Café Design

Decorating Consultations

This Week’s Finds

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

I’m back from a few sun-filled days in Washington DC, which were a welcome respite from the gray winter days we’re still experiencing here in Western Mass. It was my first trip to DC and I had a wonderful time. My inner 8-year old had a blast exploring the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, while the grown woman & gardener wannabe captured plant inspiration at every corner. Cherry blossoms, different and colorful varieties of hellebores (lenten roses) and tulips, daffodils and euphorbia. It does help that DC is so much warmer and sunnier than New England, and while in a different agricultural hardiness zone, I’ve still come away with a few new plant names I’d like to grow in my garden, the names of which which I’m adding below, along with this week’s finds. Hope you see something you like! 

View Post

Designing a Built In Corner Bench

For today’s design story I thought I’d share with you a recent project I’ve been working on that has me very excited – a built-in corner bench for our kitchen! I believe that every home has a heart, a place where the people living there, as well as their guests, tend to gather and hang out. In some houses the heart is the room with the most comfortable sofa. In our house, it’s the room with the refrigerator. 

built in corner bench
View Post

This Week’s Finds

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

Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, dear friends! I hope you’re having a fun-filled weekend, wherever you are. The first official day of Spring is just around the corner, can you believe it? Of course, I couldn’t be happier! There’s only so many bleak winter days a girl can take before the old mood starts bouncing up and down, and the need for sunshine and color and flowers becomes overwhelming. Project-wise it’s been a pretty low key winter at our house (i.e. we’ve been lazy), with more planning and daydreaming than actual doing, but I now feel the need to get out there and play, and be productive and care for my garden once again. 

Image via @figdesigncompany

View Post

Discover the Magic of Cut and Come Again Flowers with Sarah Raven & Create Academy

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

What if I told you there is a way to have a garden full of flowers, from early spring to late fall and, unlike gardening with perennials, the more flowers you picked, the more your plants would bloom?  What if you’d spend the same amount of time gardening, yet you’d have buckets of fresh flowers to bring indoors every week? Imagine a home filled with color, scent and beauty, day after day, all of it from your garden. Sounds impossible, right?

sarah raven and create academy - cut and come again masterclass
View Post

This Week’s Finds

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

Happy March, dear friends! Once again, I must express my gratitude for this kind and generous community we have here! I shared a decorating dilemma with you on Friday, and your responses have been pouring in ever since. How lucky am I? The fact that you took time out of a busy day to stop, read and share your advice, and did so gently and empathically, means a lot me. You’ve helped me make up my mind, and I appreciate it! (I’ll show you the outcome soon, I promise!)

Regarding this week’s finds, I assembled quite a few odd bits from my shopping cart, as well as my wishlist. eBay is one of my favorite places to shop for fabric that’s either been discontinued or is only available in smaller amounts. A little goes a long way, so a couple of yards of high-end designer fabric could be enough to make throw cushions, a roman shade or complete a smaller upholstery project. Below I’ve included a few lovely textiles that are typically only available through trade showrooms. I hope you see something you like. Also, I tried to resist it as much as I could, but I finally gave into the look of tiled seagrass rugs, so I’ve added a source for ready-made natural fiber rugs, available in several different sizes. There’s a pretty metal tripod table (another great Amazon find!), a set of seagrass baskets, and a few design stories to check out. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Vintage Burnt Bamboo Side Table / Magazine Rack

View Post