Guest Designer - Tracey Leber of French Larkspur

This week's guest designer is Tracey Leber of French Larkspur. Tracey has an eye for beautiful home decor. Interior design inspires me all the time! I know you will fall in love with Tracey and her mix of a clean, contemporary, shabby chic, and vintage design.

I am a stay-at-home mother of three with a passion for decorating and a self professed francophile.  During the Summer months I am perfectly at home puttering in my garden and always wish I had just a little more time to spend out there!  I have also found a love for photography in the last year and am enjoying exploring and developing that side of my creativity.

What inspires you in your everyday life?

I truly love domesticity and caring for my family...making a comfortable home for them is something I enjoy spending my time doing.  I am never bored in my own home and often redo or rearrange a room just to give things a fresh look.  Making the most of our home and creating an environment that is both beautiful and comfortable is something I find very inspiring.

 What colors are your favorite to design with?

I have been using white in my home for some time now.  I like to have different shades of white throughout the house to keep things interesting and to keep a cozier feel to the house.  I have also started using a lot of grey and pale grey in my home in the last year and think it is the perfect pairing to white!  Pops of blue and turquoise in many of my rooms help to keep a certain flow to the house and add that extra dose of color that is needed with so much white.

Name some items in your home that are unique and creative?

I adore vintage papers, especially French ones, so I often incorporate them into my decorating scheme. For example, I have tree branches in my dining room that display pages of several 1800's French books.  It has a certain sense of whimsy about it, but I also find true beauty in the aged look of the book pages!

What makes you photograph what you do? 

I only started exploring photography last July when I got my first Canon SLR camera.  It didn't take me long to get hooked on photography and I would definitely say it has become a new passion for me.  Finding the beauty in my everyday surroundings is what I find inspirational...the simple things...especially those with a history.  Other than my children, I probably photograph my vintage pieces the most.  There is so much character and natural beauty in vintage pieces.  I also look to the outdoors for inspiration for my photography and find my eye constantly roaming and looking for what I could take a picture of.  There is so much quiet beauty here in the Midwest and I feel blessed to live where I do.

Isn't she brilliant? You can take a look at Tracey's work at her shop French Larkspur. You can also be inspired some more at her blog, French Larkspur: Seeking Life's Inspirations.

Create Well: Find the beauty in your everyday surroundings.