Old Staircases, a Dutch Kitchen, and More Cozy Goodness: Friday Finds

Today’s Friday Finds include a hodgepodge of inspiration. It’s always fun to find new designers, inspiring gardens, easy crafts, beautiful gardens, and more. I’m glad God made a lot of creative people. All of us have some level of creativity inside. When you start tapping into that part of yourself, you might be amazed at just how much creative thinking and ideas you possess! And remember that truly creative types like Picasso met their fair share of criticism and what they considered failure in life. Ignore the naysayers and saboteurs and run wild with your creative self. See some of this week’s inspiration to get you started.

Photo by Heidi Caillier Design

Have you ever stepped inside a thatched cottage? Well now’s your chance to tour an 18th century thatched cottage that will charm you off your feet. So much cozy goodness in its collection of smaller rooms.

I had a truly pleasant moment when I stumbled across this 1930s Dutch Colonial style kitchen. First, the color of the cabinets is very similar to what I just painted my kitchen cabinets – Dutch Tile Blue by Sherwin Williams. While this kitchen is larger and more high-end than mine, I noticed a few similarities – like the trio of windows above the kitchen sink. This kitchen is giving me ideas for lighting, hardware, and the faucet fixture – all of which I want to replace in my own kitchen. And then there’s the sweet little café curtains! I was undecided how to decorate the windows but now I think I’ll do something similar. I can easily sew them myself.

If you like crafting, you might want to try these easy pressed flower rocks. They make great paper weights or would look pretty in a little wooden bowl. I’m always looking for something to do with my grandkids and I know they’d love making these.

Speaking of flowers, you might find yourself enchanted with this dahlia garden. The owner planted over 50 varieties of dahlias, which are super easy to grow and are so pretty! They make great cut flowers, too.

Have you ever wondered what old house staircase styles are called? Enjoy a fun little lesson in historic home architecture and see which type of staircase you like best. I find myself favoring “the winder.”

You’re going to start seeing more figs in the grocery store this time of year. I have three fig plants in my yard and it won’t be long before the fruit is ripe enough to eat. One of my favorite fig recipes is roasted figs with goat cheese and honey. Mmmm. They can be used as an appetizer, a snack, or the focal point of any charcuterie board.

And finally, congratulations to Diane B who won the copy of the new decorating book, Memories of Home by Heidi Caillier. If you want to learn more about this gorgeous book, go to this post. For those of you who didn’t win, there will be more book giveaways in the future. In the meantime, you can order Memories of Home on Amazon.