Swoon Interiors

interiors that make your heart skip a beat.

Wednesday Wish List : Paint Me A Dresser

These bold and brightly colored dressers make me swoon. Considering that these were all DIY projects, I would especially love if someone would DIFM. (Do It For Me). 

Isabella and Max Rooms
The Way We Are

Emily A. Clark

I’ll admit, it seems like a rather daunting task … it makes me a little nervous to take on a project like this.  But I imagine that once you do it, it would be wonderfully satisfying.  What a great way to give new life to an old piece of furniture or an inexpensive flea market find.

Has anyone tackled something like this with results they love?

Mondays @ my house: Master Bath

Ok … so by the the time you read this it may not be Monday anymore. Sorry! I’ve been late to get online today, just trying to get things back in order after a lovely Easter weekend.  Will someone please come and remove all of the chocolate Easter eggs from my house … please?

Anyway, today’s Mondays @ My House is dedicated to our master bath, in part because I am excited about the new piece of art I just hung.

I’d been searching for just the right piece for awhile now.  My husband has always said he wanted a soothing ocean or sunrise scene. We quickly learned that most sunrise or sunset pictures tend to be horizontal.
I also kind of have a thing for vintage travel posters … hmmm. Could we find one piece that satisfied us both?  I also struggled with the frame issue.  The space is sandwiched between two somewhat ornate framed mirrors. Another big frame would be too much.

Last week, I got an email from Art.com about a site wide 15% sale. Of course, that sucked me in and next thing I know I’m searching through their vintage travel posters. They have 15,326 of them! What I love though is that you can narrow down by region, then country and then specific places within that country. And with that many options, I knew I’d be able to find an uncommon one that everyone hasn’t seen before.
Since the architecture of our bathroom has a lot of European influences with it’s arched doorways and mosaic tile detail, I choose Europe then France and then narrowed it down from there. 
I loved this particular scene for the idyllic seaside town it portrays and the soothing spa-like colors. It makes me imagine my husband and I are on a little “French holiday” … sleeping late, breathing in the ocean air, getting ready to walk down a cobblestone street to a little cafe for a chocolate croissant and cafe au lait. (Sigh … a girl can dream can’t she?) 
Plus I was able to pick my frame. I kept it simple so as not to compete with the mirrors and was able to match it almost exactly with the hardware of our faucets … both are called “champagne.”
Here are a few more shots of our bathroom …

While I love color in all other rooms of the house, I think a master bath should be really light and natural. Like a spa, it’s the one place you want to go to get away from it all. Visually and emotionally it should be uncluttered and relaxing, using clean colors like ivory and white or colors found in nature as your guide.
Use texture and small details to bring the room to life …

I like to decorate with things like glass jars of sea salts, fluffy white towels, elegantly wrapped soaps or other favorite products in beautiful packaging, while still keeping things fairly minimalistic.
 I’ve tried to blend all of our favorite and decadent hotel bathrooms together into swoon worthy retreat. Calgon … take me away.
(Talk about a memorable ad slogan … Does anyone actually use Calgon anymore these days?  Is it still being made? )
ANYWAY …what kinds of things do you do to add a little luxury to your bath?

Getting ready for Easter

So even though there was no semblance of spring outside today, I tried to create a little bit of springtime inside in preparation for the Easter brunch we are hosting on Sunday. 

(I love this vintage bunny …)

Found these great paper flowers at Hobby Lobby …

I also started setting the “adult” table … (the kids table in the kitchen will have to wait until Sunday morning) For the adults, I wanted kind of a “rustic elegance.” Simple yellow roses in one of my vintage blue ball jars,  (I added some of my favorite ribbon), wicker chargers …

… embroidered napkins (Williams Sonoma), and my great-grandmothers’ silver.

I got these napkin rings at Crate and Barrel a few years back and I just love bringing them out every spring.

I found these vintage rabbit plates at World Market …

 love that each one is a little different …
(I made the place tags with some “exotic egg” stickers I bought awhile ago)

And I couldn’t resist some other fresh flowers …
Shoot … now I can’t remember what these green beauties are called.

Love the color on these long stemmed calla lilies …

On the menu? I’m making this Ham & Asparagus Strata, chicken sausages and pomegranate mimosas …
and the rest of my lovely family is bringing homemade cinnamon buns, fresh fruit, a spinach salad and flourless chocolate cake. Yum!
Here’s wishing you and your family a beautiful and delicious Easter as well.
Many blessings …

Client Files: Master Bedroom Details

I thought I’d share a fun “e-decorating” mini-inspiration board I recently completed.

My client is a new mom who works full time and was looking for ideas to finish off her master bedroom.  She and her husband had already selected the bedding and drapery panels, a dresser and mirror (and some great lamps from Thailand!) but it still needed all of the little details that bring a room to life.
Here’s what I put together for them using pictures she sent me.

Click on image to enlarge

Using the chartruse and indigo colors of the bedding and curtains as well as the exotic lamps as my inspiration, I tried to create a room that was both glamorous and worldly. She has already gotten to work purchasing some of these items and I can’t wait to see her “after” pictures. What do you think?