Some very pretty pillows for pretty prices at ideeli

Ideeli is holding a designer discount sale for Trilogy Home- and the pillows are gorgeous. Here are my favs. -








And of course, there are lots of good sales on jewelry and clothes, but to get your free membership you have to use my link.

Amazing design from Scandanavia

I wanted to share these gorgeously designed products from Muuto. Simplicity is really amazing in these products, as it's also beautiful, functional, and environmentally friendly!

These new baskets - called "Restore," are my favorite product. They are so pretty.
- "MIKA TOLVANEN ON THE DESIGN 'I wanted the basket to have an non-obtrusive nature. It’s a great little basket for storing magazines or any other bits and pieces. Polymer felt combined with a soft form give the basket a friendly appearance. The name Restore is inspired by the fact that the baskets are made of recycled PET bottles.' "



I'm a big fan of pen and ink drawings, and this bedspread is like a giant piece of art.




Most of their products come in many colors. You can see and read more at the site, Muuto.

Annuals in Autumn

There are annuals still blooming boldly in the garden, even after several light frosts. There are zinnias, ageratum, cosmos and marigolds that still look great. I don't think marigolds know when to stop. Besides that, they've never looked ragged.

Granted, the marigold seeds were sown the first two weeks in July so that there would be fall color.

There are autumn colors of yellow, gold, orange and red. If you think marigolds look too gaudy for summer, try them for autumn. The combination of the annual (in my zone) purple fountain grass with the tall marigolds works well enough that I may actually plan this combination again for next year.

Please don't ask me to identify the marigolds in my garden. I picked up packets at stores, ordered online and didn't take the time to document any of these. I faintly remember sowing seeds from a 'Crackerjack Mix' somewhere in the garden.

I never cared for marigolds until I planted them this year. Previously, my impression was a vision of straight rows of plantings outside commercial buildings.

I just scattered the seeds - literally and liberally - in any blank space available. I don't advise this. I definitely got carried away and there are still little marigold seedlings sprouting everywhere. Next year, there will be a little more order and attention to my marigold seed sowing. I've already ordered a packet of lemon yellow single blooms for next summer.

As for my favorite bloom shape, I prefer the single blooms of the French marigolds over the carnation type double blooms.

As for the bees and butterflies, they love all of the marigolds. The Monarch butterflies are particularly attracted to the single marigolds and big bumblebees love to sleep on the cushions of the double blooms. And for the late-arriving Monarch butterflies that have been showing up all fall - thank goodness for marigolds.

Some of the marigolds are short and some are very tall. They've exceeded my expectations for the common marigold. I'll no longer look down my perennial-loving nose at these common annuals. They've added plenty of punch and pizzaz in the garden for autumn.


Words and photos by Freda Cameron; Home garden; late October 2009

Help sourcing a headboard?

So a reader wrote in with this question:
"I just moved into a new apartment, and the colors in my apartment are red, black & white, and I have just fallen in love with the red velvet headboard used by Stephen Shubel in one of the bedrooms he designed. Can you tell me where I can purchase one, and what size bed does the headboard fit?"

Below is the headboard in question:


Here is the story which first featured the headboard in House Beautiful
The bed is mentioned, but no source was listed, so I'm thinking it's custom made. If I am incorrect - I would love to know it's source!

In the meantime, I've gathered up some alternatives. The red seems to be the hard part to fine. Upholstered headboard and velvet are both in style, so we're lucky in that sense.

I believe Jonathon Adler offers the closest option, and you can choose your fabric.
See/read more here.

This option is from Skyline furniture, which also allows you to choose your fabric.


Here's an affordable version in popular gray from Urban Outfitters.

And last but not least, Simply Shabby Chic's version from Target.
So I open it up to you guys - know of any other similar headboards?

Glamorous and pretty inspirational rooms from....Ikea!

Ikea's styling gets better and better. I love looking through their magazine for inspiration on how to better organize and create functional living systems. I was really impressed with the new 2010 magazine and the great rooms they shot. Here are some of my favorites. Which do you like?

