Design

Spring is in the air! Can you just smell it? In Los Angeles where we live, it was the perfect 75 -degree, clear blue sky, sunny day. The hills are green and the wild flowers are blooming. It's so pretty we can hardly stand it. Despite what people say about LA, parts of it are quite stunning. Spring also makes us want to clean up the house, wash the windows and spiff things up a bit. We find the best way to spiff things up is to add some colors to the house. Switch out the lamp shades (yes, you can buy different lamp shades and voila, it's like a brand new lamp), get some fresh flowers, and buy a couple of new rugs. We like the Soho collection of rug from Safavieh quite a bit. It's totally fresh, modern and fun. It's also not too expensive either (about $1200-1500 for a 8 x 10) Here are some samples from the Soho line: To see the rest of the line, click here . If you need help with pricing/availability any of Safavieh rugs. please drop us a line .

Rainbow carrots from my garden I was struck by a comment CEN made in response to a recent post: Growing Vegetables . Among other interesting points, she wrote: 'It's hard to work up much of an interest in vegetable gardening if people don't cook or enjoy a variety of foods or have a curiosity about them-- economic reasons or no. If all people know is to microwave packaged stuff, what's the point of growing vegetables?' Hmm, of course, she's right. But how could you resist these rainbow carrots? Why spend any time growing vegetables unless you enjoy eating them, first and foremost? Sharing and preserving the harvest, as well as the pleasure in gardening itself -- those things are nice, but vegetables and fruits almost nudge you towards harvesting them, no matter how much you might be enjoying their appearance. Thomas Jefferson reportedly took great pleasure in his vegetable garden from an eater's perspective, focusing on vegetables as the primary part of his...

It's almost dark, and a mockingbird is still singing. Their song cycle is lovely, and now a familiar voice almost year-round. It's an expectant time, songs and calls encouraged by longer days marking territories and prompting notice by potential mates. I saw a bluebird pair at the Garden yesterday morning investigating one of our nest boxes. It's not one of the most desirable, so I don't think they'll set up residence. But, it was fun to watch them ducking into the box in turn, seemingly trying to decide if THIS box might be suitable.

This is one of the 2008 bathroom interior design trends. Nova Linea presents their new decorated bathroom furniture (Kos bathroom expressions. Designed in minimalist style, it has a beautiful pattern design. Make your bathroom interior has a contemporary art style with this bathroom design. It looks very contemporary and unique. The design has successfully accentuated luxuriousness and elegance although it has simple design. Express your self and make sure that the Nova Linea decorated bathroom furniture is your right choice.

If you haven't already laid your eyes on Daisy Pink Cupcake's Swedish Style Home post featuring designer Shannon Bower's home, you're in store for something special on this lovely Friday. There are lots more images than just these, so check it out! I love all the robin's egg blue and pale European furnishings. What a beautiful home! Daisy sure has a knack for finding gorgeous images! I am leaving this afternoon for a 10 day vacation to Las Vegas and Arizona. Perfect timing, since we had a big snow storm here in Minneapolis yesterday! I might have a chance here and there to share some turquoise rooms with you, but for the most part I'm going to take a break from the blog. (Things will be auto-posting on Everything Turquoise several times a day, if you're like me and still need a daily dose of our favorite color!) Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Wash basin is a good place to start when you’re trying to turn your bathroom into something elegant. Most bathrooms come with a sink/cabinet unit in which the sink and countertop are on a lower cabinet. For added elegance, however, you need to do away with this design. Instead, replace with either a double sink system with a long countertop and quality wooden cabinets, or alternatively, you can opt to forget the sink/cabinet combo system and opt for a free standing sink which simply has the basin on a stand. This look can run the gamut from ultra modern to French country, depending on design of the sink and the stand.

With the cost of water, soap, and power ... I've been cutting back on washing as many loads of laundry each week. I used to wash about 12 loads a week. Now I'm down to seven. How'd I do it? First, I really had to get after a grown adult child about using one or two clean towels a day. Now she gets one per week. Next, I have been 'pre-drying' damp towels by simply hanging them in the laundry room ... then tossing into the hamper until I have a full load. Washing just one or two loads most days makes the work less demanding on the weekend. To further cut back on electricity, I partially dry everything for 10 minutes in the dryer and hang them to finish drying. Hubby and a friend are helping to install some clothes lines in the laundry room. Plus with the purchase of a rolling laundry rack, it makes it much easier to dry clothes this way in the winter.

