Café Design

Update: Our Café Design blogging schedule will continue as usual. Thank you so much for your kind words and support!

Writing this blog for five years has been an incredible journey, one that has brought me much joy in the process. I treasure each and every one of you as readers and am grateful beyond measure for your showing up here weekly, and for leaving the kindest messages a blogger can wish for. Thank you! But for some time now I’ve been feeling a tangible need to help and do more. There are many ways my family and I do that in our private lives, but professionally I have yet to create my own little universe. After studying interior design in San Francisco and writing this blog for so long, I’ve received many requests along the way from friends, family and blog readers seeking decorating advice and I did my best to take on those projects that felt “right”.

As you may or may not know, over the last year and a half my husband and I have been working steadily on updating our little Cape Cod style cottage. Then the pandemic hit and finding contractors and landscapers available in our small town has been nearly impossible. The home improvement business is booming right now and everyone’s working on their home, it seems, and that’s a wonderful thing. Home is sacred. 

Can you pass up a beautiful antique? I cannot, and I blame my grandmother for it, really. She was an antiques dealer and had a restoration shop for a good number of years and I grew up by her side, visiting grand houses in my hometown, looking at and buying interesting old furniture. I think it’s those happy memories that have shaped my love for antiques. I get a visceral reaction whenever I see a beautiful piece, it feels like falling in love…  Over the years, especially since moving to New England, I’ve fallen in love one too many times, and I now have quite a collection of old pieces and beautiful items that I sadly have no place for in our tiny home. The way I figured I had two options- store them in our basement and let them wither and decay, just because I love them and cannot part with them easily; or set them free and let these pieces bring someone else joy, and make someone else’s home beautiful. I chose the latter. I created a Chairish account where I now list my darling pieces one by one. I’m not a professional seller, I’m just a girl who can’t pass up a good antique and I think it’s time to face the music. 

Café Design is a reader-supported blog. When you make a purchase using our links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for your support! 

As much as we love color, there is no denying that neutral rooms can be just as complex and beautiful as those with a more daring palette. There are a few things that help neutral color schemes from falling flat and for me it’s all about contrast and variety. Contrast between darker and lighter hues, and a variety in finishes and textures. When working with a restricted palette, whether by choice or by necessity (the client’s wishes for instance), I think it helps to create tension by mixing in different elements that enhance each other: wood and metal, old and new, linen and velvet, woven finishes and more polished surfaces… When all the senses are engaged, the room becomes sensorial and interesting regardless of color palette, as witnessed by these beautiful rooms we’ve all admired over the years. 

Café Design is a reader-supported blog. When you make a purchase using our links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for your support! 

UPDATE: For those of you disappointed that the Chinese spice jars linked in this post are sold out, I’m including a similar piece down below.

If you’re looking for a timeless color palette that is both soothing and universally appealing, then blue and white is certainly something to consider. It ages well, as witnessed by these wonderful rooms, and can be combined with earthier hues like camels, tans and browns, to create spaces that look both fresh and inviting. Blue looks good on its own but it awakens to new heights next to pinks, reds and greens, and has the ability to combine in ever different and surprising ways.