Kate Spade

It all started when Kate Spade launched "kate spade handbags"

 now we have "kate spade at home"

Kate Spade

I first noticed this designer after I bought this cute book at a tag sale

and now her new New York home is all over blog land

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but I like her Hamptons home best... just wish I could find better images.

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Jen's Hutch

The hutch is finished! I wish I had a prettier place to photograph this, but it's six feet wide and over six and a half feet high, so the garage is where it's staying until pick up time.

Remember the "before"...

I was going to leave it this color and use a clear protective coating, but it lacked some warmth and character. I did a little experiment and it came out great. I decided in order to get just a hint of dark glaze I needed to thin it out. I use a water based product and just added more water, actually a lot more water. Then I rubbed the "dirty water" looking stuff all over the piece.

This is the table Jen and her little boy painted and the inspiration for the hutch color.

Chairs

I found a some new chairs to add to my obsessive chair collection...

these are mini chairs I found at a local antiques store...

can you believe they're made from cans?!

Story Book Cottage

When I first looked at these images, I thought they all came from the same home...

but actually these are images from many different homes.

All under the heading "Story Book Cottages" at Canadian House and Home.

New Finds

Shopping for the home is my favorite thing to do and my favorite places to shop use to be antique stores. Now I love thrift stores and it's amazing what great stuff can be found for so little money.

This is what I really wanted to post...

I was hoping to have this completed...just have a few things left to do, distressing, protective coating and hardware.

I love the apple green paint...big difference and maybe a little too much color for most people, but my friend Jen is an artist and this will look fabulous in her kitchen!

Side Table Revamp

It seems like I always have a small item in the middle of a revamp...

I had already removed the hardware and sanded the top before I remembered to take a photo.

These pictures do not do the turquoise color justice, it's my new favorite color...

Martha Stewart Living 8 oz. Aegean Blue Interior Paint Tester # MSH118

Also the top refinished beautifully, this is a quality piece of furniture found at Goodwill for $30.

Color in the Kitchen

I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.  -Sir Winston Churchill

What do you think of painted cabinets? I have maple in my kitchen and I like them, but I think  if I had a choice I would choose color...maybe a combination of both wood and paint.

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Blue Cabinets

Green Cabinets

Red Cabinets

Yellow Cabinets (my favorite)

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Iris Apfel

Who is Iris Apfel?

Apfel burst onto the international stage in 2005, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art put the octogenarian’s flamboyantly bohemian personal wardrobe—antique Chinese robes, haute-couture feathered coats, operatic necklaces, many of them made to her eccentric order—on display in its Costume Institute. And now she is literally taking her mix-master taste on the road, from advising fashion-school students to designing a forthcoming collection of costume jewelry.
Architectural Digest

Her home is full of interesting collections, beautiful fabrics and an eclectic assortment of furniture. I love how she keeps adding layers, not worrying about anything matching. I personally could never live with so much, but I get so much creative inspiration when I see a home like this.

Check out Architectural Digest to read more about this fascinating lady.