SOFT ROCK

A pink music room for a rock princess?
I never would have pictured the home of Sheryl Crow to be so romantic, but I absolutely loved it. Out of all the rooms in her expansive manse, however, this little one called to me. It seems so cozy and dreamy - the perfect spot for an artist to create in.

And, let's just talk about the latest issue of Architectural Digest for a second - it is fantastic. I can't believe what an amazing job Margaret Russell and her team have done in updating the publication and giving it new life while still maintaining the look and style of the brand. Bravo to them!

FROM FANTASY TO FÊTE: VICTORIAN VALENTINE

Haven't quite embraced the romantic vibe of the season yet? Suffice it to say... today's post may not be your cup of tea. Camille Styles here, and this week's fantasy takes a cue from the girliest of all palettes in cotton candy, blushing peach and pearl.

It's the month of love, so why not get inspired to host a decadently sweet afternoon tea for your most-adored gal pals? Whether single or attached, let everyone indulge their romantic side by donning a frilly frock and whiling away an afternoon, laughing over macaroons & crumpets.

In the age of evites, a handwritten card sent to your besties will speak volumes of your affection. This vintage-inspired one by Rifle Paper perfectly announces the Victorian vibe of our fête.

Now's not the time for sensible eating, m'dears. Cake stands and lovely pedestals piled high with sweet treats serve as delicious centerpieces. Leafy ferns and blooming orchids add to the english conservatory vibe. Homemade macaroons sound a bit intimidating? Try this easy alternative for a just-as-pretty option.

Serve Earl Grey from a teapot that's feminine and refined. Every hostess should learn to brew a proper cup of tea, and this seller has an amazing collection of vintage pots.

Although I'm usually not much of a collector, I can never have enough cake stands and apothecary jars. Just ordered loads of gorgeous pieces from this fantastic source, and I'm sure they'll be making appearances at future parties for years to come. Check out the recipes for our full Valentine's Tea menu, including radish & butter tea sandwiches, pastel whoopie pies, & rhubarb meringue cake.

*images: {row 1} food fashion friends, 100 layer cake, australia entertains {row 2} fashion is a playground, absolutely ladylike {row 3} shannon jayne via joy de vivre, mary ruffle tumblr, martha stewart weddings, brookman harris {row 4} martha stewart, bruno marchioro flickr. party images from food fashion friends.

IT'S BIRTHDAY WEEK!!

Hellloooooo party girls and boys! This weekend was a fabulous kickoff to my birthday week (with my real birthday being tomorrow!) and I can't wait to show you the photos!

We'll also be celebrating around here with giveaways every day and lots of pretty little things, because that's what birthdays should be all about! Presents and pretties!

(Like loads of pink balloons and dreamy party frocks!)

So pour yourself a little glass of champagne, slip on some sassy heels, and get ready for some fun as we celebrate birthdays and get ready for Halloween too!

xoxo,
cassandra

PINK + ORANGE: A NEW TWIST

There's nothing new about the duo of pink + orange. It's been a popular choice for cheery interiors and perky weddings for years now, but it still absolutely puts a smile on my face...

Recently, however, I've been seeing these colors in a new light. Combining this fresh and modern pair with dark old world influences and gold gives it a richness that that takes it from girlish and playful to exotic and luxurious. Personally, I'll take it either way!

*chairs via shopAD, jewelery at erie basin, interior unknown, jack & lulu stationery

ROOM OF THE WEEK 7.29

I love how pink rooms have become so much more common these days - it's a color that is so warm and complimentary! While I don't know that I'd be able to handle this color in common living areas, I really do enjoy it in the bedroom...

Especially when paired with sassy zig zag drapery, and lots of white to balance the room. This space grabbed my attention with this simple seating arrangement and perfectly placed artwork before I even realized it was actually a bedroom!

I love that they added a punch of the zig zag in a pillow to tie it in with the drapes, and also love that they chose a richer rug for the other side of the room to ground the seating area. (Here's a design tip - too many rugs in one space makes it feel smaller and more broken, but because the other rug is a neutral it simply adds to the room's texture and works well!) While there is certainly a mix of eras going on here, the style still feels cohesive and uncluttered, which is especially important for a bedroom. This is also great inspiration for a small studio space - a challenge I may be facing very soon! The only thing I might change is adding a bit more personality to the fireplace with a luxurious marble or mirrored facade. The rest of it? Perfect.

*interior by m. design

ROOM OF THE WEEK 4.8

I know this room has been making the blog rounds lately, but I can't help but be cheered by these layers of pink - walls, sofa and flowers!

