Making it Lovely

Tag: mood board

  • Style: August ’09

    Style: August ’09

    I know August is still warm, but I suppose I’m looking ahead to fall already.

    Style: August '09

    I love a classic striped shirt paired with a bright skirt and a simple fabric bag. The suede Crosby Sandals are a good summer to fall shoe, and I just ordered a pair for myself so hopefully they’re as cute in person as they are online. And then there’s that Sedum Cuff. Oh, how I want it! It’s substantial and delicate and the same time. I already own a Honey Locust necklace by Prismera, so perhaps it’s time to add to the collection, eh?

  • Francesca’s Room: Now & Later

    Francesca’s Room: Now & Later

    My mom is working on my baby sister Francesca’s room, and she’d like to finish it up inexpensively for now. She already has a painted table and chair set (from when I was a kid!), a toddler bed that she just bought for $13.50, a pink toy bin, and a glass lamp with a pink shade. She also has a purple shag rug, and multicolored curtains. All the room needs now is bedding, a dresser and a bookshelf.

    Francesca's Room (Now)

    I’d go with an IKEA dresser and add pink glass knobs to customize it a bit. IKEA’s expedit is ubiquitous these days, but with good reason: it’s an extremely useful piece of furniture that doesn’t cost very much. Add in some pink bedding, and the room will last Francesca for a couple of years.

    When the time comes to trade up to a bigger bed, my mom would like to get a nice twin sized bed with a trundle. I think she’d like something like this daybed from Pottery Barn Kids. The lavender walls and rug will remain, as would the dresser, lamp, toy bin, and bookshelf. To make the room feel more pulled together and more grown up (because Francesca will be oh so sophisticated), I’d go with an ornate mirror, silk curtains, and bedding that can take her into her teenage years. OK, and then I had to add the pink kid’s chair because it is just too cute.

    Francesca's Room (Later)

  • The Bedroom… Lightened and Brightened

    The Bedroom… Lightened and Brightened

    Our bedroom is fine. Lovely in fact. I really shouldn’t go mucking about. It looks like this:

    Our Bedroom

    Which, when broken down, looks like this:

    The Bedroom

    I don’t know what it is lately though — I’ve been really drawn to soft sweater textures and pale colors. Brandon thinks I’m nesting, and he may be right because I’m nearly obsessed. I want a light, soft rug. I want textured bedding in shades of cream and white. I want white linen curtains. I don’t want color and pattern right now. This is what I want the bedroom to look like…

    The Bedroom… lightened and brightened

    Um, and that rug just went on sale. Tempted.

    Sources (current look):

    Additional Sources (lightened and brightened):

  • Entryway (MIY: Real Good Chair)

    Entryway (MIY: Real Good Chair)

    Making it Yours (MIY) is all about using the furniture you have in new ways and taking pieces with you throughout your life. In this edition of MIY, our fictional homeowner has moved from a home with a breakfast nook and room for four Real Good Chairs to a new home where the chairs will have to be split up. We’ve already seen the chairs in a home office, graphic bedroom, and vintagey bathroom.

    Making it Yours: Real Good Chair

    Now we’re seeing the fourth and final chair gracing an entryway.

    Entryway

    The pendant has the same angles and facets as the chair, and the duck egg stacking boxes have just enough of the warm sand color on them to tie in the brass finish of the light. The console table and mirror are simple enough to not compete with the rest of the room, and the little white dish would be an excellent catch-all near the door. The Haseform Dachshund Coathanger is adorable, and the rug add just the right amount of pattern. Dark grey woven baskets and blue/grey walls finish off the entryway.

    Making it Work for You

    I know that the Blu Dot chair is fairly taste-specific. I like it (obviously), but some of you didn’t. The whole idea of Making it Yours though is that you can take a piece that you love, and keep using it in different ways and at different points in your life.

    Let’s say for example that you love Chippendale chairs. The accompanying furniture and paint colors may change, but the MIY concept still applies. Here’s an alternate version of the entryway.

    Alternate Entryway

    The chair is from Pieces, and the paint color, hooks, tray, and rug have changed. The concept is the same, yet the look is very different. I hope that gives you some ideas for how Making it Yours can work for you!

  • Vintagey Bathroom (MIY: Real Good Chair)

    Vintagey Bathroom (MIY: Real Good Chair)

    Making it Yours (MIY) is all about using the furniture you have in new ways and taking pieces with you throughout your life. In this edition of MIY, our fictional homeowner has moved from a home with a breakfast nook and room for four Real Good Chairs to a new home where the chairs will have to be split up. We’ve already seen one of the chairs in a home office, and another in a modern, graphic bedroom. Now we’ll see the third chair in a vintagey bathroom.

    Vintagey Bathroom (MIY: Real Good Chair)

    First off, can i just say that I would LOVE to have a bathroom big enough to fit a chair? Yep, that would be nice. But our fictional homeowner here has lucked out and has the room, as well as a lovely clawfoot tub and hexagon tiles. The Lombard ceiling fixture fits in well with the tub and tile, and the green goes nicely with the color of the chair. The bath mat and wall color further link the colors, without exactly matching, and Supernova Modern Vases by j. mendicino are a cute touch. The shower curtain picks up on the hex tile, but in a more feminine way while still keeping the room from getting too cloying and colorful.

    Next up, we’ll see the fourth and final chair in the home’s entryway.

  • Brandon’s Office, Updated

    Brandon’s Office, Updated

    I made just a few changes to Brandon’s office…

    Brandon's Office

    First, a big thank you to everyone for your input (White Molded Chairs)! We chose option #3, and the old broken chair was replaced with IKEA’s Jakob swivel chair. As I had mentioned before, this isn’t a true home office – Brandon only sits there for short periods white internet surfing or playing around with iTunes. We both find the new chair comfortable, though it probably wouldn’t be great as a full-time office chair.

    The pendant (which we had already switched out earlier) was replaced with an $8 orange shade. I also switched out the rug. I liked the one that was already in there, but at 3’x5′, it was a little too small. I grabbed the brown and white rug that was in my office (5’x7′), and the size is much better. An orange pillow from west elm (from a few years ago) completed the room.

    And now, because it’s fun, I threw together another magazine-style layout with sources:

    Brandon’s Office

    The house is really coming together now! We’ve only had bits and pieces done until now, but it’s so much more satisfying to see it shape up as a whole. Here’s another view:

    three corners

    I love the dashes of white and orange in all three rooms. Cohesiveness makes me happy. :)