Annie and all of us here at Fresh American are jazzed to welcome a quartet of talented bloggers to our headquarters in the Berkshires. Joining us for a day of design dish and a peek behind the curtain of Annie’s studio are Lynn from Décor Arts Now, Amy from ABCD Design, Liz from Shorely Chic Interiors, and Tamara from Nest by Tamara. Design junkies that they are, they even put together a brand-new Annie Selke Pinterest board!

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes details of their visit. In the meantime, here’s one of our favorite moments: Annie and the bloggers enjoying conversation at Annie’s house. (Of course Dash had to join in.)

Like Annie’s rug? Then you’re in luck, because today’s giveaway is for the 8’ x 10’ Circle Fret tufted wool rug from Dash & Albert Rug Company–a $1,400 value! The giveaway starts on Friday, May 18, and runs until 11:59 EST on Sunday, May 20. All you have to do to enter is answer this question in the comments below: Which room in your house is most in need of a rug refresh? (View the full rules here.)

Annie’s always on the move, looking for the coolest, the oddest, and the most inspiring people, places, and products. On her recent trip to the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas (check out our two photo galleries here and here), Annie turned up these a-may-zing pendant lights by Tony McCray of Rust in Peace. (Yeah, we agree: the company name is just as wickedly fun as the lamps.)

An Atlanta-based artisan, Tony remembers a childhood filled with family trips to country-road dump sites, where he and his family found a variety of treasures among other people’s trash. He was also one-half of a Christian rock duo, a landscape designer, and a builder before he finally heeded the call of the castoffs. These days, Tony repurposes everything from ball-bearing forms to roof vents, typewriter keys, and other discarded items he affectionately refers to as junk into some of the wildest home goods we’ve seen in a long time—including the globe lamps, with teeny pinholes strategically placed to allow light to diffuse through the metal form.

“I guess I’m a treehugger, but not in the typical sense,” Tony says. “I love patina. There’s a history to it. Children have sat and put their hands on and learned from these globes. I love the stories and the heritage of the objects.” Tony also believes there’s a spiritual aspect to restoring items to better-than-new condition, and hopes to collect his ideas into a book. For now, industrious shoppers can find him at shows like Round Top and the monthly Scott Antique Market in Atlanta.

In the meantime, we say, Let there be light! One of you lucky readers will win the Rust in Peace globe lamp pictured here—valued at $150!  All you have to do to enter is answer this question in the comments below: Where would you put this bit of awesomeness in your home? The giveaway starts on Thursday, May 17, and runs until 11:59 EST on Saturday, May 20. (View the full rules here.)

Annie is an expert hidden-gem detective, and on her trip last week to Lake Como, Italy, she came across the Museo Didattico della Seta (that’s the Educational Silk Museum to us Yanks). Situated on the banks of “The City of Silk,” the museum documents Como’s long history of providing Europe with 75 percent of this luxury fabric.

The 10,000-square-foot museum opened on the grounds of the Setificio Silk School and University in 1990, and features an overview and videos of silk processing, plus in-depth tours. It also houses plenty of exhibits of antique processing machines, objects, printing plates, documents, and samples. Meanwhile, the school trains the next generation of textile professionals. Eccellente, no?

To celebrate all things silk, we’re giving away a Como-inspired prize package worth more than $730! To win Pine Cone Hill’s Yuri silk pillow in ochre, Embroidered Hem sheets in white/gold, and Hardwood Canopy coverlet, all you have to do is leave a comment below about this post. The giveaway starts on Wednesday, May 16, and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, May 18. (View the full rules here.)

And so it begins, after all the gut-wrenching, agonizing, and debating, the final plan goes into action. Note: the plan below is version 21B—meaning my friend, travel “husband,” and fabulously talented architect, John Gilmer, and I have gone through 21 different iterations of the house until we started knocking down walls! Version 1 was about three times over the amount I wanted to spend. What can I say? John and I both have champagne tastes but I’m on a Poland Spring water budget!  So, we got realistic.  We whittled.  We got smarter and months later we had hammered out a wonderful plan that met my needs and my budget. . . so far – fingers crossed.

