I would have to say our home has become much less cluttered and more lovely just by subscribing to first of all to Leo Babauta's ZenHabits and Mnmlst daily emails as well as Decor8 and Design*Sponge.

I think images such as those above, taken from UK Country Living magazine, seep into our subconscious and pique our beauty aesthetic as we perceive the world around us.

Not that everything ought to be prettiness. We need a foil. I heard an interesting radio documentary yesterday about how the industrial and manufacturing city of Detroit is being perceived differently with many art groups springing up and using the city as a canvas.

Drag your Laura Ashleys, Cath Kidstons and Amy Butlers, your vintage tea set and tea dress, your Ladybird What to Look for in Spring and Observer Book of Birds from the 1960's outside and find a clearing in the trees for elegant, luxe oneness with nature. You are like Beatrix Potter and then some. From Country Living Magazine, April 2011. {Click on images to see detail if you like.}