The Pink Home

Introducing Painted Trees...

2023-12-17T14:01:00.002-05:00

I spent the morning working on a new pattern I’ve dubbed Painted Trees. I created it from a watercolor I did of a rather whimsical forest. I left the canvas edges to impart that feeling of being in a woodland painting where the sky is pink and the trees are full of pretty berries.

This is also a bit of a departure for me in the sheer size of the pattern. The pattern on the fabric is 16x12 inches, while the wallpaper is 12x9 inches. Both are a bit larger than I typically create. In fact, I have just realized the last few patterns I have created have been on the larger side. Maybe it’s that my eyes are getting old and I need everything to be bigger to see it, I don’t know.

I hope you like my Painted Trees, which will be available soon from Spoonflower. I have shared a preview of some of the home decor in this pattern ~ I’d love to know what you think.

Design by The Pink Home

Hawaiian Dreams...

2022-05-07T14:09:00.000-04:00

Should I ever be lucky enough to live in Hawaii, I’m going to be taking these patterns with me. The lovely tropical floral feel and bright colors are indeed the stuff Hawaiian Dreams are made of, so that is what I named the pattern above. I also designed a complementary pattern called Hawaiian Waterfall: a straight man, if you will, to the vibrancy of Dreams. You can see the two play wonderfully off each other, whether you prefer stripes or florals.

Both patterns are available in a variety of home decor, from bedding and curtains, to pillows and table linens. And wallpaper, of course. I am rather a fan of Hawaiian Dreams in these table linens ~ perfect for that tropical summer vibe no matter where you live.

All patterns designed by The Pink Home

All home decor is available through my shop on Spoonflower. Click here for Hawaiian Dreams and here for Hawaiian Waterfall.

Decorating the Great Room...

2021-02-07T16:11:00.002-05:00

The house tour continues ~ finally! I know it’s been a while. Between the holidays and not having my computer for a month, it put a crimp in my blogging. And then it took me a bit to pick out photographs. But enough of that. So far, you’ve seen the entry and the dining room. Now it’s time to move into the heart of our new home.

As a rule, I am not really an open floor plan sort of person. I love rooms with walls and doors ~ private spaces that can feel cozy. So our new house is quite a departure for me. I was won over by the fact that despite the openness, there were clear definitions for the spaces. And it wasn’t as though there was no privacy to be had in the house ~ it has plenty of private spaces. But having a great room, as I think of it, has been a new experience. And, I have to say, a pleasant one so far.

So, on with the decorating. Here is the room just as the house was finished ~ a gorgeous 11-foot high ceiling in the living room, beautiful hardwood floors, lovely tall windows and a welcoming fireplace:

And here is the room now, after I finished decorating ~ full of color and pattern and life:

While I added brighter colors to the walls in the entry, stairway and some other spaces, I really liked the gray for the great room, which includes not only the living room, but a little reading space by the stairs, another gathering/eating area, and of course, the kitchen (which you’ll get a tour of in my next post). The color ~ Repose Gray from Sherwin Williams ~ really suited the whole area and tied it together, and I decided to keep it because I was looking to use a lot of pattern in my decorating. A nice neutral background works perfectly.

With that coffered ceiling and tall windows, the living room is naturally dramatic. And since I love a bit of drama in my interiors, I decided to hang drapes on those incredibly tall windows. I designed the pattern myself, just like the dining room curtains. The pattern, available here, is called Charcoal Rose.

I ordered the curtains from Spoonflower (all of my designs for The Pink Home are available there), in the longest length offered ~ which of course, still wasn’t long enough. So I added some black velvet fabric to the bottom to lengthen them, trimming it with a nice geometric pattern that matches the pattern in one of my living room chairs. They turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself.

The pops of yellow in the pattern inspired me to embrace more yellow in the great room ~ gray and yellow go wonderfully together. And for a change of pace, I kept to bright pops of pink as an accent, rather than using a soft pink.

I found this fabulous yellow rug for the living room, along with a bright patterned settee and a bright pink ottoman. I also managed to squeeze in a bookcase in a corner of the room, creating a little cozy spot by one of the great windows. It’s one of three new bookcases I purchased for the room.

I have actually switched the throw pillows out and around since I took these photos ~ I’ll have to share the new arrangement, which I actually like much better, another time. The sofa, chairs, side tables and buffet were all pieces we’ve had for awhile, along with most of the art and lamps you see. It was fun to mix new pieces with much-loved ones to create a new look.