Above, John and I at Castle Coole during our Palladian Ireland tour.  We met because of Mum.  She invited me to accompany her on an architectural tour of Sweden (launching my passion for such adventures). John and I were seated next to one another at our welcome dinner and we’ve been fast friends and traveling companions ever since!  I am forever grateful for that trip to Sweden! Thanks, Mum.

Above, John and Stephen Drucker with Nicky Haslam when we toured John Folwer’s hunting lodge, lovingly and fabulously restored by Haslam.

Below, the astounding Drottningholm in Sweden…..

I think visiting places and palaces like this may have contributed to my champagne tastes?

Below, you see Mum’s house’s original layout, followed by the new floor plan. The house was built in 1950, and it seems back then there was an entirely different way of designating and dividing up space. My mother had done some renovations ten years ago (she preferred to spend on the garden rather than on the house), adding the sunroom by enclosing what had been a screened porch, updating the downstairs bathroom – which I feel bad about ripping out, and updating the kitchen which I am leaving mostly in tact.

New floor plan below…

What I learned from living in my midcentury ranch house is that I like open space that can morph into whatever you need it to be—intimate dining or full-on entertaining, reading quietly by the fire or watching movies on the small screen with my Berkshire International Film Festival friends.

The big change is taking the original living room and turning it into a downstairs master bedroom. I was thinking of aging Clumber Spaniels who hate stairs and resale value.  Taking the living room for the master created the need to open up the original sitting room by the kitchen and making it into the living room.

In the end, John and I really liked the configuration, where conversation can flow from the kitchen into the great room and through the dining room. That open space will give me lots of flexibility for entertaining, whether it’s for two or twenty, and, of course, for decorating. . . .

On that note, I’ll mention today’s giveaway—and it’s a doozy. To win a $500 Pine Cone Hill gift card, all you have to do is write a comment below telling us which part of your house you’d most like to renovate. The contest begins on Tuesday, May 15, and runs through Thursday, May 17, at 11:59 p.m. EST! (Read the full contest rules here.) 

If the ridiculous number of tulip photos we Fresh American staffers have been posting on our Facebook pages, tweeting, and pinning on our Pinterest boards is any indication, we’re just a teensy bit excited that the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming. And what’s not to love about these happy, showy, rainbow-colored blossoms?

2006 Nevit Dilman

The tulip, a perennial bulb belonging to the 100-plus species Tulipa, is a native of Central Asia, though it’s been expertly cultivated by the Dutch since the 1500s. Tulips are so popular as garden plants in the United States that towns nationwide host annual celebrations. In our neck of the woods, Albany, New York’s Tulip Festival honors the spring blooming of more than 100,000 bulbs into a riot of color all over the city. The festival includes live performances and games, and even the coronation of a Tulip Queen—chosen through a “competitive interview process”—and a Royal Tulip Ball (we kid you not).

We’re holding a tulip fest of sorts right here at Fresh American, and offering you a chance to win a gorgeous Embroidered Hem White/Pink sheet set and a pair of Vintage Tulips pillowcases—valued at nearly $300! The giveaway starts on Monday, May 14, and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, May 16. To enter, simply go to the comments below and tell us where you like to display tulips in your home. (View the full rules here.)

We lived through the eighties, yet somehow we’re still into colorblocking—there’s something incredibly cool about the wow-pow graphic effect you can give a room by combining two or more solid hues. As the High Priestess of Home, Martha Stewart, puts it in the May issue of Martha Stewart Living, “Just as an orange belt or a pair of red pants can amp up an outfit, one bold decorative gesture, be it a tricolor bookcase or an unexpected combination of throw pillows, can freshen up an otherwise neutral room.”

Martha has a bunch of easy, practical tips for colorblocking, including start small with a couple of colors you’re drawn to and layer them in bit by bit, try a pair of bold-colored drapes and a bold rug (and maybe even a brightly hued chair) in an otherwise neutral room, and limit your palette to three colors to avoid looking like a comic book. We’d also like to offer this friendly public-service announcement: pastels don’t work in colorblocking, so choose rich, saturated tones. Go with complementary hues for a softer look, or use contrast colors for a more stimulating, unexpected palette. And whatever you do, be bold; you can’t overdose on colors you love.

