Making it Lovely

Tag: style board

  • Possible Nursery Design

    I’ve ordered the Harrison Vintage Ceiling Fixture, and I already have the gold Syroco branch and birds (which may or may not get spray painted). Everything else is still subject to change. :)

    For a boy:
    Possible Nursery Design (Boy)

    For a girl:
    Possible Nursery Design (Girl)

    The crib, glider and ottoman, bookshelf, and stuffed dog are the same in both versions. The only differences are the paint colors and fabric choices.

    Of course, I chose fabric for both versions, not ready-made crib sets. Yeah. I may not actually be up to making my own bedding. The fabrics are all from Sew Mama Sew if you’re looking for them.

  • Elsewhere: A Sunny Patio

    Elsewhere: A Sunny Patio

    First, Holly created a pretty little living room. Then Ez created a fresh, inviting home office to coexist in the same (virtual) house. Which brought us to… the Blogger House Party.

    Several bloggers (myself included, yay!) are each creating another room for our virtual client’s home. We have Holly’s short bio to go on, and a general palette of “yellow, white, and pretty pastels”.

    Home owner: Young single mother (cookbook author) with a son living in a 18th century Georgian townhouse in Savannah Georgia approx. 2000 sq ft., 2 floors, 3 bedrooms (one is an office), and a large patio off of the kitchen. She loves to entertain, enjoys pastels and Swedish decor, decorating on somewhat of a budget but she can splurge on one expensive item per room. Loves pattern and feminine touches but can’t deal with too much clutter.

    I have to say, I love this whole idea. How fun! I can’t wait to see what everyone came up with. I created our client’s patio…

    A Sunny Patio

    I chose to splurge on the chairs (so worth it). The lovely egg-shaped planter could be considered another splurge ($95 for a little planter), but it adds such a yummy, glossy pop of color that I just had to include it. The table is a bit on the expensive side too, and honestly? Inexpensive wooden tables are going to pop up all over the place once summer gets a little closer, so I’d just keep an eye out. I think IKEA had one last year for about $100.

    OK, I’m looking forward to spring and summer now. :) Thanks for putting this together, Holly and Ez!

  • Elsewhere: Julieta’s Kitchen

    Elsewhere: Julieta’s Kitchen

    Julieta asked how I would finish her (already lovely) kitchen in the comments of my last post. I do already have an idea of her style because we’ve been working on a web project together over at Smart & Lovely, and hey – I was up for a fun distraction.

    She’s already transformed her bland, old kitchen into something great:

    Julieta’s Kitchen

    Really, the only thing she hasn’t finished is the backsplash. I say throw some white subway tiles up and call it a day. Hey, it worked for me. Oh, or she could get all fancy with tile from Ann Sacks.

    Ann Sacks Tile
    I would be so jealous of you.

    Julieta isn’t crazy about flowers, until she finds just the right floral pattern (right, Jules?). I did include some florals, but they’re not overwhelmingly girly. I worked with the colors she has now, and decided to bring in more of the blue I know she loves.

    Here’s a gorgeous fabric for the tablecloth (Amy Butler fabric from Purl Soho):

    Amy Butler Fabric

    Maybe for the curtains too? That might be too matchy matchy. Maybe a striped fabric would be better, or another fabric from the same line.

    Moving on, here are some other fun touches for the kitchen:

    julietaskitchen500.jpg

    The little dishtowel from Anthropologie is so sweet (sorry, more florals). The Nigella Lawson bowls are designed to be cradled in your arm as you mix, and they’re a really pretty color. Also pretty? The pallette dinnerware from CB2.

    I just bought a few of those lacquered cupcakes (the small and medium sizes) for my bathroom redo. I know – bathrooms and cupcakes? I don’t care. I’m putting my ponytail holders and barrettes in them. And they’d be adorable in Julieta’s kitchen, but they would make much more sense there (being in a kitchen and all).

    Lastly, there’s the retro blue scale. Perhaps you don’t need a scale in the kitchen? Rubbish. Find a spot for it! You know, either that or you could get a breadbox. ;)

    …And perhaps this is the start of a new feature on the blog? Helping others? Or maybe designing a room around a color, fabric, or object?

    Or would you rather I just focus on my own house?

  • Bigger Than a Breadbox?

    Bigger Than a Breadbox?

    No, exactly the same size! Ba dum bum.

    There was a breadbox in the kitchen at the family lake house, and I really liked it. When we returned home, I started searching on eBay for something similar. I lost the first one that I bid on (it ended up going for $125!), but I won the second.

