Violet Cottage » Interior Design

Two of Two for Tuesday – Shelves!

carrie — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:33:27 +0000

I was flipping through a magazine (of course I can’t remember which one anymore, and the photo was already cropped.)… but look at this shelving!

I know it’s been done before, and I’ve seen something similar at Ikea, and on Trading Spaces… but I just loved how this shelf grouping is set up.

I’m thinking a whole wall of shelves like this… perhaps I could assemble them on the ground then mount (to avoid a zillion holes in the wall) and paint some with flowers and leave some plain with just a clear coat or white wash. I love what they did with them in this picture, color wise. I could frame a few out with molding and put pictures or a mirror in them… make a whole focal shelf wall. Ooooh… I smell a project :) And in my office, I can customize my wall o’ shelves to include ribbon dowels, hooks, large shelves for my jars (we don’t have earthquakes in NC! woohoo! hehe) and other fun little cubbies. And in the bathroom… and in the…

Yep, I think I like them.

Magazine Monday – A Little Blue

carrie — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:50:38 +0000

I’ve only met one person in my life who dislikes the color blue… and she was very passionate about it. Otherwise, I think everyone has a blue room… even if it’s the palest iceberg blue in a tiny powder room. Blue and green are my favorite colors… I have about 12 used gallons of paint in my basement to prove it… and I like to go dark and bold ;)

Magazine Monday – Purple

carrie — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:16:02 +0000

I used a lot of purple in the store, but I’ve been hesitant to bring it into my house. I love it as an accent color, but I’m not sure about an entire wall, let alone an entire room. I love color, but somehow, to me… purple is intimidating.

My Aunt Dee has an entire purple bathroom (Perhaps she’ll email me some pictures!), and my Mom has 3 rooms in her home that are purple (You can see them in the last 2 pictures below… her home in California was featured in Cottage Style Magazine a few years ago). With all of the color courage in my family you’d think I’d just dive right in since it’s in my genes :)

(I love how the boys posed for the camera… Oh how I wish I could give those two little doggie munchkins a bit of smothering right now!! Really really wish.)

LWICD Wednesday – “Company is Coming” OCD

carrie — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 22:01:45 +0000

Those around-the-house projects that are backing up on the conveyor belt of project shame… they get a much needed power-up when people are coming to stay with you… usually 24-48 hours before said guests arrive.

It started out small… cleaning the house, moving some stuff into the basement…

Put out clean washcloths, tiny shampoos and soaps…

Clean the sheets, put out clean towels…

Then… it got out of hand… (which is totally normal for me)

Paint a vanity/dressing table…

before…

after…

Finish painting the hallway…

before…

after…

And then finally… the room was put together…

Given more time, I’m sure I would have done (obsessed) more… the guest bathroom needs painting and some art… and the bedroom needs new curtains aanndd art, too… aaannnd… (will it ever end??)

So ask many of our guests… they will tell you that the smells of fresh paint will surround you as you drift off to sleep or perhaps it will stick to your luggage and you’ll take a chip of it home as a souvenir… (I apologize in advance…)

But at least the house dog will keep you company :) (When guests are here… Meg completely ignores us… )

Sweet dreams! :)

Magazine Monday – I Love Blue!

carrie — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:18:14 +0000

Most of these images are from Domino Magazine :)

If you click on this last picture, you can see it larger in a new page…

That little print above with the snail, giraffe, squirrel, swan etc… that was the inspiration for our basement. Every wall in the basement is the color of one of those little creatures… I even took that clip with me to the Home Depot and had them mix colors off of it :)

Magazine Monday – Pink and Green

carrie — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:00:26 +0000

Pink and kelly green… such a fun color combination! There’s also some lime green, turquoise and other colors in here… the whole color family is quite stunning, really :)

Magazine Monday…

carrie — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:59:33 +0000

Sharing my faves in greens, gray or brown, black and yellow from magazine clips, decorating blogs etc etc :)

Oh, and I really want to figure out how to make one of these planters. The top one is aluminum (and I love that simple shape!) and the bottom is a plastic “faux” wood planter on casters that we saw at Epcot center.

Have a happy Monday!!

The Mantles of Christmas Past…

carrie — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:51:31 +0000

Mantles are for decorating… it’s the heart of the living room, and usually the heart of the home. Back in California, we never used our fireplace (at all), but here in North Carolina, we turn it on and actually use it! Here is our current Christmas mantle (in our very first home!)…

And here is 2008′s mantle…

At the store, we had a few fake mantles sprinkled around… Here are a few Christmas Mantles from the years gone by….

… and our very first Christmas tree back in 2003…

Here are some random mantle displays..

Birthday mantle

Explorer mantle

Valentine’s Day mantle

Valentine’s mantle close up

Halloween mantle

Ocean-themed room mantle

Hard to see, but this is a handmade freestanding mantle that we had in the store (made by Robert… who we miss!)

Here is my Mom’s mantle and Christmas Cupboard…

I love all the pink and green! She has a pink Christmas tree, too… hopefully she’ll get that picture to me, soon :)

If you have an awesome mantle display, email it to me and I’ll post it here! :) Happy decorating!!