For your chance to win Pine Cone Hill’s hot Herringbone Persimmon matelassé coverlet, pictured here in Martha’s article, as well as our Classic Hemstitch sheet in white and our June Stripe decorative pillow  (valued at more than $700), all you have to do is tell us your favorite colorblocking combination in the comments below. Giveaway begins on Friday, May 11th and ends at 11:59p.m. on Sunday, May 13th. (View the full rules here.)

Congratulations to our winner, Sandra from North Carolina! And a special thanks to Erin from House of Turquoise for referring Sandra to Fresh American! Erin will be awarded the same prize plus one to give away on her blog, so stay tuned for another chance to win this rockin’ set!

’Tis the season for lightweight fabrics and delicate details, and we’re tickled to see all the options for fashion and home that include eyelet. A quintessentially romantic technique, eyelet softens the edges of a room and adds a layer of visual interest.

The origins of eyelet are a bit sketchy, but it seems to have been developed in Europe as an offshoot of traditional cutwork sometime in the 1700s. It’s made by creating a tone-on-tone pattern (historically white thread on white fabric or ivory thread on ivory fabric, but these days, any color goes) of closely placed buttonhole stitches, and then carefully cutting away the fabric inside the holes. The resulting lacelike effect has both dimension and texture. Patterns vary widely, from miniscule florals to large modern geometrics.

We’re giving you a double dose of eyelet-inspired romance with today’s breakfast-in-bed giveaway. To win your own Pine Cone Hill Juliet duvet cover, standard shams and napkins, leave a comment below telling us your go-to breakfast-in-bed food. The giveaway starts on Thursday, May 10, and runs until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 12. (View the full rules here.)

Congratulations to our winner, Jaybird from Texas! And a special thanks to Robin from Red.Neck Chic for referring Jaybird to Fresh American! Robin will be awarded the same prize plus one to give away on her blog, so make sure to visit her for another chance to win!

Designers get to do some incredibly cool stuff, including globe-hopping in the name of research. And what better way to be inspired than on the shores of a postcard-perfect Italian lake town, among drool-worthy scenery and gorgeous textiles?

Annie sends a big hello from Lake Como, Italy, this year’s home of Proposte, an invitation-only showcase of the finest in European furnishing fabrics. (Also part-time residence of George Clooney. Annie assures us she’ll pass along our contact info.) Located on the third-largest lake in the country, Lake Como has been a popular getaway for the well-connected since ancient Roman times, and is known for its mild weather, grand villas and palaces, street markets, luxurious gardens, wild boars, and kamikaze motorcyclists. For a jaw-dropping mini tour, check out this video.

Based on this Lake Como vista, Annie created a room palette. Not content to rest there, she also hand-picked four Pine Cone Hill bedding coordinates (Briar Crewel pillow, Interlaken Juniper coverlet, Classic Hemstitch sheets in ivory, and Windsor fleece throw in juniper) based on the palette—for a ka-ching, ka-ching total of almost $800—and she’s giving them away to one lucky reader. All you have to do is tell us which place is tops on your travel wish list in the comments below! The giveaway starts on Wednesday, May 9, and runs until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, May 11. (View the full rules here.)

Congratulations to our winner, Linda D. from Texas!

Roses have inspired centuries’ worth of clichés, but we get it: they’re one of the planet’s most treasured natural beauties and most enduring symbols of love and friendship. So on a recent trip to the Lone Star state, gardening nut Annie was jazzed when she stumbled across the Antique Rose Emporium, a Brenham, Texas-based nursery and mail-order source for exquisitely beautiful blooms.

Eschewing fussy modern hybrids that can drive even the most experienced gardeners to fits of hair pulling, Emporium owner Mike Shoup specializes in Earth-Kind, Pioneer, and old-fashioned varieties that have grown for decades, untended, in neighborhoods and cemeteries. These roses are tougher and more resilient, and can even withstand the notorious extremes of the Texas climate.

