Chicago Art Institute Miniature Rooms

If you're in Chicago from now through January 8th I would very highly recommend checking out the Art Institute's Miniature Rooms Exhibit.  It was amazing!  The picture below is of one of the rooms and it really doesn't do it justice.  It is amazing all the detailed work in the ceiling, the molding, the furniture, everything!  The artist is Mrs. James Ward Thorne.  Everything is done in 1inch = 1 foot scale.  She even used the same materials for the furniture as what is used in real life.  The rooms range from the 17th century up to the 1930s. 

The room pictured below is an English Drawing Room of the Georgian Period.  Of course, my favorite rooms were from the 1700-1800s and were the english country cottage style.  I am just so inspired by it.  Hope you get a chance to visit.  Thursday evenings are free as well as the first weekend of the month for Bank of America card holders.  Hope you enjoy!

Tomorrow I am off to visit family.  Merry Christmas everyone!  Enjoy some time with your loved ones.

Budget Friendly Holiday Tablescape!

My favorite room to decorate is probably the dining room.  You can do something a little different with the dining room because it is such a simple room.  Why not try out a fun new paint color you wouldn't dare use in another room or a vibrant wallpaper pattern you have fallen in love with.  The easiest and most budget friendly decorating trick is changing up your tablescape.  You can easily switch out a tablecloth or runner and bring in color that way.  You can do the same with your centerpieces. 

The table pictured below is one of the most beautiful I've seen.  The tablecloth is from Schumacher Fabrics, which is a bit pricey, but I was really excited to find out there are a ton of things on the table, very reasonably priced, from West Elm!  The napkins, bud vases, plates, and mercury vase centerpiece are all from there.  The adorable red and white napkins are only $11 for a set of 4.  The antique gold candle holders are just $3.50 each from Crate and Barrel.  I think I may need to buy myself at least a set of those cute napkins this Christmas.  Even just adding a few new pieces or pulling out some you already have but mixing it with something different will give your dining room a whole new look for the holidays.

Finally Back!

Between class, homework and celebrating the holidays with family and friends I am ready to get back to Tutu Style.  First I wanted to share my first ever hosting of Thanksgiving with you all.  I actually made the turkey and it amazingly came out great!  (Thanks to Ina Garten's recipe and plenty of help from the fam!)  We had it at my brother's home since he has a larger kitchen and great dining room table.  Below are a few pictures of the tablescape.  It was done very simply and with linens I had since I was on a tight budget, but what made it really beautiful were all the candles.  They were unscented so they wouldn't compete with the food.  There were also acorns, pumpkins, and gourds to keep it traditional.  The best part of all was spending it with my family.

I've also been decorating for Christmas - another absolute favorite time of year for me.  I had hoped to get garland for around the doorway from my living room to dining room, but decided on stringing twinkle lights instead for a total cost of around $10!  It gives the room a great festive glow along with the scented candles.

The tree fit best in a corner in the dining room.  It is filled with ornaments that were made over the years with much love from my grandma.

A few cute little candles I've had for years and the vase filler is faux snow.  The tablecloth I kept out since it's the festive holiday colors and goes great with everything.  I hope to add much more over the years and hope you are enjoying your decorating for the holidays as well!  Happy belated Thanksgiving to all and a Merry Christmas season.  Enjoy each moment!

House Beautiful Design Event

Yesterday I was so blessed to be able to attend the House Beautiful Design Institute at the Chicago Merchandise Mart.  I didn't quite know what to expect since the agenda was rather vague, but it ended up being fantastic!  I learned so much and was really inspired.  The beginning of the day was the Keynote Speakers:  Newell Turner (Editor in Chief of House Beautiful), Judi Roaman (President of J. Roaman Inc. and blog author of "the accesorator.com"), and Darius A. Monsef IV (CEO of CHROMAom, Inc and the creator of COLOURlovers.com. 

Beyond being in awe of everything these speakers had to say I was able to attend some showroom events after that.  One being Barry Dixon, an acclaimed interior designer, who spoke about where he draws inspiration from for his designs.  I also headed over to the Holly Hunt showroom where the creative directors of Pagani Studio (lighting design at Holly Hunt) spoke about their inspiration for the lighting.  There were many other speakers as well, so it was a hugely successful event and I was so thankful to be able to attend.  I was even able to chat with some of the interior designers attending the event.  Always great to meet new people!

