In Colorado, if you have school age children, the “summer” is winding to a very fast close right now. I have a lot of new projects starting up – and I’ve been thinking of them as my Fall projects, but they’re really not. I keep imagining cooler weather, but it’s still about 90 degrees every day – with a few days in the 70’s thrown in to make it bearable. The shadows in the evening do seem a bit longer though. Here are some homes and ideas that seem ready for the long, hot August ahead of us. What do they have in common? I think they are rooms with the ability to adapt to different situations. Fussy and formal interiors don’t work so well in August.

“Eating is really one of your indoor sports. You play three times a day, and it’s well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible.”Dorothy Draper

“First off, forget grandeur, I don’t think it’s the quality we want today.”Albert Hadley

“Again, you’ve got to live. You’ve got to be ready to throw the slipcovers in the wash and be done with it. My work is 90 percent slipcovers. I mean, this family’s got two Jack Russell terriers, and they’re always on the furniture.” Ginger Barber

“I see it every day: People trying to create a home that somebody else tells them they should have. I don’t care if it’s a magazine or a bossy friend – when somebody says, ‘This is what’s elegant, this is what’s trendy,’ if it doesn’t represent you, you’re not going to be happy.” – Nate Berkus

“The question of what you own is actually a question of how you want to live your life.” Marie Kondo
It’s August. Japanese beetles are devouring my overgrown, weedy garden, the dogs are shedding at a furious rate, school is starting back up soon which always means a change to the routine and it’s still too hot to eat dinner outside on our western facing deck most evenings. When you design your home, remember there are days like the month of August. Interiors with flexibility, simplicity and a sense of humor are needed.
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