Inspirations for Play

Oh, my! Love this quaint little camper. Now, that's what I call a Happy Camper...way more anti-depressing than playing pretend in a plastic or cardboard playhouse/princess castle.

I'm planning some kids spaces right now, and it's easy for me to go back to what I daydreamed and loved doing as a kid. I remember being obsessed with the Boxcar Children. I thought it seemed so fun to nest in a little boxcar w/a cold running creek to serve as a makeshift/diy fridge.

I was also in love with stage and musicals {love this mural painting of a stage}. In our house, the record player blared musicals all the time. Annie was nonstop for a good two years, until the brothers made it disappear by burying it in the compost pile.

...But I have some pretty fond memories of reeling in my sisters and cousins to run out to the front yard to critique our own renditions. We'd stand on our "stage" of a three foot ledge {a retaining wall} and we'd each act out every single Annie song. Prizes awarded to best peformance.

Just took in a new piece to Staxx {pictured here}. It's a newly up-cycled secretary in one of my favorite minty-teal colors. Wish I had the before picture, you'd moan if you saw how mucky- brown it was.

Oh, and today is my son, Charles Camp Taylor's, 11th birthday. You know something ironic?... I just realized I posted a camper up there on my blog today. We sometimes call Charlie, Charlie Camper. I dedicate the happy camper to you, today, Charlie Camp.

Have a great day, everybody!

xo
sharon

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

We will be heading to our local neighborhood parades today.
Hopefully we'll catch some fireworks on the skirts of town somewhere tonight, and twirl some sparklers around with all the kiddos. I'd love to find a cold creek too.

Friday, I took a trip to Sandstone Gardens and selected the most amazing fountain, urns and columns for an English Cottage courtyard. Also made some stops at old antique shops along route 66. It was the perfect start to this hot, and time-gone-by weekend.

Oh, and if you haven't been to Sandstone Gardens, you must!

Have a lovely fourth, everybody!

xo
sharon

Summer Updates

Hi there! I just restocked the foyer at Staxx! That's a good feeling.

Starting off the summer with some little mixers...You know how I love mixing old with new, high with not-so-high. Bold colors and fabrics. This patio set aint no dime a dozen set. A few weeks ago, I hit some sales with my friend. We saw this set and thought it was la couture from the get-go. Sadly it had already sold. Two days later, I walked into a flea market and there it was again. For sale. Bought, painted, and recovered it w/Intense Teal. That's the name of the paint. This is one of those intense things that's kinda hard to part with. Meaning I really like it a lot. $350.

I've been doing chair-care on some chairs. I have a weak spot for uniquely-shaped, orphaned ones. Pictured here: A dusty, musty pink chair that is in the process of being lacquered in a high gloss white and then embellished with oxidized mirror plates into those geometric side panels. I can't decide whether to go bold with the fabric or to keep it simple. What are your thoughts? A clean linen, or a big, bold print?

These other two chairs, which have identical twins... will be headed to staxx shortly, too.

Family Updates:
Summer is flying by. All are well and growing. Lots of soccer and swimming. Love my Louis in his uniform. Love my Charlie in his, too. Eleanor is sixteen and driving. Syl is two. Oh, how I live for them.

Business Updates:
Work is really growing. I'm in a good place. Turning away a few projects to focus on some wonderful new opportunities. Excited. Nervous...when am I not? Confident it's going the right direction...Yes. Upcoming magazine publications, too.

So far, I've not seen any wedding pictures from the weddings I've done this year. It's really hard not to get antsy on this. But, last weekend's wedding that I coordinated and designed has already been submitted to 417 Bride, by the photographer, Katie Day. Now, that's fast!! It was immediately picked up by the magazine. I hope to see some some and be able to share some here, shortly!

Hope all is well, with you all this summer! And let me know, if you can, which fabric I should choose for the chair. Always love hearing from my readers!

xo
sharon

Melbourne Inspiration

I've run across these beautiful rooms several times... on several blogs. I just love Diane Bergeron's style and use of color. Diane moved to Australia five years ago from NY with her Aussie husband. She lives in an old warehouse in Melbourne that also doubles as a showroom for her own amazing collections.

Notice how her use of brilliant color is mostly contained to upholstery and accessories, while the white walls are just a really soothing, crisp white.

Do you not just love this orange bedroom?

I'm working on a new bedroom make-oves for a new client..I think I'll add these dream boats to my inspiration folder.

Happy Friday!

xo

sharon

Happy Mothers Day

I hope you enjoyed your mothers day! I sure did. I got sweet love notes, chai tea + boxed soap from my kiddos. I also stopped and smelled our roses.

I was thinking of my dear mom today, too. I'm thankful for all the things she invented for us nine kids. She made swings out of milk crates, snack-size snickers {one bar sliced into ten pieces}, wedding gifts made from curb-side cast-aways, Egg McArnolds, fancy country club-like experiences {stock tank swimming pool + high dive...a ten foot step ladder}, and back yard carnivals. These are just some of her ordinaries that she made into extraordinaries.

And here's one of her quotes..."It doesn't matter where you live or what you do, your imagination can take you anywhere."

A fellow designer was also asking the question, "How your mom influenced your own interior design style?". For me it was always that mom really encouraged us to push the boundaries.

And, repurposing was huge at our house. So, how about you, dear readers? Please share.

{Image via Haute Design}

Have a great week!

xo

sharon

Earthy Wedding Inspiration

I thought I'd leave you with a few inspiration images for the upcoming wedding I've been working on. Will's brother is getting married. I'm getting really excited to see all of our hard work come together and also really excited to see the sweet couple's lovey-dove day. I'll share the couple's story, design details, and pics later...but for now, I've really gotta catch some zzzz's. We're putting together all of the different DIY floral-centerpieces tomorrow.

{Images via Veranda Magazine, Bride and Bloom, and Twig and Thistle}

Have a great day!!

xo

sharon

Three Spring Must-Haves for a Garden Party

Could it be any prettier outside on these first few days of May?? Oh, dear May, oh my...I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!

Before I get to my three Spring Must-Haves, I must tell you that I've

I've decided to, at some point, in the next week or so, throw myself an impromptu garden/porch party to celebrate rose-blossoming week. For those of you who know me in the 'hood, you probly know that we really like to use our wrap around porch quite a bit, which could be why it's starting to sag... quite a lotta-bit. Anyway, right now, the climbing rose bushes look like they've been bio-genetically engineered since last year (thanks to the constant gardener, Will}. Will has a green thumb {have I mentioned that he is for hire on landscaping? well, he is.}. The wrap around porch is now literally wrapped with tons of leggy rose branches topped with so many, many buds. And dear friends of mine, if you're in the 'hood, please feel free to walk on up and smell our roses! {Please just don't snip all of them..ha!}

For the last few years, I've been buying myself some rose bushes for my May birthday. One of my favorites is one that I discovered thru a farmer at the local farmers market. It is called Zephrine-Drouhin, a French antique rose that is a newer hybrid {no thorns at all and grows in sun or shade}. It has a really sweet fragrance too. Our Zephrine was hit hard by the ice storm a few years back, but after much TLC from the gardener, she {the rose} is loving her second lease on life. I would love to also hear from you, dear readers, what some of your favorite roses are as well!

Okay, drum roll...

My Top Three Spring Must-Haves: 1. A ruffly {rrrrrggggh, that's supposed to be sexy} blouse

2. A fedora

3. A good and fresh punch in the fridge {Martha S.}

Hope all of you have a beautiful week! Be sure and tell me what your favorite rose bush is!!

xo

Sharon

{images via Haute Design, Tim Clinch, Martha Stewart, and Saipua}