For all that pink, though, this space isn't overwhelmingly feminine, which is what I really love about it. The ottoman grounding the room and the quirky midcentury lamps protruding from the walls both add a touch of masculine while the addition of those green pillows balances the framed print. Cozy and friendly with style to spare, this is definitely one for the inspiration files!

Speaking of which... have you visited the revamped Elle Decor site? It's been fun to explore so far, and I have to thank them so much for including coco+kelley on their list of Blogs We Love! There's definitely tons of great inspiration to discover there - rooms like this one and more!

Feelin' Fuschia

I've had this fuschia chair in my inspiration files for a few weeks now and I keep coming back to it. The residuals from an amazing Valentine's Day still have me hearting a deep pink. Then when I saw Cassandra condoned it, I was really convinced. Fuschia is where it's at!

via skona hem and coco+kelley

Against bright white or popping off of a sultry blue, I think a dot or two of fuschia would keep the warm and fuzzy feelings going all year long, don't you?

ALL THE SINGLE LADIES...

Listen up girls. I'm about to tell you something I wish someone had told me while I was single. No, it's not about how to catch your dream man, or trim your tummy. It's way way way more important that...
Decorate with pink. While you still can, for the love of god, just DO IT! These gorgeous little pops of divine girlish luxury would make me so so happy, but I'm afraid I just can't get away with it now that I live with a boy. (At least he let me get rid of 99% of his bachelor furniture...)
When I was a single gal, I chose mustard yellows, whites, greens... I remember having one brief stint with pink and aqua in my bedroom, but it didn't last long. Now I have to work for it just to incorporate coral (no, honey, it's not pink), and I've already pushed the envelope by having glamorous tendencies in the first place...
Let's face it. Even on a dark navy sofa in a fairly modern and gender-neutral space... there's no denying that these fuschia tones are downright feminine. So all you single ladies? For me? Go out and get yourself the girliest thing you've been lusting after and put it in your place now... while you still can. Then, pour yourself a glass of pink bubbly, and celebrate being a GIRL!

*rooms via: o at home on my little apartment, carla lane sasa antic

I LOVE... (LACE+LINER)

Don't you just love an excuse to feel sexy...? Black lace+eyeliner paired with pale pink should do the trick...
A cheeky little hat? Totally optional. But I like it!*images by nicholas routzen

Room of the Week 9.24

Last week delight by design featured this gorgeous room, and I just can't get it out of my head!
From the pages of Canadian House & Home, this pale pink and charcoal room is one of those spaces that takes a while to take in... and if I had to guess I'd say the inspiration came from that gorgeous marble table! That's where I would have started. The mix of textiles and furniture pieces is incredibly well done (although I would have chosen a different pattern for those pink pillows), and I looooove the pop of aqua in the wall sconces! I would have loved to see charcoal grey pinstripe drapes too - a touch of menswear in this room would be such a chic way to offset the pink. All in all, though, a truly inspirational space!

Dramatic In Pink

Much like the pink + organic inspired tabletop I created earlier this week, this visual journal piece (via flickr) reminded me how pink can be quite dramatic, paired with deeper shades of green, mustards, and other earthy tones...
The coat from Oscar de la Renta inspires the same feeling of pink being almost a neutral as a background for the more rich, dramatic colors...
A touch of pink goes a long way in balancing the bouquet above, while the pink walls provide a little quirkiness to match the decor in the room. A pink skirt paired with blackmakes for serious city style.

*first room via aussie vogue living, bouquet by LMD, vignette via house and garden, photography by bec parsons

Birthday Party Inspiration: Pink + Organic

While most two-year-olds might not select such a sophisticated and stylish palette for their birthday, I think blog years are like dog years - we're way ahead of our time around here. So, for my 2nd Blog Birthday, I'd love to have a table set like this...


The inspiration for this look came from a photo by Mikkel Vang (that I believe was for Gourmet Magazine), which I immediately tore out and tucked away for such a celebration. I wanted to recreate an organic-meets-hacienda style tabletop with a touch of glamour (of course!).

Pink peonies would be a must - preferably those really dark ones - tucked into a variety of glass vases and scattered down the table along with lots of candlelight. And, the paper mache bird makes for a sweet little gift at each setting, while the gold and wood contrasts have me swooning! Won't you join me for a summery evening on the patio? It's quite warm enough in Seattle (believe it or not) for us to stay out until the sun goes down!

*1. Gold rimmed dish via Vivre *2. Paper Mache 'lovebird' favor for guests from Anthropologie *3. Acacia wood appetizer plate at Crate & Barrel *4. Perfect pink linen napkins from Make My Table *5. Bronzed candle via Zara Home *6. Organic inspired glasses at Velocity *7. Twig flatware from VivaTerra.

