At my cabin, you can also let your freak flag fly

We're home from a week at a beautiful lake in New Hampshire. Lots of swimming and boating and relaxing...

These are some of the cabins on the property where we vacationed. Some relatives stayed in one of them. My family opted for a bit more room and rented a larger cabin elsewhere on the property that was recently renovated.

The decor in the smaller cabins is definitely rustic. Our rental had the benefit of things like a microwave... Sheetrock... insulation.

I thought I'd show you the photo of the outside of the cabins because that's exactly how I would decorate them if I owned them.

I love the full and well-tended flower boxes and flags and lawn chairs and view of the lake.

The owner, however, did a few things I would not. She nixed the kids' using sidewalk chalk on the driveway and asked us to stash the beach towels that we had drying on a deck railing because she didn't want to look at them.

I mention this not because it infringed on our good time, but to point out something I really believe about good design. Beautiful, comfortable and inviting spaces enhance our quality of life.

But we don't live inside postcards. Sometimes things get a little messy, especially when you're having a good time. And, as far as I'm concerned, the best-designed spaces are the ones that leave room for a little fun.

Can't wait for summer... next summer, that is

Isn't this chair beautiful? Guess what... it's a patio chair... made of aluminum. I spied this in this month's issue of House Beautiful.

It's by Treillage and costs $750.

To have a set of those... on a patio overlooking the ocean... sipping a cocktail...

Does anyone know how to get tongue prints off your monitor?

Anyway... what I was going to say was: If your patio has served you well this summer and it could use a little freshening up, now's a good time to do it.

Stores are moving on to the fall and winter seasons and are marking down prices on their outdoor furniture, pillows and other accessories.

Restoration Hardware has those Miramar Pillows in Navy outdoor pillows on sale for $19.99 each.

These Pottery Barn Pressick Lanterns are on sale, too, for between $19.99- $24.99.
Pier 1 has Oil Lamp Garden Stakes are on sale for $7.48 each. (Pier 1 doesn't have an online store anymore, so you'll have to live near one to take advantage of the sale.)

A pair of these Hampton Bay Wicker stack chairs goes for $90 through Home Depot.

And the umbrella is on sale for $299 for CB2.

If you buy now, you'll be all set for next season and won't have to scurry around buying at full price... or like we like to say around here: fool price.

Last chance: Today's the last day to enter my contest for a fun art project by leaving a comment on Saturday's post!

Room makeover, a before & after: I could really use a back rub, too...please

I mentioned last week that I finally got around to putting my deck together for the summer... good thing, since pretty soon I'd have to skip the whole thing and hang the Christmas lights out there instead.

I wrote that I rearranged the furniture, much like you would do in an interior room, creating a focal point (the bench) and giving the room some definition (with the potted trees).

This week I finally put out the soft things: the pillows, tablecloth and flowers, the stuff that beckons you to come on out and take a seat....

...but first, would you mind grabbing me a cocktail...maybe a little bowl of chips...my slippers...ooh, a magazine...heck, my pajamas...?

Don't start grilling the burgers yet...

You can tell it's been a busy summer (and that I haven't had a party yet) when I'm just getting around to my deck now. The furniture has been out, and the odd accessory, but no va-va-va-boom.

So I started to tinker yesterday, and then decided to take my own advice when it comes to redesigning a room (and a patio is really just a room outside). I started from scratch, emptied the deck and then arranged the furniture.

You can throw all the accessories you want at a room, buy artwork, pillows and trinkets, but you will never be happy until the furniture arrangement is right.

So, I moved a bench from another part of the yard up to the deck and arranged potted trees to form a wall of sorts from the rest of the yard. I wanted the bench to be the focal point of the deck, what you see when you look out the French doors from the family room. There's another chair with an end table you can't see in this photo.

Now that the skeleton of the deck looks good, I can get the fun stuff ready. I need to buy some flowers and the cushions are in the laundry.

I'll let you know how it turns out when I'm done.

Green with envy, that is

I've got to tell you something: When it comes to preserving the environment, I'm as green as the next guy.

Unless the next guy is my sister-in-law, who unwraps presents centimeter by centimeter to save the wrapping. And unless it's my neighbor who composts. Or that guy who drives the electric car...

But here's one thing I definitely do: Reuse furniture and other household items. Not only does it save the environment, but the result is usually much better than what you could buy new.

Take, for example, that garden gate my clever friend Marianne put in her garden. She got it at a second-hand store, hung a little sign on it announcing "Sullivan's Sunny Side" and planted around it. Looks great, especially in contrast to the white fence.

A note of caution: When it comes to re-using older weathered items, practice restraint. A few items are charming. Too many items, and you've gone from Martha Stewart to Sanford and Son.

A Snapshot: Brought to you by Mother Nature

Another idea from Marianne that you can steal: Tie starfish or other shells to twine and drape outdoor stairs. Move your house to the ocean, too, if you can manage it.

Turns out, you can't nap in their beds either

I had mentioned last week that I was going to check out the The Providence (RI) Preservation Society's 29th Annual Festival of Historic Houses on Saturday.

The homes, many built in the early to mid-1800s ranged from the magnificent to the everyday...just like homes built today. But they were all interesting to see.

Here's an idea we (my sister Kat and friend Chris) loved: Asian silk lanterns hanging from an arbor and over a table in a city garden. (No photos were allowed, so I've posted this one from JustLanterns.com to give you the general idea.)