Moving out of the living room and into the center of the great room, I decided to use our old dining room table, which is still one of my favorite pieces, and our old dining room rug. The colors just went perfectly in the space. My husband wanted new chairs for the table ~ something not as heavy as our wrought iron ones ~ so I found these beautiful upholstered yellow chairs. I really wanted upholstered chairs so the space didn’t feel like an “eating area,” and instead felt more like it was an all-purpose entertaining space.

I used a bookcase along the back of the sofa as a room divider, and placed an extra chair in a different pattern under the narrow window. It’s a perfect place to pour through my cookbooks when I’m looking for something, and it provides an extra chair for the table if one is needed for a game or something.

I decided to use the same pattern for drapes in front of the sliding door, treating it as a big picture window. One day there will be a beautiful garden to see out back, but that will take me a couple years.

My old china cabinet fit perfectly on this wall, and allows me to display my grandmother’s old Haviland china, which I love.

This is a before picture of the space around the stairway:

I decided to use this little wall between the stair case and the coat closet/powder room as a little reading nook. I placed my round cream flower rug here and added the fab carved teak desk from my mom that I use for storage and to display books. A yellow Suzani chair from my previous house ~ purposefully turned away from the television ~ is comfortable and inviting. I added a new teal ottoman to use as a side table or foot stool, and my grandmother’s antique floor lamp ~ with a new shade ~ completes the space.

All in all, I absolutely love our great room. Even though it is rather large, it still feels warm and welcoming, with a couple nooks to add some coziness. What do you think?

Photos by The Pink Home

Enjoying that 70s vibe...

2021-01-06T00:00:00.073-05:00

I’ve been so happy to have my computer back after a month that I keep working on new patterns. This one is a happy floral with a definite 1970s vibe. The color scheme actually reminds me of some hideous paneling in my parents’ kitchen growing up (long gone, thankfully), but this pattern is a thousand times cuter than that paneling was.
I decided to call it Blooming ’70s since it features daisies on a textured background of yellow and green. I particularly love the kitchen linens in this pattern ~ the tablecloth, runner and napkins are just happy and adorable. I think the napkins are my favorite. The sheets and pillows are pretty cute, too, but this feels more like a kitchen pattern to me (I’m probably trying to make up for that awful paneling somehow...lol).

Blooming ’70s will be available soon from Spoonflower, along with the new patterns I showed you in my last post. Hope you like it!

Design by The Pink Home

Catching up and previewing new patterns...

2021-01-02T14:34:00.004-05:00

Happy 2021! I am so glad to see the new year and to get my computer back. My iMac went decidedly off the rails right around Thanksgiving, and it has taken a month to get to the root of the problem and get it fixed. For awhile I was a bit worried they would never figure it out, but they did, and I am incredibly grateful.

I got my computer back on New Year’s Eve and have spent a couple days working on some new patterns. It felt so good to just be able to play and design again! Anyway, to welcome in the new year, I thought I would share a preview of some new patterns to come soon from The Pink Home.

At the top we have Windows ~ a sort of plaid pattern in teal and pink. I kind of love it, especially how it looks on bedding. Next is a pretty pink and purple pattern called Pink Medallion. I actually created this from an earlier pattern, changing the colors and design emphasis.

Lastly is a deep green pattern called Green Autumn. I love the boldness of the yellow birds and twigs against the dark green.

I will get back to my new house tour now that the holidays are over and I have my computer back. I still have plenty to show you.

Wishing everyone a fabulous and healthy new year!!

Designs by The Pink Home

Meet Abstract Garden, now starring in my dining room...

2020-10-24T14:24:00.004-04:00

Getting to use my own designs as I decorated our new house was a particular thrill, I must admit. My designs took center stage in several rooms, including my dining room. Let me introduce you to Abstract Garden, above, a blue-green floral that just makes me happy. It has a starring role in my dining room, along with another pattern I created called More Green Than Blue. But more on that later.

Back to my latest decorating project, our new house. I showed you what I did in the entryway here ~ and I just went back in and added a “before” photo to that post, if you want to check that out ~ so now we’re on to the dining room, which is in the middle of the house, just off the entryway. It also has a second doorway that connects to a small hall and what I think of as the great room.

Here’s the before photo:

Beautiful hardwoods and moldings, as you can see. But also pretty boring. And I’m not really into boring.

