Pretty in White

Do you hear that sound? That's my heart pounding over this white kitchen. It belongs to a house in Dallas that was built in 1925 and is now on the market for $5 million.

I'm not sure my family could live in an all-white house, but I love looking at them.

Joni Webb (one of my favorite bloggers!) posted these lovely photos on Cote de Texas--head over there to see the rest of the house.

I'm linking up to the Hooked on Fridays blog party because I'm hooked on this house!

A Low Country Kitchen

Veranda recently featured this kitchen from a guest house on Brays Island in South Carolina. It has beautiful water views. And I love this table. But the upholstered white benches gave me pause.

Does it seem odd to anyone else to have those there? Or am I the only one with visions of peanut butter and jelly smeared all over them? Even the skirts on them bother me. Just too fussy for a kitchen.

Maybe I've just been a mom too long. I can no longer just enjoy a pretty room without thinking about how practical it would be to use (and clean)!

P.S. It's Movie Monday over at Hooked on Houses, and I'm featuring pics of the bright and colorful NYC brownstone from Stuart Little. (Love movie houses? Click here.)

An Old House with a Fresh New Look

When I saw this house, which is listed on the JJ Locations website as a place production companies can rent to film in, I was surprised to learn that it's in Greater London. It may be an old, four-story Georgian home, but it has a fresh and light feeling to it.







The Swedish Gustavian furniture gives it a romantic look, despite all of the stark white, don't you think? This is beautiful to me, so I'm linking up to Melissa's Beautiful Life party.

I'm also joining Hooked on Fridays, the blog party that celebrates the things that make us happy. This house is what I'm hooked on today. Visit Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is sharing!

Yellow Kitchen Love

How fun is that yellow oven? And how great is that kitchen island? When I spotted this photo (from Canadian House & Home), I fell in love. Yellow kitchen love.


What do you think of colored appliances like this one? Would you ever consider buying one? What color would you choose?

As a girl who grew up in a home with dated brown appliances, I'd be afraid to spend that much on a color that I might grow tired of in a few years. But I'll never say never. Right now this yellow is looking pretty good to me!

I'm linking this post to Hooked on Fridays, a blog party that celebrates the things that make us happy. This kitchen is what I'm hooked on this week. Visit Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is talking about--or to join the party yourself!

What's Blue & White & Red All Over? This Beachy Kitchen!

I love a red and white kitchen. They always seem so happy. I have a white kitchen, and I bring out the red accents in the winter to warm things up (it's aqua and yellow now for summer). But I never really thought I'd like to see so much red in a beach house kitchen. Until now.


PK, a decorator who blogs at Room Remix, wrote a post last week about decorating with red and showed these two photos from Coastal Living. I love the red frame on the blackboard, the striped canisters, the "Beach" arrow sign--and the view.

P.S. I don't have a picture of my kitchen decorated for summer, but I did post my family room with the aquas and yellows if you want to see it: How I Furnished My Family Room on a Tight Budget.

A House with a View on Rosemary Beach

As I was searching the beachfront real estate listings in the Destin, Florida area, I came across this house on the Gulf (Rosemary Beach, near the house with the famous red kitchen I showed you recently). Not only does it have an amazing view of the water, but look at this lovely little courtyard:

The porch and the view may be my favorite part of the house--and what makes it worth $4.95 million, I imagine:

You can get more information about this beach house and see more photos here.

Black, White & Beachy

Country Living featured this Long Island cottage recently that caught my eye. Homeowner Donna Francis says she wanted to "keep it simple" in her cottage, so she went with black, white, and silver when decorating her home.




I thought this black and white bedroom was really striking:

To read more about this house and see the rest of the photos, visit the Country Living website.

This black and white bedroom is what I'm hooked on this week. To find out what everyone else is talking about, check out the Hooked on Fridays party in full swing on my other blog!

Yellow Dutch Door Love

Photo credit: Coastal Living

This photo from Coastal Living magazine has convinced me that my life won't be complete until I've had a yellow Dutch door just like this one. Oh, and I want it to open onto a porch overlooking the water the way this one does, too. Why not dream big?

