Burlap Love

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ros

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all good and back in the swing of things?

A beautiful September’s day here in Northern California with the light working it’s usual magic…

On what I think is my last hydrangea to blossom this year.

Autumn is nipping at our heals.

But for right now…a new subject…

Have you noticed that so much of what is in fashion at the moment was once a functional, workman like product that was not primarily meant to look pretty but just get on and do the job?

You know…like steel lamps and tables, wire books cases, concrete floors and counters – things made from strong,  durable materials…

Even the metal stools that I used to sit on in Physics and Chemistry are now featured in all the grooviest stores with a hefty price tag dangling ( let’s hope they’ve scraped all the gum from under the seat…)

What we are looking at here is a welcome rise in the popularity of industrial design….and one of the happy spin offs is the impact it’s made in the world of textiles with the growing prevalence of the workman like burlap…

Most famously, we think of the large old burlap coffee sacks that held together many a bean with it’s coarse and breathable weave.

Rough and ready and strong as an ox.  It is sturdy stuff and I love it.

Nowadays you can see burlap cushions strewn across the sofas of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware … still paying dues to their industrial roots with black lettered prints saying things like ‘Banque de France’ and ‘Product of Columbia’.

Anyway,  I thought I’d have a go printing on this lovely stuff myself…

I decided to screen print some navy blue swallows swooping about…

Here’s my first set of prints hanging out to dry in the sun…

I ended up making a bag or two…

And lined them with some left over blue linen I had knocking about…

I love the combination of the burlap and linen, surely second cousins in the textile world – one made from the skin of the jute plant and one from flax fibers…

And with the rest of the prints, I put together a few pillows…

For inside…

And out…

And I know that these babies will last…

That’s it from me today – I think it’s time for me to sit on that chair outside with a nice little pot of tea before four hungry people walk through the door.

I will be back very soon.

See you later,

Ros

ps Welcome to all those people from Sarah’s lovely Beach Cottage – thanks for dropping by…

pps    If you would like me to add someone to my email notification list, just send their email address to roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com – thanks for all the ones you have already sent…

Posted in Burlap, California, Feeling At Home, Flowers, Garden, Green Plum Design, Industrial Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Light, Vintage Fabrics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

A Little Corner of France

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Ros

Hello Everyone,

So I am just about back into the swing of things and now slightly readjusting…ahem…my idyllic vision of Britain with jolly Bobbies on the Beat….to incorporate fully armed police units, frustrated and enraged youths, burning buildings and spluttering Tories…

‘Jeruslalem’ aint playing anymore…

But I did promise you a little glimpse of France…

Brittany, to be specific.  The beautiful North-Western corner of France where buildings are made from gentle colored stone…

That look so warm and pleasing in the afternoon sun …

The windows, like the buildings, are uniformly tall and narrow…

And the iron work wraps itself casually around a building…

Or graces a front door without a song and a dance…

And those doors…Oh those doors – beautiful, heavy, engraved wooden doors… always painted and looking better for being a little worse for wear…

…and of course, there are those gorgeous dormer windows that seem to be two a penny in this neck of the woods….giving the roofline a little extra interest and height and making that attic space work for it’s money…

There is a real uniformity about this place – everything pulled together and consistent…

Take the blue and white enamel house numbers – everyone seems to have one – and they are just lovely…

And when it comes to planting – there seems to be a natural collective leaning towards hollyhocks, hydrangeas, geraniums…tickling first floor windows everywhere I look…

And the placement of trees is uniformly so fabulously disciplined, they create the true meaning of the word ‘avenue’…

The French just know how to pull things together…they just know…

You only have to glance into the window of any patisserie to see that…

Even the displays in the shop windows are done with some flair…palette, oils, tortured soul and all…

The plain fact of the matter is that the French….dammit…are just effortlessly stylish.

For sure there must be some ugly places, somewhere in Brittany…believe me, I was really searching…but I have to say, I was hard pressed to come up with anything on the duff side of gorgeous…

Here in California, where I live, everything is relatively SO much newer – it’s just a tiny baby compared with Brittany.

And in this new land, everyone has their own idea of what sort of house they want to live in,  they are all pursuing their own dream…

I have said this before, it is not unusual here to walk down a street and see a craftsman house, next to a mediterranean, next to a ranch-style, next to a colonial, next to a modern box, next to an igloo…

The individual has conquered.

