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Holidays at my house …

December 13, 2012

Well, the baking is done; I just mailed Holiday cards out today and I’ve got just a little more shopping to do. I always love to see how others have decorated for the holidays, so I snapped a few pictures from around our house to share with you.

My motto was to keep things simple this year … using natural things like greenery, flowers and fruit and basic holiday items like ornaments, bells and candy canes to decorate. I then sprinkled in a few of my favorite little holiday signs and critters.

I decided to do the garland a little differently this year … instead of wrapping it around the tree, I have it hanging down in spirals from the top.

I also bought some cute button garland from Ballard (sorry, you can’t see it very well in this picture.)

I always love hanging up these colorful stockings handmade by Dan’s mom. (She even made 2 for our cats!) They have a lovely vintage look and feel.

Sometimes something as simple as a collection of round glass ornaments in a pretty color is all you need for a little sparkle.

I opted out of full garland along the banister this year in favor of these simple boxwood stars.

Vintage sleigh bells are a great way to fill a tray … and this Spiced Eggnog candle from Anthropologie smells heavenly!

I love this O Holy Night print I ordered from Jones Design Company. I just popped it in a rustic frame I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season. Be sure to take time out from the hustle and bustle to do the special things that makes you happy!

What’s on your ideal bookshelf?

December 6, 2012

Looking for a unique gift idea? What about giving that hard-to-buy-for someone their ideal bookshelf?

I can sense your brow is furrowing.

What?

Wouldn’t that be … expensive? … heavy? … hard to wrap?

Not this kind.

I’m talking about these fun prints by artist Jane Mount which you can find on her website Ideal Bookshelf.

Do you know someone who loves to Travel?

Fashion?

Cooking?

A Jane Austen buff?

Harry Potter fanatic?

What about this collection of children’s books for a nursery or playroom?

There are many different collections, including the ideal bookshelves of many “creative thinkers” in all fields, such as Alice Walters and David Sedaris.

Just pop it in a frame and you’ve got a great, personal gift.

How about this one for your pal who moved here from NYC?

Many of these prints are also available for a limited time on the site 20X200.

Perhaps you don’t see your ideal bookshelf among the many options. That’s okay too. You can order a custom print where you choose all of the books to be included. Or purchase a gift card for your recipient to do the same. How fun is that?

It kind of gets you thinking … what would be on your ideal bookshelf? And more interestingly, what does that say about you?

As promised …my living & dining room makeovers

November 29, 2012

Before Thanksgiving I gave you a couple of peeks into my dining and living room … our “fall projects” I suppose you could say.

I thought I’d elaborate a little more on them for you today.

First up, Dining Room. This is what it looked like before.

Everything was pretty much from our very first condo in the city. I still loved our sideboard and table from Mig & Tig but I just longed for a more elegant and polished look. The rug is only a couple of years old, so that was going to stay too.

So, with new chairs (I wrote about them here), a new paint job (I wrote about my decision process here) a new top for my sideboard (read all about it here) some new curtains, and a little rearranging, here’s what I have now …

And this was it all set up for Thanksgiving …

I am still wanting to replace the chandelier the builder put in with this one that I have loved forever …

I moved the small hutch I painted with chalk paint last year (read about it’s transformation here) onto this wall and hung some pretty but simple plates I found at Anthropologie around it. I still wanted a soft look with out too much pattern or color.

I had struggled to find the right spot in my home for this desk/hutch ever since I painted it, but now I think it’s finally found its home. It’s become a great place to display some of the pretty, smaller pieces that seemed to get lost inside the big sideboard.

I also did a little lamp swap … I switched these lamps with the ones in my bedroom.

Voila!

And I kinda like these on my nightstands …

On to the living room …

Perhaps you remember what it looked like before …

I’ve liked the red … in fact, we’ve had a red room in our last 3 homes … maybe that’s why I was up for a change. Something a little softer and more soothing.

