Butterscotch

“…the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses.”

– from Chelsea Morning by Joni Mitchell

August is the month when it seems everything is melting in the heat of the sun. It is the last gasp of summer, when we savor every minute before we go back to whatever we were doing in those chilly winter months with their shortened days and r’s in their names.

But wait – we will not be doing that this year. We will not be going back to school or work the way we did before. We will still be at home, trying our best to be safe and do our part to get a handle on the pandemic that is still rampaging through our country.

Sticky Golden Radiance

And as tough as it is now, it is going to get tougher when winter comes, and we cannot escape to our patios, pools, parks and outdoor cafés. So I am enjoying it while I can, that sticky golden radiance, and remembering the wonderful images Chelsea Morning first evoked in me, all those summers ago.

Warm, Inviting, Sensual

Joni wasn’t the first to discover the effect sun has on our emotions, but her words captured the way we knew we wanted to feel, and the way we wanted our indoor and outdoor spaces to resonate – warm, inviting, sensuous.

Yummy Butterscotch

I love that word, yummy, especially when it describes the silky glow that flows through our days in August. I have always believed in the power of the sun to bring feelings of harmony and happiness to our hearts and souls.

Shimmering Gold

Go ahead, throw open the windows and doors to let the sun shine in. I offer these examples of enriching your rooms through combining the two glorious elements of color and light.

This old hotel’s spirit was magically transformed by filtering sunlight through tawny yellow fabric luxuriously layered on the windows. Once dark and dowdy, the rooms now welcome visitors with glistening straw-colored light.

Sensual Caramel

Even a small, understated cottage appears elegantly edgy when it’s bathed in luscious caramel. Caramel is a sumptuous combination of brown and gold that playfully blends masculine and feminine hues, perfect for a bed and breakfast retreat in the Northern California wine country.

The Magic of Light Reflecting Color

There is nothing more luxurious than showering under a skylight with sunlight pouring down onto luminous apricot-colored tiles to start your day with a sparkle and a smile. I hope you can find your own special place in the sun each day, be grateful for the light, and find it shining like hope on these dark and troubling times.

“Oh, won’t you stay, we’ll put on the day, there’s a sun show every second.”

– Chelsea Morning

For the love of sun to brighten your day,