Swoon Interiors

interiors that make your heart skip a beat.

So that’s what they’re called …

As I was writing my post earlier this week, An Easy Idea with High Impact, I couldn’t find the word I was looking for to describe the large bottles.
Then today I saw this article on Houzz: Flea Market Finds: Demijohns Around the Home . Demijohns! That’s it!
The subtitle goes on to read “Once Purely Functional, Now Decorative, These Bottles are Worth the Hunt.” I agree, don’t you?
Old World Custom Home contemporary dining room
It’s an interesting history of the bottles along with more pretty ideas on how to use them and group them. They date back hundreds of years and were originally used to transport everything from wine to molasses.
In addition the inexpensive ones I found, I still love the one I mentioned in my post on vintage finds.
And then, as fate would have it … yesterday I found these lamps.  I guess you could call kinda call them demijohn lamps …

I love that they are two different sizes. It’s a departure from the symmetrical look of buffet lamps … and I always like the unexpected! Plus I love to display actual serving pieces on a buffet .. and while you obviously wouldn’t put anything in these bottles, I like that they are an ode to the historic demijohns that might have graced an elegant buffet table long ago.

Have you found any demijohns for your spring branches yet?

Personalized Bus Roll Art

Have you heard of The Foundary? It’s kind of like Gilt Group, Hautelook, or One Kings Lane where you sign up to become a “member” and then each day you are sent an email about their various sales, which can run the gamut from name brand clothes to furniture, rugs, lighting, bedding … all at deeply discounted prices.  Sometimes you have to act fast … there have been times when I’ve logged in shortly after the sale started and a lot of the things are already sold or “on hold.”

Anyway, today and tomorrow, The Foundary is featuring a sale by Uptown Artworks which I think is really fun.

Love the pillows!

I’m sure you’ve seen similar styles of this “bus roll” art … even Restoration Hardware has a version:
Subway Sign Art $850

 These signs have always made me swoon for many reasons.
1) I love the boldness of  black and white, which looks good hanging on almost any color background. (I think every room needs a good dose of black and white.)
2) It is a great way to personalize your space if a certain city has special meaning to you … whether it be a place you lived, honeymooned, met your soul mate, traveled, etc.
3) Big cities are my favorite places to travel … and these signs are iconic to me … the sense of adventure you feel getting out to discover the streets of a new city.
4) I love signs and typography. Maybe it is my background in advertising and writing … but words are beautiful to me!
Not too long ago, a shop on Etsy caught my eye. HirondelleRustique makes customizable bus rolls with any names you choose and her pricing is way less than you’ll find in the stores.

I debated between doing one with all of the streets we’ve lived on or doing one for my son Kyle’s room, using the names of all the best surfing beaches.
This one won out …
I used the streets my husband and I each grew up on and then all of the streets we’ve lived on together.
Wouldn’t this be a great idea for an anniversary gift?  It helps if you’ve moved around a lot like we have.  But you could also simply use other street names that have special significance to you.
She has several different sizes, as well as lots of other great prints and customizable art. Be sure to check out her shop here.
I am all about hanging things on your wall that have personal meaning, and this certainly fits the bill.  On the “bus ride” of life these have been our most important stops. (We don’t have subways here in Chicago … only the El train)
How about you?

An easy idea with high impact …

If you read a lot of shelter magazines like I do, maybe you’ve noticed what seems to be a staple in many beautifully styled homes …

Ellen Pompeo’s house via Elle Decor

via Elle Decor

via Elle Decor

via Style at Home

via Katie Denham Interiors

via Chicago Home + Garden

Branches … and bottles, or even just a simple glass vase.  The larger the better.  I love this idea because it can be so dramatic, yet so easy and inexpensive. (Those three words don’t often go together, right?)
In the warmer months, you can just snip something from your garden, but for now I turn to my local florist. For the past couple weeks she has carried beautiful golden forsythia and white cherry blossom branches … a sure sign of spring! I couldn’t resist the cherry blossom.
It’s a great idea for a place where you need something BIG: a fireplace hearth, a dining room buffet, a corner that feels empty …
Of course, you need a large bottle or vase too.  I found the large bottle above at Hobby Lobby for only $20. And the vase above and the green bottle below came from HomeGoods. $10 each!
I love the imperfect, hand-blow look of this green one.  And by adding just a few simple branches of almost anything, I’ve got an instant arrangement.
Once you invest in the bottles or vases, you can create these dramatic centerpieces for only a few dollars, and they last for weeks … if not longer.

Ironically, as I was writing this post, I got an email from Horchow with this picture in it:

Their bottles cost a little more than I spent for mine, but still, not too bad.
Definitely something to keep an eye out for as you shop. And at this time of year, when the branches are still bare outside, it’s nice to have some that are full of color and life inside, don’t you think?

I’m hooked …

I was flipping through the latest Anthropologie catalog the other day and something about these hooks made me smile.

My first thought was that they’d be super cute above a fireplace in a lower level family room or rec room … especially if the wall was painted a deep brown color. You could do kind of a whimsical, family friendly version of this:

image from Restoration Hardware

They’d also be great lined up on a wall of a mudroom … the perfect place to hang light jackets or (empty!) backpacks.

Then I saw this picture of Sheryl Crow’s bedroom in Architectural Digest …

Hmmm … clustered over a bed, especially in kid’s room, would be really fun.  Again, I like the contrast of the white against a really dark wall. Perhaps navy blue?

On a completely different note, do you have your DVR’s set to tape Emily Henderson’s new show, Secrets of a Stylist on HGTV Saturday night? (8 pm central time) I do! For obvious reasons, I love the idea of this show and I was so happy she won The Next Design Star. She shows people how to layer different styles in their home which is something I totally believe in.

 She also does a great job of finding really unique pieces from a variety of places to fit her clients personalities.  I love to watch her shop!

 

both images via HGTV
Even though I’m excited for the show, I’m even more excited to spend Saturday night with my dearest college friends … so I’ll be taping it and hopefully watching it on Sunday afternoon with a mug of hot chocolate … or maybe a glass of vino!
Hope you all have a great weekend!