4.30.2010

::design your space- Part 2

This time I'm going to post for Caitlyn who is getting married this weekend! Congrats and much love to you and Brandon. Ya'll are So meant for each other. Let me again add that this is merely how I would decorate for these ladies, not any sort of commentary on how they've currently designed their space! This is my interpretation of you. Enjoy!

I have only seen pictures of her lovely little apartment, so I'm not familiar with layout.
First let's start off with a prayer room/corner or interesting accent pieces to liven up a hallway or weird little nook area of a room:
First thing I notice and LOVE about this is the border painted on the bottom of the wall. I've never seen this before. I would normally think you'd want to emphasize the height of a room, but this is about loving what you've got. Bringing the brightness around the very neutral furniture gives the space a little more depth. I also love the weathered look of this furniture for Caitlyn. I would accompany this bench with these pillows:
Now I like the idea of a mural, but this might be a bit much. I just wanted to show it in context with the textiles and furniture. Caitlyn has her own little corner with pictures like below. I like the idea of mixing the Candlesticks (you could find look alikes from Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters) and berry colored throws with something so ethereal. I would stick with a yellow, blue or green throw for Caitlyn. You could toss that over a prayer bench or console table. This also shows you could multipurpose the room for a guest room!
This is exactly what I would do for her entry way. I love how old school the furniture looks but with the modern artwork over it. She has red accents in the kitchen so this would help tie in that. I'm not a huge fan of the whitewashed flooring (*gasp...I know, I usually am) but I think a rich dark hardwood floor would bring a playful elegance with this.

Ok...not to make too dramatic a switch here, but this is how I imagine her kitchen. Bright, sunny, eclectic and full of happiness. She already has a little red table. I would add bright yellow or turquoise chairs to that puppy! Get some vintage seat cushions made with a fabric similar to the upholstered chair here. Keep your accessories porcelain and fun. The quirkier the better. Keep the kitchen cabinets white along with your window treatments.

Finally the den. I would make the space simple and symmetrical for a clean look. Use interesting fabrics and patterns for visual interest. Obviously the architecture gives this space a romantic feel to it, which is lovely, but you also could achieve this with your accessories. Pretty vases, artwork, anything floral. I would keep all the big things neutral like paint and bigger furniture. I would, however, add a printed rug (like below) instead of keeping that solid.

Rug:
I also use pillows with a more modern print:

Well there you have it. Caitlyn's space is already adorable. You can see it here. Hopefully you can drawn a little inspiration from these posts. I've already gotten great ideas for myself!

4.28.2010

::new love


Umm...so I had only ever seen a episode or two a long time ago, but I thought I'd give this show a decent chance. I can tell you, I have not been disappointed. Watch it if you haven't!! Some favorite music compositions/interpretations so far: Don't Stop Believing, Defying Gravity, (I'm not too ashamed to admit it) Gold digger, and Don't Rain on My Parade.

4.26.2010

4.23.2010

::design your space- Part 1

If I may...I'd like to design your home. This will be for the people I know- the people who I think when I see a picture..."Ooh, that would so look great in their house". I won't lie...I have files. I do understand that many of you out there don't share my love of white for your home...but you should. So with that in mind, I give you chapter one: Maria.

She is closing on her first home purchase this Tuesday! I've had the privilege of getting to walk through it as well as looking through many, many magazines and books with her. I think I have a little taste of what she likes...so here goes.

First let's start with the den. She has a great, HUGE den which opens up to both the kitchen and the dining room. She has a fantastic, vintage looking, white painted brick fireplace in there. I'd paint the walls this chocolate brown color (give or take a shade lighter). I love the color wood for any coffee tables, console tables. I would throw in a white couch (but that's just me *wink). I would also use red and yellow as the accent pieces. Who wouldn't LOVE that yellow arm chair? It looks so cheerful and inviting. I actually also really love the polar bear print. But if that's a bit much, using the red as your accent is easy. Throw in some pillows(below), a shiny lamp, even some candlestick on that fireplace.

And here's the rug to use (she actually picked this out):
This will tie in all her African-themed wall art, decor items perfectly!
Now onto the dining room. I have 2 options for this. First, eclectic charm. Her dining room is smaller and doesn't have alot of wall space due to the layout. One wall opens onto the entry way, one to the den, and one with a doorway to the kitchen. So, I would actually go with a burnt orange since there wouldn't be too much of it and thus it would not be overwhelming. Ok, I don't usually love an ornately printed rug, but the Indian print of this works really well in the space. I would choose a darker wood for the table (like the piano) and surround it with a bunch of yellow chairs! Too cute with the yellow chair from the den right?! :) I also love some floating shelves in a dining room to showcase your pretty china. The more random, the better!
Option number 2: natural grandiose. If option #1 is a little much...or you'd just prefer a more formal dining room, stick with a light neutral for the wall. It will pop against the brown in den. I would still keep all the furniture a dark wood color with yellow as the accent. How much do you want that yellow upholstered couch! Oh...you should just buy that anyways! I would get a fabric like this couch and upholster the bench for her piano in it. *falls in love* You could keep the seating more formal with a lightly colored upholstered chair and keep the accents neutral and natural. (If you haven't noticed those antler chandeliers btw, you should. Yes...you might get tired of it, but what a statement piece!)

