Wall planks {love}

Source - with additional house photos!

Hello everyone! I did not intend to not blog for

a week but alas, it happened.  Like many of you,

I have been neck deep in back-to-school preparations.  

And to make the start of this year more complicated,

my freshman started classes today and my 6th grader

doesn't start until next week!

I have not spent much time online this past week -

but today found a moment on Pinterest and

fell in love with this room - especially the 

planked walls.  This room really makes me want to 

plank.every.room.in.my.house.  But then

I think, will planks go 'out' and we

will all be left to un-plank our walls.  Or even worse, will planks

become the popcorn ceilings of real estate? 

And just to be upfront with you all.....don't come

here expecting any organizational tips for

back-to-school routines, lunch prep or the like......

we are winging it around here.  And that's OK.

And hey, I LOVE me some Pinterest.  You 

can follow me HERE.  It's fun!

** I UPDATED THE LINK ABOVE

SO YOU SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO

MORE PHOTOS OF THIS ROOM!

New to me Expedit.....have you seen these?

A friend recently told me Ikea had

added colors to their uber-popular Expedit

shelf line........I have to say I really like these options

for use in a kids bedroom!  In fact, I might

be adding the bright pink version to a certain

soon-to-be-a-sixth grader's room.  

They also have drawers you can add

to the cubes you would choose, a feature

that might come in handy to store the oodles

of Legos in my girl's room.

Go check them out here!

Scouting shots.....

Really one of the most fun and unexpected outcomes of

my starting this blog has been my work with various

printed publications.  Like most of you, one of my personal

indulgences is carving time out in my busy life to curl up with some

good decorating magazines and dream....

I have been blessed to be able to 'scout' some homes that have

been published {or will be soon} in national magazines!

'Scouting' basically means convincing a homeowner {or a friend}

to let you take some very low quality photos of

their beautiful home and then submit them to a

magazine editor for consideration.

Today, I thought I would share some favorite 'scouting shots'.....

This is my friend Meg's living room - her home will be 

featured in a upcoming issue of Cottages and Bungalows!

And the shot above is Meg's daughters' bedroom - adorable!

Sometimes you hit the home-jackpot, I was really almost

hyperventilating when I first saw the home

pictured below........

I knew Flea Market Style was the PERFECT fit

and this home just HAD to be seen.....so much vintage

goodness.  

I have another 'secret' house that is being photographed

in September....I really can't wait to tell you all

more about it.....

Happy Monday to you all!

Master bedroom....

The week after vacation is always a whirlwind - filled with lots

of laundry, paperwork catch up along with just ordinary life stuff....

This week I took some extra time to clean our bedroom which

had become a sort of dumping ground in the chaos of summer.

I also took some time to take some photos.

Our master bedroom is a room in our home that has

really not received any decorating attention since 

moving in two years ago - we basically painted and moved our 

furniture in.  And while 'undecorated', it is a space I find

very cozy  - I love white bedding, period.  Our bed is layered with a

mix of vintage linens, matelasse and Pottery Barn.  The pillow in the

center was a Farm Chicks purchase and is vintage French toile - *love*.

The vintage French chandelier was 

in our dining room in our Minnesota 

cottage, and yes, that is a vintage metal sconce holding 

my collection of necklaces mounted next to my bed.

The art includes a couple original Janet Hill paintings

and a painting my husband and I purchased on a trip

to Warsaw, Poland many years ago. 

This space is personal which makes it perfect for us.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Local flea market.....

If you are in Oregon this weekend, the Country Girls Flea Market looks

like a wonderful event!  I wish I could go myself but we have family

plans on Saturday already. I have never been to Sweet Home - but isn't 

that a great name for a town?????

If you go, let me know what ya got!

An elegant family space......

I have been lucky to work with some really great clients

this summer.  Being able to service clients all over the U.S.

is such an honor and blessing - I love the back 

and forth process - it pushes me to be to a better designer, 

communicator and problem solver.

The design board above was done for a repeat client that 

really has a wonderful eye all on her own.  She sends 

me photos of her rooms and I wonder why she even 

needs me!  Her family room has lots of great pieces already,

including the rug but needs quality upholstery,

pillows and layers - think accessories, the footstool and art.

The room, as is, is pretty neutral so we added 'pops' 

of coral red to the mix of soft blues, grays and taupes.

I am currently taking clients for work in 

September - if you would like help creating a space

you love, please contact me at jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com.

I would love to work with you!

The good stuff........the post that might disappoint.

Confession time.

When I was in San Diego last week I went to exactly

ONE home decor store......that's it.

I had high hopes but in the end, I chose to

spend my time on the 'good stuff'.....

Like watching my awesome goal keeper make THREE penalty

kick saves in an overtime win against the top team at 

her age in the nation - good stuff!

And sitting poolside while this mermaid played with her

daddy in the pool - good stuff!

I spent time taking in the gorgeous ocean views - good stuff!

Thank you dear readers for all your home decor shop suggestions - hopefully

I will get to some of those fabulous sounding shops one day!

Design posts resume this week! Woop!!!!!!!

******************

Now, for the winners of Melaine's ecourse:

Lisa@Fern Creek Cottage

Sara Gue

Cheryl

Ada

Simply Domestic

You all won a spot in the course!

Email me at jillbeth@aol.com to claim your prize!

Congratulations!!!!!!!

Weekend Giveaway.....

My friend Melaine from My Sweet Savannah is doing an e-course, as part of

Jeanne Oliver's summer series, on using reclaimed wood to make frames and signs

and other wonderful things.  If you know anything about Melaine,

the girl knows her way around power tools and seems to have an

abundant amount of energy and 'can-do' spirit!  Besides being handy, 

she is one of the nicest peeps I have met via blogging.

Do you want to join me on a journey of erasing

our fear of power tools forever?  And maybe make

some cool things for ourselves too?

Melaine has generously agreed to giveaway FIVE spots
in her e-course to readers of Forever*Cottage!

To enter the giveaway simply:
 Leave me a comment telling me the last power
tool you used {keep it clean ladies!}.

And if you are too impatient and would like to enroll in
Melaine's class for a reasonable $10 you can!

To register go to jeanneoliver.ning and register (this part is free).

You will find the mini course along the left hand side of the site under COURSES.

Click on the course you want to register for and pay.

If you don't see the course you are looking for click "view all" under the courses for a complete list of courses.

I will announce the FIVE winners on Monday!

Home.........

We are home.....and there is no place better!

Do you feel that way after vacation?

Don't get me wrong, California didn't disappoint - it was sunny

and beachy and warm and beautiful!  My girl rocked the soccer

field - she's a goal keeper and made THREE penalty kick saves

for a quarter-final win for her team!  The experience watching your

kid do that was all together exhilarating and gut-wrenching at

the same time.  Mostly, it was awesome!

We rolled in at 10 pm last night and when I walked

into my home I felt a big hug around me .....

I really hope you all feel the same when you walk

in your homes - it's such a perfect feeling.

Contentment! Pure & simple.

Now, it's back to work - I have a big month, finishing up with

some local clients and a photo shoot for a FUN magazine!

Oh, and the small task of getting my girls ready for school -

one begins before labor day, the other after.  Is it just me

or did you blink and summer is gone like 'poof'?

Back to a regular blog schedule by next week - I swear!