The best part about helping clients with their decorating dilemmas is making them happy. It is the most rewarding aspect of the job and I am at my happiest with a long-distance consultation when the client sends me excited emails with their progress shots, and they let me share in the joy of seeing our vision come to life, regardless of how near or far we live from one another. Today I want to share that joy with you and show you a wonderful project I worked on recently with the most amazing and trusting client.  Not so long ago my client  and her husband purchased a beautiful shingle-style home in a bucolic New England town and she reached out for advice regarding the exterior color scheme.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a commission on all qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

I don’t know about you but as I grow older, I’ve noticed I start loving fall and winter more and more (although ask me again in a month or two and I may give you a different answer). We’re wrapping up the last of the garden work these weeks (we still need to add compost and manure, and mulch the last of the fallen leaves) but all of a sudden there’s that bit of extra time indoors that we can use to relax, dream and plan next year’s garden, and it’s around this time that I most want my home to feel like a warm hug, be comfortable for all of us and our guests. I also LOVE making lists so I thought I’d share with you my list of 10 ways to prepare our home for the cold season, starting with the big jobs, like cleaning, and decluttering.

You may or may not recall that earlier this year I started offering long-distance decorating consultations to readers who are faced with a decorating dilemma and need a fresh pair of eyes, or a second opinion. It’s been an incredible six months since and I had the best time meeting (on Zoom) and working with some  wonderful clients across the country and today I’d like to take you to Georgia and share with you a glimpse into one of my most recent projects for a sweet client in Atlanta. She and her husband recently purchased a beautiful Tudor Revival style home and she needed help figuring out her entry hall. My client has excellent taste and loves decorating but the room was somewhat of a puzzle and she reached out for my help. Here’s the inspiration she sent me: 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Don’t you just love old decorating books, especially those on cottage style? Even if some of them are dated and feature rooms that may seem irrelevant for the way we live today, they can serve as excellent guides on the short life of trends vs. the staying power of good design. Perusing old bookstores and finding hidden treasures is one of my favorite pastimes and although I rarely get the chance anymore, I do enjoy browsing the shelves of local antiquarians and make up for lost time when I do. On my way home from the dentist the other day (ouch!), I stopped by one of my favorite booksellers in town and was rewarded with a little gem I’d love to share with you today. It’s an old decorating book that perhaps many of you already have, or know about – Putting the Heart in Your Home – Decorating That Nurtures Your Soul by Jean LemMon, published in 2004.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Today I’d like to share with you a new book that’s come my way that I think many of you will find fascinating. Sketchbooks – Collected Measured Drawings and Architectural Sketches by George Saumarez Smith is a collection of architectural drawings, exclusive artwork and previously unseen images collected over the years by British classical architect George Saumarez Smith. His home, which we’ve seen here on Café Design, is filled with antiques, old books and  framed architectural drawings, many of them his own, and quite a few prized sketches by esteemed members of his profession.