Benjamin Moore Newburg Green

While browsing Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle yesterday I noticed the most beautiful blue green walls.  They completely caught my attention!  The colour is called Newburg Green by Benjamin Moore.  I immediately starting thinking about where I could use this colour in our new house.  Look how it makes the white fabric and orange throw pop!  It would be a very cool colour in a nursery or maybe I'll use it in the guest bedroom.  It would look great next to our duvet and pillows from Restoration Hardware's white Italian bedding with brown satin stitch collection. 

Loving the mix of old and new in this nook so much!!  Where can I get that lamp for less then $70?

Amy Morris Interiors

Good morning my lovely readers! I’m going to be honest today, I haven't been feeling inspired lately. Last week I was writing posts just to be writing and not because I had something worthy to share. Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated and inspired. Last week was strange for me. I felt disconnected from my work (day job), the blog, designing and from being me. I know that if I don’t exercise and take care of me then I can fall into a slump and a bad mood. That’s completely what happened last week.

Today is different. It has already been a very busy morning at work but I thought I would steal a few minutes to browse the web. (Sometimes I give myself 5 minutes of meaningless online browsing to fulfill my itch and then get back to work…even on a busy day it’s essential.) Today my browsing sparked something in me. I decided to take a quick peak on Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle. Lucky for us they were featuring Amy Morris Interiors in an article. There was something about the article that told me I had to visit her website. Well, didn't I just love every room she has designed! I swear I'm supposed to live in Atlanta! I’m always drawn to the city, its people, shops and homes. Alright, back to Amy. I don't have time to talk much about her work. Today is all about pictures. I hope you enjoy and find as much inspiration from her work as I did for my new house.

xo

I want these trellis pillows for my sofa! 

I'm not usually a fan of dark walls but this room is changing my mind.  I would have no problem setting up shop in this room. 

Perfection!  What else could I say?  I'm drooling over this room.

I had a mint green bedroom when I was young.  I love it in this room but doubt I could ever live in one again.  I love the faux panels on the walls, the art work, ghost chairs and layering in this room. 

I'm thinking of doing something similar to this in my kitchen.  I'm sure it would be wise to invest in slip-covered chairs when planning a family. 

I adore this little nook.  I'm certain I could spend hours sitting here reading with a glass of wine.  It is such a pretty room!

What is it about twin beds?  I love the way they look seperated by a shared night stand.  The green on the walls is the perfect shade!

I'm going to be using blue and white for our master bedroom.  It's time I start organizing my inspiration files.  Love the simplicity of the bed (seen in the mirror).

Love, Love, Love the light fixtures in this bathroom.  The ceiling fixture would normally be seen over a dining table.  I like the way she paired with the simple, clean lines of this white and grey blue washroom.

I adore the way she puts her baby nurseries together. 

All photos via Amy Morris Interiors

Blue & White Living Room

Todays post needs to be quick.  I have a busy day at work and then I need to rush home to clean my house because mom's coming to visit.  Yeah!!!  The house is clean, I just like to give it a once over before we have company.  I probably shouldn't seeing that every time someone comes over the place ends up looking a mess.  It might be better to clean on Sunday... Sorry mom.  :) 

I found this image last night and fell in love.  Blue and white is the perfect colour combination.  I'm dying over those pillows!  I want to replace my sofa pillows but haven't seen anything I love yet. 

Have a great weekend!!  I promise I'll have much more to share on Monady.  xo

The new house I will design into a home!

Many of you have asked to see photos of our new house.  I took pictures the other morning with my camera but they didn't turn out as well as the professional ones taken for the pamphlet.  So I will show you those as the before.  As we slowly change things within the house I will walk you step by step through the process.  It's going to be a lot of fun! 

Our house is on the left. I would like to upgrade the door at some point. Many of the neighbors have cut out the original door and put glass with a rot iron detail inside. It looks great! See the door on the right as an example.

The foyer is a good size (bigger than we have now) but a bit boring.  To the right of the picture is a closet and a long narrow hallway.  As you go down the hallway you come across the powder room, staircase to upstairs and basement door along your left.  At the end of the hallway is the living room entrance to your right. I want to paint the hallway/entrance white (maybe eventually paint the front door a charcoal or black) and possibly put up paneling.  The other option might be to stencil it in white but use sheen instead of a colour so it's subtle.  It's so hard to decide because I also really love the trellis wallpaper.  I've got at least 3 months to make the decision.  Any suggestions? 

The living room is awesome!  It's a bit narrow and awkward because there are two doorways to the kitchen (you'll see it in the next photo).  We'll most likely need to purchase new furniture for this room (ah, darn!) in order to make use of the space as best I can.  The TV will be mounted above the fireplace.  I see us putting up paneling in this room as well.  It's light blue right now.  I like the colour so it won't have to change right away.  It will eventually but i'm not sure which route I'll go yet. 

