I KNOW THE PERFECT PLACE FOR THESE

I love these small seating options from Pottery Barn. I have the perfect place for the first one and the last one. Now if only I could come into a lot of unexpected money. That much anticipated Economic Stimulus Package ended up adding a whopping $75 to our bank account. Enough to buy an accent pillow. Yay us.

Blanca Settee


























Marcel Mini Sofa

























Olivia Soffette {great word right? Soffette}

BUENAS DIAS HEADBOARD

Wisteria has these glorious headboards. I love the carousel featured in the Buenas Dias one. Completely whimsical. Wouldn't these be perfect for the twin girls {Clementine and Poppy} Nate and I will eventually have?

PRETTY LITTLE SOFA

Nate and I will be adding this pretty sofa to our bedroom Tomorrow. But have no fear. We got it in a pretty gold which should look great with our blue walls and white trim. It's so comfortable and small enough not to dominate the room.

HOT SUMMER GOES RETRO COOL

Imagine grilling up some steak, playing some Cat Power, lighting a few citronella candles and just drinking in the milder weather of Spring and Fall out on your patio.

Now imagine having these cute retro spring chairs and gliders available at grandinroad.com. The red is darling.

Our back patio is covered so I could risk getting these beautiful chairs, but if your patio isn't covered you may want to consider wood furniture as an alternative. I can't imagine how hot these would get just sitting in the sun.

NOT BRAVE ENOUGH FOR WALLPAPER

That's right. I think it's fabulous when done right but I'm just too scared that I'll do it wrong. I'll pick the wrong paper or the wrong wall and begin a saga of bad wallpaper layers that will endure the test of time. And somewhere down the line in say, 2030, the current owner of my cute bungalow will curse me for ever covering up the cool fresco texture on my walls and ask the ageless question, "why do people use wallpaper anyway?" Because by then wallpaper will be out of fashion again.
Just because I'm a coward to try it myself doesn't mean I don't admire it when done right or done interesting. The current issue of Blueprint has a fun wallpaper story on page 96 called "The Cutting Room" and I was drawn to this photo. I like the idea of adding low hooks to hang handbags and smaller objects. Unfortunately, the lower hooks would likely end up displaying less attractive items on our walls like a frisbee, an orphaned sock or my security badge. It just wouldn't look the same. It's sad that life rarely imitates the art we are drawn to. We try, and may achieve it for a moment, but then you dribble raspberry lemonade on your crisp white blouse or a child sticks a finger right in the middle of your frosted cake and shazam! it's right back to reality.

I love the way the doors look with wallpaper applied in sections.

















And this wall with the settee looks perfectly feminine!

FUNCTIONAL TABLE

I have seen the Muddus table from Ikea in a few magazines, {Domino spread entitled Viennese Revival, pages 114 -121} and blogs over the last 12 months. It's quite functional as patio table, bedside table or work table for the office. I think I'm going to get one for the later purpose. I have a nice writing area with my desk and laptop, but this table would certainly be a great surface for my sewing machine and other projects that I don't want to clutter my desk. And the best part is, it's just $39.99.

RUG RESOURCE

Nate and I still haven't found the right rug for our great room. To recap, the walls are blue with white trim and the floor is a dark walnut. I've tried the usual suspects: Restoration Hardware, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, CB2 and West Elm. I've even tried a few more exquisite options like Madeline Weinrib Atelier. Does anyone have additional resources?


















{the room}

I happen to think this Madeline Weinrib Atelier rug in this color would look perfect.















Keep in mind we have this couch on the way and a pair of these side tables.

p.s. Nate isn't in love with the idea of having a pink rug in the livingroom.

I HEART YELLOW CANARY

This color has been grabbing my attention all over the place. Here are some of the items that have made an impression.

1. Anthropologie Cleo Chair

















2. Anthropologie Snowflake Reversible Bath Mat {I have this and love it}








3. Cococare 100% Cocoa Butter











4. Seychelles Social Climber Flats













5. Forever21: Printed Circles Sweater

DIY: OUR DRESSER

We've been, well, I've been trying to figure out the perfect DIY finish for our old dresser. Something to make it look nice and special for the new room. I originally thought I'd stain it a dark walnut color but the wood didn't take the stain the way I thought it would. The dark parts of the grain went VERY dark and the light parts of the grain went golden. It looks like a tiger. I like tigers, but I don't want one sitting in my bedroom with my clothes in its fat belly.

