Room Tours: Callie's Home

Are you ready for photo overload? Callie emailed me a couple weeks ago and I saw a little peek of her house. I practically begged her to show me more! And I’m so glad she agreed to do a full tour here. I think her home is the *perfect* way to do neutrals. I’m always harping on the finding balance with warm and cool tones in a room. That’s true for neutral rooms too! This means you should mix your black and brown tones, your creams and grays. And if you want to throw in a random splash of color by way of a vase or small piece of art – well that’s all the better!

I hope you enjoy Callie’s house tour as much as I did. Here she is sharing some of her approach to decorating her lovely home (with a list of sources at the very bottom):

We built our home about a year ago, and I really took a lot of time to think beforehand about the look I wanted, both in the design of our home and in decorating it. Looking at images on blogs really is what gave me inspiration for my home, and I spent A LOT of time doing it. Images that I kept on coming back to were rooms by Ryan Korban and Mary McDonald. I really didn’t want an overload of anything TOO bloggy or trendy though, because I knew I would get tired of looking at it!

-I signed up for emails from a bunch of sites… then I waited for the sales to happen. :) Because I live in an area where there aren’t a ton of different stores, I bought a lot of items online. And because I was (mostly!) patient, nearly everything I ordered online I either got on sale (sometimes MAJOR sale!) or free shipping. Even the items I picked up at local stores were mostly on sale.

As much as I love the look designers create, I LOVE getting good deals! Nothing is better than telling someone, “Originally that was $XXX and I got it for $XX!” I’ve tried to see decorating my house as a marathon, not a sprint.

-I really only tried to purchase something that I could see in a specific spot in my home– what I found was that when I didn’t have a particular place in mind, I ended up not really liking what I picked up and felt like I wasted my money.

-Antique stores! And antique stores! And antique stores! I typically found a similar look to what I had seen online by going to a ton of antique stores… sometimes it took a little digging and patience, but I usually found what I was looking for at a fraction of the price I would have spent online (and usually even cheaper than on etsy, eBay, or One Kings Lane, although I have found some awesome deals there). AND I love the fun little things I came across as I was looking for something specific! That is where I got my instant gratification as a reward for all that waiting I’d done for online purchases. :)

-Where I really saved– accessories (by doing what I typed above), artwork (Hobby Lobby does custom cut mats for really cheap and I did most of the artwork by myself… and I am NOT an artist by any means!!), drapes (discount fabric sewn by my mom), and dressers/consoles (again, mostly all from antique stores and painted by my me or my dad).

I splurged on both of my sofas and on my coffee table– I saw the Hutton sofa from Room & Board and immediately knew it was the one because of its look and length (even though I looked for a cheaper version for about five months), and my husband sat on the leather sofa from Restoration Hardware and there was no changing his mind. I’m still a little uneasy about those splurges though!

ENTRY
navy dresser- antique store (paint is Benjamin Moore, pulls from House of Antique Hardware)
gold mirror- craigslist
W mirror- Pottery Barn Kids
black lamps- Target
white shades- Target
greek key trim- Walmart
gold Asian bust- antique store
zebra wood frame- Pottery Barn
blue bowl- World Market
silver plated bowl- One Kings Lane
navy rug- One Kings Lane (Thom Filicia)
drum shade- Andrews Lighting in OKC
bird box- Anthropologie

LIVING ROOM
media console- antique store (painted by my Dad with black automotive paint)
gold lamp- Horchow
blue vases- antique store
antler- my parents’ barn
pink orchid- TJ Maxx
small sunburst mirror- Hobby Lobby

coffee table- Horchow
burl wood tray- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
horns- Jayson Home and Garden
silver lacquer box- One Kings Lane (can buy at Plantation Home)
foo dog- etsy
blue vase- Goodwill
gold bamboo frame- One Kings Lane (Lunares)
floral notebooks- Anthropologie
lucite nesting tables- CB2
foo dog lamp- Tuesday Morning
wood root- antique store
horse statue- etsy
burl wood box- Teavana
Chiang Mai print tray- Furbish Studio

gold vintage chair- antique store
mink fur pillow- Restoration Hardware
leopard pillows- made by my Mom from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC

cream nailhead chairs- Gilt and Overstock (Safavieh)
blue handblocked pillows- West Elm
greek key side table- One Kings Lane (Worlds Away)
grey ginger jar- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian gold horse- antique store
zebra wood box- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
white vase- Mockingbird Manor in OKC
leather tray- World Market
white coral- Pottery Barn
blue vase- antique store

velvet sofa- Room and Board
pink Insignia pillows- Furbish Studio (Windsor Smith fabric)
wool and coral cotton pillows- Anthropologie

large gold sunburst mirror- Williams Sonoma Home
black jars- Pottery Barn
coral ginger jars- Williams Sonoma Home

silver task lamp- Williams Sonoma Home
brown rug- Wisteria
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
curtain rods- Target
black frames and grey mats- Hobby Lobby

