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.

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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:

Vintage Nuart Art Deco Cast Metal Terrier Dog Bookends - eBay

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

Vintage Pair of Horse Head book Ends Black Ceramic - eBay

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

JACKs JAX Bookends George Nelson Eames era SCULPTURE ebay

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

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

Jonathan Adler Bull Bookends

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.

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!

 

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

Domino Mag Map Wallpaper

via Domino Mag

SR Gambrel Design - Maps

via Design Crisis

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via Shelter Interior Design Blog

Oh boy, I’ve really been slacking here due to some overwhelming days at the office and very full weekends!

After much debate, I’ve decide to stay in my apartment for another year, so now the ‘apartment fund’ has been switched to the ‘new couch fund’ with a couch-search that kicked off this past weekend.

After ruling out all of Ikea’s options which are scaled too small for my other bulky pieces of furniture, I browsed the sample-sale room at Boston Interiors. I found a few with good shapes, but poor color-choices, and some with great character, but unreasonable prices! I’m liking the idea of a floating-chaise because it adds a little bit more seating (and would be great for lounging!) So the search continues for the perfect couch in the perfect color at the perfect price!

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More later on my other ‘adventures in decorating’ that came to be from some other stops this weekend:

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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:

silver honey bee delight dot comGurglePot Lovely Koi Pitcher from delight dot comAlice Supply Co. Modern Toolbox via delight dot comdelight dot com

I finally finished my upholstered headboard project this weekend (with only a few minor speedbumps along the way). At the last minute I changed my mind and switched from the grey ikea fabric to a velvety golden yellow color; I decided that since I haven’t yet fallen in love with a new bedspread that  I would choose an upholstery fabric that would match with both my old and new color schemes.

I decided that using a big piece of plywood like I had originally planned was going to be too cumbersome with my 1. lack of car and 2. possible moving at the end of the summer… so I substituted the heavy wood idea with a frame made out of stretcher strips used for stretching canvases:

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In another attempt to substitute, instead of using an expensive piece of decorators foam, I bought an egg crate foam pad from target and cut it to fit the frame, which I then attached with staples:

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Then I laid out the fabric and stretched and stapled it just like assembling a canvas:

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And after attaching some picture hangers to the back of the canvas and nailing it up to the wall, voila! my upholstered headboard is complete:

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Now onto the next project… pillows?

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:

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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.

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Kelly Rae Roberts House Tour via Decor8

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

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

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I love the colors in this stack. via Kotori

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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I was holding off on this post because I wanted to finish a little project I’ve been working on, but it seems that silhouettes are the rage and I don’t want to be behind the curve! Apartment Therapy posted  DIY Silhouette instructions last month, and followed up last week with some more black and white inspiration. I’ve seen them popping up all over etsy; showing up on dinnerware, and nestled in gallery-style photo arrangements.

I originally started an embroidery project to create a silhouette pillow, but after seeing them framed for wall display, I may decide to stretch my finished product over a canvas, or use an emroidery hoop as a frame!

Here’s my (seemingly never ending) work in progress:

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And some of my inspiration for the project:

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apt-therapy-silhouette2Via Apartment Therapy 

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Via Apartment Therapy

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Thomas Paul via Oprah

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Via foohqwah’s flickr

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:stockholm-fabricstockholm-fabric2

 
 
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