Tour of Sarah Jessica Parker's Home

I just saw this video and had to share it with you!  Obviously, I'm a huge Sarah Jessica Parker fan from the days of Sex and the City and she has always had such amazing style.  Her New York home is amazing!  The colors are so inviting and warm.  It just has this coziness that makes you want to curl up on her sofa.  And only Sarah Jessica Parker can make a ping pong table look like a perfectly styled element in a home.  The interview is pretty funny too.  Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend loves! 

Love is in the Air

And with it comes the color pink!  Yes, pink is that cliched Valentine's Day color, and so many of us just despise any cliches, but I say embrace it!  You might just fall in love with it too when you take a look at these stunning rooms and what they did with such a lovely color.

MINIMALIST PINK AND WHITE

ROSY PINK

FUSCIA FURNITURE

AMAZING BILLOWY DRAPERY

PINK CIRCUS TENT BATHROOM!

PINK FLOWERY WALLPAPER

Now I didn't used to be much of a pink gal since I lean towards earthy colors, but there's even a shade of pink for that!  The rosy toned pink works great for keeping it more subtle and muted.  But these days I would go more for that amazing pink, red, and blue floral wallpaper.  It is so stunning and interesting.  And of course I had to add a picture with some hearts for Valentine's Day. 

I see Valentine's Day not as just a romantic holiday, but as a day to show love to any of the special people in our lives and especially to remember to love yourself! 

Thank you for reading and have a great week loves!

How to Use Stripes

I have been seeing stripes everywhere lately in fashion and in interiors, so I thought I would talk to you about that today!  Stripes are so classic, but there are so many ways to use them to add a unique look to your home.

STRIPES ON THE CEILING!

I know I've talked about this room a few times, but I just love it!  We rarely think about the ceiling when deciding how to decorate our home.  These bright yellow stripes add such a fun element to this baby room.  It's all in the details folks! 


CREATE "WALLPAPER" STRIPES WITH PAINT!

I have been dreaming of decorating a bathroom with a really bold wallpaper for quite some time.  The problem is wallpaper does not hold up so well in a bathroom.  The best alternative would be to paint a design, or in this case, stripes onto the walls to create your own "wallpaper."  I love the bold graphic element of these black and white stripes.


YES, YOU CAN MIX STRIPES AND PATTERNS!

Don't you just love this bedroom?  I love how they mixed the patterned quilt with a bold stripe rug.  Keeping them both in the same color palette keeps the room from being too busy.  Bringing in all the different textures with the wicker, glossy side table, and soft fabrics keeps everything cozy and inviting. Let's all just take a moment to dream that we are at this adorable beachy cottage soaking in the sun instead of dealing with this crazy Chicago winter right now!

This stunning living room took the same stripe rug, but kept it in a simple neutral.  It still works incredibly well with all the mix up of patterns with the throw pillows and chair fabrics.  The light grey of the rug adds a more subtle pattern to the room.


ADD STRIPES TO YOU OUTDOOR SPACE!

This outdoor patio designed by Ruthie Sommers is absolutely a-maz-ing!  I love how she painted the stripes on the walls and carried them all the way onto the ceiling.  It makes the outdoor space look like a circus tent and so magical.  The thicker stripes keeps it from looking too busy.


ADD STRIPES TO YOUR FURNITURE

I just love the idea of finding an old solid sofa at a thrift store or garage sale and having it re-upholstered in a unique fabric.  It lets you create a piece completely custom for your home and allows furniture to be re-purposed instead of discarded.  You might think that this sofa is a little too bold, but the neutral walls and rug tone it down and allow the focal point of the room to shine.


CREATE A STRIPED FLOOR

If you have a home with wood floors that would cost too much to re-finish, think about painting them in stripes.  Yes, it would take a lot of elbow grease to tackle this project, but it would look amazing and you could do it for just the cost of some paint! 

I hope this give you some great ideas for incorporating stripes into your home.  Thank you so much for reading!

