Some things I love today…

1. Ribbon Trim ($2.95/yard)
2. Gold Sconces ($249 ea)
3. Essie Clam Bake ($2.99)
4. Eames Hang-It-All ($52)
5. Russian Textiles Book
6. Oxblood lamp ($69)
7. David Hicks pillow ($88)
8. Pink heels ($168)
9. Silver Hammered side table ($299)
10. Coral Rug (about $150)

I hope you’re surrounded by people you love, today especially.
xx

1) I’m so glad you guys like my new rug! It came yesterday, but it’s still all wrapped up along with the new rug pad. I wanted to finish painting the cabinets that flank the tv (you know, the ones that I silver leafed the glass). The final coat of paint goes on this morning after the school drop offs and then I’ll unroll the new carpet. Can you even believe my self control!? I’m shocked myself.

Speaking of my new rug, Rick from ABC called me yesterday after seeing my post and said people have been calling from all over the country placing orders for Weinrib pillows and rugs! Exciting! As a thank you, he said you can get an extra 10% off items from the ABC Basement by mentioning my blog.

So wherever you live, if you’ve got a Weinrib style in mind, give Rick a call and he’ll do his best to help you. If you’re local, don’t forget to check out all the amazing hand-knotted rugs and of course the remnants section. There’s more of my yellow and cream Karastan…

2) Next item of business: I’m really loving this print available at West Elm. Do you see all the birds? This simple kind of piece looks great in a gallery wall or above brightly painted furniture.

3) The last thing is I’m really excited that the projects at Casa Komenda are finally getting some attention. Over the weekend, we sold almost all of the extra furniture and in the freed up space, we set up the new double-length desk. Also the daybed was delivered! Can’t wait to share.

On Monday I hung the star sconces next to the vintage gold mirror. It’s hard to tell but they are really nice wall lamps. I was super impressed with the quality and I don’t actually even mind the oil-rubbed bronze finish. Even still, I’ll probably end up painting them a fun color on top, and the wall color on the cord cover. Also, the shades will get some ribbon trim.

The vintage bookshelf was (still is!) in really bad shape. I used literally half a tub of wood filler to smooth out all the cracks and holes (all that funny brown texture on the shelf backs). Also, I added the fancy studded trim from Michaels and I love the look! I need to pick up two more strips to finish off the bottom row and then I’ll paint the whole thing and get it styled with baskets and books. Progress!

Alright, enough rambling. I have a Purdy brush and a mini roller waiting patiently for me…

I have been trying to find the right living room rug for ages. I needed something really huge (I was hoping for about 12×14), which is almost impossible to find in stores or online. And antique rugs get astronomically expensive when they are that big. I’ve purchased carpet remnants for odd-sized rooms in the past and thought I would just do that again and maybe save up for an antique rug down the road.

I’m not going to go into detail here, but I had two very negative customer service experiences with two different Home Depot carpet departments here in the NYC area that really put me off. I was all ready to order a rug in this great diamond pattern, but it didn’t happen either time because of incompetent/rude employees. And I’m pretty laid back, so you know it must have been bad if it upset me!

The carpet is by Stainmaster and is a great deal at about $2.50 per square foot and then $2 per linear foot for the binding. You guys all know that I love Home Depot – I am a loyal customer there usually, so I don’t mind sharing these photos in case you’re also looking for a large area rug or wall to wall. Hopefully you have a better ordering experience than I did.

Before I tried for a THIRD time to order the diamond carpet from Home Depot, I decided to stop into the clearance section in the basement at ABC Carpet and Home (a big thanks to Abbey for the tip!). They are having a 50% off sale right now on unfinished remnants.

I ended up getting this 12×15 gold and cream striped Karastan remnant (in the middle) for just a couple hundred dollars — about what the Home Depot rug would have cost.

It’s getting delivered this morning and I can’t wait to roll it out in my living room! Rugs are probably my least favorite thing to shop for (they’re SO expensive!!), but they really make a big difference in the feel of a space.

A HUGE thanks to ABC for their incredible customer service. Special shout out to Rick, who has worked there for 28 years! If you’re in the New York area, I highly recommend stopping by to check out the huge clearance basement. Grab a Madeline Weinrib rug or pillow for half off while you’re there.

PS Someone should buy this beauty. I think it was 8×10 (too small for my LR), and I was still sooo tempted.