Seeing Design

Architecture of the Amazon

Anne E. Collins — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:22:29 +0000

The honeymoon has begun! The first stop on our around-the-world journey has landed us in Manaus, Brazil, the heart of the Amazon. It’s a 2-million person city in the depths of the jungle that can only be accessed by plane or the only highway in town, the Amazon River. Native Brazilians have obviously been living [...]

Want Our Apartment?

Anne E. Collins — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:31:58 +0000

To walk away from your day-to-day life for 16-months, you need to tie up a lot of loose ends but we’re getting there. Quit job—check. Sell car—check. Find new health insurance—check. Rent apartment? This remains the one major missing piece before we take our honeymoon around the world. The hope is to rent our apartment [...]

The All-Out Honeymoon

Anne E. Collins — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:23:49 +0000

At a fateful happy hour almost two years ago, friends of Mike and mine told us they were taking a honeymoon around the world. Our jaws dropped to the floor then stuttered out, “What do you mean? Is that even possible?” They were just going to quit their jobs and go. The concept seemed unfathomable [...]

The Unlikely Local Honeymoon

Anne E. Collins — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:19:51 +0000

So as some of you know, we have a big honeymoon trip coming up (full details soon) but to tide us over and recoup from the frenzy of wedding planning, a mini-moon was in order. Dreaming of a quick jaunt to Malibu, the Keys, or somewhere sunny, I was bit bummed when a family obligation [...]

Wedding Design Details

Anne E. Collins — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:22:24 +0000

It’s amazing what a production a wedding is and as much as people tell you that, you never really believe them until you are up to your eyeballs in escort cards and welcome bags. Truth be told, I love this stuff. From flower arrangements to place settings to lighting schemes, wedding design is a ton [...]

Our Winter Wedding

Anne E. Collins — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:59:35 +0000

I’ve been wanting to post about the wedding for months but between editing thousands of photos and trying to put words to the most pivotal, meaningful, and magical days of my life, it took me a waaaay longer than expected. Excuses, excuses aside, I’m back to SeeingDesign a wed woman and thrilled to share the [...]

DIY Window Valance

Anne E. Collins — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:55:12 +0000

After a year of thinking about my guest bedroom valance project, it finally came to fruition. Why did it take so long? Because it took me forever to convince Mike that this über-DIY project was feasible. The plan was to build a window valance out of wood, wallpaper it to match our accent wall, and [...]

The Winning Bookshelf

Anne E. Collins — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:39:15 +0000

For those of you who participated in the Bookshelf Runoff over the summer, thank you for your vote! With your fine taste and discerning eye, you picked the Left Bank by Vivaterra and it couldn’t be more perfect for our living room. The gray-washed wood shelves and exposed rivets give the room a little edge [...]

The Sconce Project

Anne E. Collins — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Hanging by the front door of his former bachelor pad, Mike had sconces made of old terracotta roof tiles. They were definitely a bit rugged for my taste but I loved their simplicity–just a candleholder drilled into a found object. Then I started thinking, with that formula, a sconce could really be anything. For the [...]

The Freshest Bed and Breakfast

Anne E. Collins — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:37:38 +0000

Staying at a bed and breakfast always sounds like a romantic notion but I’ve found that its decor rarely supports the theory. In search of a B&B in New Hope, PA for a recent getaway weekend, the options all looked Victorian-charming on the outside, but like Granny’s quarters on the inside. Then I came across [...]