Hello!
I am honored to have Annette Tatum as a special guest blogger today.
Annette Tatum founded the Annette Tatum Collection in 1994, and is also the author of the inspring book, The Well Dressed Home.
Annette is also giving away a Euro Sham to one lucky reader, be sure and read the giveaway information at the bottom of the post.
Thank You Annette Tatum!
Guest Post by Annette TatumRelaxing Outdoor Environments for Summer
As summer approaches the warm air, fresh scents, and sunlit colors draw us out of our homes, and we dream of creating more ways to spend our time outside. This blog is dedicated to exploring ways to create relaxing outdoor environments, giving each of us more reasons to enjoy the luxury of the outdoors this summer.
In Your Own Backyard
Create a place to rest in your own backyard. Bring a daybed outside adorned with light bedding and floral pillows, as you find yourself relaxing with a book, enjoying a nap, or an afternoon snack.
An Outdoor Workspace
What a wonderful place to open your mind and stimulate your creativity? Bring some paintings outdoors and set up a table for you to work, think, or entertain...a great place to invoke interesting conversations!
Escape to a Yurt!
A yurt is provides an exotic way to enjoy the outdoors, while keeping cool in the shade creating the perfect place to unwind, meditate, stretch, think...or simply flip through a few pages of a magazine while you forget about "real life" for awhile...
Resort-StyleThere's no need to plan a summer vacation if your own home feels like a resort. Take inspirations from your favorite luxury hotels and travel destinations, and then create your own place of escape. Dress up your patio furniture with vibrant, comfortable cushions, and extend living spaces to open to a patio or pool setting. A lovely place for happy hour!
For more inspirational ideas of how to express yourself through your home decor, please visit Annette’s blog, and be sure to pick up a copy of her book, “The Well-Dressed Home“.
Giveaway Information.....
To help you relax this summer, Annette is giving away: A Pirouette Whisper Euro Sham! Value $64.00:
1. To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and if you would like tell us how you like to create a relaxing outdoor environment during the summer months.
2. If you would like a chance for an extra entry you can post the giveaway to any of your social networking sites. You must leave a separate comment for each entry.
The winner will be chosen by random number.
The giveaway will end Sunday, June 19th at midnight.
I hope you get a chance to visit Annette's blog and website,
Thank you Annette Tatum!
I have Annette's book, The Well Dressed Home, it truly is one of my favorite decorating books.
I will be back in a couple of days with the winner of my giveaway.
I will be back in a couple of days with the winner of my giveaway.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway!
Take Care,
Maria
108 comments:
Wow, am I the first? I hope that means I'm lucky...
The perfect summer environment:friends,family fabulous fresh food and of course perfect weather with a gorgeous french outdoor setting...Oh la la...
I love my front porch and every summer I fix it up so its better than my living room, and cooler. Plus we see the neighbors and they stop in and have a chat. Very relaxing.
And thank you for this fantastic giveaway. 8>)
We often eat dinner 'poolside' in the garden. Candlelight is a must...for the bugs too! Simple country fare, usually something fresh from the garden - a basil pesto I think!
Jenny (grdepa@yahoo.com)
Wow, another fabulous give-away! Thank you for hosting this, Maria! That euro sham is just so pretty.
The question you asked is such a timely one -- I just purchased a darling outdoor bistro set for my balcony in turquoise -- my favorite color! The balcony is on the second level and under trees, so it is like being in a tree house, very sweet. With some fresh fruits and veggies from the organic farm I recently subscribed to, and a nice glass of wine, it will be the perfect place to unwind after a day at the office.
Good luck everyone!
Best,
Kimberly
Just tweeted the give-away! Here's the link: http://twitter.com/#!/SterlingCherub/status/80938162716815361
Best,
Kimberly
I love the twinkling of clear Christmas lights on my back deck...It makes it sooo cozy! Thanks for the chance for the giveaway!
Juanita
I put out the pillows, candles and other little extras on the lawn furniture and add lots of flowers.
Fresh paint on the house made a wonderful difference this year.
Theresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com
i like the first picture!
I have Annettes book and I think she has wonderful style and advice!
I like to create a relaxing outdoor environment during the summer months by setting up my deck with comfortable chairs, beautiful plants and a container pond with flowing water.
I posted the giveaway to twitter.
I posted the giveaway to FB!
With me , there is a tiny garden , but it is right next the music room , it allow us to listen to what you like , elongated in a lounge chair. On the other hand , I will add in my garden , a small iron bed of 19 th century which was transformed in a bench by my father 30 years ago, I add lots of shabby chic pillows. This will be adorable .
Pascale
We have a beautiful screened porch that I love to clean up every spring. We love to eat out there in the summer!
I love to create relaxing places on my porch and the sham would look really great here. Thanks for the chance to win.
