Village in Late Summer by Carl Sandburg

Lips half-willing in a doorway.

Wallflower by ArtSnark.

Lips half-singing at a window.

Cat in a Window by Gary Heller Photography.

Eyes half-dreaming in the walls.

Linger by Robin Maria Pedrero.

Feet half-dancing in the kitchen.

Red by Zombie Penguen.

Even the clocks half-yawn the hours

Framed Photograph on Canvas by The Painted Lily.

And the farmers make half-answers.

Cultivating the Peas by Walt Curlee.

Candles

The Latin word "candere" means to flicker.

According to Wikipedia, a candle is a source of light and sometimes a source of heat consisting of a solid block of fuel (commonly wax) and an embedded wick.

As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle grows shorter. Portions of the wick that are not evaporating the liquid fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the exposed length of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption.

OK, that’s the information bit now let’s see what we can find with the Interior Design Team!

Votive Candle Holder by Nonnie’s Treasures

This lovely candle holder is constructed of four 3" beveled glass pieces, and sits on a plain glass base.

Stained Glass Frog and Lily Candle Holder by Glassnwood

Ideal for scented candle, or to create a romantic atmosphere. This table piece is 8.5 inches high and 8.5 inches wide.

Raku Dragonfly Candle Holder by Fehustoneware

Wheel thrown Stoneware clay raku fired.
Flashes of copper blue and green.

Unity Wedding Candles – Bird of Paradise by Pleasant Ridge Candles

Unity Wedding Candle White 3”X 9” pillar, 12" tapers, Bird of Paradise Flowers with Leaves.

Fresh Cut Roses Type Jar Candle by Bliss Candles

FRAGRANCE: Fresh Cut Roses ~ A beautiful interpretation of the YC favorite. This smells just like real roses.

Don’t just take my word! Go on, search Etsy.com using the word ‘interiordesignteam’ . You will be blown away by the products you will find. Enjoy!

Painted Lady

This week it was reported in the UK that we are being invaded by a beautiful butterfly called Painted Lady.

The Painted Lady is a long-distance migrant, which causes the most spectacular butterfly migrations observed in Britain and Ireland.

Each year, it spreads northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, across mainland Europe and reaching Britain and Ireland. In some years it is an abundant butterfly, frequenting gardens and other flowery places in late summer. Well, this year, for whatever reason they have decided to come in their droves! We even had one visit us whilst we were sitting in our conservatory reading the Sunday papers. Luckily, we were able to release it back into our garden so that it could fly away to join its mates. Apparently, they thrive on the common Thistle plant which grows in abundance everywhere.

In honour of this beautiful migrant I thought I would search the Design Style Guide team for further examples of butterflies. Here is what I found!

Butterfly Garden Original Oil Painting

by

Luvs2paint

Blue Butterfly on Bevel Suncatcher

by

Sundance Reflections

Colorful Butterfly Window Cling Suncatcher with Stained Glass Effects

by

Clinging Images

Butterfly Pillowcases

by

The Closet and Curio Shop

Embroidered Clock, Floral Garden and Butterflies

by
Satin Stitchery

You can tell I like butterflies, can’t you?

Room With A View - Welcome To My World

Whether your world is big or small, mad or wonderful, it is a wide, wide world in terms of interior design and home decor. Liven up any room in your home with handmade decor featuring coast to coast world and map graphics by the Design Style Guide team on Etsy.

This world map wall decal from rEvolv3r comes in several sizes and colors, and is especially suited to a living room or home office.

Home accessories, such as this custom decoupaged map tray from Carolina's Cottage, are sure to assist your desk or tabletop organization while incorporating visual interest into any decorating style.

This vintage globe turned wall clock from IMOTIME adds dimension, color, and humor to the art of clock-watching.

A black and white topography art pottery bowl from Love Art Works is large enough for showcasing favorite tabletop treasures while allowing the design to shine through.

Handcut and etched copper, over glossy textured red, punches up a representation of the Seattle, Washington area in wall art from Copper Leaf Studios.

Roads Traveled, an original acrylic painting from Fauve Studio, suggests a world map in striking, abstract style.

Functional art, this storage table from Kelly Guswiler Studio displays a Chesapeake Bay, Virginia chart map preserved under polyacrylic, and accented with stained glass mosaic tiling and rain glass doors.

Room With A View - Harvest

Summer is sending out the last obstinate hours of heat as days grow shorter. Tomatoes and squash from the garden line the kitchen counter, and the catnip forest has started to yellow from the ground up. Soon enough, the maple trees will begin their glorious turning of color, and I will see the steam rising from my morning coffee as I sit outside on the front porch. Autumn is around the bend, and the grateful soil will rest.

