best bunk rooms EVER!

Remember when you were a kid and the only person you knew who snored was your Dad and your grandpa? (like a jack hammer, right?)  Certainly none of your kid friends- they would be laughed out of their sleeping bag at slumber parties (tough to be a kid!).  Remember staying up late at sleepovers? When people finally started falling asleep there was no doubt you’d sleep like a rock until the first giggle of the morning. Even if you were sleeping on the floor with just a sleeping bag- you slept like a rock.  Now a good night sleep is just about the best thing you could wish for.  And by the way, when does the snoring start (being an adult is so unfair)?  Step back in time with me as you look at these pictures (sorry for so many but how do you leave any of these out?). 

(Coastal Living)

(inside and out)

(willow decor)

(Emily Jenkins followill + folder of ideas.com)

(Southern Accents)

(Coastal Living)

(Rod Mickley)

(Traditional Home)

(Traditional Home)

(Country Living)

(Apartment Therapy)

I have a tough time romancing the idea of a sleep over on the floor (I can’t go that far back!!!).  However, I don’t have a single problem dreaming about a super fun slumber party in these totally fabulous rooms.

Oh to be a kid again!

Not Coming Out of the Closet

Lets look in some closets.  I would love to stand in some of these closets and just privately admire all the beautiful things, and let’s face it – the space and built-ins.

 

(Ralph Lauren)

Organizing a closet really depends on the size of the closet.

Mariah Carey clearly does not have space restrictions!  She does however need a staff to keep this space looking so awesome (so sure she has it).  I think this goes down as the most over the top insane closet I’ve ever seen.

But what if you do have a small closet??? –BUMMER!

Ok seriously sometimes you just need to move and fast!

Other times you obviously need to have only the current seasons clothes.  Ideally you would have all your stuff in one place so you can see it all.  I feel I can dress better and more creatively if I can really see everything.  If I can’t see it then i forget that I own it- out of sight out of mind.  For me I have always loved having a big closet, I hate the idea of being forced to discard clothing due to lack of space.  This being important to me, I have always chosen houses that have this in spades.

I love the notion that a closet could be a room for just you, with no need to coordinate with any one else for colors or design scheme.  A private oasis for you to lounge and do what ever the hell you want.  What about the ability to take a bath in your closet (now we’re talking!!!)

A well organized closet goes with out saying, I organize by article of clothing (shirts, sweaters, pants, dresses ect…).  Within article of clothing I further separate by season and then by color.

Porch drapes

Of course as the weather improves here in New England my mind dreams of outside.  I am obsessing over porch drapes and trellises with climbing roses.  Truth be told I have not given much thought to porch drapes until now.  Sunbrella makes some absolutely fabulous outdoor fabrics that really hold up to color bleaching by the sun and mold.  In years past when the sun was too intense on my front porch I just repositioned.  But I just bought 18 yards of black and white awning stripe sunbrella fabric for a great price on eBay.  I have always loved how fabric softened interior architecture.  Now I am going to try exterior drapes, no longer will I have to move when the sun is too bright.  And honestly, the exterior of my house can use all the decoration it can get- we are talking ugly ugly ugly!!!

I think drapes do such a great job of softening and lending an elegance to the outdoor spaces.

When the weather cooperates the porch can be like a seasonal addition to your house.  We literally live on ours.  I am out there reading even when it’s slightly chilly- that's what throws are for.  I have to admit, I'm out there even in my pajamas (they are kinda cute- matching at least)

I would show you before and after of my porch decoration but as I’ve said in the past I don’t want to stain your brain with the current house ugliness, so these pictures can be place holders in your mind of what it will look like someday.

Front Door Fabulous

I always love to see what colors people paint their houses - particularly if they are interesting and fun.  My husband has a problem with this when I’m the one driving…he’d much rather I watch the road then stare sideways (and sometimes backwards) to get my color fix.  Sometimes you come across a house that is so fun you wonder if the mailman needs migraine medicine in order to deliver. 

There are many houses more simple in detail that don’t call for a multiple-color paint job.  I find that for these houses a fabulous front door does the trick.  You have a single focal point, an idea of some personality and a fun little zing to appreciate as you go by.