During the summer, I love creating relaxing outdoor spaces for me my family and friends that come to spend time with us!!!! I always keep Beautiful plants around, and big soft pillows on our outdoor furniture is A MUST!!!! Nothing to me is any better than a evening dinner with cafe lights stremaed from tree to tree, with candles and beautiful flowers running down the center of the table while dinning outside, with the people you love most!
Michelle Torres
decorater4life@aol.com
Great post Annette! I love to see a splash of colour in the world! So invigorating and not as clinical or cold :-)
Dianne
XOXO
YONKS
This summer I will enjoy my backyard now that it is finished! Although I live in Arizona, in the summer(July thru September)it gets very hot, I will still it enjoy it 9 months out of the year!
Thank you for this opportunity.
We love creating a beautiful
relaxing atmosphere outside so that we can enjoy the company of
family and friends.
Have a great day.
Best,
Coastal Blue Ocean
Keeping my patio full of potted flowers.
Yay! I will love to win...I believe in creating memories...so making sure to do the same things each year, creates a tradition and something to look forward to...We cook out the same thing each sunday (while the same main course and add in surprises)...we use the day to swim, laugh and relax on our patio...Simple...
What pretty pictures. Great ideas for summer!
I would love a chance to win, please do enter me for a chance :) ~ I love decorating our front covered porch with cozy cottage pillows; we have a wooden glider on it, and I usually throw a vintage pink chenille blanket over it, and toss on the pillows, makes it nice and cozy to sit upon ~ we also have a side deck, where I have my Perennial garden around it, and this time of year is so nice to sit at the table and look upon all the beautiful flowers :)
Great interview Maria!
I like to add a lot of beautiful flowers outside to create a relaxing environment along with candles in the evenings :)
Oh my goodness, the colors in the sham are exactly what I am redoing my bedroom in! Can I say, what a fabulous giveaway and oh how lucky I could be...? If I were to win, then I wouldn't have to sew... and that's a good thing.
xoxoxo Patty
I love creating an outdoor living space. There's a round table for dinners under a tree, 2 Adirondack chairs for reading in, and a small seating area up on the deck for more sun. I like having lots of pots on the deck - strawberries, herbs, flowers. Pillows in the chairs make it comfortable and cozy. A basket of light shawls or blankets is good for cool evenings - which is our weather now.
Being outside is wonderful! What a great giveaway. I'm off to explore Annette's blog.
Not only was the guest post & pictures a wonderful read, but the answers from others about how the enjoy the summer was really fun, too!
That last picture of course is the best, you can't beat mother nature. But water in the backyard is a close second.
It's a lovely GiveAway. Thank you to you & Annette.
I love taking a cup of tea out to my garden early in the morning before the kids are awake. I curl up on my outdoor furniture that sits in a cozy little space under my deck and along side the garden. Peaceful, comfortable, pretty that makes my favorite outdoor space.
Wonderful giveaway!! Would love to win~ Rachel :)
I love the perfect blend of rustic and refined... a distressed table with fine fabrics. Such lovely photos that beckon us outdoors. In the Pacific Northwest we have cool summers and ocean breezes but the season is fleeting; all the more reason to spend it al fresco!
I'm facebooking about it too! xoxo
I'll email you pictures tonight! :)
Love the giveaway. A backyard with tons of greenery and flowers is what I love to see...and a view of the water helps too!
What gorgeous photos and settings! I love the outdoor gallery - how beautiful to see those painting in the natural light.
I love the water and I love candles burning outside with some outdoor lights very faint.
Michelle Wright~~e-mail address:
dn91191@yahoo.com
Thank you for sharing a fabulous giveaway.
mystica123athotmaildotcom
I live in the south so pretty much any outdoor summer space is going to need air conditioning. :) As long as I have a good book and a cold beverage, I'm happy. Thanks! Christy
It's so hot here in Texas but I love to sit on my front patio in the morning and enjoy a big cup of coffee...the perfect start to my day. Thanks for offering this giveaway :)
I live in Iowa so there's nothing nicer than after a day at the pool then sitting outside beneath the trees with a glass of wine. Love the pillows! Hope I'm lucky! Thanks so much for sharing.
I love Annette Tatum's book. It has been a great inspiration to me. I was fortunate enough to help with a book signing that we had here in Colorado. It was such a fabulous night with Annette, friends and her fabulous book.
Outdoor living is an everyday occurrence here in Colorado-- the weather is just too good. Summer parties on the lawn with friends is a common scene at our house.
Thanks so much for doing the giveaway. It is fun to reflect on the joys of outdoor living.
Love all these giveaways....have yet to win one but I'm hopeful. Thanks for sharing.
Linda
lindarubin@centurytel.net
I love the Well Dressed Home and have gotten a lot of inspiration from it. I love to sit outside in the shade with a cup of coffee and good book.
Wow, what a lovely giveaway! I'm gonna have to check out the book, thank you for the chance to win!