My 'oven' proofed seed s have sprouted. First popped up the marigolds. The beefsteak tomatoes are just emerging. A few petunias are sprouting as well. I have taken off the lid of the paper egg carton and placed the marigolds under a lamp for 'sunshine' and a little warmth. With some birthday money I picked up a patio sized 'greenhouse' with about four shelves and a plastic zippered covering. It needs to be assembled. the shelves are far enough apart to grow stacked trays of lettuce all summer long without using the cover. By placing the growing trays on the shelves, water should trickle down from the first tray and water everything growing on the lower trays. Photo: style of greenhouse purchased at sprawlmart for $38

I've been fortunate to have had many excellent (if not downright wonderful) visits to National Trust properties in Southern England (U.K.) during two recent trips. I visited many other places, too, mostly gardens and nurseries, but especially enjoyed the Trust properties. Preserving gardens, historic houses, natural areas, scenic coastlines, and other special places, The National Trust is a rough equivalent to the U.S. National Park Service, albeit with a different feel. Harting Down Receiving a member's magazine (as a Royal Oak member in the U.S.) a couple of days ago, I was reminded of what a very well-done publication it is, and the diversity of places that the Trust preserves. As a Royal Oak passholder on recent trips, I visited many smaller places that I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise, from Harting Down, Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters (wonderful) to Bateman's (Rudyard Kipling's home), and Petworth House (in beautiful countryside). Seven Sisters I...

Can you not open a newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing more bad news? You'd think the world is coming to an end or something. We just see it all over now, don't we? In our conversations with friends and family, not one passed without comments on the economy and how terrible things are. But you know what, comes with every hardship there are things to be learned and treasured. Our lives are changing, but it is changing for the better. Here are five reasons why: 1) We waste less. Seriously, we've been spending too much, wasting too much, eating too much. Cutting back is not a bad thing. 2) We learn to buy less and buy better. It's so much better to buy one good thing than ten junky things anyway. 3) We value more important things than money. This is the time when we appreciate our health, our friends and our family more than ever. 4) We start to recognize than there are others in the world beside ourselves; that we are all inter-connected and our actions affect us...

If you’ve ever watched Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, you are familiar with what modern bedroom decor is. It is defined by it’s beauty, material, style, and placement within a room. modern bedroom décor applies to anything from window treatments to throw rugs to lampshades. Having modern bedroom décor in your home will instantly make you feel like one of the stars, as you relish in its color, fabric and design. Usually, this type of décor has a theme throughout a particular room. These can run anywhere from an Egyptian theme to a marble theme to an Italian villa theme. A popular theme is nautical, where blue and white stripes are painted vertically on the wall. They can be topped off with an eggshell finish to give it a slight shimmer. Couches match, displaying navy pillows and ottomans and sconces light up a room with a soft, dim glow. This kind of modern bedroom décor will surely make you comfortable asleep! It’s best that your modern bedroom décor matches, so that it can give yo...

It's always a good day when I discover a new designer with a portfolio full of yummy rooms. It just so happens that Desire to Inspire leads me to many of these designers (they are so amazing over there!), like they recently did with Michelle Morgan Harrison . All of her rooms are just as tranquil as these, but I favor the blues! And ooh, with the orange. Love it with the orange.

Laminate Flooring Is Attractive And Long Lasting Laminate flooring is perfect for people who want to install a floor covering that is easy to install and combines the rich look of hardwood with the easy care of a laminate counter top. Laminate floors that have been constantly gaining popularity since their creation a few years ago. Laminate floorin g can be properly installed on sheet vinyl flooring, concrete slab, plywood, hardwood flooring, or essentially any other flat hard surface. Laminate wood flooring has a special composite of layers that makes up its construction. Most of the flooring plank is a thick and water resistant core material that is designed for uniformity. The top level of laminate wood flooring is the finished flooring material, which is usually decorative and waterproofed to protect against common household spills. Because of flooring harmonics laminate’s design, most laminate flooring will last longer than other types of flooring. Choosing the right Lami...

