A New Project

I love our "formal" living room. I never thought we needed or wanted one, but now that we have one we use it so much. I think much of our successful use of the room stems from it's location and our floorplan. We have a continuous loop from foyer to family room to eat-in-kitchen to dining room to living room. And the boys run that loop often. We use it for reading, playing games, spreading out large sets of toys that need floor space, entertaining, and just relaxing. We have a couch and a loveseat and that works perfectly for our family but anytime someone else is over I always wish we had more seating. The dining room is part of the same room, so we have all those chairs, and we use the piano bench when we have to but I have been keeping my eye out for a couple of matching chairs to add to the mix. And recently at Saver's I found them.

Perfect wingback lines, classic legs, and comfy cushions - still in good shape despite the dirty exterior. Truth be told: I love the flame stitch pattern! And I don't completely hate the color. It matches our rug perfectly, which is unfortunate since I'm not fond of the rug & would like to get rid of it. But it also matches the pink in our artwork, which matches the green in the couches. But eventually I'd like to replace those couches too so we have a lot of scheming to do.

I have convinced myself that I can recover these chairs at home, after reading a bunch of posts like this, this, and this. I certainly can't afford to have them professionally done, so we'll be on the hunt for fabric soon. When my Mom asked what my husband wanted for his last birthday, I convinced him that his fondest wish was for new chair fabric. And the next month I asked my Mom for the same thing for my birthday so between her contributions and a little scrimping of our own we will start shopping soon. And I told Aaron that what I wanted for my birthday is for him to go fabric shopping with me. (I'm sure that gift will be coming along soon - 5 months later!) I have no idea what we're looking for... but I know I want a pattern, and probably a bolder color choice. Now if we can only figure out what that color might be.

We need to come up with some overall design decisions for our living room; things like color and style. I started Pinterest boards for ideas for the chairs and the entire room. Any suggestions?

Putting my party hat on...

Apparently after 21 days of daily blogging I needed a break. For a month. But I am still trying to put together decent outfits (most of the time) and I am thinking a lot about a 30 for 30 Remix. I want to do one but I want to take pictures of my pieces first & somehow that just hasn't happened. Maybe after I get though this next weekend. Last week my dear grandmother turned 90 years old! And my parents, aunt, sister, and I are throwing a big birthday bash for her this Saturday.

My Mom takes care of the food, my Dad did invitations and all the coordinating, my aunt is making a video and will be the resident photographer, which leaves my sister and I to do the decorating. Naturally I turned to Pinterest (my boards are here) for a wealth of inspiration. After a little searching we decided on a metallic color palette - mixing gold, silver, copper, bronze, and whatever else we might find. Here's my to-do list:

1. create a crossword about Gram
2. centerpieces
3. balloons
4. food table decorations
5. make a photo backdrop to document the guests
6. party favors
7. decorate a comfy chair for Gram to sit in during the party
8. make a pretty crown for the birthday girl

I'm trying not to add anythingelse to the list, as that's a lot of work for my sister and I already. I loved the recent post on Living in the Family Room about the birthday party Darcy Miller threw for Martha Stewart. It was such a fab party and I wanted to copy every detail but limited myself to the monogrammed balloons and the crossword puzzle, which I finished last weekend. It will be a fun, personal detail that my grandmother and all her guests will enjoy.

All day yesterday I made paper rosettes to put together into a photo backdrop to help Gram remember the people that came to her party. I am using the ideas from here and here. I have learned a few things about making these pinwheel rosettes. Last weekend I bought a bunch of metallic papers, alarming my husband by how much I was spending ($11 whole dollars!). But once I started folding and looked up some directions I realized that I needed three to five sheets of each paper to make a pinwheel. Which takes my costs up quite a bit. I chose a few of my favorites and will take the rest back. And then I found a cheaper source - spray painted paper! I grabbed my silver, gold, and copper spray paints and my big roll of kraft paper and was able to make some very large, shiny rosettes. The kraft paper was brown, so the metallic effect over the top is a little subtler than I wanted so I turned to plain, white printer paper next. The metallic paint shows up much better over the white.
Tomorrow I'm working on centerpieces - stay tuned for more inspiration pics and a few of my own too.

