home decor

Summer is officially over. Did any readers notice  I took an extended holiday away from Designing Home blog? This is where I spent my summer. The little speck of a house in the background is my favourite place in the world. The views are spectacular and the ocean in all its moods speaks daily.  Duntara is as close to heaven as you will get. I had a marvellous summer full of creativity, conversation, relaxation, long walks roaming the beaches, whale watching and iceberg viewing directly in front of the house and on and on it goes.  I'm coming to fall with a renewed focus on my art practice.  It feels very satisfying.  My new work continues to focus on  what gets left behind, but I have moved from two dimensional works to three dimensional using found wood and objects to explore Compositions in Time.   Composition in Time #22,  2016, Margaret Ryall , wood assemblage, 16 x 16 in.  Composition in Time #27, 2016, Margaret Ryall, Wood assemblage, 16x16in. Composition in Time #29, 2016, M

March is the month when my heart beats a little faster because spring is on its way and opening our summer place begins to be a reality. Each year at this time I plan what the coming year will bring in repairs and DIY projects.  This post summarizes some of our past projects and how they have come together to create our special place. It is modest and quite ordinary looking when viewed from the outside, but  we have a million dollar view, and an interior that reflects our interests and skills.  We are perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland and through the seasons we see icebergs, seabirds, whales and beautiful full moons.  One October I even saw my first display of the Northern Lights. Come along for a virtual visit to Ryall's Seaside Home and Studio. View outside the studio window mid summer After the storm Full moon over Bonavista It's a magical place and it hardly matters what goes on inside, but over our years here things have e

I should make huge apologies for stalling my blogging over the last couple of months, but I have a letter from ... the artist.  I spent most of June, July and August at my summer house without access to the internet except through my phone. Blogging uses data.  If you follow me on Designing Home you know my life is very cyclical.  I have to find time for two careers- interior decorating and art.  I often flip my attention for blocks of time, and traditionally summer is  art time. I allow my decor business to match my summer speed. It doesn't hurt to be unavailable!  I'm finding it difficult to accept summer has dwindled into fall.   That doesn't mean I don't make art the rest of the year; I just have to share my time with business. But those summers are important for the rest of the year when you take time to reflect.  I found out that: Nature fuels creativity   A long summer, spent on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean with whales breaching and ice bergs slowly drifting,