michigan + half painted walls

Last night, we returned from a whole 10 day vacation in Michigan! The week plus flew by and this morning I am tiredly getting back into the swing of real life. For anyone who has ever been to Michigan in the mid to late summer, you know there is just no beating it (personal biased opinion of course)! We started our trip with a couple days all the way at the top of the mitten on Mullet Lake. We then headed south for a quick 18 hours in Harbor Springs/Petoskey before making our way down the west coast to the town of Pentwater. I finished the week outside of Detroit at my parent's house celebrating my sister's upcoming wedding while Jeff and Booker made there way home via Saugatuck. It was an incredible time spent on the lakes with family and friends - new and old - and I look forward to many more summer trips just like it. 

Returning from being away, it can be difficult to get right back into the blogging mode. I usually get started by scrolling Pinterest, catching up on my Blogroll and reflecting back on inspirational things I did, saw and thought about while on our trip. One thing that stood out to me from our trip was a particular bathroom - I know sort of strange but this is how my designer brain works. Set bathroom was in the amazingly delicious American Spoon Cafe in Petoskey. American Spoon is a Michigan preserve company that also has a cafe that serves up its up its yummy products alongside other local fare. Last Monday, we enjoyed breakfast there before getting on the road and I am going to say it was one of the best morning meals I have ever had.

But back to the bathroom - it was understated and simple with the main design element being a half painted taupe wall. I am not usually a fan of "paint treatments" but this totally worked and I am dreaming of how I could do the same thing in our bathroom. Check out these inspiration images. 

from top left - via SF Girl By Bay - Hotel Henrietta via At Home In Love - via April and May - home of Heather Jorde via Design Sponge - Gerrit Rievald bungalow by Remy Meijers via Fresh Palace - via Inside Out - source unknown - home of Tim Ross and Michelle Glew-Ross via Design Files - via REMODELISTA 

artist feature: emily leonard

I think I might have a thing for artists who share my name - Emily Jeffords, Emily Gherard, Emily Fischer and most recently -  Emily Leonard. Emily Leonard is a Tennessee based painter who uses a layering process to "break down an image and build it back slowly with hundreds of washy glazes and gestures". The effect is experiential conveying a distinct sense of place and time. Below are a few favorites. 

Emily Leonard - Hydrangea - 10" x 13" - gold paint and ink on panel

Emily Leonard - What You Whispered - 60" x 86" - diptych, oil on panel - 2005  

Emily Leonard - I Woke Up and Loved You - diptych, oil on panel - 2008

Emily Leonard - Expecting Marie - 11" x 15" - mixed media on paper - 2009

Emily Leonard - Natalie In Her Front Yard - 36" x 34" - oil on canvas - 2014 

hector finch

Hector Finch is one of the lighting companies that I discovered during my inadvertent lighting binge a couple of weeks ago (like Bocci). A UK based company, Hector Finch creates beautiful transitional lighting that draws inspiration from the past while infusing it with warm, modern finishing. I am particularly in love with their lights made out of French ceramic. 

1. Tiber Pendant, Green  2. Toled Desk Lamp  3. French Ceramic Wall Light, Rise and Fall  4.  French Ceramic Rise and Fall, With Weights  5. Chelsea Pendant, Small  6. Chantilly Wall Lantern  7. Sir John Soane Hanging Lantern  8. Albert Wall Light, Double  9. French Ceramic Wall Light - interior by Jute Design