Farmstay Vacation

Ever considered a Farmstay vacation for the family?  Well here's a glamorous

and fun way to stay on a farm with the entire family to enjoy all the fun things

at a farm without the grueling work.  Isn't the above tent fun?  At Kinnikinnick 

Farms located 85 miles northwest of Chicago, you can stay on a farm in a tent

like this for about $189 - $239.  It sleeps up to 6 depending on which tent you

choose.  I love the rustic inspiration of a tent.  I loved tents as a child and don't

think I ever really outgrew them.

Isn't it a gorgeous setting?  There's a lot of activities available as well.

Hot piping breakfast!

The tents have plumbing and kitchens.

Here's a closer look at one of the tents.  Isn't it fun?  

Kind of glamping.

Sleeping quarters.

And after all, the tent is on a working farm.  Isn't a red barn

quintessentially American?

An honest to goodness oven to bake bread in.

You can pick your own fresh produce.

Or just have fun in the pumpkin patches.

Plenty of farm animals to follow around.

Or play with.

Gorgeous forested areas to play in.

Complete with a campfire at night.

It's fun for the adults too.  If you're interested in this Farmstay, you

can find more information at featherdown.com.  Otherwise, if you're

like me - there was a lot of farm and rustic inspiration in the tents 

above.

Photos from Featherdown

An easy idea with high impact ...

If you read a lot of shelter magazines like I do, maybe you've noticed what seems to be a staple in many beautifully styled homes ...

Ellen Pompeo's house via Elle Decor

via Elle Decor

via Elle Decor

via Style at Home

via Katie Denham Interiors

via Chicago Home + Garden

Branches ... and bottles, or even just a simple glass vase.  The larger the better.  I love this idea because it can be so dramatic, yet so easy and inexpensive. (Those three words don't often go together, right?)

In the warmer months, you can just snip something from your garden, but for now I turn to my local florist. For the past couple weeks she has carried beautiful golden forsythia and white cherry blossom branches ... a sure sign of spring! I couldn't resist the cherry blossom.

It's a great idea for a place where you need something BIG: a fireplace hearth, a dining room buffet, a corner that feels empty ...

Of course, you need a large bottle or vase too.  I found the large bottle above at Hobby Lobby for only $20. And the vase above and the green bottle below came from HomeGoods. $10 each!

I love the imperfect, hand-blow look of this green one.  And by adding just a few simple branches of almost anything, I've got an instant arrangement.

Once you invest in the bottles or vases, you can create these dramatic centerpieces for only a few dollars, and they last for weeks ... if not longer.

Ironically, as I was writing this post, I got an email from Horchow with this picture in it:

Their bottles cost a little more than I spent for mine, but still, not too bad.

Definitely something to keep an eye out for as you shop. And at this time of year, when the branches are still bare outside, it's nice to have some that are full of color and life inside, don't you think?

It is all about craftsmanship

 

One of our clients contacted us with a rather unusual question. A few years ago he had bought a beautiful 19th century gothic styled architectural element for its beauty and the craftsmanship this piece radiated.

So this client asked my company LEFEVRE INTERIORS not only to restore this damaged wooden element but even to design a bookcase in which this element could be integrated! Not that simple!

First of all we had to restore the damaged woodcarving of the existing element and second we had to find the suitable gothic design details in order to start the design of the bookcase. I browsed into all the books I could possibly find about gothic ornaments and here is what we made of it.

Finally our client was most pleased with the result!

 

This is the bookcase brought in at our client’s home.

(picture by me)

 

It all started with this existing gothic element we used as the upper part of the bookcase.

(picture by me)

This is the new gothic paneling of the lower part of the bookcase.

(picture by me)

I can’t find a before picture of the existing element anymore, but you should notice that the wood was mostly uncolored. Our client wanted to have a ‘tobacco’ finish of the wood.

The bookcase now is ready to be filled with books!

(picture by me)

I do love working with antique elements and thinking about a way to integrate them in an interior design project.

As this French walnut 18th century double door I bought in France some years ago. I couldn’t resist its beauty!

The door is awaiting its final destination into a client’s home, or maybe brought in at my own home one day!

Can you imagine this door used in a design project as in these French styled paneled rooms :

(picture by me)

image source : The Neo Lifestyle

image source : www.miresparis.com

image source : Gypsy Purple

source : unknown

source : unknown

 

Isn’t the detailling of the hand woodcarving stunning?

image source : Lefèvre Interiors

One of our craftsmen at work.

image source : Lefèvre Interiors

LEFEVRE INTERIORS

 

Whether you like these shown antique elements or not, it is all about the craftmanship, don’t you agree?!

xx

IMPORTANT MESSAGE

 To the anonymous winner of my Beta-Plus book give away : please send me your name and address!!! If  I have not received it by Friday, March,4th, I will choose another winner.

Ormiston House in Veranda Magazine

Well, it's turning out to be a big week for us.  We just found out that the Ormiston house has made the front cover of Veranda Magazine in Poland.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with Paul and Hayley on their beautiful home and am overjoyed by this wonderful article.  The morning of the photo shoot I gathered lots of flowers and foliage from my garden at home and arranged them at the house.  My favourite arrangement was the one I did on their dining table in a collection of Hayley's mismatched antique jugs and vases.

Thanks again must go to Catherine Shields and Simon Kenny for their continued interest in my work and their beautiful coverage of these lovely family homes I have had the pleasure of working in.

If you would like to see more images of Paul & Hayley's house head over to Content's website HERE...