XXX Ido
I posted the giveaway button on my sidebar! Wish me luck!
XXX Ido
I put lots of potted flowers and ferns on my back porch. Love to sit out there with a glass of tea. Please enter me in this great giveaway. Deb chedeb5353@hotmail.com
hoping to decorate a lovely porch swing on my new front porch!
Love sipping a little chardonnay on my refurbished deck! And would love to win this sham!
Oh, her fabrics are gorgeous! Hope I win the sham! I love summer evenings in the vegetable garden. There's something about watching your garden go from tiny plants to vegetables ripe for the picking!
emilia(dot)kelly(at)gmail
When Ireland had the weather for it, I simply love to go to the beach (which is fifteen minutes away from my home) and let nature create the atmosphere for me!
i fill my daybed with comfy cushions (and this sham would fit in perfectly!!) and always have a bright floral tablecloth on my outdoor table. i love my having a couple of candle chandeliers out there too :)
Kate x
Love, love, love the pool house! I could relax there no problem!! I'm working on an outside space at our beach cottage; the palm tree, flowers, sod and shrubs are in. Now all I need is a low deck with the pergola over it and maybe one or two more palm trees.......don't let my hubby see this but we need more shade here on the gulf, it's already really hot here. The pillow sham would work really well on the chaise under the pergola but I'd have to have at least one more....thanks for the lovely post and the super giveaway! Take care, VBg
This is a great post...I learned a lot. Annette has some great tips and I love her style!
We live on a lake in Michigan and in the summer we bring out our palm trees. They shade the patio and create a tropical atmosphere even though we are far from it. I love looking out at the lake with the palms gently waving in the breeze!
XO,
Jane
what a great photos,i loke the first one!
What a beautiful spot! I would love to curl up with my Nook and read on that little daybed. : )
My little patio right off of my livingroom, has white fences around it. We have a huge whiskey barrel that my kids put pretty colored handprints on. We planted lavender and other pretty flowers in it. In other pots we have other plants including strawberries. Outside is always relaxing here.
Wow! Thanks for the great giveaway! My favorite way to relax on a warm summer day is in my hammock with a great book!
aeh0001 at auburn dot edu
My favorite way to relax and cool off in the hot summer months in Florida is to make some iced Peach tea with mint leaves and sit , just sit on my front porch and watch my neighbors walk by. Becky@everythingpretty.net
I love making seperate rooms in my outdoor space. A bistro table under my arbor-adirondack chairs around a firepit.
with lots of flowers, a clean patio and friends for a quick bbq
Thank you so much for the giveaway! Our family likes to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and admire God's beautiful creation! Of course, a wonderful bistro table covered in french grain sacks, fresh hydrangeas and mis-matched chairs sure makes it wonderful, too!
I am also posting this on facebook. Thanks again!
Wow, a white color is looking so beautiful in bed room. I like your out door so beautiful. Really this is very nice post.
Beautiful the first space in this post. It´s very similar to the one I created this summer (no bed though) , just a small corner that makes me daydream...
I love these "dreamy blue" pillows! Comfy and cute pillows along with candlelit lanterns, calming colors and bugspray are what I'll have on my relaxing porch!
Beautiful! The best way to relax outdoors is to just go outdoors!!! Don't bring anything but a drink!!! Sit and let your self wonder in thought.
The pillows are beautiful - love reading the blog!
I would love a pillow. As for my "yard", I share it with my neighbor but it would be nice to have a small gazebo and some chairs to lounge around. I imagine every relaxing and mingling with the smells of some good food on the grill.
Blankets for sitting on the grass, cushions for comfort and tea lights make a relaxing dinner picnic!
Thanks for the giveaway!
melissa
tweetsformoms at mail dot com
I tweeted about the giveaway here:
http://twitter.com/#!/tweetsformoms/status/81381919555719168
melissa
tweetsformoms at mail dot com
using old architectural elements [windows,shutters,an old screen door] set up an outside room .... mine has an old rusty iron candle chandelier for lovely evening illumination
a chilly-cold beer always helps!
all best, from Judy in Ft Worth
joodieg@charter.net
What beautiful photos! I camp all summer long and our campground offers Yurts to rent...they are amazing! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!
thanks for the opportunity to win and for turn me onto another great blog to add to my bookmarks!!!!
summer is H-O-T here, so I try to keep things cool and crisp with lots of white (flowering plants, wicker, covers, umbrellas) on our patio.
Another wonderful giveaway with a just-right euro sham! Our outdoor space has wicker furniture with comfy cushions and a favorite hammock to dream in under a large shade tree.
What a lovely giveaway and thank you for the chance to win a beautiful sham!!
I love to decorate my porches and sit out there when time allows and just *be*.