Here is the after:

I knew a few things before I started. First, I knew I wanted to display my antique purple transferware collection. I also wanted to use my little black lacquer cabinet. And I wanted to use the color green somehow.

The dining room was the last room I worked on, largely because we were using it as a catch-all room. So that gave me time to mull over different ideas and hope inspiration would strike. Luckily for me, it did, in the form of a pair of fabulous lamps with gold hardware and velvet green shades. Once I found them, I knew where I was going.

Above are the transferware dishes, one of the lamps, my paint swatch for the room ~ Heart of Palm by Sherwin Williams ~ and the swatch for my curtains. I decided to use a leaf pattern stencil in the room rather than wallpaper, as you can see below. I repainted all the walls in Timeless White by Sherwin Williams first ~ it’s a lovely, creamy off-white. I wanted a white that could handle the warmth of the green but didn’t match all the wainscoting and molding, which is a bright white.

The leaf stencil, from Cutting Edge Stencils, turned out beautifully, despite my flubs here and there. I had originally planned to do the leaf stencil around the entire room, but my husband really liked it just on the one wall ~ he said he didn’t want to feel like he was in the jungle. Since the stencil was time consuming, and I was tired, I saw the wisdom in his advice.

I decided on a narrow console table to serve as a buffet in the room, a place to finish displaying my transferware and tea cups. And then there were the curtains.

I went back and forth on what sort of pattern I wanted, but then I decided on Abstract Garden. It had just the green in it I wanted. And I just loved the teal blue ~ a perfect complement, and so bright and cheerful.

I used plate hangers to hang some of my transferware collection over my black lacquer chest. I love this little corner ~ it feels cozy and provides another focal point in the room.

Below, you can see how great the dining room curtains look when you look through the house since the areas outside the dining room are painted a blue green. It’s just nice on the eye.

And last, but not least, is the dining room table, which my husband picked out. It’s great to be able to easily seat 8 people, even if the table is a tad large for the room. I got my husband to turn the chandelier to run in the same direction as the table, which made a huge difference. And then I topped off the table with a striped runner I designed to pull together the green leafy wall and the curtains ~ More Green Than Blue is the name of the pattern.

All in all, I am thrilled with how the dining room turned out. I love the colors, how warm and welcoming it is, and how comfortable it feels.

What do you think?

Photos by The Pink Home

Welcome to my new home...

2020-09-03T00:30:00.025-04:00

Over the last few months, I have been teasing you with little tidbits here and there of our moving adventure and our new home. Now that things have settled down, it’s time to let you in on the whole shebang.

In January, I decided to sell my fab old house and buy a new one. My husband and I had been trying to make my wonderful little house (which I bought before we became “us”) work for both of us, but after nearly 8 years, even I was willing to finally admit that it was time to move on. We needed more space, he wanted a garage, etc. After debating with myself for a couple of YEARS ~ my husband was adamant the decision to sell be mine alone, bless him ~ I realized in January I was OK with letting my house go. It felt right. I had no idea at the time how much the Universe would guide us on this journey ~ looking back now over the craziness that has been 2020 thus far, I can see this is exactly how things were meant to happen. And I am forever grateful. I was able to sell my old house to people who absolutely adore her for more than I ever imagined. It felt like a parting gift from the house, a thank you for fixing her up and loving her with all my heart for 16 years.

My husband and I were able to find and buy our “someday” house ~ the house which has all the little things you dream of but never quite believe will actually all come together in one dwelling. And even though it is brand new (finished in April), and I am a lover of old homes, it had character built into it and I can feel this beautiful lady coming to life as we infuse personality into her.

Let’s start outside.

The photo above shows the house as it was finished. We still had to put in grass and flower beds, etc. Here is what it looks like now, several months later:

I am especially in love with the front door. Because our house is a custom home, we were able to work with the builder and select a lot of finishes, etc., including our front door color. The builder was originally going to paint it the same charcoal gray as the shutters, but I wanted a pop of color ~ something that felt happy. I chose this sort of mustard gold and absolutely love it (several people have asked me what color it is ~ it’s Anjou Pear by Sherwin Williams). We also added white rockers, some planters and, of course, Tilly. She has a perfect spot of her own right on the front porch ~ she is sporting her new pink polka dot bikini for summer.

The porch gets sun in the morning, so by the afternoon it is in the shade. We sit out there many evenings, until the mosquitos run us off.
Now let’s go inside.

