Friday Crush

Photo by Laurey W. Glenn via Southern Living

LOVE this peach + mint Christmas arrangement from my favorite Southern Living.  I can't remember who the designer is in this story or if it was one of their own styled shoots...either way, this is so beautiful. I love to see holiday decor done in themed colors and these pastel hues are sensational...tones of mint and green paired with soft orange and peach is unexpected and completely lovely.

I was able to get about half of the Christmas decorating done last weekend...so I'm aiming to wrap up my nutcracker display and our living room Christmas tree this weekend. Hope you have some fun holiday plans...see you Monday! (I hope!)

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Scalloped Bed Coverlet

Design by Amanda Nisbet (anyone know photog?)
Image via Pinterest, via Droolworthy Decor

Notice the white walls...they totally work here. The green hues of this room totally pop and become quite a design statement against the clean backdrop. This room would be stunning for two little girls to share...so crisp and sweet.

But what caught my eye is the scalloped coverlet on the beds...it's the same one I'm using on the twin bed in the nursery! It's Matouk's Le Scallop coverlet and I selected mine with pink trim. If I had that money tree in the yard I would have splashed it with a huge monogram, but alas...it is monogram free to save some cash. But I did get the matching neckroll sham and had that puppy monogrammed in bright red!

I love the coverlet's sweet simplicity and details and love how it's used in a double dose in this room.

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Our Christmas Stockings

This week seems to be turning into a week of Christmas posts...what can I say, it's on my mind. With baby only weeks away I want to get all of my Christmas decorating and gifts in order so that I can enjoy my favorite holiday while I still have my wits about me.

One of the vital purchases I wanted to make this year was a new set of family stockings. There is an excellent chance that Little Miss will be here before Christmas Day so I of course want to have a stocking hung and ready to go for her.

Ideally, I would love to make our own stockings....make them really special and unique. But the reality is that a set of homemade stockings are a bit out of my reach at the mo'...so I turned to retail - Land's End to be exact.

The Shuffler family Christmas stockings:

After much deliberation, we opted for these three stockings. I thought I would fall in love with a zillion different stockings but I ended up not really liking many that I saw - even on Etsy, which was a surprise. And Carter is a classic fella, so he hates anything that doesn't harken back to Christmases of yore (having Carter on board was crucial as I once made the mistake of purchasing a stocking for him that suited both my taste and decor and he hated it...lots).

We both really liked the needlepoint construction of these and what clinched the deal was the adorable stocking for baby girl...that penguin is too cute and I love the pink + red ice skaters...they fit nicely with baby's signature color palette.

Stockings seem to always be a special part of family Christmas decor. I remember my own from childhood very fondly. And Carter's were handmade by his grandmother. Do you have special stockings with a story in your family?

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Easy Gift Wrapping

For as creative as I fancy myself to be, I'm not so great with the gift wrapping. I lack patience and so creating beautiful packages for my gifts is a tough endeavor. But I recently found a great idea for those of us that are gift-wrapping challenged...something simple, very pretty and inexpensive.

Get yourself a big ol' roll of kraft paper like this one:

Wrap your gifts and then adorn your simple package with one of these gorgeous tags from Etsy seller Indelible Impressions:

Aren't they beautiful? I really think a simple paper package with one of these stunning tags would be all you need. The tags are a smidge more than $1/piece so using them wouldn't break the bank. And creating an assortment of brown packages with beautiful tags would look very pretty under your tree.

And when Christmas is over, the shop carries a multitude of other fun tags to help you finish up that roll of paper:

I think that's what Martha Stewart would call a Good Thing.

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Our Red Door

One of my dreams for our house has finally come true...we now have a red door. And that's only part of it - the whole house has been PAINTED GREEN! Remember how long I have wanted this? Well, after some discussion and finding a great contractor, C & I decided it would be worth hiring this project out in an effort to actually get it done.

And we made a great decision! The painting wrapped up just in time for Thanksgiving and Carter and I had fun decorating what feels like a new house for Christmas this weekend. The house is now Georgian Green by Benjamin Moore with White Dove trim and a glossy red door that Carter painted.

I got that fox door knocker from Carter for Christmas last year (vintage, from High Street Market) and am thrilled to finally have it up.

I don't have good pictures of the house yet...I'll try to snap a couple for you. But in the meantime I wanted to show off our front door that is even more welcoming decked out for Christmas.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Table setting by Eddie Ross, image via Chinoiserie Chic

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I hope you are surrounded by family, friends and fantastic food. I'm thankful for each and every one of you and for so many other things...today is a wonderful day to spend counting them all!

XOXOXO,

D

Orange Fabric Picks

Did you guys know I love the color orange? I kid. Obviously I do - it's my favorite! And this time of year, the buzz around orange reaches its annual high. Though I'm a firm believer that orange is appropriate any time of year and it makes the most fantastic accent color.

To that end, my latest ideabook on Houzz rounds up some of my favorite orange fabrics that can be used various ways - not just for autumnal holiday decor.

