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Thursday, July 16, 2009

My Favorites: Linen Florals & Toiles

I'm looking for the perfect fabric for a pair of chairs in my living room. I'm leaning towards a linen or linen-look fabric with a pattern. I want it to have a hint of old-fashioned in it... something that reminds me of my Grandma Maestranzi's antique flowery china. I plan to put it on clean-lined upholstered pieces for a fun mix of modern & vintage. I also might use one of these fabrics on the reverse since they're linen and can be just as beautiful when they're all muted & washed-looking...

***

Unfortunately I haven't figured out MOST of the manufacturers for these fabrics but found most of them through Greenhouse Fabrics and P. Tree Textiles when I was browsing around for ideas. (SO if anyone knows any that I don't name, please let me know!! :) Most of these fabrics are fabrics I love but the ones with ***s above them are ones I'm considering.

The first batch of fabrics is green. Now, many of you know me by now... And you know how much i LOVE neutrals and being able to switch up my throw pillows & accessories. So the green sort of nixes that... BUT maybe when it became time for a change, I could slipcover the chairs and then have the option for green or neutral??? Anyway, since I was little, I always thought about that drapery fabric from the Sound of Music that Maria uses to make the kids' clothes out of. (below) I even found a dress in college (still have it, but preggers belly is keeping me out of it this year!! ha) that reminded me so much of it that I had to have it. I love that fabric. Remember it?? ps- green is my FAVORITE color ;)

Anyway, I'm not in the mood for a damask but some of these fabrics (below) remind me of it AND my Grandma's china.

This next one gets **** It's Braemore's "Chiara" in pistachio linen:

*** Definitely need to order a sample as this is the same fabric: ( i love both though)

Braemore also makes this cute cane fabric that I thought I'd share. I'm not into that much matching but it is really great:

***Another of my favorites, This one of by Richloom, "Confection" in umber, again linen:

*** oooohh love this one too!! Don't know the manufacturer (anyone please??!!) I actually love this in all it's colorways so I'll call it "PRETTY FERNY FABRIC" I found it at Greenhouse Fabrics and they call it '"moss"

Another Greenhouse fabric: i'm a paisley-lover too

Mirage in kiwi found at P. Tree Textiles:

Greenhouse floral:

"Jungle Vine" in green by Waverly:

"Picture Perfect Petal" found at P.Tree Textiles:

Black & white Greenhouse floral:

*** I have to say I really love this fabric in black too. Again, if anyone knows the name of it, please email me!!! :) ...

*** LOVE this... Although I have to say this isn't a flattering picture. ;) ;) But really, the repeat is huge in person and this was the fabric I love on the reverse too. It's Richloom's "Confection" in charcoal. Currently this is at the top or close to it. Would use it on the reverse for sure...

**** Another Greenhouse mystery. They call this one "spa" and it does actually have a very pale aqua background.... I'd rather it in more of a gray as it's showing up on my computer. SO mabe it comes in other colorways?? Does anyone know who makes this?? It's a linen..

Greenhouse, but I think the name might be "sunroom" because I found a yellow version from P. Tree Textiles:

Greenhouse: (love this one too-- anyone know the manufacturer??)

Oh Greenhouse again!

Greenhouse: (shocker!)

Here is Chiara by Braemore in robin's egg. Really pretty:

Another pic:

Another unnamed Greenhouse fabric:

*** love this one.. a Greenhouse mystery, sadly. They call it "porcelain"... anyone??

The pretty ferny fabric again:

*** Here's the yellow version of the one higher up. It's called "sunroom" in camel and I found it at P.Tree Textiles.. anyone know who makes it?

Greenhouse:

Greenhouse:

Ooooo a favorite of mine that I've used a time or 2... I found it at Greenhouse but it's by Richloom and it called "aviary" in surf. This fabric is STUNNING in person. Check out what I did with it here.

