The Making of Hydrangea White by Debbe Daley
Debbe Daley, A New Ethos Designer, Creates a Signature Custom Paint Color.
Hydrangea White by Debbe Daley is my new Ethos Designer Signature paint color. It’s a soft and inviting creamy white with a vintage hue.
Hydrangeas, Childhood Memories and Hydrangea White
I have always had a passion for hydrangeas. When I was a little girl, our next-door neighbor had white hydrangea bushes as a beautiful floral border between my parent's home and theirs. Mr. Martin, now in his 90s, would always cut some and bring them over to my mother during the summer months. It’s such a sweet memory for me, and even to this day, while riding around on his lawn mower, Mr. Martin still tells me to pick some when I’m visiting.
The color hydrangea white also evokes feelings of all things vintage for me. A time of growing up in the 60s and memories of my grandfather’s old farmhouse in Dracut, MA, with chippy-painted furniture in the kitchen. The vintage white beadboard kitchen cabinetry with white ridge porcelain countertop and wall-mounted faucet. My other grandfather loved the thrill of picking and scavenging for antique finds. Both of which are instilled in my design aesthetic today.
Creating a Memory Garden
As an adult and having my own gardens, hydrangeas were never planted. Why? I really don’t have an answer for this, except everything I planted was given to me by the gardens of my family and my mother’s friends to transplant and grow. It was important to me to create a memory garden. Some of the most favorite plants and florals came from my grandmother’s garden, including lily of the valley, lilac trees, and wild violets.
From my mother’s garden came iris, daylilies, and hostas, and from my mother’s best friend’s garden across the street, hostas and peonies. Having moved a few times in my life, I was unable to take these plantings with me. Even after transitioning from a large home to my loft space in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts, Mr. Martin would still let me pick his hydrangea.
The Cedar Bungalow with Hydrangea Alley leading to the waters edge.
The Cedar Bungalow and Creation of Hydrangea Alley
Ten years ago, I moved to our current home on the NH seacoast, where we created our “cedar bungalow.” A postage size lot with little lawn space on the water. We initially tried many different species of flowering plants without any success. The hydrangea was the one flowering plant we knew would work on the salty Atlantic coast. Led us to create our hydrangea gardens called “Hydrangea Alley”.
We created a border of white limelight hydrangea trees with endless blue summer shrubs in between each tree down one side of the driveway creating an alley to the water’s seawall. Endless summer hydrangeas are re-blooming and require very little to no maintenance that can be color customized with kits depending on the ph levels in the soil.
Turning the seawall, hydrangea plants create a border wall on the front water side of the bungalow. Walking into the home's front door, one is greeted with white limelight shrubs lining the home, giving way to blue endless summer hydrangea planted along the cobblestone walk leading to the white French door double entry.
Entrance to the Cedar Bungalow flanked with Endless Summer Hydrangea.
Hydrangeas don’t stop in the yard. Walking down the pier over the water to the boathouse, a large planter was restored on the boathouse deck where more hydrangea was planted to add charm and create an inviting space to sit and watch the evening sunsets and relax after a day of boating, creating some privacy.
Hydrangea Alley, the Social Sanctuary
Hydrangea Alley has become our little social sanctuary on the water. We even hosted our small intimate wedding reception here this past summer. The white limelight hydrangea trees were the perfect backdrop for candid photos and that quintessential New England lobster bake on the water for guests to enjoy.
Although our little cedar bungalow sits on a postage size lot, the view from every first-floor window looks at hydrangea alley. This is the story of how our Ethos Designer Signature custom-branded paint color, Hydrangea White by Debbe Daley, was born.
Deck view of Debbe Daley’s Hydrangea Alley
Contact Debbe Daley Designs directly for sample and orders of Hydranger White by Debbe Daley
About Debbe Daley
Debbe Daley is New England’s leading interior design expert in the fields of design, decorating, and styling of interior spaces. She is a professional speaker, educator, influencer, and business coach in interior design. She also teaches creative interior design and change-of-career-minded individuals at her School of Interiors. These courses provide mentoring and hands-on training. Debbe is currently an installed Design Services member for the Boston Design Center. She also is an educator and instructor at Middlesex Community College in the field of interior design.
Contact Debbe at ddaley@daleydesigns.com or (978) 697-0288.
