A slice of our Summer

Helllloooo! It's been awhile since I last wrote a blog post. I had a friend recently ask me if I still planned on blogging and thought, 'boy, I guess I took enough time off it's time to get going again'. Did you have a great summer? I hope you made time to play, relax and explore. There were not a lot of home projects except for the farm table the hubs is working on right now (more of that to come). Our children went back to school this week so it's back to routines, which is good for everyone. I thought you might like to see a slice of our summer:

Our family had a great time visiting Martha's Vineyard in July. We had a big family reunion with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. There was plenty of card playing, ice cream, boating and beach days. 

                                       There are some impressive old Captain's homes to walk past.

                                                                and pretty gardens.

                             Oh, and of course, the many darling ice cream shops were visited frequently.

                       Many bursting window boxes on white painted homes add New England charm.

                                                              Quaint little fishing villages                  

Pretty sailing days to the beach. 

Farmer's markets 

On Instagram I showed a couple of rooms in our beloved family home. The original part of the house used to be a carriage house in which my grandparents made into their home. We love coming here to be with lots of family and gather. I love the chart room and old nautical lantern my Uncle put up.

The main part of the barn is cozy and has a gallery wall with many of my grandmother's paintings. A few years ago my sisters and I did a makeover in the loft and you can see more pictures of the chart room.

Now, it's back to schedules and non-beach days, but I think it's important to take time and disconnect for a bit. I can't wait to show you some projects from our Art camp that I taught with my friend this summer. Are you still in summer mode or school mode? Either way, I hope you're doing well and look forward to showing more projects and adventures with you.

Design Tips From The HGTV Dream Home

Most of you probably have already seen the HGTV Dream Home . I've been thrilled about it from day one. It's gorgeous and on Martha's Vineyard (one of my most favorite places on earth). Today, I wanted to look at some of the design features I enjoy and design lessons I learned from the Dream Home. 

The great living room is white/neutral with pops of blue. Look at those board walls. So pretty! The open floor plan of the main area works so well, because the designers created zones using the same colors and neutral colors. Now, count how many different textiles there are in this room. I counted nine all with creams, gray, blue and white. They all look great together and give enough variety to the room so things don't look too match-y. 

I love the symmetry in this room with the built in, and even the chairs by the doors with their fish prints above and matching sconces.

                                                                   More symmetry.

A simple and sophisticated look for styling a table: put rice or sand at the bottom of a large glass hurricane and add a candle. 

The kitchen stays white and neutral to match the same open tone as the living room. One of the details I like is the island side has white panels which assist in the theme of wainscoting and board and batten throughout the house. Classic!

The non-matchy chair set is a great look with the ticking stripe open upholstered bench seat. Notice how many flowers/branches arrangements are in the house. Bringing in nature adds beautiful texture.

Hanging pictures or mirror by three is a magic number.

Candles and flowers always add warmth and comfort.

I'm working on designing a makeover for our master closet and this one is quite the inspiration! The wall and ceiling color are the same paint broken up by the heavy white molding and white built-ins. Love this! 

Hello gorgeous mirror and sitting room!

In the bedrooms, I like how the designers played more with color. Bold choices that play really well together. Notice the three lime green frames/mirrors on the wall. 

Blue, white and coral always look good together. I counted eight different textiles in this picture. 

Sigh... I could move right in. I'm sure most people feel the same as me; a house ready to move in? Sign me up! And you can sign up everyday for a chance to win this house. What's your favorite room or design feature?

The Loft: Before and After

I'm very fortunate to visit Martha's Vineyard every summer. Our family has a home where we gather for great reunions (it's been in our family for several generations now). When I was middle-school age, my parents had a separate garage with a loft built so all my sisters and cousins could have our space. The room evolved over the years from a teenage spot to a nautical inspired guest room. A couple of years ago, my sisters and I did a makeover of this room. We had a lot of fun working together to bring this space from a bit of hodge podge to something with a color scheme. 

BEFORE:

This door is an example of how I painted furniture in middle school. I think it was awfully nice of my parents to let me do that. 

AFTER:

           Now, Benjamin Moore, Paladian Blue paint. Simple.

My sisters and I painted the bed frames a light blue. The white bedding is from IKEA and the stripe pillow and blankets are somethings we sewed. The side table in-between the beds was a brown wood table I painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint (in Paris gray).