We have a lovely entryway in our home, with a high ceiling and lots of light thanks to the glass surrounding our beautiful front door. Here is the before photo to give you an idea of what I started with:

And here is the after:

I decided to hang an updated version of my “Wall of Women” in the entry, similar to our last house. I mixed in a few different pieces of art and a mirror, as well as a cute little entry table. I may still add an umbrella holder and a standing floor vase on either side of the console table, if I can find something I like.

You may have noticed the drapes on either side of the front door. A bit of an unusual choice, I know. I was trying to solve for privacy while maintaining the right look and feel of the home. I thought about blinds or shutters, but they didn’t feel right. I considered individual curtains, but that felt too fussy. My husband asked why I couldn’t just hang a curtain there we could pull closed when we wanted, which put me on this path. I did a lot of internet and Pinterest searching and found this:

I knew instantly that had the right feel to it. So using that photo as my inspiration (if you know the source, please let me know and I will happily credit), I decided to do natural looking drapes. But our entryway has a high ceiling and I wanted to take advantage of that, so I chose to do extra long drapes, hung quite high. It feels just a tad British to me (which I love) and I quite like how the drapes frame the entryway and also make it feel cosy. All in all, it turned out to be a decorating risk worth taking.

I decided to go with a color called Memorable Rose from Sherwin Williams for the main entryway wall. It is actually much more pink than it looks here ~ I can’t seem to get a good photo of it. The rest of the entryway and stairway I painted a light teal blue called Watery (also from Sherwin Williams). Depending on the light, the color can look a bit more blue or more green. The rose pink color is a lovely contrast to it, and a wonderful backdrop for my metallic frames.

I used this old black rug I have had for nearly 20 years in the entryway ~ it is practically indestructible, which seemed like a good idea for this area. It also grounds the space quite well and was a perfect fit.
Below you can see how all the pieces work together. I was even able to hang my beautiful pink magnolia photograph that used to hang over my fireplace here, over the dining room entryway. That pink metallic print and frame just look so nice against that light teal blue, and it brings the pink over to the other side of this little space.

What do you think?

Next time, we’ll take a look at the dining room, which you can see just a glimpse of above, and was the last room finished.

Photos by The Pink Home

Decorating sneak peek...

2020-08-30T14:21:00.002-04:00

Hello! If you have wondered what happened to me, I have been caught up in our move for the last several months. I’ve been busy unpacking, figuring out where everything will go, what colors to use, buying new furniture and decorating the entire house. I am, as of today, done. There are a couple little tweaks I am debating, and we won’t worry about the patio until next year, but the house is done. Done, done, done.

And I am so, so glad.

We have been in the process of moving ~ packing, selling, real estate hunting, buying, unpacking, decorating and settling in ~ since January. After eight months of various stages of chaos and feeling a bit out of sorts, it is a delight to be completely settled. I am taking new photographs of our new completed house, but wanted to give you a quick glimpse of what I’ve been up to.

Above is a glimpse of the main room, entry and a peek into the dining room (featuring curtains by The Pink Home). Below is a small glimpse into the living room, also featuring curtains by The Pink Home, with a couple modifications.

Our old dining room table is now in the main room, in the eating area outside the kitchen. The purple transferware and pictures were waiting to be placed in the dining room. Below is a nook in my studio, where I put an extra bed for guests and naps. The curtains and sheets are also my designs.

More to come, so come back soon!

Photos by The Pink Home

Introducing the American Summer collection...

2020-05-24T10:25:00.000-04:00

I wanted to introduce all of you to my newest collection, American Summer. It’s fun, patriotic, bright and happy ~ perfect for summer. I realize this summer will probably be quite a bit different than most summers, with more people staying home than traveling, but that only means you should consider surrounding yourself with even more beauty and fun.
American Summer has three patterns: Star Light ~ a bright blue with white stars; Fourth Fun ~ red, white and blue bunting; and Red & White Stripes ~ white stripes of varying widths on a red background. You can mix and match or use them on their own.
As usual, you can purchase various home decor items in these patterns, as well as wallpaper and fabric. I am planning to use these on my new patio, once I get it finished. We just moved three weeks ago and so far, the patio is last on the list to be organized and decorated.
I hope you find these new additions fun ~ here’s to a great summer!

Designs by The Pink Home

Featured Collection: Scotland Lover...

