Special Delivery Love Letter Cookies shared by Michelle Paige.
Make Your Heart Pound Cake by Pint Sized Baker
Hop over to Design Dazzle to see all of the FEATURED FAVORITES!
XXXOOO,
Friday, February 7, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Library Reading Room Project
I'm finally about to tackle my front living room.
You may have heard me mention before that the room is incredibly small. It's sort of a joke to call it a living room. It is more like a parlor. But I'm going to make the small dimensions work to my advantage. I'm about to completely change this bland, beige and dark corner of my house to a little jewel box.
It is the first room you see off of the main entry and it is dismal.
But that is all about to change.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have eclectic taste...you may have also noticed a bit of back and forth between Sherwin Williams and myself. I am so excited to be given the opportunity to partner with them to BAN THE BEIGE in my home!!
So thanks to Sherwin Williams and their MY COLOR RESOLUTION campaign, I'm about to get busy!
I have been wanting to add Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon in Aquamarine to this front room.
Using this fabric as an inspiration I'm pulling together classic pieces that I already have, some major color pops of aqua, emerald green and poppy orange, and some other soothing elements that still have enough weight to not be washed out by all that is going on.
I'm leaning towards two blue wall colors, testing them as we speak:
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| Sherwin Williams "SWIMMING" |
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| Sherwin Williams "BUBBLE" |
These two colors are light, you may even have trouble really getting a feel for them on your computer screen. This front room is East facing. There are only two East windows which look out onto a covered porch area. That's it for natural light. It is a very dark room with no over head lighting. The dark beige and chocolate brown tones that are in the room right now just shrink the space and make it feel like a hole. Lightening up the wall colors will automatically make this room seem fresh and airy. That's what I'm going for.
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Another major inspiration pic that I came across was this one above. I love the lotus lamp and will continue to keep my eye out for a thrifted option instead of the $200-$600 versions that are on the market these days. But I love the gold accents in lighting, side tables and in particular, the bookshelf. I will be working on a DIY low budget version of this type of bookshelf for my Library Reading Room!
I have pieces that I already own that I'd like to include in this room:
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| Antique Pie Crust Table |
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| Secretary Desk Mine isn't green, YET. |
Add in a few other fun but classic accessories and I just may have a Library to rival my Dad's (well, maybe not since he has a purple velvet Camelback sofa in his...). But I'll be adding quite a large amount of character to my home and creating a bit of a sanctuary on a pretty small budget.
So...the only other element I haven't narrowed down is a small area rug...
Go BOLD with geomentrics?
Go CLASSIC with an Oriental?
Go UNDERSTATED with a Sisal?
What would you do?
Be sure to stop over to my Library Reading Room Pin Board for all of my design inspiration pins and a few more elements that will be included in the finished room!
XXXOOO,
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
House Guests: Tricia and Erin in the Suburbs
Meet Tricia and Erin. They aren't just any blogging DIYers... they are serious bitches, Suburban Bitches, that is. I say that as a complement. They are the gals you'd want to hang out with if they lived in your neighborhood. Motivated by their love for transforming their suburban, cookie-cutter houses into homes with character and class, they became Suburban Bitches. Their blog shares amazing ideas for DIY projects that have a high end look within budget. They've been featured on West Elm's FRONT & MAIN and APARTMENT THERAPY, among others.
I was lucky enough to meet them at Alt Summit...quickly becoming friends on the first night with Tricia when we realized how much we had in common (Military Academy husbands, many moves, love of classic and chic design). Tricia then introduced me to Erin and I have to say, these ladies are so incredibly warm, gracious and UBER-talented.
One of my favorite things that I love about their blog is that they have
two distinct voices and very distinct styles.
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| Erin's Herringbone Backsplash |
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| Tricia's Kitchen |
Here are some of Suburban Bitches most popular posts
I know you will fall for their fabulous-ness. You'll be hearing their names a lot around here in 2014...they are one of my favorite 'new to me' blogs!
XXXOOO,
Monday, February 3, 2014
Downton Abbey Club: Season 4, Episode 5 : Putting on the Ritz
There are things afoot for virtually every Downton Character. The plots are building.
But I still found things that were just as intriguing in the background last night!
Check it:
FERNS: Yup, not just the 'it' plant of stuffy Victorian sitting rooms...Ferns are still hanging around in the roaring '20s and they are still a fabulous addition to liven up any room TODAY. They are helpful with indoor air quality..hmm, maybe those Victorian's were on to something. House plants are fabulous in both form and function. Go to Gardening Know How for "How to take care of a Boston Fern" and BloomIQ for easy tips.
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TOILE: {Pronounced "T-WALL"}. Toile de Jouy. We were able to head into the nursery with Isobel, Mary and Tom, who had an impromptu broken hearts club band meeting while waiting for little Sybie and baby George to return with their Nanny. Red Toile has had it's moments of popularity, most recently in the mid-90's when red + toile were both popular and existed in many a suburban dining room. Somehow seeing it in new light, Toile doesn't seem trendy, but CLASSIC and PREPPY. I've mentioned before that PREPPY is coming back as a major force in design. Although I wouldn't recommend the full on wallpaper treatment in this red Toile pattern unless you have an architecturally interesting home, used in accessories or in unexpected color ways in larger applications, Toile is hot and here to stay. Those unexpected color choices make Toile fresh and funky. I'm a sucker for all things Toile.
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WINDOW SEATS: What a lovely glimpse we had into Cora's room last night. The scene where she and Baxter were chatting away while she was sitting in her window seat was so lovely it could have been a painting. I've loved window seats so much that I've built them in every house we've owned. There's nothing better than hiding out with a good book in a window seat. Bet it helps to have a view of the Downton Gardens, too.
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Check out my other Downton Abbey Club Season 4 posts!
Give Me the Goods Monday Link Party #46
Thanks to each and every one of you who link up with us!
We are so excited to have you here with us this week! In case you are new here, this party is hosted by FIVE bloggers! That means when you enter your links on one of our blogs, they will show up on FIVE blogs total! FIVE times the publicity for YOU! We will each pick our favorites every week, so that's FIVE times the chance for YOU to be featured!
Here are My Goods from last week!
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| House Guests: Rosa Beltran Design |
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| Wordless Wednesday: "HEARTTHROB" |
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Splurge or Steal: Deep Teal
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YOUR GOODS!
link up after the break!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Give Me the Goods Sunday Features: # 45
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It’s time for the features from last weeks GMTG party!
THANK YOU for linking up last Monday!!!
AMY'S PICKS
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| Mid-Century Hutch MakeOver from Number Fifty -Three |
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| Kitchen Before and After BESA GM |
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| Gold Leaf Tray Table Tutorial from THE STYLED SOUL |
Thank you for sharing all of your ideas here with us this week and don't forget to see if you were featured by my co-hosts:
Grab your button if you were featured!
Remember to come back tomorrow "Give Me The Goods Monday"! We party every Monday!
And be sure to check out all of our features past and present on our Give Me the Goods Monday Pinterest Board!
Thanks for coming over!
XXXOOO.
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