DINING/KITCHEN
dining table- Williams Sonoma Home
chairs- Horchow
silver ginger jar- One Kings Lane
graphic rug- Williams Sonoma Home
cream pendant- Horchow
black frames- Target

black bamboo dresser- craigslist (paint is Rustoleum, pulls from Lee Valley)
cream porcelain lamps- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian ladies- antique stores
gold box- antique store
green vase- Pottery Barn
gold bamboo frame- antique store
white vase- Pier 1
lines paintings- me, frames from Garden Ridge, black mats from Hobby Lobby
eagle mirror- antique store

lucite counter stools- CB2
blue vases- Wisteria
silver rim utensil holder- Pottery Barn
circles painting- me, frame from antique store
coral butter dish- Anthropologie
blue pot- TJ Maxx
Silver bamboo frame- TJ Maxx
Cream frames- Target
fuschia orchid- TJ Maxx
copper greek bust- etsy
white pineapple- White Barn
ikat bowls- Anthropologie
various white, glass, and metal serving pieces- Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Target, and antique stores
black and gold mums paper- Paper Mojo
silver sphere pendant- Horchow (Solaris pendant from Crystorama)

MAN ROOM
leather sofa- Restoration Hardware
red plaid pillows- Ralph Lauren
wheat rug- Pottery Barn

round coffee table- Pottery Barn
brown leather tray- Pottery Barn
decanters and glasses- Pottery Barn, antique stores
vintage National Geographics- antique store
patch- Rugby by Ralph Lauren

wood side table- made by my brother-in-law Roger
silver lamp- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
marquetry frame- Williams Sonoma Home
metal R on wood stand- Anthropologie
silver microphone- from my Dad
small white H letterman’s patch- antique store

duke painting- antique store
vintage baseball print- antique store
large red H letterman’s patch- antique store
fox hunt print- etsy
black mirror- Target
small black and white print- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
metal W- Anthropologie

NYC Census Bureau map- One Kings Lane (Barbara Cosgrove)
subway sign- Pottery Barn
curtain rod- Target
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
all books are from random places

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Inspiration

Mint Wool Chairs in Action

I got the Italian MCM chairs back from the upholsterer this weekend and I think I’m in love. The room needed a shot of cooler toned color (either blue or green) and these totally did the trick for me. I can’t decide if I’m going to make a pair of little lumbar pillows. I worry…

I can’t decide if I’m going to make a pair of little lumbar pillows. I worry the pillows would partially cover the split between the arms and the back, which is the part of the chairs I like best. Hmm.

PS Here’s a wider shot of the gallery wall, which is still a WIP. I took out a lot of the smaller pieces from the old arrangement we had up in the dining room, in favor of less and bigger art. I also added the Gossip Girl sconces into the arrangement, and that I’m totally loving. I think I might try DIYing some black conical shades. Though to get the sizing right I would need to buy a soldering iron which feels really intense for some reason. :)

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Art

DIY Picture Frame

I’m always looking for inexpensive alternatives to custom framing. I’d rather spend the money elsewhere in a room. I’ve mentioned before that I like to pick up cheap art in good frames from thrift stores and flea markets, and later I switch out the art. When I finished the chinese wallpaper panels a couple weeks…

When I finished the chinese wallpaper panels a couple weeks back I moved over the gallery wall to the tv area in our living room. I wanted to included this peony painting because I like the dark shot of blue color. I’ve been meaning to frame it for a while now but it was painted on a European canvas which won’t fit in standard US frames. It’s not easy to make a frame from stock moulding you buy at the lumber yard, so I had an idea to repurpose one of the old frames from my collection.

I tucked the painting into the corner of the old frame and marked the edges on the frame. I did this twice – using the two best corners with the least amount of damage to the plasterwork.

Then I used a miter box and a hand saw to make four 45-degree cuts. If you have a miter saw, this step would be super fast, but even cutting the angles by hand wasn’t bad. The trick to fast, straight cuts is keeping the frame moulding flush with the miter box edge. It’s helpful to have a second set of hands here.

