Swoon Interiors

interiors that make your heart skip a beat.

Stencils get a glamorous makeover…

 When you think of wall stencils does it conjure up an ugly 1980’s kitchen with a border of ducks or ivy painted around the ceiling?

Yeah. Me too. Until I saw some of the fabulous rooms below.  No these are not wallpapers. They are done with stencils!

I am in love with what Janell of Isabella and Max Rooms did here using a stencil from Whitewall & Co.  Be sure to read her tutorial.
And then there’s this lovely office in the home of Emily from Jones Design Company.

She also gives a step by step tutorial of creating her “painted wallpaper” and you can download the template she created herself.

 How about this bathroom ceiling in the home of Michelle of Three Men and A Lady?

She used the Trellis pattern from Cutting Edge Stencils.
What a great way to give a kind of architectural feature to tiny little bathroom.
Here are a couple of my favorites from their collection:
Moroccan Dream

Mountain Ash
Another great source for stencil patterns is Olive Leaf Stencils. Check out some of these swoon worthy rooms done using their designs.
Art Deco Flora
Pin Cushion Protea
Ikat Pattern No. 1

I think these are great ways to get the look of really high end wallpaper for simply the cost of the stencil and some paint. (And maybe a trip to the chiropractor … especially if you are doing a ceiling!)

What do you think? Weekend project anyone?

A Twist on a Traditional Look

I’m always excited when a new issue of Lonny, the online magazine, goes live, and this latest issue did not disappoint.   Amongst all of the serious eye candy, one of the images I have stuck in my head was this one from a home designed by decorator Lisa Sherry.

First of all, I love the “trail” of plates on the wall. I kind of have a thing for beautiful plates … so many are truly pieces of art that they just don’t deserve to be hidden in a cabinet. And while hanging plates on a wall is not a new idea, you typically see them hung in a row or symmetrically around a mirror. Likewise, they are often from the same “set.”
I love how this wall breaks all of those rules.  A tried, true and traditional look gets to kind of take it’s hair down, so to speak … a much more interesting and whimsical makeover.
This idea is perfect for people, like me, who could never decide on just one pretty plate, but rather have a collection gathered over time. How fun would it be to shop for these at flea markets and your favorite little stores?
I do recognize several of them from Anthropologie, where I myself have often spent too much time sifting through the stacks and stacks of  gorgeous plates and wondering what I could do with them.

Flowers mixed with octopus, fish, and plaid stripes. Somehow it all works.
The other aspect of this photo that made me swoon was the vintage laundry-cart-turned-portable-bar. How genius is that? I love the place for hand towels and all the space for bottles below.  Again, most people wouldn’t consider putting such a large lamp on such a relatively small table, but I think it elevates the piece from just a little cart to a serious piece of furniture, very Mad Men, if you ask me.
For more bar car inspiration, check out the amazing collection at 1stdibs and start conjuring up your own Mad Men scenario.
Vanity Fair

Lovely for Less: Jonathan Adler rug

I love the look of these blue chevron rugs.

1
via Houzz

via Decorpad

Recently I saw that the Johnathan Adler website has a really cool feature where you can design your own rug. Pick the size, pattern, background color, fabric, the whole shebang. I came up with this …

The cost? $1050 for a 5×7. Hmmm.

Just so happens that Urban Outfitters sells this ….

The cost? $69.00 for a 5×7.

While I’ve finally come to the realization that I may be too old to shop for clothes at Urban Outfitters much longer (if it all?), they have a surprisingly swoon worthy collection of rugs and home decor items that certainly fall under the category Lovely for Less. Here’s just a few I spied at first glance …

CoCo Cabana Chair $189
Slipper chair $329
Industrial Vintage Rolling Side Table $169
 

Mother’s Day Weekend Shopping …

Hope all my fellow Mom’s had a fabulous Mother’s Day! I couldn’t ask for a better one.  My boys treated me well!

After Friday’s post on my love of trays, I saw this beautiful picture on Honey We’re Home and thought it was so perfect. Now I’m on the hunt for an old crate that can be turned into a tray.

I spent Saturday with my own “mommy” and sister, a tradition we began a few years ago, shopping our favorite little shops along Third Street in Geneva.  Let me tell you, it is an interior decorator’s dream!  One year our car was so full of bags I could barely squeeze in the backseat!

Now, we’ve learned our lesson and make sure to bring a big ol SUV! This year there weren’t as many large purchases, size-wise … but we managed to do pretty well …

I snapped a bunch of shots with my iphone along the way of some things here and there that I found rather swoon worthy … although going back through the pictures now I see that there are more things I wish I had taken pictures of. Oh well … I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun … (and drinking Prosecco at lunch!)

How incredible is this coffee table made from a vintage drum?

Industrial chic chandelier, I want you.

Lovely chair, lovely fabric, lovely pillow … love!

You know how I love birds ….

Everything about this wall is swoon worthy … the mirror, the lamps, the antlers, the vintage prints …. I want you all to come home with me.

A charming old window pane turned chalkboard.



Numbers, and signs and birdhouses, oh my!



Speaking of birdhouses, how fantastic are these … they are made from old books.

And my mom and I each bought one.

Love these rustic baskets which are actually modeled after vintage French beehives.



And these basket lamps are just so fun for a breakfast nook …


Hope you all enjoyed yourselves too.  I’m always kind of sad when Mother’s Day comes to an end. It’s nice to be Queen for Day and my royal subjects are pretty great.