Showing posts with label quotations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotations. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Home Tour: A Coastal Maine Farmhouse

Last week we were camping in mid-coast Maine when a dear friend invited us to Sunday brunch at her ocean front 1880's farm house. A beautiful active woman in her 80's (who still models!), our friend is known as a fantastic cook, so we couldn't wait to go.

What we didn't know was that she is also an interior decorator extraordinaire with a home that belongs in the pages of Country Living magazine.


When you step onto the side porch, the first thing you see is this old blackboard, covered with the words of a favorite poem about life by the sea. The old camp chairs are in the side entry, just outside the kitchen. I love that they are numbered!


 The little kitchen is filled with vintage cooking utensils, fresh flowers, herbs and antiques. 


Our friend is an artist at heart. She sees everyday objects as beautiful. On the way to the living room, we pass this old door hung on the wall . . . a piece of art.

She works on her watercolors in front of a big window looking out at the Atlantic Ocean . . . beautiful even on a foggy morning.

And decorates on a shoestring, using her creativity to transform flea market (and roadside!) finds.

The old iron beds in the guestroom are positioned so that they look out at the ocean.


  I could spend a week cuddled under one of those quilts listening to the sounds of the sea.

In the corner of the living room is a writing desk, an old table really . . . covered with books, notes, sketches, family photos, and yet another view of the ocean beyond.


Every corner of this home tells a story . . . 


And welcomes you to sit for awhile.


Breakfast was served on the old screened porch, with the ocean just outside.


The jam is home made and the Nasturtiums are from the kitchen garden.



No words are needed to describe this view!



I loved the little yellow playhouse hidden in the side yard.

It is surrounded by native wildflowers, which are listed on a board on the side of the playhouse!

 Here's a peek inside!



And this is the house from the driveway. There is a lighthouse just up the road.

The straw hat bird house on the door of the old garage bids us "Goodbye", although I really wished I never had to leave this place.


As the blackboard by the door says,
"I go down to the edge of the sea,
How everything shines in the morning light!"

Indeed it does.



This post is linked to:
Style Showcase #42 at Savvy Southern Style
Talk of the Town #136 at Knick of Time
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Flaunt IT Friday #412 at Chic On a Shoestring
DIY Salvaged Junk #439 at Funky Junk Interiors
Happiness Is Homemade #234 at Bluesky at Home
Sundays at Home at Little Farmstead
Amaze Me Monday #277 at Dwellings

Saturday, January 17, 2015

10 Beautiful Things to Have In Your Craft Room

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."              ~William Morris

Welcome back to my craft room!

In my last post I had some fun thinking about the perfect craft space. I looked around my own craft room and came up with a "Top 10 List" of items in it that I find to be the most useful. Today I'm thinking about how to make a craft space so beautiful that it inspires you to sit right down and start making something.  So, here's my . . .

Top 10 List of Inspirational Items to Have in Your Craft Space:

1. Natural light


You can't top this one. Not only does natural light help us to see what we're doing (and at my age, that's becoming more important!), it allows us to really appreciate color and texture.  In addition to a big window, my craft room has a skylight located right above my work table.

 Ott light over my sewing machine
If you don't have the luxury of natural light in your craft space, or if you do a lot of work at night, an Ott light may be able to provide you with task lighting that approximates natural daylight.

2. Color



I believe in surrounding yourself with your favorite colors. I love orange and turquoise, my friend Mary Elizabeth loves pink . . . our personal spaces reflect the colors we love. Who cares if no one else likes it? Who cares if the rest of the house is "builders' beige"? This is your room; it should make you feel happy and inspired.




3. Words that inspire


I love words and find them both soothing and encouraging as I work in my space.



These words were stenciled on the wall in my sister Nancy's yellow and red Mary Englebreit inspired craft room.

4. Objects found in nature


The shapes and colors found in natural objects inspires a sense of balance and design.

 
This strange looking piece of bark is on my craft shelf because it is shaped like a goat's head (?). Call me crazy but I'm saving it because someday I hope to make something out of it for a friend of mine who owns goats and makes beautiful things from their wool. (Yup . . . you know who you are!)

the view of Casco Bay from the bottom of Applegate Lane always inspires me
5. Things with interesting shapes or textures


Who knows what these things will become . . .  or not?  Right now it is simply their textures and shapes that make me covet them.


 6. Old Things


What can I say besides . . . bring on the rust . . .



and chipped paint, and beautiful wood, and faded lettering, and steampunk goodness!



7. Collections



 Sometimes I think I have too many strange collections lurking in my craft room, but . . . I love them so, there it is.
 

 
 I collect sea glass, buttons, door knobs, sand dollars, rusty tools, old keys, scrabble tiles, beads, vintage postcards, clothespins, tie clips, girl scout patches, miniatures, wooden spools, belt buckles, vintage linens, magnets, children's blocks, vintage Shiny Bright ornaments, old dolls . . .
oh, my!
 
 
I also have quite a collection of Cat's Meow buildings depicting some of my favorite places.
DH attached molding high up on the walls of my craft room so that I can display these without having them in the way when I work.
 



8. Books that teach
 
I love my craft books even more than I love Pinterest. Call me old-fashioned but I like to hold them, come back to them again and again, and have directions and photos right next to me as I work. Thank goodness for my local bookstore and, when that fails, for Amazon Prime.
 
 
9. Things that evoke memories
 
My craft room shelves are chock full of things that bring back happy memories, like this old Patsy doll, with her steamer trunk full of organdy party dresses.
 
 
And my Mom's buttons. Many of them came from clothes she made for my sisters and I when we were children; she would remove the buttons to use again.
 
 
 I love being surrounded by my favorite family photos . . . even the silly ones!
 
 
10. Handmade things
 
Having a few completed projects on display in my craft space reminds me that I really can finish what I start, frustrated as I may get with a project at times.
 
 
And displaying  things that others have made for me just makes me happy when I look at them. This amazing 3-dimensional book was made by fellow blogger, Paula Clare, from Paula's Palace of Altered Art.
 
 
 
So, to recap, here are my Top 10:
 
1. Natural Light
2. Colorful things 
3. Words that inspire
4. Objects found in nature
5. Things with interesting shapes or textures
6. Old Things
7. Collections
8. Books that teach
9. Things that evoke memories
10. Handmade things
 
 
 What are the things that inspire you the most in your creative space?
 
 
 
This post is linked to:
Party Junk at Funky Junk Interiors
Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things
Weekend Wrap-Up at Tattertots & Jello
Flaunt It Friday at Chic On a Shoestring
Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Amaze Me Monday at DWELLINGS
 
 
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