Four simple cuts later and we have the beginnings of a new frame!

I smoothed the cut edges with a sanding block until the two cut edges fit perfectly together.

Then I ran a bead of wood glue along the edges and stapled the two pieces together, right down the corner line four or five times.

Not bad, right? Pretty seamless.

While the glue was drying, I touched up the highlights on the frame with my trusty gold leaf pen so that the gilding would be a brighter yellow.

Gracie got in on the action too. She’s my little budding artist.

I forgot to take a photo, but I simply stapled a few times on the back around the perimeter of the painting at an angle to keep the canvas secured in place. Then it was done and ready to hang.

I’m so thrilled with the results here. Even if I had dropped $300 on custom framing, it wouldn’t have the age or patina this old frame has. I’m dying to cut down more unwanted frames for the other canvases I have in storage!

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Dining Room

Copy Cat Design: Celerie Kemble Dining Room

I’m so thrilled you guys seem to love these copy cat posts from Colleen as much as I do! Colleen has the best eye and knows when to splurge and when to save. She also is a FANTASTIC flea market partner in crime. We always find gems together. My favorite find was these midcentury chrome…

Here’s Colleen with an amazing dining room redux:

I’m so excited to do this reader-requested Celerie Kemble dining room; I worked on the issue of Lonny in which it was featured! It was absolutely my favorite interior.

1. Bowmont Chandelier; Circa Lighting, $1260

If this room were for a client, I’d trawl the flea market and Ebay for a vintage option, but I’m quite enjoying this new chandelier that nods to the original Murano. For a different but still lovely Murano-style look, try the Calais Chandelier from Z Gallerie.

2. Alexa Limed Oak Chair; Zinc Door, $500

Celerie used shagreen chairs of her own design in this room. Grey chairs with Mid-Century lines are still faithful to the look. Another option are these Klismos chairs from West Elm.

3. Java Mohair; Decorator’s Best, $50.25/yard

Complete the chairs with plush mohair in a chocolate hue.

4. Bamboo d’Oro Flatware; Barney’s, $125

I’ve been dreaming of this flatware for months now. It’s on my “when I’m rich and fabulous” list. Target fortunately has an interpretation in stainless.

5. Lucite Curtan Rod; The Paris Apartment, $255

One of the Jonathan Adler decorating tips I’ve taken to heart is to replace your hardware with lucite. It’s instant glamour!

6. Pinch Pleat Curtains in Sulfur Green Linen; I Dream of Drapery, $138

To keep window treatments from being over the top, pair the lucite rod with linen drapes.

7. Artichoke Candle Holder; Sears, $38

These ceramic artichokes would be cute on a mantel too.

8. Vintage Floral Wallpaper; SecondHand Rose, $150/roll

The art in the room is by Alex Timchula, but framing wallpaper is a great option. You could also get botanical prints from Etsy.

9. Dakota Dining Table; Crate and Barrel, $1400

Most lightly-stained farmhouse tables would do the trick here. Top with simple glass plates.

10. Nautilus Shell Paint; Benjamin Moore

This pale peachy-pink evokes just enough glamour.

11. Torsby Sideboard; Ikea, $300

Spray paint the hardware a brass shade and you’d be good to go! For something a little more Regency, try this buffet from Home Decorator’s.

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Inspiration

Winner: $500 Giveaway!

This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home! Please email me this weekend to claim your prize, Julia. And thanks to everyone for entering!

This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home!

Please email me this weekend to claim your prize, Julia. And thanks to everyone for entering!

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Kids Room

Room Tour: Perfectly Pink Bedroom

My friend Kristen from Gypsy Soul Interiors always has gorgeous projects going on at her place! I loooove when her name pops up in my inbox! She was inspired by this chevron rug DIY project and used a perfect coral pink color. The rug is for her daughter’s newly redecorated big girl room. I love…

My friend Kristen from Gypsy Soul Interiors always has gorgeous projects going on at her place! I loooove when her name pops up in my inbox!

She was inspired by this chevron rug DIY project and used a perfect coral pink color. The rug is for her daughter’s newly redecorated big girl room. I love the Kristen eyeballed the taping! She wanted this to be a quick project and sort of liked that imperfectly-perfect look (especially for a kids room).

You’re going to want to check out how adorable this little girl’s room turned out. That bed (and bedding)! That chaise! Kristen embraces all things vintage and knows *just* how to update them with paint and fabrics. I feel like this space has so much more soul than a room filled with catalog furniture!

