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stand at attention

Well I certainly hope that the April showers hold off this Friday for Kate and William - it’s so exciting! I can’t wait.
But if they do get the luck of rain on their special day, I’m sure they’ll manage their way in style.

It’s amazing how the Union Jack has made it’s way onto everything this spring!

I have a total ‘thang’ for umbrella stands and I have no clue why. Maybe I’ve watched too many romantic Period movies where the characters hurry home, on a dark rainy day, to a cozy London townhouse or country estate, and order up some tea to ward off the damp…

Even here on the sunnier side of the pond, there’s something lovely about the idea of an umbrella-stand-in-waiting for someone to bustle in and take welcome cover from a wet and wicked day…

Functional and full of character, an umbrella stand adds sunny personality to an entry hall.

Regardless of the style - cool, crazy or classic - they’re a useful and fun accessory, no matter the weather…

For an affordable stand, you can even try some d-i-y with a garden bucket - see these feet from a clawfoot tub…

and a bit of paint…

If you’re looking for a hit of colour for your hall - I love this modern Lucite design…

I also love this umbrella - but that’s off topic! …

When I did my wish list of cobistyle accessories - umbrella stands held pride of place right near the top. I’m so happy they made it into the first season of the line…

We have three colours of ceramic this spring - a gorgeous, glossy, royal blue, lime green and white…

Plus traditional - always perfect - blue and white…

They work just as well for Spring flowers as they do for April showers!

And speaking of spring flowers - I just couldn’t help but add this picture - what a great way to use a milk glass collection!

Spring is a time to refresh old things and try new ideas. I’m off to brighten up my front hall with a brightly striped mat, my green umbrella stand and a wreath on the inside of my front door. Then I’ll write a note to set my alarm clock for the middle of the night Thursday night. We did it for Lady Di, how could we not do it for her baby boy? Cheerio!

nature’s paint brush

People often ask me where I get my inspiration…well it isn’t hard when I see things like this…

These shots are taken of northern Netherlands in the middle of tulip season.

The Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of color as the tulips burst into life.

More than three billion tulips are grown each year.

Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune.

But like a Rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon.

When the flowers are gone, the land is cultivated for less exciting but ever important vegetables.

Take note hubby, a spring trip to Netherlands is on the bucket list, right alongside the south of France in lavender season.

easter eggs

Happy Easter Monday.

I think I’ve talked before about how I have a thing for birds, bird eggs and nests - some sunny day I’ll take some pictures and show them to you.
I put some of them away over the winter but when Easter arrives, I let them hatch all over the house again.

If you have a particular motif that you like, it’s a great way to personalize your home. And one of the best places to search for fun and interesting art and accessories is a site called Etsy. I’m sure many of you know it, but for those who don’t, it’s an amazing site, kind of like Ebay (without the bidding) but it focuses on one-of-a-kind, handmade objects. Etsy’s mission statement is: “to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers”. Pretty cool.

Here’s a selection of things I found when I searched my beloved bird eggs….

This is a lovely little print of an original acrylic painting on canvas. It measures 7” x 7” and is for sale by the artist for $12.50 US (unframed) plus shipping.

If you don’t like the idea of a print, here’s an original oil for sale with the sides of the canvas painted black so you can hang it without framing. It’s 16” x 20”, signed by the artist, and for sale for $135 US.

I love this print….it only measures 5.5” x 7.5” but it comes with a white border so you could frame it a little larger and it’s only $15 US plus shipping of course.

Or how about a beautiful little hand-felted nest to put on your window ledge for $20 US.

And of course, who could resist the jewellery…there’s tons of it. Check out this ring for $34 US.

And I love this necklace that says “little bird” for $16 US.

Or this one for $39 US….

It isn’t too late for the Easter bunny to bring mom some eggs - do you think? All in the name of supporting Art!!

good to be green

It doesn’t take the luck of the Irish to create a beautiful room. As I’ve said before, one of the easiest and most impactful ways to decorate is with a single colour palette. In other words one colour with lots of white or neutral. I love the freshness of a green and white with a earthy gray or brown thrown in. Even Mother Nature agrees….

If you have an all neutral room - white, beige, earth tones, try a big bunch of fresh leaves (even from the garden) and see how the crisp, cool of the green, wakes everything up like a spring morning. It’s a good way to test out what green would look like in that room.