Pretty and white, but still lived in

I love how this room shows that you don't need to always use pretty decorative boxes. Clear plastic containers are no fail, and even I use utility shelves in my office. For a busy lifestyle and tight deadlines nothing beats it. And this image shows that it can look nice as well.

Oh how I would love to have a daybed in my office...I'm just afraid that I would use it as a "sleep all day" bed


Amazing storage and workspace!



Isn't this bedroom glamorous?



All images via Ikea

Classic country or Modern country? Which are you?

I like country style - but country style can encompass sooooo many looks. I thought I'd see which way you guys leaned - "traditional" country, or "modern" country.

Lets start with classic country:

Love this organized but full-of-charm home office.

Gorgeous - and the chicken wire screens are great too.





...or do you like a more contemporary country?

This bedroom is so stunning - and the monochromatic palette keeps the damask from being too busy for a bedroom

Amy Butler's workspace!

Which do you prefer?
all images via Country Living

Check out my article/slide show on Canadian House and Home!

I'm really excited about this little feature I put together for Canadian House and Home Magazine's website - you can check it out here. It is a compiling of my 10 favorite rooms. This actually took an very long time for me to put together, as I wanted to show photos that aren't easily found on the web. I hope you enjoy them!






Above are just a few! Go to the slide show for credits!

BYOB (A Garden Makeover)

"Bring Your Own Blooms" is my mantra for redesigning the butterfly garden this fall. As much as possible, I am shuffling plants around to utilize what I already grow in order to reduce the cost.

After moving the orange and purple flowers to another new garden area, I had holes to fill in the butterfly garden. Two perennials already in the garden became the focus of the makeover color scheme of burgundy, yellow and blue.

The main players (click the photo to enlarge) that influenced the makeover are:

Coreopsis Big Bang™ 'Redshift'
zones 4-9, full sun, deer resistant, 30-26" x 24-30"

Gaillardia 'Burgundy'
zones 3-9, full sun, deer resistant 24" x 12"

The reds in all of the flowers are on the blue side, showing as burgundy in person.

Other plants that remain are the large green/white miscanthus 'Cosmopolitan', a yellow-blooming hypericum shrub and a mass planting of red salvia greggii.

Another existing perennial is a light yellow yarrow (achillea). The mass planting of yarrow overlaps into a small area with nepeta and verbena bonariensis that, along with crocosmia, serves as a buffer to the adjacent orange and purple bed.

I decided that spires of blue blooms would work well with both the shape and colors of the existing perennials. Of course, the decision was partly based upon suitable plants that I could move from other areas of the garden.

But first, there was a huge problem! There was a monster bronze fennel that was too tall and out of place. Having another mass planting of fennel to serve as host plants for Black Swallowtail caterpillars, I decided to dig up this one. What a surprise! The thick and long roots were undermining the surrounding perennials! This must be the reason for the poor performance near the fennel. I had to do a bit of rearranging of the gaillardia and one coreopsis to save them from the fennel roots.

Once the fennel was removed, I transplanted agastache 'Blue Fortune' to serve as a backdrop to the burgundy gaillardia. Another red salvia greggii was placed next to the miscanthus. Next spring, I will add deep blue flowers using both salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue' and salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'.

There are a few yellow daffodils somewhere in this area! I may sow seeds (since I have them) for red poppies for early spring blooms.

The agastache, salvia, coreopsis, and gaillardia bloom all summer and into fall. They are still in bloom. The agastache required deadheading for re-bloom, but this has resulted in a prettier blue (not as dusty looking as in summer). The yarrow blooms great in early summer, but with our humidity the silver foliage tends to turn black, requiring it to be cut back to the ground. It looks good again by fall, but doesn't re-bloom. I have seeds for pale yellow marigolds to help hide the yarrow foliage in late summer through fall.