My last house was an Italianate Victorian from 1847 with tons of detail- we had fun with the colors of that house:

Melissa Gulley Style

My husband and i have gotten quite good at fixer uppers and have one we are in the middle of.  Our current house is a more simple Victorian from the 1890’s.  I will not stain your brain and risk injuring your eye’s with a photo of its exterior, but it is BUTT UGLY!!!  It has aluminum siding from the 1950’s that covers every single inch of it- even over the window and door moldings.  If that’s not bad enough we accurately named the color: Pallor.  Our house is the color of pasty English people’s skin (I can make fun of this, I’m English by descent) when they have never been in the sun, don’t exercise, smoke two packs a day and don’t eat vegetables (perhaps just minutes away from contracting full blown rickets).  There is not much that I can do to improve this until we rip off the siding and reface the whole huge place, and we have SOOOO many other things to do first.  The only thing we’ve done is paint our pretty double Victorian front doors Turquoise.  Within a week I’d gotten a positive comment from everyone in the neighborhood - they were obviously desperate for something to be done.  This little festive color upgrade did so much, I then added various turquoise planters and flowers.  Sometimes it’s just a little touch that makes it:

The best part of having fun with the front door is being able to easily change it.  It only takes about an hour, so it is a great project for the commitment-phobic!

Matchy Matchy

Should you buy art to match your room or should you decorate you room to match your art?  Or maybe you should just buy art that really speaks to you, evokes an emotional response, buy it because you LOVE IT?

(frank Ropp)

Generally speaking If you always buy things you really LOVE then they usually go together.  Have you ever heard of anyone buying a painting with colors they hate? NO!  Have you ever heard of anyone buying furnishings in colors they hate? NO!  I generally find that people’s possessions - or what they gravitate to buying - usually sit well together.

(Kelly Wearstler)

I come from a family of art lovers and collectors so i would never buy art I didn't absolutely LOVE.  But what about the piece that hung in your childhood home?  You don’t LOVE it, it’s not exactly “you” but you have a deep connection to it?  Maybe it hangs in a guest room or maybe you build a room that you do love around it, all of a sudden it shines with new life.

(Melissa Gulley)

Or what about the art collector who buys for value first, then love?  When art is bought for value, it is then an investment and often the purchaser has many pieces they have collected that need to hang together - but do not relate.  In this case, a neutral pallet for interior design might be the best foundation for an eclectic collection.  Maybe even colorless so the art can shine. By hanging art in a room in which it clashes, the art is by no means de-valued, the space is.  The piece will not be appreciated fully, nor will the room…in that way the art can devalue the space.  When art doesn't look good in a room it’s very clear that something’s wrong.  There’s no harmony, the room looks disjointed and people’s enjoyment in spending time in the room will literally be diminished.

So with this said, if your not a collector by profession, should the art match the room?  Not necessarily.  However, it should compliment the room.  Or to put it another way, the room should compliment the art.  There should be a cohesive feeling.  Often it can complete the room even if purchased first (which came first the chicken or the egg).  Keep in mind; If you LOVE the piece of art, you may not want it to blend so much that it loses its voice. 

(Melissa Gulley)

The last problem not touched on is what to do when your husband or wife has favorite art that you hate?  As I have done with many clients- give them their room to hang the art and design the room as they see fit- an office, a man cave (or woman’s version).  If this doesn't work then there’s always divorce???

YIKES a snake!

Antique snake jewelry!  To me there is something so beautiful about organic shapes and symbols done in precious metals and stones.  To make the common into decadent art is so appealing.  Now I know my Mother-in-law (deathly afraid of snakes) will read this and think the last remaining small bit of my brain has finally drained from my head (hi Nanc), but these pictures are truly stunning.  I was recently in a jewelry store and the owner told me that people have been melting down antique jewelry and selling the gold in this bad economy.  The gold, he said, can be worth more than the antique piece (many of which are very heavy). 

Blasphemy!!! 

 

In the Victorian era, the snake symbolized eternity, vitality and life.

"In many cultures it is believed to protect one from evil spirits…It is the mystic representation of the snake that fascinates many people. Take the Egyptians. The snake was worshipped and feared. The native American’s saw the snake as a healer and so on.” Jane H. Clark

"The SNAKE or serpent was the symbol of royalty and deity in early Egyptian society. Victorian jewelry often used an entwined snake to symbolize infinity and eternal love. Over the years the snake has also come to symbolize sexuality, rebirth and wisdom.
While serpent motif jewelry goes far back in history, it's popularity really spread starting in the 1840s and peaked between then and the 1860s (Understanding Jewelry, Bennett, pages 88 & 104).

Whatever, i just love it.  Hey Kev, my birthday’s in a month.