Color Made Easy - A Cottage Kitchen Makeover and A Sea Glass and Driftwood Color Palette

Today I wanted to share two stories which I recently came across in Better Homes and Gardens Color Made Easy - both of which include a Red Door Home curtain project.

The first is a fabulous Cottage Kitchen Makeover produced and designed by Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

This story shows the transformation of an outdated kitchen when it was given a total renovation from both a layout and design standpoint. 

Before

To create a vintage look in keeping with the architecture of the 1935 Cape-style cottage, the homeowners choose a mix of open shelving and recessed panel cabinets as well as a chalkboard message center and a vintage style faucet. 

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

To address the seating space and storage issues of the eating area, a custom made bench was added to create a beautiful banquette.

Eating Area Before

The dining area was kept light and bright with the addition of the sheer Roman shades I created.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

The complete story of this makeover including additional pictures, and budget saving ideas can be found HERE.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

The second story, which appeared in the same issue of Color Made Easy, featured a soothing and wonderful sea glass and driftwood color palette.  This story was also designed and produced by Donna Talley.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

Blue – in all its many shades – has always been a staple in the decorating world.  Here, Donna combined a pretty shade of aqua and beige to create a simple and calming atmosphere.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

My contribution to the photo below was the simple aqua shade mounted inside the window frame.

Color Made Easy    -    Photography by John Bessler

Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

To create this look, a sheer aqua panel was cut to length, hemmed on all sides and then stapled to a board.  The board was then installed inside the window.  Although this is a non-functioning shade, in the sense that it does not go up and down, it is a great option for anyone looking to add a bit of color to their windows while still allowing light into the room.

Weekend in the Garden

Hi all!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and Mother’s Day.   We had beautiful weather which allowed my family to partake in our annual Mother’s Day tradition - planting our garden.

Saturday typically involves basic clean up, readying the soil for planting and purchasing various vegetables, herbs and other plants.   Sunday is planting day!

With the arrival of an early spring, we had already brought out the garden furniture and spruced up the fire pit area and back and side patios.

Over the years, our garden has evolved from haphazard to a bit more structured and symmetrical.  We have figured out what type of plants work best and what simply will not do well in the shortened growing season here in the northeast.

Tomatoes, herbs and cucumbers seem to thrive and have become a standard. Each year we try something new and this year’s “experiments” are eggplant and cantaloupe.   We also added peppermint to the herb selection.  I have been told mint can be quite invasive so it was planted in a separate container to keep it from overtaking the entire garden bed.

As you can see from the pictures, the garden looks a bit sparse as the plants are just getting started.  Hopefully within a few weeks everything will have taken off and the garden will be lush and green.  I will be sure to post pictures later in the summer.

Oh – in case you were wondering about the “tom junior” sign in the mint pot.  Years ago my kids decided to name all the plants in the garden.  (I am guessing this one used to be for a tomato.)  We have kept the signs and truly get a kick out of ourselves every year as we again use them to name our plants!  Silly I know but lots of fun too.

RDH May Blog of the Month – Cote de Texas

When it comes to all-time favorite blogs, no list would be complete without Cote de Texas.  (In fact, it is probably at the top!)  So today, it is with great excitement I am proud to feature Cote de Texas as the RDH May Blog of the Month.

Joni Webb began Cote de Texas five years ago to “indulge her love of French antiques, French furniture, and anything else pertaining to France!”   Along the way she has introduced and educated so many people, including me, to the beauty of not only French design but to Belgian and Swedish design, European architecture, talented top designers, and so much more as well.

Joni’s posts are educational, inspiring, expertly researched, honest, detailed, beautifully written, opinionated, sometimes humorous, always interesting, and never superfluous – the list goes on and on.  Simply said, the best I have read.

 Top Ten Design Element (Curtains) via Cote de Texas

It was on Cote de Texas as part of Joni’s Top Ten Design Elements where I learned the virtues of linen, slipcovers, seagrass rugs, curtains, lighting, wall décor, and antiques.  Each post in this series delves into the details and reasons for each element and includes beautiful supporting pictures.  The list has not been completed yet so I am very interested to see what elements Joni chooses to add.

Top Ten Design Element (Linen) - By James Howard via Cote de Texas

Top Ten Design Element (Seagrass rugs) - By Jane Wood Interiors via Cote de Texas

Cote de Texas also gave most of us our first glimpse of designer Sally Wheat’s work including her famous and much copied, gray kitchen. 

Sally Wheat kitchen via Cote de Texas

 Sally Wheat living room via Cote de Texas

Sally recently changed her décor and Joni was the one who shared the gorgeous pictures of Sally’s newly reworked spaces.

Sally Wheat living room via Cote de Texas

Sally Wheat dining room via Cote de Texas

Besides authoring Cote de Texas, Joni is also an accomplished designer herself.  Below are a few of her projects and pictures of her own home.

As you can see many of her Top Design Elements have found their way into these beautiful spaces!

Finally, no Cote de Texas feature would be complete without also mentioning Joni’s generosity and incredible kindness.  She may not remember but she was one of the very first commentators on my blog.  I had just started Red Door Home and that one comment from Joni absolutely made my day and encouraged me to keep going.

For those of you who are not Cote de Texas followers I hope you will take the time to visit Joni’s incredible blog as there is so much more to see!   If you are already a follower, please be sure to leave a comment for Joni to thank her for all the dedication and hard work she puts into Cote de Texas.

As always, I wanted to thank Joni for allowing me to feature Cote de Texas today.  I truly am honored to be sharing her wonderful blog.