Chinoiserie in the Garden

Southern Living Collection Door Mats

 

I spent much of yesterday in my garden. Lowe's delivered 2 pallets of bagged black mulch that my gardeners will put down on Saturday. I did some pruning and I also cleaned all my blue and white Chinese garden stools and fishbowls.

Spring Cleaning

Frances Valentine

 

Spring is here and that means it's time for spring cleaning. But this is my kind of spring cleaning - Frances Valentine is having a Spring Cleaning Sale.

The Art of Cleaning

CCC

 

Spring is just around the corner and I suspect many of us grew up with the ritual of Spring Cleaning. I actually really enjoy cleaning my house. I am not alone - I found a fascinating article from Real Simple on this topic. 

The Blue and White Living Room

Jorge Elias

 A stunningly beautiful blue and white living room with so much inspiration - lots of blue and white Chinese porcelain, a mini bar, those elephants, orchids, a white slipcovered sofa, books, and gorgeous art. 

When I was in law school, I lived in a very grand house in Georgetown. So grand that it was rented by Joe and Rose Kennedy to house the Kennedy clan for JFK's inauguration. When I was living there, every spring the owners would take up all the oriental rugs and replace them with jute and seagrass and slipcover all the sofas and chairs in white cotton duck. The windows were all washed, silk drapes removed, and a spring house cleaning was done including the garden and pool.

I learned lots about running a house and still love the ritual of spring cleaning. Yesterday I hand washed all the screens in my lanai indoors and out! It looks wonderful. When I finished, I made an Old Fashioned and sat in the lanai at sunset. This is the life.

Spring Cleaning

The Laundress

 I am having my windows washed today and he is due over shortly. This will not be me above - LOL. I love sparkling windows and this is one job I don't tackle myself with my high ceilings and tall windows.

In my book, nothing makes a house look better faster than cleaning the windows. So I am off to get organized - have a great day.

Spring Styling - The Sofa and Coffee Table

I actually had Sunday all to myself and had a wonderful time doing some spring cleaning and styling in my house. One little project was to style my sofa and coffee table for the spring with lots of color. I love the vintage pink Otomi runner I've layered on the sofa. I also added a new flamingo print to my wall art. On the coffee table I've mixed a pink patent leather tray, lots of interior design books ("Great Expectations" is actually a Kate Spade clutch!), and some J.Crew bracelets in vibrant pastels. The gold hedgehog on the skirted table is a Kate Spade coin purse and and the zebra handbag on the Chinese garden stool is vintage Kate Spade. See the zebra book jacket on "Henley On Safari"? - reminiscent of the iconic "I Married Adventure."

I love fashion almost as much as interior design (my daughter is a fashion stylist) and I often display beautiful jewelry, scarves, and accessories from my wardrobe. I was in C.Wonder the other day and all their foo dogs were wearing bracelets as collars and necklaces. So fun!

Spring Cleaning at Joss & Main Today

Blue and white toile spring cleaning essentials at Joss & Main today. Click the link to join:
http://www.jossandmain.com/invite/4ln