Comments on ::Surroundings::: It's Contest Time! What is Your Inspiration?

Our home decor is inspired by our travels. Somehow...

2008-05-12T13:21:00.000-04:00

Our home decor is inspired by our travels. Somehow having a home that reflects where we've been helps us to focus on where we're going. We live in a small Cape Cod style home. Our living room flows quite nicely into our kitchen. The colors -- a deep red and a romantic sunflower yellow--remind of us a Tuscan sunset. (We honeymooned in Northern Italy.)

Our son's room is a deep orange that smacks against orangish-yellowish highlights. He was born in Guatemala and these colors reflect the rich Mayan traditions of his ancestry.

Our den is a mish-mash of style. The couch we bought on sale, the television cabinet that was a gift from my parents (Yeah for Target!), curtains made from material that I've had for years and let's not forget every single plastic-toy-that-makes-obnoxious-sounds that my son owns. Those, of course, throw any design style out of whack.

Our bedroom is inspired by the deep blue skies of my childhood. I used to sit in our strawberry field in little ol' Fenton, Missouri, and watch the clouds pass in a sky that defined heaven -- rich and calming and endless. Benjamin Moore makes that same exact blue. Accented with white sheers on the windows and all-white linens on the bed, and I can almost feel the peace of soul that I felt when I was in that strawberry field.

I am inspired by music. While musical elements ca...

2008-05-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

I am inspired by music. While musical elements can be inocorporated, it is hard to design a room around this theme. I like to decorate using the colors blue and purple along with silver and white accents.

Great inspiration stories everyone! I'll be drawin...

2008-05-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

Great inspiration stories everyone! I'll be drawing the winner's name tonight, so there's still time to enter.

Thanks for playing!

And thanks again to Artaissance for the great prize!

I'm inspired by water and everything in and around...

2008-05-11T22:39:00.000-04:00

I'm inspired by water and everything in and around it - fish, coral, and carribbean colors.

I'm also inspired by whatever my wife tells me I need to like.....

Marshal

For me, it is a mixture of things: fabrics, great ...

2008-05-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

For me, it is a mixture of things: fabrics, great decorated spaces, flowers...

i've always loved cherry blossoms... so my lounge room has it everywhere, lamps, ginger jars, plates, artwork, cushions... on a chinadoll :P

another thing that inspires me, strangely enough, is music. different songs for me have split second memories.

my daughter's laughing face inspires me. makes me think how i can capture that sound, that sight and the feel of her wriggling in my arms! :)

What inspires me is the same color blue that I pai...

2008-05-08T15:44:00.000-04:00

What inspires me is the same color blue that I painted my bedroom as a child. It was the color I painted my living room in one of my apartments, and didn't realize until afterwards that it was the same color. And it is the color of my office now. It brings me a sense of peace and calm to be surrounded by that color, and I continue to be drawn to it.

My inspiration is a two-toned blue stripped wallpa...

2008-05-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

My inspiration is a two-toned blue stripped wallpaper in a previous house. It was in my bedroom and always reminded me of the beach and water next to the white woodwork. When we moved, I wanted a change and now a few years later I am trying to get the blues back into my bedroom. I should have known.....I hate change!!

I'm inspired by my backyard in the spring. I plant...

2008-05-08T11:37:00.000-04:00

I'm inspired by my backyard in the spring. I plant a hodge-podge of flowers in pots around my deck and keep the bird feeders full in order to attract as many wild birds as possible. I can sit out there for hours just watching birds and enjoying the plants and flowers. It always inspires me to brighten up and freshen up the interior of my home so I can have such peace inside as well as out.

My inspiration has always been this Jae Dougall su...

2008-05-08T09:40:00.000-04:00

My inspiration has always been this Jae Dougall sunflower print: http://womensdish.typepad.com/sunflowers.JPG. In my last house, it was in my bedroom which picked up the gold of the sunflowers. In my present condo, when my son asked to paint a room red, I said no, until I looked at the red in the print. In my new home, we wanted a dark brown media room, and I wasn't sure until I realized it would be the perfect contrast. If I ever move it again, I'll try to use the blues!

I am inspired by the colors of nature. The blues ...

2008-05-06T13:13:00.000-04:00

I am inspired by the colors of nature. The blues of the sky, the green in the trees, and the yellows in the sunflowers.

Lately, my inspiration has been found in spirals a...

2008-05-03T09:32:00.000-04:00

Lately, my inspiration has been found in spirals and circles. I love my family room rug which is full of color and concentric circles. I even embroidered some pillows with concentric circles as accents in the room.

Thanks for the link to Art My Style - a site I had not yet run across!

Patti

As Linda knows, I have a simple style. Currently m...

2008-05-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

As Linda knows, I have a simple style. Currently my inspiration is wallpaper that was in a former home. It has a white background and wonderful, in my opinion, colors of blue, yellow, reds of rose tied together with ribbons of green. Linda was able to find fabric with a similar theme which now hang as window treatments in my new home. If someone forced me to state a style preference it would be French provencial, but I prefer to just surround myself with thing I like, regardless of origin of style. Of the paintings, my favorite is the bunch of flowers. Not surprised, huh!!

Linda, thanks for asking the question.