The original Emporium, located on the site of an early settler’s homestead, has eight acres of sculpted gardens—featuring a wide variety of “living antiques,” plus native plants, perennials, herbs, and wildflowers—with plenty of inspirational ideas for home gardeners. They also host seasonal events, demonstrations, and weddings.

We thought we’d provide a bit of flower power ourselves with today’s giveaway—a pair of Pine Cone Hill’s Signature Capris in Piper Coral and coordinating coral Sheepy Fleece robe —a $160 value! To enter, simply answer this question in the comments below: what’s your favorite color or variety of rose? The giveaway starts on Tuesday, May 8, and runs until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 10. (View the full rules here.)

Congratulations to our winner, Beth M. from Texas! And a special thanks to design blogger Linda Merrill for referring Beth to Fresh American! Linda will be awarded the same prize plus one to give away on her blog, Surroundings!

I am embarking on a bittersweet journey that I had not anticipated. Some of you may have followed my post-divorce, monthly house makeover project in House Beautiful in 2010. I made the transition from a 5,000-square-foot, 1880s shingle-style house to a midcentury modern “ranch burger,” as Steven Drucker called it.

Court Hill Farm—this was home from 2001 until 2009. It was a wonderful, if enormous, house, with an extraordinary view. Its eight bedrooms gave me lots of opportunities to play house, make beds, and feel like a real grown-up with a grown-up house. It played an important role in my life and in my business.

With help from dear friend and fabulous architect John Gilmer, I got that ranch burger all the fixin’s, just the way I liked them.  Above you see the exterior and below Emmet in his midcentury modern yard.

Then my world got rocked. On May 21st, 2011, I found my beloved mother dead in her bed, her faithful dog, Lucky, meeting me at the door with one of her gardening sneakers in his mouth.

I have had a running dialogue with myself and others about whether or not I should take this on. I have a house that I just finished. Will the house forever remind me of finding my mother? Will I be up to the task of maintaining her garden? I want to change the house—is that disrespectful of her choices? The list goes on and on and in circles, and then on and on and in circles again! In the end, I couldn’t stand the idea of someone buying the house and ignoring the tremendous garden. And I would know—the house is only 1/4 mile up the road from mine!  So, finally, I decided  that I couldn’t let Mum’s house go. I want and I need to watch her garden grow.

My mother, Googie Emmet, was, among many other things, a Master Gardener. She built wonderful gardens in each of the houses we lived in. She knew the Latin name for every plant, she read extensively on the subject of gardens (her library is amazing), she visited as many notable gardens as she could, distilling all this into schemes for her own gardens. Above is a winter view from the back of the house and below are some hellebores now blooming in a bed in front of the house.

I mourn the loss of Mum not only physically but in all the connections we shared—and there were/are many. My love of color, pattern, architecture, rugs, travel, food, clothing, people, books all originated with her. ( I credit my father with my sense of humor and irreverence.) It is through these connections, all gifts that she gave me, really, that I am keeping her alive in my heart and mind.

A picture of Mum and my father on their wedding day lies amid family photos.  Clearing out the house and the wrapping up of a life  has been nearly a yearlong endeavor for me and my brothers, Criss and Will. It’s emotionally draining work that you can only do so much of before you have to take a break and walk away.

Just when you think you can’t stand winter any longer or that your sadness is unshakable, you spy the mini yet mighty snowdrop, signaling to one and all that life is full of, and one could add defined by, new beginnings.

To celebrate this new journey you’re embarking on with me, I put together a special giveaway package of some of our most exciting, sail-themed Dash & Albert and Pine Cone Hill products. One lucky reader will win an 8.5’ x 11” Catamaran Stripe Sprout/Ivory indoor/outdoor rug,  a Fisher Ticking woven cotton tote bag, a Blue Awning woven cotton throw, two Blue Awning 20” x 20”  pillows, and a Sonia Kaftan valued at nearly $800! Just leave a comment on this post below, and we’ll notify the winner by e-mail on May 10, 2012.
The giveaway starts on Monday, May 7, and runs until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, May 9. (View the full rules here.)

Congratulations to our winner, Kim B. from Minnesota!