Category: Filing Cabinet

Fab March
Fab always has fun finds from big design names along with independent designers, so I like working with them to highlight some of my favorites. Here’s what I’ve got my eye on right now.
1. Ciao Travel Tags
  All the easier to spot your luggage by.
2. Decorative Ampersand
  Because I have a thing for decorative ampersands.
3. Walnut and Leather Wall Shelves
  These are gorgeous. Pricey, but gorgeous.
4. Lilac Pantone Business Card Holder
  I may pick this one up to hold a few of my pink and gold business cards.
5. Hello Foil Card Set
  Rifle Paper can pretty much do no wrong.
6. Red Medicine Cabinet
  I have this in white, in my basement bathroom.
7. Flower in a Can: Impatiens
  The cute container will decorate a sunny spot while you wait for the flowers to bloom.
8. Gold Stripe Thank You Cards
  Simple and pretty, and the shiny gold makes them special.
9. Mother and Child Tray
  I’ve always liked the illustrations on these Vitra trays.
10. Lilac Pantone Mug
  Hot chocolate would be extra nice in this mug, and it would be cute as a vase, too.
11. Pinch and Pair Set
  Four little containers that can store and stack.
12. Amazing Pink Tea Towel
  Why not treat the care details as a design element?
This post was sponsored by Fab.
March 12, 2013
Kitchen Lighting Options
The ceiling in the kitchen is 7’10” high. The light that’s in the room now has three fluorescent bulbs, hangs down 10″, and has a 15″ diameter. It’s the right size and has the right light output, but I never did like it all that much. Now that the kitchen has been updated a bit, I want to replace the semi-flush mount fixture with something prettier, but not lose too much light or headroom. Argh, I feel like I’ve been here before.

Lighting I Really Really Want to Work in the Kitchen
1. Factory Satellite 3
  I don’t know if it would look funny hugging the ceiling, and I worry that the shades will block too much of the ambient light that we currently have bouncing off of the ceiling. Also, Edison bulbs look great but I would replace them with fluorescent bulbs for practicality, and even the round ones may throw the look off a little.
2. Bluff City Pendant, Large, Mint/Red
  It’s supposed to be a pendant, not a flush-mount fixture. It’s slightly too tall (13″), and I’m not sure it would provide enough light. But I love it. I would happily save up for this one.
Somebody please tell me that one of those two will suit my needs perfectly and we will be happy forever and ever. Except don’t if it isn’t true. I mustn’t allow my infatuation to get the best of me.

Here, we have some more options.

Lights I Like a Lot but Know Won’t Work and are Therefore Easier to Resist
1. Artimede Nur Mini Ceiling Light
  The “mini” version is still fairly large, and it’s a good size for our kitchen, but it focuses light downward and wouldn’t provide enough general illumination.
2. IKEA 365+ Brasa Black Pendant Lamp
  This looks much more expensive than it is, but again, it directs light downward. And it’s another pendant that I’m trying to force into a semi-flush mount, and that’s probably silly.
3. FLOS Glo-Ball C Ceiling Light
  If you haven’t seen this one in person, you’re probably thinking this is a really simple light with a really high price tag. I assure you it is organic and special and beautiful, and yes, the price tag is still high. I don’t love it enough to spend that much, and it only holds one bulb anyway.
4. FLOS Smithfield Ceiling Lamp
  I adore the shape, and there is even a 3-bulb option. Alas, it is directional, downward light.
I used a fancy-ish html trick to continuously label those bullet points with a break between the ordered lists, so hopefully the numbers correspond. If not, may the powers of deduction and common sense be your friend.

Moving on! This next collection has another catchy name.

Lighting That Will Work Just Fine but That I am Less Excited About Overall
1. Robert Abbey Antique Nickel Ceiling Light
  Cute. But is it too cute? Also, the shade is fabric and I wish it wasn’t.
2. Black Horizontal Stripe Nickel Wide Ceiling Light
  Black and white stripes would look good in the kitchen! But on the light? Dunno. And it’s fabric again.
3. 3-Bulb Semi-Flush Light
  This is the stupid light we already have. It is passable. It’s biggest selling point is that it’s already in the room (no work, no money spent).
Can you tell I don’t have as much enthusiasm for this last set? There’s also this collection of flush mount lighting to look at from when I did my big ceiling light guide last year, and my whole lighting board on Pinterest.

