cottage florals in the veg garden

Today from the veg garden: Happy Monday, friends! Just sharing a little impromptu alfresco table set with the a vintage tablecloth and  a few of my favorite cottage garden flowers.

 

It’s an easy, breezy way to instantly set a beautiful table when you start with pretty table linens like this and then simply add your everyday tableware and a big bouquet of flowers.

This garden has kept me busy just about every single day. We call it the new Potager Garden.

 

This area has always been a small lawn, and over the years has had a swing set, baby pools and lots of children’s play equipment out here, but my love for growing veggies has now been fulfilled by this new veg garden.

 

It’s such a dream come true, and just so happens to be the perfect spot for the raised beds, as the borders surrounding this area is a small orchard of sorts, filled with apple, lemon, orange, guava, plum and apricot trees.

 

These flowers were all grown in our cottage garden and are just loosely arranged in a fun wicker-wrapped vase to softly sway any which way the wind blows.

 

ciao fabiana

 

 

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You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

blue & white plates on the shed

It all started with this large plate in the center. It was about two years ago, and there it was in the thrift store, at a bargain of a price. So, I brought it home and was inspired to create a large outdoor plate collage with this new 15-inch-wide plate as the center piece. 

 

The plates are now arranged on one of the window-less walls of my shed. This is the view we have from the breakfast room, so it’s a real focal point from the house. 

The design was quite easy to come up with, and I love that it's totally symmetrical. I brought out my stash of blue and white plates and went to work. I needed 4 dinner plates and 4 salad plates for the configuration. It really came together quite quickly. 

 

I love the way the trumpet vines have grown to intermingle with the plates. So far, the plates have been out here on the wall for over two years, and you know what? They’ve withstood the weather beautifully. They won’t fade, and the metal brackets that hold them up haven't even rusted at all. 

 

This antique metal bench works beautifully with the plate vignette, and I recently added a seasonal pumpkin pillow and plaid blanket to add a layer of fall coziness. 

 

I love the new metal roof we put on earlier this year. We had to replace the old wood shake roof, and this was actually the most economical way to go! Isn’t it so cute?  

 

The roof is not only sturdy and cute, but it isn’t reflective at all. I was afraid that it might cause a glare coming into the house, but it doesn’t at all. 

My buddy and contractor George made it all work out perfectly, since he had already had some experience with installing this type of corrugated metal roofing.   

 

My blue-plate collage on the shed was even featured in Cottages & Bungalows magazine earlier this year. Here’s a behind the scenes shot I took. Notice the brick column on the right and the trellis overhead? 

 

Well, we got rid of them! You see the brick post was centered right in the middle of this whole area of the backyard and totally blocked our view of these cute plates, vines and shed from the house. 

 

During the reroofing process, George and I decided to take down half of the trellis so we’d have a more open view and also a better traffic flow for this part of the backyard.  

 

There are still two other brick posts that hold up the remaining part of the trellis, so it worked out just fine. 

Here’s how the blue and white plates on my shed appeared in Cottages and Bungalows. We’ll have no more shadow on the wall since the overhead trellis has been removed. 

It seems like it’s always looked like this, and now we can enjoy our coffee from the breakfast room looking out at this view. BTW, the cute pumpkin pillow is a Home Goods find, and the plaid blanket is vintage.

 

ciao! fabiana

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designer crush: sanctuary home decor

Now that we’re into August, the blog posts for this month will still be headed to your inboxes with lots of fun photos, home tours and city tours, but I’m condensing the writing just a bit as I’m on a mini-summer vacation.

Today’s tour is of Karen from Sanctuary Home Décor’s beautiful garden.   

Karen has the most exquisite taste both inside and outside of her home, and I’m a huge fan!

At her newly built California farmhouse, Karen has created a cozy environment where they’re even fortunate enough to have horses in the backyard!

There are so many intimate outdoor spots to lounge in.

And she has the most amazing green thumb…

She’s got all my favorite plants and flowers here!

And a glorious shed devoted to flowers…

which look amazing on the tables she sets.

I love her use of color here.

The color of plates remind me of a well loved pair of blue jeans.

You can check out more of Karen’s home here,

at Santuary Home Décor.

ciao! fabiana

P.S. I’m on a mini-summer vacation for August, so you’ll be reading condensed versions of summer-inspired blog posts this month.