Blessings~
A wonderful give-away and although I have never won a give away, I keep thinking I might!!! I like to fill the deck with flowers and enjoy time there and I have hung a vintage chandelier from a tree over a little iron table and chairs and recently enjoyed brunch there with my visiting sister! Have to get out early as we are having 105 degree days here!
We have a large, covered front porch, with a pond and waterfall beside it...lovely! Thank you for the beautiful giveaway!
Thank you for the opportunity. I have a blog post about my tiny backyard going now....I just enjoy making a comfortable and pretty space with what I have. :D
On what can be some pretty crisp Wisconsin summer nights, I love to light the patio torches, put a few logs on the outdoor fireplace, and gather around the fire with family and friends and a glass of wine!
Just ran across this fun give-away. I love retreating to the outdoors for a relaxing moment. Just putting my feet up under our pergola and taking in the breath taking view of the mountains is all I need to rejuvenate me.
Well it would be so much nicer if it just rained a lil less here in Oregon to make our outdoor spaces a lil more comfortable.I do have a covered deck and it looks out to a river bed my husband created for me to listen to and watch.~Cheers Kim
Setting up a cozy chair with a blanket in a shady place.
What a lovely post! I'd like to enter your giveaway, please. :)
I have to have blooming flowers and of course someplace soft to sit and admire them.
Patricia
All of the pictures are so pretty but I especially like the first one!
I have no Idea what a euro shamis but I really love that little cusshion in the last pictures .. so if it has anything to do with that Then count me in pretty please ;)
from AMsterdam with love... Desiree
I'm in the midst of creating a little oasis underneath my grape-covered pergola.
I have the furniture and the accessories ready to go. Just need to finish things up this weekend and make time for a very relaxing read.
Thanks for the chance to win one of those beautiful shams! We have an almost-screened porch that we love for relaxing ( when it's cool which it hasn't been for a while-103 today). Wish ww could have some of that Oregon rain :-) !
I feel most at home outdoors when I have twinkling white lights in the trees at nighttime. It doesn't take a lot, just enough to make it cozy. :)
Syndee
A blanket and lots of lanterns and friends to enjoy the outdoors with.
My new obsession is battery operated candles. I use them outdoors and since their on a timer I never have to remember to turn on/off and they don't blow out in the wind! Of course there are always pillows and throws for comfort. Thanks for sharing such a generous giveaway!
Such a lovely giveway! We just have a small patio but I just posted on trying to make the most of it with color and comfort. Off to check her blog. I love her paintings outside.
Fun and laughter with my children are the greatest ingredients to add to my pretty deck in the garden...Beauty and laughter.
Last year we built a firepit in our backyard. It is surrounded by comfortable adirondack chairs with ottomans. We find ourselves relaxing there, even without a fire :o) I would love to take one of these lovely pillows out with me....I would never leave it outside overnight though, lol
Very inspiring !
You are all welcome to check out my new blog:
http://shabbyhearts.blogspot.com/
Fantastica!!!!starebbe proprio bene nel mio giardino!!!!molto bella!grazie speriamo bene!!ciao
bellissima!starebbe proprio bene nel mio giardino!!!!grazie e spero di aver fortuna!giorgia.nescatelli@hotmail.it
the sham is gorgeous, Annette. and i am hoping it shall be MINE. i love to relax with a book, a drink, and chocolate on a chaise on my screen porch.
just tweeted about the lovely giveaway at hellolovelyinc.
just posted a link on my blog www.hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com for the lovely giveaway!
Oh, those pillows are just delicious looking!!! The soft pastels are sweet and summery! :) Thanks for another great giveaway, Maria! I love to create a relaxing atmosphere by adding lots of cushions and pillows and being surrounded by big pots of fragrant flowers on my porch. (sigh!!!) :)
xoxo laurie
Bunch of outdoor and comfy pillows strewn on a large blanket surrounded by some candles or tiki torches. :)
vzjessie@gmail.com
i've shared it on facebook to all my friends
i would just love to have a blanket out on the grass with many pillows to lay on to read my fav book
That looks great! I really like the colors he used. This post was very well written, and it also contains a lot of useful facts.
I love the bed on the deck and the little dressed up table beside it!!
I recently bought a wrought iron bed from the early 1900's and am thinking that it would look so beautiful all set up and dressed up on my deck!!
Thanks for the great idea!
Have a great day
Mel
hi dear ... long time no chat!
busy busy with the wedding and all ... it's history now.
... starting to post wedding pictures!
you might enjoy, stay tuned
gorgeous spaces. I love these pillows- just my colors! I love porch swings, twiggy chairs, squishy pillows and lots of plants. Still working on my outdoor spaces!
oh so lovely! i would use this right where i am the most on my couch!! ;)
Hi Maria,
Haven't talked to you in awhile so thought I would just say hi on your gorgeous blog. Hope to see you this summer?????
Love, Aunt Mickey
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