What do you think? I’m tempted to try one of the first two out, and then Swiss cheese my ceiling to bits with recessed lighting. Kidding (sort of).
March 5, 2013
A Striped Rug for August’s Room

So, I bought this striped rug for August’s room. It was on sale, 50% off (still is), and I was blinded by a sense of urgency. Must buy now, before it sells out! (It’s still available.)

It arrived, and I like the scale of the stripes. I like the color (the darker stripes are more charcoal than black). Here’s what I’m not liking so much: it’s not very soft. I knew it wouldn’t be plush — it’s a dhurrie — but it’s a smidge scratchy. And when I vacuum it, it gets all caught up and bunches like crazy. Annoying.

Also, how did I forget that I bought a twin-sized blanket with brown and white stripes for his room? August and I have snuggled under it in the rocking chair together as we read bedtime stories for the past six months! Brown can often be paired with black, but not in this case.

So I’m not sure I’m feeling the striped rug in there. I put it down without a rug pad, but I’ve since purchased one, so I’ll see if that helps with the vacuum slippage issue. The rug isn’t terribly rough underfoot and August isn’t a newborn so it’s less of a problem now, but I wish it were a little softer. And then there’s the clashing! Rug vs. Blanket! Stripes vs. Stripes! Who will win?

p.s. Prepare thyselves for striped rug overload right this way! I’m considering this runner for the kitchen (such a good price).

February 27, 2013
Black and White Wall Art for the Kitchen
I didn’t like the white walls in the kitchen until I added our big black and white print. Now the walls look intentional instead of forgotten. I would love to recreate the print for you as a free printable for download (it wouldn’t be difficult), but it doesn’t feel right. I know the quote can be attributed to Candice Bergen, but I don’t know who created the print, or when. Instead, I’ve rounded up a few options for black and white wall art that would feel right at home in my kitchen — and maybe yours, too.
1. OMG CAKE
2. Like Ron Swanson, I want you to give me all the bacon and eggs you have. (Wait, wait…)
3. Butcher Prints (set of 3)
4. This cute flag conversions tea towel, designed by Shanna Murray is no longer available, but the idea of framing it was so cute that I still wanted to include it here.
5. This conversion tea towel could be a good substitute for the last one.
6. This triangle tea towel would also look fantastic on display in the kitchen.
7. These pretzels are making me thirsty. (Maybe he had a different interpretation!)
8. Kitchen Cooking Print
9. Newgate Bubble Clock
February 18, 2013
Blue and Green Kitchen

I found this image on my hard drive that I had saved in 2009. Oh, the era before Pinterest! Oh, the folders upon folders of “Some Things I Like!” Oh, the inability to track down where I had gotten the image from.

I don’t like to share unsourced images, so I set to tracking this one down. I finally found it (Remodelista credits the kitchen to a Parisian architect, Phillippe Harden), and was rewarded with additional photos of the space.

I’ve got to get cracking on those curtains in the kitchen so I could play around with the palette in Photoshop. I don’t know that I want to go this colorful, but… maybe I kind of do now? I have to give it some thought.

January 24, 2013
ONA Chelsea Camera Bag (Giveaway)

ONA recently wrote to me to ask if I was interested in reviewing and giving away a new camera bag they were coming out with. I did the same for their Brooklyn camera bag (which I still use and love), so I agreed. They sent over their newest, the Chelsea camera bag in cognac leather.

(in case you’re curious: dress • cardigan • bracelet • shoes)

If I’m going out with my big camera in tow, I’m not going to carry a camera bag and a separate purse. With my other bags, I have to pare down a bit, but the Chelsea fits everything I usually carry, plus my camera with a small lens attached and two additional large lenses. I also like the classic, feminine shape and gold hardware.

Would you like a Chelsea camera bag (in either cognac or black) of your own? ONA will give one away to a lucky Making it Lovely reader. Just leave a comment on this post to enter. Good luck!

One entry per person, open to U.S. and international entrants. The giveaway ends next Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at midnight CST, and a winner will be selected randomly.

p.s. You can keep up with ONA by liking their Facebook page.

* Congratulations to the winner, Molly!

January 23, 2013