We have to confess, we are a home decorating magazine addict. We subscribe to every single one there is, but the truth is, we never read the text. We just look at the pictures. What's the point of reading if the pictures are enough, no? If you are looking for inspirational home decorating pictures, we have a great source for you. Check out RedCover.com . This site is actually a seller of images, much like Corbis or Getty Images, but they specialize in interior, garden and food images only. What we love best is that it has the best of European home design ideas, which we don't have easy access to here in the US. It's a lot of fun to browse through the beautiful pictures on the site. Here are some sample pictures. There are thousands more... Notes: The pictures on the site will have watermark on them to prevent piracy, but for browsing purpose they are not too bad. We recommend the feature search as it lays out everything very nicely for you.

Z Gallerie announced it will close 25 stores across the country today, citing deteriorating business conditions. The company will still have 52 stores and its web site. We love Z Gallerie. It has affordable, stylish merchandise at very reasonable prices. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this tough economy will pass and all of our favorite stores will survive.

The New York Times recently featured a wonderful loft in New York City that we just love. Loft decorating is tough. It is usually just a blank, open space and most people find it a challenge to make it cozy, warm and inviting at the same time. There is also the issue of spacing--you have to divide and conquer creatively. Here are some pictures from the article which shows how it can be done. To see the rest of of the pictures and read the full article, click here.

Does your bathroom clean and tidy? Do you have doohickey for arrange your bathroom? If not, Let me you some advices and suggestions to you. There are so many itmes in the bathroom, towels, shampoo, soap, conditioner, shaving cream and so on. How to arrange them and make the bathroom looks clear? First, you can try to fix a closet organizers. This is the common and effective way.Most bathrooms, regardless of their overall size, usually have a small closet for towels and others items built into them. Unfortunately, many of these closets are not designed in a manner in which there is a lot of organizational space.However, now, there are many different bathroom storage options available in the way of closet organizers. Second, toilet shelving is a relatively popular method of creating space in small bathrooms. Just stand back and take a look at all that space that resides behind your toilet. Third,you can purchase units that hang from the actual shower head, those that sit conveniently in...

Do you have seen a bathroom sink like a artistic work ? The bathroom sink we saw usually a circular, square, rectangular,elliptic which are made of porcelain, marble or glass. But with the time of individuation comes, people like to purchase the unique decoration. like this lemon bathroom sink. It is made of commom material, but it's shape and color is a creative combination. It looks so cute and charming, I think most of female will like it.

My gardening companion reported that he saw woodchuck holes galore along the railroad tracks behind our eye doctor's office this afternoon. The kudzu is leafless, so the burrows are visible. He said it reminded him of Matera (and the cave dwellings) in southern Italy. Hmm, I'm sure that they're not that prominent, but I'll have to go look! He thinks they like the young kudzu shoots as they leaf out later in the spring. We'll see.

Glass sink looks more beautiful than porcelain maded.It is morden and with various of pattern and style that make your bathroom distinctive.Glass sinks are made of tempered glass. This is glass that has been heated to just below the melting point and then cooled at a very rapid pace to make it much stronger and more durable than regular glass. The small pebble size pieces are not sharp so there is no danger that you or a child will suffer a deep wound if the sink shatters, which highly unlikely anyway. Glass sinks are most popular for bathroom sinks, but they can not be used for any sink in the house, including the kitchen and wet bar.Wet bar glass sinks are a particularly good option for homeowners who may be nervous about putting a trendy item in a traditional kitchen or bathroom. glass vessel sinks are continuing to rise in popularity and probably aren't going out of fashion any time soon. Interestingly, most sink trends start in upscale restaurants. Though glass sink looks beau...

Here is the link for the 'newspaper seed starting pots'. http://www.ehow.com/video_1745_create-seed-starting.html

Mirror is not noly applied, but also decorational.Bathroom mirrors are an essential part of your home. No one can ever go outside a home without looking at their mirrorsThere are some advantage to fixing a mirror.First,It is convenient to dress up oneself after bathing.Second, a bathroom mirror can make a bathroom koos more large.The end, bathroom mirror is a good decoration for bathroom. Like any other home furnishing, bathroom mirrors come in many forms, styles, and sizes. Bathroom mirrors come in different forms and shapes. Rectangular mirrors for bathrooms with long and stretching vanities. The circular or round mirrors are also available for single-type bathrooms. Square, spherical, and many other shapes may also be forms of your mirrors. Variety Of Bathroom Mirrors Mirrors also come in various designs. There are adjustable tilt mirrors and there framed or non-framed mirrors. Let us learn more about these types by reading the items found below. Adjustable bathroom mirrors are ve...