Whooo's There?

I'm quite fond of owls, and my boys love them! Even the baby gives a whoo whoo when he sees them. He's going to love my new print from Black Baroque, as soon as I get it framed & hung. I bought several prints as gifts also, and this shop was so nice to work with.

I also love this free, downloadable owl calendar I found via How About Orange. If you love owls, you have to check out My Owl Barn! There are almost 40 illustrated images to choose from, you assign the months, and download an entire 2011 calendar to print yourself.

Finally Presentable

For all my friends that care, and for anyone who might still be hanging onto a subscription, despite the fact that I haven't posted seriously in forever, here are some up to date photos of our new house. These are the formal living & dining rooms, which take up the left side of the house, from front to back. We had new carpet installed in the entire house, but I laid new flooring myself in the dining room. It only took my three months after we moved in. Finally all the boxes are gone, furniture in place, etc. I even hosted a couple of events here.

Now, for the to do/want list: curtains, artwork, etc. In our last home I had a very long stretch of wall that I didn't know what to do with. That problem is solved, thanks to many, lovely windows. But what to do vertically? We have some VERY tall ceilings, on both floors. Anyone have some great ideas?

Also, what does everyone think about plants? Do we need some? Are faux trees & plants faux paux? Should I get real? Can I keep them alive?

Blank Slate

One of the best things about moving into a new house is the opportunity to start fresh with your decorating scheme. You can try a new color, furniture piece, or a completely different design aesthetic. Naturally budget is the big limiter here, along with agreement between spouses. We're putting most of our cash into buying the house, leaving just a teeny bit for changes to the interior. I'm finding that I think about it all the time, devouring books, blogs & magazines for ideas and when Aaron comes home from work, I innundate him with non-stop talking about what I want to do to each of the rooms in our new house. I'm pretty sure he's sick of it all. But not enough to give in to all my choices. I'll keep working on it.

Here are the before pictures of our new home:

The front entry (the open front door is on the right in this picture) and the "formal" living and dining room, which are to your left as you walk in

The kitchen & family room, which are really one big room and are all painted the same green color right now. The kitchen picture is a much better representation of color.

My middle son's room, which will be the only one getting a new paint job before we move in. 'Cause at our house "Boys Rule!" not girls.

We'll save pictures of the other rooms for later.

Moving update: we are still waiting on various paperwork today and I really hope we can have keys by Friday so we can quickly get carpet installed and move in on Saturday. But there's a chance that might not happen. Please keep your fingers crossed for us! And if you're local, let me know if you (or your husband) are available to help us move during the week. Because we might

be left with no other option.

HandMade House

My husband and I recently visited a local contemporary art museum and picked up a free art magazine. It was typically full of ads, but there were a few interesting features, including one about The HandMade House at the Ramble.




This home features work from 116 artists, and pretty much everything was designed and made custom for this project - from the door fittings, rugs and chandeliers, to the furniture, sinks, and countertops. I love the living room above, but every room is amazing. Please visit the website to see lovely photos of each room and many of the handmade pieces. I've spent hours ogling the beautiful details and making plans for my own dream home someday.

I'm very fond of craftsman design and the prairie/arts & crafts/bungalow/mission style and much of that was incorporated into the HandMade House. This bathroom is beautiful and the last picture is my favorite. I have always wanted built in bookcases for a long hall somewhere, especially with an open feel on the other side, like the stair banisters here, or a row of tall windows for the dream house in my head.

Photos courtesy of the HandMade House at the Ramble ©2008 Stewart Young

If I had a girl...

... I'd choose this bedding for her room. I love the colors, the birds, and all the fun coordinating patterns. It's made from organic cotton and only $45 for an entire set! Walmart really delivers sometimes.

There is a similar set for boys, which is also adorable, but does not contain enough super heroes or the color orange for my guys.

