Putting an end to it.

June 12, 2009

My friends and I started a little book club that meets once a month (while we do actually read a book each month, it’s more of a cocktail club or a gossip club; there’s a lot more of the latter two going on than the actual discussion of the book). Since this book club started, my excuse for a bookshelf is getting increasingly full because I keep buying new books.

I might need to break down and buy a real bookcase soon, but was thinking about perhaps investing in some bookends to keep my mini-library from toppling over the edge of the radiator (yes, a fire hazard, I’m aware – I like to live dangerously).

Just taking a quick scan on eBay for vintage bookends I came up with a gold mine. There are so many quirky vintage bookends on the cheap, here’s a round up of my favorites:

How cute would these dogs look spray painted in a bright color?

I love these for their equestrian look and high-gloss finish (though, the gold eyes kind of creep me out).

Every girl needs a little Eames-influence, right? I’m bidding on these Jax bookends now, fingers-crossed!

These are actually from JCPenney’s new global-inspired home decor line, Artesia. They’re very sharp looking, and a steal at $14.99.

And I can never get enough of Jonathan Adler, though a little out of my price range, this set of bull bookends could be recreated by snagging some of those cheap vintage eBay finds and refinishing them in a coat of white paint.

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Nautical Influence.

June 8, 2009

During our couch hunt last weekend I stumbled upon this great oversized nautical chart of boston harbor. I love the colors in nautical charts, and the scale of this one was perfect to hang over my desk!

I’m really inspired by these uses of nautical maps layered as wallpaper:

via Domino Mag

via Design Crisis

via Shelter Interior Design Blog

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What I Want Now: Citron

June 8, 2009

After painting my nails citron yellow this weekend (thanks to my sister’s fashion-forward suggestion) I’m dreaming in citron! And scrolling through my inspiration folder I realized that I’ve been dreaming in citron for quite some time, periodically tagging these great rooms with pops of the electric citrus nature:

Images via: Cookie Magazine, West Elm, Nate Berkus for Elle Decor, Wendell T. Weber, Amy Shutts, Canadian House and Home

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Delightful gifts.

May 20, 2009

I get so excited to find a new shop online that features fun, unique products (not that I need any more incentive to shop online, but still, it’s exciting). Delight.com has a great curation of distinctive products that would make really special gifts for a friend’s birthday, or an inspired wedding shower gift or maybe just for me for no reason at all! Here are some of my favorite picks from their site:

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She’s got baggage.

April 15, 2009

I’m back from a posting hiatus! Spent a long weekend with my family in New York, and though I didn’t have much access blogging, I managed to take some cute pictures of my parent’s house to share.

In my old bedroom in my parents house, stacked vintage luggage doubles as a small table, perfect for some fresh flowers or to use as a nightstand:

I love the weathered look of old suitcases and have rounded up some other fun examples of how stacked luggage can double as a piece of furniture.

Kelly Rae Roberts House Tour via Decor8

Who wouldn’t love to have an extra Louis lying around? via La Dolce Vita

These mini-suitcase would be great on a dresser to store baubles! via hbgordan’s photostream

luggage

I love the colors in this stack. via Kotori

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Queer Eye for the Straight Girl.

April 5, 2009

Words can not express how excited I was to find out that Thom Filicia, my favorite celeb-designer, is launching his own line of home goods! Besides wowing me on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Dress My Nest, Thom is also the author of Thom Filicia Style, one of my favorite design books.

He’s venturing into numerous home collections, from rugs to lighting to appliances, but I will especially be excited to see what he whips up for his furniture and fabric lines!

Perhaps my favorite Domino house tour was of Thom’s summer cottage; I love how he blends his classic style into the rustic setting, it just looks like the perfect place to kick up your feet and have a cocktail on warm summer evening. (Thom: If you’re reading this, I’d be delighted to clear my schedule and join you for a long weekend there!)

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Birthdays, fabric, and ikea.

March 16, 2009

Eventful weekend;I was in New York celebrating my mom’s 50th birthday (she would die if she knew I was broadcasting that number across the Internet)… and what better a way to celebrate than with a trip to Ikea!

I was very restrained, and only purchased a small ribba frame for a drawing I want to hang in my kitchen, and some great fabric to hopefully be used for my upholstered headboard idea! The photos look totally different on the ikea website, it’s much lighter in real life:

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A salute to the purple couch.

March 9, 2009

Do you have a childhood moment that spurred your love for design?

I’m sure there were plenty of shopping trips to flea markets and hours in the fabric store with my mom as a child that helped build up my design-addiction. One moment that sticks out in particular though is from a visit to my grandmother’s farm house when I was little; she invited us in the living room to show my mom and aunts her new upholstery project: royal purple velvet slipcovers for her couch. As a child, the thought of owning a purple velvet couch was probably the most magical concept to ever enter my mind, I was in love.

As teenagers my sister vocalized her desire to have it written into my grandmothers will that she would be the recipient of the purple velvet furniture should anything ever happen to their rightful owner and I still regret not thinking to stake claim first! So this is a salute to the infamous purple couch, may it live as long as it’s free-spirited upholsterer!

via Homes and Gardens

via Apartment Therapy

via Patricia Gray Interior Design

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In it to win it.

March 5, 2009

The fabulous bloggers at We Love Domino have been doing a great job filling the post-domino void, and are now holding a “Domino Inspired My Home” contest to highlight reader’s homes that drew inspiration from the favorite mag. Since I actually ripped a picture out of the magazine last year and used it as my jumping point for my tiny apartment kitchen, I decided to submit an entry and share some pictures of my result.

This was my inspiration:

I was so overwhelmed with the space challenges when we first moved in. For starters: the counter space is no bigger than 2ft by 2ft, there were no closed cabinets, and my storage space was limited to 3 small drawers. Luckily, the tall ceilings afforded me some open shelving and I used that as a jumping point. The inspiration I took from the Domino kitchen was making use of the open shelves and essentially creating simple vignettes that displayed my cooking tools as part of the decor. I stuck to the stainless steel, white, and jadeite color scheme in the photo, because it allowed me rely on cheap classics from ikea and to make use of a lot of the stuff I already had! Check out the result below:

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Deer Diary

March 3, 2009

Over on the Keep Domino Alive site, bloggers have been recounting some of the great icons of style that the magazine used in many of the issues. Today, Beth of Style Redux posted about how antlers were brought from the ski house to the downtown loft on the pages of Domino.

I’ve always loved their rustic accent to a room, but there is something a bit jarring about a full animal skull looming over the room. Lately though I’ve been bookmarking some great faux-taxidermy mounts that I think could be fun alternatives, with different textures, colors and patterns; Check them out: