via sense & nonsense
via rachel lake
napa valley
via monolo home
via rachel lake 
via home sweet home decor 
via complete painting
via cherry hill cottage
I've recently come across the blog Velvet & Linen and I've become an instant fan. Brooke and Steve Giannetti, a talented husband and wife, designer /architect team extroidinaire, show real projects with amazing before and after results like the ones shown above. They are getting ready to open their new home furnishings store in Brentwood, CA. If you live in Cali check it out and let us know how great it is!
I've always been a fan of the cork / ribbon board. I love to look at what people put up as inspiration and their personal mementos. Here are some great examples of using them as a focal point.
This is an awesome application in formal panels above the breakfast table. What a great way to communicate with your family. Every member could have their own section.
Allesandra Branca - a fan of the ribbon board
Another Branca board
.jpg)
Love these alternatives to cork - clipboards and chicken wire and clothes pins , Who knew!
.JPG)
The top board is made from actual corks! You'd certainly have fun drinking all the bottles of wine you'd need to make this one.
How many of us grew up sticking pictures and notes to our vanity mirror? Here's a grown up version. I love it.
Wall pockets are a new trend. Very tailored and great for the neat freak who cannot tolerate the chaos of a conventional board.
.jpg)
No matter how you pull it off, inspiration, message or memento boards are a great personal touch to any interior. 
Recently, I posted a list of things I was grateful for now that our country is broke. I’ve received so many emails and messages regarding this post that I thought I would share some of my thoughts about it.
I was surprised to see that, like me, although people are very nervous about their financial certainty, there is a pervading sense of deep relief among those who sent me messages. Many people are finding that they have been living a life that has been dictated by their peers. They shop, primp, eat and socialize not for themselves but to keep from being trampled under the stiletto clad, manicured feet of the millions of other wannabe’s they are racing against. In a society where the brand of your purse and sunglasses has become more important than your intellect or personality, the pressure of keeping up with the Jones’s has left us ready to blow! Now, impending financial doom has made it ok and even stylish to throw aside some of our materials trappings and focus on - dare I say it – living within our means!!!!!
Margie Boulé a columnist for The Oregonia, the daily paper in
She writes, “When my Volkswagen bug broke down, it sat parked in front of my tiny apartment for months, because I couldn't afford to have it repaired. I once ate cheese for two days because it was the only thing left in my refrigerator. It was one of the happiest times of my life. My friends and I spent a lot of time together. We had spontaneous, outlandishly creative parties. We shared food. We laughed all the time.”
I think we Americans have been falling down drunk on excess and materialism and we are just now beginning to sober up and see what fools we made of ourselves dancing on the table at the office party.
We are joining together in a collective sigh of relief that the constant pressure to have more, buy more, get more, is finally easing up. Now we can look forward to getting back to life as it should be, guided by a bit of sober reality that will keep us in check and hopefully prevent us from reverting back to our old ways when things pick up.
Thanks Margie...
I love this cornice and balloon shade. They are the perfect adornment for this beautiful bathtub view. Makes you want to add bubbles and soak.
The creative mind never ceases to amaze me. Just when you think you have a particular product figured out someone will come up with a whole new way to use it.
