Inspired by ...

Nature!  Mother earth is a tireless provider of design inspiration.  Today I am sharing with you the inspiration for my living room. Normally what intrigues to me is color, and I am constantly amazed by how color is so influenced by the other colors that surround it.  Take pink, for instance.  Pair pink with with purple and well ...

But take a more subtle coloration of pink, and pair it soft grey or taupe and it becomes sophisticated and calming, like in these color palettes provided by nature -

The inside of a seashell, with muted creams, pinks and grays.

Mother of pearl has the same quiet color palette.

The inspiration for my living room came from these egg prints

and here is how I translated it in my own home

The majority of the room is done in taupe (that's Benjamin Moore's Grant Beige on the walls) and cream with accents of shell pink in the curtains, pillows and accessories. The end result is a room that is calming, fresh and inspired by nature!

This this this these and this

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you." - Frank Lloyd Wright

THIS all started so beautifully, with a soft fluffy white snow...

which changed over to freezing rain and did THIS

which lead to THIS

and lots of THESE

so thank goodness I thought of it before THIS happened

or I wouldn't have THIS

Have a happy weekend and keep your eyes open for inspiration - its everywhere!!

Affordable photography for travelers and dreamers

Etsy is full of gems and I was so happy to be shown one the other day. These photos are from Saturnalia - and her work is evocative of carefree days enjoying the sun or wandering around a new city - free from time constraints. I hope you like them, and you can see more and read about her technique at the store, My Saturnalia

gorgeous

This photo of the chrysanthemum might just be my favorite

Prague - somewhere I definitely hope to get to this summer

Venice

Amazing Treehouses I'd actually live in

Okay, so maybe I wouldn't live in all of these, but definitely most of them. The rest are just amazing to look at. With all the leaves budding on the trees I've been looking up a lot, and it would be oh so nice to just wake up in the tree tops!

A victorian in the trees...
via Treehouse workshop

via Lovely Happenings

a petite castle
via Tree--houses

how dreamy to wake up here!


a beautiful tree house "tent," a rentable getaway in Australia.
via travelnine msn


This gorgeous organic structure was funded by yellowbook, and used to be open to the public as a restaurant.
via yellowbook

An adorable "cottagey" treehouse






ok, so not livable - but very cool regardless

via Flickr


This reminds me of Gisele's treehouse in Enchanted.
via A Soft Place to Land



via Apartment Therapy



And last, but not least, this treehouse is very dear to my heart. My grandfather built this for my sisters and I on our farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland . We loved it and I'm happy to see it still stands, though I'm not sure if the current owners use it.