    My New (Old) Breadbox

    The green picks up on the green of our cabinet knobs. I love that our breadbox is vintage, but there are plenty of new breadboxes to choose from too (with a vintage look)…

    I really like the Buick Red Bread Bin from Anthropologie.

    I’ve also seen it in white and shocking pink (yum!).

    I would love to see this in a kitchen with sparkly red vinyl chairs, a boomerang laminate tabletop, counters with chrome trim, a Nelson Ball Clock, cherry fabric for curtains, and a vintage-style apron.

    Next is the lovely, soft green Vintage Bread Bin Box from Ballard Designs.

    I imagine it in a kitchen with creamy white cabinets, jade milk glass knobs, striped cafe curtains, feminine switchplates, mismatched ivory plates on the walls, and a big, old farmhouse table.

    And then there’s the Classic Enameled Breadbox from The Vermont Country Store.

    I think they got the gingham in the photo just right. A breadbox like that belongs in a vintage Americana kitchen… cute red gingham curtains, distressed metal sign (or letters), a vintage floral tablecloth, rooster juice glasses (I wish I knew what happened to my Grandma’s similar glasses), and a white cake stand (with apple pie on top, of course).

  • Color Scheme?

    Color Scheme?

    I’m trying to plan the colors for the new house so there’s a nice continuity throughout the home. I probably won’t do it all at once and I’m sure I’ll change my mind, but it’s worth a try!

    Here’s what I’m thinking (as of tonight):

    color scheme?

    It’s not bad, but it’s not quite right. I’ll go through it, room by room, and explain…

    • The wood in the background is meant to be the wood trim in the house (and there are wood floors throughout too).
    • kitchen: This is the room I’m most sure about! I picked up that little patterned vase at Anthropologie recently, and I adore the ochre/green color in it. The cabinets are old and worn, so I’ll prolong their life by painting them white and getting new hinges and knobs. The countertops are worn out too, so I think I’ll put in an inexpensive dark brown laminate. I kind of like the ones that look like wood. Is that too cheesy?
    • downstairs: The stairs lead to the unfinished basement. We won’t do anything there, so they can stay as-is.
    • bathroom: There are hex tiles (not in great shape, but they’re OK) and a cool freestanding tub. Unfortunately, the outside of the tub has been painted forest green, and I don’t like it. I wouldn’t normally choose to paint a tub, but since it’s already been done I’ll just be painting over the existing color. At least it’s not on the inside! I’m thinking a butter yellow – something to compliment the kitchen, but not match exactly. Maybe pink walls? That could be cute.
    • dining room: I want wallpaper! I haven’t decided yet which wallpaper, but I know I would love to have some pattern in there. There’s a great built-in buffet and nice windows in there, plus several doors, so maybe there wouldn’t be too much surface to cover? Wallpaper can be prohibitively expensive. :(
    • office: My office is pink right now and I like it, but do I want the same color again? Maybe it’s time for a change, but to what?
    • media: There is a tiny little room off of the living room. We’re not sure, but we’ll probably line it with the bookcases we have and store DVDs and CDs in there (and maybe a little chair to sit). All of our books will be going upstairs (more about that another day). This is the only room with the wood trim painted white. I actually like white moulding, but the rest of the house has such beautiful wood – it’s unfortunate that it was painted. However, I figure I can go a little darker with the paint in here because of the white. So mustard? The same color as the kitchen? Maybe even a chocolate brown…
    • upstairs: The walls are clad in knotty wood paneling and the stairs have beige carpeting. Not my taste but this is probably not changing anytime soon.
    • living room: OK, I have no idea. White? Cream? Mustard? Gray? Taupe? I don’t know! I don’t want to use the same purple we have in our apartment now. My husband wouldn’t mind if we did, but we’ve had it for five or six years now and I don’t want it again. I think it would be nice to have something a little more subtle in there, since the rest of the house will be fairly colorful. Plus, if we put wallpaper up in the dining room, I’d love for that to draw your eye and not have the living room walls clashing or competing. Maybe we should wait until we choose a wallpaper (if we do)? Also to keep in mind: we have a tan/taupe couch, pale pink lamps, and that orange and white/cream chair. The chair could maybe go upstairs and I could bring in the Eames LCW instead, but I don’t know. I’m stuck!

    I don’t have to decide on any of it now, of course. I just like thinking about these kinds of things! As I mentioned, I’m sure things will change…