Great Boys Room

Love this room from Coastal Living.  The colors are great, and it looks like a lot of fun for the boys.

Lemon Melt Aways

I just came across the most delicious looking Lemon Melt-Away Recipes over at Style Home. I am definitely going to give these a try.  That is after I go to my local grocery store and get the ingredients.

If you love lemon like I do, go check these out.  Oh, and they are gluten free.

DWELL

All through grad school I've been a big fan of Dwell.  On a design trip to San Fransisco I even meet the Editor-In-Chief Sam Grawe, of course that was before he was editor-in-chief...  Anyways the latest issue came this last week, and I loved it. I read the entire thing.  I really feel passionately about green design.  One of the next things I'm planning on doing professionally is getting my Leed AP, and finally the Leed Homes.

As I was ready my Dwell magazine I found that one of the articles was about my grad. professors home.  She was a great teacher, and passionate about her work, so it was very intriguing to see what methods, and design principles she incorporated into her home.  Anyways I would definitely recommend reading the July/August Issue of Dwell.  Now I'm off to read my  Natural Home Magazine.

Lighting

I've been looking at this lighting lately at Pottery Barn. I'm a huge fan of these types of light fixtures, and have been impressed that Pottery Barn has broken out of their traditional mold to bring us these fun more contemporary fixtures.

Love these mason jars!! 

A nice eclectic mix of styles, and I really love how this room comes together.

I do like this fixture, I think it could use a few more lights in it. Not because it wouldn't give enough foot candles obviously, but because I think it would add to the design and overall look and rhythm.

Love these old fashioned incandescent bulbs.  Fluorescent has its uses in specific places, but I still like the A bulb.

This lamp would be nice next to my bed.  It is adjustable, and just plug ins.

Love this finish.

These fixtures are all available over at Pottery Barn 

Favorite online Magazine

I found this magazine recently, can't even remember how I found it, but it is all online, free to browse, and I love it!!

Check out this link and go see for yourself what I mean.


Lonny Mag

Manic Monday

Mondays are my manic day. It is the day I think of all the projects I want to do this week.  Motivation comes out in full force, and I drive myself crazy planning what I will do and make this week. 

So here are some of the things I'm loving for this week.

Damask:  I love it every week, but this week I really love it!!

This is a Waverly Fabric, it is essence in chocolate.  Anyways Joann Fabrics currently has all their Waverly Fabric on sale for 60% off!  I ran in today and ordered 5 yards of this fabric. My home came with these awful red floral print window treatments. I've lived here for 3 years and I've finally decided what I want to replace them with in my dining room.  I'll take a picture and show you later.

This is a stencil currently for sale on Etsy by Maison Stencils.  I love, love the stencils by this etsy seller.  Pricey, but I love them.  Vintage burlap pillow cases are a current fav of mine.  So I've been browsing stencils trying to decide if I am ready to try my hand at it.  (Like I need another project to do)

Here are some of my other favorite stencils by Maison Stencils:

Maybe you are wondering what it is I am actually working on this week.  (Especially since I can't make the drapes until the fabric comes in 2-4 weeks).  First off today, I recovered my piano bench.  The piano itself is from the thrift store. It is an old church piano, from sometime after 1928 (the tag on the bench says the fabric met the safety standards of blah blah blah from 1923)  Anyways the piano, is a little beat up, and could use to be refinished.  I really want to refinish it, but haven't yet gotten up the courage to try a piano. I'm going to start small and work my way up. Eventually the piano will be redone, but for now it works (literally), although the wood tones need some help.

  Tufted headboards fill my dreams!  I absolutely love this green one, I believe it is a headboard by Nieman Marcus, but I can't find the link, sorry.  Anyways I have had the parts of making a tufted headboard since February.  That was the big project I've been planning!  Finally this weekend I was able to get started.  I've been taking photos, and when it is all finished I will post them, and seriously, it should be finished tonight. Unless my son doesn't go to bed as planned.