**Photos from Jenna Lyons, Domino Magazine, Girl Meets Glam, Ruthie Sommers, Elizabeth Bauer, Lonny

Baby Rooms

Although I've posted on baby rooms before, two of my very dear friends are having babies this year and it has inspired my to do another one.  My friends have somewhat different home decor styles, but both are into a less cutesy nursery look.  Here are a few ideas that I love!


GO BOLD AND GIRLY!

Here are a few really girly looks!  I love the idea of a floral wallpaper and a pretty window valance here.  I especially love anything that can grow with the child and doesn't have to be changed out completely by the time they are 3 years old!  It's a great idea to invest in a standout dresser.  I love to look for unique ones in antique stores, flea markets, or even garage sales.  You can always paint it a fun color and add new drawer pulls to give it your own look.  Plus if it has good bones they can use it the rest of their lives whether it's in their room as they grow or in their very first apartment when they move out one day.  You can also use it for so many other things in different rooms of the house too.  It is a great piece to invest in.

INVEST IN A GREAT DRESSER

 IMAGE FROM KRISTA EWART DESIGNS

THE STRIPE TREND

I love this stripe look; whether it's horizontally on the wall or even on the ceiling!

JENNA LYONS BABY ROOM

DON'T FORGET THE CEILING!

The ceiling is not to be neglected here!  And just think of how much your baby will be looking up at that ceiling.  I love the painted stripes and stars here.  They could both be gender neutral as well, which is a great thing to think about if you are waiting to find out or if you may use this room for another child later on. 

DON'T BE AFRAID TO GO A LITTLE RUSTIC!

The room above has more of a rustic earthy vibe with the textural wallpaper and more subdued colors.  Don't think you have to do that pink or blue color scheme!  If you've been reading my blog, you know how much I love wood paneled walls! I love this dark wood version mixed with lighter woods.  Throw in a funky modern lamp.  So much fun! 

OK, MAYBE YOU CAN GO A LITTLE CUTESY!

Now this room might just be my favorite.  I mean when else would you be able to paint clouds and birds on the wall!  I love these non-traditional colors again and the mix of mustard yellow and a more smoky navy blue.  Plus a pretty mirror on the wall to bring in another interesting and unexpected element.  

YOU CAN KEEP IT SIMPLE

This room is super minimalist, but there are a lot of different textures pulled in that keep it cozy.

 

I hope you've enjoyed these ideas and can pull inspiration for your own home!  Happy Monday y'all.

Accessorizing

When it comes to decorating a room, I've always loved figuring out the layout, the fabric combinations, the colors, all the big stand-out pieces, but when it came down to the little things like accessorizing I felt a little lost.  I always ended up trying to mix up little things and having it not feel quite right.  So then I would wind up going the minimalist route.  Not to say there's anything wrong with a zen minimalist type of look but as a decorator I love to bring in a little more for the eye to see in a room to give it more interest.  I also love flea markets and I need a place for all those adorable antique and vintage finds.  This past year in our new apartment I did just that.  I started trying different groupings on console tables, side tables, and our oddly shaped - kind of difficult to decorate - glass Noguchi coffee table.  And I fell in love with accessorizing.  This led to more of a love of jewelry and accessorizing outfits as well.  The list can go on and on and it so much fun and a less expensive way to express your creativity and change things up within your home.  I think I've gotten the hang of it!  The best place to start is to find photos or even groupings in your favorite home decor store and take your inspiration from there.  Here's a few ideas for coffee tables to get you started.

I have to have candles going in my home, so love adding a few to the coffee table.

You can add your favorite little objects to sit atop some books.

Notice how they divided up the table here.  You can always add fresh flowers and a dish of little collectables.

A coffee table is a great place to add a pretty tray as well to corral a few trinkets or keep a grouping of little items together.