I’m sure you’ll want to know just like I did – the wall color is Iced Apricot by Valspar. Definitely adding that one to the paint color arsenal! This elusive perfectly peachy pink color is hard to nail down!

Gorgeous job as always, Kristen! Thanks for sharing!

If you have a room submission for LGN, please email jenny at jennykomenda dot com. Thanks!

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DIY

The Bean Jar Method (and a freezer paper DIY!)

This post is sponsored by Pine-Sol®. Clean & Disinfect with Pine-Sol: The Powerful Scent of Clean. I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning post kick lately, so I thought we could talk about kids and chores. Did you get an allowance growing up? I’ve learned that kids need incentives in their lives (well,…

This post is sponsored by Pine-Sol®. Clean & Disinfect with Pine-Sol: The Powerful Scent of Clean.

I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning post kick lately, so I thought we could talk about kids and chores. Did you get an allowance growing up? I’ve learned that kids need incentives in their lives (well, don’t we all?). We’ve been using beans as an incentive/accountability tool for a couple months now and I love it.

We keep dried pinto beans in this old jar on the counter and every night the girls pull out their bean baggies and we square away our accounts.

The general idea is every bean is worth a penny. Every chore the girls do each day is worth a bean, and we also give and take away beans for their actions. Like fighting/yelling/not sharing results in the loss of a bean or two. Sometimes I’m feeling generous and will offer them 10 beans each to make the trip to the grocery store easy! It works every time. :)

The girls count their beans all the time (another bonus! Math practice!) and when they have earned a few dollars, we go to the toy store (i.e. heaven on earth). It’s so fun to see that the new toys they earned and budgeted for mean more to them. I feel like they have a better understanding of and appreciation for money now.

We’ve been keeping their beans just in little baggies, but I’m committed to the program now, so we upgraded to these cheapie little coin purses from H&M that I personalized with their monograms.

It’s a super easy DIY. I just typed their initials into Word (Futura font at 165 pxls) and lightly taped a small piece of freezer paper on to my computer screen. I also bumped up the brightness on my screen so there was lots of contrast.

I softly traced the edges of the letters and then cut the letters out on a cutting board with an Xacto knife. Here’s a little tip for cutting anything out with an Xacto knife – pull, don’t push the blade. You’ll have much more control of your line if you’re pulling down all the time, so move your project around so that you’re always pulling the blade down.

Next, you just layer a dish towel on top of the freezer paper (wax side down on the purse) and iron until the freezer paper is secured on the purse.

I used a regular paint brush and some gold latex paint to dab on the letters. I did about three coats of paint with a bit of drying time between each coat. Try hard to keep the paint smooth and even, but don’t push the paint down too hard. It will get in under the edges of the paper if you’re too agressive.

While the third paint layer was still wet I peeled off the freezer paper.

Ta-da! Personalized bean purse! I also switched out the old zipper pull for a mini gold/black leather tassle I whipped up while the last coat of paint was drying.

The girls love our Bean Jar method – it’s sort of incredible actually how well they have responded to it! – and they were extra excited when we worked on these purses together. It makes the whole idea more special to them. Claire sleeps with her bean purse under her pillow. And I think they’re so cute I might actually make one for myself. Lipstick holder maybe?

Do you have a method for getting your children to happily help around the house?

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Musings

Three Free Minutes

This post is Sponsored by Clorox. Help stop the spread of germs with Clorox® disinfecting products. Clorox is putting together an eBook on what busy mothers/women can do with just three extra minutes, and I was super excited that they invited me to contribute! I’ve never been more busy than I am right now and…

This post is Sponsored by Clorox. Help stop the spread of germs with Clorox® disinfecting products.

Clorox is putting together an eBook on what busy mothers/women can do with just three extra minutes, and I was super excited that they invited me to contribute! I’ve never been more busy than I am right now and I’m juggling so many things, but I feel more at peace now than I did a couple years ago when I was a new mom. I felt like I had lost a bit of my identity while I was so buried in the newborn phase with Grace and Claire (it was a little easier with Evie). After surviving three of those phases, I figured out a handful of quick fixes that help me feel more efficient/put together. And they’re so helpful now too as I’m trying to find a good balance in my life.

1) Put on your shoes or work out clothes if you’re staying home and just trying to get things done. There is something about wearing shoes that puts me in the efficiency zone. I’m cleaning, I’m busting out projects, I’m doing the laundry. It’s awesome. Also, don’t laugh at me but I started buying old lady shoes for those times when I’m going to be on my feet all day but don’t want to wear running shoes. I bought these loafers and these boots from Aerosoles! (yikes!) I feel like I should be embarrassed but they are so comfy and cute!