For now, at least I have a white table in my dining room and I can put Ball jars with flowers in them like they did. That's a start, I guess.

I wonder if I can convince my husband to paint our front door yellow and saw it in half?

This yellow Dutch door is what I'm hooked on today. To see what everyone else is hooked on, check out the Hooked on Fridays party in full swing on my other blog!

Pretty Beach Cottage in Pink

Welcome to Françoise O'Neill's little pink cottage, which she made into a sweet little haven for herself. She turned the enclosed front porch into a cozy home office:


And decorated her living room with thrift-store finds:

But my personal favorite is her white and pink kitchen:

To see the rest of the photos and read more about O'Neill's little pink cottage, visit Coastal Living.

P.S. If you love screened porches, check out the one I'm featuring over at Hooked on Houses today.

A Bright Beach Bungalow

Sculptor Elena Columbo lives in this turn-of-the-century cottage with water views in Long Island, New York. I love all the bright colors she used--especially on the floors!


She keeps her linens in this antique cabinet:

From her back porch, she has a view of Shelter Island, across the bay:

Go to Martha Stewart's website for more information about Colombo's bungalow and to see the rest of the photos. (Thanks to Maya of Completely Coastal for posting about it first!)

This beautiful bungalow is what I'm hooked on this week, so I'm adding it to Melissa's Beautiful Life and the Hooked on Fridays party over at my other blog. Be sure to click over there to see all the fun stuff everyone else is showing us today!

The Beach House with the Famous Red Kitchen

Recognize this red kitchen? I bet you do. Not only has it appeared in several magazines--it has been posted on just about every design blog on the Internet (including Hooked on Houses!). Here it is from Southern Accents:


I'd like to know two things: 1) Why do the "red lacquer" cabinets look more like hot pink in the magazine shot? And 2) If there are professional magazine photos of this house, why didn't the Real Estate agent use them? The pics on the MLS listing are kind of pitiful, actually, for a house that has been photographed so beautifully in the past. Here are a few of the other rooms from this house on Rosemary Beach (Florida):







This beach house is on the Gulf and has a water view, which you can see in the MLS listing. It's on the market for $4.5 million. So if you ever wished you could have that bold red kitchen, now's your chance!

My earlier post featuring this kitchen: Paint a Colorful Life.

Hooked on "Amazing Grace"

It's Hooked on Fridays, a blog party I host at Hooked on Houses each week to celebrate the things we love. Today I'm hooked on this renovated beach house on Tybee Island called "Amazing Grace."


It's so beautiful, I'm adding this to Melissa's Beautiful Life party today, too.


The Wilson family enclosed part of the screen porch to create this master retreat:



"Amazing Grace" was transformed by designer Jane Coslick and featured in a recent issue of Coastal Living. To see the before and after photos of this beach house transformation and take the rest of the tour, click here.

Be sure to stop by Hooked on Houses and check out what everyone else is hooked on today. I'm hosting a giveaway over there, too--enter to win a house portrait painted by the artist Fifi Flowers. I featured Fifi's paintings of a pink beach house here if you missed it!

Le Lavandin in Provence

My blog friend AnNicole (Our Suburban Cottage) just told me about Le Lavandin, this picturesque Bed & Breakfast in Provence, and I think I'm in love. What a beautiful place to spend a holiday!


Even though the B&B isn't on the water, I think the rooms have a light, beachy feel to them. Don't you?


There are workshops held there, too, if you want to learn more about things like cooking and creative writing. If painting is your thing, the surrounding olive groves and lavender fields would be a perfect place to get inspired!



There's a terrace off every room. Ahhhh. I would be taking my afternoon naps right here:

Excuse me while I book my plane ticket to Provence. See you when I get back (from my fantasy)!

To see more photos of Le Lavandin and to read about the workshops they have scheduled, check out their website.

My mind has been on France a lot lately. I spent an afternoon searching through French real estate online and wrote about this 150-year old stone cottage yesterday on my other blog.