Blythswood Square Luxury

During our fabulous vacation we stayed in some pretty decent hotels but nothing beats our one night stay in Glasgow. Somehow I managed to book us a room at a 5 star hotel - this is not in our normal budget!! But apparently Hotels.com did us well. When we arrived at the Blysthwood Square Hotel we immediately noticed the quaint park across the street.  It was a super charming spot in the midst of what is the largest city in Scotland. The real excitement however, came when we entered the hotel. The building has a ton of old world charm and architectural detailing but the design is super modern! We hardly left our room because it was sooo comfortable and we secretly felt bad not spending every minute in this 5 star beauty (I don't predict this happening again for a looooong time!). Take a look for yourself.....  

I love these floors! The bold geometric pattern paired with delicate chandeliers - perfect.

 

Herringbone floors? Yes Please!!





Herringbone was everywhere and I loved it! And look at that sofa fabric - such a fun color.

The bathroom opened up to the bedroom area. It was a fun design in theory but not very practical - espically with a glass door to the water closet. But I'm not complaining!

Inside Africa

If you haven't heard (or seen) about borders closing it's stores left and right...now you know.  Although I'm sad that book stores will soon be absolute I am loving the "going out of business" sales that are popping up everywhere! I recently ventured into a Borders that was closing down and scored this amazing new coffee table book - "Inside Africa, North & East." It is absolutely gorgeous and chalk full of inspiration! Not to mention the bright cover that adds a pop of color to our dull coffee table. It came out in 2006 so I'm a little late in the game, but what else is new...
Photographer Didi Von Schaewen spent several years traveling Africa and took these gorgeous pics to prove it.  The pages are 10" x 13" so you really feel transported into each image.  Now I just need to get my hands on the "South & West" version!

Cabin Fever

I apologize for my lack of blog posts but I've spent most of my holiday break out of town and I made a conscious decision not to bring my computer.  After visiting family in Northern California for Christmas we ventured further north to the Sierras for a little fun in the snow!  My dad rented a three story cabin and invited anyone and everyone.  I think there were a total of 14 of us one night.  It was a LOT of family all at once! Definitely a trip I'll never forget...The cabin was really nice but the design was nothing special (you're typical rental furnishings).  This of course got my head spinning with ideas on how I would design a cabin of my own...

 Lonny

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Elle Decor

 

Harper & Sandilands

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Greece and France

I just returned home after a 3 week vacation to Greece and France.  I went with my mother who hadn't been to Europe in over 36 years! My mother's whole side of the family made their way to France in order to see our French cousin Anne get married - it was a trip of a lifetime!  My mother is half Greek and half French (she calls herself a "Freak") so this was a meaningful trip that took us inside her heritage.

I undoubtedly saw some amazing sights and beautiful examples of design. I found myself constantly inspired by my surroundings.

Here are some snapshots I took along the way...