2) Put on some jewelry or paint your fingernails. Even when I don’t have a stitch of make up on and my hair’s up in a top knot, if I take 30 seconds to put on some pretty jewelry I feel put together enough to go pick up my kids from school (which turns out is a bit of a fashion show here in NY). I’ve completely fallen in love with Meredith Jackson jewelry, and all these earrings would do the trick.

I also like to have my nails painted. I don’t mind painting my own nails (or using those Sally Hansen sticker packs), but manicures here in NYC are so cheap! Rather than going out for a movie or for dinner, I meet up with my girlfriends for chit-chat and a mani/pedi. My favorite is the shellac manicure. Crazy shiny and lasts for WEEKS without chipping. Not even oil-based paint sticks to this stuff!!

3) Make a list. The fastest way for me to feel organized on a busy day is to sit down and make a list. I use those electronic sticky notes a lot and I still use Teux Deux on my phone and my computer (they sync with each other!).

I use it as an appointment calendar too. If I have an appointment, the entry is made in all caps and I put it at the top of the list for the day. But sometimes an old pen and paper work best for getting my thoughts organized – and it feels a bit more satisfying to write it down somehow.

4) Do something creative! When I had Gracie, my best friend suggested I start a hobby that is easy to pick up and put down – like knitting or playing the guitar or piano. I think it’s so important to do something creative every day, especially if you’re a stay at home mom. Learn to be a better photographer. Take up pastels or charcoal drawing. Teach your children how to draw a puppy or a flower. Push yourself in the kitchen and try new, tricky recipes. Write a blog! :) I’d love to learn how to better sew clothes this year or make the time to sew presents (like these dolls from waaaay back in the day) for my girls for birthdays and Christmas.

And some time in the future I’d love a little studio where I could pop in for a few minutes to paint every day. The mommy fog starts to clear every time I start using the creative side of my brain.

5) Be still and take time to reflect. My life is SO noisy! The streets are crazy and my kids can be pretty loud. I find myself craving a little quiet time by the end of the day. No sounds. No screens. Just sitting still for a couple minutes to reflect on the day. I’ve been using one of these Line A Day journals to jot down a little reminder of something that made me smile. It’s fun to look back during what I know were hard or stressful times and seeing that there was always something to be happy about every single day. Today I wrote a sentence about how Evie’s latest thing is to walk around fake sneezing. “Ah, aaaAAHH, AHHH-CHOOOOOOO!!” It’s so loud and so ridiculous, but I hope I can remember it forever.

I have to add, that I’d like to get better at thinking about other people outside my immediate family for a few minutes every day. Helping out a neighbor or someone on the street — It feels so great to think outside myself every now and again.

I’d love to hear what you do when you have three free minutes in your day. And if you feel like sharing with the Clorox people who are writing the eBook, feel free to head on over to their FB page.

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Musings

Knob Favorites

I get bored of furniture really fast, but sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to move or get rid of a perfectly fine piece of furniture, especially when it’s functional and fits a space well. I was super bored of this console last month, but before I looked into replacing it with something else or painting it another color, I switch out the hardware on the top drawer with these brass ring pulls from eBay (you can see the old knobs here) and BAM. I like the console again!

I’m sort of funny about hardware. I love taking a peek at Anthropologie’s offerings because their hardware section is like bins of gorgeous candy – all glossy and colorful! But when it comes down to it, I feel like most of the knobs they have are best suited for a kid’s room. I prefer hardware to be a little more simple – mostly metallics and usually just one or two colors.

Here are some of my favorite classic and quirky pieces out there right now. I’d stick with more classic pulls on a colorful/funky piece of furniture and consider the quirky options for a super tame piece (maybe something you kept wood, or painted all white or black).

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

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Living Room

Copy Cat Design: Lilly Bunn Weekes Living Room

It’s Friday! My lovely assistant Colleen from There Comes A Yes is joining us for another round of Copy Cat Design. Lilly Bunn Weekes is an amazing NYC designer and just an all-round lovely person! She blogs at Lilly’s Notebook. Here’s Colleen’s twist on her gorgeous work: I adore Lilly Bunn Weekes’ full-on commitment to…

I adore Lilly Bunn Weekes’ full-on commitment to color. She doesn’t mess around. Color on the walls, color on the furniture–this is not wimpy stuff!

