Design

Leaving the house yesterday, I saw a downy woodpecker on the suet feeder, not an unusual sight for winter, but I'm starting to see and hear birds that remind me that spring is on the way. The cheery call of a Carolina wren greeted me this morning, and later, I surprised a female bluebird near the big oak tree in front. She's the first bluebird I've seen in our garden, although we have many breeding pairs in the botanical garden's meadows. I think we'll try moving the bluebird house on the old Pawlonia to a more attractive spot! Poking around in the leaf litter in the perennial beds, shoots of spring bulbs are well up, and fresh rosette growth is starting to appear. Hooray!

We love the blue-green walls with parquet floors, the mix of light woods and dark leathers in the furnishings, and the enameled light fixtures. - Apartment Therapy

We love wallpaper! It just pops a room right up, in a way that no paint can. We like to use it sparingly, mainly in a powder room or the bathroom. When it comes to buying wallpaper, we prefer the high-end designs. Cheap wallpaper just looks...cheap. Whereas an upscale, luxurious wallpaper just adds so much style. Invest the money. It'll be worth it... Here are a few patterns that we like from Osborne & Little. An European-based company, Osborne and Little makes wallpapers that are asbolutely divine. When it's cold and gray outside, this one just brighten up our day...It's so cheery! This is a popular one from Osborne & Little. It comes in different colorways as well... When we are in the mood to be dramatic, we use this one. We usually pair it with yellow for a Hollywood Regency look. It's very Kelly Wearstlersy... Here's a nice soft, pretty pattern. We like this one when we are doing a soft, modern look that requires something pretty but not fussy... We lo

This colorful room is from architect Scott Weston's home in Sydney, Australia. Love the amazing bookcase and ottoman. Photo from Vogue Living Sept/Oct 2004 and All Things Bright and Beautiful

We had chosen the turquoise linen for the sunroom, but when I walked through the dining room and held the sample up to the wall, we both said, "That's it!" The turquoise brightened even the grayest of February days. It has great impact and sets a tone for the colors throughout. Turquoise on tinted linen wall fabric from Quadrille. Beaded dinner plates from Ballard Designs are topped with striped salad plates from Target. Vintage turquoise sugar pot from Ruzzetti and Gow. Turquoise goblets and flatware from Ballard Designs. -From House Beautiful

The Master Bedroom is a study in cool, sophisticated glamour. Crisp whites combined with robin's egg blue and chocolate brown provide a an atmosphere of calm. Jonathan Adler headboard and benches are from Hazelnut and the bed linens are from Leontine Linens . The graphic brown and blue rug by Angela Adams gives the room its edge. -From Bayou Contessa

Pale blue works well in this chic, modern kitchen . Unexpected accessories like a vampy black chandelier and sculptural stools keep things fresh.

This bathroom becomes a soothing sanctuary with dreamy aqua walls.

Seed catalogs are a great source of inspiration, especially in the grey days of winter. Here in the South, we often have mild days punctuated by colder weather, so we have plenty of opportunities to spend time outside evaluating new projects and doing prep for late winter and spring planting. Perusing the stack of seed catalogs, making orders, and considering planting plans are evening and cold day activities, and being someone who loves to buy seeds -- this is a wonderful antidote to cold, dark days inside. Some of the things I enjoy ordering are beautiful lettuces, unusual squashes, purple pole beans, small striped eggplants, specialty sweet peppers, edible flowers, potato sets in rainbow hues, teeny round carrots, yard-long beans ... Some of my favorite vegetable and seed catalogs are: The Cook's Garden www.cooksgarden.com Johnny's Seeds www.johnnyseeds.com Nichols Garden Nursery www.nicholsgardennursery.com Pinetree Garden Seeds www.superseeds.com Park Seed www.parkseed.c

Design a room that's perfect for relaxing and entertaining guests. In this room , a contemporary blue armchair from The Conran Shop and a brown leather sofa are grouped around a coffee table to make a welcoming, stylish seating area. The TV is hidden in a wooden cabinet. Blue patterned walls, curtains and a print over the fireplace all complement the centrepiece chair. Invest in a pouffe as extra seating and opt for laminate flooring which is easy to clean.

