Making it Lovely

Tag: Making it Yours (MiY)

  • MiY 6a: Modern Country Dining Room

    MiY 6a: Modern Country Dining Room

    As I mentioned, in this edition of Making it Yours (MIY), we’re starting out in Anne’s dining room before she hands the Napa dining table down to her sister Lia. Anne loves neutrals, she loves classic design elements, and her she loves modern country style.

    The creamy walls and curtains form a soft backdrop that contrasts with the rustic elements like the stoneware and the Tuscan urns. The table has a lovely but understated linen table runner to add a little texture, and two matching pendants hang above. The patterned rug is a modern take on a classic Persian style, and the chairs are a sort of a cool café style. The giclee print adds another modern note, but doesn’t draw too much attention to itself or seem out of place.

    We’ll see one more look from Anne as her style heads toward a more classically traditional look, and then her sister Lia will take it in a totally different direction.

  • Making it Yours 6: Napa Dining Table

    Making it Yours 6: Napa Dining Table

    The sixth edition of Making it Yours (MIY) will feature the Napa Dining Table from Cost Plus. It’s an affordable solid-wood table that looks much more expensive than it is.

    We’ll first see the table in Anne’s home. Anne like neutrals and her taste leans toward country and traditional; very different from her quirky, bohemian sister Lia who will be inheriting the table next. I’ve enjoyed designing five looks around these two ladies, all centering on the same piece of furniture! I’ll be sharing the first look with you shortly: Anne’s Modern Country Dining Room.

  • MiY 5e: Little Boy’s Room

    MiY 5e: Little Boy’s Room

    A few years have passed since we last checked in on James and Eugenia, the fictional couple in this edition of Making it Yours. James’ mid-century rocker chair has served him well through many phases of his life. We first saw it in the living room of his bachelor apartment, and then again after Eugenia moved in. The couple had the chair in their bedroom for a while, then created a reading nook in their new place after they moved to Chicago. Now the couple has become a happy family of three, and they’ve moved the chair into their little boy’s room.

    Orange (James’ favorite color) is back, though it’s a brighter happier shade now for a kid’s room. It shows up in the bedding, bedside table, and the floor bin that they fill with toys. Blue is a perfect complement to orange, and it’s on the walls, in the striped rug, and even in accessories like the lamp and clock. The simple bed is low to the ground and small in scale, so it’s the perfect size for a child’s room. Their little boy is a big fan of robots, and James and Eugenia are happy to indulge him. He has robot sheets on the bed, and a little robot coin bank on his nightstand. The Space Invaders style wall graphics are a playful addition to the room, even if the game was a wee bit before the boy’s time (he just likes the way the aliens look).

    Making it Yours, Fifth Edition

    MiY 5: Mid-Century Rocker Chair Summary

    We’ve seen the mid-century rocker chair in five different rooms now, completing this edition of Making it Yours. Remember, these looks are meant to work with any vintage or reproduction Danish Modern chair, whether it’s a rocker or not. Did you have a favorite room from this time around? I’d love to hear what you thought!

  • MiY 5d: Reading Nook

    MiY 5d: Reading Nook

    James and Eugenia, our fictional couple with exceptionally good taste in furniture, have just moved to Chicago! They have a long but wide hallway in their new place that they’re setting up as a mini-library. They don’t have a ton of space, so the small scale of the mid-century rocker chair is perfect for a little reading nook.

    Bookshelves with glass doors line the wall (the same bookshelves we have in our hallway library), and a glossy black floor lamp illuminates the area. The walls are painted a charming blue-green, and there isn’t enough room for a full rug but a graphic black and white runner works perfectly here. The apartment has a nice lived-in feel, so books are always scattered on the little side tables along with a few coffee mugs that hadn’t made their way to the kitchen yet. Eugenia also likes to keep a blanket (in orange, James’ favorite color) over the arm of the chair in case she gets cold.

    James and Eugenia have a spare room that they thought they’d setup as an office, but it looks like they’ll be turning it into a nursery instead! We’ll see that room next time in the final look for this edition of Making it Yours.

  • MiY 5c: The Bedroom

    MiY 5c: The Bedroom

    James and Eugenia, our fictional couple, have been moving the furniture around. We’ve already seen their mid-century rocker in two versions of the living room (once when James was living alone and then again after Eugenia moved in), and now they’ve moved the chair into their bedroom.

    The furniture here is pretty sleek (that’s James for you), like the low dresser and the Eames-inspired bed. The wall color is fairly masculine as well, though it’s the same color we used in our bedroom. Eugenia’s represented here too with the soft throw, slightly granny-ish rug, and hysterical kitty pillow (ZOMG, kitties!). They hung a sconce over each side of the bed so they can read at night, and the swallow mobile adds a little decoration.

    Hey, I hear Eugenia’s about to land a new job and they will be moving to Chicago! The rocker will be finding its way to a sweet little reading nook in their new place.

  • MiY 5b: Moving in Together

    MiY 5b: Moving in Together

    Big changes are happening with James, our fictional orange-loving research biologist. His girlfriend Eugenia has moved in with him! She’s so happy to be with a guy that has such good taste (and such orange furniture) because her previous boyfriend was “too busy revising his manuscript and thought her bourgeois affinity for decorating was capitalist and silly!”

    I may or may not be basing this on my actual friend Eugenia who wants to live vicariously here.

    OK, we know James had some pretty good furniture to start with. The mid-century rocker is staying since we’re basing each room around it in this edition of Making it Yours. We’re also keeping the sofa, orange pillow, pouf, lamp, and table. The molecule set is staying too, and we’re adding a vintage-style apple tree biology poster.* Eugenia and James painted the walls green, added some new curtains and a pillow, and put down a soft new rug to make the place feel like home for the two of them.

    James and Eugenia will be moving the rocker into their bedroom soon, so when we check in on them again we’ll see how they’ve incorporated it.

    * Did you know that apples don’t come true from seed? Apples are pretty interesting; read The Botany of Desire if you’re curious.