But back in Brittany…old as the hills, what can I say… beautiful, stylish and most of all pulled together by an invisible collective hand.

I will be back very soon,

Ros

ps Welcome to all those people from Sarah’s lovely Beach Cottage.

pps. If you would like me to add someone to my email notification list, just send their email address to roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com – thanks for all the ones you have already sent – they are plugged into the system and ready to go!

Posted in Architecture, Brittany, California, France, Front of House, Green Plum Design, Inspiration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Going Back to A Place You Know – England in The Summertime

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Ros

Hi All,

Just back from a trip to England visiting family and friends and now sitting here surrounded by piles of washing, an overgrown garden,  a massive stack of ominous looking mail and a low grey skying sitting heavily on the house.  As my neighbor so succinctly put it, I am in the ‘docking’ period of getting back into regular life.

The only thing cheering me up right now is my charity shop find Brown Betty teapot which I carried back in my hand luggage, guarding it with my elbows and willpower.

If you have never come across a Brown Betty teapot, it’s a classic English fixture currently enjoying a retro revival and sold in stylish places like Baileys ( which incidentally is a shop that I could quite happily move into and stay forever…).  This teapot could and can be seen at nearly any meal time and is renowned for making the best cup of tea ever.

I can tell you now…it’s delivering.

So I haven’t lived in England for eleven years now and each time I go back, I look at it more and more with the eyes of an outsider.

And my outsiders eye says touristy things like…”cor….it’s so green”…

And, “wow, look at all those sheep”…

And “blimey…take a gander at that view”…

My family were quite bemused by my enthusiasm, so they packed me off to the most English event of all – a Country Summer Fair on a muggy afternoon…

With Ferris wheels and goldfish to be won..

A classic car display…

Featuring my all time favorite Morris minor traveller…

And of course, tents and tents displaying fiercely fought First Prize Strawberry Jams and Victoria Sponges…

It was indeed a classic British event, but would have been nothing without the great British public enjoying themselves…

And taking it all in…

There is no getting away from it, I love the British countryside in full summer swing.

The only thing better is the seaside.

You just have to get there.

Up and down the motorways we went, taking in all the fabulous clouds that go on forever…

And yes, it was worth the five hours in the car when you drive down into this little village in Cornwall.

Where there are beaches and boats and beautiful wooded walks…

That follow the coastline…

And give you glimpses of the town beyond…

And quirky idyllic waterside homes…

And top of the list for my six year, the Winkle Picker, the all time best seaside shop where they still sell sweets for 3p in little stripey bags…

These are all the things I love about England – call me a nostalgic old bat but I just do.

I know that I am sailing dangerously close to characterizing this little island as the home of long afternoons on the cricket green, warm beer, friendly bobbies walking the beat and cheery Norman Wisdom type chappies riding by on a bicycle.

I do know that it’s not like that – honest guv…

It’s just that it’s so damn beautiful and its in my bones and I miss it.

Hence the rather sad obsession with drinking tea from my brown betty tea pot – as if that somehow encapsulates all good things English.

So I will stop now in case a rousing chorus of Jerusalem becomes the soundtrack!

I will be back very soon with some luuuverlie peeeectures from ze tres chic and tres jolie land of France but in the meantime will leave you with a picture of one of many family get togethers, which after, is what it’s all about.

Until then…

Ros

p.s. Welcome to all those lovely people from the Beach Cottage.

p.p.s. If you would like to receive an email notification of the latest blog, just email me at roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject.  Thanks for all of those already sent.

Posted in Cornwall, England, English Countryside, English Seaside, Garden, Getting Away, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Light | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Front of House 2

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Ros

Morning Everyone,

Another beautiful day in the Bay Area and a good moment to sit in the back garden, read a book and enjoy the sunshine…

So today, we are going to take a look at two more very beautiful Bay Area homes as part of my Front Of House series.

They are pretty different but united in that while you can view them both fairly well from the side, they are cunningly concealed with some beautiful trees and shrubs that give them privacy, a beautifully dappled shade and a very stunning look…

The first is the gorgeous home of Ursula and Mike…

This is a jaw-droppingly beautiful house.