So pretty, and now we move into birds... I would love any of these for throw pillows if I did go neutral... (All found at P. Tree Textiles)

ok, so there's my list right now. I add to it all the time. If anyone knows any of these manufacturers, let me know!!! thank you soooo much!!!

xoxo,

lauren

ps- I also have to apologize because I am so insanely behind on emails. If anyone has sent me a question in a comment or email that I didn't answer, please send me an email with it again!! I'm really sorry about this!! thanks!!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Inexpensive Artwork for Childrens' Rooms

Some of the most beautiful art can be found in children's books. And what an inexpensive way to decorate?

Remember the curtains I bought at Ikea this weekend for my little guy's bedroom?? (below) Well, the first thing I thought of when I saw them was My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (above)-- one of my favorite books as a kid. How fun would it be to use the book for art?

And also, how about The Saggy Baggy Elephant by K.B. Jackson with illustrations by Tenggren? (below)

I think it would work perfectly.

The colors are vibrant and the story takes place in the jungle, which is exactly what the curtains remind me of.

Christian loves the book and loves naming all the different animals & making animal sounds. I think it would be so fun for them to be blown up & framed as a set of prints on the walls.

The crocodile (below) is one of my favorites. It's the illustration that made me want to start framing this book because it's just so vibrant & pretty.

How cute is Sookie the elephant's belly below??!!

Ok, I know I've shown an insane amount of this book by now, but just one more. (I can't help myself they're too cute!!! :) At this part Christian always points to the elephant in the center and says "baby" and then points to 2 big elephants and says "mommy - daddy."

And another of my favorite books is Murice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. The fabric below comes in a green & aqua colorway and when I saw it I immediately thought of Where the Wild Things Are. (I wish I had an image of the fabric in the right color but hopefully you see the connection anyway.)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. The images are beautiful and the story's great.

When I was little, the library we went to had a big Max doll (wolf suit and everything) that came with the book when you checked it out. He was probably as big as me and it was awesome. Christian has an old furry snow suit that looks like Max's wolf suit and he sometimes puts it on and runs around growling.

The illustrations are softer & I think they almost deserve a room of their own. My original idea was to have Christian's new room be "where the wild things are" with letters spelling "WILD THING" above the bed, but then I found the really cheap Ikea curtains. Maybe Baby 2 will get to be the WILD THING??? (The Napping House is also a contender.)

We'll see... That fabric is much more expensive so... Anyway, there are so many beautiful children's books out there!! It's a really inexpensive way to decorate and kids will love it. (and you will too!!)

Can't wait to show you finished pictures. Christian is getting his "big boy bed" soon so it'll be shortly!!! What are some of your favorite illustrated children's books?? Do you have any book artwork on your walls?

xoxo,

lauren

Monday, July 13, 2009

My Love-Hate Relationship with Ikea

Well, we do it every once in a while... go to Ikea. I think everyone sort of feels this way about Ikea: you hate it but you love it. The prices are amazing and they have amazing meatballs, but by the time you get down to the section where you're loading up all your goods, it feels like you've been there forever!! And then sometimes, after a few months, the furniture sags, or bows or breaks... I've had awesome luck with some furniture & terrible luck with others. But I just can't stay away...

We made the trip because we needed a few things (and are young, fabulous & broke, of course!) How adorable is the fabric above??? They're curtains for one of the kids' rooms... I'd really like to put them in Christian's new bedroom but worry they're too girly for him (although like he'd care at 2 years old... it's really more like are they too girly for Daddy?? :) I have been wanting to do something with picture books, so we'll see if I can make it work... I also got the curtains below for our bedroom. They're really more a placeholder until we can afford more linen, but you can't beat Ikea's prices and now at least we have something up!!

