A Year of Tea Parties

January- a winter white tea

 February - a Valentine breakfast tea.

 March- a sun room tea.

 April- a pink tea

   May- a white tea in the cottage

  June- tea and peonies.

  July- a lovely afternoon tea in the garden

  August- pink tea with hydrangeas

 September- garden tea

 October- an Autumn tea

 September-

November- brown and white transferware tea

 December- a warm and cozy tea.

  Well, that is some of my favorite little tea parties from the past year- I hope you enjoyed a looking back  with me!

Thank you to all of you that left good wishes for the New Year to our family.

Today I am joining in with Sandi  again for Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage and also Lady Katherine at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor for some lovely teas.

I hope you have a wonderful day,

Carolyn

Kitchen inspiration.........

So as my house decisions continue to mount and I try very hard to not be overwhelmed....I am pacing myself and keep repeating my mantra "you will take it one day at a time". So now that my kitchen is in the works, I am feeling a little relieved. I am going with the ever so popular creamy white cabinets, but doing a huge black island, and topping everything with my favorite marble, Calcutta gold, I will be sure to do an ogee edge and make it as thick as my pocketbook will allow! I am getting an ILVE range stove, (pictured above in navy however I am doing  mine in black with polished brass accents) which is made in Italy and quite good looking. I am putting a gorgeous limestone french hood above it which is being done by Francois and Company. They also make fabulous fireplaces, mantles and hoods in addition to many other incredible limestone creations. Below is a sampling of some of the pictures that have given me a lot of ideas!

Here I just like the light with the dark contrast

A black range adds lots of panache to a kitchen

Beautiful colorways, love the creaminess of the cabinets

Think the green with the dark island is very nice, not crazy about the floor however

Doing my butlers pantry either in very dark wood like this one with the white marble or black

Stunning butlers pantry

Another view..tres chic!

Love the height of the ceiling, scale of the room and creamy cabinet color

Beautiful, love the tall ceilings, light in the room and the feeling that is cozy though grand

Love the marble with the dark island and dark range

Very beautiful gray kitchen..gray is huge this year!

More beautiful old floors.....

Great feeling to the kitchen, very warm and well done

Love the gray blue island with the dark le cornue range..wow!

This is from Cottonwoods showroom in NYC, very beautiful

More Cottonwood kitchens, gorgeous!

I am having my Paris Ceramics reclaimed floors, which I think will make the kitchen. I have a lot of pictures that I have used over time for my divine inspiration, so here are some of my all time faves.

Bathrooms and kitchens and floors...oh my!

So I am often asked what inspires me to design a room, decorate a space, or whatever else I might be doing at the time involving taste and style. I am a bonafide picture, book and magazine NUT! I collect more magazines and home/decor/fashion books that some small book stores could probably handle! Some of my most prized items are all my Southern Accents magazines...they are truly my all time favorite!!!!! And I am positively sick that they are no more...I can only hope that some amazing soul will choose to resurrect them! No one in my humble opinion can even hold a candle to them!  I still like getting my Veranda magazines and do often find pages worth ripping out to add to my ridiculous collection of orphaned magazine pages.

Anyway right now I am choosing bathrooms...11 of them to do. And to boot I am doing this on my own, don't get me wrong I am enjoying it however its very time consuming and requiring a tremendous amount of time and investigative research. One of my favorite companies for the most fabulous water jet tiles is New Ravenna (definitely check them out but be forewarned it just might make you want to redo a bathroom or two)! For my kitchen I am going with Paris Ceramics, they have the most exquisite collection of reclaimed old antique limestone floors....I am so excited! Will show you a picture of some of their floors as well. So first here is the kitchen floor then moving onto the beautiful bathroom floors. Decisions, decisions! Let me know what you think and which are your favorites!

So here are some of the most beautiful patterns, and mind you they can do these patterns in over 100 marbles and onyx stones...talk about possibilties!!

Teen bedroom designs : Modern space saving ideas.

Designing teen bedroom can be a fun challenge. There are a lot of factors to consider when designing and decorating one. The use of space, color mix and the furniture all of them should reflect the personality of the Teen. The focus should be on a comfortable space with study area and a lot of storage.

Each of the design here have modern minimalist decor and are space efficient. The look is cool and funky with the advantage of an uncluttered pleasing living space.

Teen bedroom in feisty stripes. The modern look and smart space saving furniture make for a beautiful layout. Bedroom is elegant and serene. Lovely place to nurture dreams.

Green color is know for its calm and relieves stress. This bedroom design in stripes is cool and funky in look. In a small space it includes natural light, ample storage and comfortable lounging.

Modern eclectic furnishing makes for this very interesting teen room. Yellow is an energetic color. Add accents in black or gray for sophistication. Very unique and adventurous!!

Beautiful bedroom design for small space. Love the french window which virtually increases the dimension of the room and provides immense natural light. Select furniture makes for an amazing teen bedroom.

Smart use of space, with all the furnishings on one side of the room the space looks much bigger and clutter free. A lot of space hidden in these cabinet design. Perfect bedroom for a teen daughter !

Teen room with ample light, clean lines, comfortable furnishing. Ideal combination for a study cum bedroom. The simple layout is great for smaller rooms without compromising on aesthetics.

Green color is specially recommended in Feng shui for studying space and is associated with creativity. This room is a haven away from the outside world, a cocoon of serenity and comfort.

Teen years can be difficult years, to have a space of one's own designed and decorated with flair can be really relaxing. Get inspired to help your teen with choosing a design they love and create their favorite place in the world.