The colour in the kitchen is coral.  It's horrible!  I will change it immediately to a cream or shade of taupe that will go with the tile and stone backsplash.  We'll need to replace the white vent hood as well.  The appliances are top of the line and the stove is gas!  :)

The master bedroom is the top photo and it's south facing providing a lot of natural light which I love.  It has an ensuite bathroom with separate soaker tub, big windows and a walk-in closer.  :)  The second bedroom is blue.  It will fit a queen bed, side table and maybe a small dresser.  The third bedroom will be the eventual nursery (obviously!).  I will change everything about it.  The backyard still needs to be fenced in and we'll need to build a deck.  We would like to do it all this summer but who's kidding who our budget will determine how much gets done this year. 

That's our house.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  It's a great starter home and has great bones for me to work with design wise. 

First Impressions

Now that we own a house (technically it's not ours until June 9th but the papers are signed so I figure I can call it ours) I need to organize and collect more inspirational photos for each room, starting with the foyer.  I've written before on why it's important to design this space but here is another reminder.  The foyer is the first impression of your home.  It tells your guests what to expect in the rest of the house.  It is your welcoming room.  Therefore you should spend just as much time designing it as any other space in the house. 

Points to consider when designing your foyer:

• Layout
• How much space is there? 
• Do you have room for a chair, bench and/or table?
• Mirrors!  It's your last opportunity to double check how you look before leaving the house.
• Lighting
• Is there a lot of natural light?
• If not, can you fit a table lamp?
• Do you still have the standard builder fixture? If so, it's time to replace it to something like a chandelier or a pendant.  The bottom of the fixture should be 7 feet from the floor providing enough clearance for any of your really tall friends. 
• Storage
• Do you have closets?
• If not, should you invest in armoires?
• Would coat hooks along the wall be sufficient?
• Do you require more storage?
• baskets/bins for hats and scarves.
• shoe racks
• Set the mood
• Scent is one of the keys to providing a good first impression. 
• Candles - light them before guests arrive.
• Fresh flowers - they look and smell good.
• Febreeze plug-ins also doe the trick.  Just be sure to hide them behind something.  They don't exactly look pretty.
• Architectural/Design Details
• Add crown mouldings, wainscoting, chair rails or paneling
• Paint - it will be a well used room so pick a durable paint.  If you prefer lighter colours (like me) then make sure you can wipe the walls down when they get dirty. 
• Wallpaper - if it's a small space then go bold.  It might be your one opportunity to pick more expensive designer paper. 
• Stencil - just another way to add character to a space.  I love the look of stencilled walls in a long hallway. 

Now for the fun part. Enjoy the pics!!

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Domino

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Source Unknown

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Habitually Chic

James Michael

Kids Stuff

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Southern Accents

Sarah Richardson

Thane Studios Interior Firm

Blogger Give-away

My blogging friend Erika at BluLabel Bungalow is giving away an e-decorating mood-board today!! 

Visit her site today for your chance to win this great opportunity to have such talented gal design a room for you.  She has impeccable taste and is one of my favourite blogs to read.  Now that I have more time on my hands (since we are no longer house-hunting) I can catch-up on/devour all her recent posts.

Good luck!! 

What's cookin?

I have great news.  We bought a house!!! :)  It's a semi-detached, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, gorgeous kitchen with top of the line appliances and an unfinished basement just waiting for my design touch.  We're very excited and slightly overwhelmed.  It's ours June 9th!!  YEAH!!!  I'm not sure if I want to share photos of it now or once we're in and I have decorated.  You tell me if you want to see photos now. 

One of my goals this year (other than to purchase a house... check!) is to cook two new recipe's a month.  I haven't kept count but I think I might be one short for February (like it's really hard to count to two!).  Any who, the point is I want to share each new recipe with you.  They are certainly not my own (well, most of the time) but they are delicious and healthy.  The first is Spicy Lentil Soup from Cook It Simply.  I suggest making a double batch in order to have enough to freeze for a future meals.  It serves four perfectly as a meal and six as an appetizer.  


6 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
185 g (6 oz) red lentils, washed and picked over
1.2 litres (2 pints/5 cups) vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste


1. Heat oil in a saucepan over a medium heat; add cumin seeds. 
2. As soon as seeds begin to pop, add onion and cook until golden, stirring. 
3. Add garlic, carrots and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes, until soft. 
4. Stir in all the spices and cook for a further 1 minute before adding lentils.
5. Pour in stock and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then simmer for 1 hour, skimming surface
if necessary. 
6. Remove bay leaf and puree soup in a blender or food processor. 
7. Return to pan, season with salt and pepper and reheat. 
8. Serve garnished with fried onion rings and coriander leaves.


Bon Appetit!

I wouldn't mind enjoying my bowl of soup at this table.  This image is inspiring me for our new kitchen. 

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