patio swoon

Can't help but crave a scene such as this, especially with winter on the way...

(Photo by Ngoc Minh Ngo)

happy monday + pretty patio

Seeing this adorable patio has me thinking about redecorating my own outdoor space. Even though it's late summer, I figure there's still enough time to enjoy a sunny little sitting area, especially if it includes a yellow-fringed umbrella! Perhaps I have a project ahead of me for next weekend. I hope this past weekend was a lovely one for all of you, it certainly was for me. Looking forward to sharing more colorful, end of summer inspiration as the week goes on!

(Image via Marie Claire Maison)

i want to be here

(Via here)

happy {memorial day} monday!

Here's hoping you all had a lovely holiday weekend, full of picnics, barbecues and various outdoor celebrations! Looking forward to catching up with everyone tomorrow...

(Image by Morten Holtum)

Beach Towels as Art

... or, more appropriately, art as beach towels. These super stylish beach towels come to us from the Art Production Fund's Works on Whatever (WOW) project. I featured a few of the 2007 selections, by artists such as Elizabeth Peyton and Kehinde Wiley, here on Peacock Feathers last year. The new towels are adorned with beautiful and bold works by acclaimed contemporary artists Raymond Pettibon and Julian Schabel. At $50, they are a splurge if you are accustomed to picking up a couple striped numbers at Target or Old Navy. But compared to a luxe version from Missoni or Hermes, they are a complete steal! Not to mention they are huge, measuring 60x70 inches. A great gift for the art lover/sun worshipper in your life.

My favorite (from the 2007 series)... by Jeff Koons

Sunny and Sparkling

I'm putting this post under "sparkly things." Whether the house above is more than a place to store boats I'm not sure, but it's gorgeous any which way.  The rest of this French vacation home is pretty great too - full of sun and white wood planks and soft colors. If anyone would like to invite me here for a weekend, I would be more than happy to oblige...

Via Marie Claire Maison...

Colorful Gardening

Progress continues to be made in my patio area. After completing the tiered veggie garden, the focus has been on just making things pretty. My most recent mini project is this ladder plant stand. I like having something tall to create a bit of a focal point - and it's certainly nice having another spot to perch flower pots. The idea came from this post over at Bits & Pieces... as soon as I saw it the light bulb went on! Turns out we had an rickety, old ladder sitting in our basement just perfect for refurbishing. With a single, rough coat of leftover turquoise paint from my laundry room project to give it an appropriately weathered look, I had a fun, no-cost piece of garden decor! 

Here are a view more shots from around the garden...

The duck planter was an 8th grade art project of my sweetie's... how cute is that?

The miniature metal wash bucket is a $2 Target find from the bargain bin at the front of the store. So perfect as a planter! Now I can't wait for the dahlias to really start blooming...

Here's my sneaky little Radius, posing as usual. And the table runner is only $3.99 at Ikea - you'll need two to make it across the table though...

A final addition to our upstairs deck - a graceful swan planter from the sale room at Anthro!

Nice Wheels!

It's time to upgrade my transportation, and I think the "Jenny" by Schwinn might be the perfect bike for me. After two years of riding this cutie, which is actually a tank in disguise, I'm ready for something lighter and more appropriate for city commutes. While some of the models by Electra are very tempting, this one by Schwinn fits the bill and has tons of style to boot. Oh how I love the yellow frame and cool, brown leather seat. With some luck I will have the chance to check it out in person later in the week and then perhaps one day this summer I will be cruising around town on my new yellow (not pink) Cadillac!

Relaxed and refreshed...

Ahh, what a lovely weekend! Kevin and I, along with our great friends Pop Culture Casualty + her honey, just got back from a tremendously relaxing (and fun!) time at the Jersey Shore. It's so nice to get away from the city for a couple days and see the sand and water, and to return refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks of the week. 

Today you will find me working in my garden, planting new flowers and feeding the old ones. Hopefully everything will look good and I'll have some new photos to share this week. Meanwhile, here's hoping you all had a happy weekend too! Any exciting adventures to share?

My Blue Heaven

Yesterday I shared a dream of a "Palm Beach goes to the Hamptons" vacation house. But today, it gets even better. I leave you for the weekend with this amazing Miami home belonging to designer extraordinaire Doug Meyer. The man clearly loves turquoise, and so he is a man after my own heart....

Wow, right!? This patio is the patio I would do tomorrow, if I had an actual wood deck and more than 10 square feet of space to work with. Seriously, I would break out a can of turquoise floor paint and go to town. And don't even get me started on the striped awnings! Meanwhile, the seating area on the lanai is pretty amazing too. Gold poufs? Yes, please!

