A new favorite in my house tour collection...

This Ohio farmhouse is chock full of second hand, vintage, and antique furnishings and accessories, which simply make it really fun to tour. More than the house though, I love the grounds...

I love this shot...so peaceful

I adore this birdcage as decor, but I'm not really a fan of caging birds...

They scored the four poster bed on ebay.

This chicken coup used to be a cupola.

A shed is used as guest quarters.  I would probably use this as a painting studio though....

The sink is an old soapstone basin.

what do you think of the house and grounds?


via Country Living

Table inspiration and eye candy

Pretty uses for one of the most versatile pieces of furniture.

The most apparent use - for dining...highlighted here by a conversation-starting chandelier and a salon style wall.

If you're like me, you can never choose just one book to read. A table gives you the space to spread out.

My office desk is more like a table, because the surface space is so vital to my productivity.

1. House of Fifty 2. Traditional Home 3. & 4. Ryland Peters & Small

To have a space for dreaming and solitude...

You know how some people get all of their energy from being around other people, and how other people need "alone time" to energize? Well, I'm definitely one of the later. I grew up on an almost 200 acre farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, so being alone and outside was a part of my daily life and something I really took for granted. Obviously, living in NYC for 3 years I never experienced that, and though I loved it - I never truly felt unwound. I have found a happy in between where I am now, but looking at these gorgeous retreats makes me long for a hidden spot in nature where I can go and decompress.

What do you do or where do you go when you need to decompress and unwind?

so, so, so pretty

perfect

heaven

a retreat in Sri Lanka...

and in France
1 -3 via Pinterest  4-5 via Richard Powers

A month by month plan to get your home storage organized: May is the garage

Yuck. The garage. Not a very fun one to organize is it? Unfortunately it's one of those chores that must be done, and being that it's a long weekend you might have more time to get it done. Here is BHG's plan for organizing your storage in the garage.

Create Task Kits. Create kits for various outdoors projects by filling 5- and 10-gallon plastic buckets with all the tools, products, and accessories you need to complete specific tasks such as car-washing, weeding, bicycle repair, and more.

Stash Sporting Gear. Fill tall kitchen trash cans with large and odd-shaped sporting gear. Drill holes in the bottom of bins if drainage is important. Stabilize containers by securing to a wall with short bungee cords.

Organize the Trunk. Clean out your vehicle's trunk. Toss every item that is expired or damaged. Place all trunk gear in a canvas bin or box. Make sure the container doesn't slip by adding rubber or hook-and-loop tape to the bottom.

Tidy Up the Tools. Hang hand tools on a wall near your workbench from hooks on pegboard, magnetic board, or a wall-mount strip system. Label each tool's spot. Put extra tools in a tool box or clear plastic boxes and store on floor underneath workbench.


I've rounded up a bunch of images that I hope you find inspiring and help you rally the motivation to organize the garage.

The chalkboard cabinet and drawer fronts is a great idea.  You could always paint yours with chalkboard paint.

A magnetic kitchen knife strip works great for holding drill bits too

Use magnetic spice containers to hold small hardware in the garage

This space has to be the prettiest garage I've ever seen

In the garage, bins and hooks and boxes are our friends

A rolling cart with most used cleaning supplies and tools is a great idea!
images above via BHG

Take a cue from Julia Child's kitchen and do the same for your tools!
via Martha Stewart

you say potato, i say potato

Our good friend Tesfaye recently convinced me to grow potatoes in old tires on the side of my house.  Have you ever heard of this?  Apparently, as they grow you stack up more tires...  I'm not really sure.  Since Tesfaye is a gardener, I seem to take his word without questioning it.  So, between the rest of our garden and our chickens (did I tell you we got 3 more?), I don't think we'll be going hungry any time soon.  Have any of you ever grown potatoes?  Have you ever heard of growing them in old tires?  I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Have a wonderful weekend!

garden boxes

For Easter this year I made each family a little garden box full of herbs planted in these vintage boxes I picked up at the flea market.  I sent the Chicago Burches all the fixings in the mail, but put together everyone else's to give to them on Easter.  I lined the bottom of each box with some kind of moss-something-or-another from Baker Nursery (sorry, I can't seem to remember what it was called, but the wonderful folks at Baker will surely know what you need...).  

Then I simply filled each box with dirt and planted all the herbs side by side...

I think they turned out so sweet and everyone seemed so excited about them.  Don't you think this would be the best present to give someone as a housewarming gift?  I know I would love it...