1. Purple Ikat Throw Pillow, Zazzle, $68

If you’re feeling some trepidation over color or pattern, start with the baby step: a throw pillow. Pillows are gateway decor.

2. Arrowroot in Hyacinth; Decorator’s Best, $27.50/roll

Grasscloth is a genius wallcovering. It works wonders for rooms without much architecture, but there’s no pattern to potentially get sick of. Perfect!

3. Meurice Square Table Lamp; Jonathan Adler, $325

A nice, simple brass lamp.

4. Quartz Crystal Cluster; Blue Moon Crystals & Jewelry, $20

Another lamp option: get some crystal clusters, a lamp kit, and drill a hole through the clusters to fit a lamp pipe. DIY instructions here.

5. Ektorp Loveseat; Ikea, $379

Ikea to the rescue for this sofa. Bemz has a range of slipcovers for this style, including an orange cotton.

6. Chambord Velvet in Mango; Fabric Guru, $14/yard

Or have the couch upholstered in this lush orange velvet!

7. Ikat Pillow Cover in Pale Plum; Uzbek Alive, $28

More purple ikat!

8. Auberge Chair; Ballard Designs, $649

A bergere ready to be upholstered.

9. Cotton Ikat Fabric; Fabricadabra, $24/yard

Lilly’s chairs (and pillows) are done in Madeline Weinrib fabrics, which are spendy. This fabric is a brilliant alternative.

10. Winston Gold Leafed Coffee Table; Worlds Away, $1375

I like that the coffee table is architectural and not overly pretty–a counterpoint to all of the feminine elements.

11. Quatrefoil Mirror; Shades of Light, $329

With a coat of brown-black paint, this mirror is a dead ringer for the inspiration one!

12. Mid-Century Nightstand; West Elm, $249

Simple wood end tables, another smart juxtaposition.

13. Dash and Albert Woven Diamond Rug; Wayfair, $514

A black and white rug for that punch of graphic pattern.

Thanks so much, Colleen! Feel free to email us if you have an inspiration room you’d like to see interpreted.

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Musings

A Couple Things

Thursday feels like a good day for random thoughts. 1) I hate washing out paint brushes! Don’t you? It just gets paint splatter everywhere and the base never really gets clean. I recently discovered this brush cleaning comb at the hardware store and I have a feeling my Purdy’s will be lasting a lot longer!…

Thursday feels like a good day for random thoughts.

1) I hate washing out paint brushes! Don’t you? It just gets paint splatter everywhere and the base never really gets clean. I recently discovered this brush cleaning comb at the hardware store and I have a feeling my Purdy’s will be lasting a lot longer! I wouldn’t go as far as saying I love to clean my brushes now, but it’s sort of, kind of fun. Like brushing Barbie’s hair.

2) Speaking of the hardware store, as much as I love Home Depot/Lowes I’m just crazy over local hardware stores. I feel like I can always come home with a new brass treasure. The hardware store down the street from us has these solid brass house numbers in a couple different sizes (this is the smallest). I’m trying to think of a worthwhile project for the little ones, but I also like the idea of buying a big size for a paper weight/coffe table book topper or just a styling accessory. Like a lucky number sort of thing. Brass is so cool.

3) My hardware store also sells the brass key chain parts that I used for my leather tassel DIY. My friend Jenna had a Bachelor finale party on Monday (she sent us all home with a rose ;) PS Admittedly I haven’t really watched much of the Bachelor in years past, but I didn’t love Ben from the get go. Did you watch? Isn’t it amazingly sad how catty girls can be to each other! yikes!!) Anyway, another friend was in town and wanted to make tassels at the party. We experimented with a thicker tassel and I love it. Navy strap, gray fringe and orange patent banding.

4) I saw this striped kilim ottoman at Pier 1 in the city a couple months ago, but recently I was in Jersey and saw it on MAJOR clearance (I think it was $99?). If you need a big, cute ottoman it might be worth a trip.

5) These two small pieces of art are hanging right next to our front door. The top one is a mountain near where I grew up (Paul Ferney painted this one for his Commission Project). And the bottom piece is an etching of our neighborhood from the 1800s. I found it at a junk shop in the burbs. The craziest thing is there is a sticker on the back from the 1930s framer who was only one block away from our building at the time on our exact same street!

These make me smile every time I walk by and remember to really see them. I like thinking about the permanence of mountains and old buildings. The crazy world changing all around them, constantly and year after year. And they hardly change at all. I can think of people in my life who are just like that, and thank goodness for them.