Revealing Redesign

Pennsylvania Interior Design Studio

flowers

Bloom Where You are Planted?

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About eleven years ago, I was wandering through the big box home store and stumbled upon some puny, sad little trees on sale. I stood there and wondered. Hmmm…..would those look nice? Not much to look at now….but maybe…..
With an infant and toddler in tow, I somehow hauled a couple of them up to the register, stuffed them into the minivan, and even managed to plant them before they died. Amazing.

Much like the house they were planted next to, they were humble things with humble beginnings, but I hoped that, despite their lack of pedigree, they would find a way to be the wonderful trees I thought they could be…someday.

This morning those crabapple trees weren’t thinking “well, I had better hold back. I’m nothin’ special afterall….”

Nope. Those pathetic twigs in plastic pots have become glorious trees that are proud to be in full bloom, perfuming the breeze and intoxicating each bumblebee that flies by.

So, how about you? Are you proudly blooming where you are planted? Maybe your home isn’t where you always dreamed of living, maybe it isn’t  the style of house or the neighborhood of your dreams….but you can bloom there anyway.

When you arrive home each day, I hope you feel a sense of deep satisfaction and pride in where you live. I hope you feel that your home is beautiful and shows the world in some way who you are.

I hope you can put your feet up there, and feel that it is a place that helps you to become more of who you want to be. Have faith that with time, creativity, and proper nurturing the simplest of dwellings can become simply beautiful-plastic pots, twigs and all.

A Sensory Experience

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With the many delights for the senses this past week…..
I have been taken back to the days when my children were small & learning about their five senses. It was a wonder to see their delight as they experienced the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes of the world for the first time.

It is a bit sad to me that as we “grow up” we become farther removed from the joy and wonder of our senses. It can be restorative to remind ourselves to pay attention to each one of them once again.

To be mindful of each of our senses, one at a time, is a great way to slow down and really  appreciate all that is so good around us. And where better to do this than in our homes? Maybe the things that we love about where we live has become white noise to us, things that we no longer take in or appreciate.

Here are a few favorites that come to mind for me:

  • Hearing–birdsong, Mozart, the quiet of the house after everyone has gone to bed….
  • Sight–family pictures, treasured artwork, yellow daffodil buds emerging outside, the faces of those I love.
  • Smell–freshly washed towels, favorite meals cooking in the kitchen, coffee in the morning.
  • Touch–our comfy family room chair, soft blankets and sheets on the bed, my dog’s velvety ears.
  • Taste–any meal I didn’t have to cook :)…oh, and a glass of wine.
What are your favorites?? Please post them below!~Can’t wait to hear them!!!

End of Winter Window Box

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I put this arrangement together for a dear friend this past weekend…and thought I should share. So easy! And such a pick-me-up as we wait for the first day of Spring to get here!
A trip to buy the flowers is the first step….and so much fun to see what looks good together and gives your heart a lift. I was drawn to these sunny yellow primroses and cheerful daffodils……:)

and the periwinkle primroses added such a beautiful fresh punch!

I had an old pine box–reminiscent of a outdoor window box–that I thought would be perfect for the container. I recycled a plastic Target back to act as my liner….

Easy as pie….just some snips around the outside, and stretch and staple the bag to the inside of the box…and then you have protected the wood and your furniture from drips and moisture from the potted plants.

Next, before putting the plants in place, you want to remove any spent blooms (known as “dead heading”) so that the plant will continue to push new blooms up. You can do this by simply pinching the stem underneath the old bloom, thereby removing it. At this time you will also want to remove the colorful plastic outer pots or wrapping so that everything around the base of the plants can visually recede….

Now we can begin to place the plants in the box, and work out an arrangement that we like.

For this window box, I used two Daffodil pots and six Primrose pots…lovely!!  Feel free to squeeze the pots in tightly to give you a nice full looking arrangement.

After the plants are in place, the dirt and black pots will still be visible. The finishing touch is to use green sheet moss to cover all of this up and further add to the feeling of a lush, mini springtime garden.

Floral pins can be used to secure it in place.

Break pieces of the moss off  and tuck around the base of the pots, and soften the edge of the box…

Makes me so happy just to think about it!…..

and then you have your final product…a lovely window box that helps bring Spring to your home a few weeks early!

Enjoy!

 

Signs of Spring

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These cute Snowdrops looked so proud to have their picture taken. There are signs that Spring is coming everywhere…especially since our winter has been so mild.

As I went on my morning walk today, I heard all kinds of birdsong and saw all kinds of critter activity–everybody is excited for Spring! Busy! Busy! Busy!

