In the OC we usually think of installing hardscape, gravel, DG, bark or stepping stones to pave our garden walkways, patios and outdoor rooms. In the charming east coast village of Provincetown, Mass, they’ve found another material to line their paths… broken dishes!  I just LOVE these beautiful outdoor floors made of ceramic bits mixed with the sand, shells and seaglass that are found naturally in this location.

YES…  charming, colorful and so much fun.  Imagine what a stress release this would be, smashing up dishes, pots and tiles, all in the name of making a beautiful patio for oneself!  

Any takers?  Just be sure to wear shoes!

My flea market church pew, hand painted in an “Out of Africa” kind of a way by my Motorcycle Man, desperately needed a cushion.  It was hard and SO uncomfortable… a typical church pew trait.

Since this is a rustic piece of furniture, (here you can see up close what the hand painting looks like) I knew I wanted a rough, imperfect looking fabric and cushion to go with it.

The fabric part was easy… burlap, $2.99/yd!  But, I knew I wanted the cushion to be hand tufted and wasn’t so sure how to do that, so decided to head up to Alchemy Fine Living on Saturday for an upholstering lesson with the very talented Connie.  She quickly taught me everything I needed to know about putting the cushion together and even let me take a spin on her super fast industrial serger and sewing machines.  I left after 2 hours with this:  a plain old burlap cushion:

And, during the course of only one football game on Sunday, I was able to finish up the tufting and end up with this:

Beautifully hand tufted,(if I do say so myself…!) and SO comfy.  I was able to sit on the cushion during the second football game (and overtime…..)  I was not happy about the outcome of the game, buuutt… was thrilled with how the new cushion turned out!

Hoiyin (see her fun blog here) lives in a cute basement apartment in a backwoods Orange County neighborhood. (YES… they DO exist!)  The tiny studio came furnished, but she wanted to add a few of her own pieces to personalize it and to reflect her childhood in China. Here you can see how she has hung some of her favorite Chinese dresses around her studio, using the seldom worn items as decorative art. When a special event does come up, she removes one of the dresses from the wall and puts it on!

Storage was non-existent in when she moved in, so she brought in racks, hooks, baskets and bins to organize everything:  hats, jewelry, scarves, shoes, underwear, t-shirts… you name it.  Hoiyin forwarded these pictures to me last week after reading my blog on using items you’ve collected to decorate your home. She has taken that advice to heart, using beautiful clothing, jewelry and accessories from around the world to decorate her apartment. Hoiyin claims that dressing each day has become infinitely easier… with much of what she owns visible she can just look around the room and view her choices. Not only is everything easy to see, but she can enjoy the beauty of all of her things on a daily basis.

Most importantly, Hoiyin has taken a furnished studio and completely personalized it.  It’s small, and somewhat temporary, but now she walks in the door at the end of the day and her apartment feels warm, comfortable and just like home.