Lu Summers, Good To Know, & Fabulousmess {Link Love!}

Welcome to day 1 of my Link Love series while I begin my self-imposed maternity leave! I hope you enjoy all the great shops and sites I have to share with you over the next few weeks.

Happy Surfing!




Beautiful house tour, of mixed media artist Lu Summers. She has a blog, and an Etsy Shop
as well.

lusummers/flickr

Good To Know....amazing size offering advice and inspiration not only for artists, but anyone looking for a creative kick in the a##!

screenshot of Good To Know

Fabulousmess, amazing Etsy Shop offering up everything from reupholstered furniture, to handmade ceramics and textiles. Truly original work!

Hollywood Regency armchair

Maternity Leave!

I will be beginning my "official" maternity leave from DecorAddict today. If you would like to be notified of when I will be back ( in a few weeks ), you can subscribe in Google Reader, or through the subscribe button (in the left column of DecorAddict).

During my leave, i've set up a couple of "Link Love" posts every few days for you. Just a small sampling of some of my favorite blogs, websites, and online shops.

image from Barking Bird Art

Happy Summer everyone! I'll be back as soon as we're all settled!

Flock ..... WOW !

I have NO words for these pieces created by Christien Meindertsma, aka Flock.

all images from Flock

Dreamy Ocean Inspired Fabrics {from Oliveira}

These make me want to dip my feet in the pool. Too bad I don't have a pool.

from Oliveira Textiles

books by colour

Remember this post from last February? I was so inspired, that I did it myself in my own bookcase.

Well, our new camera helped me take this photo as well. We just picked up the Sanyo Xacti dual camcorder/digital camera....I love it! With the bambino arriving next week, you must have a camcorder!

our living room

I have NOWHERE near the number of books as shown in my original post, but just to give you an idea of the effect this can have, here it is again.

image by colour lovers

I can't get enough of this look. It just makes a bookcase look that must more organized, even mine, which holds everything from our stereo, to storage boxes, to candles, and small pieces of artwork and photography.

Etsy Love {The Little Red Door}

Adorable ceramic miniatures from Etsy seller, The Little Red Door.

all images from The Little Red Door

...and the winner's are...

Congratulations to Sarah Hardaker UK, FoundVintageStyle, and Little Hen Designs!

I will be in touch with each of you in the coming days to have this all set up and ready to go live for July 1st!

For everyone else that entered, THANK YOU! I will be adding everyone to my blogroll (for those of you that have a blog) and if you have a separate website or shop as well, I will add you to my list favorite sites as well, as they are all fantastic!

There were so many entries, and so many great shops out there, it was so difficult to choose!

Kim's Home Office

I've been reorganizing most of the weekend, and one of the hot spots in the condo is definitely our home office/dining room. It needs help. Like serious help. We have enough space, that's not a problem, but I'm finding it a challenge trying to combine the 2 spaces into one. Hence, I've been scouring various sources looking for inspiration which led me to the Desire to Inspire blog (Hi Kim!), and Kim's home office.



This is EXACTLY the feel that I'd love to have in our multi-purpose room. Eclectic, worldly, but somehow multifunctional. Won't to join me on a mini-tour of her office today?



You can see more photos of her office at Desire To Inspire.

Happy Monday everyone! Stay tuned, the winners of DecorAddict's ad-space giveaway are coming up soon!

Freebies & DIY's

I don't know about you, but whenever I catch an online freebie, or awesome DIY project online I bookmark it right away. There is a special folder for this on the laptop. Not saying that I actually use every one of them, but they're amazing to hold on to as you just never know when you may need or want to take advantage of one.

One of my favorites places to visit for freebies is Creature Comforts. Ez posts them so frequently, it's hard to keep up with them!

This is one of my favorites, iron-on pillow transfers. So romantic!
image copyright CreatureComforts

Another would be Poppytalk, by my fellow Canadian, Jan. The freebies here have a unique vintage quality to them that I so love, don't you think?

see them all here
image copyright Poppytalk

Happy downloading, and happy weekend! See you back here on Monday, where I will also announce the winners of DecorAddict's Ad-Space giveaway!

Ad-Space Giveaway.....deadline is approaching!

You have until this Sunday, June 21st at midnight, EST to enter!

Winners will be announced on Monday! See the full details here if you haven't entered already.

Happy Weekend!

Twinkle Living

I've been flipping through all my decorating books over the last few days, no reason in particular, just mainly because daytime television really sucks...and I happened to pick up my Domino decorating book, which I'll admit I haven't cracked since they went under a few months ago. Yes, I'm one of those trying to preserve it for all eternity. God I miss Domino.

Any-who, for those of you that own a copy, in the back of the book, there is a resource section, which I totally forgot about, which in turn led me to Twinkle Living. Oh my goodness. Where has Twinkle been all my life? I had to share my favorite pieces with you all today. Just beautiful, don't you think?

Twinkle Living comes from Wenlan Chia, a native of Taiwan. Originally established as a women's fashion company in 1999, her original designs has impressed the fashion and design community alike, as well as her devoted customers. Feminine, yet modern pieces, both to wear, and for your home.

all images from Twinkle Living

The Repurposed Doily

I'm seeing them more and more lately, that's right my friends, doilies are making a comeback. And, even better, they're not your grandmothers doilies either.

Re purposed into beautiful works of art, they have been making the rounds as lampshades, and on pillows. Gotta love that, right?

image from Nice

image from Track & Field Designs

There is so much you can do with these little pieces of art that our grandmothers and great aunts made over the years, besides using them as a coaster or as a designated spot for that candy dish.

image from Country Living Magazine

image from Country Living Magazine

images from Country Living Magazine

vintage doily bags

doily garland

The doily "motif" per-se is popping up everywhere it seems. Upholstery, stencils, you name it, it's there!

image from Martha Stewart Living

image from Brocade Home

image from Brocade Home

image from Brocade Home

image from Brocade Home

What do yo think of this reinvented, or re purposed look? I think I'm liking it. Don't you?

REMINDER Ad-Space Giveaway!!!!

Just a friendly reminder that you have 4 more days to enter your blog or website to DecorAddict's free ad-space giveaway!

Find all the details here!

There have been some amazing entries so far, my decision is going to be a toughie!

Happy Monday everyone....

Kindred, Summer Edition 2009

Holly and Ez have done it again! Brand new desktop wallpapers, as well as a couple of bonus items have just been released at Kindred.

My favorite(s) are below, which i've already downloaded of course. Which one is your favorite?

all images copyright Kindred

Urban Outfitters SALE!!!

Just a small sampling of the amazing deals being offered online at Urban Outfitters right now. See ALL items here!

all images copyright urbanoutfitters

Mobiles & Garlands

Yes, we're still decorating the babies room.....so of course i'm scouring Etsy like DAILY looking for stuff.

I've fallen in LOVE with these mobiles and garlands from Le Ptit Papillon, just STUNNING, don't you think? See more here, here, and here!

all images from Le Ptit Papillon

Ad-space giveaway !!!

I'm very very pleased to say that I'm giving away ad-space on DecorAddict for FREE!

There will be 3 available spots beginning on July 1st, for a 3 month/90-day period. This is a fantastic opportunity to advertise your blog or small business on DecorAddict!

Winners will be selected by me personally, based on the following criteria:

1. your business/blog/shop must be interior design/decor related in some way
2. you are an independent small business owner/blog writer (no big box stores please!)
3. that's it!

Please email me details of your business or blog to me directly at decoraddict@gmail.com no later than Friday, June 19th, 2009. I will choose the winners on/by June 21st, giving everyone enough time to get their ad together and ready to post for July 1st!

Please email me directly if you have any questions or concerns, good luck to you all!

House Tour Love...Leah Hennen of More Ways to Waste Time

I know you know that I'm a sucker for a good house tour, and not just any house tour, but REAL people's homes. Not ones that have been so over styled and overdone that it's just nauseating.

The talented writer of the blog More Ways to Waste Time just posted some updated pics of her home. It seems she's had some difficulty deciding on a wall colour, and this more recent choice is dead on perfect!!!! Although you're talking to someone that just painted her bedroom almost the same identical colour. Greige is taking over!

Here are a few sneak peeks of her home below, but go check out her blog to see more of her absolutely beautiful home. Great job Leah!









all images from More Ways to Waste Time

Friday!!!

Well, here it is finally here. My last day at my corporate day-job. Wow, has time every flown by! I'll be spending the next few weeks getting ready for babe to arrive, and I'll hopefully have some more time to spend with you all before beginning a short maternity leave from DecorAddict as well. Don't worry, it won't be for too long, and I won't be 100% gone, I will be posting as often as I can! I'll miss everyone so much this summer!

I've been meaning to share a few new blogs with everyone that I've started reading of the past few weeks, and I thought today would be the perfect time! Fridays seem to be the perfect day to share links, blogs, and other sites with you, my friends and readers!

City Chiq Country Mouse, Kelly + Olive, Feildguided, and Sweet Eventide ,

All of these blogs are saved in my Google reader, and I visit each and every one of them a couple times a week. I'm loving my reader right now, without it I have no idea how I'd keep up with all my favorite blogs!

Etsy is also a place I visit frequently looking for new and interesting things for our home, and ourselves. Most recently, I just can't get enough of ceramic artists. It suits me so well, my aesthetic, my personal style. Yes, I'm an "earth" girl at heart I suppose. I found New Moon Studio this week, I haven't bought anything yet, as I'm trying to save my pennies these days, but aren't' these pieces just divine? I love the organic shapes that have been created. Lovely!



I wish you all a fabulous weekend! See you on Monday!

Michele Varian

Once again I've been drooling all morning, this time thanks to New Yorker Michele Varian.




Michele grew up helping her parents, along with her 2 sisters (they're triplets!) fixing up the families 100 year old home. She was the artsy one, spending hours upon hours hovering over art and design books, eventually leading her to a career as a fashion designer in NYC upon graduating from Parsons.



Eventually, she started her own home accessory business setting up a storefront on Crosby Street in Soho/NYC. She has grown her business from pillows, to all things on the home accessory front, and also sells wares from other designers as well. She has just started her own handbag collection as well!

I'm so jealous. It has long been a dream of my own to open my own shop somewhere, maybe not in a huge metropolis like NYC, but maybe in a sleepy town during the summer months, allowing me to spend my winters abroad on a beach somewhere. Once can dream right? BUT, never say never.

Apartment Therapy just recently published a house tour of Michele's home in Soho, here are some sneak peaks below, but you can see the full tour at AT here.







Isn't it just divine? I love how Michele has listened to herself, and is doing what she loves to do. It is just so inspiring! Do you have anyone that inspires you like this?


all images from Apartment Therapy