Romance in the Dining Room

Please join me over at  The Pink Pagoda for her fun and fabulous Blue & White Bash, and share in everyone's mutual love for blue & white! And check out all the participants.  Its so much fun to see what everyone is doing with their love of blue.


I worked for Laura Ashley, years ago, when the company still had shops in the US!

I was and still am, heavily influenced by the florals and romantic fabrics I was surrounded with day after day in that wee Seattle shop.

So when I finally bought my own cottage and had a chance to decorate it, I already knew just how I wanted it to look.

Soft blues and whites and romantic florals.

Influenced by Laura Ashley and Swedish Gustavian design!

So, budget allowing, I am working my way through each room.

Right now I am working on the dining room.

I love being able to design my own fabrics and wallpapers via Spoonflower.

My shop name is Lilyoake.

I chose my "Jane's Rose Stripe" for my curtains ( to be paired later with a matching wallpaper called "Jane's Rose Bouquet".)

I took some time out this past weekend to finish sewing the first curtain panel, printed on linen cotton canvas.

I edged it with a matching blue gingham I bought at a fabric shop.  I intend to line them too, with white cotton sheets, so they look more finished from the outside.

But in the mean time, I can get them up, because we need the privacy now that its dark early!

Gold Leaf Details

Sometimes I feel I'll never get this table done! Here is the final step before I can call it done and set it on the ground (off the card table it is currently elevated on so I can work on it eye level) and use it for breakfast, reading or more likely, a cat perch in the window. Gold leaf details. I bought the faux nailhead trim from doityourselfchic.com - it comes white, flexible and ready to mold on to your project. Zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it and then glue it on. I first painted the areas to be gilded with a yellow ochre primer used in gold leafing. The gold leaf I am using is the composite leaf which is more affordable. But since it is not all gold, it will tarnish over time unless coated with a lacquer. All you do is coat the surface you want gold leafed with a quick sizing glue - let it dry for an hour or so and then apply the leaf. The photo I took was before I had a chance to smooth the leaf out so it looks rough. Once dry, take a brush and gently sweep away the loose gold that did not adhere to sizing and smooth down what is left and you're left with a little gilded glam on your piece. I love Swedish Gustavian design and a piece of white furniture with a little gilded detail on it speaks to me and I offer it up as my own version of Gustavian.

Furniture Transformations

OK, I have had many house projects planned for a few years now but over the course of each season, I manage to come up with just as many excuses to not get them done. Most of them need to be done outside during nicer weather and when I don't get them done, I sit all winter lamenting the fact that I wasted my summer doing nothing. I have now decided to kick my own butt and get some things done before the weather turns. In the front yard, I set up a cheap canopy I got for $30 at Big Lots. (protection from rain and sun).

Last week I began with the coffee table. I got it off Craigslist for $30 - a Queen Anne style with a dark cherry stain and 2 drop leafs. I lovely table, although the top was scratched up. Well, my house is blue and white and not suited to dark wood so the table was destined to become white. I spent a few days preparing it - washed with TSP, then sanded and primed with KILZ. Then it received 3 coats of white latex paint. I use the same white throughout my house: Waverly's "Cottage Linen White". It's a lovely shade of soft white - not a cream but not too stark either. Then I coated the painted table with gloss Crystalfin lacquer. I always protect my painted furniture with this acrylic lacquer which cleans up with water and soap. It comes in several sheens from matte, to satin, gloss and hi-gloss. So the next project in line was the round table that sits in the corner in the living room. I bought it to sit at and read or drink tea. It was hard to find one that size for a good price. It's a 36" round for $160 from Target. Quite sturdy. here is what it looked like when I bought it. The base (hard to see in the picture) was a dark, dirty cream (very unattractive) and the top was a darker wood. It's been out under the tent for a week now, going through it's transformation. In a few days I will post a picture of the finished piece for comparison. Stay tuned...

Taking delight in blue & white

The very talented Carolyne Roehm has a new book out: "A Passion for blue & white". This book is a must for any person passionate about the most classic color scheme of all: blue & white. ( "most classic", in my humble opinion) Soothing and serene, blue is the color of the sky and sea. It's a natural part of our everyday life here on Mother Earth. My love of blue & white influences my every design decision from the way I dress (navy and white), my linens and vases, the dishes I eat off of (Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Curved), to my home's interior decorating scheme. I love "Restoration Hardware's" Atmosphere Blue paint. It's a pale, moody blue that changes hues with the time of day or weather. But it always coordinates beautifully with many different blue shades. Come this spring/summer of '09, my home "Elinor Cottage", will go from a washed-out, pale yellow exterior to the soft "Nordic Blue" from Waverly's paint selection. (with Honey White trim). I also use "Musee Toile Blue" in every room of my house. It's a pattern I never tire of, in a classic mid-tone blue on a crisp white background. Being 100% cotton, it is easy to launder at home and is durable enough to use for upholstery as well as draperies and other accessories such as pillows. Country Curtains sells an entire line of bedding and curtains in this blue toile.
And don't even get me started on blue & white stripes and gingham - love them!
Whether you use blue & white throughout your entire living space or just as an accessory, blue & white will always add a fresh note to a room. What is your favorite shade? here are a few: navy, baby, Atmosphere, cobalt, cerulean, azure, indigo, lapis, royal, sapphire, teal, ultramarine, sky, sea, beryl, turquoise, kingfisher, iris, steel, delphinium, lilac, robin's egg, Parrish, electric, French, Gustavian or denim. I just cannot get enough of blue & white and Carolyne Roehm's new book feeds that passion and reinforces my decision to go all blue & white in my life. Enjoy these images from "A Passion for blue & white". (and get the book! It's well worth it)