Café Design

Decorating Consultations

Book Review | The Well Adorned Home by Cathy Kincaid

One of the best things about living in Western Massachusetts (besides the natural beauty of the region and the countless little antiques shops I’ve come to know as the back of my hand) is being able to travel to Boston and New York City on a whim. Last night I made it to John Rosselli Associates on 61st Street and attended a book signing organized in honor of interior designer Cathy Kincaid’s new book, The Well Adorned Home – Luxury for Everyday Living. The event was coordinated by Niven Breen (Thank you, Chesie Breen for the invite, and Coco Van der Wolk for your kind words! ) My hands were steadier this time and I managed to take a ton of decent photos of John Rosselli’s GORGEOUS shop, decorated to the brim with exquisite antiques, art and one of a kind pretties! And I got my book autographed too!

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Decorating Dominoes

Warning: Dearest Ivan, if you’re reading this please stop! 🙂

I can’t remember where I heard the wording decorating dominoes before but I do remember thinking how clever it was. Decorating Dominoes (aka DD) is a dangerous condition scientists are still attempting to explain. Husbands fear it, contractors and supportive girlfriends love it! It’s when the tiniest attempt to upgrade your home turns into a whirlwind of change. “While we’re at it…” is probably the most feared phrase by husbands everywhere. Or at least everywhere in my house. You start to upgrade your newly bought home with something very innocent, something manageable (or so you thought) like having the living room ceiling painted and somehow (how?! No really, how!?!) you end up with a 4 foot hole in your living room, new electrical wiring, the promise of new windows, popcorn ceilings gone and, while we’re at it, why not throw in a patio door. Ah, wait. You don’t have a patio. Or a door. No problem! Your generous contractor immediately suggests he’ll add them for you. And a portico!!

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In Good Taste

Time has been a precious commodity lately, especially this week which seems to have flown by. I did not mean to skip Wednesday’s post but a last minute hiking trip with my daughter’s class took precedence. We climbed Bare Mountain, a rocky and challenging trail close to Amherst and hanging out with (or keeping safe) a bunch of 2nd graders is so much fun (work, I meant so much work! 🙂 ) it left me without much fuel for blogging, or the ability to write coherent sentences. It also made me realize how terribly out of shape I am, must join a gym asap! 🙂 )  Many things are going on right now at our place and I’m finalizing design plans for our next renovation project which is scheduled to start next week. On that note, I would like to thank everyone who’s left messages after my Monday post. I am blown away by your kindness and support!! Thank you. Your words are much appreciated, more than you’ll ever know.

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Our Home | Living Room Progress

I hope everyone’s had a lovely weekend. After a couple of rainy days the skies finally cleared this morning, just in time so I could snap a few images of our living room and finished staircase. The weather has been so capricious lately that I was worried I won’t have enough light to take photos to show you our living room, as promised. But the sun came out and I did so here they are. But first, I must say that sharing these images inevitably puts me in a place of vulnerability because one, our home is not dreamy and gorgeous (not yet anyway 🙂 ) and social media has set such impossible standards for us to try to keep up with) and second, none of the rooms is (nor will be anytime soon) finished.  (We moved in a little over two months ago and things are so far from being finished I get anxiety attacks.) So please be kind 🙂

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Our Home | Staircase Inspiration

I hope everyone’s had a peaceful weekend. A string of chilly mornings and a touch of the sniffles had us bundled up with hot cups of tea and the first spicy vegetable soup of the season. It was a blessing to slow down a bit and enjoy some time indoors. The cold temps also had us unpacking the rest of our boxes (yes, we still had some to unpack 🙂 ) looking for sweaters and warm blankets. We did manage to make some progress here and there, mostly paint touch-ups on the fence and mowing the backyard but I also had some time to gather my thoughts and work on a new house project we have lined up, our staircase… 

Image of the staircase taken on the day we closed on the house…
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