When old is good

Some things get better with age. I think an old chest/dresser is one of those things.

 

DecorPad

Nate Berkus

I almost didn't post this next picture because even though I like the chests used as night stands, I'm not loving the bed or the bench. But the chests are good. And the colors are good.

DecorPad

I think aged chests look especially nice when mixed with shiny metal mirrors and accessories as in these three images. It makes a good contrast, don't you think?

Affordable Fabric

During a recent post when I asked for reader inspiration, I received a comment from Melissa asking for affordable fabric recommendations. I don't have specific fabrics in mind, but these are my go-to places when I am searching for inexpensive, yet good quality, fabrics.

1. Stripes and bold patterns from Premier Prints. 

I used the chartreuse canopy stripe for the tablecloth for Riley's 2nd birthday

  and I used it in candy yellow for the Roman shades in her playroom.

 

I also used the Carrie stripe in snorkel for the bench and the piping on the chair in this bedroom.

There are several other options for stripes and most of their fabrics are between $7.99 and $9.99 a yard!

Some of my other favorite fabric patterns from Premier Prints are:

 

Zig Zag

Togo

Denton

Ele

2. Burlap from Fabric.com

I used the ivory burlap for the Roman shades in my master bedroom. 

 I love the other color options available.

While burlap can be scratchy to sit on, it is great for window treatments or accent pillows. It adds lots of texture at a low price - $2.79 - $6.48/yd. I have also used other fabrics from Fabric.com. They have lots to choose from and usually have reasonable prices. 

3. Designer fabric from Decorator's Best.

While a lot of this fabric is still fairly expensive, it is a great source for buying designer fabric at the lowest price possible. Sometimes the prices here are even better than the prices I can get with my trade discount.

4. Remnants from Fabric Guru

Fabric Guru sells lots of fabric but you can find great deals on their fabric remnants and they ship any amount of fabric for $4.99. 

 There are so many fabric vendors online that it is hard to narrow the list down, but these are a few that I have used with success in the past. If you have any places you would like to add, please leave a note in the comments. Thanks for the suggestion, Melissa! 

Chicago

 I spent the weekend in Chicago celebrating my friend Jill's bachelorette weekend.

We stayed at the Four Seasons hotel and had beautiful views of the city.

This is the Hancock building - one of Chicago's most recognizable buildings. It is right across the street from our hotel.

This is the Palmolive building. I was obsessed with the grass terrace but this is the best picture I could get since I didn't bring my zoom lens. 

Can you imagine having a terrace like that??? It was gorgeous. 

Anyway, enough architecture - back to the celebration. We started off with dinner at Feast followed by cupcakes from Sprinkles and champagne service in our hotel.

Saturday we had a great brunch at Orange followed by shopping and a day at the spa. Saturday night we had a lingerie shower at Pops with bellinis and chocolate covered strawberries.

Followed by a late night dinner at Quartino - a fabulous family style Italian restaurant. 

We all joked about now that we are in our 30s the bachelorette parties have changed a bit since our 20s. While not as wild and crazy as our younger years, I would still say this is one of the best bachelorette weekends I have ever been a part of. What's not to like about great weather, great friends and a weekend of being pampered? Congrats Jilly! Can't wait for January!

Clarification, Thanks, and an Answer

Just to clarify, I wasn't actually contemplating ending my blog yesterday, I was just saying that if I didn't get any comments or emails from y'all then maybe it would be a sign that I should stop blogging. But, as usual, you totally came through for me and provided me with lots of new inspiration. Which is one of the reasons I love blogging so much! So, thank you! Yesterday I was feeling burnt out and now I have lots of new ideas bouncing around in my head. I will do my best to address most of your suggestions over the next few weeks. 

The first question I will address is the one with the simplest answer: Where did I get the flash cards I used in Riley's playroom?

I used three sets of alphabet flash cards to make the collage:

 by Eric Carle

by Charley Harper

by Lisa DeJohn

I accumulated mine over time and bought them at three different places, but you can get all three sets at Amazon. I love them all but I think my favorite are the Charley Harper cards - they are so cute and creative!

Thanks again for your comments and emails! I love hearing from y'all and I really needed the inspiration!

Stuck

Unknown

These pictures have nothing to do with my post....I just hate posts without pictures. Today I am stuck without a post.

Blueprint Magazine

I keep trying to come up with a post and nothing comes to mind.

