Café Design

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Renovating a Cape Cod Style Cottage | Family Room Reveal

We all dream of beautiful homes that are comfortable, welcoming and deeply personal yet, ironically, creating a home that is easy to live in can be at times a daunting process, even for those of us who happen to do this for a living.  If you’ve been following Cafe Design for some time, then you may know that our family room has been the main object of my efforts since we bought our cottage three summers ago. We began implementing changes slowly over time and it’s taken me the better part of the last three years to bring the family room to a place where it makes life in our house considerably more pleasant and comfortable.  It has also required every ounce of patience on my end, but we’ve recently completed the final steps of this renovation and I’m excited to share the finished room with you!

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Learn the Art of Floral Arranging with Cathy Graham

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If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the art of arranging flowers and create beautiful table designs your guests will admire, then Cathy Graham: Full Bloom: Joyful Designs for the Table, by Clinton Smith, will be an inspiring new resource.  An acclaimed artist, host and gardener, Cathy Graham approaches the world of flowers with playfulness and whimsy. Her floral designs are brilliant and surprising, and showcase her artistic skills with a variety of different media. Following her first volume, Second Bloom, Full Bloom is an impressive collection of colorful designs for the table, home, and party we can be inspired by, learn from, and even replicate.

Cathy Graham - floral arrangement
Photography by Quentin Bacon
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A Visit to Beacon Hill Books

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission on all qualifying purchases.

Happy New Year, dear friends! Thank you so much for your well wishes and for your patience! At last I’m back to our regular posting schedule and for the first story of 2023 I thought we could all visit Boston’s chicest new bookshop, Beacon Hill Books and Cafe! If you’ve seen images of it in Veranda magazine and on social media, and are curious for more, during a recent family trip to Boston I stopped by and snapped enough pictures to show you every nook and cranny! 

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Happy Holidays! 

Season’s greetings, dear friends! It’s been a while since my last blog post and I want to thank you all for your patience, and for your kind notes of concern. I also wanted to let you know that I’m OK and everything is fine at home. The reason for my extended absence has to do with some backend changes here on the blog which I’ll try to explain very quickly so that I won’t bore you all, especially since it’s almost Christmas Eve!

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Objects of Desire, by Maria Hummer-Tuttle

As always, the change of seasons brings with it many delights, not the least of which is an abundance of new design books to add to our personal collections. I happened to come across a stunning new book that is both a visual treat and an object of beauty in its own right that I’d like to share a glimpse of with you. Objects of Desire, by Maria Hummer-Tuttle, is a personal celebration of the hunt for – and the joy of – living with favorite collections and things – concepts as universal as our drives to dwell and decorate. The premise of this book is centered around the questions:

What is it in our homes that we truly value and why? What would you take when you leave in fear of fire? 

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