THE COLORS OF MEMORY LANE

Flashback to the summer of 1973

I recently received a post on my FB page from a time long ago.  What joy I felt viewing these pictures after so long.  My dear childhood friend, Denise, posted photos of her bedroom that the two of us painted back in the summer of 1973.  The overwhelming feeling, the memories that rushed back upon viewing these pics was priceless.  If she could only see the huge smile that she brought to my face while looking at these pics.  

We had decided to paint one wall in the popular 1970's color, dark brown, and the other three walls in tan. To make a "groovy" statement we added tri-tone graphic stripes around the room.  It was all the rage back then. Looking back, it was a pretty hip design even for a couple of 10 year olds.  Since our budget was limited, we mixed the three shades of rust for the stripes ourselves.  To the rust color paint we added just the right amount of tan leftover from the other walls to make the two lighter values of color.

It took the entire summer to do this fantastic bedroom design. We were determined to get the lines straight, and I remember it being pretty hard at times.  Lot's of careful drawing and a steady paintbrush. 

Although these photos brought me back to that time period, I had to lean on Denise to fill in some of the details that slipped my memory.  My personal remembrance is more of the essence – the strong feelings – I had during that magical time.  

I have to say, "not bad" for a couple of kids!  The job we both did in creating her contemporary bedroom design is pretty impressive. Who would've thought that my interior design career actually started that summer of '73!

Thank you Denise for bringing back such a delightful memory and for saving these pics from so long ago!

ANOTHER STEP CLOSER

Middletown, Delaware

This will soon be our new home and community - Bayberry

On this visit we went to inspect all the lighting and security system that we added. 

Everything is looking good!

Every time we pull up to our new house, we are excited to see the progress.

It's moving right along.

There I am leaning on my future porch.

The parkway across the street from our house is coming along quite nicely.

It has a quiet, open feel that we're happy about :)

Fredrick Law Olmsted

Our new development, Bayberry, named all of their streets after famous and creative individuals such as philosophers, artists, poets, architects, etc.  Names that you may of heard: Da Vinci, Calder, Gehry, Socrates, Picasso, just to name a few.

Our street is named after landscape designer, Fredrick Olmsted.  Mr. Olmsted is popularly considered to be the "father of American landscape architecture".  Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks including Central Park in NYC, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, just to name a few.

This really resonated with us from the moment we visited the community.

Hope you're enjoying this journey with me and the mini history lesson.

Cheers!

Please feel free to leave comments or questions in the "comments" section below.

THANKSGIVING TABLE

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?

I wanted to share some fun ideas that you can incorporate into your holiday table.

This is the time of year for candles.

Loving the natural, soft colors of this table.  Using pears is a perfect idea for the season.

Adding the pop of teal color really gives the table setting a bit of a contemporary flare.

Can't go wrong with adding gourds to your table!

This monochromatic looks is very soft and subtle.

Beautiful!

What a hoot!  Clever idea for the kids to make.

This is great for the kids table.  Maybe even fill it with fruit or candy.

I love this idea if there are a lot of kids.  

Will entertain them for a bit and who doesn't love to color!

Creative pumpkin idea.

Filling glass containers with beans is so perfect.  

Gives that natural look with a mix of Autumn colors.

Sometimes simplicity is best.

Be creative, have fun, and most importantly give thanks for the things you are grateful for in you life.

Many Blessings :)

NEW HOUSE UPDATE

Moving right along.

As we pulled up to our new house, it was very exciting to see the progress.

Happy to see the roof being shingled and the doors and windows installed.

The garage is located in the back of the house.

To me this is a nice feature.

Our new backyard.

Entering from the garage into the breakfast room.

This view is from the breakfast room looking into part of the kitchen to the left, and into the great room towards the front of the house.  It's open concept living.

 At this angle, you are looking back into the kitchen and seeing the start of the island. 

Meet John the electrician... "Hi John".

The nice advantage with building your own home is the option to customize your lighting, security system, cable, etc. 

We did a walk through with John as I gave him my design plan for additional lighting throughout the house.

To me extra recessed lighting is super important and adds so much to any space.

Yes, it's easier to do it before the walls are up, but it can be done with existing walls in place as long as you have a trusting and professional electrician.  The placement of lighting is also very important!

I work with my clients to design the correct lighting plan.

This may look like a bunch of sticks, but it's important to know where our waterlines and HVAC vents are placed for the future when I place artwork on the walls.  Don't want to puncture any waterlines. 

The new stairs leading up to the bedrooms, and down to the basement.

Hello Master Bedroom  :)

Nine foot ceiling on every level of the house is also another great feature.

The future master bath shower.

My future studio!

It's starting to look like a home with the addition of the front door.

Thanks for joining me through the tour.  I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Until the next time...