Living Room Mood Board

Hi. Most of you don't even remember me, I know. Because I took a month-long hiatus from blogging whilst the holidays were upon me. Forgive me? No? Rats. But...oh well. We'll both live, now, won't we. :)

 

I'm helping my super awesome and stylish artistic friend update her living room. Like I said, she's a legitimate artist and has a great eye for colors, lines, and textures. She recognizes trends without being trendy, if you know what I mean. The main challenges of their living room are:

 

1) Space. With a large farmhouse dining table on one end of the modest-sized living room, there's not a ton of extra space.

2) Her husband digs contemporary minimalist style, she leans toward eclectic with soul and personality - a little tribal, vintage, industrial.

3) There are five children and a puppy to consider.

4) Budget. It's not inexpensive to makeover an entire living/dining room in one fell swoop. But they're ready to take a stab at it.

 

Without further ado, here is the preliminary (translation: expendable, jumping-off point, could be waaaaay off) mood board for their updated living room design:

 

(pre-script: Walls will be white.)

 

1 - Contemporary sofa. This Avec sofa from CB2 has clean, modern lines, while its grey tweed upholstery adds a bit of warmth and texture. (A similar form could also be replaced with light leather.) 

 

2 - Two-tiered coffee table. I like the combination of square shape (we'd use two), warm wood tones, and industrial vibe of this table. The under-shelf is necessary for a select few of the family's many many books and cool treasures.

 

3 - Red wooden side chair. They have a fireplace, and I envision a vintage chair pair (mismatched would be fantastic) flanking it. This little vintage red number caught my eye.

 

4 - Navy gooseneck barn sconces. Because floor space is so limited, side tables (and, consequently, their table lamps) are a big fat question mark. A couple of wall-mounted lamps will make a big difference in the room's lighting.  

 

5 - Palm frond throw pillow. What can I say? Just for fun. A little unexpected pattern and earthiness.

 

6 - Suzani rug. Tribal meets geometric meets modern meets perfect foundation for eclectic in this bold, graphic area rug. The colors can read as neutral or as great jumping-off points for other parts of the room.

 

7 - Mint velvet throw pillow. Nothing adds freshness to a fairly traditionally colored space than a bit of mint velvet. It's unexpected. I'd add contrasting navy piping.

 

8 - Medium-tone wooden bookcases. Two of these exist in the living room and aim to stay. Great wood bookshelves can almost always be worked with successfully.

 

9 - Leather butterfly chair. Provides a hip, retro vibe while still being classic in leather. Also, what can beat those lines? Nothing, that's what. Breaks up the solid chunks of a living room's inherently larger pieces (e.g., fireplace, sofa, dining table, etc.).

 

10 - Mustard and white herringbone window shades. Paying homage to the love of geometric shapes without competing with the rug or other pieces, this simple fabric adds just the right touch of visual interest and color.

 

11 - Medium-tone wood floor. Looooove a wood floor, especially if that wood floor is authentic and well-lived. A perfect start to a room's makeover, if you ask me.

 

12 - Brass pharmacy floor lamp. This type of lamp successfully bridges the gap between classic traditional and modern. Plus, every living room needs a bit of brass.

 

13 - Newsprint rhino head. A wall-mounted animal head, just for the fun of an eclectic living room. (Actually, upon seeing the mood board, my friend nixed the rhino head. No sweat. I want her to be happy!)

 

14 - Printed throw pillow. We'll vary the prints, patterns, and colors of the throw pillows. Not too many, but enough to bring a little life into the room.

 

15 - Leather armchair. This already exists in the room, which I'm glad about. Classic comfort.

 

16 - Mismatched dining chairs. As I mentioned, a large chunky wood farmhouse-style dining table sits at one end of the living room. It has a significant visual presence. Currently, the chairs are all dark wood like the table. I'd like to encourage a mix-and-match feel with the chairs, leaning toward vintage industrial.

 

This will be such a fun project; I'm excited to get going and will keep you all updated on our progress. Stay tuned!

Pin It Now!

Christmas Decorations: Bows

Bows. We put them in hair, we put them on gifts, we even put them on our car grilles. (Okay, we maybe don’t put them on our cars, but we’ve all seen it done. That counts for something.)

 

The truth is, bows have been around forever, and it’s for a reason. Bows can provide a polishing touch to whatever they’re put on…and they often provide a bit of heart-warming nostalgia as well, which is never a bad thing, especially during the holidays. You might want to consider adding a few bows to your décor this season – inside or out, it’s never too late.

 

source

 

 

  Welcome guests to your home with some oversized bows atop miniature Christmas trees. Keeping the tree décor restricted to the bows alone helps this look not be too overdone, although the stars on the silver buckets are a festive and unobtrusive addition.

source

Large red bows on your green garland on the stair railing is a classic look. And the thing about classic looks is: you can’t really go wrong with them. Ever. Add bows to both ends of the garland (start and finish) and a few places in the middle.

 

source

Hanging a simple boxwood wreath (or a greenery wreath of any kind, for that matter) is a hallmark of Christmas décor. (Psst - it's not hard to make your own boxwood wreath.) You can customize the look with an oversized satin bow and hanging ribbon. Keep the bow ribbon light and neutral for a fresh, modern look.