2020-04-07T11:03:00.002-04:00

Today I would like to introduce you to my Scotland Lover collection. I fell in love with Scotland while watching the television show Outlander. Aside from loving the show, I was so struck by the beauty of the Highlands that I just had to visit. After visiting, I was ready to move (at least in my dreams...). That was a couple of years ago, but I am still in love with Scotland and its beauty, history and people. Somehow that love became a pattern collection.
It all started with the green pattern shown below, Scottish Isle. I created this pattern from a photograph I took on the Isle of Skye in Scotland of a Scottish thistle.

Purple Plaid, shown below, was actually created before the other two patterns in this collection. At the time I created it, it was a one-off. But after I created Scottish Isle and Lilac Stars, I realized I wanted a third pattern to pull together as a collection. I was debating what to do next when I realized I already had a pattern that would balance the other two. And being plaid, well, of course it belongs in a tribute to Scotland.

Lilac Stars, shown below, is another pattern I created from a photograph. I just love how it works with Scottish Isle ~ it would make a lovely accent, or vice versa. (I actually like this pattern so much I created it in different color ways and sizes, which you can spot if you look around my Spoonflower shop.)

All three patterns are available on Spoonflower and Roostery in a variety of home decor (bedding, table linens, curtains, pillows, etc.), as well as wallpaper. You can also purchase fabric by the yard on Spoonflower if you prefer. Click here to shop the collection.

Designs by The Pink Home

Enjoying the beauty of working from home...

2020-03-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

I have been working at home for a little over a week and a half now, and today was the first day I picked up my laptop from my desk and decided to work in the living room. And now I am thinking I need to spend every afternoon doing that. I have always loved the light in that room and it feels so calming and reassuring to soak it all in, even if the room is feeling a bit bare with the impending move. (You can read more about me deciding to move here.)
As you can see, I picked up some tulips earlier this week during a grocery run, so I had a lovely view from the sofa. Then, after working for a bit, I decided I wanted to burn a candle in my favorite scent. After all, you might as well take advantage of not being in the office.
Wishing all of you a bit of calming reassurance and beauty in these uncertain times...

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully

Feeling inspired by spring...

2020-03-21T12:30:00.001-04:00

Spring is so inspirational, don’t you think? I love all the fresh colors and the lightness of how everything feels.

I have designed a number of new patterns over the last couple of months, going in whatever direction the muse led me. (I even designed a new snowman pattern on a cold day.) I took a couple of my favorite existing patterns and gave them new color ways, felt stripey on several days and developed some new horizontal stripe patterns. The red and teal stripes were inspired by a necklace I was given years ago, while the soft blue stripes were inspired by a pale sky full of clouds. The two new buttons patterns came from a playful mood and the floral rings I designed one day when I was thinking about my Gram, who I still miss. She would have liked that pattern.

All of these patterns (minus the Christmas one) feel appropriate for the new season, don’t you think? Next time I’ll focus on my summer patterns, which you can get a sneak preview of below.

Designs by The Pink Home

Christmas design collection...

2019-12-14T16:07:00.001-05:00

I love Christmas. And over the last few years, I have created quite a number of holiday patterns. This year I looked at them with a harsher eye and culled them down to my favorites, to the ones I thought were my best work and that translated well to decor items. That left six Christmas patterns in my collection, which you can see below.
All of them are available in a variety of home decor and wallpaper (life hack: a roll of wallpaper can double as wrapping paper). Home decor items include bedding ~ as shown above in my Silver Trees pattern, along with sheets; table linens such as napkins, placemats and tablecloths; a variety of pillows; and throw blankets. You can also purchase fabric in these designs ~ swatches, fat quarters or by the yard.
To shop my Christmas collection, click here.

Table linens in Peppermint Plum...

A pillow in Winter Trees...

A throw blanket in Snowflakes...

Another throw blanket in Pink Christmas...

A lumbar pillow in Peppermint Plum...

Winter Buddies fabric...

A close-up of Silver Trees bedding...

Designs by The Pink Home

Star Chain, a new autumn pattern...

2019-10-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

Star Chain is a new pattern I designed in an autumnal palette. It also has a bit of a mystical feel, though that wasn’t intentional. It was just where the design led me. I love the feel of this pattern ~ the gold, orange and sort of teal green with that starry-eyed effect. It feels different than other “fall” patterns because it really works at any time of year if these are your colors. I call it a fall pattern because I find myself drawn to these colors at this time of year.
Star Chain is available from Spoonflower and Roostery, in pillows, bedding, curtains, kitchen linens, wallpaper and more. Click here to shop it.

Design by The Pink Home

Introducing the home of Mini Miss Em...