Painted in Ursula’s own special hand mixed brew of paint from Benjamin Moore…

I mean look at these colors…they are so stunning…

And along with a stylish door bell and beautiful wood detailing…

And even a swing seat to enjoy the shadey afternoons…this is the porch of my dreams!

AND, not only is there a lovely front entrance to the house…

With numbers atop an arched wooden pergola and gorgeous hanging light…

But there is also an equally beautiful side entrance…

And although this is strictly a Front of House series, Mike did let me have a little look in their back garden…

You have to see…

So many lovely places to sit…

And eat…

And even cook a pizza in their very own home made wood burning pizza oven.

Which you could eat up in the tree house…

While enjoying the view of the roses…

And for me, one of the most pleasing sights was this one…

A cunning pulley system allowing them to hang out their washing from the first floor balcony…

Anyone who has read this blog before knows that I am a big believer in line dried washing, so this was a fine sight for me to behold.

There is no doubt that Ursula and Mike have an wonderful sense of design and feel for color…

They make it look so easy…

Now, the second house we are going to take a look at today is that of Hugh and Noah.

This is such a picture perfect home with wonderful symmetry, fabulously stylish details and some very clever and beautiful landscaping which have given it privacy whilst not gating it off from the world…

Not such a big surprise then to find Hugh Groman,  caterer supremo and Noah Guynn, gardening wizard, behind the front door.

Hugh clearly knows a thing or two about presentation…his house is as beautiful to look at as his food…

Somehow he managed to find time to redesign the front porch and add a deck either side of the front door while running three companies…

When you get a closer look, it is so fantastically symmetrical in a most pleasing-not-too-perfect-sort-of-way…

With white rockers to the left and right of the front door…

And Noah’s landscape design beautifully echos this symmetry with two dodonaea in the beds either side of the front steps…

Giving the house lots of interesting dappled shade as well as privacy…

But to really appreciate Noah’s fabulous garden design, you need to take a peak at the house as it was eleven years ago…

And once again…now…

The porch, the deck, the colors and so many beautiful plants at the front and side of the house, it is quite transformed…

With wonderful succulents…

And grasses…

The garden is a beautiful sea of a thousand greens…

And a wonderfully filtered light…

Hugh and Noah have done an incredible job creating a very beautiful home – it’s a real inspiration.

So a very big thank you to both Ursula and Mike and Hugh and Noah for letting me take and share these pictures of their homes.

I am off to England any moment to catch up with my family before they forget who I am – SO excited – but will return with plenty of pictures of Old Blighty to share with you all.

Enjoy the Summer!

See you soon,

Ros

ps. Welcome to all those people from the very lovely Beach Cottage.

Posted in Architecture, California, Flowers, Front of House, Garden, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Light, Line Dried Washing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Front of House 2

3 Roadside Finds, 2 Paintbrushes and a Pot of Tea

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Ros

Morning All!

It has been a big week in our family – my eldest boy who was playing with dinosaurs and trucks just a few minutes ago has hit the 18 year milestone  – I can’t quite believe it.  We had a big celebration around the table, lots of food to eat, candles to blow out, songs to sing and a few proud tears were shed…

It was a big moment for us all.

But that is not what I am really going to write about today…

No, we are going to look at some things I have been working on over the last few months.

It involves one of my more serious afflictions.

I just can’t help this one.  While others can happily drive by an old piece of ‘junk’ on the side of the road with the “FREE” label flapping in the wind…

…and not blink an eye…

I can’t help but slam on the brakes, screech to a halt, leap out of the car like a gazelle and with a crazed eager look in my eye, check to see if I have made a ‘genuine find’.

I should add that if any of my children are in the car during this process, the whole event is accompanied by howls of protest and by the time I am slotting my find into the back of the car, they have usually contorted themselves into a small humiliated ball in the bucket of the back seat in case anyone should see them…

…perish the thought…

Still…I press on…such is the affliction.

So here are three such finds. First is this pretty plain looking chest of drawers…

This is how I found it –  chest… with drawers on the side…

I decided to be bold and not go for my default white and instead went for Benjamin Moore’s Hail Navy – for the name alone…

So, a quick like of paint, two cups of tea and Bob’s yer uncle…

This was perfect for my youngest child who has the smallest bedroom in the United States of America.  He needed something that could squeeze between his bed and the wall and hold as much stuff as possible.