Pink Flamingos!

Have I ever mentioned my love for pink flamingos? The real thing and those tacky yet fantastic plastic garden variety. I truly believe in having a bit of a sense of humour when it comes to decor, and I think a set of these exotic birds might just do it for me!

I love how they're used in this sunlit hallway amongst antique chandelier sconces and formal shabby chic furniture. I'd love to see them scattered about a perfectly manicured english garden. It's all about the contrasts! Of course, if you're not ready for the life-sized pink flamingos, perhaps just a dash of them in your tableware? These cuties from Bailey Doesn't Bark are just my style.

*photo via cote de texas. thanks joni!

Room of the Week 3.19

I absolutely adore this cozy living room via Inside Out Magazine for its natural textures and palette...

What first drew me to this space was that fireplace and the way the copper jumps out amongst all that lighter natural wood. And then, I realized how stunning it was to have dark floors and ceiling in here! A look that is rarely pulled off this well, but is certainly made possible by the amount of light coming in through those huge windows, drawing the outdoors in and softening the modern aesthetic.

While I definitely prefer richer woods, everything else about this room is ideal to me as I love to switch up colors in a room seasonally - having a neutral base to work from makes that possible. If this were your home, what colors would you add for spring?? I'm thinking a bit of pale pink like these pillows from dwell...

Color Predictions from Bloom.acious

This is it people! The very last blogger to contribute to our week (and a day) of color, and a perfect final choice she is!

Carrie over at bloom.acious has created such a unique blog full of a variety of topics, including fashion, where she has been doing some forecasting for a while now! So when I asked her to join in on the 2009 color predictions, she put together a quick fabulous list for all of us, and I think it perfectly rounds out the trends we've been seeing...

{Electric Blue}

{Silver Belles}

{Optimistic Pink}

{Sunny Yellow}

For more fabulous fashion and interior examples (and photo credits), just click on each color's title to get to more yummy color pages on bloom.acious. I love that Carrie picked silver as an alternate to grey, and have to say that the Carolina Herrera dress on the right was one of my absolute favorites for its subtle use of yellow in a year that I think we'll start to see it fade away on the runways a bit more. Thank you Carrie for joining me this week, and a huge thanks to everyone else who participated as well!

Now, I'll tally the votes... and tomorrow we'll crown our colors!

Color Predictions from {this is glamorous}

Last week, we had a fantastic lineup of guest bloggers posting on their color predictions for 2009 as we crown our own Color of the Year.

Today, I'm so happy to introduce the always inspiring {this is glamorous}. This series wouldn't be complete without a little forecast featuring the gorgeous images she is known for putting together so perfectly...

While I adore luminously white rooms with vibrant splashes of color, will always be drawn to softly welcoming neutrals and elegant grays warmed with delicate touches of color . . .

image: photo by ben park; livingetc april 2008

image: domino magazine

image: the last of the summer whites

image: elizabeth anne designs

image: elle decor september 2007

image: she sells...

image: through the looking glass

image: ellie saab via style.com

Would love to see more of the pink-hued lavenders and dusky roses that having been seeping onto the runways and into interiors this season.

Seems like we have another vote for pink in the house! I'm in love with the last bedroom in this set - the subtle inclusion of color in the all-white space is just fantastic. Thank you so much {this is glamorous} for joining in on my little week of predictions! I'll be sad to see it go ~ I think I could keep doing this for the entire month with all the amazing photos and collections we've been seeing! More this afternoon, my dears...

Miss Au Naturale

The tiniest flush of pink. A little shimmer of peach. And, of course, the neutrals - taupes, metallics, creams and greys - we'll call them The New Naturals. And they are ruling 2009.

They showed up all over the runways for spring in flowing, feminine fabrics and details.

top: the beautiful alison lohman, dress oscar de la renta
bottom: luisa beccaria, mario schwab, luisa beccaria, jill stewart

With pink leading the pack in warming up rooms this year in every possible barely-there shade.

clockwise: room via visual vamp, living room by kelly hoppen, bed via living etc, dining room photo by mikkel vang

Predictions for 2009? Pair your brightest pastels with the new naturals - metallics, nudes and every shade of grey.

top: doo.ri, photo by joe schmelzer
bottom: schumacher, photo by jimmy backius

Of course your basic blacks and whites will never really be replaced, but these warmer tones are just what we need for Spring...

clockwise: room via domino, roksanda ilincic, bouquet by saipua

... all the way into Fall.

pre-fall collections from j.mendel, vera wang, rachel roy