Category: Filing Cabinet

Just a Few Totally Normal Pillows
I was rooming with Nole from Oh So Beautiful Paper at Alt Summit, and I was laughing as I read an email submission. I’m skimming the press release, seeing things like “premium lamb’s wool” and “broad range of textiles including velvet and linen…” and then I get to the photo. Nowhere in the copy did it mention that the pillows had drawings of boobs on them. Oh, hello!

So then Nole was telling me about a pillow she saw from an Etsy seller at the National Stationery Show that had strippers on it. She had somehow forgotten, until I pulled up the picture of them on her blog, about the penis patterned pillows alongside it. So now we’ve got ourselves a little theme here, and while not nearly as naughty, I thought the winking eye pillows I added to our bedroom recently would fit well here stylistically.

Body parts! And a bonus ‘boyfriend.’ Enjoy.
1. Wink Wink Pillow, People I’ve Loved
2. Brostette Boob Pencil Pillow, Creating Cozy
3. Black Outline Pillow, Creating Cozy
4. Boyfriend Pillow®
5. Dick Pillow, Lark + Raven*
6. Pinstripper Pillow, Lark + Raven*
* Available in 6-8 weeks. They’re being made now!
June 15, 2015
So You Need a Leather Dining Chair
There’s a leather chair, with a certain shape and metal legs, that has been popping up here and there lately. Have you noticed it, too? Sort of a cushier version of Charlotte Perriand’s les arc chairs. After coming across one for the fourth time, I took it as a sign to round them up and present them to you, for you may have need of a good looking leather dining chair. I try to be helpful like that.
1. Roadhouse Leather Chair, CB2, $249 (also shown in the first photo)
2. Leather Schoolhouse Chair, Rejuvenation, $219
3. Fernando Chair, Jayson Home, ~~$695~~ $566
4. Giron Brown Leather Chair, ABC Carpet & Home, $745
May 6, 2015
Design Mom’s Book and Book Tour (Hey, Chicago!)

Gabrielle Blair, of Design Mom, is coming to Chicago tomorrow, for the next stop on her book tour. I’ll be helping her host a DIY session at the Lincoln Park Pottery Barn, making the You Are Special Today plates from the book. You can sign up for one of the craft spots, or just come down to meet Gabrielle and pick up a copy of her book to be signed from 6-8 o’clock!

The book is amazing. Here’s a little peek inside at some of my favorite parts.

I’m so glad Gabrielle’s coming to town and I hope to see a bunch of you at the event tomorrow night. If you haven’t met her before, you’re in for a treat!

May 4, 2015
Slightly Off-putting Art for a Bathroom
I’ve been making a few changes to our bathroom. I feel like it needs some art on the walls, but I don’t think it should be too serious. There was a photo that used to hang in my uncle’s house that I loved, and he has said that we can have it if he can find it, so fingers crossed for that. If it doesn’t come up in his search though, I’m thinking it’s going to be something along these lines…

Funny

But not that funny. Let’s call them mildly amusing.
- Look at those puppies!
  Champion Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, at Cruft’s Dog Show, Terence Spencer
- Look out behind you!
  Fist Fight, Red, Dadu Shin
- Nature calls.
  Collocation No. 14 (NATURE) Left Panel, Mickey Smith
- Ooh, that smell. Can’t you smell that smell?
  Knuba, 2010 by Alex Kostinskyi
People

Because I also think the idea of a bunch of people watching you when you step out of the shower is funny.
- I like your glasses.
  Tyler, Megan Adams
- And you, I like your scarf.
  Portrait Study No. 1, Three Potato Four
Slightly Off-putting

Some of these are strange in and of themselves, and others only by context. Certain imagery is just a little ‘off’ in the loo.
- I love the idea of a nude, but thought better of it because of the kids. I’m not worried about my kids, but more about their friends. Is that a strange concern to have? The Balch House: gateway to sin for the youth of Oak Park. Anyway, I love this one, but the eye contact is a little intense.
  Untitled (Suzie Hedge), 2006 by Brandon Herman
- Do you really want to think about food in a bathroom?
  Chocolate Electric, Martha Rich
- I see you.
  Mask, Jennifer Ament
- A family of five, just like mine! Oh, wait. This family might not be “just like mine.”
  Family, T. Huybers
- Yeah, they really want you. They really want you, and I do too. (Hey, this one can hang next to the cake! Think anyone would get it?)
  Day 260: Baby Doll Hands by Lisa Congdon
- Again, think of the children.
  Drawings for 3 Rooms in Your Home: #1 by Steve Lambert
Funny and Slightly Off-putting People

It’s everything I love in one! (Can you tell this is my favorite category?)
- Shhhh!
  British Children Playing Outdoor Games in London Suburbs, Terence Spencer
- I’m not familiar with her (she’s an actor, says her Wiki), but this photo is fantastic.
  Lynn Redgrave Making a Face, Terence Spencer
- What’s not to love about this?
  Women Holding Giant Masks, Bettmann
April 30, 2015
One (Famous) Brownstone, Two Kitchens

You probably recognize this kitchen. It was in the much-featured, much-blogged-about home of Jenna Lyons.

Lyons’s New York brownstone was sold and is now owned by Tracy Martin and Vince Clarke. They hired Roman and Williams to redesign and decorate it, and here’s the kitchen now.

I missed the redecorated home’s feature in the New York Times when it was first published last year, but was glad to come across it recently. It’s easy for me to fall back to cute! and colorful!, but I’m so inspired by more masculine homes, and I love the vintage character brought back into this kitchen. The entire redesign is inspiring.

Which way do you prefer it? How about the home as a whole? Domain Home put together a collection of photos of the house’s two very different looks.

April 22, 2015
Three Silver Side Tables
This post is brought to you by Target Style.
Shop the new Home collection in stores and online.

Target has their new pieces out for spring, and I’m working with them today to feature one of the new side tables. I chose a silver drum table because I like that the finish is shiny enough to reflect whatever is nearby (that red rug in front warms it up a lot), but it doesn’t show fingerprints and the hammered detail gives it texture and interest.

I try to have a coffee or side table within reach of each seat so there’s always a place to set down a drink (or as is usually the case here because of the kids, a place to leave your toy cars, horse figures, and Lego people). Of course, they also make for good opportunities to bring in a few accessories, like the flowers and candle that I picked up.

(Hey, having the same initials as Nate Berkus has finally paid off!)

A drum table is versatile enough to pair with sofas and chairs in a wide variety of styles — even as a bedside table or extra seating as a stool. I’ve been working a lot with brass and warm metals in this house, so I thought it would be fun to switch it up and take a look at silver instead. I matched up the same metallic drum table with a different chair, and also pulled in two other options in my sketch below. (These are so fun to draw!)
1. Candace Arm Chair (Garden Craft Seafoam)
  The feminine lines of this chair are great, and it comes in a bunch of patterns and colors.
2. Threshold^™ Silver Drum Accent Table
  A classic shape gets a metallic update.
3. Safavieh Accent Table (Silver)
  Slender and stylish. A cute little table just big enough to set a drink down on.
4. Threshold^™ Rope Wrapped Accent Table with Hammered Metal Top
  The rope detail would be at home in a beachy setting, but the hammered metal and geometric base give it a bit of edge that helps the table work with a more modern style too.
5. Safavieh Sasha Club Chair (Tan)
  Such a great, neutral chair. Would be perfect as a pair facing a sofa.
April 21, 2015