It will hide….for a good few years….the kicks and bumps of soccer boots and smears of grubby fingers…

Find number two was this little set of wooden steps made for Princess Ariel…they were actually not found by me, but my canny friend Elaine who pulled them from a skip…

I mean…look at that little castle and the rose on top…

But since there are no girls in this house under ten who fantasize about living in Disneyland,  I went for my very favorite Benjamin Moore Knoxville Grey.  This took only one cup of tea and a funny Terry Gross interview as a companion to my painting…

And now, it is a new addition to my bathroom…

And these little steps can hold a few spare towels…

And a flannel or two.

And find number three.

My favorite find of the month…

I left skid marks on the road when I saw this…my daughter is still recovering from whiplash…

But no pain, no gain…

I mean a few months of physical therapy is neither here nor there when you make such a top find…

Yes…I am joking…

No, this little wooden desk had, in my eyes, big potential.

So first off, I persuaded my extremely nice, totally handy and frankly rather handsome husband ( it pays to appreciate fine labor… ) to sand the top for me…

And then I oiled the top and primed and painted the bottom in Kelly Moore’s Antique White…

That alone meant consuming an entire pot of tea and listening to a full morning of NPR…and here are the results…

A new little addition to my sitting room…somewhere to display some beautiful peonies…

And something to put a lamp atop…

But life is never perfect and within five minutes my flowers had exploded into a thousand petals…

My six year old boy still maintains that it was the ‘indoor football’ that hit the peony full on the face and therefore somehow legitimate…

If you have ever wondered how many petals a peony really has, wonder no longer…

So there you have it, three pieces of wood that were destined for the dump have been given a reprieve and a chance to reinvent themselves…

…a bit like Madonna…

But so much easier to paint.

That’s it for me this week.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think…

Coming soon, more gorgeous Front of House finds from the Bay Area…watch this space…

See you later,

Ros

ps Welcome as ever to those people who have made the jump from the lovely Beach Cottage.

Posted in Bathroom, California, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Roadside Find Makeover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Front Of House

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Ros

Morning All!

Today I am launching a new series called Front of House to look at the way people present their homes to the regular passer by…curbside appeal I believe it is called…

For those of you with a serious ‘house-watching’ affliction like myself, you really can’t do better than live in the Bay Area.  There are so many different styles of houses all packed together between the sea and the hills.

Craftsmen, Mediterranean, Ranch, Cape Cod,  Modern, Victorian…the list of house styles goes on and on… and sometimes you can find them all on one street.

So I have been doing what I love best and have scouted the Bay Area to find those houses which make you crane your neck as you drive by….

Where better to begin with but the beautiful home of Katie and Geoff…

I just love this house…

I’ve been admiring it for years, so it was great to finally connect with the very lovely people who live behind the door…

Katie and Geoff showed me a picture of how the front porch looked before…

Before, that is, they collaborated with talented architect Erick Mikiten of Mikiten Architecture who designed their fabulous porch remodel…

Fellow architect and wife to Erick, Elisa Mikiten suggested the stunning Benjamin Moore blue from their Classic Color range #777 Summer Nights which contrasts so fantastically with the white of all the frames, the trellis and trim.

Now if you ever wondered at how a house might be transformed with a lick of paint, take a look at this ‘before’ picture of  the side of the house…

And then this…

Totally stunning in my books…and of course helped along by Katie’s very green fingers…

She (and her mum) have made a relatively small front garden look lush and spacious…

And this David Austin rose – Graham Thomas – is stunning climbing up the railing of the front porch…

So hats off to Katie and Geoff who clearly know a thing or two about making their home look really beautiful.

And now, for something equally stunning but totally different in style…

Here is another house I have been admiring for ages with it’s bold colors and fabulous little touches…

It turns out to belong to the ultra talented architect Debbie Kim who works for Sogno Design Group.  She is clearly blessed with a serious gift for design.

So this is what her house looked like only a few years back in the Spring of 2007…

A now…with some bold Benjamin Moore paint choices, some very clever landscaping and for sure, months of hard work…

She has transformed her house.

Debbie used all Benjamin Moore colors – the green of the window frames and garage is Huntington Green # 406, the yellow of the front door is Sun Yellow #12, the soft grey of the siding is Rushing River # 1574  and the trim is Gray Wisp # 1570.