Unknown

So, I thought I would ask you for inspiration. Is there anything you want me to post about? Any random questions you want to ask me - design related or not?

House Beautiful

Hopefully there is something y'all want to know from me or else it may be a sign that I need to stop blogging :) I know inspiration will return, but in the meantime, I would love to know what y'all want to know.

The Pretty Shoppe

Just leave a comment or send me an email!

Little finds

I haven't been to my local antique mall in a long time so I decided to stop by yesterday to see if they had anything new. I only came home with two small items but I love them both! First, I found this old trophy. 

I spied it from a distance and loved the shape. When I got up close and saw the patina, I was sold.

I'm not sure where it will end up but I have several places in mind.

Next I found this elephant planter.

It reminds me of these elephant side tables that I have seen a lot of lately.

While I think the side table is a little too much elephant for me, the little planter was just right. 

 I didn't love the colors so I spray painted it white. 

Much better.

 It's amazing how happy little finds like this make me. 

Something else that makes me happy?

Evidence of Fall.

Even though it was unbearably hot while I was spray painting, I saw lots of acorns which is a sure sign that Fall will be here soon. I can't wait!

Sneak Peek

I am loving this living room that I am working on with a client.

I just might move in when we are done!

Just what the doctor ordered

Since I wasn't allowed to travel this weekend, my family came up here to celebrate my sister's birthday.

I feel sorry for people who don't have a sister. In many ways, we are total opposites and spent about 15 years of our childhood wishing the other one didn't exist.

But now, we are great friends and I can't imagine life without her.

I don't know anyone who works harder than she does - at her job, at being a good friend and at being there for her family. And Riley absolutely adores her.

She is the queen of Excel spreadsheets, the best travel companion, an avid runner, and a firm believer in the saying, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."

We decided to celebrate her birthday with a little shopping, a lot of eating and a brief visit to King Family Vineyards.

 

It was a perfect weekend and just what I needed to get back on my feet. Happy birthday, Katie! We love you!

Our Favorite Spot

I know I have apologized for a lack of posts a lot this summer, but this week it was truly not in my control. I've had some unexpected health problems arise and blogging has not been possible. I am quickly recovering and should be back to normal soon. Now that I am off my pain meds, I thought I would try to string together a coherent post, so here it goes :)

I've shown photos of our master bedroom before we moved upstairs and several things remain the same such as the bedding and the night stands.

During the summer we don't use our duvet so it is stored away for now. 

Now that we have more space, a few things have changed. The only new item we bought for this room is this chest we found during one of our trips to Luckett's several months ago.

I love the unique shape and finish of the wood. It also provides great storage although it is almost entirely empty at the moment.

 The round mirror is the one I blogged about last week and it was a $12 thrift store find.  

I had the Roman shades custom made. They are an ivory burlap and some of the leftover fabric from the duvet cover was used as trim on the sides.

 Over the weekend I finally finished a project that I have been putting off for months - the gallery wall.

I had a mix of photos, artwork and sentimental items that I wanted to display.

Some of the items were black and white, some were in color, some were metallic. Instead of trying to force the items to look more uniform, I decided to accentuate their differences by using frames of various sizes, finishes and shapes. I wasn't sure if it was going to come together or look like a jumbled mess, but I have to say, I love the way it looks!

The more unique frames are thrift store finds and the rest have been collected over the years from Target, Ikea and/or Michael's. 

One of our favorite items is the vintage license plate. I found a whole stack of them at a local thrift store and brought one home with me.

No matter where we end up in life, Augusta County will always hold a sentimental place in our hearts since it is where we bought our first house together and it is the location of Riley's first home.

Another item I wanted to display was this subway map.

I spent the summer in Vienna a few years ago and I used this map on a daily basis when I was there. 

Most of the photos are of Riley and will probably change as she grows. 

The gallery wall was a lot of work to hang but it really does make the room feel finished. 

I think this room is our favorite place in our house. We love to wake up in the morning and have coffee in bed and we usually hang out and read books in bed with Riley before she goes down for the night. 

Which room is your favorite spot in your home?

Lake Life

(All images above from Country Living)

Today, Riley and I are heading to Smith Mountain Lake to see another one of my best friends from college. My friend Julie lives in NY so she is another friend that I don't get to see as often as I would like. Her family has a place at SML and it is such a beautiful place to visit.

Smith Mountain Lake

It's the perfect way to start the weekend!