My Restoration Infatuation

I am constantly amazed and inspired by the beautiful linens, accessories and furniture Restoration Hardware Baby and Child debut. Their new fall line doesn’t disappoint. Here are just a few of my favorites.

I am kind of obbessed with these baskets.  Both the wire and gray wicker.

Beautiful Rugs

Wall Art

LOVE these floor pillows.

Mini table and chairs.

Lots of linens to love!

Baby Had a Little Lambskin

Create the perfect little cuddling spot for you and baby with these soft and affordable lambskins rugs.  They are the perfect size for any nursery big or small.  This one from BurkeDecor.com also comes in various sizes.

A Lambskin rug also makes a soft landing spot for the side of a bed.  Check out the Ikea version; great price and product!

Elevation Inspiration: Our New Exterior

We are about to break ground on our desperately needed curb appeal project.  Many visitors to our humble dwelling have commented on how our house is not an ugly house, but it is not a beautiful house either.  Uh...thank you, I think. 

So naturally I am beside myself excited that we are updating the exterior to best of our abilities.  Our house is not particulary special in anyway and in fact the exterior is very angular and boring with a modern design.  Sometime ago I created my inspiration board to guide me along the way.  Details are below.

We are completely overhauling the front door since its atrocious and adding a simply triple panel arched top with two new sidelight windows on either side. Not an exact match to the one above, but close. For the exterior we are painting the hideous peach/pink brick and trim a cool grey color and the front door and shutters will be a dark charcoal grey. All the door hardware will be in satin nickel and the handle set is Baldwin Hamilton; door knocker and door bell from Restoration Hardware. The gorgeous huge faux zinc planters are from Wisteria and the gas lanterns are just a sample of the style I love right now. The mailbox is also a brushed stainless steel from CSN. Instead of a traditional doormat I am thinking of using an indoor/outdoor rug. I think it cozies up the front porch and adds a little bit of the unexpected. This particular one is from Overstock and the size is 2.5 feet by 5 feet. And lastly we'll have an area to the side of our front door where we can put a bench or rocking chairs. Of course I'll be making some sassy and trendy outdoor pillows and I love the above Trina Turk outdoor fabric from F Schumacher.

There you have it folks, have a great weekend!

Posh Patterned Rugs that are Toddler Tough

I just purchased this rug below through overstock.com for my kitchen breakfast area.  It's a Ballard Designs outdoor rug that I got for a steal with a $200 savings including $1 shipping!  Um hello...Ballard Designs charges an extra surcharge to ship this oversized item.  Overstock price with shipping and no taxes $75.99!

Everyone knows outdoor rugs are great for the outdoors, but I love a good outdoor rug for two main INDOOR purposes; the breakfast or kitchen cooking areas and children's play spaces. These posh polypropylene piles can take a serious toddler and baby beating. I've scrubbed spaghetti sauce out of these rugs and whoa la, good as new!


Right now Overstock has some serious cash saving deals if you've been pondering one for your home. Here are a few more Ballard Design favorites on super sale.   But go check it out for yourself, there are just too many to list.

 

Black and Pink Boutique Chic

Let me start this post by saying this room design was A LOT of fun. I love feminine rooms and this one is all out girly. About a week ago I received an email from a mom who reads this blog and wanted to know if pink, black and damask wallpaper would work for a toddler’s room or would it be too much. Here is her question;

My lil one just turned two on July 3rd and we were already planning on transforming her room. I was thinking something fun, pink, black, damask wall paper, boutiquish (if that's even a word ..lol) for her room. Would that be too much for a lil girls room?

My immediate thought was, “How freaking cute would that be for a girl’s room, I want to design a room with that theme.” So I replied back saying stay tuned I would give her some guidance. Below is the room design, but I have added a few design comments below along with a shopping list. Click on the image to enlarge.





Pink and black is a beautiful combination, but you need to keep certain elements to a minimum or your room will end up looking like a Victoria’s Secret store. I would recommend keeping the wallpaper damask pattern to a soft pale pink. I found a paint swatch at Home Depot to help, Ralph Lauren’s Verona Pink VM45. You don’t have to use Ralph Lauren paint because it can get a little pricey, but it’s a good starting point. The wallpaper in the design I found at www.Lowes.com, but I was recently told they don’t sell wallpaper in the stores anymore. Again a starting point if you can’t get your hands on a sample. If you’re going to wallpaper the entire room keep the pink a powder pink tone. Another option would be to only wallpaper the wall the bed is against and paint the other walls a complimentary pink. That can help save some money if the budget is tight.

The fabrics selected are samples only because there are so many options available, but if you are going with damask wallpaper avoid a damask print fabric. Too many competing patterns. I recommend adding a dove gray color in the fabrics as a complimenting color. The tiny dot fabric swatch in the design is actually a soft gray color.

Black can be a dominating element to any design so select only a couple of key black pieces and the rest are tiny accents. For example the black dresser and dress form are large pieces and the pillow and picture frame are delicate accents.
The dresser and nightstand are from Ikea so don’t worry if the kids beat the crap out of it, it’s okay it was cheap. The art is from one of my all time favorite artist Janet Hill. They are inexpensive prints to help keep the budget in check.

A few side notes; the lighting in this design are serious budget busters, but you get the idea. I am sure you can find some reasonable alternatives with the internet. Also, there are a lot of pink tones in this inspiration board-do not perceive that as a design tip. Stick with two dominating tones max. This board is a sample only. Enjoy!

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics – www.JacquelynReese.com
Custom monogram – www.JacquelynReese.com
Mirror – www.Horchow.com
Dresser and Nightstand – www.Ikea.com
Rug, Beanbag, Dress form, Storage Basket, Vanity Seat – www.Potterybarnkids.com & www.Potterybarnteen.com
Pillow and Flower Knob – www.Anthropologie.com
Headboard – www.BallardDesigns.com
Jacket – www.JanieandJack.com
Shoes – www.jcrew.com (crewcuts)
Wallpaper – www.Lowes.com
Frames – www.PaulaPrass.com
Artwork – Janet Hill Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5535176
Chandelier – Petite Paris Flea Market available at www.CircaLighting.com
Lamp – www.christopherspitzmiller.com

My Heart Just Skipped a Beat

The image below sends my heart racing, in a good way. I get all giddy inside when I see cotton striped rugs. I love them for the simple casual elegance they bring to a room, especially kids rooms. They are extremely durable, inexpensive and the more wear they have the better. So don’t be afraid to let your kids beat the heck out of them.

Dash and Albert has by far the most impressive line of cotton striped runs. Below is just a snap shot of the endless possibilities. I just can’t decide whether to use one as a stair runner or in my daughter’s game room. Hmm….decisions, decisions