Blue Elephant Cocktail Table

At a local antique shop, I have often walked by this elephant planter and thought about buying it.  I really didn't need another planter, though.  I wondered if I could turn him into a little table but what would I use for a top?  On my latest trip over to said shop I again walked by Mr. Elephant and had the same buying impulse only to continue on by.  In another part of the shop lay a round piece of marble for $18.  Done.  I brought them both home and put them together, never to be parted.  I thought I would paint Elephant white so that it looked more like one piece with the top but...

My friend Ryan challenged me to go bold.  My first impulse was to paint him hot pink to contrast with my blue accents.  Nothing would start a conversation like a pink elephant cocktail table--but I couldn't find the right shade of pink.  I settled for the same blue as my accent planters and the gates in my backyard ("Homecoming Blue"by Valspar).  He blends in nicely now.

I think a blue elephant table is just what my patio needed:)  Although, I'm thinking he will be many different colors throughout the years.  

Have a wonderful day!

DIY: Blue Planter

Mary McDonald post here

Back in May, I did a post on L.A. based designer Mary McDonald and fell in love with this gorgeous outdoor space.  The colors  are beautiful; I love how the blue pops against the setting.  In an attempt to emulate this style, I decided I need to add some of those blue accent colors.  I went searching for the perfect planter for my patio, and found one.  I needed it to be pretty big for the meyer lemon tree that I bought.  Unfortunately, one side of the planter was cracked and the glaze was chipping.  For $100, I expect the whole thing to be perfect.  So I began another search, but I couldn't find anything.  Time was of the essence, because my poor little lemon tree was quietly dying on the patio. 

Buy it online

After a lot of fruitless searching (ha ha), my Mom told me that she had seen some large planters at Walmart for under $30.  Unfortuantely, they didn't have the planter in the color (blue) that I wanted.  What's a girl to do?  Two words.

image via

Spray paint.  Before working with Rebecca on this blog, if I would have found that perfectly sized, perfectly priced planter in the wrong color, I would have pouted and left the store without making the purchase.  Lucky for me, I have been picking tips up here and there from Rebecca. So instead of walking out of the store with nothing, I walked out with one green planter and two cans of Krylon Fusion spray paint in blue. 

Here it is: my perfect blue planter.  I think it turned out pretty well, no?  I put the finished planter, with my little lemon tree tucked safely inside, on a little plant stand with casters so that I can wheel it around the patio when it gets bored and wants a little adventure.  Just kidding.  Meyer lemon trees do not typically do well in the desert but at our fantastic local nursery, one of the guys told me that his friend successfully grows Meyer lemon trees by keeping them in pots on casters and rolling them into the garage when the weather turns cold.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this tip works for me.  (Thanks, Quartz Hill Nursery guy!)

Outdoor Spaces

Rebecca has been helping me with my master bedroom, and next up she has already graciously agreed to help me update my formal living room.  After that it's the kitchen, and then maybe the master bath.  What I'd like to work on in between and during is my backyard.  This time of year always makes me want to focus on that outdoor space, and to make it as cozy as I can so that we can spend our evenings outside.

image via imagine cozy

I love this outdoor space.  I want to hang curtains from my back patio the way they have done here.
image via All Pretty Little Things

image via Imagine Cozy

The checkerboard grass is perfect.  I love that and all the lush greenery surrounding the outdoor fireplace.
image via I Do I Don't Design

I really want to have lemon trees on my patio.  They don't grow well here, but my local nursery guy said he would order me a Meyer lemon tree.  I plan on putting it in a pot with locking casters so that I can wheel it into the garage during the winter.    In this space, I love the curtain details, and how they are hung from a decorative rod even though the arches extend far above the curtains.  The space is designed by Mary McDonald.  The curtain rod is custom designed and the fabric on the couches and ottomans is Ralph Lauren.
image via House and Home

I love the potted flowers in the wire hanging basket-thingy.  Gorgeous!
image via Pretty Little Things

image via Beneath My Heart

Nevermind outside; I want these for my living room!
image via all good things are wild and free

It seems to me I've included this picture in another post, or maybe I've pinned it, but I don't mind because that is how much I adore this space.  I love it.
image via Interior Divine

I want to climb through this little opening and go spend the day in there.
It's like a little secret garden.  I love it!
image via pinterest

image via House and Home

I love just about any garden that looks a little overgrown and green, especially when it is through
a door or gate... very Secret Garden.

traditional landscape design by toronto interior designer ROOMS 'N BLOOMS Anne and Rick Vernon