Nestling Into The Studio

Now that is a basket full of colors. Find me a child's room to layer in the sunny disposition of yellow to orange and all the shades between. Set it down on the creamy herringbone rug. Good morning child!

As I nestle in to the new studio I think of combinations of patterns and colors for different applications in the customers home. What would they like to be inspired by, I wonder?

I feel a touch of excitement as none of it and yet everything can live together. Can the Waverly chair pads live in the same room as the Ikat pillows? Probably not, but in this room the cacophony is part of the music, the colors play off each other in a harmonist discordance.  

In other words, I am the leader in this band and I chose only what strikes my cords. That way we can pick out the harmonies from the discord. Then we create your own, personal sheet of music. 

If it sounds poetic, it is. I love the play of pattern and colors. As a decorator, let me find the notes that make you sing. Let me write your song. Let us, together, find your soprano and bass. 

All the layers of a home. The floor, the walls, the personal spaces that we can layer with paint, fabric, bedding and lamps. 

If I hear you humming I know that I have struck a cord in your perception of decor that has you whistling a favorite tune.  

As we use our instruments to play the song, so we use our textiles to create our room. Sometimes the horns are little loud, but if you like a brass band then so be it!  

As I finish recording the arrangement of the studio my mind is already on the next sheet of music that I will write.  There are still blank walls and window treatments to be thought out. 

The little studio was my leap into decorating. 

Now it will become a stash of notes to add or take away from the music we make. The tools and the accessories of the trade. 

The piano bench, so to speak, with all the music, that is the learning curve, tucked in to pull from when I need it.  

Anchor Cottage Freshwater Decor is opened by appointment. Would love to have you come by and listen to what is playing on the Bose!!

Mid August

I had a busy week. The girls came out of the woodwork seeking to refresh their living spaces. Gathering accessories, left and right, to layer the homes with something fresh and new. 

Our tomatoes and Basil are coming in like lightning. Faster than we can make Caprese salads! The flavor of fresh Mozzarella, Balsamic vinegar served on a baguette.  We eat the whole plate full every time. The flavors of summer!

We took the time to lie on the beach and paint a painting, drink a G&T, eat a Cheese Shop sandwich and take a couple of swims! 

Did I tell you about our cucumbers? Steve has already put up one batch of pickles and it looks like he is ready to cook up some more! Me, I have been eating cucumber sandwiches for lunch everyday. 

And then we have our swimming hole. Took the time to do some rock hounding along the shore. We have been blessed this summer. 

Look at these rug swatches that just came in from Dash & Albert. Jackie, the decorator, helped picked out these samples. A nice body of work! 

As I write this blog I am listening to https://www.facebook.com/624374921093731/videos/774713122726576 Will Hoge & Band playing the Loco Club in Valencia Span. Recorded by Carlos Bartual Fotografo. Miss the live music. Do I miss how it was pre- covid? No, not really, maybe the freedom to travel and enjoy concerts, but I am equally happy holed up in the Holler. 

That is all I have to say!

 

Summer At The Swimming Hole

The summer of Covid-19. The virus has caused a lot of plans to change this summer. We had the time to plant a garden of vegetables. Tomatoes and Cucumbers, along with Parsley, Basil and Dill. The herbs make a fragrant bouquet on my kitchen table! 

We were forced to find a new swimming hole. We lucked out, the first day we found treasures in the sand, which we took to be a good sign! Always a beach comber. 

Because we were forced to make a change in our sandy venue we found ourselves swimming after work three and four days a week!

Instead of sitting on the beach we now take a dip at the swimming hole then drive home and dry off with a snack and cocktail on our deck overlooking the woods. 

Change of venue, change of scenery! My Amaryllis on their sides so the bulbs will dry out and then can be replanted to blossom for the winter months!  

The porch has become the new beach where we can sit and read and listen to the wind in the trees! Yes, I miss the lapping of the waves against the shore. 

We may not have the water view, but we have the canopy of green. 

No complaining coming from this camper. 

That we can go swim, just around the corner, keep up social distancing, and hang our towels to dry is a gift. We are blessed with a summer at the swimming hole! 

 

Moving Into The New Studio

There are so many beautiful fabrics and rugs to customize your rooms. Where can you go to touch, see and gather your inspirations? 

You can call for an appointment, straighten your mask and make a bee-line to Anchor Cottage Freshwater Decor. 

I have been working on this, on going, project for the last year and a half. Putting together a library for customers and decorators alike.  

Bringing in fabric swatches and wallpaper memos from all over tarnation just so you have a place to look, feel and pull together a new look for your home. 

Rug and bedding samples to take home and try out for a few days. All the paint colors from Benjamin Moore! And have I mentioned the lamps? Lamps, shades, harps and finials. Interesting accessories found in my travels as well. Good thing I traveled when I did!!

Nothing is etched in stone, but I am working on a space so we can lay everything out and see what we like. Great light, more room!!

I set the little antique bed up and layered the bedding and pillows for you to see how it could come together for you. 

As I move from the original decorating studio into the much larger space I am able to bring more decor in! I have bolts of fabric for smalls, like pillows and valances, I know a girl who sews! She also will do monograms! 

If you need a fresh lamp shade I have plenty, and can order sizes and colors that are not in stock. I have a lamp repair person on call. Then just top it off with a new harp and finial and instant refresh. 

Dash and Albert does custom rugs to order and these are just a few of the carpet choices that are available. 

Hopefully, this fall, I can go back out on the road and source new pieces for the studio. Accessories are a huge part of the inspiration process. You see it, love it and have to decorate around it! I am always searching. 

The lamps can be taken home for a trial run to test size, color and scale in the room that you are working on.  

I'll leave the light on!