Personal Shopper

Love this bed!!  This is a teenage girls room.  I love turquoise, brown and lime green.  These colors work so well together! The textures, and patterns hear really work great!

Simple and clean. This really works.  The white linen with the cream and the brown accent really pull off a monochromatic color scheme.  The lamps really had a punch of texture.

I am always asked what my personal style it. I  would have to say it is clean and simple, but I like little color added it.  I like modern, but my style isn't modern, so I call it contemporary, if not somewhat simplified craftsman.   

I see some French inspiration here.  Right now I love everything French. After going to France twice in four years. I'm ready to move there.  This room isn't busy or ornate but has this subtle sophistication, I think any girl would love to sleep here. 

All of these rooms are from a website from Mrs.Howard Personal Shopper (Mrs. Howard is a great Interior Designer).  Go over here to check it out, and find the stories behind these rooms. 

The Resurrection

I have finally decided to jump into this blog.  So saying I have resurrected it isn't completely honest, since as you can see, it never really started.  But here it goes.  For those of you, who really need another design blog.  (I'm sure you don't, really)  This blog is where I am going to collect my design inspiration. I've had a long standing folder at my house of magazine pages, but now that everything is digital, I'm putting it on here, the best part, if my computer crashes, it still can be found.

DIY Project No. 1

    This isn't my first DIY project, but this is going to be my first one to post.  I'm not much of a writer, and I'm sure I don't explain things well, but I am so excited for my next project.  It is a bedroom makeover.  My bedroom.  Our master bedroom and bathroom are so sad.  They are just about the most neglected rooms in our house. They are clean and organized (at least at the moment) but they are so boring.  We have lived here over 2 and a half years, been married for almost 5, and we are still using the same bedding that I bought the year before we got married (and I didn't much love it then).  We have cheap Target nightstands that are just awful, the lamps were just replaced last year when the old ones wore out.
    Sub-par design isn't my thing, but I do have a budget, and truthfully, I love creating things that are origin and "upcycled."  So check back in May for the before and after pictures of my project, maybe by then I'll announce what my Project No. 2 is. 

Design

      I am always looking around for good design, and for inspiration. There is so much fluff design, and I admire it other places, but I never put it in my home. In fact u my own home isn't my style.  Crazy I know, but the faux finish really just isn't(neither is vinyl siding).  It is professionally done, it looks great, but I don't like faux finishes.  Our home is a nice beginner home, but I have three home plans on my computer started for my "next" house.  It is a few years off, but it is the reason that the faux finish stays, everyone else loves it, and when I sell the house, from a designer perspective, it will definitely attract some buyers.

      So now you probably want to know my style (alright really I'm sure you don't care, but then again, I started this blog for  me).  Hmmm, good question.  I say my style is contemporary, I don't say modern because that scares my husband who is definitely into Arts and Crafts era design and furnishings.    Contemporary is broad, but I like it clean, and simple, no knickknacks.  It takes me months to pick things out. I'm so picky for myself that I make changes slowly. Anyways this blog is for my collection of things I like.  I have binders full of magazine sheets, most of which after a while are dated, and I don't like anymore. So I thought this blog would help me keep a list of the things I like, and maybe simplify your search for inspiration as well. 

 These next images are from on Nest.  This room is clean and simple.  It could use some artwork above the bed, but I'm sure it was added after this work in progress photo was taken.  What I really love about this room are the pillows on the bed.

Check out this close up look:

  I love these pillows.  The skulls are subtle and you could almost miss them.  The color combination works great.  I love the texture of the eggplant pillow in the middle.  Anyways, love it!

 

Lastly from Nest is this outdoor space.  Good design brings the outdoor in and the indoor out.  This space helps make this connection.  The glass wall in the back, looks like it could open up entirely, definitely a feature I would love in my own home.  The furniture is nice, but almost too closed off to the center of the space.   Looking at this image makes me wonder if it is a revit rendering.