beautiful. Unique.

Have a beautiful day!

xo

Valerie

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Curtains, and Making Smart Design

Curtains.  The ones I found are great. Wonderful detail. Billowing silks, rustic cotton on branches, bold color...They are Glamour, Style, Statement, Privacy, Definition, and...

oh, yeah...there's more, but let's not forget the obvious: light control.

Well, forget light control for a sec:

hgtv.com

Okay; light, privacy, style etc...

Sometimes (and only sometimes) I wish I could sew....

Have a great day!

xo

Valerie

P.S. great ideas here:

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Well-Designed, with Comfort in Mind

Comfort in a Cottage

Comfort while savoring and sharing at a wonderful dinner party

Comfort in "Slutty Brownies" (recipe)

Comfort in being enveloped in the luxurious softness and calm of this room with a  view:

Comfort relaxing by the gorgeous pool after a good swim, 

sunning judiciously with sunscreen and umbrella shade.

Comfy Bedroom Oasis

Question:  Is this reality or just for show?

That beautiful teak and cane chaise looks tempting.

 But if I want to stretch out and relax, I probably 

would not pick the bathroom as the place to do that.

Design is surely about comfort and practicality 

in addition to the many aspects of Lifestyle that it covers.

Have a great day!!!!!

xo

Valerie

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Smart and Easy DIY Design Touches

This is a D-I-Y post. 

                                                                                                       

But not because I think crafts is fun.                                   

Sometimes there is a need for simple beauty...

                                                                                       Instructions for lightbulb vases here

For me, the arts and crafts world is beautiful, impressive, and often terrifying. I was never the kid whose projects got put up on a wall or won awards. W hen talking about my artistic "abilities" my mother was usually reduced to telling people that I was "imaginative", and simply needed to express myself in a different (read, messy) way. Many have tried to teach me. Alas, I will never own a sewing machine or knit for anyone...

However, these are projects that can be really wonderful interior design elements. AND, amazingly, they are easy enough for me. So I KNOW you can do these and similar projects to make your rooms cooler and lovelier.

Of course, only the Easiest D-I-Y s possible are in my collection. 

And they must actually fill a decor purpose in a room.

 I have to have a NEED. 

But these are fun, fast, hard to screw up, and 

-- Ta-Da! --

 they WILL look great in your rooms.

Sharpie on a lamp shade:

         Scrabble drink coasters:

 Use carpenter’s glue to adhere the tiles to a piece of cork. Once dry,  cut the cork pieces to size and coated the surface with two layers of Mod Podge, which helped to fill in the cracks between the letters. I used an acrylic spray to seal the coasters, and give them a bit of extra gloss.

twigs + coffee can + raffia = vase

Old chair becomes bathroom shelf:

This hearkens back to my post yesterday:

Hang a sheer fabric across the pillow area of the bed:

                                   

Are you allergic to sewing machines like me? I absolutely cannot paint a wall, although I was told that anyone can do that... I do not knit, crochet, make jewelry, scrapbook, etc. So you can imagine how special these DIY's are to me. I can actually do them. Well. And pretty quickly!


Thank goodness for all the crafting and art pinterest boards and blogs...They are wonderful  resources for clever and easy.


Have a great day!
xo
Valerie 













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