Bloggers beautiful abodes...Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home

 Sure hope this posts on time as I scheduled this for Monday morning while I am away. I  am being featured over at Amy Vermillion's blog today for her "Whats on my nightstand" posts...such a fun idea! Hope you will come visit me there after reading this post. Click here to visit.

Good morning! Time for another  round of "Bloggers beautiful abodes" and have I got a treat for you! So sit back and savor that cup of coffee or tea and enjoy this post full of beauty and wisdom.  Say hello to super talented........

Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home

                                     
Mary Ann is an uber talented  Newport Beach, California based designer (if she wasn't so sweet it would be easy to hate her for being lucky enough to live that California dream). She is always doing something gorgeous whether in her own beautiful home or adding her touches to  her friends ......and trust me they ALL look right out of the pages of your favorite design magazine! 

She has totally nailed the elegant coastal vibe to perfection and I am a huge fan of her work and her blog. Whether she is redoing a guest room, prepping for the most beautiful taco night I have ever seen or planning a little fete in her home...rest assured its something you want to see and take notes on!  Her blog is one I simply do not miss. Period. I feel like we are friends and know we would be fast friends if we ever meet  If you don't know of her, be sure you head over to say hello and by all means sign up.....her blog is a total keeper. Enough of me, lets hear from wonderful Mary Ann.........

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Thank you, Tina, for inviting me to tell 
you and your "enchanting readers" 
a bit about our home in 
Newport Beach, California. 

It's small, as many homes 

are on Lido Isle

(the island below on the right)

but we can walk or ride bikes 

to the beach.  

See the patch of grass on the sand?  

That is the playground for the grammar school where our son attended.

He always came home with sand in his shoes!

1. How long have you been in your present home?  Is this it for the long haul? Anything you would care to change if you could?

It's a 1950's cottage that we remodeled and moved into two and a half years ago.

I'm not sure we'll stay here forever. 

The people inside the home are what's important to me,

but this would be a comfortable place "for the long haul."  

If I could change anything, I wish we had more of a foyer...but there just isn't room.  

I do love our dutch door.

2. If you could only live in two rooms of your house, which two would be the ones?

My bedroom because I like to be lazy and

our patio has been nice to relax in lately.

3. How would you describe your decorating style?

Casual with a little French 
and classic elegance.

Both the child's corner chair and fireplace screen 

were bought at flea markets in France.

4. Do you have a favorite color scheme? What is it?

I don't really have a favorite color combination.  In my own home, I like a white backdrop so I can play with color.  I do enjoy doing all neutral interiors for others who prefer it though.

Same chairs two ways.

5. Favorite room of your house and why?

Right now, it's our guest room since I just finished it for the One Room Challenge. I stenciled the wall myself...a major feat for a non-do-it-yourselfer (but it only costed about $35).

6. Best two tips you can give to anyone looking to tackle the decorating of their own home?   

• Hire a decorator (through referrals), even to use just as a sounding board.  He/she can help keep you on track with your goals and budget.  If that's not an option enlist a friend who's taste you admire.
• Start files on Pinterest, Houzz and from magazines.  When you start to see common threads in your images, you will begin to understand your style preferences.

Best two things to NOT do?

• Don't get in over your head doing work like electrical or plumbing that is better left for the professionals
• Don't be afraid to try things...move your furniture around, mix it up (I might go a little overboard here :)

7. What do you think are the most important features for a kitchen?

My husband would say it's his stove since he loves to cook.

I like the storage in our pantry and that I can use the appliances in there and keep our counters clear.

 8.How do you like to dress up a cocktail table and console in a living room?

With books, trays, plants...

Or coral.

9.Any advice on the subject of lighting?

Dimmers, especially on overhead lighting.  

Layer with task lighting wherever you might want to read and also for ambiance.

10. Have a favorite paint color? Do tell!

I have this Benjamin Moore White Dove 
on walls throughout my house.  