It is such a stunning makeover, not least for the gorgeous garage doors with their frosted green-grey glass…

And the funky little touches like her “Beware Of The Dog” stencils on the wooden gate to the side of her house…

And the lovely vignette of her cafe chairs and table centred beautifully by the window above…

It is bold and beautiful and yes, I always crane my neck when I drive past…

And I love the way she has taken advantage of that little planting patch that so many houses have around here, beyond the borders of their home…

Debbie has taken advantage of this space and extended the colors and style of her home to the very edge of the sidewalk.

And she has combined softer circular shapes…

With strong geometric lines…

Fabulous look, fabulous design…

Thank you, thank you Katie and Geoff and Debbie for letting me photograph your beautiful homes – they have curbside appeal aplenty.

I hope this has given you all food for thought, I know I am thinking about those David Austin roses and perhaps some interesting stencils somewhere…

So that is it for todays Front of House – I will be back with more and many other things besides.  As ever, I would love to hear your thoughts!

See you,

Ros

ps. And a big welcome to all those lovely people from who hop over from the Beach Cottage

Posted in Architecture, California, Flowers, Garden, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Interesting Containers for Humdrum Things….and Winner Announced!

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Ros

Morning everyone!

Another fabulous Californian day and a picture taken on a lovely walk up in Tilden Park.  I tell you, those live oaks are something else…

And so the sun is out, the breeze is light, the washing machine is whirring – the perfect time to announce the winner of Green Plum Design’s First Giveaway.

The winner is Denise from sunny California!  Yes, you were picked randomly out of my best straw hat.  Congratulations, I will get your wooden foldaway clothes drying rack straight off to you and would love to see pictures of how it works out.

Your comments made me realize that there are so many wonderful things that go hand in hand with hanging out your washing…and that most of all…most of the time… it can be a real meditative and relaxing pleasure…

Thank you too for all your emails and comments about the big glass jar I use for my washing powder!

Since you liked it so much, I thought I would continue that theme and do a little blog on interesting containers for everyday run-of-the-mill things…

You know…like your toothbrush…

My theory is if you giving a boring thing an interesting container, it just doesn’t seem so boring any more…so why not put your toothbrushes into a Royal Wedding Commemorative mug?

Or take some tools, string and paperclips…you can’t get more boring than paperclips…

And put them in some old Bonne Maman jars…you see, things start to look up…

(By the by, I have pierced many a hole in the top of one of those lovely jars and put in some green garden string…and hey presto!  The perfect present for you gardening friends…)

And of course in the kitchen, you can go nuts with interesting containers…

I just love these glass jars with their air tight lids…and to see all the little grains and lentils packed together behind glass…

And then there are odd bod ceramic pots for wooden spoons, kitchen spatulas and ladles…

And don’t forget the tea bags…

In my office, I have so much sewing paraphernalia, I have had to stretch my invention a little…

Yes, I have used an over-sized wine glass for the threads I use the most…I just love the way they look all piled together.

And as for piling things together, how about your loo rolls in a big old wicker basket…?

You can sit with confidence…knowing that you won’t run out…!

And what about using a vintage tin collection for odd bits of stationery…labels, stickers etc

I saved a favorite tin for my button collection.

And those little beauties are not boring at all.

So this is just to say, why not put the things that you use the most into something beautiful?  It will add a little sparkle to your day.

So now I want to hear what every day things you have stored away in an interesting container – come on, surprise me…

That’s it for now.

See you soon,

Best wishes,

Ros

ps And welcome to all those people from the lovely Beach Cottage

pps  If you would like to receive an email notification for when a new blog comes out, just send me your email to roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com .  Welcome to all those new people I have added to the list!

Posted in Cleaning up, Containers, De-cluttering, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Line Dried Washing, Organizing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

America On The Line – Free Giveaway Prize!

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Ros

Good morning to you all!

Gorgeous morning here in the Bay Area and the perfect day to hang your washing on the line…

Yes, today I am on a bit of a mission to get all you people who haven’t experienced the pleasures of line dried washing…to give it a bit of a go…

And just to sweeten it up a bit, I am going to offer the chance to win the very First Green Plum Design Giveaway

And…I have figured out how to send this lovely prize to anywhere in the world…so, read on…

Now I have to admit that when I moved here to sunny-with-a-light-breeze-Berkeley, it was a pretty rare sight to see washing hanging out on the line.  What with all this totally free sunshine and all…and things haven’t changed too much in the eleven years I have lived here.