Another way to test green in your rooms is to fool around with it at Christmas time. No commitment but a good amount of time to see how it feels.

Or even try some green veggies in your all white kitchen…

I love apple green and white with wood and naturals ~ it’s so fresh and happy, like new leaves popping out of the forest floor.

If you’re more bold, you can try brilliant emerald or grass green which looks great with white and black …

But if that just feels like too much for you, try your luck outside, green and white is a classic.

Or, if you really aren’t sure, you could just decorate your son, like I do every year at this time on his birthday (14 today! ) .
That will give you a good sense of how lucky it feels to live with a little green!

Beautiful Robin’s Egg Blue!

I had a lucky find on one of my morning dog walks this spring. A perfect (empty) robin’s egg was lying in a ditch - the colour is truly glorious! I gingerly carried it home admiring the colour and telling Hito how unusual and exciting it was to find one. (If anyone knows why robin’s eggs are coloured this way, please e-mail and tell us - I’m curious).

Anyway, as I lay it in a lovely little bird’s nest I found on a previous walk I had an idea… Many of us have a romantic notion to paint something ‘robins egg blue’ at some point - but who has an egg laying around when you need one? So why not use this egg as a sample to match paint colours so that we can all have a list tucked away for the time when we need it, and so that’s what I’ve done. Keep this list in your ‘decorating’ folder on your computer (you do have one, right?) for when you need it in future.

I took the delicate egg with me to Home Depot, Canadian Tire, independent paint stores and did an initial gathering of colour samples - unfortunately it got crushed a little at a stop light (long story). Anyway, I then weeded out the colours in better light at home and came up with a list of matches. Two lists really - light versions of the colour, and intense, deeper versions. When it’s time to do your project, think about how you envision it: light and airy or rich and saturated. This colour looks amazing either way, it just depends on what look you’re trying to achieve.

I suppose different robin’s eggs would be different colours, this egg is an intense, deep colour that’s more green than blue and very complex (trust mother nature to make something too beautiful to duplicate). It’s almost ‘dirty’ in its complexity and no, it isn’t the mud from the ditch but at least this will give us a guide in future for the gorgeous blue/green colour that’s so perfect in many applications: baby’s rooms, children’s rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, porch ceilings, cottage floors, country furniture…I even have it on my kitchen ceiling and love it.

Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Light and Airy:

Sico

Saltspring Grey 6161-31 (pretty, soft, light green)
Movie Star 6148-31 (clear, light, bright, quite green)

Sherwin Williams

Aquatint SW 6936 (nice, light blue with hint of green)
Waterfall SW 6750 (lovely fresh, light colour)
Refresh SW 6751 (medium, green version, nice)
Aquaduct SW 6758 (medium, more blue version, also nice)

CIL/ICI/Glidden
Vivid Lake 70GG 74/120 (nice and light, a bit minty)
Island Aqua 70GG 67/184 (medium tone, clear, maybe too bright)

Behr
Balmy Seas 490C-3 (pretty, light soft, version)

Para
It’s a Steal P5021-24 (clear, very light, nice tone)
Splurged Again P5021-34 (a very close match to egg but more clear)
Tea Cups P5108-24 (gorgeous, light colour, love this one)
Drop Zone P5108-34 (seriously gorgeous medium colour, bright but not too)

Benjamin Moore
Soft mint 2041-60 (pretty, soft and light, but yes, minty)
Sea mist green 2041-50 (beautiful soft medium tone)

Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Rich and Intense:

Sico
Baffin Island Grey 6161-52 (beautiful, dark, greyed out shade)
Antibes Blue 6148-42 (clear, dark, nice green)

CIL/ICI/Glidden
Duck Egg Blue 70GG 59/225 (very clear, bright colour but nice)

Behr
Jamaica Bay 500D-4 (very nice colour, soft medium blue)

Sherwin Williams
Cooled Blue SW 6759 (clear, rich, more green than blue)

Para
Splash Mountain P5108-52 (dark, gorgeous colour)

Ralph Lauren
Island Brights Aged Mint IB77 (beautiful deep bluey grey)
Sunwashed Blue IB82 (intense bright green/blue)

Benjamin Moore
Historical colours Covington blue HC-138 (Stunning greyed blue)

Winner of the ‘Overall Best Match’ to this little Egg of Wonder:

Sico
Anticosti Grey 6161-41 (Perfect!!)