To achieve a look like this gorgeous brown and turquoise living room , take a favorite picture as inspiration, then achieve a cohesive effect with a few pieces in a similar color. Add some surprises to stop the look becoming too contrived.

A turquoise feature wall offsets paintings and glass ornaments in shades of blue in this Mediterranean-inspired living room . A contemporary wrought-iron sofa, chair, console and coffee table add to the outdoor feel, while a traditional painted chair provides colour and contrast. Limestone tiles and a soft rug add brightness and texture.

A narrow stripe done in shades of turquoise and pale green, this room has a look that’s decidedly “pretty." Or so it was judged in the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute's "Prettiest Painted Room in America Competition."

This master bedroom's en-suite bathroom adopts an aquatic theme with pretty turquoise and blue pebble-mosaic by Orlando Valvona adorning the shower cubicle wall.

We wanted to keep the style of the house yet add modern touches where it made the most sense. I chose the pebbly glass for the cabinets because it brings out the texture of the cork floors.

Our master bathroom is finished. I made the valance above the tub and refinished the stool by recovering the seat and spraying the iron legs to match the metal fixtures.

Nearly completed master bedroom. Just needs the drapes hung ... and a few of the brass colored metals refinished with oil rubbed bronze finish.

A fireplace, with white-painted beadboard and a cream travertine marble surround, creates a warm and cozy feel in the master bedroom .

A restored midcentury bench’s Indian-print upholstery fabric inspired a color scheme of grass green and light blue throughout the master suite . Wall-mounted swing-arm sconces offer targeted illumination for reading.

Improvise to get the style you desire. Sometimes the look you want just isn’t sold in stores. When that happens, you have to improvise. Instead of hanging wallpaper, mottled stripes were hand-painted on this bedroom wall for a softer look.

The seafoam hue on the walls is continued on the ceiling for a seamless effect in this living room . A coat of brown on the bookshelves adds depth. Opt for a gloss or semigloss finish here for durability. Ceiling and walls: seafoam blue Eurolux AR5 from Fine Paints of Europe and bookcase: brown Rockies Brown from Benjamin Moore.

A new way to do neutral? Pale, creamy walls uplifted by a dreamy blue ceiling. Moldings and walls painted the same color create a modern look. Turquoise makes a great accent color. In this dining room , walls and trim: cafe au lait Lambswool and ceiling: robin's-egg blue Skylit , both from Pratt & Lambert.

A pair of deep, gentle hues, combined with bright-blue accents, create a dreamy, restful retreat for this bedroom . Decked in glossy charcoal, the radiator practically disappears into the wall. The use of bright cobalt accessories harmonize with the paint's undertones and bring them to life. walls: gray Rushing River #1574 from Benjamin Moore.

These photos are from Azu Villa located on the island of St. Barths. The absolutely gorgeous color scheme perfectly captures the mood of the turquoise sea which can be seen outside all of the windows. The final look is serene, harmonious and comfortable...just perfect for a relaxing beach getaway.

Layered patterns can feel calm rather than chaotic. Just choose simple repeats in soothing shades that share a background color ( here, white ) and harmonize with walls.

Returning home after 4 weeks in South India's hot climate (at least in the lowlands) found frost effects on plants in our garden. The garden sage leaves are droopy, the radicchio has been zapped, but the winter salad mix is thriving in one of the flats. The Tuscan kale looks good, as do the ornamental kales. One of the types that I snagged at a local big box store (all I could find at the time) with the pale green leaves and white center is not so pleasing --but the rosy pink ones are OK. The violas look great, lovely blue and purple flowers that brighten the landscape. The saved mail has lots of seed and plant catalogs to peruse; the first order of business is to get fresh seeds for late winter plantings of greens, broccolini, mache, and lettuce, as well as ordering seed potatoes and onion sets. The garlic is hopefully enjoying the bit of winter rain that we've had; the drought is still with us, but perhaps we'll have enough rain to recharge the top layers of soil for