A strange thing happened in bed last night

And no, it had nothing to do with 50 Shades of Gray ;-) I was reading the November 2012 issue of House Beautiful {if you think that’s bad, I still have unread magazines from 2011 on my iPad!}, and on page 107, a strong dislike for the room I was looking at just hit me out of the blue.

WHOA! Serious pattern overload! It made me shudder. And then I saw this bar:

And this bedroom:

And this office:

And this kitchen:

And I just didn’t get the appeal. For comparison sake, these are the bedrooms in my house:

And my office:

And my kitchen:

As you can see, my rooms are a lot different than the rooms in House Beautiful. And that’s cool – even though I have my own style and design preferences, I enjoy and appreciate all different kinds of designs. But now I’m wondering – am I just weird for not liking the rooms in House Beautiful? If that’s the case {which is quite likely} and you like the HB rooms, I’d love to know what is is about them that appeals to you. And if you like my rooms, I’ve love to know that too!

Opposites attract me

A big thank you to Aubrey at All Things Bright and Beautiful for asking me to participate in her How To Make Your Home Your Own series last week. I was so overwhelmed and touched by all the positive comments about my home, and I discovered so many wonderful blogs I didn’t know about as I made the blog rounds to thank everyone.

Whew, that was an action-packed week! I was on holiday last week and spent most of it at the cottage. We had a little family reunion on Saturday with way too much food and lots of chatting and laughs :-) Between the partying and the swimming and kayaking and everything else going on, I managed to squeeze in a little bit of magazine reading. I came across two totally different bedrooms that I really adore. First, this bedroom designed by Bories and Shearron is featured in the July/August 2011 issue of House Beautiful:

How yummy is that glossy dark blue ceiling? It’s painted Hague Blue from Farrow & Ball, and it just lifts the room to a whole different level. It gives the room a cozy feel, and love how it reflects the mirror and artwork behind the bed. The shade of red on the red blanket is perfect – a real, true, gorgeous red. And the artwork above the side table is great, especially the photo of the plane.

And then in the June 2011 issue of Livingetc, I saw this bedroom:

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE that bed! I’m a big fan of upholstered beds, and this one is just so gorgeous. The big & bold floral fabric is fantastic, and I love the shape of the headboard. Like sleeping in a big hug :-) And the colour palette is just so pretty and relaxing – well, except for the bright yellow curtains. They kinda work, though.

Which bedroom do you prefer?

California dreaming

Ugh. More drab & rainy weather this past weekend and in the forecast for the whole week. Seriously, who peed in Mother Nature’s Cheerios? She is one crabby lady! I found another pretty & colourful home that makes me feel happier on these wet & gloomy days. This one belongs to California-based designer Ruthie Sommers. It’s fresh & colourful & pretty, and I’d happily move in right now if I could!

Ruthie’s house used to be part of a large estate in Los Angeles. The greenery, terra cotta pots & tiles, and black trim stand out nicely against the white stucco.

Love all the beautiful shades of blue in the pavilion, and how the Venetian mirror adds some sparkle and glam.

    

And the stripes on the walls add a fun beachy vibe.

Now let’s head inside. The combination of marble & granite checkerboard flooring, grasscloth walls, and pink linen curtains is a pretty and elegant welcome to Ruthie’s home.

The focal point in the living room is the mural wallpaper called Early Views of India by de Gournay. Can you see the door that’s cleverly disguised by the wallpaper?

I’m totally diggin’ the X trim on the kitchen island and the lucite stools. The artwork and Tiffany blue tray with yellow flowers & ceramic ware add great pops of colour.

How cool are these turquoise faux leather doors? The nailhead trim is to die for!

The doors open to Rosie’s pretty dining room. Decorative painter Peter Bolton created the gold leaf tree design on the ceiling to tie in with the chandelier. How cool is that?!

More beautiful blue in the office. I really like the look of the walls painted white and the door, trim, and cabinet painted blue.

Floral wallpaper on the back of the cabinet adds a pretty feminine touch.   

Check out the glossy white vaulted ceiling in Rosie’s bedroom. Love how it reflects the sunlight coming in through the window. The beautiful pale blue wallpaper is by de Gournay. Rosie carried the wallpaper right over the closet doors.

Great retro dresser. Notice how the lady in the picture above the dresser matches the curtains :-)

And just when you were thinking that Rosie’s home is pretty in pastel, think again – her study combines a hot pink rug, bold red damask wallpaper, a glossy bright yellow ceiling, and green velvet chairs. Wowsers! Once again, Rosie disguised the doors by painting them red to match the wallpaper.

Yep, I’m definitely dreaming about moving to California right about now! How about you?

Source: House Beautiful
All photos from House Beautiful and all photos by Victoria Pearson