Lavender...from My Garden to My Dear Friend to Elizabeth Taylor

For as long as I can remember, my best friend, Sharon has adored lavender.  When we were growing up in College Park, Georgia, her room was always a shade of lavender or purple, as we often referred to it. Looking back, I know now that it was lavender...lovely lavender.  She now lives in Destin, Florida and was  in town this evening and we had a wonderful dinner together.  We were joined by her sister Marlissa, her mother Muriel and her niece Erin, along with Erin's boyfriend Josh, who was the only man at a table full of estrogen.  I always have a wonderful time with this part of my extended family, as I have known them since I was 9 years old.  I noticed this evening as I entered Muriel's home, the same home that she has lived in since Sharon and I were little girls who became fast friends in the 4th grade, that she has decorated her kitchen in lavender.  And I am in love with the sofa and chair in her family room, as they are upholstered in a fantastic vintage-style floral in lavender, green and white.  Too die for!  Even her kitchen counters are a variation on this most beautiful color, and she manages to pull it off beautifully.

As much as I love grays, whites, pinks and blues, I do believe that lavender is equal among these most magnificent shades.  I have an extremely pale version of lavender on the walls in my home, as the main color throughout...it is so pale that it can pass for a blush.  I do love it...even my late husband liked it, but he was known to be in touch with his girly side, and thank goodness he was, because I am definitely a girl when it comes to interior design.  Anyway, speaking of lavender...I have so enjoyed my Iris garden this spring.  It is a sea of lavender right now...the same Iris that my great-grandmother handed down to my grandmother, who handed them down to me.  I treasure them every spring, but it seems that this year, the Iris have been a real standout, as I can't remember them ever being quite so beautiful.  There must be hundreds of them, standing proudly above the roses that accompany them.  I have featured some photos of them in this post, although the pictures from my phone camera do not do them justice.  I will try to post better shots at another time so check back for more.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this tribute to this most dashing of colors.  I especially hope that Sharon enjoys it as much as she enjoys the color lavender.

I am obsessed with this wall covering and how can you go wrong with this upholstered bed?

The ceiling, floors and wall color are such a romantic combination - I'm in love with this room

The drapes are so wonderful in this dining room, paired with the soft white and gray tones of the chairs

Grayish lavender beauty

Bold lavender - this especially reminds me of Sharon

Courtesy of House Beautiful Magazine

This room from Southern Accents Magazine is the perfect pairing of various patterns in the same shade of lavender

The Chateau-de-Villandry Lavender Garden

Lavender Garden at The Valencay Chateau

Lavender in Wisteria Perfection

Lilac Blossom

A Lavender Rose -- I had one for several years in my own garden but it proved to be a very delicate rose - I've heard that there are much hardier versions out now in this shade so I may give it another try

Ranunculus - The Most Romantic of Flowers

How  beautiful is this?

I couldn't possibly do a post about the color lavender without mentioning Elizabeth Taylor and her incredible eyes...those eyes with their double rows of eyelashes on both the tops and bottoms.  When she was a child actress, directors and cinematographers often complained that she was wearing too much eye makeup, only to learn that she had on none at all.  Her eyes were often referred to as violet, purple or lavender...I would simply call them perfect.

 

The most beautiful woman in the world with the most beautiful lavender eyes

An Iris from my own garden

My Iris Garden - Please forgive my lousy camera phone photograph - this doesn't do them justice