I have even more makeovers in the works. I've been very, very busy in the the garden!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron; Home Garden

Shuffling Plants for a New Garden

Have I told you lately that I love to combine purple and orange blooms in the flower garden? I put together a design idea and the new color-themed garden is now almost finished.

To help me visualize the color and plant combinations, I looked through my photos and matched up bloom times. I played with the photos until I had my spring, summer and fall bloom plan. I started an inventory of the perennials in the photos. With some garden rearranging and plant shuffling, I could fill the new area quite easily.

Except for allium 'purple sensation' bulbs and annual larkspur seeds, all of the plants came from my existing gardens. In other words, this was an inexpensive project.

I claimed prime real estate that was being used as a holding bed. The new garden area is at the top of the slope above our large willow tree - in deer country, bordering the meadow between the south and east gardens. It is also a full sun, southeast location so all plants were selected for similar growing and water requirements.

Spring color will kick off with purple blooms of nepeta 'Walkers Low', allium 'Purple Sensation', salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', verbena 'Homestead' and larkspur 'lilac spires' (annual).

In summer, orange blooms of agastache aurantiaca 'Navajo Sunset', echinacea 'Sundown', crocosmia and asclepias tuberosa will be accented with purple spires of agastache 'Purple Haze' and ground-hugging verbena 'Homestead'. If I need additional purple blooms, I have plenty of skinny verbena bonariensis as well as petunias that can be transplanted.

The foliage of the other perennials, as well as stachys 'Big Ears Helen von Stein' will keep the garden from looking barren after the purple spring bloom. The existing nepeta has frilly foliage while the existing crocosmia provides blades as well as a buffer to the red in the butterfly garden. The existing asclepias tuberosa foliage may be eaten by the caterpillars of Monarch butterflies, but that's part of the plan, too. The larkspur will be pulled after blooming and the allium foliage will disappear.

I have allowed enough space to relocate a few plants for fall bloom, probably using my salvia greggii 'Ultra Violet' (short) and salvia leucantha (tall) to bring more purple back to the garden for the final bloom season. Those are too tender to move now and will have to wait next spring.

Dark purple foliage would be a nice accent in this area. It is difficult to find dark foliage that can stand up to the full sun and the deer. Unfortunately, deer will eat the taller sedum that I would love to use in this garden. I have a sufficient supply of sedum 'Purple Emperor' that I could move. Purple salvia officinialis or purple basil are potential candidates for adding next spring, too.

The primary perennial players include:

Tall background plants, over three feet tall, consist of agastache 'Purple Haze' and agastache 'Navajo Sunset'. I have enough of each to create a mass planting, though I wish I had enough 'Black Adder' to use instead of 'Purple Haze'. The agastache pair are suitable for zones 6-9, need full sun and well-drained soil and are deer and rabbit resistant. These will provide a long bloom season from summer until frost.

A meandering planting of orange echinacea 'Sundown' wind between the tall agastache and five purple salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'. The coneflowers (1 - 3 feet high) are fine for zones 4-9, full sun and well-drained soil. I haven't had a deer problem with these, but I have to watch out for the rabbits. The coneflowers will bloom in June and will bloom again with deadheading.

Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' is a good spring-blooming perennial with dark purple, upright spikes. Suitable for zones 4-8, it works in a variety of soil types (even clay). It is deer and rabbit resistant. I am using five plants and have another group of three. If the spikes are left on this salvia, they will reseed. The plants are about 24" high and 18" wide. The foliage is pretty after the blooms are gone, so a mass planting of 'Caradonna' makes a nice ground cover, too.

Since it is fall, I will keep the plants watered well to help the roots establish before it gets too cold. Here in zone 7, perennials that can be safely planted in autumn are much larger, and bloom better than spring-plantings for the first season.

I'm pretty excited over the purple-orange color theme garden since these are familiar plants that I can count on for good performance next year. I do have a lot of holes to fill in the other gardens from where I stole the plants - I try to view those as more redesign opportunities rather than wrecked spaces!

Photos and words by Freda Cameron; Home Garden