Decks and Terraces

              
Select your preferred from these beautiful options........................ sorry, but number 4 is taken... ! ;0))

Home office

              
Are you doing work at home? You’re going to need a proper home office. Your home office space should be truly all about YOU.

Daily System allows you to create a customized system for supreme organization in any room.

And this  Manhattan chair bookend is just so lovely!!

The front-desk organizers used in hotels inspired this home-sized version for CD, office or kitchen storage and display. So cute!!

Shabby Chic

               

In the 1980s, designer Rachel Ashwell made the term “Shabby Chic” synonymous with her design sense and lifestyle based on the esthetics of beauty, comfort, and function.

My vision and philosophy of decor is like Rachel's; that nothing should be too precious. A child should feel free to put her feet on the sofa, a guest, his cup on the coffee table. I believe in cozy, not fussy; relaxed, not stiff.

The Shabby Chic Home is one of simple elegance and romance. Most pieces are meant to look as though they are old and worn and have perhaps been handed down for several generations.

They might perhaps be inherited pieces from relatives, or things gleaned from good yard sales and auctions. In this form of design, little imperfections, like a scratch on a cedar chest or dining room table are seen as bonuses instead of as tragedies.

Shabby Chic has the appeal of living the simple life and the comforts of home. It is a relaxed style of decorating that tells visitors: "Come in, put your feet up and relax here. This is a home where comfort is king." If you have children and animals, this is a great style for you. You are not concerned that they may damage furniture or stain rugs because this just adds to the well loved look you prefer.

My kind of style with beautiful and comfortable things that are also practical for the sticky fingers of children and other inevitable messes that a lived life leaves behind.

Le Beanock!

            
What do you get when you cross a bean bag with a hammock? Le Beanock! Or pure heaven seating. Le Beanock is floating comfort in the form of a suspended bean bag like cushion.
In my search for a porch swing  I found these. A combination between a bean bag and a hammock. Could it be more comfortable? true love nest !!

Beautiful outdoor lighting

                                   
Lighting accessories should balance your lifestyle.. Don’t simply hang a light fixture - create an ambiance that adds beauty and drama to your home.
Outdoor Lighting gives you and your home a new sense of style and what's important, security.
Security: A well lit home and garden can help deter crime, while providing a clearer view at night on who is coming and going from your property.

Safety: Another primary function of backyard lighting is to illuminate possible hazard areas. These may include steps, low branches, water features, barriers and more.
 
Usability: Having a well lit area allows you enjoy that space regardless of whether it is day or night.

Entertainment: You can continue to enjoy gatherings in your backyard as dusk rolls in, instead of everyone packing up and heading inside at the first sign of nighttime. Everyone can relax outside in your beautifully landscaped backyard and enjoy themselves under the star-lit sky.
 

 
Reemember all the benefits of landscape lighting: Security, Safety, Beauty

            

Because I am a Girl

        
Because I am a Girl is a global campaign to claim a brighter, safer future for girls. Investing in girls is key to eliminating poverty and creating a better world.


There are an estimated 60 million child brides worldwide, some as young as 7 years old. If the present trend continues, another 100 million girls will be forced into marriage over the next decade.

Compared to boys, girls are less likely to survive, go to school, be healthy and find a good job. Plan believes that educating girls is the key to reducing poverty and inequality. Here are some of the reasons why:

• girls of educated mothers are more likely to live beyond five years old;

• an extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10-20 per cent;

• educating young women gives them the skills to generate an income. This can lift a whole family out of poverty thereby benefiting entire communities and generations to come.

Because I am a Girl is Plan's campaign to fight gender inequality, promote girls' rights and lift millions of girls out of poverty. Join the campaign via Plan's fundraising country websites.

http://www.plan.fi/Page/ce196e3d-e200-460c-808a-e3628ddae6eb.aspx

Small Space Decks

                                                   
It doesn't matter if your backyard is small or huge, there are such wonderfull deck designs for every single place. Little yard can have big impression with a properly designed deck.

 These pictures shows how a deck can add an additional living space to an area of your back yard. This deck was built in a small space between the home and a flower bed with a retaining wall. The final effect is fantastic.... a place to barbeque, and enjoy dinner while being protected from the hot sun.

Here below is one great example of a very small space and few sketched plans to larger place with deck

A small yard doesn't mean a cramped decks.  ;0))

Turquoise is top decor shade for 2010

Turquoise was selected as the color of the year for 2010!

Combining the "serene qualities of blue with the invigorating aspects of green," turquoise evokes thoughts of "soothing tropical waters and a languorous escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while restoring our sense of wellbeing," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt.

People who like turquoise tend to be complex, imaginative and original.
If you're not brave enough to splash the color of the year on your walls, at least use accessories to update your decor, Pop in a turquoise lamp, picture frames or towels. The result will be magical!!

Turquoise was selected as the color of the year for 2010! Just the kind of feel-good color we need in 2010, the year in which the depressed economy is expected to start recovering.

In many cultures, turquoise occupies a special position in the world of color. It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky.