Hello everyone, how are you today? First of all, Happy Friday to you! Do you have plans for the weekend? I have a few project deadlines so I’ll be working straight through until Monday but I enjoy what I’m up to so it’s all good. Work doesn’t feel like work to me, it’s part of my life, so I “work” most weekends but it is more like living and breathing, not hard labor. I feel fortunate because my life wasn’t always like this, work once felt VERY MUCH like work to me – and it went on like that for nearly 10 years but fortunately I pulled the plug and said, “Enough!”. You must relate on some level to being fed up with something, you have to walk away and do something else. So! Onto the first post for today. I thought that to inspire and motivate you to work on some projects of your own this weekend that I’d share 20 beautiful photos that show corners of various homes that you may be able to use as a jumping off point to begin a project of your own. Please click on all of the links below to visit the various sources and to enjoy even more inspiration.

1| Martha Stewart Weddings – I never tire of plates on walls and MS Weddings always has the best way to show the latest china patterns | 2 Design Shimmer – Skulls as jewelry hooks, oh yes! This is one of many beautiful photos found on this delightful blog.| 3 yvetteinufio – Her photos are always so pretty, I like the angle in which she photographed this chair but even more, how pretty to simply stack some throws and call that “decorating” — even if for a few days, this is a pretty look that you could do in a bedroom or kid’s room. | 4 Debee Campos – This lady is a freelance graphic designer and artist and her photos never fail to inspire me.

Remember, you don’t have to decorate an entire room, you can update a corner, bake some cupcakes and set your table extra special, style a bunch of fresh flowers and photograph them for your blog… You can turn what inspires you into a project of any size really — it comes down to how much energy, time and money you have in the end, doesn’t it?

I find that you can re-purpose so much in the home by moving things from one room to another, searching your attic or basement for what you may have packed away for future use, even ask your children to get involved by making something for you to display in another part of the home. Just have fun and let yourself go – it’s your home, do what makes YOU happy. I’ve been collecting these images below for a few weeks, I hope that you like them.

5 Martha Stewart Weddings – A wedding magazine in the states that most of us are addicted to, but not just for the newly engaged because it it is packed with inspiration that you can apply to home decorating projects, too. | 6 Martha Stewart Weddings – I like the colors in this photo of wedding rings + bands, I find it a gorgeous palette but also a pretty way to arrange things and shoot them from above. Could be a nice idea for a product shot you’re working on, perhaps? | 7 This Neck of the Woods, a lovely etsy shop based in Germany. | 8 Hollister Hovey – A very cool blog with lots of moody, dark colors and vintage finds. Lovely.

I love the idea of painting a wall with chalkboard paint and then installing a floating shelf, or two, on the wall as shown above with those gorgeous old cameras. Tracing the outline of the objects on the shelf, you can make a fun + quirky display that would be a real conversation piece in your home. Tea tins as flower holders are always a hit, just make sure you place a small glass inside and put the water and flowers in the glass, then inside of the tea tin as tins do not hold water and your tablecloth will be soaked within minutes!

9 Brigitte magazine – A German fashion magazine that has lovely interiors featured too. Oh and decor8 is mentioned in their current issue, yay! | 10 Remodelaholic – A fantastic blog with plenty of interiors eye candy | 11 Andreas Krufczik – A Berlin-based photographer who shoots interiors | 12 Remodelaholic – Again, a fab blog you’ll want to check out, especially if you love French Country charm.

I love the idea of using felted flowers, silk flowers, flowers made out of fabric… And pinning them to a lampshade for a bit of a zing. It’s simple and very pretty. I also think that putting an empty frame on your wall with images (perhaps old photos or art) in and around it can make a real statement. It’s a fabulous decorating idea and would be a lot of fun to do.

13 Emma Cassi – A stylist and jewelry designer that I have a mild obsession with. | 14 Stella Nicolaisen A stylist whom I adore. | 15 Holly Becker – Well, that’s me and this photo shows the top of a cabinet in my living room with some of my favorite things. | 16 Holly Becker – Yes me again, this time showing the top of my dresser and the quirky way I arrange my jewelry because if it’s not out on display, I forget what I own and don’t wear it!

I’m a very casual decorator. I’m a bit quirky, eclectic, romantic, and I mix old and new and have done so since I was a kid. I think many of us love to collect things and eventually, these collections pile up and then one is faced with the challenge of displaying collections in interesting ways so that a room doesn’t look like a junk shop. In these photos, the bottom two are in my own home, you can see how casual decorating isn’t fussy or perfect but it does appear as though some thought went into it. It’s a careful balance to get this right but I find that practice and allowing your sense to guide you, you can create a lovely nook in your home that is authentically you.

17 Tartelette A truly beautiful cooking blog you must see. | 18 Skona Hem – A Swedish interiors magazine that you can also enjoy online. |19 Unknown source (if you know who took this photo and or styled it please tell me so I may update with a link) | 20 Tartelette

I think everyone secretly wants to do wild things to their staircase, though we often don’t because it’s a terrifying thought to spend the time and money on a staircase reno only to find that you hate it once it’s finished! What to do? I suggest photographing your staircase in natural light and then use Photoshop or ask a graphic designer friend, to draft up some “samples” of your ideas in action. Another decorating idea that is fun to do is to simply style the top of a cabinet. Stand back and access your work. Photograph it and look at your cabinet on the computer, often photos reveal things that we need to edit about our work. Go back and rework the cabinet again until it feels right.

I also believe, strongly in fact, that simple pleasures — like baking or even if you don’t bake, hitting a bakery and bringing lovely things home to enjoy with your family creates a good mood in the home. Everyone loves to eat! And if you take the time to set the table and use your best plates and napkins, you may even want to photograph your treats and put the photos on your blog so you can save your inspiring moments and share them with your readers to motivate them to share time around the table with their family, too.

Do you spot anything that you are instantly connecting to? Why? What about it speaks to you? What can you try at home?

(images linked to their sources above.)

The Pantone color report for fall 2011 looks delightful, doesn’t it? These are the top 10 colors for women’s fashion which we will no doubt see trickling in to the interior design world. “Designers take a painterly approach to fall 2011 by artfully combining bright colors with staple neutrals, reminiscent of how an artist would construct a stunning work of art,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Much like a painter’s masterpiece, there is a certain romance to this season’s palette.”

“Taking cues from the great masters, sepia tones of old Hollywood, Chinese opera, cityscapes and countryside, designers are paying close attention to texture, contrast and color for fall 2011 – pairing menswear with feminine twists, warm prints with cool metals, incorporating both old and new influences, and creating an intriguing balance between colors.” Sounds lovely to me. I particularly like the inspiration and the combination of warm prints with cool metals, like silver.

I’d like to see Bamboo, Emberglow and Honeysuckle in a living room, a dining room with nougat walls, crisp white trim, and coffee liqueur and orchid hush. A study in deep teal and phlox would be nice and a nursery in cedar and orchid hush would bring comfort.

Any colors you spot above that you’d like to combine and try at home?

(image: pantone)