Making it Lovely

Tag: black and white

  • The Almost-Spring Tabletop

    The Almost-Spring Tabletop

    Lots of black, because of the never-ending soul-crushing bleakness of winter. (I may be being a bit dramatic* there). But then! Color and life! I’m pretending spring is here, via this tabletop. Makes sense to me.

    Spring Tabletop #makingitlovely

    1. Almoco Flatware, DWR
      This could have probably used some shiny gold flatware, but black. Because that is apparently my thing now.

    2. Marimekko Napkins, Crate & Barrel
      Kind of wishing these were fabric, but the pattern is so cute, so oh well.

    3. Confetti Print Table Runner, Leif
      Confetti without the mess! (We’re still finding the occasional gold star confetti from August’s birthday party.)

    4. Cake Pedestal, CB2
      I bought this initially for a tabletop styling job, and it has proven to be exceptionally versatile — for a cake plate.

    5. Low Glasses, Kate Spade Saturday
      Brandon gave me a set of these for Christmas, and they are darling.

    6. Graphic Pitcher, Kate Spade Saturday
      I just love the shape of this thing. I’ve been eying it from afar since forever.

    7. Rainbow Fringe Garland, Furbish
      Party timez!

    8. Solitary Stroke Salt & Pepper Set, Leif
      Simple, but that brush stroke is so nice.

    9. Gabriel Candleholder, Crate & Barrel
      These look great in multiples, and they look a little different depending on the angle

    10. Tickar Striped Plates, IKEA
      Is there a better pattern than black and white stripes? Nope.

    * For real though, the added daylight these days has been a huge mood-booster. :)

  • The Double Parlors, Shortly After Moving in

    The Double Parlors, Shortly After Moving in

    A lot of our furniture is working well in the new house. I’m OK with furnishing slowly and taking my time to find just the right piece, but I sort of went nuts with new stuff in the living/family rooms, double parlors, whatchamacalits.

    I ordered the much-waffled-about teal sofa before we moved in. No regrets there.

    Second Parlor

    The child-sized wooden rocking chair belonged to Brandon’s mom when she was a kid, and she gave it to us for the new house. Yay for good hand-me-downs!

    Antique Rocking Chair

    I feel like that second parlor is coming together pretty well, even though there’s still a lot to do.

    The first parlor wasn’t looking so hot though. So here’s where I’m all “I’m a blogger! I must document everything!” These look awful, and I know it.

    First Attempt at Arranging Furniture

    Welcome to brown and gray town. We had that rug in our bedroom at the old house, but it’s probably going to go in August’s room soon. It’s a little small for the front room, and the color isn’t working for me.

    Brown and Grey Town

    I tried arranging the couch along the window wall, but thought it would be weird to see two sofas aligned. Confirmed.

    Failed Floor Plan

    The TV stand was a little dinky on that wall. I also tried it on the adjacent wall, but it didn’t look any better. I put it on my ‘replace eventually’ list, and I had in mind a faux printmaker’s cabinet (something like this or this).

    Not Looking so Good!

    I wasn’t in a hurry to buy, but when I went out to the Land of Nod outlet to pick up a bed rail for August, I stopped in the Crate & Barrel outlet next door and found the Blake Media Console for half-off.

    Blake Media Console

    The outlet box underneath needs to be hidden better and I want to stack some nice big art books up top, but I think it looks great so far. But then I also ordered a new rug — the one I asked about on Facebook. Buy all the things! That’s my new motto! (I’ma need to stop buying all the things.)

    Hello, new rug! I’m not sure about you yet.

    Double Parlors

    It works with the blue sofa in the next room, and I like having that visual connection, but it does not work as well with the crazy floral chair. And I like my crazy floral chair.

    Crazy Patterned Rug, Crazy Floral Chair

    (The cats and the dog do approve though.)

    Kili

    Elsewhere, I seem to have a lot of this going on.

    Teal Plus Black and White Stripes

    I feel like the stripes may not go all that well with the rug either. And I like my stripes.

    It was on sale, and I used my Anthro birthday-month discount for a further 15% off, but it still wasn’t cheap. I think it would look great upstairs in our bedroom, but then we would still need a rug downstairs, and I’m not planning to buy many more big-ticket items for a while. What do you think? Keep the rug where it is, move it up to the bedroom, or just return it?

    This might be a whole lot of crazy right here, even for me.

    There's a lot going on here.

  • Black and White Striped Rug Giveaway

    Black and White Striped Rug Giveaway

    The Olin rug is one of my favorites out there. Its bold scale and black and white color palette are so appealing, and it comes in a ton of sizes too.

    Think this would make a lovely addition to your home? There are two opportunities to win one (in the size of your choice)! Visit Crate & Barrel’s Facebook page today to enter there, and you can also leave a comment on this post through December 23 to enter here. Good luck!

    Open to US residents only, one entry per person. A winner will be randomly drawn, and your comment must be posted by December 23 at midnight CST to be eligible. The winner will be contacted via email and posted here once confirmed.

    Congratulations to the winner, Melissa!

  • Patterned Black and White Pillows (Each Under $50)

    Patterned Black and White Pillows (Each Under $50)

    I put together a couple of guides to mixing and matching throw pillows last week. Many of you requested a few more affordable options, so I gathered a collection of great black and white patterned pillows under $50.

    • stripes • floral • funny • graphic • monogram • rad

    That dog pillow cracks me up! He’s so serious.