I missed all of you! Did you get a chance to peruse some of my favorite posts? If not, you can click here to get the links.
My family and I enjoyed a joyous Easter; and my blog vacation was much needed. As always, breaks are good for creativity:  I am chock full of decorating ideas that I am eager to share, and I will be spilling them out. So, stay tuned 🙂

What is better for getting back into the swing of things than a Monday ditto?

I just love this room {featured by Martha Stewart Living}. It has so many creative twists, and turns. Most of all, this room says “Spring” to me!

ditto :: {what I would steal from this space}:

1. Those amazing, framed tapestries, {or gilded wood paintings?}. First of all, I just ADORE their golden glow. They shine, without having an ounce of ‘tacky’ in the gold. And their gilded frames add to the luminous quality. One of them would be beautiful, but three are just stunning. 
2. The color palatte. What an amazing color combination: A pale peach-pink, lemon yellow, gold, and cornflower blue. All set against soft burlap-colored neutrals and white.
3. Traditions with a twist: Why not paint a side table, fashioned with traditional form, in a stunning, matte, cornflower blue? Or top a white-urn table lamp in a gorgeous drum lamp shade, in the palest of peachy-pink? And urns on the table have always been a lovely thought – but why not have lemon yellow, cheery urns? How about covering a French Provincial chair in light yellow velvet?
4. Stunning, color echoing, flowers. This amazing bouquet of cut tulips echo the color scheme of the room. Have you ever thought about buying your flowers to draw attention to the color of your accent pillows, or your lamps? A simple gesture, but unbelievably beautiful. Everything in this color scheme is tied together by this dramatic display of natural Beauty.
5. Trays! Trays are beautiful and wonderful ways to add unity to any decorative items you might be displaying. Trays add a layering effect to the room in an effortless and useful way. Here the trays beautifully organize urns and books.
6. A down-filled, inviting, and enveloping sofa; all dressed up in neutral linen. Don’t you just want to plunk down on this lovely piece of furniture, and relax? I love down filled sofa cushions. There is nothing more elegant and enveloping.
7. Yellow and Gold. Two tones, not quite the same… more complimentary than anything. Yet, dashingly lovely when used together. I think I will have to explore this color combo some more!
8. A full, but not cluttered, coffee table. This coffee table has many objects atop its surface. Yet, it still manages to maintain a streamlined look. The trick to achieving this lies in the fact that all of the large surface-area items {the books and the tray} are in a white that is a nearly-matching color to the coffee table. They ‘disappear’ into the surface of the table, yet succeed in adding interest and texture to the coffee table. The glass of the large vase has the same effect. It is a wonderful way to display beautiful items on your coffee table, without getting that cluttered and messy look.

For the week of Holy Week, I will be rejoicing with my family here at Fieldstone Hill.
To those of you who rejoice right along with me, may you have the most wonderful of Easters.

I will return to “see” your very stylish selves next week {April the 25th}. In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite posts {links below}.
I truly hope that you have a week filled with Beauty.

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” – Isaiah 52:7

{Il Duomo in Sienna, Italy; photo by me and hubby}

I will miss you! But, this week’s Easter break would be a great time to catch up on some of Fieldstone Hill’s favorite older posts. Stop by all week, and get your decorating-tips fix!! Click on the links below to view my personal faves:

• {an explanation of Hiding the Uglies, and how it can beautify your home}
• {my thoughts on using themed decorating, or not}
• {want my number one tip on organizing?}
• {need help defining your personal style?}
• {a surprise office makeover for my hubby}
• {my ditto posts, of course! Dittos help you break down good design bit by bit}
• {my most loved post: a tutorial on my boys’ checkerboard floor}
•  and just for fun! {my very first post!}

live with Beauty,
– {darlene}

{via apartment therapy}

{sarah richardson}

 {tom sheerer via purestylehome}

 {cotedetexas}

 {via graciewear}

{country living}

the first and fourth photos are my favorites. I just love the creative arrangements shown in their hat art.

how about you? would you use hats as art? do you use other “real” objects as out-of-context art?


Have a great, hat happy weekend!
-{darlene}

You all know how I just love to Hide the Uglies.

Now, this hiding-the-uglies post does not apply to everyone,
but surely you have a friend or a loved-one who has bath toys overtaking her once-lovely bathroom? You can use this post as a tool for a gentle intervention.

or, If YOU have a bathroom that was once-lovely, but is now home to many, many, overflowing bath toys,
I am here today to tell you:

the time has come to hide them.

this is how we hide our bath toys at Fieldstone Hill:

{in the picture above, you can see a plastic green bin peeking out from behind the tub. normally, you cannot even see it at all .}

{in the picture to the left, you can see how we Hide our bath Uglies. this works out just great for us, and we never have to look at a pile of plastic bath toys.}

there are many other ways that you can Hide the bath Uglies:
*place all the toys in a cute bucket that can be hidden away under the sink. hidden!
*get a drawstring, mesh bag and toss it in the bottom of your linen closet. hidden!
*put them in a plastic basket that tucks right between your toilet and a wall. hidden!

two more thoughts on Hiding your bath Uglies:
*those primary-colored, mesh bags that hang on the wall of your shower/bath combo do not count as hiding the uglies. instead, they highlight the uglies and well, they are not really hidden.
*make sure there is a way for those critters to dry off.
*and, be sure to weed through those toys on a regular basis. boy, do they get nasty quite quickly.

How do you Hide your bath Uglies? or… will you hide them now that you are equipped with a few ideas?
-{darlene}


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