Debra Linker

Cathy Savels Paintings



Sassy Glassy



ara133 photography



Muddy Fingers



Tiffany Teske



f2 images



Studio Virgo

"Holiday Prep - Already?!" Part One

It seems to have crept upon us once again, but for anyone who is the field of interiors, it is time to start figuring out how to make your mark this holiday season. So for the next couple months, I will seek out holiday trends and fabulous items that I find, on Etsy of course, that will be a wonderful addition to anyone's holiday decor.

For starters, I found these beautiful Victorian - inspired ornaments by Catnip Studio Too.



She has an extraordinary collection of ornaments that are perfect for more than the holidays. Now what do you need when you have beautiful ornaments?

...

Why, ornament hangers, of course!



For the Modern enthusiast, an exceptionally well-crafted set of ornament hangers by ElysianFields. I think I need these, by the way.

Based on these stunning finds, I don't think I need to say anything else. Both items are reasonably priced and must-haves for the holidays. Check 'em out!

Know Your Doors Before Purchasing Furniture

Case goods are "pieces of furniture, such as bookcases or chests of drawers, that provide interior storage space." (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/) When shopping for case goods, the doors will tell you a lot about the quality of craftsmanship.

Doors come in many shapes and sizes. Doors on fine furniture and cabinets will be flush mounted to the face frame. If the doors are mounted on top of the face frame, then it is most likely a mass produced piece.

In addition to making custom furniture, my company, Shaka Studios, will often finish custom cabinets made by other cabinetmakers with our proprietary multi-step museum painted finish. We were recently commissioned to paint a linen closet and vanity for a new bathroom by a local couple that owns many pieces of our furniture. They had purchased the furniture through a retail store. When the clients were working with their contractor, they used our furniture as examples of what they wanted the cabinets to look like. When the contractor advised the couple that he would not be able to replicate our finish, she went on a search to find us. When she called, the first question she asked was, "what kind of paint do you use?" I explained to her that our finish is a proprietary system that we do not share but we'd be more than happy to paint her new cabinets for her. Thrilled, she made arrangements to have the cabinets delivered to our studio the following week.

When the cabinets arrived, my husband immediately called to tell me that he did not think the client would be at all pleased with the cabinets as they had face mounted doors. We informed the client, whom was predictably disappointed. We offered to remake the doors for her, saving the day. You can see the transformation for yourself on our custom furniture blog.

So, what should you look for in a well made furniture or cabinet door? Taking for granted that it is solid wood, there are 3 basic inset door types. Click on the photos to see larger image.



The first is the basic plank door. Just as the name implies, planks of wood are either glued or tongue and grooved together and cut to shape. This technique requires a cross beam on the inside to keep movement in check. You will see this style of door quite often on country primitive furniture. The above example is by Buck Creek Furnishings.

A raised panel door is made by inserting a beveled plank into a grooved frame with the bevel side facing out. It is a universal style that works with every type of furniture. In the above example, the beveled section of the panel is painted green. Shaka Studios created this armoire several years ago from ponderosa pine.

A reverse panel door is basically a raised panel door installed in reverse. This style of door was used extensively in Shaker and Mission style furniture. It versatile, in that different types of trim can be added where the panel meets the rail and style for a more decorative look. The above example is also by Shaka Studios.

I hope you found this article helpful. Feel free to convo if you'd like more information. Next month, I'll be chatting about drawers. No, not the kind you wear.

Finding the right VASE

The summer flowers are blooming! My garden is bursting with roses and foxglove and soon the blue hydrangeas will be in bloom too! But even when the garden is not yielding it's bounty, I often keep dried flowers throughout the house to remind me that blooming time will return!

But what do you put those lovely flowers in? The perfect vase requires several things. It must fit with your overall room decor. It must be the right size for the type of flowers you are displaying and, in my opinion, the best flower vases are unique!

Here's just a little sampling of some of the wonderful vases you can find, for your decorating needs, on Etsy by searching "InteriorDesignTeam"! No matter what your style - there is something here for everyone!

Keep in mind, as you search, that vases made of wood, gourd or are Raku fired are best for those dried arrangements as they are not suggested for holding water.

Handmade by SassyGlassy

Handmade Vase by Juditavill

Handmade by DkPottery

Handmade by ClayDame

Handmade by Studio1212Ceramics

Hand made Gourd vase by TwistedThicket

Handmade by dbabcock

Handmade by BridgemanStudios