natalie's living room, or, what you can do with some fab tag sale stuff

natalie's living room
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

a few weeks ago i did a little styling at my friend (and sometimes design client) natalie's pretty, old colonial house. natalie and i actually met at an estate sale, and like me, she loves to use her fab finds, along with family pieces and the occasional new thing, to create a warm and pretty home for her sweet little family..... lovely, no? and how about that gorgeous pup :) love him.

so, head out to an estate sale this weekend. it's fun, and earth friendly (recycling!), and it'll help you find ways to make your house as cleverly chic as natalie's. good luck!

x lynn-anne

first weekend of the holiday season, 2011

first weekend of the holiday season, 2011
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

one more, just because i think it's pretty and i have promised myself that i'll blog every day. new year's resolution, a bit early ;)

Old and new Christmas things on the top of our lockers #hipstamatic #lakbdesign #whynotmakeitpretty

Old and new christmas things on the top of our lockers #hipstamatic #lakbdesign #whynotmakeitpretty
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

i'm trying not to go crazy with the decorating this year ... but i had to get out this past-its-best-but-still-so-perfectly-kitschy tree, and i like the way it looks on top of these old lockers. it brings back some sweet, and long ago memories -- watching my dad untangle our (two) strands of lights, his lanky 6'4" frame stretched out on the floor of our little scottish living room -- that's one of my earliest Christmas memories (that and my mum's delicious cakes), and then, - the breathtaking moment of surprise when the room lights go off and the sparkling tree is all that's left ... i think simple lights are the best thing about decorating for the holidays.

x lynn-anne

christmas in a wythe blue room

christmas in a wythe blue room
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

hello everyone....

i hope you're having as much fun at your house as we are here! it's been a lovely weekend, with our oldest home from college and plenty of time to do a little decorating, craft up a storm, see a couple of movies, and, of course, eat. we've also managed to catch up on an avalanche of laundry. and today? more decorating (outside and in), more crafts (pompom garland!), more eating (made the first gingerbread of the season last night), and yes, more laundry (have to send Nathan back to harvard with only clean clothes ;)

love to you all, and best wishes for stamina and strength in this lovely but exhausting time of year

xx lynn-anne

we're ready for halloween tomorrow ...

Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

and you ?

Hands down weirdest thing at #HPmkt- #blueoceantraders -genius importers- have this odd stack of #vintage baby dolls from #india .... um.

Hands down weirdest thing at #HPmkt- #blueoceantraders -genius importers- have this odd stack of #vintage baby dolls from #india .... um.
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

freaky, no? happy halloween!!

treasured.

treasured.
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
hello -

it's been ages, i know. life gets so busy, and i've been working on lots of design projects, which i love, but i'm starting to think it's time to have a little more time with the people i adore -- my darling husband and our four precious kiddos. so i hope you'll bear with me as i try to figure out my life (again) ~

x lynn-anne

rock painting: a craft eminently suitable for uncertain economic times ;)

caroline was painting rocks today
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
most of us can find a couple of (free) rocks in the yard or on a walk. most of us have at least a few old tubes of paint. ergo, most of us have the makings of a fun little project -- for free. perfect for down market times, and you're limited only by your imagination, which is (hopefully) abundant, and also free. and these sweet and lovingly crafted things can be recast as gifts - paperweight, anyone? (but no throwing stones, no matter how cranky you get ;)

happy saturday! i'm off to do some work, then cupcakes and ice cream with the entire first grade, and all of this to be topped off by a soccer tournament ... it's lovely to be a mom ;)

x lynn-anne

x

in the playroom today

in the playroom today
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

i like this space in our house -- it's a room with lots of uses, from entry (our side door opens right into it) through playspace for teddy, our six year old, to hang out space for tv watchers and storage place for soccer bags and cleats and backpacks and gloves and goggles and even games; it's also a space full of repurposed things, from a fixed-up-with-old-quilts sofa, to a vintage breadbox with wheels used to store hot wheels to an assortment of estate sale art, to a set of old lockers stuffed with kids' stuff (sprayed a fresh blue at the auto body shop), to a tree stump (from our yard) turned side table, to an antique, very primitive cupboard piled high with games and decorated with this month's postalpix .... just perfect.

IDA Interior LifeStyle: Flickr says it's Friday {random pics}

IDA Interior LifeStyle: Flickr says it's Friday {random pics}: "Hello everyone, it's Friday, time for ' Flickr says it's Friday '. But before, a little update about my house searching. In the past weeks ..."

thanks to the lovely ilaria for featuring us along with some pretty awesome company ...

happy weekend!

x lynn-anne

festive times in the playroom

festive times in the playroom
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
or, another day, another decorating cliche ... ;)
but seriously, i made bunting for the fergusandme shop, and since my lifelong hopelessness with mechanical objects has now resulted in the disastrous snarling of the thread on the sewing machine, i was forced to conjure a no sew method (always the best, find) ... also, i'm prominently featuring a really sweet little vintage folding stool that i bought at an estate sale a while ago for a client -- it was in rough shape, but we cleaned and sanded and painted it yesterday, and it looks splendid, i think. and it has that fabulous folding action (this one's for you, amy, if you're reading ...)

x lynn-anne

in the playroom

in the playroom
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
this sofa's slipcovers have been washed a million times (henry and fergus, our dogs, like to lie across the pillows waiting for people to walk up the stairs behind pillows; plus, people who shall remain nameless sit here wearing mud encrusted cleats and soccer kit .... anyway ..) and rips and holes were starting to appear .. all of this meant time for a sofa revitalization project. so i got some of those recycled indian sari quilts that are pretty much everywhere right now, as well as some pillow covers, and i took off all the too-stuffed original down back pillows, then wrapped the cushions in some bigger quilts, et voila! newly fun sofa! (the longest & most tiresome part of the project was vacuuming under the cushions - yuck).

here's hoping the next project you dream up is just as easy ...

x lynn-anne