a perfect gray: 2010

peace...

via Paonote

I lost my father this week. As I sat with him the day before he died, he kept glancing around the room. 'What'er you lookin' for?' I kidded him.

He grinned slyly and said, 'Peace.'

He had a wonderful sense of humor.

I'm signing off for a while.

I adore each of you.

My wish for you is a holiday filled with the ones you love.

And peace.

My love, Donna

Please visit me today at Greige, an interweb hot spot for all things gorgeous. I'm asking Santa-Baby for a few goodies this year - a little art, a little bling, and a little surprise for my stocking.....

gray grasscloth

The Spade's bedroom via The Selby

Is that gray grasscloth? Yum!

vintage christmas ornaments

a couple of years ago I found a 1950's era silver tinsel christmas tree at a vintage/junk shop for a steal. It's perfect for my small collection of vintage ornaments. If I had my way, it's the only tree I'd put up for the season...

(and, no, I don't have the rotating multi-colored light to go with it.....)

kinda the same, but different...

Elle Decor

Remember when I went ga-ga over this black and white striped art piece this spring? Well, no, I haven't made my own yet. But, I promise, I am going to.

Recently I saw this piece in Andy and Kate Spade's living room.

The Selby

It's the same kind of look, don't you think? A basic shape (what's more simple than a stripe or a circle...?) in black and white. For me, I'm sticking to the stripes, but doesn't this piece add a casual, edgy ease to an otherwise (fairly) traditional space?

happy thanksgiving

from my home to yours

I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made through these interwebs

you guys rock

wishing you peace and health now and always

love, Donna

a few of my favorite things...

Kate and Andy Spade's home

from The Selby

an antique mirror, a gray wall, and a chinoiserie chest.

don't miss this...

A week of give-aways at Kayce's Blog...just in time for the holidays! You still have time for a chance to win one of these wool totes so get on over there!

some soft grays to ease you into monday...

via The Diversion Project

Elle Decor

via JJJJound

via This is Pretty

via Design Crisis

a beautiful beginning...

via Paonote

Have a wonderful weekend!

I want to be a hippie...

via this pretty space

a lil' gray on the outside...

a personal photo from Flights of Whimsy

out with the new, in with the old...

I totally want to fill my cabinets with vintage white and cream-colored dishes...

photos from arcobaleno

total yum...

Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

seagrass carpeting

Isn't this room with seagrass carpeting so cozy and yummy...?

balustrade and bitters via Cote de Texas

I am in bad need of new carpet for our upstairs and I really want to consider seagrass. I have a seagrass rug in a spare bedroom and love it. But wall-to-wall seagrass is a different thing. And what about the stairs?

If you have seagrass carpeting, or have any experience with it, I'd love to know what you think...

beautifully neutral bedroom...

I am so in love with everything neutral these days. A bright pop of color sometimes? Yes. But neutrals are what I crave right now. Especially whites, in different shades and textures. Of course, having a few myself, I am really loving these dress forms, tattered and worn. And you know me and mirrors.

The white, the wire, the wood, and the worn.

Perfect combinations.

Happy weekend!

All photos from Atlanta Homes Magazine.

My thanks to MFAMB for the heads up!

Fall Finds

Please join me today at my friend's The Zhush where I'm serving up some Fabulous Fall Finds!

what makes this work?

source unknown

Bookshelves are hard for me. I have tons of books but getting the look I want on my shelves isn't easy. I like this look. What makes it work? The mix of items? The monotone colors? The arrangement...?

chelsea gray

Elle Decor

Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray (HC 168)

On a recent tour of homes, I fell in love with a beautiful foyer painted Chelsea Gray. If you are considering a deep gray, give it a try...

My grass is really green today....

Last night I dreamed we sold our house for a lot of money and moved into a huge old house in our former neighborhood (that I adored) in another city. And guess what our first project was...? Re-doing a bathroom.

Picture this: really big sections of cardboard covered big holes in the plaster walls. Workers had to break all the fixtures just to make them fit in the wonky room. The plumber spent his weekends working on our bathroom because time there during the week just wasn't enough....

I ran out of the house screaming only to realize that we had no yard.

In my dream, I started sobbing and crying, "We made a mistake! I want my old house back! I want my old house back!"

People, let me tell you. Today I want to wrap my arms around my home and say, "I love you." I grumble and complain about parts of it all the time. And even more often, I wish so much of it was different. But this morning I woke up and realized how much I really love it.

the house I love

(taken at 7:30 this morning)

Wishing you a wonderful weekend in the home YOU love...

Donna

textures...

Nan Whitney, Stylist

seen on La Maison Boheme

The mixing and layering of textures.

Course. smooth. metal. fur. wood. paper.

It looks so easy.

But I know it's not...

inspiration and anxiety....

via chic modern vintage

We are getting started on a master bathroom renovation in our 1940s cape cod home.

I. am. petrified.

Inspiration is all around me; yet getting exactly what I want on a budget is making me lose sleep at night. I expect some anxiety-ridden moments; but a lot of fun and excitement along the way. For me, the real pleasure will come when I'm able to add all the great personal touches at the end.

(Wouldn't make-up brushes look awesome in a few antique silverplate sugar and creamers?)

Wish me luck....