So I am here today to set about encouraging those who have never thought about hanging their washing out, to give it a try…

First off, think how smug you will feel?

And…you will score major points with the planet.

And on top of that, think of the money you will save on your bill – let me tell you,  it will be a lot of money…by my logic that means trips to Anthropologie are now completely justified…

And of course, your nose will thank you.

Just nothing beats the heaven smell of your sheets when they have been hanging out in the sun and the breeze all day.

Ok, there maybe some things that beat that…but I’m telling you,  it’s up there…

And I have my own personal extra reason for pegging my washing out… the windowless room that houses our washing machine is in the deepest and darkest part of our basement and frankly, it’s pig ugly.

I just want to get out of there.  I can’t even show you a picture, it really is that bad. Hence, for me another good reason to come up to the air, get everything on the line and stay out of the dungeon.

And I’m also bit of a sucker for all the little accessories that go along with doing the washing – since I do it pretty much every day, I have tried to add a little aesthetic pleasure to this ritual.

Inspired by an idea featured on the Beach Cottage,  I decanted all my washing powder into a big glass jar that I had found at a yard sale…

I even bought an old tea cup that had lost it’s saucer from the Alameda Fair this last Sunday to act as my scooper…

And I have slowly gathered a stack of baskets over the years because I just love to see all my folded washing stacked up in them…

Am I convincing you yet?

SO, on to the GIVEAWAY…

YES, you can win this lovely and super handy wooden clothes drying rack!

It folds up and down so easily and you can fit a whole lot of washing on it…

How to win it?

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me why you want to hang your washing out. How easy is that!  I will being pulling a name randomly out of the hat next Wednesday, so get your comment in before the end of the day Tuesday May 10th.

Remember, this is open to everyone, I can send this baby worldwide!

That’s it for me today.

I will be back next week to announce the winner…get those comments in!

See you soon,

Ros

Posted in Bedroom, California, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Line Dried Washing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Not About The Royal Wedding…

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Ros

Good morning to you All!

After a few weeks of grey, dank and gloomy skies ( including the week that all three of my children were on Easter Break…), the sun has finally come out and given everything a whole new look.

Organizing Paperwork 11 is on it’s way but today I will just be shamelessly reveling in the most beautiful light that California can deliver and flowers in all guises.

Flowers  =  Super cheap if you pick them up at Trader Joes

Californian Light = thankfully free as the air it sparkles through

The combination of the two are what pleases me the most and can be the making of just about any room.

After happily prinking around with little jars, flowers and my camera, I had to haul my sewing machine out and get down to a mountain of  window linens to make up for various clients.

More flowers…this time embroidered on linen.

I had washed all the linen in advance and just had to sew each one to size… then my favorite part…

Choosing the vintage embroidery as an applique…more flowers to look at and arrange…

Eventually I hit on two of these little treasures for the first pair…

I sewed each one carefully onto the linen.  Added the ties…

And then hung them outside on my little dryer stand to stop any number of accidents befalling them while letting them bathe in a little shadowy sunshine before I packaged them up to go…

The day whizzed and whirred along with more flowers and the hum of my sewing machine….until my washing line was covered with flapping linen dotted with flowers.

I thought that was it for me and flowers for the day but laying the table in the early evening for that all favorite burrito supper, the sun was going down for the day and hit the table so beautifully…

Can you imagine how pleased three hungry children were with their mother taking endless pictures of the table?

Needless to say I had to wrap it up pretty fast and we did all enjoy our burritos in the lovely shadowy light.

So this is just to say, one small flower, one small vase, jar, glass can just about change a room in a big way.

So you see, it really wasn’t about The Big Day tomorrow.  Not a peep about the dress, the fabulous in-laws, whether it will work out or not…The word Wills and Waity Katie have not been involved…speculation about the honeymoon has played no part…I am just not going there…

But while I am not going to set my alarm for 3am, I might just take a sneaky look at the footage tomorrow…just to see the flowers that is….

See you soon.

Ros

ps And as ever, welcome to all you people from the lovely Beach Cottage.

pps And if you have a friend who you think might enjoy this blog and would like to receive an email notification of it’s arrival (!)  just send me their email address with SUBSCRIBE in the subject to roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com

Posted in California, England, Flowers, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, Light, Vintage Fabrics, Window Linens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Organizing Paperwork – Part 1

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Ros

Good morning to you all!