11. What are a couple of really simple inexpensive things you can do in your home to make it feel "homey" and inviting?

Fruit (the lemons are from our tree), 

flowers and candles!

12. Fill in the blank- If money was no object, the very first thing I would buy for my home would be...

 a beautiful, antique Persian rug in muted tones for the living room.  Ah...someday.

Thanks so much for having me over, Tina!!!

Best wishes,

classic•casual•home

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Is she good or is she good? Mary Ann........I never tire of seeing your beautiful and welcoming  home. It is just so warm, elegant and beautifully put together and that guest room must have been done with me in mind so pencil me in for June :) By the way....that taco night I mentioned, well here it is........don't know about you but in my casa, taco night does not look like this:)

And check out the bridal  shower she threw.....are you available for my birthday in December?

Love these tomato caprese appetizers that she made......

 Thanks to everyone for stopping in and to Mary Ann for opening up her gorgeous abode for us all to marvel over! Be sure to stop over and say hello to the lovely Mary Ann, click here.

If you want to check out  my guest post over at Amy Vermillion's blog (and I do hope you will) click here.

Thanks for stopping in...have a wonderful Monday!

Contemporary Interior Behind A Victorian Facade

Lying behind the exterior of a typically English Victorian house, lies a contemporary surprise. An eclectic mix of modern and Mid Century furnishing with the odd homage to its Victorian era and a neutral grey palette which works wonderfully. The open plan kitchen/dining/family area is large at 16 metres long with glass doors that lead to a lovely garden. The surprising interior retains its period features such as the fireplaces and ceiling cornice, yet other areas of the house have been completely modernised. A house truly  full of surprises and I love them all.

This interior is available for film/magazine shoots, more images can be seen at JJ Locations.

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks interior as much as I've enjoyed sharing it. We seem to be in the middle of an "Indian summer" in New Zealand with our temperatures still high and no sign of rain on the horizon, so as you can imagine its hard to spend time sitting at the computer. 

Have a great weekend.

  

Bloggers beautiful abodes.....Mel of Georgica Pond!

Be sure to visit my one year anniversary post if you haven't already to be eligible to win the gorgeous silver tray, click here. 

 Good morning. Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We were blessed (finally) with beautiful weather so no complaints here! I am so happy to be here with another beautiful post for my new series, Bloggers beautiful abodes.  Say hello to.....

Mel of Georgica Pond 

Mel is uber talented, a  kind, funny humble and sweetheart of a friend. She is the mother to three super darling cherubic little angels including a newborn.  She resides in beautiful Australia and I just  knew we were destined to be friends when I discovered that she has the same incurable infliction of blue and white-itis, I think we suffer from "the same strain" :)

 I absolutely love her style, and have to say I am floored (and totally intimated) by just how  much she has done since she redid her beautiful new home. She puts me to shame!! Her creativity is endless, her taste sublime. I am sure you are going to agree. I absolutely love her blog and its a daily stop for me. So for those of you who don't know her.....do head over after reading this post to say hello and be sure you sign up to be a regular...trust me, you will thank me! Enough of me, let's hear from super talented Mel.......

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1. How long have you been in your present home?  Is this it for the long haul? Anything you would care to change if you could?

We have been in this home for about 3 years now and it has been just over a year since we finished renovating. The decorating side of things is an on going project, and I guess is something that will continue to evolve over time as budget allows! There are lots of things I would change because it's an old house that had many additions and extensions before we moved in and none of them particularly well done. But we worked with what we had. In hindsight, we should have knocked it down and started again, it would have been much more cost effective and we would have ended up with exactly what we wanted rather than having to make compromises. But the one thing I really want is an office! I'm sick of doing my work and blogging on the dining table or in the laundry!

2. If you could only live in two rooms of your house, which two would be the ones?

The kitchen obviously, because I love it and it's the hub of the home and probably our bedroom. I love the colours of the walls, they are so serene and calming, the fabric on the bedhead is just gorgeous and I get a thrill lying in bed looking around at the pretty vignettes.