 

source

 A perfect and unique idea for a holiday dinner, or just to dress up your dining room for the season, is to tie bows around each chairback. This is particularly striking against white slipcovers, although the bows would look well against any color (and type) of chair.

source

 

Centering a large bow on your mantel garland is a good way to capitalize on the attraction of symmetrical décor on a naturally symmetrical feature. This one isn't exactly to my taste, but I can certainly appreciate the holiday spirit behind it. (But, for the record, that brass-legged coffee table? Yes, please.)

source

 

We’ve all seen stars or angels or other items atop a tree (which are lovely), but if you’re looking to freshen things up one year, you might consider adding a bow as your tree’s finishing touch. This is an especially sweet look in a rustic or country styled Christmas space.

source

 

Or, if you really like your figurine on top of the tree, maybe decorating the tree itself with bright, cheery bows is the thing for you. Contrast bright satin ribbons with something natural, like pinecones or, in this case, dried hydrangeas.

source

 

What about you? Do you like adding bows to your Christmas décor, or is it not your style?

Pin It Now!

Aqua Chesterfield Sofa...and Being Green with Envy

Sometimes the holidays make me think of blue and silver. You know, like cool winter ice.

 

Or, more importantly, like this aqua Chesterfield sofa set. Good grief. The walls. The art. The rug. The sofas. (The sofas!!) 

source

The end.

Pin It Now!

Mismatched dining room chairs

Hey everyone.

I'm currently in the process of working on some dining room chairs for the freshly painted dining room table. I think an eclectic mismatched situation, with just a hint of cohesion, is more my style than what's going on currently at my dining table. But I've got some tricky resources to work with, so I'm trying to get it all figured out.

 

Which means I'm hitting the cyberwaves for some much-needed inspiration. I'm good at sharing. I'll share:

This room is bold, which I like, but I almost feel like everything is trying a little too hard. Overall, I like the idea behind the dining chair cushions' coordinating.

source

 

Oh heavens. Yes, yes, and YES. Everything.

source

 

 

 

Alternatively, I do love a dining bench as well. I grew up with two benches at our family table, and now I kind of want my kids to experience the tugging adjusting squeezing jostling bumping that comes with it. Plus, you can always squeeze in "just one more" dinner guest... :)

source

 

Major vintage feel to this dining, ah, "set." Love the looseness and casual vibe. Also, because the chairs are so low-backed, they don't draw too much attention to themselves. Which is, to me, endearing.



source



 

Both styles below are mid-century, but the chairs' mediums are completely different. A fancy person's version of "mismatch."

source

 

I like this kind-of-random jumble of chairs.

source

 

Love the subtle-yet-apparent differences in the mismatched dining chairs here. No, really. I love this.



source



 

Anyway. You get the idea. But my very most ultimate inspiration photo, the one that I'm trying to work into our own space, is this guy:

 

 

Next up: painting the walls white and adding delightfully undersized bits of vintage art. And also, stealing a church pew.

 

Just kidding. I won't get around to doing that stuff. But wouldn't it be great if I did? Because then I could practically have this dining room!

Pin It Now!

Painted Stair & Stair Runner Inspiration

My stairs are bugging me. Because they're carpeted and matted down and just blugh, you know?

 

You guys know I like a racecar stripe in home décor, and this one looks both classy and neutral.

source

 

Stripes in general make me happy, and on a staircase is no exception.

source

 

I mean, how can you not love this, just a little bit?

source

 

Or maybe, because I've got stripes on my staircase wall already, a different pattern would maybe be better. This modern floral is kind of fun, but I don't think it would translate onto a stair runner rug very well.

source

 

Oooh, how about something geometric, like octagons? I love octagons! (I'm decisive like that.)

source

 

This Dash & Albert runner is so great, right? Love it.

source

Okay. Back to the drawing board. But I really think even painted stairs would be an improvement over what we've got going on right now. My question is: Can you paint over any old tread subfloor and have it still look good? Hmmm... I might just have to try it and see for myself.

Pin It Now!

Girls Bedroom...inspired every which-way

I've been kinda sorta mebbe thinking about updating the girls' bedroom over the past couple of months. Mostly because they want bunk beds. Mostly because they want to be able to play the game where, after lights are out, the top bunkee can go "fishing" by lowering a toy food shopping basket tied to a shoelace over the side of the bunk bed as the bottom bunkee puts toys in there and tugs gently on the shoelace for the toy-filled basket to be raised a la fishing pond at school carnivals.

Not that I ever stayed up way past bedtime playing that game with my bunker siblings growing up. Or that I told my kids about it. And how much fun it was.

Oh. Wait.

Anyway, since they're set on bunk beds, I thought it would be fun to freshen up the whole space. Problem is, I'm having a hard time deciding what direction to go. And, aside from the bunk beds, my daughters don't have any definite plans or opinions.

Here's a random collection of girls bedroom ideas that caught my eye, for one reason or another. Don't even try to figure out the method to my madness in this post. There ain't any.

