Bold Gold

Fashion and interior design have always gone hand-in-hand.  While fashion designers now are showcasing their fall collections with layers of gold accessories, interior designers are adding touches of gold and brass to their interiors.  And it’s about time.  Chrome hardware and accents have dominated the kitchen, lighting and accessories world for far too long.  Brass is making a comeback and infusing warmth and glamor back into stark, white kitchens and modern homes.  So whether you’re getting dressed in the morning with gold bangles or adding brass touches to your home, remember the *golden* rule: “more is more and less is a bore”. 

Dogs in design

It's been a very long couple of weeks and I'm still not completely back in the social media swing. (Or any swing for that matter.) Tonight, I'm watching a PBS Nature show about dogs. I have a little obsession with those four-legged fur babies, just above my obsession with birds. (Coincidentally, last night's Nature episode was about crows.)

Aaaanyway...so I found a few dogs in home decor. And while I admire the devotion to their furry family members, I think I'll stick with my actual pups as the only 'dog decor' in our home.

Dogs in Design

(Click on the dots to see the pictures. Ignore the captions, they are not mine, just came with the slideshow.)

Lame post aside, have you entered this giveaway yet? Only three more days to win a $50 Target gift card to buy your own pair of Converse One Star shoes! You'll also win a style supply kit to customize them - or not.

Hide and sleep

Using the concept of a Murphy Bed, architect Toshihiko Suziki converted a basic Airstream into a sleek trailer that holds a small kitchen, 4-6 person dining table, and two twin beds.



Don't you love clever design? I also love that you can have hibachi even when camping!

For the love of gold

I'm dying over this kitchen featured in this month's Canadian House and Home. It's not the typical open everyone-gathers-here kitchen that I would normally covet, but it's gorgeous. White glossy cabinets, marble counters, chevron (or herringbone?) wood floors, brass hardware AND brass toe kicks, white stove, and the fireplace. Fireplaces make kitchens so cozy, don't you think?

Biggest surprise of all - the cabinets are from IKEA! She customized them with her own recessed brass pulls and hardware found on ebay and miscellaneous antique stores. See a video tour of the home here

{Living} Chic

Every once in a while, I stumble across a home that makes me consider selling a non-vital organ in order to own it.  This is one of those homes.  Located in Northern California, this house combines all the natural elements I love and all with the modern necessities I don't really need, including:  22-ft folding doors in the kitchen that open to an outdoor deck, a complete outdoor kitchen and built-in dining area, a full outdoor living space, a separate wing for the master with french doors that lead to a private patio, a pagoda entrance built out of re-used redwood, an outdoor shower, and a complete guest apartment.

Click on the dots at the bottom of the image to view a slide show of my favorite rooms.  Then let me know what you think the going rate is for an appendix or tonsils in Northern Cali.

slide show via

**Ignore the "17" on all the images. Not sure what's going on there. 17 images total.

At home: Crate & Barrel fall 2011

It's been a long time since I've been impressed with anything in the Crate & Barrel catalog, but this one has me craving it all.  I love the chevron rug , the mix of all the primitive elements, clean mid-century design, exaggerated textures, and an overall look that makes a home feel comfortable.

all images digitally scanned from Crate & Barrel fall catalog

Steve McQueen vintage nursery

How super cool is this inspiration board from Lay Baby Lay???  I've never liked a 'themed' nursery, but she makes the vintage speedster theme look so chic, I'm already redecorating in my mind. The toy Schylling Racecar is a must-have for the Bitty and the charcoal rug and credenza with gold hardware could easily go anywhere in the house.  What an original idea for a nursery/kids room - I'm obsessed with the design and the hubs will love the vintage race cars.  What do you think?

Source: laybabylay.com

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A new take on indoor pools

It's a bajillion degrees out right now and it's just the beginning of summer.  I've missed the last couple of pool parties for various reasons, one being that I don't have a new swimsuit and my little two-piece, pre-baby bikini seems to add about 10 more pounds than I used to have.  Funny thing, right?  I certainly don't have those 10 extra pounds in normal clothes.

I finally got around to buying a new suit yesterday, now all I need is a pool.  Our backyard is big enough for two pools, but with 9 trees, it's difficult to put one in.  Not to mention the pain of keeping it clean with so many trees around. Well, this New Yorker has found a better solution: a pool in her living room! 

Notice to swing in the middle? So cool.
And a bar located conveniently within walking distance.
I also like the medieval weaponry decor.
Because nothing says "a relaxing dip in the pool" like weapons.
From the medieval era.

Don't you think the white arm chair and side table look dangerously close to the edge?
I see someone taking a big plop into the chair and then a bigger plop into the pool after
one too many ale lagers.  (That just sounded like a medieval beer to me.)

