Where Have I Been?

 Anchor Cottage Design Services!

Decorating or un-decorating one cottage at a time!

I have been up to my eyebrows in bubble wrap and storage tubs!

While decorating you learn what is near and dear to a customers heart. So it came as no surprise to be asked to pack up this cottage for a mold remediation procedure, to start, at the end of the month.

Hire a man!!

Steve and I packed up a seven bedroom, four and a half bath, cottage with one week notice and four weeks to finish.

I couldn't have done it without my man!

A Frank Lloyd Wright House

Built into the side of a moraine, overlooking Northport Bay to the east and Lake Michigan to the west. 

As you come around the driveway the first view point. See all the moraines left by the glaciers? You can feel the glacial ice receding and leaving great shelves of land. 

Known as the Amy Alpaugh House. Built in 1947. 

She lived here, cut off from civilization in the winter, tending her goats and weaving in front of the fire. 

For reference, this house was built at the same time as the Bulbulian House in Rochester, Minnesota. 

I found a very similar Frank Lloyd Wright house in a book my son bought me quite a few years ago. The book is called Frank Lloyd Wright American Architect For The Twentieth Century by Robin Langley Sommer. In this book is The Herbert Jacobs House built in 1936 over in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Long and narrow with a flat, sloping roof line. Deep overhangs and lots of "Chicago" brick. 

The house looks over Northport Point. 

Three hundred and sixty degree, panoramic views.

The original, to the house, plywood overhang.

North Manitou Island to the west.

It is slowly having maintenance updates as it takes a beating from the elements of weather.

She rides her ridge like a queen on her horse! Looking out, over her queendom. 

The indoor greenhouse, half down in the dirt and a tall window exposed to the west for optimal light and warmth.

The layout, of the house, is so narrow that you can see off into the distance from all sides.  

It has a root cellar, a cistern and in floor heat. 

Peculiar, small, triangle shaped, corner fireplaces, for a quick warm up, all through the house.  

Looking up at the structure from the goat farm below. 

The Usonian House, a modern day pre-fab structure, built to be moderately priced.

I love this house. We will be inside, later this month, and I will take pictures of the layout for you to see. 

 

Inspiration At My Doorstep!

Where ever do you find your inspiration?

My inspiration came via UPS today! Dash and Albert rug and Pine Cone Hill bedding swatches from Annie Selke!

I walked up to the can and there was a large box full of rug samples and bedding swatches. 

I cut open the box and spilled it out onto my work table.

Immediately, my eye was drawn to the new Thibaut books, I just got in. Wallpapers and fabrics in an explosion of colorways!

Vibrant and lively. 

This combo is for Bronwyn, a modern day collection of jewel tones.

Do you see anything that inspires you to fluff your nest for the coming summer days?

Call me up or send me a text and make an appointment to come and see all the new fabrics, rugs and wallpapers!

 

It's That Pillow Creating Time Of Year!

Good Morning! I have been dreaming and scheming what fabrics to use, to sew new pillows, for the studio. My sewing world is upstairs next to my bed! How convenient when a pillow combination crosses your mind, in the middle of the night, and you can pop out of bed and  pull the fabrics from the shelves!

That's what has been happening the last few weeks! So I have been putting patterns and colors, side by side, to see which ones compliment each other.

Getting ready to cut and sew! Cleaned off the ironing board, put my personal ironing underneath! Steve says that if you put something in the ironing basket you never see it again! A childhood scar, I'm sure.

Two of my favorite fabrics! Kate Spade and Madcap Cottage. They look beautiful matched up. 

Indoor/outdoor pillows on the cutting table. 

Just added, a stash of white, ball fringe! 

So there's five pairs of pillows dreamed up! I better get busy and start sewing. Or, take a nap, which ever comes first. 

 

Working In The Showroom

Come into the, Anchor Cottage Freshwater Décor, showroom.

The first day of February and it is sunny! Perfect weather for scheming up porch rooms on the water.

All the Madcap Cottage fabrics are so pretty with the bright daylight shinning through them. 

I definitely see some lakeside porches in these fabric choices. What fun it would be to create a guest cottage in all the summer colors.  
 

Framing up some, Mary Blocksma, prints for a guest bedroom. Thinking of the frame color. Maybe a muddy coral. 

I love the shorebirds on the pillow. Makes me think of sandy beaches and waves. 

Using this combination of patterns for a bench and pillow by the front entry. 

 
Roman shades, wicker love seat and floral pillows on a creamy white rug for a room with a view of the big lake! She has the prettiest French doors and cement patio planted with royal red Geraniums.

All the trims in all the pretty colors. 

It is so enjoyable, to create pretty spaces, when you have all the tools to work with.