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Renovating a Cape Cod Style Cottage | Living Room | Choosing Paint Colors

Hey friends! Hope you’re enjoying a fun weekend, wherever you are. It’s a clear day with lots of sunshine here in Western Mass, though hats and gloves are still a must, and rosy cheeks and cold noses are pretty much the rule.  There’s a lot going on at our house and in our neighborhood these days. We recently joined a Buy Nothing Giveaway Facebook group and this morning participated in our first neighborhood event. We set up a station at the end of our driveway and pilled it high with things we were ready to part with, sort of. I gave away all my duck prints and decoys (reluctantly) and passed on my waterfowl obsession to a sweet old lady who took the whole bunch. Giving up something you really like sucks, but it can also be freeing (and creates room for new obsessions 🙂 ).

Our living room, and my ducks, two houses ago
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Last Week’s Finds

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Last week was a sad one for the interior design industry, marked by the passing of Suzanne Rheinstein, the legendary decorator based in Los Angeles and mother of Kate Rheinstein Brodsky. The news comes just one week after the release of Suzanne’s book, A Welcoming Elegance, which features some of Rheinstein’s best and most recent work, including her Montecito home. Tributes have been written in all the major design publications and her friends and family have filled social media with memories of her gracious personality, kindness and immense talent. The design world has lost a great one.

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Victoria Hagan x The Shade Store

Earlier this month, esteemed interior designer Victoria Hagan announced the expansion of her previous collaboration with The Shade Store – a leading name in the world of custom window treatments – with an exclusive array of luxurious materials that have a timeless sensibility rooted in tradition, yet feel fresh and modern, and relevant to a multitude of decorating styles. Hagan’s work has been inspirational for designers worldwide, and her soft and subtle approach to decorating have made her an excellent example of a decorator who can design both modern and traditional interiors. For today’s design story, I thought we could all have a peek inside her latest fabric collection.

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Living Room Progress & This Week’s Finds

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It’s that time of the year when I am desperately awaiting the arrival of spring, getting restless and hiding indoors, away from the biting cold. I finished Part I of Spring Cleaning earlier this week, the dumpster has been filled and rolled off, just before another snow storm hit Western Mass on Tuesday morning.  Now I’m torn between continuing with our backyard, or focusing my attention and energy (both limited these days) elsewhere. While I decide, I thought I’d tell you a bit about where we are with our living room renovation, and share with you some of my favorite finds this week. (You can read all about the construction phase of our cottage living room makeover HERE. ) I’ve primed all walls and have been looking at color options cohesive with a blue, green and soft yellow scheme we already have going. The white settled in quite nicely, but why keep it simple when you can make things more complex (i.e difficult)? I was re-reading Roger Banks-Pye’ s book, Interior Inspirations, the other day and he is quoted saying that there are few occasions where walls should be left bare white and those few occasions should be discouraged. I tend to agree with Mr. Banks-Pye, which means I’m going to agonize over paint colors for weeks to come.

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10 Home Decor Items to Buy Vintage

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If you love that collected-over-time-as-opposed-to-decorated look of an old English cottage, then buying vintage furniture, art and home decor is one of the quickest ways to create a similar vibe in your space. Today’s topic – buying vintage home decor – is one I’m very passionate about, and this post was sparked by my latest purchase – a gently-used English roll arm, sofa bed. For the last three years I’ve been looking for just the right sofa for our living room and recently I found it on Facebook Marketplace! It looks brand new, the mattress has never been slept on, and it’s the right width, color and pattern. I had almost given up on it but the lady I bought it from was able to deliver it for an additional fee, and made the trip all the way from Connecticut. I couldn’t have asked for a kinder seller!

Our new sofa bed
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