Meet the AO House

Have you seen this ideabook over on houzz.com? It's actually a little giveaway too - just post a comment about how you met your house-to-be and you could win a Lowe's gift card.

Back in August 2008, Carter and I met our house in Alexandria, Virginia. By March 2009, we were homeowners [long story as to why it took 7 months].

When we met our house, we had seen plenty of other choices, but nothing we loved. We walked into this place and both knew right away this was it, which may be hard to believe when you see the pictures. As most first-time buyers, we were very flexible on the stuff we could fix. In fact, we WANTED something to fix to create a space with our own personal stamp. This house had a great location, wonderful layout and solid bones - we were in.

Since April, the house has become our life. We work (often with the help of dads), we fix, we design, we fix again because the first time didn't work, etc., etc. It has become one of the best learning experiences of my life.

Not to mention that I now have my very own design laboratory. I'm constantly updating my plan for it, changing my mind, making adjustments...but I think we're getting it right. I have the vision and Carter executes - we make a great team.

These are some before pictures of the main living area of our house - they are by no means glamorous. They lay the foundation for the many blog posts to come about changes we are making.

Living Room

Living Room (We loved the fireplace)

Kitchen

 Kitchen

Dining Room

And a sneak peek of where we are today...

Living Room with view into Dining Room

Kitchen

I will eventually blog about each room and what we've done, but no room is quite finished yet (although the kitchen is very close). Stay tuned...

Designer Pillows via Etsy

When I first heard of Etsy, I thought it was a marketplace for crafty folk to sell their crocheted doilies and rhinestone-encrusted sweatshirts (personalized with your - or your granddaughter's - name in a choice of 3 puffy paint colors).

Recently, I came across an Etsy item listed on someone's blog...clicked...and opened the floodgates. I had NO idea how chic Etsy has become. Designer pillows, cool vintage objects, letterpress stationary...the list goes on. And for decorator pillows, the prices are reasonable.

So if you are dying for a designer pillow but have no clue how to sew or source that chic fabric you saw in a magazine, search "decorator pillow" or "designer pillow" on Etsy. If you happen upon a pillow cover that you like, keep in mind that you can pick up standard pillow inserts at most craft stores or places like Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs.

Some of my faves:

Sunshine Yellow Trellis Decorative Pillow Sham via PillowThrowDecor

Set of Four Pillows via milkandcookiesCanada 

 

Kalaidaspoke Linen Cushion Cover via  bestillshop

 

Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis Pillow via decorativeinstincts (great shop!)

Schumacher Chenonceau Cushion via plumcushion

Enchanté

Let's get to know each other, shall we?

I'm Daniela. I'm a web designer enamored with beautiful living and gorgeous interiors. Aesthetic Oiseau merges my interests - the Web and interior design.

I live in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband Carter in our first house. We had a vision for this place when we signed on the dotted line and are well on our way to fulfilling it with sweat equity and lots of patience.

I'm Latina and I'm Southern. I'm a Wahoo. I love Chinoiserie and stripes. My pearl earrings are my safety blanket. Fabric is my guilty pleasure. My car is red, my living room green. My combination is unique. I hope it's a fresh perspective for the blogosphere, although the themes will be familiar.

Aesthetic Oiseau is a mix of various things, all pertaining to interior decoration. DIY how-tos, inspirational spaces, brilliant designers, my own renovation stories, great resources, fab ideas - anything to do with creating a beautiful home and life via design. At least that's what I think it is - we'll see together how AO develops.

Please join me as Aesthetic Oiseau takes flight...I promise good things.