Gingham Couture

I just caught a lovely post on gingham at The Adventures of TartanScot. I immediately gushed to Scot about my longtime love of gingham. It's so summery, so fresh. It's at once uber preppy, yet country. Right now, it's even couture. Is there any fabric more all-American? 

I just bought a heap of gingham shirts from JCrew. For summer entertaining, I keep piles of the cheap stuff in every color. It's less than $4/yd and makes any party so festive. I just pick my color to set the tone and whip out the pinking shears. My fav scheme is the cornflower blue with my blue/white Spode dishes and pink and orange garden roses. This first image, via Scot, will be forever filed in "favorites." Unfortunately, I can't see my husband agreeing to those hot yellow pants.

Of course, this inspired a  fantasy shopping spree....

Fantasy Shopping resources for those of you lucky enough to care: 

Dress, Giambattista Vallie, $719 (on sale from $1800) at barney.com

Snake skull clutch by Alexander McQueen, $1360 at harveynichols.com

Diamond earrings, Munnu $7500 at barneys.com

Shoes, Reiss Women, $290 here

Watch, Michael Kors at net-a-porter

Images: The Adventures of Tartanscot; Atlantic-Pacific; Alexandra Rae's fantasy shopping files; Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, via my pinterest boards; last collage from The City Sage;

My New Second Home

My husband and I have created a very layered, eclectic, traditional home over the years. So, we've always said if we ever bought a vacation place, whether it be a beach house here in LA (close), a village cottage in Milwaukee (family), or a pied-à-terre in the NYC (love!), we would want it totally and completely modern. I have fantasy files filled with the rooms we'd create for this place.

But I take it all back! This is the fantasy second home of my dreams. I know, it is ultra traditional. I can just see myself serving mint juleps in a little shift dress. Okay, so Atlanta was never on the list. But he loves Southern cooking and I love to play pretend.

Thank you Erin at House of Turquoise for disrupting my fantasy plans.

Walls: A custom strié finish -- Farrow & Ball in Oval Room Blue over Farrow & Ball Light Blue. Trim: Benjamin Moore Bavarian Cream. And the custom hand-painted screen is by Raymond Goins. For more, check out the house in Atlanta Home here!

Too blue, or not too blue

Ironically, this post was going to be about my break up with blue and white. I grew up in a blue and white house, ate off Blue Willow my whole childhood, even registered for everything blue and white some 16 years ago. We've all been served such a glut of this now totally cliché classic that I even steer clients away from it, imploring them to toss in some red, orange or apple green. But...

...going through old inspiration photos and cleaning out my garage this week, I'm like a girl trying to toss her wedding dress. There are just some things we will always hold dear as a part of ourselves. 

How gorgeous was this HB cover? I just remembered, I have 5 yards of an Italian blue and white outdoor stripe. Not to mention a garage full of blue and white vases. Anyone? Quick, I've been know to change my mind. 

Images: Mary MacDonald, House Beautiful

Did someone say stripes?

I saw this over at Veranda House and it just stuck with me. I think mostly its the fabulous blue and white fabric although the clincher for me is definitely the stripes. My poor Luke has striped shirts, t-shirts and knits galore, I just can't get enough of it! Kellie xx