There are many titles I could have given this blog post: Decorating with Color, , or Artist's Loft. For many years, I've been working toward creating a look that I call Artist's Loft in Amelia's room, which consists of these principle things: {See my and for more visual inspiration.} I recently purchased the book, Homespun Style, by stylist , which helped me to better understand the look I'm trying to achieve. I was so inspired by the colorful and charming homes in that I decided to try my hand at homespun style in Amelia's (our guest) bathroom. inspiration board for guest bath First, I needed an inspiration piece--and a color palette, so I chose this original watercolor painting that was hanging in an obsure place in Amelia's room.  I immediately knew that this painting would work wonders in the light gray and white bathroom---gray, violet, yellow---a beautiful mix. a charming vintage white sheet with yellow roses serves as a shower curtain and adds softness and charm to the room. 

A line of vintage black and white dominos tucked between the window and the bead board offer playful, unexpected interest vintage book titled The Language of Flowers--a sweet addition to the room vintage millinery violets tucked into a handmade cone made by my Felicia, my sister-in-law lavender hand cream resting on a vintage alluminum soap containerboscov's grommet drapes view of bathroom upon entry-Notice the three sunny paper lanterns hanging in the windowcovina purple and ivory 72-inch x 72-inch shower curtain My design concept "to do" listkriska curtains 2nd image via SelinaLake; waverly home classics buckingham valance

all other images by à la parisienne NFL Wide Cotton Broadcloth New England Patriots Patchwork Blue/Red Add to Design Wall > Faux Leather Buffalo Black NFL Cotton Broadcloth New England Patriots Red/Navy Premier Prints Arrow Cool Grey Jungle Babies Patchwork Animals Green Kaufman Mammoth Flannel Buffalo Plaid Redleith curtains & upholstery factory 10 Ounce Chenille Whitecurtains direct cricklewood NFL Fleece New England Patriotsdunelm curtains ipswich Timeless Treasures Midnight Large Floral Midnight Kaffe Fassett Collective 2012 Cactus Dahlias Red Faux Fur Luxury Shag White Kaffe Fassett Paisley Jungle Green Faux Leather Buffalo Brown Print

Udder Madness Cow Upholstery Milk Kaffe Fassett Millefiore Blue Aviary 2 Woodgrain Bark Brown Chicago Cubs Cotton Broadcloth Blue NFL Cotton Broadcloth Green Bay Packers White/Green/Yellow Cotton Lawn Buffalo Plaid Black/Scarlet The Very Hungry Caterpillar Abstract Dots Multi Faux Fur Luxury Shag Black Kaufman Forest Fellow Racoons Nature Warm Winter Fleece Solid Black Michael Miller Kitties Cream Fox and The Houndstooth Foxes Grey Polar Fleece Solid Black MLB Cotton Broadcloth Chicago Cubs Blue/Red Warm Winter Fleece Solid Red Kaffe Fassett Collective 2010 Pandora Chrysanthemum Yoga is for Everyone Animals Blue North American Wildlife Abstract Ocean Harry Potter Digital Gryffindor Multi Shannon Minky Cuddle Dimple Dot Navy Timeless Treasures Plume Peacocks Multi/Black Winter Fleece Northern Lights Amy Butler Love Bliss Bouquet Teal Effervescence Single Border Mod Bubbles Primary

NFL Cotton Broadcloth Dallas Cowboys Blue Techno Scuba Knit Black Tone On Tone Dots White/White Timeless Treasures Space Galaxy Faux Leather Caprice Bourbon Made in the USA Stars White/Navy Timeless Treasures Packed Books Multi Warm Winter Fleece Solid Royal NFL Fleece Dallas Cowboys Blue/White 9.3 oz. Canvas Duck Natural Michael Miller Out To Sea Anchors Away Navy Kaufman Classic Seersucker Stripe Light Blue & White Kona Cotton Medium Grey Timeless Treasures Motorcycle Newsprint Timeless Treasures Dog Bones & Paw Prints Cream Vertical Ticking Stripe Ivory Charcoal Add to Design Wall >These images, from Salt Lake City photographer and Etsy seller Lauriann Wakefield, are good enough to eat. Above: Summer TimeForsythia FourCherry CreamSpring CherriesSpring Cherries IVSpring Cherries IIRed BudsMaples Forgotten FlowersMorning PoppiesThe photos are available in several sizes: 4-by-6-inch prints are $6, 5-by-5-inch prints are $9, 5-by-7-inch prints are $8, 8-by-10-inch prints are $20, 11-by-14-inch prints are $28, and 12-by-12-inch prints are $30.