This is the time of year when we all start to dream…bountiful vegetable gardens, forever blooming flower beds, hours to enjoy the outdoors…anything seems possible. What are you dreaming of with the days getting longer??

Blossoming

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Do I really get paid to do this? It has been a fun and productive week, and I am happy to have some lovely photos to share!

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been asked to arrange the flowers for a friend’s upcoming wedding…so off to the flower distributor I went, and home I came with all kinds of beautiful buds to experiment with.

It has been a real treat to have all of the flowers in the house, and this morning with the fresh snow and bright sunshine outside there was a wonderful light in my dining room to get some pictures.

I am very pleased with the way things are coming together. Sheri, the bride, has chosen to go with collections of antique bottles and canning jars on each table, which I think will be perfect for the farm setting where the event will take place this April. So Exciting!

April and Spring will be here soon. Can’t wait!

Branching Out

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A few weeks ago, I had the surprise and honor of being asked to help design the tables for a bar mitzvah for a dear friend’s son.  I love doing new things, and learning that the theme for the event was going to be centered on TREES…wow! Couldn’t wait to get started!!
Here is a picture of the prototype that I threw together as we prepared, using somethings I had on hand, and the materials that Mary Ellen, my client and friend, had purchased previously. 

We arrived early that Saturday morning, convinced the friendly but somewhat imposing police officer at the borough building to lend us the key to the adjacent hall, and swung open the doors to the space needing our attention.

I forgot to wear my photographer’s cap that day, but nonetheless, I have a few shots to show a bit of how the finished product looked.

I wanted to evoke the feeling of a forest floor on each of the tables, so we used a number of elements to bring a lush, textured collection for each arrangement.  Using river rock, live plants, a variety of mosses, small votives, and tree branches that Mary Ellen had gathered from her own yard, each table received its own vignette.

We had decided to use a tray on each table to pull the arrangements together. The ones that Mary Ellen had found were a textured glass, and to me they were reminiscent of a little creek burbling by.

The side table which was used for place cards and gifts, had its own treatment with sanded manzanita branches, burlap table cloth, and a big hunk of an oak tree. 

Here is the table with the branches lit.

And the room ready for a celebration!

Mazel tov, Steven!

Flowers of Freedom

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It has been so cold. It has been so icy. It has been so WHITE everywhere for the LONGEST time.  When I got up yesterday morning, I felt compelled to go get a little slice of spring and bring it home with me.
I am having a few ladies over this evening (can’t wait!) –seems we were all reading the same book, so why not discuss it over a glass of wine?? All the more reason to go to the flower market.

The book that we will be discussing, Martha Beck’s Steering By Starlight, talks about thinking of the things you do during the course of your day, and rating them by how they make you feel, “shackles on” or “shackles OFF.” Well, I don’t think that it is any surprise that working with flowers is a complete SHACKLES OFF activity for me, that further leads to SHACKLES OFF feelings each time I walk past them in the house thereafter.

Doesn’t it just make you want to stick your nose in it and breathe deeply?

Ahhhhh…..

I had so much fun assembling the arrangements, and putting them all through the house.  I tucked some in my little wall pocket vase next to my kitchen sink…

on the kitchen table…

and I was sure to put some beside my bed….a real way to pamper oneself!

And, of course, in the dining room where I will be hosting tonight’s get-together.

Almost makes me not mind having to go out and shovel some more snow off the drive before everyone arrives… Almost.

Flowers for a Friend

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I was so disappointed when I got to the flower market yesterday morning. I had to buy flowers for a Revealing Redesign photo shoot that afternoon, and I also really wanted to find gorgeous blooms to arrange for dear friends who are going through a rough time. I was hoping to walk in and just be inspired, find all kinds of fantastic flowers and foliage, be filled with creative ideas.

Nope.

Blah, blah, and more blah. I came home with just one anemic bunch of daisies, and a dozen peachy-orange roses.

“Why did I buy these?!?” I thought to myself. Well….there wasn’t much else…I guess it is better than nothing….hmphf.

I wandered out to the garden to see what I could find to round things out, and THAT is where I found my inspiration. I know, I know~I have played this tune for you before. Just the same, the hydrangeas were doing their thing and showing a carnival of colors due to the autumnal changes outside, my Ninebark shrubs were glorious in their dark purple, and the silvery green delicate leaves of my Bridal Veil shrub also beckoned to me. How beautifully they would complement each other!

Arranging them I felt so happy and blessed. A gift for my friends to cheer them, and also a wonderful gift for me.