The kitchen: I like the sand color on the walls for here. Her cabinets are white with a counter top that has both beige and blue specks. It's really lovely. She also has sort of a bay window thing going on where the kitchen table goes. I like the banquet, but if it's not in the budget, stick with a white table and seating. Or be bold and make the chairs an orange or brown! I also love these pillows for anywhere in the house you can find a spot!
And for an accent wall directly across from the kitchen table...
To die for!!! Paint it a striking dark brown (darker than the den) and put up 2 huge red flowers.


Last but not least: the guest bedroom. I'm not doing one on the master bedroom, as she already has her bedding...so, I thought this would be a great start. I love the material of the furniture. I really don't know what it is. Kind of a hybrid wicker? The textiles in here are what really sell the room. I'm a sucker for Moroccan print and these colors would compliment the rest of the house. Keep the paint and bedding neutral so you can switch out your accessories. You'll be a little more daring to take risks with this room as opposed to your master bedroom, so it's nice to have a neutral backdrop to work with. In my opinion, I would put more printed pillows on the bed instead of solids, but that's just me. I like how the solid color rug picks up the colors in the panels also.

Well, there you have it. Honestly the hardest thing about this was limiting the number of pictures! There's so much inspiration to be found. Just have fun with it! Whatever Maria decides to do, it will look amazing! Congrats on the house!!

4.22.2010

::life

Yes, there is some neglect here. There's not enough/too much to blog about and I'm just apathetic about it at this point.

- We found a place in Destin to rent for a week in late summer for only $349!! Sign me up.
- I looked at my calendar the other day and every weekend in May is full. *sigh It's all fun...but it will be exhausting.
- New friends are fun.
- Old friends will hopefully want to get ice cream again at Sheridan's...you know who you are!! I really want to try the wedding cake one. Ashley's was SO good last week.
- I've been reading "The Reason for God" by Tim Keller. It's a modern "Mere Christianity". Infinitely more readable (though I still like Mere Christianity better). I'm enjoying it alot and would highly recommend it.
- I would also like any suggestions for books on Fear. Thoughts?
- We had our last and final FPU class last night. I know all there is to know about money. Just kidding. But we're getting there. I've never realized how important it is to stress good financial principles to your family. I'm extremely blessed to have come from a family who has practiced such wise and godly money management. It just makes it so much easier for me to do it. It's all I know. So, way to go mom and dad.
- Speaking of money, Aaron and I have been doing great on our budget! It's been a good lesson for me to learn. I said good...not fun.
- Still speaking of money, I realize my birthday is like a year away but I would love anthropologie gift cards :):):):)
- I found a recipe to make your own granola bars. I'm totally going to try this out this weekend. That and hopefully my mom's fruit cobbler.

4.19.2010

::i want. i love. i have.

I want: These shoes from Piperlime. Now if I can just teach myself to walk in four inch heels...
















I love: Little unexpected gifts.










I have: A new shirtdress from Anthrolpologie.


4.15.2010

::free press

If you haven't checked out Lonny magazine online, you really should. For those of you still in mourning over the loss of Domino, this mag will begin to fill that hole.


4.14.2010

::dream house


But I don't think Aaron would like it... : )

4.09.2010

::and thus ends another week

Have a wonderful weekend, everone. Go outside. Enjoy the sunshine.



4.07.2010

::pictures far too late

Here are a couple of the projects I've finished...

Gallery wall. I might expand this as time goes on also...


New nightstands.
The side table I painted. I'm going to get a new little knob for it.


Which do you like?








4.06.2010

::up to date

What you've missed the last several days:

- Got around to painting the side table for the den. I've gotten 1 coat of polyurethane on it and I'm not sure if it needs 2. Either way, it looks really cute. I painted it a cute peacock teal color. Again, I'll have to take pictures eventually.

- Also bought the lacquer paint for the floor mirror...but haven't gotten around to painting that yet.

- The bathroom hardware has been taken down and all the holes puddied (lol...is that a word?) Luckily the people who sold us this house were more anal and organized than I am, so they left us the paint information (like the formulas and everything). So, we headed over to Sherwin Williams and unfortunately to get an exact match we had to buy an entire gallon. So, if anyone has any painting projects and you'd like a warm sand color...let us know. We'll have about a gallon left. Hopefully we can get the holes sanded down and repainted tonight.

- Our nightstands are en route to the house so hopefully they'll come in sometime this week and not be too difficult to put together.

- I've successfully managed to keep our hydrangeas alive. I know this sounds trite, but every time I buy them they only last maybe a week and by then they're looking pitiful. This time I've babied these things SO much. They still look the same as the first day we bought them! So yay. I love having fresh flowers in the house.

- Aaron's been working on fixing a broken Xbox. Two of our dear, dear friends just bought they're first home! My sister's already had 2 wedding showers...and the wedding is just around the corner. This spring has definitely been full...but it's all been wonderful and I'm so grateful!