Furniture placement aside, I love this retro 70's house.  All 5 stories, 5,000 square feet, 6 bedroom, 5 baths, $10.95M of it.  See more images here.

Source credit

Home makeover 2

I am by no means any kind of interior designer, but I do love shopping to fill interiors.  We've still got the redecorating bug, so here are a few more options we're considering.  I absolutely love the brass argyle sconces (#2) and I think the chrome and marble-top side table (#1) balances the gold fixtures and kite kilim rug (#5). Coral is everywhere this season, but it's not that easy to find in a simple blanket. This cashmere throw (#4) comes in a number of shades and gives just a pop of color into the room.

 
1. side table  2. brass sconce  3. leather sofa  4. cashmere throw  5. kilim rug

Now all we need is some art.  While I'd love something with Klein blue, I'd be so happy to have an original painting or drawing from one of these future artists.

So what do you think?  Do you have any favorite original artists - adult, child, gorilla, elephant, or the like?

Home makeover

1. edison lamp  2. pillows  3. sofette  4. drum side table  5. rug

This weekend, the Husband and I caught the redecorating bug.  Luckily, I married a man with great taste (obviously!) so there is not much conflict between our decorating styles.  We are now on a quest to give our interior a much needed make-over and I'm scouring the stores, catalogs, and websites in search of our new pieces.

While I like the items above, I'm going to make a few more boards to give us lots of options.  The lamp is my favorite, but out of the budget.  Should lamps cost more than furniture?  I'm hoping we're lucky (and clever) enough to find some treasures in estate sales.  I love the thrill of the hunt and always admire those that snag a great piece and turn it into an unexpected statement in their home.

How was your weekend?  Did you catch anything non-communicable?

Sonoma style

 via

This 1937 cottage in Sonoma, California was purchased and designed to be a weekend retreat for the handsome couple above, one of which is a Bay Area school counselor.  Ok, design stuff aside, my school counselors were never so adorable......and do school counselors in California make enough to have a weekend home in Sonoma?  If so, I took the wrong career path and am making an immediate u-turn.

Now, on to the house...

via

Yes, those are ebony stained oak floors and a hand-forged steel fireplace surround (covering the original brick) - but notice the sliding barn door in front of the staircase. swoon

The kitchen shelving uses reclaimed wood and vintage silk bobbins used to as support.  So clever!

images via

The rest of the house uses salvaged finds like the piece of machinery with a marble top as the bathroom sink, an old bullet cap as the pendant light fixture in the bedroom, and a carpenter's work bench with a vintage propeller lamp as the bar.

 

 images via

You can read more about the home here and here.  And if you know the homeowners, you can tell them my suitcase is packed and we're ready for our weekend in wine country!

Double Dutch

The Dutch are good at so many things: clogs, cheese, stroopwafels, four-week vacations, being one of the happiest people in the world, cool homes and warm, white decor.  Below is great example:

Doesn't this home look so cozy and inviting?  The couch by the 

window and fireplace is exactly where I want to spend this snow day.

Where can I get these giant crochet needles so I can make a giant knit blanket?

(The chair is from Ikea!)

 I love a white kitchen filled with natural light, 

juxtaposed with raw wood beams and industrial fixtures. 

I'm inspired to spend the day rearranging furniture, painting my hardwood floors white, knitting some pouf pillows and vases.....or maybe just snuggling on the couch under a warm blanket.

all images via

Virtual home design

Is it possible to design a home based off images from one website?  If so, please let me walk you through a guided tour of my new virtual home:

So much light and open space!  

Welcome to my kitchen, dining and great room:

Except, I would want those doors above to open like this:

Into my patio that looks like this:

Which will open up to my backyard and carriage house:

Where you will stay when you come for a visit.  Just be sure to call first.

 

all images via

Rustic Chic

Oh. Emm. Gee.  I have found the home where I will live and die forever.  Or at least for today.  Elle Decor featured this house in Ketchum, Idaho and I never knew I would love a mountain home this much.  It's rustic and modern, clean and warm, giant and cozy, and big enough to avoid cabin fever in the cold, snowy months of winter in Idaho. 

How's this for a great room?  This is the dining room portion of the great room - don't you love the steel bookcases and gigantic chandelier?

 

This is where I will cook all of my warm, stick-to-your-bones, comfort foods to keep us fat for the winter.

Not that I intend to have four children, but if I had this house, I would need to fill it, so this wall of bunk beds is perfect!  Or, maybe it's just for the guests and kids' sleepovers...

I don't know if it's the thought of all the snow outside of this mountain home, but I am cold just thinking of bathing here.  I'm going to pretend the floors are heated so bath time can be year-round.

all images via

So what do you think?  Would you come visit me?