I’ve also struggled with the large wall behind the settee …

I had started out hanging my collection of Sid Dickens Memory Blocks that I’ve accumulated over the years … each one is different and symbolizes different times or occasions in our life. You can read more about them here.

While I love them, they just felt a little sparse on that huge wall. I’ve already got a large piece of art above the fireplace and that large mirror in the dining room so I wanted to find something different.

The other issue was that besides the settee, we had no other seating in there … we always seemed to find other priority items to purchase and I never really found the right chairs. I wanted something pretty AND comfortable. A place where I might curl up with a magazine while my “men” are watching sports … or a place to relax and chat with friends, a fire and an after-dinner drink.

My solution for the big wall was inspired by these pictures …

Those first three are from Nate Berkus’s Manhattan apartment and the last two are coincidentally, also from a Manhattan apartment designed by Phoebe Howard.

What I love about all of them are the big airy metal shelving units. They really fill a big space with out feeling too heavy. Nate Berkus always talks about creating a space that feels collected over time, and with shelves like these I think you can really elevate objects that are special to you into pieces of art.

So … when I spotted these shelves on one of the design blogs I read, I thought they could be perfect for my living room … and I couldn’t believe where they were from.

Yep … these babies are from Ikea! And at $70 bucks a pop, I could get 2 and fill the entire wall.

And that’s exactly what I did.

(I picked up 4 of the baskets from Ikea as well … I love the texture they bring and the hidden storage, since all of the rest of the shelves are so open.)

SO, while Dan painted, (Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray) I built bookcases … and I LOVE them! They are very sturdy and the glass shelves make them look much more expensive than they really were.

And now I have just the place to put all of the pretty stuff I collect that makes me happy … you know … antlers, pieces of coral, vintage trophies, my favorite coffee table books … I’m sure this arrangement will change often …( especially after the summer antiques market season!)

Notice the little lamps? How cute are they? I spotted them in the Ballard Catalog and knew they’d be perfect … especially since the bronze finish is the same as the shelves.

They actually clip on and I just ran the cords down the back of the posts … so you can’t see them at all. I have them set on a timer, so late every afternoon they come and fill the room with a nice soft glow.

And for the rest of the room?

Anyway, that’s it … new paint, new shelves, a couple chairs and a new lamp … and the room has a totally different look. It has become just the space I envisioned it to be … the “girls” sat in there and chatted on Thanksgiving Day, the boys and I have sat in there reading “The Sixty Eight Rooms” (the book everyone is reading at school) and I have enjoyed it as a quiet spot to catch up on my latest issue of Traditional Home.

(Ok … so I’m still playing around with the pillows … what do you think? Given my pillow obsession it is always hard for me to commit. )

Do you have a room that just isn’t quite working for you? Here is proof that you can transform it with just a few changes.

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving (and an apology)

November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Whether you’re at home or visiting loved ones, I hope it is a special day for you and you are able to take a few moments to give thanks for all the blessings in your life.

We are, believe it or not, hosting our first Thanksgiving in this house. The last time we hosted was when we lived in the city. We are so happy to welcome Dan’s sister and family from St. Louis into town as well as Dan’s parents who live nearby.

I must also apologize for being M.I.A. for the past couple of weeks. This was part of the reason …

Yes, we had a magical time …

As you other moms know … getting everyone packed up for a week’s vacation is no small feat. That combined with wrapping up several client projects and finishing up our own home projects in preparation for Turkey Day left me with little time to blog.

But alas, this week has been a lazy week with kids sleeping in and everyone in pajamas at times that are too embarrassing to mention!

So … with our dining room makeover mostly complete … (I still would like a new chandelier, but that will have to wait. Is it wrong to ask Santa for one?) I wanted to get the table all set a little early to take some photos to share with you.

I gave a little peek of it before we went on vacation and you might remember I had these fun plates whimsically sprinkled on one wall …