Changing Styles

I have been looking at a lot of interior decor photographs lately and noticed I am really drawn to rooms that are basically filled to the brim with.....believe it or not.....clutter!  But not messiness, more like a well lived in, things that you love, and warm coziness kind of clutter.  I used to be all about minimalism and couldn't stand having much in my home.  I truly loved simplicity.  It is interesting to notice how my tastes have evolved over the years based on my lifestyle or just what inspires me.  Here are a few pictures that show just the right amount of lived in clutter.

Absolutely adore this philosophy.  Of course, I am a self-professed neat freak, so it helps to chill out and not worry about everything being in it's place and having a more lived in place!

Back From a Very Long Hiatus!

I cannot even believe it has been over a year since my last blog post?  Where has the time gone?  I guess between working all day on a computer and a long commute, I have been too tired to jump onto a computer in the evening and end up jumping into bed instead!  But I certainly do miss it and miss sharing with all of you out there who perhaps check in to my little blog from time to time.  I have moved into another new apartment just recently and feeling inspired to do some diy projects and change up the decor a bit. 

One thing I am majorly lusting after is an antique bed.  I absolutely adore them and plan to scour every flea market I can find this summer in search of just the right one.  Here are 2 of my favorites so far......

*Photos from Design Sponge and Coco and Kelley

I have always been so inspired by nature and despite moving further into the city and beginning a new design job I have actually been finding myself even more inspired by nature. The entire office space I work in was based off of a design concept of a tree. How awesome is that! I also now have my very own backyard that will allow me to do a little gardening this summer. I found this video today and thought....I could totally live this woman's lifestyle. It sounds amazing. My grandpa was a farmer and I grew up on a farm, so it will always be in my heart. Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did!
Women Farmers - Michelle Cotton from Anthropologie on Vimeo.

Make Your Own Table

Restoration Hardware Version

If you have been reading my blog over some time you would know how much I have been dreaming of getting a farm table for years!  I love the look and feel of it and imagine having great family dinners or game nights or even using it for sewing projects.  It has that rustic feel but can work beautifully in a modern, traditional, country, or eclectic style home.  I plan to pair mine with the Eames Molded Plastic chairs I already own.  

The table pictured above is from Restoration Hardware.  You can find it here.  It is made from salvaged wood and has an extension to seat up to 12 people.  While I love the table it is far outside of my price range.

Then I found the amazing replica of this table pictured below from an article in Country Living magazine.  Check out all of the pictures of the North Carolina couples home here.  Believe it or not they made the farm table below for a mere $11.00!  They were given the salvaged wood and only had to buy hardware to put it together.  They used this plan.  I am incredibly excited to make one myself, hopefully with my dad's help seeing that I don't have power tools.  However, even if you don't you could always rent or borrow the tools.  The only major thing you would need is a circular saw.  This is going to be a summer project for me and will fit perfectly into our new home.  We will be renting another place....not yet buying....but it has a lot of space and has potential for us to buy in the future.  Of course the wheels have been turning for how to decorate the space.  Much more on that later.  For now I am on a mission to find some salvaged wood somewhere in Chicagoland!

Homemade Version

Mint Green Spring

Spring time is here!  And spring pastels are the major trend this year.  My favorite is the mint green.  I suppose it could be since it's always been my favorite ice cream flavor.  I am loving it in fashion, jewelry, and interior decor.  Take a look at the inspiration below. 

Nothing like inspiration from Paris!

J. Crew Viv Flats.  Sadly no longer available in this color, but check out this nautical stripe version here!

Loving this YSL ring!

Update on the Maps

I received a lot of questions on where to find maps or map wallpaper on my previous post.  Here is another beautiful living room where they framed one.  I would check out antique stores, flea markets, or even garage sales for maps to frame.  Or if you're lucky you may have some family members like me with several you could have!  Here are a few other options below as well.  I hope this gives you some additional ideas!

My personal favorite, wallpaper from Ralph Lauren Home

Wall decal found here

Wallpaper from Home Depot

A Large picture you could hang from Ikea