Strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream, strawberry pie… we can’t stop thinking about strawberries! It’s a good thing, too, because this weekend is Cabot’s Annual Strawberry Festival, where we can revel in all things related to this deliciously sweet and juicy fruit. An ideal spring getaway with food, entertainment and vendor booths to keep everyone in the family happily fed and entertained. For information, visit juniorauxiliaryofcabot.com. How can you resist?
A little special something for today’s Friday Favorites!
You might say we’ve been doing some “online” spring cleaning around here, giving our At Home web site a fresh, clean and uncluttered new look! We’re still working out minor details and tidying things up a bit, but it’s well on its way. And we’re so excited!
Along with the fresh look, we also have some exciting plans for our design blog. (Hooray!) Like regular guest series with some of our very favorite bloggers. Beginning next week! We’ve compiled an impressive line-up of some of the biggest names in the blogosphere to help us welcome spring. On the list for discussion? Springtime in Paris. Tulip arrangements. How to accessorize outdoor furniture. How to mix vintage and new. How to be true to you. Inspiring springtime images. The 10-minute solution to spring cleaning…and more!
Check out their fabulous blogs below for a little introduction (simply click on the images), and then check back here beginning this Wednesday when we invite each of them to join our community of readers for some fun and conversation. Let’s make them feel welcome, shall we?
Have a good weekend!
Today, a do-it-yourself dining room in the charming, cheerful apartment that roommates Natalie Smith (she’s the assistant to AR First Lady Ginger Beebe) and Casie Williams outfitted in a vintage Hillcrest building. (The full story has before photos too).
We love the mix of an heirloom table, assorted tableware and those painted chairs with the cute little back pillows. Our April issue lists several blogs with similarly inspired do-it-yourself looks, including the blog My Sweet Savannah, which has a sweet chair makeover idea.
Ready to get out your paintbrush?
Considering how positively pretty they are, it’s no surprise Vivienne Tam decided to make peonies the focal point of her Spring 2009 Collection. “Every woman loves peonies,” Tam declared before her show.
Lush and colorful, peonies also play a starring role in our April 2010 issue, featuring Henry Chotkowski’s peony farm on the outskirts of Fayetteville–the three-acre plot of land literally transforms into a sea of green leaves and bright blooms! Don’t miss the Mother’s Day Open House on May 9 from 1 to 6 p.m., with live music, refreshments, dessert and an opportunity to order peonies or buy cut flowers. For more information, visit www.athomearkansas.com.
Who doesn’t love a design quiz? No grades involved (whew!) and you can learn more about your design style and knowledge.
Do you know at what point in the design process to choose a paint color? What the most prominent element in your room show be? Try this DESIGN QUIZ from the folks at About.com–set up along the lines of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with the questions getting progressively more difficult.
Let us how design rich you become!
The kitchen/dinette of David Kirkpatrick take the top honor this week! As owner of Cabbage Rose Floral Boutique in Little Rock, Kirkpatrick has a penchant for color–fall color, to be more precise. He was inspired by earthy fall foliage to create a warm haven out of his cottage home, where the kitchen features brown walls and red accents. An antique armoire in the adjoining dinette stores his pots and pans, and he spiced up the cupboard with a red backsplash.
And we couldn’t resist including an image of the master bedroom, where Kirkpatrick’s sidekick, Jo Jo, posed for a picture.
Kathy Condrey spies a beautiful kitchen with vintage details. (“Adding character with vintage details” from Parkinson Building Group’s blog)
Katie Rawlings’ fabric frenzy continues! “Such style in these fabrics, paint colors, accessories. I am love with the green printed couch and all of its surroundings!” (“Updating a breakfast nook” from Good Bones, Great Pieces)
Laura LaRue likes style and function. “I have been dying to paint chalkboard paint on something in my house for a while now! Such a great idea for a home office or a kitchen. All these photos show great ideas!” (“Re-De-Sign” from Hello Metro)
Paulette Pearson wouldn’t mind spending part (or all) of her weekend perched here. (The Old Fish House from The Essence of the Good Life)
Fashion has been in full bloom here at the At Home office for some time now, ever since our spring fashion photo shoot a few weeks ago. Here’s an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what it took to pull it off…from the styling to the props to the photography. It was a team effort, and lots of fun to boot. Enjoy!
Check out the final product here: www.athomearkansas.com
Hairstylist Angela Alexander and At Home’s Lauren Strother styled our model with the latest spring beauty and fashion looks.
There was lots to choose from! Recognize any of these frocks here?
Pretty, feminine jewels galore.
Our model takes the stage.
…as Lauren admires her styling savvy.
Nancy Nolan and assistant Rett Peek handled the photography…and Rett provided enough fan-powered wind for our model’s wind swept hair!
Art director Mandy Keener directs the shoot…with Starbucks close in hand.
Mandy’s caffeine was much needed after creating our backdrop, which involved cutting out hundreds of circles. Well worth the effort, we all agree. It was a gorgeous shoot! Click here to see what we published.
We love the idea of a mother-daughter design team, and one blog that caught our attention is Good Bones Great Pieces, helmed by mother Suzanne (Emmy-winning producer at Martha Stewart Living Television) and daughter Lauren (former fashion features writer for Teen Vogue magazine). Their styles meld into an aesthetic that’s neither outdated nor overly trendy, and they are a great source of inspiration.
This explains the appeal of roommates Natalie Smith and Casie Williams’ hand-me-down-chic apartment in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood. Natalie’s mother, Alcinda, owns Periwinkle Place in McGehee, and she seems to have passed a discerning eye for design down to her lovely daughter. Casie and her mother, Claire, added a few key elements of their own. (For the full story, written by Elizabeth Owen of Mabel’s House blog, visit athomearkansas.com)
Natalie and Casie’s vintage style appears in the dining room, where they host dinner parties on an antique pedestal table set with aqua dishes and linens.
The roommates have some thrifty tricks up their sleeves. Natalie recovered an heirloom wingback armchair in a damask print. She constructed valances from materials purchased at a local craft store–constructing the frames from foam core, covering them with batting and fabric, and then mounting them using PVC pipe. Casie and her mom, Claire, collaborated together on the pillows, and added a strip of fabric to lengthen the pre-made curtains. They also spray-painted the lamp and painted the coffee table.
Green bedding and floral fabrics freshen up Natalie’s bedroom, where little details include succulents in vintage cups along the windowsill.
And what self-respecting vintage apartment would be complete without a telephone nook and international wall clocks?
This gloriously white and light-filled kitchen makes us want to jump for springtime joy. (Once all of this pollen clears anyway.)
Just imagine swinging open those doors and turning up the jazz music while you nibble on a platter of juicy berries. Add freshly cut flowers and the latest issue of At Home in Arkansas, and you have a recipe for a lovely, relaxing break any time of the week.
We’re also enamored with the adjoining dining room, which entices with a tranquil color palette and unique touches, like that chandelier and driftwood table base. It’s all the work of Bear-Hill Interiors, and you can read the full story online here: www.athomearkansas.com/At-Home-Arkansas/April-2010/Cottage-Light/
At Home in Arkansas offers you a look inside the state's most inspiring homes. The magazine features monthly advice from the experts to help you plan your next remodel or redesign, entertain at home, or find Arkansas's best kept secrets. It is your definitive guide to the state's finest homes and gardens, design professionals, fashion and entertaining essentials, and premier shops and showrooms.
