Dreaming of a beach cottage

As I've mentioned more than once, I'm not a big fan of winter, so the fact that they're predicting a two-day storm here starting tonight has me dreaming of escaping to a beach cottage somewhere. We've only ever taken one winter vacation and I don't have a beach cottage, but these images from Somerset Bay Home have allowed me to fantasize a little about what it might be like.

Waking up here...

Breakfast here...

Passing by this punch of color on my way outside (to the beach, of course!)...

Dinner here...

A cozy spot to relax in the evening...

Ending the day here... (I know this is a different bedroom than I started out with, but we have options in this cottage :-))

I know that some of you are already snowed in, so hopefully my "vacation without ever leaving home" will provide a little escape for you too! :-) Back to Pattern Inspiration in the next post.

Pattern Inspiration - DIY Damask

For some reason, damask wasn't on my Pattern Inspiration list. That is until I saw these two fabulous DIY projects! Now I'm thinking I may have to pull another Pattern Inspiration post together in the future with more damask inspiration. Today I just wanted to highlight these two projects.

Have you seen the way Wendy at The Shabby Nest "wallpapered" her wall with this damask print wrapping paper? I absolutely love the way it turned out! See how she did it here.

Ashley at Lil Boo Blue screen printed and sewed these damask print window treatments. Here's some of what she said in her post: "I wanted drapes that were simple and elegant but also that fit our informal living style. I love how they "pool" on the floor.....adds a little drama to our everyday living space."

Didn't she do a great job? SO pretty... Complete tutorial and damask pattern here.

Hope you're having an awesome day!