Remember these adorable plates that were sold at Anthropologie a while back? I loved them instantly and bought several.

I have long been a lover of insects and botanical artwork. I loved this collection of folk art bugs I used in a clients vacation home.   

I have a collection of small framed bugs myself. 

So when I was flipping through the newest issue of Heart Home Magazine, I was excited to see the title of this story:  

As I was looking at the beautiful pictures of the home of this 'bug lover', I spotted a familiar plate on the wall of Lou Rota's kitchen.

I immediately made the connection..this was the Anthro plate artist's home!! I LOVE seeing the homes of artists, especially artists whose work I am so fond of.  And this house does not disappoint.

 I can't tell you how much I love this hand-me-down sofa that she recovered in 6+ different fabrics. It's so 'granny chic'!! It is so perfect in this house.

To see more of Lou's home and to see her process of recycling vintage dishes with her artwork, visit Home Heart Magazine here.

I have had a few emails about the fabrics that I used in my dining room, so I thought I would share my wonderful sources today. I first was introduced to the talents of artist Golly Bard on Poppytalk. Her family gave Holly this nickname as a little girl and it's stuck. Her studio is in a beautifully restored church in Virginia that she shares with an interior designer.  

via

 Then I transfer the pattern to the 'real' fabric. Cut out the pieces, sew them together and pull them over the chair, tucking into the seams for a nice snug fit.

On the other 6 chairs {that I painted green last year} I recovered the seats with a staplegun using the Birds Nest fabric. I love the green paint with the green eggs. 

I think all of the fabrics are so pretty together! A huge shout out to Holly and Rachael for creating such beautiful fabrics. You inspire me!

It seems that there is a lot of cleaning up, reorganizing and revamping that happens in January, right? As you know, I love decorating kids rooms. One of the challenges that goes into designing a teenagers room is finding a place for all of their stuff. One of my favorites, designer Beth Keim of Lucy and Company, just shared a fantastic install of a teenagers room. 

There was so much stuff that needed to be stored in this small 12 x 12 room.

Beth's vision: "a bit Parisian, a bit Bergdof Goodman, a bit Audrey Hepburn and a dash of Vogue"

Her twin bed was traded for a queen bed which is nestled in a custom built wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling storage unit. perfect!!

Even the new vanity is flanked by it's own floor to ceiling storage. But my favorite part of the room, is the collection of photos above the desk/vanity. Originally, Beth was going to use a series of shoe sketches, but she wanted to go for something a bit more personal. Beth works with a fabulous photographer, Mekenzie France, and they decided to take shots of some of the teenagers 'pretties' as well as have her pose for a photo shoot. They were then displayed in simple black frames. The collaboration was perfect. What teenager doesn't want to have her own photo shoot?!?    

A few close-ups of the photos.

To see more of this project visit Lucy & Company here.  

 {images via Mekenzie France via Lucy & Company}

Designer Ingrid Oomen lives in a beautiful traditional home that is bathed in neutrals and gorgeous finishes. When it comes to Christmas, she likes to continue with the same palette. Because of a lack of space, she skips the traditional Christmas tree and instead tucks tall dogwood branches into a pair of urns planted with roses and ivy. I love the way the shiny blue, silver and white balls play against the natural branches.     

I can not tell you how much I love these twig branches used on the stairs instead of a heavy garland. It  gives a wonderful hint as to what's to come in the rest of the house.

She continues with her twig arrangements even into the kitchen. This is such a gorgeous sculptural display. I would almost hate to have to take this down in January!

I actually use the same idea on my front porch. After we take the ferns out of our planters at Thanksgiving, we are left with all of the dirt. When we get our Christmas tree, we end up with lots of  branches that are cut off of the bottom to make it fit in the stand. I use all of the branches to create an arrangement in the urns by sticking them into the dirt.

Then I stick branches throughout and I slide on little silver and red balls ornaments. It couldn't be easier. To finish it off, I lay a string of 100 white lights wrapped loosely throughout.   

{pics 1-6 via House and Home}