I would like to share with you over the next week the different ideas from all the speakers, so stay tuned! 

Today I'd like to share with you one of the speakers, Ms. Judi Roaman.  I love to hear of inspiring career women who are confident and creative and that is Judi Roaman for sure.  Roaman began her career as a buyer for Bloomingdales but eventually transitioned into the interior design world opening her own luxury home store, J. Roaman in East Hampton, NY.  She is a contributing editor at House Beautiful as well as writes a trend based design blog "the accessorator.com, " which is now on my daily viewing list!  She has such an eye for unique and beautiful things.  Here are some pictures she has taken that she shared with us yesterday. 

 Judi Roaman found this amazing light fixture created by used plastic laundry detergent bottles at a gift show in New York.  An incredibly creative way to recycle and reuse.

This art piece was created by britich designer, Stuart Haygart, at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  It is made completely out of picture frames.  It looks like the flame stitch design, which Roaman mentioned is a huge trend right now and is being seen everywhere!

Kay Douglass created this light fixture, which is made out of an old trash can.  Kay makes light fixtures out of almost anything.  Another great way to repurpose & recycle.

Here is a Missoni Pellegrino water bottle, which actually has the Missoni flame stictch on it!

This was my favorite she showed us.  It's an installation done by artist, Takashi Murakami, at Chateaux Versailles.  She called it the ultimate accessory!  :)  He has 22 pieces showcased at Versailles until December 13th.  So, if you are lucky enough, I hope you get to see them!

Judi Roaman's blog has really inspired me to really take some time and notice the art all around me and be inspired each day.  I hope to get out there more and even create some of my own. 

More on this amazing House Beautiful event soon.  For now I must be off to finish painting my brothers living room!  Happy Friday all!

I will leave you with a quote from Judi Roaman....."It all comes down to the accessories.....It's not the first thousand dollars that make the room, it's the last hundred!" 

So, good idea to keep accessorizing your life.

Thank Goodness Wallpaper is Back!

I absolutely love wallpaper and am so excited how much it has made a comeback over the last few years with new modern prints, patterns, and even textures.  I love the print used in the home below from Farrow and Ball, so it's also very environmentally friendly.  The pattern is actually painted onto the paper in a low V.O.C. paint.  Amazingly beautiful.

I love the use of wallpaper on the ceiling!  It draws your eyes upward and makes the room appear much taller.  And it is so different and unexpected.

I hope this inspires you to go out and wallpaper one of your rooms in your home!  It is definitely on my to do list of decor ideas for my home I'll own someday soon.

Glamorous Nature Inspired

Who says nature can't be glamorous?  This room design shows a beautiful mixture of rustic elements, nature inspiration, combined with glamorous/sophisticated colors and textures.  It gives such perfect visual interest.  Makes me want to paint a room in a dark inky color like this screen!  Hmm, maybe it's time to redo our bathroom.....

A New Modern Take on Knitting!

The end of this summer I took up knitting again, which I find is such a stress reliever and I have visions of making some great home decor stuff once I get more skilled at it.  All of a sudden I have been seeing the most adorable, modern (if you can believe it) knit products everywhere! 

Just today I discovered these amazing hand-knit stools designed and created by Claire-Anne O'Brien.  I just love the design and the chunky knit.  I especially love the mustard yellow one.

Oddly enough, also today, I walked past a CB2 store and saw these knit poofs that would also be perfect for some much needed extra seating in my living room.

West Elm has had some fantastic knit pillows over the years and this chevron pattern is a new favorite of mine.

I must throw in a few favorites from Anthropologie.  I love this sweater mix throw since I'm a total sucker for mixed patterns.

This isn't knit, but it is fabric weaved together, which looks like a knit coffee table to me.  Just love this - bringing coziness even to a table.

Unison: Featured at Design Harvest Chicago

I have always been very interested in textiles and how they are designed. The creative people who come up with them just amaze me. I was lucky enough to meet one such designer at Design Harvest in Chicago a few weeks ago, which was an event showcasing many handmade furniture designs, art, and textiles. The textiles pictured below are from Unison, which is located on Fulton Street in Chicago. Check out the website or their store if you get a chance.