It’s a beautiful day here in California – the birds are singing, the blossom is blooming and I am feeling cautiously smug.

I say cautiously as I know of old that smugness is usually stamped upon by the swift and hefty boot of comeuppance if it sticks its neck out too far.

But still, it’s going to be hard to knock that spring out of my step as I am now truly practicing what I preach…

As many of you know, one of the things I do with Green Plum Design is to go into people’s homes and sort out mounds of paperwork that seep into their houses via a thousand routes and threaten to overwhelm them.

It happens to us all.  You are not alone…

So, just the other day I met a friend who asked me if I wanted his old wooden two drawer filing cabinet.

Yes please Sireee.

You see, up until yesterday, all our paperwork had been held in a woefully inadequate little metal box, stuffed to the gills and difficult to get into…

Yes, there it is, that little squat black box on the edge of the table.  That was my pinched and inadequate old system for organizing paperwork.  Not so impressive…

And now let me introduce you to my new best friend…

Well, heeello you handsome beast.

With the glidiest of drawers and space for tons of colorful hanging folders – we hit it off from the start.

So here it is, my ABC of taking charge of all your paperwork PART  1 …

  • First things first, if you have an out of control paper work situation or one that needs some pulling into shape, I highly recommend getting yourself a little metal two drawer filing cabinet to start with – Office Depot, for instance,  sells some two drawer cabinets that can fit under most desks from $55…There is of course, ample opportunity to spend so much more should you wish…
  • And then, for those of you who love stationery shops, you will enjoy buying the next essential items, a nice little stack of cheery multi-color hanging folders. Again I got mine at Office Depot – just under $12 for 25 of them…

  • And let’s not forget those little tabs that allow you to navigate your new filing system with efficiency and ease.  Don’t worry, these babies come with the folders…( Can you feel the smugness coming on..? )
  • Next stop, I took all the old files out of my squat little box and put them in a large pile on the garden table.  Then I went around the house in search of any loose pieces of paper that didn’t have an home – quite a lot as it turned out.  So wherever you have paperwork in your house, gather it all into one place.
  • So now you should have all of your paperwork in piles in front of you on a big table if you have one, or the floor if you don’t.  And next to that you should have a stack of hanging folders, labels, tabs and a sharpie…

  • It is essential at this point to make sure that you have a cup of tea or coffee or whatever tickles your fancy to encourage you through the next job of sifting……
  • This is how it goes…
  • Pick up a small pile of papers, what do we have here?
  • Ahh, a nasty bundle of gas and electricity bills – PG & E bills in this neck of the woods.
  • Put them into chronological order.
  • Chuck out ones that are more than 5 years old but keep all your year end tax returns.
  • Whip out your sharpie, make a label, insert it into the tab and attach it to your chosen hanging folder.
  • Slide in the newly ordered pile of P G & E  bills into your labelled folder and Voila!

You have the first of what will become a large pile of folders waiting to be slotted into your new best friend.

Here is my top drawer – full of all those boring things in life like car insurance and telephone bills…

In the bottom drawer, I filed all of our medical records, school records, birth/ marriage/ educational certificates,  memberships and then for me, files for taxes, clients, ideas and other oddities that are peculiar to us….

Frankly, I now have a folder for everything.  I challenge any new pieces of paper that now enter my house to find itself homeless in my new super duper filing system.

And even if you are doing much more bill paying on the computer now, you will still find that you get sent year end statements and they need to go somewhere…

So that is it for Part 1 of my ABC of organizing paperwork.  Part 2 coming right up…

Let me know how you get on…I really like to hear your comments…

Remember, your reward will be a light and airy feeling about your step but watch for severe symptoms of smugness or you will be sure to get a parking ticket within the hour…

Tune in very shortly for Organizing Paperwork Part 2…

See you very soon,

Ros

ps Welcome to you people from the lovely Beach Cottage!

pps If you have a friend or colleague who you think might like this blog – just email me at roswyatt@greenplumdesign.com with their details and I will add them to my notification list…

Posted in California, Cleaning up, De-cluttering, Filing Systems, Garden, Green Plum Design, Inspiration, Interior design, office, Organizing, Organizing Paperwork, Re-organizing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments