Seasons for All at Home

Inspiration ~ The Shapes of Stairway Banisters

Photo from Martha Stewart

I'm intrigued by the variety of curves and materials used in creating of stairway banisters.  The photograph above is from Susan Lyne's home as featured by Martha Stewart.  I love how the pattern on the wall behind the stairway echoes the shape of the banister.  Beautiful!

Here's another spiral stairway pictured in Coastal Living.  The woodwork in this interior is more than remarkable.  I've always loved inset wood, and the compass in the floor is the perfect focal point for the space.

Photo from Coastal Living

Banisters are striking when they are made of iron, too.  I love the iron scroll work in the photograph below.  Again, it compliments the shape of the stairway.  The designer of this space did a great job combining Mediterranean and traditional genres. 

        

Photo from Southern Accents 

The case for straight stairways and their banisters can be made in the following two photographs.  Traditional and central to the design in each home. 

 

Photo from Southern Accents

Photo from Traditional Home

Stairways with angular turns can be equally elegant.  I adore the formal look of the stairway in the photograph below.  I would choose this one as my favorite for its traditional appearance.  I love the archway under the stairs, and I love the furniture, dark hardwood floor, and chandelier! 

 

Photo from BHG

So now I'm curious to know:  Which of these designs would you choose?

Be sure to visit Julia's Hooked on Fridays party, Fifi's Fashionable Friday, and Melissa's Beautiful Life. 

Inspiration ~ Archways, Indoors and Out

 

I loved this archway the moment I saw it.  How unusually stunning it is!  The shape, the moulding, the color contrast between the wall and the trim, and the transition from one room to the next.  It's interesting to note the combination of round and rectagular shapes in this interior.  I can't help but wonder what this room would look like dressed in holiday decor.

Here's another archway that is beautiful.  I think the use of color here is brilliant as it accentuates the architecture while it simultaneously beckons us to the sitting room inside.

 

More than a single archway separate these rooms.  The architectural detail is formal if not regal.

 

If we coax Mother Nature in just the right way, she'll provide a soothing and natural archway that is lush and green.  Beyond the maze of boxwood hedges and through the gated archway, is that a lawn inviting us to play crochet or picnic?  This setting would be hard to resist.

 

Now let's ask Mother Nature to partner with an architect to create a hallway of archways.  Outdoors, surrounded by greenery, and old world bricks.  I love how the primroses line both sides of the carpeted lawn.  I can see a bride, her father, and her bridesmaids walking down this path on their way to an outdoor alter.    

   

Architecture is sometimes considered the "bones" of a structure.  I've heard it often said, "This home has good bones."  Having an archway inside a home would certainly help qualify it as having great bones!

To see what others are loving this week, visit Julia at Hooked on Houses.  And be sure to join Fifi for "Fashionable Friday" at Fifi's Flowers Design. 

Photo credits (from top to bottom):  Country Living, BHG, and Veranda (last 3).

Lovely Toile ~ Pinks, Greens, Blue and White

 

I just this minute learned of a blog party that is taking place today.  There's a Toile party over at Pretty Organized Palace.  Now I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice In Wonderland who said, "I'm late!  I'm late!  For a very important date!" 

I love Toile and have contemplated using it to recover my dining room chairs.  I just can't decide on a color that would work in all seasons.  I know there are options; I can't decide.

Here's a photograph of a chair in my home accented with a Toile pillow; the pattern is called Jamestown.  I've always loved blue and white.  You can tell by the decor that the photograph was taken at Christmastime.  Who says Christmas decor has to be only red and green? 

 

None of the other fabrics in this room are Toile, but I sure can imagine this chair and pillow in a room that looks something like the one in the photograph below.  Can't you?!

 

But since my recent posts on decorating in pink and green have been so popular, I wanted to include first Toile fabrics in pink and green.  Beautiful!

I plan to include more inspirational photographs of Toile in the coming months.  This blog party has inspired me to do so sooner than I planned! 

Photo credit (top and bottom):  BHG