There's a great sale section, too.See more of Wakefield's gorgeous fine art prints right here -- and check out her portrait work here. Clever, witty, and useful products from Brooklyn-based Design Glut (aka industrial designers and Pratt grads Kegan Fisher and Liz Kinnmark). Above: Hookmaker glazed wall tiles with integrated teacup and hook, $30 eachEgg Pants cups, $20 for twoSuicidal Tendencies brass cigarette holder, $140 (perfect for sending a not-so-subtle message to the smoker in your life, eh?)See all of Design Glut's offerings at Supermarket. Quick question: Can those of you who get your blog updates via an RSS reader see this widget -- or at least see that it's here, so you can click through to the blog to view it? (I used to get at least the post title for these on my Bloglines feeds, but now even that isn't showing up.)Please post a comment and let me know. I feel like a little kid rushing home from school with my first, imperfect art-class project: Look what I made!

Now, I know all you hardcore crafters are probably laughing at just how rudimentary this little project is, but I am so not crafty that to actually make something from scratch and not have it be a total disaster is a huge accomplishment for me. So don't be too harsh, OK?Anyway, as I mentioned awhile back, I've learned to knit. My needle skills are pretty basic at this point, but I can at least cast on, cast off, knit, and purl. With those astonishing skills, one can make ... scarves. Lots and lots of scarves. And since every member of my extended family now has a hand-knitted scarf of his or her very own (and since it's not exactly scarf weather anymore), I needed to figure out what else I could do -- without having to kick it up a level by learning how to increase, decrease, knit in the round, cable stitch, or any of those other fancy maneuvers that sound complicated enough to make brain hurt.I've long been a fan of Lauren Saunders' absolutely gorgeous knitted pillows, and for the first time in years we actually own a working sewing machine, so I decided that I'd try my hand at a knitted cushion cover (albeit a much simpler version than Saunders').

Plus, my mom's birthday was coming up, so that was the kick in the pants I needed.The project was easy enough and it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. (Just don't look too closely at the seamwork, Mom! And if you do, let me remind you that this is pretty much the first thing I've sewed since high school Home Ec class.)Here's how I did it:* Choose two contrasting shades of the yarn of your choice. (I used a skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky in Copper Melange, plus a half-skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky in Natural Cream, because that's the color scheme in my mother's living room. Misti's baby alpaca is absolutely my favorite yarn on the planet -- because, you know, I am such a yarn connoisseur. I knitted on 14-inch, size 13 needles, but in retrospect I think I should have used size 11 so the stitches would be a little tighter.)* Cast on enough stitches to make your piece about 20 inches wide.* Alternate knitting and purling, switching off after each row -- umm, I think this is called the stockinette stitch -- until the skein is finished or until you've knitted a rectangle that's roughly 20 inches wide by 13 or 14 inches long.* Switch to your contrasting yarn, and continue knitting and purling until you have a 20-inch square that's about two-thirds one color and one-third the other

, and then cast off.* Cut two 20-inch squares from a half-yard of the fabric of your choice. (I used an ivory linen that matched the lighter shade of yarn.)* Pin the knitted square, with the "good" side up, onto one of the fabric squares. Sew them together around all four edges, using a relatively tight stitch on your sewing machine. You now have a fabric backing for the knitted portion of the pillow cover.* Place the knit-and-fabric square on the other fabric square, with the knitted side down and the "right" side of the fabric-only square facing up. Pin them together about an inch in from the edges, and sew them together on three sides and about half of the fourth.* Trim off the excess knitting and fabric around the edges on the three sewn sides, and turn the pillow cover right-side-out.* Roll up a 16-inch-square pillow form (I got one for a few bucks at my local fabric store) and carefully slide it in through the opening on the fourth side. Then open the rolled-up pillow and adjust it in the cover as needed.* Fold the excess fabric and knitting on each side of the opening in toward the center, and pin it closed.* As for the final step, I'm sure there's a "correct" way to do this (I told you I'm not a crafter!).