This bedding is just what I've been looking for to update my own bedroom. It's modern and cozy looking.

Lots of brightly colored throw pillows.

I am constantly journaling or jotting down design ideas and would love to be inspired by the cute covers on their journals.


Some beautiful table runners with matching napkins. I am really getting into table cloths right now. It's such an easy way to give your dining room a fun new look.



And here are a couple pictures of their booth at Design Harvest. Besides bedding and table linens they have aprons, potholders, placemats, and so much more.

The Opposite of Minimalist

This week has flown by and I'm just getting to reading the new issue of Lonny and just getting to a blog post finally! This picture has officially converted me away from minimalist style. First off this wallpaper was designed by the homeowner. You can find out how in Lonny Magazine. I really love the mix of colors and all the beautiful framed artwork on the walls. The mixture of patterns is done beautifully between the wallpaper, drapery, carpet, and upholstered chairs. You just need to be pulling in some of the same colors and you can mix it up all you want. I'm thinking it would be pretty easy to put together pictures like this yourself with some flea market frames and color copy images from books at the library for some interesting, inexpensive artwork.

Happy Friday all!

Design Harvest featuring Readapted by Bill Mitchell

This past Saturday I was able to stop by Design Harvest that took place at Grand and Damen in Chicago on the weekend. It was a street fair featuring mostly vintage and handmade home furnishings. They also had a bluegrass band playing when I got there, which I loved. It was so much fun and I met many great artists. I will be featuring some of the designers in the upcoming weeks. First off is Bill Mitchell with Readapted.

"Reinvent a space. Bring a sustainable garden to life. Remodel an old home and transform salvaged lumber into new furniture. Whatever you’re envisioning, we help you make it happen."

This is what Readapted is all about. I was lucky enough to meet Bill Mitchell at Design Harvest and saw some of his great pieces. His work is all environmentally friendly and he works with his clients to design something they would love. You can check out more here.

I especially love his lighting designs.



Here is a garden sculpture created from the clients wooded land.



The next 3 pictures are from a country church building that was turned into a home.

This is a piece of art was created with a paw print in the middle to remember a loved pet
.
Fireplace mantel and harvest table created from refurbished materials.





Then here are my pictures of the pieces shown at Design Harvest.

Readapted is located at 2545 W. Homer St, Chicago. Check it out!

International Antique Fair at the Merchandise Mart

One of the best things about Chicago is there are constant design events to go and see and inspiration all around you! These past few weeks I have been lucky enough to get to a lot of them. The International Antiques Fair, held at the Merchandise Mart Oct. 1-4, was one I was able to go check out. It was a lot of fun to see design in a different world than all the modern new designs I'm often surrounded by. I hope you had the chance to see it. If not there are more to check out around or the Merchandise Mart does hold them each spring and fall. Below are just a few of the things I was able to check out there.

This room was designed by a Chicago interior designer, Nora Schneider. This was my favorite room design. She founded her own design firm in 1999 and you can see her talent. I love the interesting mixture of modern art mixed with antiques. I think that is how anyone can pull in some antiques into their own home decor. It makes the space much more interesting than to design it with all modern pieces or all antiques. Just have fun and mix it up a little. My favorite thing here is those crazy plates in the china cabinets! I love the romantic dark colors too.

I couldn't resist throwing in one picture from all the vintage jewelry they had. Boy do I wish I could own this piece! I would throw it on for every day with a loose v-neck tee and skinny jeans.

This is a giant candlestick with bittersweet vines wrapped into a ball. I loved this and it inspired me to do 2 smaller versions of this on a fireplace mantel for fall.

I, as you may have been able to tell if you read my blog, cannot resist any whimsical animal art. There were lots of them there - some as figurines, some as magazine racks, and paintings. Love these dogs and the birds below.

This table is just beautiful with the marble top and intricately carved base.

I have recently fallen in love with this kind of painting. It makes me think of living in an old english country cottage filled with paintings like these - mostly animal and nature inspired, of course.

The antique fair had tons of lighting from table lamps to pendants.

This one was my fave!

Ok, this one was a favorite too. I'm thinking I could make something like this myself out of horse shoes.

Also tons of great seating.....

Even if you think antiques may not be your style, it's great to be inspired and mix it up with some other pieces. Makes your place look even more interesting and actually quite modern.