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!

White Ceiling Beware!

Some call it the ceiling, and some the fifth wall.  Thinking about the ceiling as a fifth wall encourages you to consider it in a decorative way.  Why not?  Who else is sick of boring ceiling white?  Oh me, me, me!  This is not a new concept, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from 1508-1512. 

Now that may, of course, be too much for some people to tackle.  Let’s look at a simpler variety of ceiling paint.

My friend Carol has a deeper version of this sky in her kitchen and no one walks into that room without gasping in appreciation at the gorgeous and fun ceiling.  Yet still some may still want an even simpler approach- say a solid color.

(Melissa Gulley Style)
Above is actually a picture of the family room in my last house.  Let me tell you, the ceiling made the room so warm and fun - it changed the feeling of the room entirely.

(apartment therapy blog)

The above all white rooms get a huge boost of character with the red and orange ceilings.

(Sherrill Canet)

Dining spaces, like the two pictures above, are a great place to play with color on the ceiling.  People are so absorbed in what’s happening at eye level while eating, that this can provide just a pop of the unexpected.  It pulls the eye up so one can appreciate the entire space.

 

(House Beautiful)                                                      (Inspiration for Decoration Blog)

Often people want the feeling of outdoors- a blue sky has a wonderful effect on people’s moods, so why not steal a little of that for the indoors?

(making arrangements blog)                                         (Melissa Gulley Style)

This incredible porch (below) is from the amazingly talented Amanda Nesbit.  We have all seen the aqua painted ceilings in porches - well, Mrs. Nesbit took it up a notch with this fabulous purple.  Do you know why porch ceilings were painted blue like the sky?  I didn't either, until my contractor and old house buff told me.  It was to fool the spiders into thinking it was the sky so they wouldn't settle there.  Hmmmmm, not sure spiders can even see color?