I then decided to paint it black - but now, for real, I'm choosing a paint color similar to our bed and I'm painting it to match. I think this will help the bedroom look less like a college bedroom and more like one that hosts two thirty-somethings. We'll get a bit more eclectic with side tables, a mirror and a settee/chair. My goal is to get the dresser painted and add the hardware before Nate comes back from Texas.

Here is what our bed looks like. I mentioned it at length here. We bought a fabulous Serta mattress and have been sleeping comfortably on it for a week. It's like a giant cloud.

PRETTY HEADBOARD

From Brocade Home.

GREAT ROOM RUG

Nate and I are looking for a rug for the great room. We've found a few pretty options but I'd love to get some feedback and/or suggestions.

1. Brocade Home: Leaf Trellis Chenille Rug in walnut/pebble























2. Pottery Barn: Jamie Duhrrie Rug in red


















3. Pottery Barn: Lattice rug in green


















4. Restoration Hardware: Filigree Tibetan rug in lichen























5. Restoration Hardware: Damask Tibetan rug in chocolate

RESTORATION HARDWARE: BROCADE!

Restoration Hardware has something for everyone; even the romantics can shop and swoon at Brocade Home. Because I love mixing styles, colors, decades, etc. {both in clothing and home interiors}, I've picked out a few things I wouldn't mind tucking in just the right spot in my home.

NEW BATH MAT

I was flipping though the latest Real Simple and came across a fun article that talks about how you can implement touches of floral fabrics and accents into your rooms without making it too girlie for your less feminine half. This rug was used in the bathroom they flowered up and I knew it would look great in one of our bathrooms. What do you think? I'm not afraid of light colors because they are easy to wash {yes, that's right, it's machine washable}.

ASTRID CHAIR

A. I wish my name was Astrid. B. I wish this chair was sitting in my breakfast nook by the time I move in. From Anthropologie, of course.

















Clemantine UPDATE: I may be receiving a little money back from an over-paid medical bill. If this actually happens, I think I'm getting this chair. I saw it in person today and it's really cute!

PROUD OWNER

Emily called me yesterday from Target in New Jersey. She noticed the mirrored side tables I blogged about here, were on sale. A significant 75% off sale! I'm now the proud owner of two of these fabulous items and I only paid $25 each. I think they'll look just perfect sitting next to my chocolate brown, velvet obsession. Thank you Emily!

SITTING PRETTY: PLEASE VOTE

Nate and I wandered around Sugar House on Saturday; ducking in and out of furniture stores in search of stuff we both like. In a little shop called Home Again I stumbled onto these cute {and old looking} pink chairs. Nate, of course, doesn't like them because of the color - but I think they'd add some charm to the breakfast nook. Priced at $260 for four chairs, I'm tempted. But what do you think?

ANOTHER FAINTING SOFA

Remember the fainting sofa from Urban Outfitters I posted about earlier today? Well, Jordan also pointed out that the color is described on the website as "apple green" which contradicts the pretty faded yellow color seen in the photo. The idea of an apple green velvet sofa in my bedroom is not a pleasant one. But what about this one? It's pretty and the pattern is charmingly Parisian. I'll have to think about this one.

PRETTY COUCH

Jordan recently posted about this couch from Urban Outfitters. It's just $500 and I think it would look so cute tucked in our master suite. I'm seriously thinking about it. Any opinions?

COUCHES COUCHES COUCHES

We have a pretty large living room which is great because we'll have lots of room for friends and family. BUT it also means we'll need lots of furniture to fill it up so it's not empty looking. Nate and I have already decided on this 8 foot beauty from William Sonoma Home {in dark espresso velvet}.
























As supplimental seating I'd love to add this gem to the livingroom but it only comes in light {almost white} velvet from JCPenney. Does anyone know of any look-a-likes I can get in different fabrics and different colors? I don't want to go overboard with the velvet but the shape is so cute and it's just $800.

TO RUG OR NOT TO RUG

Nicole at Making it Lovely featured some photos of her apartment in Chicago and I really fell for her moroccan dining room rug. After further inspection {and a quick email to Nicole}, the rug appears to be from West Elm and it is currently on sale.
I showed the photo to Nate and he seemed to like it {if I interogated him CIA style I'd probably uncover that he is hesitant with the orange color} but wanted to get further opinion. I love it. Our dining room is on your immediate left when you walk in the house and I think a pop of orange in that room will liven things up. Wall color is a mossy green/grey and floors are dark walnut. Opinions are welcome/needed. I must pull the plug on this quickly if I want to get one while they are still available for the killer price of $199.00 for 8'x10'. HELP!

Nicole's room














West Elm show room