The anchor is from Homegoods, which brings in a nautical touch for sure. I painted a racer stripe down the middle of the dresser using ASCP Paris gray. We painted all the trim white and the walls got a neutral color (I forget the name of it right now, so I'll get back to you about it.) It's amazing what the power of paint can do to change a space.

The mirror was also from Homegoods and the coral bookends came from there too. 

Instead of throwing out our old oars away we decided to use them as decoration. Note to self: never throw out any oars- they make really great wall art! The side table is from Target's Threshold line.

I painted this writing desk in a light gray blue. It was a dark wood that was getting a bit destroyed in it's finish, so it looks nice to have it refreshed. 

This chest was my great-great grandfather's! It is super sturdy and a beauty. We have a lot of wonderful family heirlooms in the home- which we love. 

For the bathroom we installed a new vanity, lights, mirror and faucet and a board and batten look. We were about ready to throw out the small shelf, but decided to paint it white and paste a nautical chart we still had.

We framed more nautical charts to fill the small space above the board and batten.

The whole room has a more cohesive feel to it than the 'before' and it's become one of our favorite rooms. We still have a few more things we want to do like paint the window frames all white and do some kind of window treatment, but it's come a long way.

I will show you some more images this coming week of our home on Martha's Vineyard. Hope you all get to enjoy the last bit of summer!

Martha's Vineyard

 Today I want to show you Martha's Vineyard, the island my family and I love. We look forward to visiting family here, enjoying the beaches, fishing, boating and good food.
My husband grew up on the Island. For anyone who may think living here year-round puts you in the annals of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, that is not typically the case. Tourism is the main industry and helps support the Island economy. Each town on the Island has a different feel to it. Let's have a tour, shall we?

Edgartown: 
This town is oozing with quaintness. During the whaling era, Boston sea captains would take their fortunes and create estates in this town. There are many examples of sprawling cottages and charming colonial homes.

Edgartown lighthouse

There are beautiful gardens on some of the estate homes here. I know there is a tour specifically to view the gardens in this town (something I want to do next year). Hydrangeas seem to do well on the Island and there are so many window boxes spilling with flowers and greenery.

I don't normally think much about my driveway, but I guess if I had my 'dream' driveway it would look something like this one.

Walking around all the gorgeous shops in this town is so fun. It's a kid's dream store in the Scoop Shack with all the bright candy so wonderfully displayed.

West Tisbury:
Twice a week there is a big farmer's market in this town. Local bakeries sell their bread and pastries too

My kids's favorite part of the farmer's market  is the Bodacious raspberry ice (which is really my favorite too).

 As a kid, Alley's General store was my favorite place to get candy. For my girls, it's now their favorite too. The owner restored this original General store awhile ago and its brimming with all sorts of things you might need from hardware- groceries-gifts. On the Island, there are no malls, or major chain stores just super charming shops (except for some gas stations and Stop & Shop).

 If you like kayaking or sailing, the Great Tisbury Pond is our favorite and it leads to the South Beach (which is the main beach all along the south end of the island.

Oak Bluffs:
Is known for their 'gingerbread homes' or 'cottage city'. It's also a port for the ferry boats that come in. To get to the Island you can either fly or take the ferry ( a 45 minute boat ride from Woods Hole).

Each one of these cottages has such character. In late August they have Illumination night where all the gingerbread homes put up Chinese lanterns on their porches and light them all at the same time. Then, everyone walks around and admires all their decorations. 

Ocean Park

Menemsha:
So you want a quaint little fishing village? This is it. Stephen Spielburg's movie Jaws was filmed here and every year you can watch it in the town.

 We love to come eat dinner here and watch the sunset. 

 Aquinnah:
Is known for their clay cliffs and the Wampanoag Indians who settled the area. There are some spectacular beaches and views on this side of the island. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis did have a large estate here until her death and sadly her son John F Kennedy JR and his wife and sister-in-law died in a plan crash off the coast. I don't have really any house pictures to show you of this town probably because most of the homes are tucked further away and private.

I hope you enjoyed a tour of some of the island. Have you ever been to Martha's Vineyard? What was your favorite area to visit? I plan to show you some room make-overs in our family house this week so come back soon.