The color orange had a big moment in the seventies…yes, I’m that age.  Back in a time when chocolate brown, “harvest” gold, and orange were very popular.  Not that orange hasn’t been an important color to designers and folks alike throughout the decades.

But I remember in the seventies when I was planning the decor of my first apartment I wanted orange to be part of my color scheme, and it was.  That is possibly why I dismissed it for so many years as a passe color.  But we all know trends come around again and there are so many pretty examples of orange in design, fashion and in the garden.

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. … In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.

Most of all I get excited about orange this time of year.  It’s the last week of August, Autumn can’t be too far away.

As I red-haired girl, for years I didn’t think I could wear orange, thinking it might make me one big blur of orange.  But I’ve found it is an uplifting color for me.  I feel good in an orange sweater or accents of orange in a scarf and I believe we should wear what we like and feel good in.

I like this seasonal transition outfit.  Still layered to work if the day warms up, but warm enough for a crisp fall day.

Small doses of orange…a pretty front door.

Even the lone pumpkin in an otherwise neutral garden says happy autumn.

This pale shade of orange is relaxing in this pretty bedroom.

This orange wall is the stuff of the Hermes boxes, so pretty with the silver tray gallery.

Persimmons in a vintage trophy make a statement.

Inspiration for an urn planting this fall.

Roses with touches of blue.

This toile image is years old but still warms my heart when I see it.

Do you like orange?  For those of you that avoid the color at all costs, I don’t have to tell you about the great array of colors pumpkins can be found in!

Just a few more weeks for the calendar to actually read “first day of fall”.

xo K

We’ve moved…again.  When we sold our family home of 35 years we initially decided to rent close by to give some thought about where we might want to “settle”.  So we started our new adventure [part 1] with a rental in Irvine.  We’re renting again and I’ll post about the pros and the few cons of that (at our age) in an upcoming post.

-our family home of 35 years-

Irvine, California had been our city of residence for most of our married life and we love it.  Still, just a few miles down the freeway our youngest son, his sweet wife and our granddaughter reside.  I’m not talking about a long drive from our Irvine home to the front door of our family, but as our granddaughter grows we thought it would be nice to have a shorter distance to pick her up from school or attend her sports events and other activities.

So, June 1st we packed up our rental in Irvine and moved down the freeway to Laguna Woods.  More on living in a community of seniors later.  This is a post about wall galleries, after all!

For me, the “fun” in moving comes when I get to start the decorating process.  Everything is moved into the new place and I can begin creating a new nest with my art, furniture, and accessories used in new ways.

As we’ve downsized a little it forces the decisions on what to use and what I either will donate or store.  Thanks to the Konmari method I’ve pared down to only the things I’m certain I’ll use, or love too much to donate.

Art for the wall has been one of the more challenging aspects of the move I’ve had to face.  Inspiration is always just a few clicks away.

I’m fortunate to have a talented daughter-in-law who, along with her mom, came the day we finished moving in and assisted with wonderful ideas and opinions, which truly helped me.

No more excuses about my lack of photography skills…here are a few of the wall displays we put together.

We had this plate rack custom made years ago.  It’s resided in a room with each move but I believe I like it here more than any other location in any other home we’ve lived in.

The mirror over the small entry table was a bathroom mirror in our family home.  You can’t see much detail but the frame is patterned with an acorn chain.  I’ve always loved acorns.

The equestrian-themed oil painting in the dining room was once over our family room sofa in our home.  

The small gallery over the daybed is a work in progress, but it’s where some odds and ends of artwork have landed.

More on our recent home and the rooms within later.

Enjoy your summer!