Florence is a must-see if you’re going to Italy. It’s just so beautiful. I went there for a day in the winter after I graduated college, and wished I had had more time. This summer we stayed for two days so I got to see more of this charming city. While the weather was much nicer in the summer, in the winter it was a treat because there were very few tourists about. If you can somehow manage to go in the Fall or early Spring that would probably be your best bet.
The famous Ponte Vecchio. The bridge is pedestrian and lined with jewelers.
The architecture in Florence is stunning and an interesting mix…
Piazza della Signoria
From my winter trip
There is an popular open-air sculpture garden in the famous
Piazza della Signoria
Inside the Palazzo Vecchio – the most prominent building in Piazza della Signoria
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is unforgettable
The Baptistery of St. John boasts the famous bronze doors Michelangelo dubbed “The Gates of Paradise”
The beautiful Santa Maria Novella…
Anyone here been to Florence? What did you think?
Here’s that list again of all my posts from our travels that I’ve posted –
Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia – Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia – the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains – Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona
Italy
• Not to miss – the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy’s Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe – amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe – amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs – the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
I love the longer days…so beautiful
Domino Mag
…and fresh flowers. The first image is flowers in tea tins. I do this, but my tea tins aren’t water tight so I put a juice glass with water inside the tea tin and just put the flowers in the glass. The second image is a cute idea: use some glass bottles (they don’t have to match), wrap some jute or hemp around them – and you get a lovely handpicked, country centerpiece.
….weekends in the country….
Love the lanterns hanging from the trees!
Meals outside..
2 images above via 
awww…. and I love the old radio (I think that’s what that is) as a side table
The large chalkboard actually hides some unsightly electrical panels
This table is like a little personal collection of curiosities
I’m still into the clear console tables – does anyone have one? How’s it holding up?
Under the classic alarm clock is one of the funniest books ever, “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris. If you haven’t read it – do so…
These panels from Indonesia were too big to get back home, so they bought similar ones they found imported to the states. I deal with this all the time. When I travel, I often just have a book bag, and sometimes shipping an item back home is more expensive from buying something similar already imported to the states…
The painting is a child’s work from Cambodia. They sell their art on the streets to pay for tuition.
This gold Buddha is from Chiang Mai, Thailand
A tidy bedroom means more family time….
Gorgeous
The two above are from the Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakesh.
This is a hotel – awesome bathroom!
Love the window seats – if that’s what you would call those…
*swoon* white, mid-century modern, a whole bookcase of organization potential! This space has so many of my favorite elements!
The real home office. I love this desk. It’s great for anyone who needs a lot of surface area – and the drawers are small – which is great for organizing pencils, brushes, etc.
You can create a beautiful office space in an open floor plan living situation or in the corner of another room. This one is in one end of a living room. The tiled floor creates a visual barrier, separating the office into a separate space. And look at the cubbies and matching baskets!
This is a really cute pinboard for a gardener, but you can take the same ideas – file folder hanger, little baskets – and clips for organizing your projects…
Two file cabinets and a large plank make a substantial desk – an easy DIY that doesn’t cost a lot.
I love little nook offices. I work from home full time so it wouldn’t really work for me, but it’s a great solution for home offices where you just need to deal with correspondences, bills, etc.
Laundry baskets make great sorting bins that are easily moved about. You can download BHG’s free Laundry Labels 
Not all of us have the luxury of separate rooms or dedicated spaces for every task or hobby, so a well planned out utility room can handle multiple purposes. This room handles laundry, and crafts such as wrapping… notice the rolls of wrapping paper. A surface over the washer and dryer provides space for crafting. Lots of baskets and bins provide storage for supplies.
Small, but shelving provides space to organize
I love the idea of an armoire as a utility room organizer.
I’m really into simply lately. The lines are clean and you can tell possessions are well edited….
Again, the space is sparse but not lacking visual interest… love the mix n’ match chairs as well
great use of space putting that storage unit in the hall…
The dark molding is gorgeous. One day I will have atleast one desk and one work table in my home office/studio!
Love that unusual lamp and the chair!
Respect for the original architectural details is given
soooooooo pretty
All of the floors are to die for
Okay, so really I just love the dog bringing the watering can…so cute!!
It must be so wonderful to open the door at the end of the day to this large, sparse entry.
The wall paper is a bit much for me, but the architecture of the stairs is beautiful, and the painted underside is interesting as well
I like over-sized round tables in foyers.