2019-10-05T16:00:00.001-04:00

My grandmother used to work with a carpenter friend of hers to make dollhouses to sell at her church bazaar. He would build them and she would decorate them. When I was a little girl, my sister and I had the very good fortune to get one of these dollhouses for Christmas, complete with furniture, curtains, rugs, food, pots and pans, pictures for the walls and everything else you can think of, including a little family. We loved it, playing and playing with it. Eventually, of course, it got packed away to the attic and years later, I rescued it and restored it, then once again packed it away, but this time with much more care.
That was when I also rediscovered in my own attic the second dollhouse I had been given by my grandmother, this time gifted when I was an adult. It was one she and her friend never got to finish and she gave it to me, saying maybe I would do something with it someday. It sat in my attic for years.
But then one day I had the idea to sort of create a mini version of The Pink Home, using fabrics and wallpaper I design under The Pink Home name to decorate it. My friends encouraged the idea, thinking it sounded kind of fun.
But then before I could get started, we lost our sweet Emily. She had been sick for a while and required such care that my husband and I had become exceptionally attached. Losing her was incredibly painful. Just dreadful.
I needed something to take my mind off all of it so I started work on this dollhouse. I had been given a little Shih Tzu figurine before by a friend from work because it looked so much like Emily. When I came across it again, I named her Mini Miss Em and decided to create this home for her. It turned out to be wonderful therapy, even if it does sound a bit nuts.

All the fabrics and wallpaper you see were designed by me. I made the curtains, pillows, rugs and bedding, and outfitted the house just like my real home, with art by one of my favorite artists and books and magazines I love, right down to miniature copies of Vogue and Southern Living. Candles are sprinkled throughout the house and Outlander is on TV, and of course there is a dog bed and toys in the living room. Just like home (well, aside from the fact that I don’t have that much pattern in my house).

The kitchen is stocked with plenty of wine, flowers and cake, just like my real house, and Mini Miss Em’s water and food bowls are in the same spot they always were.

Upstairs, she has a bathroom to scope out ~ one of her favorite activities ~ and a comfy bed to sleep on in the bedroom. She should feel right at home.

The real Emily always loved Halloween ~ she loved meeting new people ~ so I decided we should decorate the dollhouse for fall. Because, why not? Mini Miss Em has big velvet pumpkins throughout her house, just like in the real Pink Home, along with a fall wreath. She has also acquired some new teddy bears.

I am surprised by how much I am enjoying my little foray into miniatures. It’s quite fun and relaxing to create a little mini world, one Mini Miss Em gets to enjoy forever.
Now I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas...

Designs used in this project from The Pink Home:
Living Room – Pink Forest wallpaper, curtains, pillows and dog bed. Rug is My Dahlia.
Kitchen – Scottish Isle for curtains and rug.
Bathroom – Pretty Polka Dots in Lavender for wallpaper and curtains. Scottish Isle for the rug.
Bedroom – Butterfly Garden for the wallpaper, curtains and pillows. Bright Leaves for the Rug. Pretty Polka Dots in Lavender for the dog bed. Lilac Stars for the bedspread and long bed pillow.
All designs can be purchased here.

Photos by The Pink Home

New wallpaper designs...

2019-08-19T00:30:00.000-04:00

I am super excited to show you some of my latest wallpaper designs. They are fun and happy, and really colorful and bright. They make me smile whenever I look at them ~ I hope they make you smile, too!
I wanted to stretch my creativity a bit, so several of these designs started as photographs I took, believe it or not. I also turned a drawing of a little chick into a sort of chevron pattern ~ check it out below ~ and tried a few other things here and there. The banana leaves pattern was actually inspired by my brother and is available in three color ways: blue, pink and yellow.
The top two patterns are Sea Impressions and Large Pink Polka Dots. The others have the names below. You can find all my wallpaper designs here.
Happy decorating!

Hawaiian Mosaic

Deco Garden

Lilac Stars

Colorful Autumn

Chick & Egg

Pink Lily Pad

Sea Stars

Blue Diamonds & Squares

Banana Leaves by the Sea

Designs by The Pink Home

The beauty of My Dahlia...

2019-08-17T16:03:00.000-04:00

Having favorite patterns is sort of like choosing your favorite kids. Even so, I do have some favorites.
One of my latest favorites is a pattern called My Dahlia. It is bright and pink, a bit of an abstract floral I created from a photograph I took.
One of the reasons I love it so is because it works on so many levels. Some patterns are really just meant for wallpaper, or a small pillow rather than bedding. Or some work on curtains but not table linens. All patterns are different and have their own personalities. But this pattern looks adorable on everything, as you can see here. I love how versatile it is.
You can shop it here.

