Pallets—I like ‘em. Some of my strongest childhood memories were made bouncing from pallet to pallet in my grandparent’s seed barn. Piles of splintery fun, in this barn is where my love of pallets began.

You can’t tell much about this grainy picture from the early 90s but I can. I can almost feel the cool concrete under my bare feet, smell the distinct scent that accompanies seed–I can almost hear Travis and Ashley negotiating who could drive “the car” (aka forklift). Pretend. We don’t pretend enough anymore. It would serve us well.  Around these pallets we made obstacle courses, rode bikes, roller skated, pretended the fork lift was a car and played serious rounds of hide and seek.

I never see a pallet without remembering this old barn and my granddad. Would you just look at him with his cool old glasses and his cap cocked slightly to the side? His jacket covers it but if I had to guess, I’d guarantee that the strap on his left side of his overalls is sliding just off his shoulder. It always did.

So much has changed yet pallets remain the same. These utilitarian objects are finding new life in homes and retail stores.  I’ve even seen them used to stage a beautiful outdoor wedding. Take a look at these pallets being put to very good use.

There are lots of pictures floating around but these are a few of my favorites.

Love this idea From Under the Willow Tree

Via Lori Danelle

Via Le Petit Garage

Via Ashley Ann.

Via Cheeky Cafe

Via Bower Power

Via Too Much Time On My Hands

And, in case you’re tying the knot or into set design pallets are for you, too. This is hands down my favorite outdoor wedding design made from—wait for it—pallets. Read how they did it here.

You like pallets now, don’t you? Can you believe how unique and stylish each of these projects turned out to be? I think I’ll incorporate a pallet or two into my house. It seems like the right thing to do.

Or, maybe I should say, “nevermind the gap.” In every project there is a moment when you look at your coworker and say, “This is not gonna happen.” Yesterday, during a marathon planning meeting in which I received the longest to-do list of my whole entire life, I came to the conclusion that there is no place for a gappy floor in the Bradford house. And, really, I do not want to buy a vacuum cleaner just to clean the gaps.

Consider this post my white flag. I am waving it. The next house will have a floor with gaps, not this one. There will be a next house. Stay tuned. Why do I like that silly gap anyway? I am conceding because there is such a thing as overdoing it. Don’t you just hate it when you overdo it? Over say it? Overreact? The bedrooms need flooring that’s a bit more refined than the reclaimed wood running through the rest of the house. Officially, formally, and now publicly—I’m saying, “Nevermind the gap.” For now…

Via House & Home

Via Martha Stewart

Via House & Home

Via House & Home

I’m thinking this is a great idea. All you need is fishing twine and postcards. It feels a little retail/anthro to me but somehow it works, too. I suppose the key is having the perfect stairway. Personally, I’m sort of lusting over those one-by-whatevers that are painted on the wall. And I like the stairs being a different stain of wood. Nice. Lots to like in these two little photos.

Dear Charming Family That I’ve Never Met:  You have an amazing house. I found it on Martha Stewart. I hope you don’t mind being on my blog, too. You’ll inspire so many.

Since I am in New York (for all of 36 hours) it seems right to mention someone of New York status. I choose Meg Ryan. She is the actress behind some of my favorite onscreen characters. Recently, Elle Decor did quite the photo shoot of her home on Martha’s Vineyard.

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Here’s what I like about Meg’s style:

• Lighting. She likes her lights lined up in a row. I do, too. It really works well because she has so much space and the fact that her palette is neutral the lights really get their due in her home. (I especially love the lighting in the bathroom. Actually, I like it all.)
• Doors. She has some great french doors, great sliding barn doors (love the hardware on those). I really like the hardware on the bedroom door.
• Kitchen. I could cook a million meals in that kitchen. I can find no fault with it—no fault at all.
• Windows. I have been thinking about this for a while and I haven’t even mentioned it to Brad (until this moment) but I’ve been wanting to ask him what he thinks of working windows into the inside of the house. She does this in the kitchen and in the dining room (above the vintage “Flowers” sign). I was thinking about this just a few days ago. There’s no room in my house for this (we’re at capacity) but this is a thought to hang onto—just shove it into the file. Another house will call for it.

The full article, written by Ingrid Abramovitch and photographed by William Waldron can be found here.

In case you are thinking my being in New York is somehow glamorous, let me tell you that I am in a Holiday Inn Express in Syracuse that is not an entirely smoke-free facility. I’d love to be in NYC with the Wyatts, Leigh Anna, and NYC Courtney. Instead, I will appreciate that I am in Jim Boeheim’s neck of the woods since I always route for the Orange in the Big East/NCAA tournaments.