Ina Garten Decorating and Style Inspiration

I am not a foodie, I don’t even like to cook – not one bit, but I LOVE Ina Garten and have every one of her cookbooks.

Hmmm!  So you may be asking yourself, Why would I have all of her cookbooks and recently buy her 7th if I don’t like to cook?

Well, it’s confession time  – I don’t love her cookbooks  for the recipes, although I have made some of them. I love Ina Garten’s aesthetic, her taste, her ease. I love her STYLE.

Her style that she infuses in everything she does. I just LOVE the photos, colors, and the little glimpse into her home and life.  Buying her cookbooks gives me lifestyle inspiration.   I was more excited to see this photo of her kitchen in her 6th book, Back to Basics then I was to see the recipes.

I get excited watching The Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network when the camera pans and shows another view of her home.  When Ina goes into her pantry to get an ingredient or outside to get a cutting from her garden, I call my foodie friend, Toni – who loves her as much as I do and exclaim, “Did you see her pantry? her organization? her simplicity? her elegance? her hydrangeas?

We are giddy with excitement over these little aspects of seeing Ina’s life.  I adore it when she hops in her car and goes into town to her favorite shops in the Hamptons  – sometimes the camera gives us a peek of what lays beyond the hedges she passes on her way – can I put the DVR on slow motion so I won’t miss anything?

When Ina was at my local William Sonoma signing her book there was a line a mile long snaking outside the store.  I could not wait so I just went into the store and pretended to shop so I could get a glimpse and hear her interact with all of her fans.

How can I not love a style setter who in her book’s compiled tips on cooking and entertaining tells you un-ironed napkins are just fine to set the table with?

Or who loves white plates and platters as much as I do.

Who uses oversize baskets for storage and pretty stands to display delectable goods – like a french patisserie.

Who serves simple fare in the most simple way and uses simple basic tools, but makes it all look so simply elegant!

And how can I not love her after reading tip #8 of the 68 in her book where she tells us that “Plan B” is ok.  Gotta love her.

People always ask me what my decorating style is and I can never give them a straight answer.   I can’t really describe it. It’s a little bit of a mix – simple, clean lines, neutral colors, close to nature – airy.  I can’t say it’s traditional or beachy or country or modern. 

Can InaStyle be a decorating style?  Cause that is the best way I can explain what I gravitate to.  I find Ina has a similar aesthetic to me and I figure that is why I am so inspired by her.

I love this quote by the legendary fashion magazine editor, Diana Vreeland.

I think many of us find it fascinating to see how other people live. It’s not being nosy or stalking – It is a process of trying to find that feeling of connection – the kindred spirit – the inspiration that gets us fueled up to be our best and true self.

As a blogger and reader of many blogs I think this is why blogs are so popular. We all want to find connection – someone who gets it, who views living life the same way we do day in and day out.

Inspiration is about that “A-ha” moment, but also of what we can become.  Best of all when we find inspiration it makes us feel worthy of our own way of doing things, which in the end makes us happy and isn’t that the goal in life to find what makes us happy and to live that way ever after?

So even though I buy cookbooks that I don’t buy for the recipes – but for the connection they give me to finding my bliss, I will keep watching and reading and seeking to keep me inspired and excited to create the life I was meant to lead.

Perhaps after going over every inch of Ina’s newest book,  How Easy Is That? with a fine tooth comb – Ina unknowingly may make a foodie out of me yet.

Do you have someone who inspires you – an author, teacher, total stranger, celebrity, friend, or relative who gets you excited about life,  about what you love, or who brings out the best in you without them even knowing it?