Design by The Pink Home

Last chance to get gift wrap...

2019-07-21T14:01:00.004-04:00

Spoonflower has announced it is doing away with its gift wrap, which means you have a limited time to order anything you’ve been thinking about. I just ordered several rolls of my own designs and thought I’d let you all know time was running out if you wanted any. While it is a bit pricey for gift wrap, the roll is good-sized and of excellent quality, heavy and printed beautifully.
I have a number of Christmas patterns ~ I use my own each year ~ and some baby/kids patterns, as well as some general fun patterns that just make for cute gifts. And there are lots of other patterns on Spoonflower, too ~ I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
I’m not sure how long the gift wrap will be around as it’s one of those “while supplies last” sort of things. You can find my gift wrap patterns here. Happy shopping!

Summer polka dots & stripes...

2019-05-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

With summer just around the corner, I find my color palette changing, as I do every season. In the summer I want pretty pastels with a few bright spots sprinkled in. And there is something about stripes and polka dots that always make me think of warm weather, picnics and days on the beach. Polka dots are just so naturally fun and carefree, like summer. And while stripes can be staid and structured, done in the right widths and colors, they too can feel like summer.
That summer feeling is just what I was trying to capture when I designed these large polka dot and stripe patterns. Enlarging the size of the design instantly pumped up the fun, and I chose colors that make me happy and paired them with white to give them that cooling, soothing feeling white always seems to provide in the summer. And while my favorites are what I call the “bright pastels,” I did throw in a nice black & white, a strong green and purple, and, of course, a very light pink. Each color has a polka dot and stripe pattern that pairs perfectly (such as the lavender directly above and below), or you can mix and match as you like.

Here’s the full palette of colors:

As with most of my designs, you can buy these patterns in bedding, curtains, pillows, table linens and more, or you can purchase just the fabric to make whatever your heart desires. You can also get these patterns in wallpaper and gift wrap.

Oh! And a sidenote: Spoonflower is updating its user interface, as you can see from the screenshot below. It’s a wonderful improvement and allows you to shop both Spoonflower and Roostery with ease.

Happy shopping!

All designs by The Pink Home

Meet Bright Abstract Peony...

2019-04-22T01:30:00.000-04:00

This pattern started life as a photograph I took of my mother’s peonies a few years ago. Her peonies were in top form that year ~ I had never seen so many beautiful blooms and I snapped photo after photo. Recently I became interested in working more with photographs for pattern creation, and since then have created a number of new and interesting patterns. This is one of the first ones I completed that I absolutely loved. It took a lot of work and trial and error, but I finally got what I wanted. I decided to brighten the color palette on this as well ~ that green is a surprise.

I have a picture in my mind of a little summer cottage with the walls painted white and this fabric hanging from the windows. Maybe someday...

You can find this pattern ~ officially named Bright Abstract Peony ~ on Spoonflower and Roostery in everything from fabric to wallpaper to home decor. Hope you like it!

Design by The Pink Home

Happy Easter...

2019-04-21T12:58:00.000-04:00

“I love tulips better than any other spring flower; they are the embodiment of alert cheerfulness and tidy grace...”

Elizabeth von Arnim, Elizabeth and Her German Garden

Happy Easter! We are enjoying some lovely tulips picked just for the occasion and are in the midst of preparing a wonderful dinner: ham with pineapple, potato salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, asparagus and rolls. And of course we are stocked with Easter candy ~ chocolate lovers live here after all. My mom even brought me a large chocolate coconut creme filled Easter egg. I haven’t had one of those in years! Can’t wait to slice it up for a bit of dessert later.
I also decided to get out my grandma’s china to set a pretty table. I inherited it when she passed away a few years ago and it is one of my most prized possessions. The beautiful lavender flowers are so delicate and pretty ~ a lovely Haviland pattern. I paired it with a few of my other purple pieces ~ a very old transferware dish and some of my purple water glasses, as well as purple toile napkins. I think Gram would approve.
I better get back to preparing dinner. Wishing all of you a lovely holiday...

Photos by The Pink Home

Goodbye my sweet, beautiful girl...