My Fab First Artist

In my list of 32 Things To Do Before 33, I committed to finding new (to me) artists to share with my readers. I subscribe to a number of blogs which I designate "design" blogs. And they always feature wonderful artists of every medium. A while ago I was struck with Julia Rothman, and spent many hours on her website, which is amazing! She is such a talented illustrator and pattern maker. I admit to a fondness for the patterns over the illustrations.

Ms. Rothman is from New York, attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and now has her office in Brooklyn. She started a company called Also with 2 fellow design students. Their portfolio is impressive. Julia also does work for Hasbro, designing for The Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony lines. She maintains her own website, and a book blog called, Book By Its Cover, where she features and reviews art and design books. And please, please check out her Flickr page! I have been rotating through the prints as wallpapers on my computer. I can't get over Julia's terrific work and the great products you can purchase for yourself.

You can find great Julia Rothman cards and wrapping paper at the website Hello! Lucky. I will be ordering some gift wrap very soon, thank goodness they offer a variety pack so I don't have to choose my favorite.

The Land of Nod sells a great little boy print (which my kiddos would love!) in Ms. Rothman's print, Robot Bedding. And you can buy bags from Freddy & Ma in her patterns too.

Hygge & West makes the most amazing wallpaper out of Julia's designs. They also have a cute interview with her. There is another interview on Amateur Illustrator, with lots of great images.

You can also get her wallpaper at Wall Collection, which is a super-cool place to buy custom wallpaper. I'm dying to try it - but will have to get a much larger tax refund.

Julia's work has been featured in Lucky Magazine, O at Home (Oprah's Magazine), Readymade, Design*Sponge (Julia's firm, Also, did the web design for d*s), New York Public Library Design by the Book video series (free podcasts on iTunes), Apartment Therapy, freshly blended, decor 8, print & pattern, and several books.

I am looking for some way to incorporate some of Julia's designs into my own home (and saving my mad money to do it) but for now I am thankful I can see so much of her work online. I can't think of anyone better to highlight for the first of my Artists Series. Look for more in the future.

(All images used with the permission of the artist.)

domino Real Life Budget - Are We on the Same Page?

The nice people at domino Magazine sent me a copy of their August issue after I wrote about their great decorating tips. This issue was touted to me as budget-conscious and the cover lists it as "high style on a real-life budget." But since my real-life budget tends to differ from the magazine people, I was a bit skeptical. I was actually quite impressed.

They decorated the room below for $1250, which seemed like a lot until I realized that included furniture. I love the idea of using wall fabric - if only I could get my husband on board.

domino also featured a beautiful living room, that I would do in a heartbeat if, again, my husband would go for pale pink furniture and floral accents. I loved the little round tables, which were listed as carved mango wood tables from Z Gallerie. I can't find them on the website though. : (

The dining room page was a much more modern white, black, and red and check out these dramatic placemats and chandelier. I also liked the do-it-yourself stenciled canvas artwork.





My favorite article in domino's August issue was the spread on Thom Filicia's lakeside home. I am completely in lust. I would want a lake home just like this - I'm a woods and lake girl (the ocean is beautiful but too salty for me. And don't get me started on all that sand!). I love the deck and Thom's decorating scheme. It's not exactly my style, but closer than anything else in this issue and very fun. It gave me a lot of good ideas for the future. You can see the slideshow on domino's site here. Check out a video about it here.

Other great finds in domino's August issue:

Corelle Contest - you can dowload files of unadorned Corelle plates and create your own design. Imagine how suprised you will all be when my design wins! See the ad somwhere around page 39.

Garage Storage using the IKEA version of pegboards on page 60. I thought about just using these when I did my kids' room, and actually own one of these, but decided against it after seeing how easily my boys pull out the plastic clips, hooks, and cups. They are genius though - I'm just saving it for a few years.

The COOLEST thing I found on domino's website, a flipbook for the current issue. It features four or five spreads from the mag, but the super-fab part: the animation. You can click and drag and it's exactly like turning the pages of a real magazine - you must try it!

One more domino tip - If you subscribe to their blog, you can see almost all of the cool spreads from the magazine. I found pictures for all of the articles and features I wrote about. Thanks to domino for the pictures! You can subscribe to the blog here.