The color explosion just continues inside! A spectacular collage wall is the focal point of this bedroom, with a matching set of Chinese Chippendale chairs setting things off perfectly.

A cactus garden room divider adds to the playfulness in the living room....

... while this sitting area features a sofa upholstered in Ikea's "Hedvig" fabric ($7.99 per yard)... so fun, and totally budget-minded!

Hope this leaves you inspired as we head into the weekend! Personally, I can't stop thinking about making my own collage wall. Oh, and pricing out the cost of a striped awning for the front of my house. 

Have a happy and creative weekend, everyone!

(Images via Metropolitan Home)

My Patio Veggie Garden

One of the things my fella and I have been looking forward to the most this spring was starting our own vegetable garden. With such a small patio space, we knew it would be a challenge. The original plan was to use pots for the various tomatoes, peppers and herbs. But when I came across the idea of a tiered vegetable planter, we knew it was the perfect solution for us. Not only is it a great space-saving idea, but it allows us to keep most all the vegetables together!

Kevin spent a Saturday afternoon using his engineering skills to build this amazing planter. Didn't he do a fantastic job? The largest planter on the bottom holds tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, chives and garlic; the middle, more shallow planter holds various salad greens such as arugula, butter lettuce, mesclun and spinach; and the one at the top holds early peas and lima beans, which are intended to climb the trellis that Kevin installed.

Starting with a wood case (the one on the bottom) that was originally used to hold a pipe, he build off of it to create the two smaller planters. Standard shelf brackets sold at Lowe's were used to support the boxes - several at each level to hold the significant weight of the soil. I'm sorry I can't offer more exact instructions, but I'm not much of a carpenter! Maybe I can convince Kevin to write up some plans for me to share with all of you.

That's honeysuckle in the corner by the cedar trellis...

As for the vegetables? Well, they are definitely growing! It's all still a learning experience, but we are diligent about looking after them every day and super-excited about what is developing. Hopefully we will be harvesting our own salads and spicy peppers this summer!

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the planter... we've added some colorful pots and playful accessories. The back pot holds a climbing hydrangea which we hope will make its way up the lattice wall. The white pot contains delicious mint plants which we use for iced teas, chimichurri sauce, and, of course, mojitos! And the friendly dolphin is a vintage find from many years ago. He once lived on a playground but now he happily resides on our little patio.

It really is amazing what you can do with even the smallest outdoor space. So don't let a sad little concrete slab like ours (or a fire escape, or a miniature deck) stop you from developing a green thumb. It's such a wonderful summertime pleasure!

My Weekend Outdoor Project

I hope you all had a great weekend! It was sunny and hot here in Philadelphia, which gave me the incentive I needed to start on the patio and deck. Most of my time was spent painting the patio fence, which went from a drab untreated wood finish to a bright white. But more on that later, once I can get some good photographs.

A much easier project involved sprucing up our third floor deck. It's a small space, but a perfect one for my fella and I to sit, have a cocktail, and enjoy the city skyline. We purchased the Ikea andirondack chairs last summer, along with the colorful striped cushions, though they do have similar styles this year too.

I started out by painting the Ikea planter that I've had for years and years. I blended the leftover white paint from the patio fence with a touch of turquoise paint (Valspar "Bayside") that was used on the new laundry room walls to create a dreamy aqua. The little iron plant stand was found on the street in a set of three (the other two are downstairs) - I quickly coated it with white gloss spray paint to freshen it up. Then I filled the pots with white begonias and pink petunias!

Because the deck can be viewed through a French glass door at the top of our staircase, I wanted to add some playful touches that would be fun to look at all summer. So I dragged out some fun accessories to give the space life - the chrome lanterns are from West Elm and the ceramic owl planter is from Anthropologie.

And so, with a cool drink in a pear-print Orla Kiely tumbler (they finally re-stocked my local Target with all the Orla kitchenware!) and Sammy the greyhound by my side, the deck is finally ready for summer living!

So, were any of you lucky enough to spend time in the sun this weekend? If so, what did you do?

Outdoor Living

Here are just a few of my favorite outdoor living environments. These will be the inspiration for my patio and deck when I start working on them soon. I can only hope they end up looking half as good as some of these!

Beach House Living, Part 2...

Love this beach house designed by Richard Keith Langham... especially the yellow striped bathroom and the recurring seahorse motif...

Via House Beautiful

Is It Spring Yet?

The snow may have finally melted here in Philadelphia, but it's still miserably cold. These sunny images from Sunset Magazine have me longing for warm afternoons, outdoor dining, and cooking in a bright, funky kitchen! The boyfriend and I have been talking about putting a French door in our kitchen to let more sunlight in... after seeing the image above I am convinced it is a must!