To have a space for dreaming and solitude...

You know how some people get all of their energy from being around other people, and how other people need "alone time" to energize? Well, I'm definitely one of the later. I grew up on an almost 200 acre farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, so being alone and outside was a part of my daily life and something I really took for granted. Obviously, living in NYC for 3 years I never experienced that, and though I loved it - I never truly felt unwound. I have found a happy in between where I am now, but looking at these gorgeous retreats makes me long for a hidden spot in nature where I can go and decompress.

What do you do or where do you go when you need to decompress and unwind?

so, so, so pretty

perfect

heaven

a retreat in Sri Lanka...

and in France
1 -3 via Pinterest  4-5 via Richard Powers

Lovely coastal and country French furnishings

While in Colmar, a city in the Alsace region of France, I saw this store, Maisons du Monde, from the street and they had a stack of magazines outside the shop. So I picked one up for some train reading material. They have some nice styling, and the furniture seems decent, so I thought I'd share. Can anyone attest to the quality?


- never seen a couch with such high arms!





They seem to carry furnishings in all different styles.

really like the chair.

This would be a great piece for a fine artist!









What do you think? Kinda has a Pottery Barn look to it.
via Maisons du Monde

Finally! Pictures from my Europe trip!

I know it's taken me way to long to start posting photos but we have about 7,000 photos to sort through. For those of you who are new to Decorology, this summer my boyfriend Chris and I spent from June 16th to August 25th backpacking around Europe. My boyfriend spent last year teaching English in Spain, and is actually flying back today to complete his second year. I will be staying in Maryland at my parents' farm until January, and will be living with Chris in Segovia, Spain from January through June. I will still be blogging daily from Spain and designing websites on a freelance basis.

Okay, back to the Europe trip. Below is a map I created with our path. Click on the map for a larger view.


The countries we visited include Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. I will have separate posts for each country and then each city within them that we visited.

Below are just a random selection of images from the trip

Our first day -Chris and I on the coast in the beautiful city of Bayona.

The GORGEOUS Cíes Islands near the city of Vigo. An absolutely stunning bird sanctuary.

The beautiful island, Arousa, also in the Galicia region of Spain.

In the Asturias region of Spain, the mountain lakes of Enol and Ercina, in the Picos de Europa.

In the Basque region of Spain, the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Florence, Italy

Vienna, Austria

Amsterdam, in the Netherlands (Holland region).


The two images above are from the end of our trip in Provence, France. This town is Roussillon.

I will post images from the trip once or twice a week, going in chronological order. What country are you most looking forward to seeing photos from?