2019-03-08T10:41:00.000-05:00

We had to say goodbye to our sweet Emily Elizabeth about three weeks ago. My heart still hurts. I haven’t wanted to let her go – she meant so much to me and my husband. It’s only now that I can bring myself to even write about it, and that’s partly because I’m hoping it might help me start feeling better. Em has appeared so often on my blogs I felt I must give her a proper send-off and tell everyone our sweet girl has left us.

Emily spent most of the past year ill. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the end of 2017 and though she responded well to the medication, other complications arose. Getting her to eat this past year was a trial, and then she developed IBD, which only made things worse. She was an incredible trooper and fighter through it all and outlived her prognosis. Our Em loved life, every minute of it, despite some serious health problems. She battled chronic pancreatitis for years, and her last physical showed signs of cancer on top of everything else, though we never bothered to find out for sure because at that point it didn’t matter.
Emily was the daughter of show dogs, with a very pure bloodline – perhaps a little too pure. I sometimes wish she hadn’t been so purebred so those health problems could have been diluted.
Despite all that, she led a very full, happy and wonderful life. She brought joy everywhere she went. She was full of love for the world – meeting new people was quite possibly her favorite thing, after eating. Until the past year, Miss Em never missed a meal. She also loved to play, go for rides and be in the thick of things – she couldn’t abide a closed door for fear she might be missing out on something.

Though she was born in the desert in California, she loved cold weather and snow. She would sit on the front step in the cold, dressed in one of her many sweaters, and watch the world go by. Because she loved being outside and loved people, we had to fence in our front yard – she thought nothing of taking off like a shot when she saw a new person or one of the neighbors. Even though she knew better than to run off, her exuberance would take over and she would forget. The same thing happened when meeting people – she had manners but would forget them in her excitement. No one ever seemed to mind.
Miss Em was funny, too. She hated loud noises and would literally shush my friends if she felt they were being too raucous. And she had no qualms about putting me in my place, either. One day when she was quite young, she was running around like a lunatic, all excited and barking, and I tried to get her to calm down and stomped my foot at her playfully. She stopped, looked at me, and stomped her paw at me and barked. I stomped my foot again, and she stomped her paw back. I had to laugh, realizing I had met my match. And from that moment on, I was hers and would have done anything for her. My husband was equally under her spell and she worshipped him. I would catch her gazing up at him adoringly and joke that she worshipped at the Temple of Ed.

We are so lucky to have had you for nearly 13 years, Emily Elizabeth. Thank you for bringing so much love and fun into our lives. We will miss you forever, my sweet girl.

Photos by The Pink Home

Love Birds...

2019-02-04T10:36:00.003-05:00

I have been busy creating this year and have so much to show you. I have not been as good about blogging this past year as I would like to have been, so I’ve resolved to do a better job this year. I really do have so many things I want to share.
I thought I would kick things off with my new pattern Love Birds, since it is February, the month of love. The pattern is available in fabric by the yard, wallpaper and gift wrap, as well as home décor items such as bedding and pillows. I think it makes an adorable set of sheets, personally.

You can find it here from Spoonflower and here from Roostery. I hope you like it!

Christmas designs...

2018-12-07T18:11:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! If you are interested in buying wrapping paper in my Christmas designs, today is the last day for free shipping at Spoonflower. You can still get delivery before Christmas after that, but you’ll have to pay a little extra.
The wrapping paper printed by Spoonflower is incredibly thick and luxurious ~ I bought three rolls to wrap my gifts in this year. I added the Silver Trees and Merry Santa designs this year ~ I hope you like them!
Click here to see all my holiday designs on Spoonflower.

Thanksgiving color choices...

2018-11-11T16:37:00.000-05:00

Perusing through some of my designs, I got to thinking about which ones I would choose to set my table for Thanksgiving. I narrowed it down to four choices ~ and of course, my newest pattern, Colorful Autumn, would be my fifth (see my last post). I went by color, choosing oranges, a nice green, an orangey cranberry and a deep purple/wine. The patterns themselves vary widely, but I think all of them would look wonderful on a Thanksgiving table.
Shown here are simple renderings, so they are missing all the great accessories that really make a table ~ the right dishes, centerpiece, etc. But I can imagine all of them incorporated into a lovely Thanksgiving tablescape.
What types of colors do you prefer for your holiday table ~ a more traditional orange or something just a little different?
Patterns shown, from top to bottom, are Sunset, Wine Swirls, Autumn Roses and Bright Leaves. All are available at Spoonflower and Roostery.

Designs by The Pink Home