We also picked up the HUGE table below in the damaged furniture section for only $150. We were planning on paying the whole $400 for it until my husband thought to check the damaged section. (he's the best!!!) I really don't know where the damage is & honestly, if I know Ikea and my family, we'll damage it pretty quickly ourselves. It's going to be in my office/ the family room as a worktable for projects, laptops, etc. and can also do double-duty as dining space for huge parties. The little rolly chairs were only $25 each and I'm planning on spraying the legs a shiny chrome:

These pics (above & below) are of our family room which is being finished this week!!!!! I'm SO excited!!! We're having wall-to-wall seagrass installed & then we get to bring in all of our furniture & (finally!!) unpack & get organized. It'll basically double the square footage of our house because we haven't been using it all all this whole time... Below is one of the Tullsta chairs we see everywhere. For $129 and with white washable slipcovers, these babies were what got us to Ikea in the first place. We picked up a pair to go by our wood burning stove in the family room..

Anyway, I'll have some "after" pictures of the new family room very soon!! yay!!

And if you didn't get the chance, check out my previous post on what we've been up to! :) hope you had a great weekend!!!

xoxo,

lauren

**** Check out this site that Joni from Cote de Texas just let me know about: http://www.bemz.com/index.php/page/shop/prod_id/3/3/13/24/0/11/front/model_id/60/showbox/color/pattern_id/85/

They make custom slipcovers for Ikea pieces at awesome prices!!! What a great idea for an upgrade!!! *****

Thursday, July 9, 2009

On the Homefront: A few changes

Well, we've been busy as usual around here & I thought I'd share some pictures of our progress. Above & below is the mantle arrangement I just did today... You know how you just get restless sometimes & need a change?

I still haven't gotten anything on the walls "permanently" in this house yet!! And the walls are still the same shade of builder's white as when we moved in... It's been driving me insane but what I want to do requires lots of time & effort and we're just so not there yet. But anyway, I had fun picking some hosta leaves for the mantle (below):

And, in the kitchen we've made a few minor changes. Here's the "before" for a quick reminder:

And here is it now:

The cabinets are now a pretty shade of gray-green that works really well with our views outside. I'm really happy with them but who knows how long they'll stay green? We also got cup pulls from Home Depot for the drawers & knobs for the cabinets (to match my far-in-the-future stainless steel appliances) which made HUGE difference (to me ;) .... Still no wax covers on my vintage chandelier...

I found this HUGE chalkboard (almost 6 feet high) at one of my favorite thrift stores for $40 and I can't tell you enough what a lifesaver it's been!!! My little guy got really into throwing his food on the wall by his high chair (ahhhhhh!!) and I was really second-guessing putting up wallpaper because it would get ruined. (ignore the messed up wall in the corner ;)

Now, it's in the perfect spot to protect the wall & now he wouldn't dare ruin his beautiful artwork by throwing food on it. Yay!! Wallpaper coming soon!!

And finally, my coconut bead chandelier from Anthropologie arrived!!! (below) I'm having some issues because of course now the chandelier makes me want to buy the right table and the perfect chairs... hahahaha

(It looked AWFUL with my little Gustavian desk I was using as a console (the aqua one?) so I moved in an Ikea shelf we have, thinking of it as a temporary fix for the iron & reclaimed X shelves I want so badly... ) But I'm actually pretty happy with it and I'm sure it'll stay for a bit... (Husband is even happier :) I desperately needed a spot for rotating accessories & pretty things so now I've got it! yay!!

So, one last look at our dining room as it is now... Soon to come- slipcovered parsons chairs and HOPEFULLY the perfect table... We really want to use this space as an extension of the living room and a library/ place to display books & cool objects and have it double as a dining room when guests come over. For now, I'm very happy :)

Hope you enjoyed!! Have a great weekend!!!

xoxo,

lauren

Stephen Knollenberg

I just can't get over that window & view (above)!!!! Browsing around the internet I came across the work of Stephen Knollenberg. He has a firm with offices in both DC & South Carolina & I'm loving everything I'm seeing. I've got a crazy day ahead of me & have to run but here's some eye candy...