[Cottage Living, March 2007]Hits of yellow on a creamy white background. Billowy pink flowers. Unique, personal wall decor. Bowl as art.
[Decorating, Spring 2008]
More yellow. A little green. Lots of white. And pattern. Painted furniture. Bare, shiny floors. The surprise of art above a window.
[Decorating, Spring 2009]
Spring green. Apple green. Grass green. Monochromatic collections. Window as art. Weathered finishes juxtaposed with glass and mirror.
[Cottage Living, April 2007]
A cottage garden in Pasadena. Mine could look like that. But who would take care of it? Will study anyway and make notes regarding plantings.
[La Vie Claire, Spring 2009]
Open window. Fresh air. A clothesline! White towels are the best. Turquoise and yellow always look good together. Painted furniture again. I sense a trend in my current preferences.
[Southern Accents, May/June 2009]Yellow and cobalt with a large dose of lime for good measure. Love that combination. A party out of doors should be just as nice as a party indoors. And there must be lanterns.
[House Beautiful, May 2009]
White kitchens may always be my favorite kind. Fresh flowers are always a good idea. I'd like to add corbels to the undersides of my upper cabinets. Still happy my counter tops are pale so they reflect and multiply all the light that comes in over my sink.
[Cottage Living, May 2007]2010 will be the year I finally make this lemony dessert. Five ingredients and four steps. Even I can manage that.
• • •
These are my thoughts—on things I like or would like to do, change, make and create— as I sit on my sofa paging through a stack of magazines from springtimes past. Do you do that? Review your magazines seasonally? Images that didn't stand out in 2008 or 2007 suddenly look new and necessary. March, April and May are what I am reading now. June, July and August will come out later for a summer review. Then September, October, November for fall inspiration. December primarily for Christmas. January and February offer ideas about winter but mostly make me hopeful for spring. Which is where we are now. With so many great ideas.
Which magazines do you save and refer to again and again?
How have your old friends - your old magazines - inspired you in new ways this year?
14 comments:
Hey! I do that too! And white kitchens, and corbels, painted furniture,and outdoor parties with lanterns...all of these things rank very high on my list of faves, and were all probably at one point, inspired by magazines!
The first set of photos I remember so well from Cottage Living (miss that magazine!). Wasn't it decorated by Annie Selke for one of her staff? The pink and gold bowl/vase on the coffee table was from IKEA, surprisingly. Thanks for the memories! I like to take a fresh look at my back issues of magazines too.
Hi Tracy,
Magazines are a mild addiction of mine. But lately with so few left I notice I don't crave them as I once did. But I have kept about 25 or so oldies but goodies.
As for how my friends inspire me? You have met my friend Melissa. You cannot believe how gorgeous her home and garden is. I really want to take new photos and post them. Her house is like something out of a magazine! So she is always inspiring me. I'm the minimalist and she's the maximalist!
~janet
I saved all the original Victoria magazines... not the revamped version, mind you... but the old one. Lovely photography. These days my favourite is the British edition of Country Living. I always want a pig of my own after reading that one.
Oh magazines I do have many!! too many actually. I love to sit and turn pages as I drink a cup of tea. I love my old Southern Accents and Traditional Home and Veranda and, and, and, see what I mean I have a slight problem with my magazines!! Kathysue
Beautiful images. I so miss Cottage Living. I loved that magazine and am thankful I kept the few copies I have. I too keep my magazines around for inspiration. I should probably look through them more often, however, I always know I have inspiration just within a flip of a page. A few of my favorites as well as the mention above - Real Simple, Traditional Home, Instyle, Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, English Home (LOVE!), Town and Country.
Beautiful post.
What cheery lovely pictures. I want to make that lemon dessert too! I am a magazine addict and keep them all and re-read them over and over. I find that my eye/mind sees certain things but then when I am in another mode (say looking for a lamp when all I see is lamps!) I see other things. It is wonderful as they become an endless source of ideas.
xo Terri
I do the same thing! I'm the "magazine queen"---I border on being a magazine hoarder! Love all the same ones you do.
Tracy,
Great post...love the images. Being the organized obsessed person that I am, I tend to look at mags, tear out what I like and the moment and toss. Sooo, I don't have years to compare. Too bad for me, could be a fun way to spend a lazy afternoon.
Blessings for a wonderful Easter.
xo
Well I keep them all for a minimum of 10 years so it's not fun to move I tell ya! I'm always inspired by colour!
Hi Tracy! Love this post -
I wanted to let you know that I received my gift today and I LOVE IT! It is a wonderful book and what a truly fabulous giveway.
You have a wonderful blog and I truly love visiting it everyday!
Have a great day! :)
xo Sarah
Girl, my shelves are packed full of magazines!! I can never seem to throw them away. Metropolitian Home, Elle Deor, House Beautiful, Veranda.... I could keep going.
As for that gorgeous little tourquise bathroom self unit... I L O V E it!! The pop of color is brilliant.
You probably already know this but I LOVE design magazines and look at them over and over (and over). I keep them for years before recycling them because you can just never have too many. Right? :-) Love the inspiration here.
I really try not to keep magazines, for obvious reasons, but I do have a small collection of clippings which from time to time I take out and realize I still love.
I'm particularly smitten with the photo you found of the green things in the bookcase with the big star above; and the little piece of art above a window is an idea I'm gonna steal, too!
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