Up on the Roof

“Mine was the twilight and the morning. Mine was a world of rooftops and love songs.” 
-Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

From Elle Decor

If I had a rooftop terrace, I'd love to sneak away for a glass of wine or a cup of coffee or an afternoon nap.  After writing about treehouses earlier this week, I have had lofty, dreamy spaces on my mind. There is something so cozy about being in a secretive place where you can see the world but the world can't see you.  Wouldn't a rooftop room be the perfect spot for a dinner with friends or a romantic evening with your love?  An exquisite view certainly wouldn't hurt the mood either. 

Pretty Monday: House in the Trees

"I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do."  ~Willa Cather, 1913


One of the many things I have in common with octogenarians is my love of 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning.  Both programs always enlighten me, cause me to ponder and offer some form of visual delight.  

On a recent Sunday Morning dedicated to summer pleasures, a segment pondered the childhood fantasy of a treehouse.  What kid doesn't dream of creating a hideaway, up in the trees?  

Pretty Monday: Sweet Dreams

“She used to say she could taste sleep and that it was as delicious as a BLT on fresh French bread.” -Rebecca Wells, The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood


I know it is only Monday, but I am dreaming of a nice, long nap after a nice, long weekend of activity. 

In a hammock by the sea or a puffy, comfy bed layered with pillows, I would adore a snooze somewhere pretty.  The Spanish are definitely onto something wonderful with their lovely afternoon siestas.  A mid-afternoon sleepy solitude break is just what I need today.  Until my own darling baby finds her own nap-time routine, I shall just dream of these sweet, dreamy nooks.

Mine, All Mine: Personalized Spaces

In the South, most anything that isn't nailed down (and well, a few things that are) can be suitable for a monogram: button-down shirts, baby frocks, totes, pillows, towels, upholstery.  

I Spy Something Blue

"Oh, darkly, deeply, beautifully blue/As someone somewhere sings about the sky." -Lord Byron

Pink may be my signature color, but the cool, beachy serenity of aqua is what soothes me most.  The colors of the sea and sky fill my own home.  Whether with a slight patina like the ceiling of an old Southern manor or crisp and saturated like a fresh, new tile floor, shades of aqua can't help but put a little spring in your step.

Pretty Monday: Lovely Lanterns

Mondays are usually anything but pretty. Banal, yes. Exhausting, sure. Pretty, probably not.  So, here's a dose of Monday morning pretty to get you on the right start for the week.  

A beautiful print from The Wheatfield shop on Etsy

How about some dreamy lanterns to get you inspired to relax on your porch with a nice cold glass of lemonade or a lemon drop if you're naughty?

Smitten for Kitchens

Apartment living has many lovely advantages, but customizing one's kitchen is simply not one of them.  As someone who spends many hours a day scurrying through my kitchen (mostly chasing my speed-crawling munchkin around and around the island), I often think about what I'd want in my someday-maybe-perhaps dream cooking space.  

Coveting: A Little Vanity

Vanities are the ultimate girly piece of furniture.  What could be more feminine than having a little place to sit as you stack on your bangles or powder your cheeks or spritz your Chanel no. 5? 

Designing Pour Le Bébé

 

I am resisting the urge to turn Les Petits Plaisirs into a full-fledged preggorama, maternity and baby blog.  But, from time to time, I do plan to offer a few little baby tidbits about our adventures. 

Nigella's Cozy Kitchen

Today the Wall Street Journal offers us a tasty little morsel of Nigella Lawson's kitchen.  In the essay, Nigella takes the reader through the attributes of her intimate kitchen.

 

With her gift for writing, Nigella begins the article, "kitchen is probably one of the most evocative words in the English language....it conjures up warmth and welcome, safety and security, in short, the very notion of home."  Nigella and I are in complete agreement here.  The kitchen most be cozy. 

Pink Week: Design Dreams

For our Wednesday touch of pink, let's move into one of the loveliest home's House Beautiful has ever featured, that of designer and artist Ruthie Sommers in L.A..

In this splendid and whimsical space, pink is used fearlessly, but with utmost elegance and refinement. I shall dream for a moment that I live here:

Wild for Animal Prints

I have a design confession: I LOVE leopard prints.  If I didn't control myself, my apartment could very easily look like a set on The Sopranos.  

But, with restraint, a touch of leopard in any room adds a sassy and unexpected twist on your usual style choices. 

The Color of the Year

In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, I was happy to discover that honeysuckle pink was named by Pantone as the color for 2011, replacing 2010's turquoise. 

This particular hue of pink is a soft, cotton-candy shade with undertones of orange.  It is a universally flattering color for fashion and a undeniably cheerful color for home design. 

Thanksgiving Tables

As we inch ever closer toward Turkey Day, you are no doubt planning your menu and making the final grocery list.  While you clean your cranberries and polish your pumpkins, don't forget about your table.

Here are a few inspirational tables to get you in the mood for Thursday's feast.  From the simply modern to the classically autumnal, these tables would enchant any turkey-tipsy guest.

Words to Live by

While Einstein was most certainly not referring to design with this remark, as I read it, I immediately conjured up images of crisp, uncluttered modern homes.  As Einstein urges us improve our situation in life, to turn those proverbial lemons into lemonade, I begin to think about how our spaces shape our possibilities. 

Fabulous Collecting: Displaying Treasures

Admit it, we all collect something: rock records or vintage photos, jadeite or jewelry.  What you collect doesn't really matter, that's your prerogative; but it's the art of collecting and cataloging that seems inherently human and completely universal.  That urge to cultivate your distinctive, eccentric "thing" and to look for that "thing" at flea markets and to proudly display those "things" in your home.

But, mention your collection to a designer and she might just cringe.  The mere word "collection" conjures up images of grandma's rows and rows of kewpie dolls or Aunt Verna's penchant for porcelain cats. However, integrating a collection into a room can be done stylishly.   Collections show your personality and tell a fabulous story about you and your many adventures. 

Dream House

If I could have one designer decorate my space, without question, I would choose Canadian Sarah Richardson of Sarah's House on HGTV. 

In her most recently televised design project, Sarah redesigned a mid-century modern home from the inside out.  She refashioned every detail, adding sophistication and elegance to the house.  One idea central to Sarah's design was to infuse each room in the house with a different and unique color palette.  

This is my DREAM living room: touches of coral and pink against warm neutrals.  Impeccable!

On Living Small

My husband and I have never owned a house.  We are career renters.  At first, we rented because we were young and broke and had no other options.  Now, we rent as a choice.

 

Pinkalicious Sofas

Some of my friends' little girls love flipping through the pages of the illustrated childrens tale, Pinkalicious.  After indulging in far too many pink cupcakes, Pinkalicious turns pink from head to toe, suffering from a not-so-dreaded case of pinkitis.   

These days, I fear I have become stricken with the same affliction.  For as much as I try to cure myself of pinkitis, all I dream of are pink interiors and pink food and pink dresses---yet another thing I have in common with five year olds (my predilection for mac & cheese and Pixar movies among others) . 

Designing for the Bibliophile

"Libraries: the medicine chest of the soul." 
Inscription over the doorway to the library at Thebes

Today I am dreaming of my very own library with built-in bookcases a plenty.  I need a place to proudly display my old ragged copy of Gatsby and my stacks of art historical biographies and my favorite page-turners.  

Wouldn't it be perfectly lovely to settle down into a favorite cozy chair with a cup of Lady Grey tea and leisurely browse through old books?

By Miles Redd via House Beautiful