Rawr - animal print

When I was 13 years old, much to my mother's chagrin, I was obsessed with animal print everything.  That year for my birthday I asked for a leopard print comforter, pillows, sleeping bag, purse and matching tissue packs.  Well look who's back in style now, Momma!  Next thing you know, everyone will be wearing those bucket hats I was obsessed with...

Savvy Home

Savvy Home

Habitually Chic

Flourish Design & Style

Gideon Mendelson via House Beautiful

Live Like You

Dwellers Without Decorators

The Zhush

The Zhush

The Decorista

Pillow Fix

Couches are expensive.  But you know what's less expensive?  Pillows.  An excellent way to give a couch a makeover without the expense of slipcovers or a new couch.  And one of the best places to look for statement pillows for less is on Etsy.com.  Here are some of my favorites:

SwoonStudio

SwoonStudio

WillaSkyeHome

WillaSkyeHome

PointDeAmour

fabricjunkie1640

fabricjunkie1640

fabricjunkie1640

habitationinc

Samantha2818

Decorate the Entry Hall, No Matter How Small!

Due to some key furniture rearrangements, we now have somewhat of an entry hall in my house.  So far, though, it consists only of a mirror which is looking very, very top heavy without a table or something underneath to balance it out.

In times like these, it's always best to consult the experts first...

"The entrance into a house is like the preface to a book; it should give you a sense of what you are entering, but not tell the whole story....Whether it is a small foyer or a proper entrance hall, it has to have character and poise, and set a tone."

-Libby Cameron

Apartment Therapy

"First of all, be sure there is plenty of light in your hall.  You will probably have there one long table or console, and it you place a lamp at each end you will light it much more pleasantly than by using just the ceiling light alone.  Over this long table is often the best place for the good big mirror every hall needs."

-Dorothy Draper

Jonathan Adler via Apartment Therapy

"You have to have a table in the hall with lamps on it, and a mirror and also something to put your keys on so you never lose them."

-Jane Churchill

Habitually Chic

Apartment Therapy

"The front hall is important because when you open the door of a house, it pulls you in or it doesn't.  It's the first thing you see and it's fun to have a little drama about it."

-Bunny Williams

Habitually Chic

Color Outside the Lines

So what do you say?  Any suggestions for tables and lamps to round out our naked entry hall??


Quotes from Dorothy Draper's, Decorating is Fun, and Susan Bartlett Crater's & Libby Cameron's, Sister Parish Design

Map Decor

Here is a decorating trick I've been seeing a lot lately that I really like: maps.  You can find old maps or new maps for practically nothing all over the place and I really like how they can really say something about you if you choose maps of your home town, your favorite vacation spot, where you went on your honeymoon etc.  A cheap decorating trick that makes a big statement!  My favorite.

Savvy Home

House Beautiful Sept 2010

Savvy Home

Dwellers Without Decorators

House Beautiful Sept 2010

Dwellers Without Decorators

Habitually Chic

Making the Most of Small Spaces

After living in a 10 ft x 11 ft L-shaped cubicle my freshman year, not many living spaces seem too small to me.  Furthermore, living in teeny tiny apartments over grocery stores is positively charming when you're just getting started.  Lucky for those of us still in that "charming" period of life, there are little tricks and tips on making the most of the tiny crumbs of real estate in which we live.

This photo was featured in a recent House Beautiful article on how to make the most of small spaces.  It is generally taken for granted that light, neutral colors blend into each other and make small spaces seem larger but this room does just the opposite.  Using a single, bright color, they have unified the long, skinny room and made a room that could feel claustrophobic feel cozy instead.  Even though the pink is very powerful, they have paired it with neutral colors and not added any other competing bright colors which might make the room feel over crowded.  Furthermore, they created three distinct seating areas which break up the awkward long space of the room and make the most of the area they do have.

On a side note, this living room was also included in the article on small spaces.  Really??  Do the editors of House Beautiful really live in such expansive mansions that they consider this extremely normal-sized room to be so tiny that it is in need of special tiny-space decorating techniques??  Well, damn, I'm depressed.

My Friend's Green and Pink Living Room

My friend is in the process of decorating her living room and asked to bounce some ideas off me to work through the process.  Since I am addicted to decorating and have no place outside of this blog to unleash my energy, I naturally went overboard.

My friend currently has a pink and green bedroom and wants to carry the color scheme into the living and dining rooms.  She is starting with black dining set and living room tables, a couch that looks something like this:

Pottery Barn

 and is going to paint an accent wall in the dining room like this:

She wants to add in pink elements, but I was afraid the competing strength of the bright green and pink and the black would be overpowering so I decided to look for some inspiration pictures...

Inspiring Design

The airy bamboo in this dining set lightens up the black element, plus, that paired with the cute parrot prints give the room a cute, preppy, tropical look that I think fits my friend well!  And how sweet is the rug!

OHMIGOSH

This room is a little more modern and is missing the pink, but definitely very successfully brings bright green into a living room with a beige couch and black furniture.  I think the mirror-surface table adds a little glamor!

OHMIGOSH

This room is so cute!  Has the same light, black bamboo furniture and incorporates fun pouffes - how can you go wrong with those!

The Lennox

I thought I'd throw in this picture incase she wanted to go in a slightly more Chinoiserie direction.  The back of the chair is similar in design to her headboard, so I thought it might be a good starting point.

She is still in the process of picking out accessories, but is thinking of some garden stools  (maybe in pink??):

EcoChic

and something similar to this Jonathan Adler Talither rug, only in black and white:

Jonathan Adler

Sadly, this rug doesn't come in black and white....any suggestions on where she could get anything like that??

Vintage Home Decor

I'm just now finally pulling myself out of the time mire that is the Christmas season, and beginning to catch up on my blog posts, comments and required reading.  As such, I've only just fully taken a look at my 12/28 edition of House Beautiful e-newsletter and noticed the words "Vintage Home Decor".  How could I have missed it?!

The article is an exploration of the ultra-cool home of designer Roman Alonso, the creative director of the design firm Commune.  When asked how he achieved the distinctly unaffected, cozy feel to his home, he explained, "...there's no plan here. This is just a repository for all the stuff I collect".  What an extremely validating sentence for me, as this is just how I have always suspected decorating should be approached!  To me, if you decorate your house by gathering around you an assortment of items that are truly "you", then you can't help but end up with a cozy, cohesive, distinct look that really works for you.  (This theory, of course, might be a little weak in cases of home makers with multiple personalities)  :)