Great colors in this one. It's sweet without being too girly.

source

 

This one keeps a fairly monochromatic color scheme but with tons of varied patterns and textures. Fun idea for 5- and 7-year-old girls.

source

 

I absolutely love a teensy bit of black amid a sea of pastelishness. So chic.

source

 

This is a really pretty creamy-white on the bunk bed frame. Versatile.

source



Love the clock! And also...cute butterfly garland for a younger girl underneath.

source

 

I don't know how or why, exactly, but this eclectic space speaks to me. The colors are so rich and vibrant and unexpected, and the combo of patterns is killer. My favorite space in my girls bedroom hunt so far.

source

Individual mirrors for each of the girls. Yes, please.

source

 

Not exactly a girls bedroom in a specific sense, but I'm completely smitten by this photograph. Maybe it's the breezy gauzy white curtain, or the imperfect painted wood floors? Whatever it is...I'm inspired all around.

source

 

Individual reading lamps at every bed are a must-have for budding readers. Check.

source

 

And last but not least, a linen heart pillow similar to this one would be a totally easy DIY, and the girls would love me forever. 

source

 

Anyone have any inspiring, non-overly-coordinated girls bedrooms they'd like to direct me to? Pretty please?

 

Regardless, thanks, as always, for stopping by.

Pin It Now!

Laundry Room Inspiration

If you've ever checked out my house tour, you may have noticed the laundry room is M-I-A. That's because I'm secretly a little scared of my laundry room. Occasionally I'll toss in some dirty clothes and detergent from the doorway with the hopes that that the clothes will wash, dry, and neatly fold themselves so I don't have to set foot in there.

But, for real, the room must be tackled. And, with school starting this week, I think now is as good a time as any for a fresh start.

My laundry room is teensy tiny. I'll post pics soon. I've been trying to come up with small laundry room ideas. Here are some inspiring laundry room designs that are getting the wheels in my brain turning.

White like this is nice and bright when it's clean. (Would I be diligent enough to keep things so sparkly in my own laundry room consistently? That's another story for another day.) Love the chunky butcher block.

source

Aqua is always such a cheery color for me. I've been leaning toward a little more blue on the walls in my own space.

source

Here's a naturally crazy awkward laundry room space that some creativity, organization, and vision has made delightful. I like the serene, neutral color palette and the bits of décor mixed in.

source

 Making a drying board like this has been on my to-do list for eons. This would serve double duty for laundry and regular use around here, especially in winter, with a zillion scarves, gloves, snowpants, etc. hanging out in my house (mostly on the floor) all day. Every day.

source

 I've always secretly loved a checkerboard floor.

source

 Particularly a B&W checkerboard floor. I'm drawn to serene laundry rooms for some reason (they seem more clean, maybe?), but this room is funky and fun!

source

 This is about 14 times the size of my laundry room, so it's like comparing potatoes and pineapples, but I like the casual coordination of baskets here. Not super matchy-matchy, but still well thought out.

source

 A fantastically inspiring laundry room right here. Love all the soothing colors with a coupla pops.

source

 

Anyone have any great small-laundry-room tips for me to consider?

Pin It Now!

Backyard Shed: In the Works

We've been working really hard on building a shed in our backyard this summer. It's a small little thing, not even 80 square feet, but you wouldn't know that by how long it's taking us to build.

 

And if you don't know how that is, I guess I'm jealous of you and your building efficiency. We're amateur builders, following guidance given by shed-building library books, what can I say.

(Mmmmmm. Libraries. Little bits of heaven on earth, second only to old-fashioned brick and mortar book stores.)

(Remember those?)

 

Our backyard is fairly small, so we had to build the shed in the corner. It was too close to the property line to lay a foundation, so we used cement piers instead. (Apparently, this makes the structure "temporary" for all legal intents and purposes.)

Also, last summer we had our sprinkler system put in. The layout of that system, coupled with our absolute non-desire to move pipe at this point, meant creating a custom (translation: oddly shaped) shed shape.

More after the break.

Pin It Now!

Bluey-Greeny-Grey Kitchen Cabinets (lowers)

On a whim last week (after thinking about it for months), I painted out our lower kitchen cabinets. Benjamin Moore's Buxton Blue, if you're curious. Which is an absolutely lovely color - a warm bluey-greeny-grey.

I've been hesitant to change out the all-white scheme of the cabinetry, simply because we have white appliances, and I didn't want them to stand out. But, at the end of the day, I love color, and I was ready for a (budget-friendly) change in the kitchen.
 

I love the color itself - it's warm and deep but still light and fresh.

 

But I'm not the only one loving this versatile color; it's everywhere!:

Traditional Kitchen by Northbrook Architects & Designers Michael A. Menn

Traditional Dining Room by Other Metro Media and Bloggers Kasey Buick

 

homerenovations.about.com

The color looks great even in a bedroom. Or bathroom.

 

Contemporary Bedroom by Austin Architects & Designers Heimsath Architects

Traditional Bedroom by Ardmore Architects & Designers JMS Architecture LLC

 

 

Traditional Bathroom by Cambridge Architects & Designers Frank Shirley Architects

So. Bluey greeny greyish kitchen. Yes, please!

Pin It Now!