Interiors: A Place to Lounge

Doesn't this look like the perfect spot to lounge, perhaps with a good book perhaps? Speaking of good books, I'm so glad I read this one. There is a lot of hype around it and now I see why. Very charming indeed. I'm currently reading this book, which I think I'm really going to like. Now, if I only had a place to lounge (aside from the laundromat)...

images: Statshem (via not my beautiful home)

Mini Designer Chairs

What's a girl to do when she loves good design, but can't afford the designer chair of her dreams?  Well, two things: start saving AND perhaps buy some mini designer chairs from Poketo!  You could put it on your desk as constant motivation as to why you're saving for said chair, plus miniatures are just plain fun.

The Mini Designer Blind Box Chairs come in a series of 3 (each series has 9 chairs) and when you purchase one for $12, you get a surprise 4" scale chair.  When I was a little girl, I really wanted a dog but my parents wouldn't let me. Instead, my mom went out and bought me a Littlest Pet Shop featuring a puppy.  NOT the same, but I did love that little plastic pooch.  You catching my drift?

p.s. Poketo has a diffusion line coming to Target Aug 10th! Should be interesting.
images: Poketo

Interiors: Deep Sultry Green

Deep, sultry green is not a color I would normally use in my poorly lit home.  These spaces, however, make me re-think its use.  It's really a lovely color full of a romantic moodiness that's easily layered and complimented by gold and natural wood accents.

I especially like the use of it in an outdoor space as seen in the last example.  Certainly a contrast to the modern whites currently favored.  What do you think about these deep green spaces?


images:  1 / 2 via remodelista / 3 / 4 via Christine Rudolph

Interiors: Grey + White Striped Seating

I've resigned myself to the fact that as long as I have four legged friends around, I will never be able to own a light colored couch.  I wonder though if maybe I could get away with a striped couch or chair, preferably in grey and white?

via Traditional Home via S.HOP talk

via Elle Decor

via Suellen Gregory via Cote de Texas

via decor pad (Kate Spade's Apt via World of Interiors-thank you Sanity Fair!)

via Traditional Home

For now, I might just have to settle for this chair.  Gosh, dogs really put a damper on my decorating options (Kya and Bella- you know I love you, but seriously). As you can see from the above examples, it seems that grey + white stripes fit into just about any design sensibility.  The first room is definitely closest to my own preferences but you gotta love the versatility that striped seating allows.  What do you think? Stripes or solids for your seating?

Green Dining

I'm not trying to be clever with my title, I promise. Although I am all about ethically conscious eating habits, what I'd like to focus on for this post is green dining chairs.  Not just any green either.  I want to see in your face, can't ignore them, larger than life, GREEN dining chairs.

via Emma's Design Blogg via Room and Serve

via here via Domino

via Rum

via Apartment Therapy

via Living Etc

via Moises Esquenazi

I appreciate the boldness used with some of these chairs, but I think I'd take bold over plain and boring any day.  What do you think? 

Candy colored dining chairs

I'm bad about formality of any kind and that includes formal dining.  Whenever I get an actual dining area, I'm thinking mismatched chairs will be a must but I also like these candy colored options.  They're fun, casual, and you can pick you favorite color to sit in!

via Home and Gardens 

 

via Design*Sponge

 

 via interior divine via Living etc.

 

 via desire to inspire

 

 via Coastal Living

 

via here 

 

 via here 

         What do you think, too sugary sweet for you or just right? 

~

Winner of the Crescent hoop earrings by Laurel Hill is...

#55

Liz! Congrats!  Thank you Laurel for the chance to win your amazing earrings.

Shabby huh?

After making my first pair of shabby chic inspired earrings, I thought I'd explore why it is that I that I've never really discussed shabby chic interiors. I think I'm shy about this French inspired design style because it's SO unlike something I would choose for my own home. I've searched and searched and come up with some examples I really like: they're mostly neutral and you I tried to stay away from the pink + baby blue color scheme that's so typical of these types of spaces.

Here, the addition of a modern, streamlined lamp adds a sense of dialogue in the space. The juxtaposition gives relief to the overall frilly feel of the space.

via home.uk

Ok, so this space has a mild dose of pink+blue, but look at that wallpaper!

via French Bedroom Company

The term "shabby chic" is quite the misnomer. The style is quite ornate and the whimsical details are everywhere, including the molding.

via The French Bedroom Company

Pale yellow works especially well as an alternative to pink.

via Lucyina Moodie

The generous use of textiles is a must to create a comfortable, shabby chic space. This includes draping fabric over tables and chairs.

via Martin Cederblad

Don't forget the chandeliers! Creating a romantic ambiance with fanciful lighting is a must.

via decor8's flickr

Sticking to a neutral palette, allows you to play with layers of detail without a space getting overwhelming. How beautiful is that bed?

via decorology's flickr

This lime and aqua combination is stunning and modern (yet still shabby chic!)

via Design is Mine

Finally, if you must have pink, make sure to add plenty of patterns including gingham and toile.

via here
What do you think about these spaces? Where do you stand with the shabby chic aesthetic?

{hurry and enter this weekend's giveaway if you haven't already!}

Do it myself chairs

Remember how I was thinking about painting my kitchen chairs to look something like this? They're finally finished after a bit of labor and some nightmares. Don't get your hopes up for anything exciting and keep in mind that I am very NEW at DIY projects so we're working with some basic stuff here.

This is what the chairs looked before, except that I had green seat cushions on them.
Our first step was to sand. Here's B on his designated chair (for the record I tend to be a competitive person so we had designated chairs for a reason and no, I am not proud of this).
Sanding these chairs proved to be a bit more difficult (and time consuming) than the coffee table. My bicep received a little workout so I can't complain.
We decided to the paint the chairs a light, cucumber green which was left over from our bathroom.
We haven't painted the kitchen table and we after some discussion I think we might leave it as is.
We used to have a striped green table cloth but it doesn't work with the chairs. With some fun place mats, I think it'll be fine.
Plus, I really like the contrast of the table vs. the chairs.
Don't fresh flowers make everything better?
{all images via me, myself, and I}
We completed another little project I want to show you tomorrow. If you get tired of the DIY photos, just let me know, but I have to admit I'm having fun re-vamping things I already own. Are you working on any projects?

Chair Nightmare

B and I spent our Friday night sanding (I'm actually sore today), priming (I kind of hate the primer we have, it's one level short of thick elmer's glue), sanding (which I should have done more of b/c of the stupid primer), painting (which was easy), but we only got one coat in before we were both too tired to move. We haven't even started on the kitchen table! Don't get me wrong, I'm a do-it-yourselfer in the making, I just woke up tired and I dreamed of chairs all night.

My chair dreams weren't wholesome and pretty like these...
via here
Nope they were more like this...diy nightmares.
via here
How do you save a chair that's destined for ugliness?
via here
Dreams where I can't leave rooms like this until all the chairs are sanded and primed...
via here
where I can't drink water until the chair is reupholstered...
and then to top of the irony of it all, I'm forced to sleep on the chair instead of my lovely bed.
via here
This is the thanks I get for trying to fix up my kitchen chairs! Well I'm not giving up...those chairs will be pretty if my poor bicep has to suffer for a few more days.
{Don't miss this weekend's giveaway. Click on the bison to the right to enter}

Hanging chairs

B hangs bikes to the wall...I've never thought about hanging chairs.

It's kind of surreal, isn't it?
source: Lo Bjurulf {via Desire to Inspire}
Tomorrow is Friday...you know what that means, right?