We wanted to sit right down and plan a party: We'd put LED lights in all of them and use lanterns in rainbow colors for a kids' party; monochromatic for a twilight dinner; blue by the ocean...

But here's the thing about house tours: They don't let you plan parties in their homes, or rearrange the furniture, or try on their clothes... selfish, very selfish.

Take it outside

It's pretending to be April around here (in Rhode Island) ... but they are predicting a nice weekend (and we are holding them to it).

Here's an idea for you if it's nice where you are, too. Grab a dining table and bring it outside. And chairs, tablecloth and real dishes, too. Set them up in the middle of your yard (or under a tree or on a patio, garden or deck).

Add a few throw pillows, maybe even a blanket from inside and drape if over a chair in case it gets cool.

Add a string or two of electric lights, candles or even LED lights. If you've got a tree, hang them in it. Then at dusk, have a few friends over for drinks or for dinner.

There are all sorts of weather-proof items available today, from rugs to lamps, but there's something slightly decadent about using indoor items outside. It's more festive, more romantic, more fun.

Just be sure to check the weather forecast before deciding whether to bring everything back in right away....there's nothing festive, romantic or fun about finding a bunch of soggy stuff in your yard the next morning.

A Snapshot: The beat up, the better

Found objects are perfect for the yard as they just look better the more weathered they get. Look around for wooden toolboxes, window panes, shells, and ceramic pots. Tuck them in patios, decks and in your garden.

Real Estate Staging: FSBO: Cozy house, no plumbing

Sold my house today. Yea, that's right, even in this market. Got multiple offers, too.

And it was a pretty small house, say 6 square feet, tops.

Ok...actually it was a Little Tikes firehouse, bought two years ago for my son, Jude. It had all sorts of cool features, a basketball hoop, soccer net, gas hose, cell phone. But, mostly what I liked about it: It was a house. It was something to decorate....at Halloween, a haunted house; at Christmas, with a wreath; in the summer, with a little flower garden.

My husband had his doubts from the start:

"Think he'll play with it?"
"Of course I will! I mean, he will."

So we plunked down cold hard credit card and brought it home.

Jude liked throwing mud at it. And climbing on the roof. (A recent exchange: "Off the roof, you'll break your neck." Jude: "Can I do it when you aren't looking?")

So I sold it, to make way for a swing set. No problem. Woman with twin 20-month-old boys is going to pick it up. She said the kids need fresh air. But I saw that look in her eye...

As you can tell, I'm an expert at selling homes (OK, I also stage real homes for a living), so here's a tip for making your house seem bigger.

Expand your living space by creating outdoor rooms. If you’ve got a deck, add a table and chairs, pillows, lemonade and glasses. If you’ve got a garden, tuck in a bench with a throw blanket on it.

If you’ve got a patio, add a few chaise lounges and magazines.

The message: Come on in. Have a seat. There’s plenty of room.

Antiques: They're not just getting older...

What a great way to start the week: Mother's Day presents (a tile with a flower formed by my son's paint-covered finger tips being my favorite), cake and sunshine, at least here in Rhode Island.

And it's only going to get better. For one, my mother's birthday is this week. And so is the Brimfield Antiques Show (and frankly, not necessarily in that order). Brimfield, in case you are not familiar, is a town in Massachusetts, and is the location of the largest outdoor antique show in New England (perhaps beyond) and features 5,000 dealers from all over the country, who for six days display their furniture, glassware, artwork, garden accessories, and every collectible item you can imagine.

The show runs three times a year - May, July and September - and I do my utmost to spend two opening-to-closing days there in May and September.

You walk miles through dusty fields in the heat, in the cold, in the rain - as the case may be - to find the perfect something, or the strange something, or just to learn something. You pull a heavy cart to carry the stuff that will fit in it and then later battle pedestrians and traffic to pick up the stuff that won't.

You get filthy, exhausted, sore. It's heaven.

My oddest Brimfield purchase: An iron turtle that I had to have to act as greeter to the patio I had just designed for our back yard (see him in the photo above, lower left corner). I'm too embarrassed to tell you what I paid for him, but he cost a couple of bucks a pound, and it took two men to carry him to the yard.

Brimfield has yielded all sorts of great finds - a cowboy costume from the '40s that my son loved for as long as it fit; a gorgeous oak barrister's bookcase that I sold for more than I paid for it when I decided to switch it out a few years later (when's the last time that happened with new furniture?), the commode next to my bed that once held a chamber pot and now holds decorating magazines. I've bought more trinkets, prints and collectible Christmas and Halloween decorations than I can remember.

I even stole something once, although I swear I didn't mean to. I was shopping a hardware booth when I found a drawer knob that I needed. I asked the dealer how much and he said "free." I thought he meant: Free as in, it's so small and I don't want it, just take it. Actually he meant free as in one-two-free. We worked it out, but I've avoided that particular row in that particular field for years.

If you get the chance, drop by Brimfield or another antiques fair in your town. As a general rule, antique or vintage items are a better value than new ones and they give you the chance to add a little personality - or a really big turtle - to your home.

A Snapshot: I love a compliment

My house is yellow, so I use a lot of purple in my garden. Yellow and purple are complementary colors, meaning they appear opposite each other on the color wheel. The contrast makes the colors pop!

A Snapshot: A girl in her garden

This gal lives on my deck. A simple garden statue, some flowers, and suddenly you're not just sitting outside. You're sitting pretty.