3. How would you describe your decorating style?

It's strange for me to say this being Australian, but when people here ask me I say I like Classic American style. Which basically means traditional with transitional hints but heavily influences by the aesthetics of American homes. I love the influences of colours, textures, materials, architectural design, details and finishes, that comes with your classic American homes, particularly those of the east coast I guess. I don't know how you would describe that in the US, but that's what I call it.

4. Do you have a favorite color scheme? What is it?

Absolutely, I'm a blue and white girl, always have been. I usually decorate in cool colours or neutrals. I always gravitate towards them in everything, even the clothes I wear mimics the colours of our house.

5. Favorite room of your house and why?

Probably the powder room because it was the first properly complete room in the house, that I was 100% happy with. Everything just came together perfectly and it worked. I get such a buzz every time I go in there.

6. Best two tips you can give to anyone looking to tackle the decorating of their own home? Best two things to NOT do?

Don't expect that the decorating can be done in one step. I have learnt by great frustration that it is a process that takes a lot of time, particularly if you have a young family with kids whose needs are changing every year. Your house evolves with your life, as does everything in it. And your tastes change too. But don't expect your husband will understand your need to change things and replace them when you move house/renovate/redecorate- men just don't seem to understand why you can't use the mirror you had before and have to buy a new one! I put way too much pressure on myself to have everything perfect and magazine ready. It's so much stress. Sometimes I wish I could just let go, enjoy what I've done and wait for it to come together when I have the time and the budget allows.

7. What do you think are the most important features for a kitchen?

A decent sized island with plenty of prep/bench space and a place for people to pull of barstools and chat (or kids to eat their meals). The kitchen is the centre of the house, the hub, everything revolves around it. Not matter how many lovely entertaining rooms you have, everybody always ends up in the kitchen when you have people around, so make sure the kitchen can accommodate people comfortably without them cramping or crowding you and your preparations.

8. How do you like to dress up a cocktail table and console in a living room?

Our rooms are quite casual and relaxed because we have a young family and because we live on the coast, so it's a rather informal way of decorating, although that's not to say it isn't elegant or stylish. I always just use lots of blue and white china, books, orchids or plants, shells or coral.

9. Any advice on the subject of lighting?

Lamps, lamps, lamps, you can never have enough! And dimmers - on every overhead light please!

10. Have a favorite paint color? Do tell!

I love our bedroom colour which is Dulux Roland, but I love Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue. Anything blue/seagreen/aqua I adore.

11. What are a couple of really simple inexpensive things you can do in your home to make it feel "homey" and inviting?

Again lamps - they just make a room feel cosy, warm, inviting and homey. The soft ambience they give off makes you feel welcome and relaxed and they are much more flattering too! Nice, soft, comfy cushions are always an easy way of updating or relaxing a room. Fresh flowers and plants always makes me feel happy and welcome in my home, particularly if they have a nice fragrance.

 

12. Fill in the blank- If money was no object, the very first thing I would buy for my home would be.............

A Stuart Membery console for my hall, and two blue and white porcelain Ralph Lauren lampbases. Then that decorating dilemma would be finally resolved!

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Pretty spectacular, huh? Don't you just love her style? Doesn't' it make you want to hop on a plane to sunny warm Australia and become her house guest? Her home embodies elegance, beauty, comfort and warmth so beautifully. I think she has done such a fabulous job and to boot with a newborn in such a short time....its all her and nothing short of a miracle.

I just had to share these pictures (I feel like a proud grandma and am only in my 40's haha) but are they just the sweetest family ever? And those cherubic kids.....I want to reach in and give them a pinch on their darling rosy cheeks!

And baby Amelia at her christening...

So my hat goes off to you Mel for all your many talents from creating beautiful children to creating beautiful interiors....well done!! If you want to see more of her talents and visit her blog, click here. Thank you Mel for sharing and allowing us a peek into your beautiful home and to all my readers for stopping in! Wishing everyone a wonderful Monday and great start to your week.