Check out the full ideabook here, including ideas on how I'd use these great fabrics:

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Margaret Kirkland

I have to admit that I am woefully behind on my print shelter mags. My preferred reading these days are books on How to Raise a Human, but a link in House Beautiful's Twitter feed alerted me to their new wave of up-and-coming designers that I think appears in their November issue.

And I was immediately drawn to pretty Southern lady-designer Margaret Kirkland:

You know I love a good traditional interior and Margaret whips up rooms that dreams are made of...seriously pretty, elegant and full of classic charm. I find it so refreshing when a young designer has such an elevated style and isn't afraid to create traditional looks that will stand the test of time. And this Atlanta-based designer is no exception.

Some of her work:

All images via margaretkirklandinteriors.com

Gah...so lovely. Check out Margaret's website for more inspiration - and I have to comment that her website is fantastic. Clean, simple and you land right on her portfolio that is very easy to scroll through. Enjoy...

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Sadie Sconce

I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm using sconces in the nursery. The room has a rather large alcove that fits our changing table perfectly but because of ceiling angles, it's quite a dark little nook.

I'm never one to pass up an opportunity to install decorative lighting so I sweetly asked Carter if he wouldn't mind installing some (hard-wired) wall sconces for me and he kindly obliged. And them my search started and of course everything I love costs eleventy billion dollars and now that we're in the home stretch of the room, my budget is essentially used up.

The look I wanted was similar to the Bryant Sconce from Circa Lighting:

The price point isn't outrageous, but still out of my budget. And then I saw this gorgeous bathroom from Lilly Bunn Weekes in Lonny and fell in love with the tailored look even more:

 Photo by Patrick Cline

Well my search for budget lighting had me hit up Home Depot online and I was thrilled to come across this adorable little sconce:

It's the Sadie sconce from Hampton Bay and at $30 it was a great fit. And I actually liked it a little more because while it's still very tailored, I think its slight curves and ball tip/finial give it a sweeter disposition - perfect for the nursery.

My only dilemma was the finish, but we've found that several coats of Rustoleum's Metallic Brass spray paint gives it a nice golden tone that I can live with for the cost savings.

Now my other wish is to make the shades red (and you might recall me asking you about it) and I'm still not sure what a good option is. The shades are frosted glass so a little trickier to paint than fabric shades. Carter says painting them is a bad idea and it'll be hard to replace them with a different shade because they have a custom shape that works with the sconce. And remember that these are budget sconces so I don't really have room for anything other than just changing the shade it comes with. For now we're leaving them white...

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Friday Crush

Design by Melissa Rufty, image via mmrinteriors.com

White walls are not the enemy. I think a lot of you love a white wall...so do I but I think they can be challenging! Because you have to be extra good about what you put against them to really make a space come alive.

And Melissa Rufty (designer behind yesterday's amazing table) is really talented to this effect...the modern end table is just beautiful juxtaposed with worn oil paintings and warm gold tones. Pairing it with the natural rug brings the scene down a notch and a touch of chartreuse in the chair wakes it up. And I love the solo wall sconce...kind of a modified wheat motif, don't you think? Love everything about this...

Time is a tickin'...weeks are flying by at this point. The Christmas music started on my local radio station today and I couldn't be happier...and it's a reminder that meeting our little girl is right around the corner. I've relaxed a bit with the house projects but there is still plenty I'd like to do before she gets here. We'll have most of our weekend free, so I'm hoping to make some additional progress. 

Hope you have a fantastic weekend...see you Monday!

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Melissa Rufty Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

Seems like every month, I'm obsessing over the table designs featured in Southern Living. They might be my favorite feature in the magazine and this month was no exception as they tapped three designers with the task of designing a show-stopping Thanksgiving table.

My favorite was from Melissa Rufty. It is jam-packed with pattern, texture and warm jewel tones.

Images by Laurey W. Glenn for Southern Living

These images literally make my heart race they are so gorgeous...I dream of creating a table this good, though that won't be happening for a while. But I love to absorb little bits and pieces that maybe I could incorporate into my own table.

One week to go for Thanksgiving! If you're hosting, have you thought about your table? What are your plans?

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Wheat Sheaf Sconces

Who doesn't love a good classic pair of wheat sheaf sconces?

Home of Candace Bushnell, Photo by William Waldron for Elle Decor

I scored my own pair of wheat sconces a couple of years ago and I love them. They flank a large mirror above my fireplace and I don't think I'll ever tire of the look.

So being such a fan, I was thrilled to see that High Street Market has started making their own version of this vintage staple. Hunting for wheat sconces on ebay and Etsy is always an option but if you just don't have the energy or you are not having good luck, I'm really loving HSM's version - they are perfect in color, size, detail, etc.

A pair of these sconces would be such a worthwhile investment. Sculptural sconces will forever be in style and I think the wheat motif is timeless. Perfect item to add to your Christmas list, perhaps?

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China Rose Chintz

It's been a while since an amazing Chinoiserie fabric has stopped me in my tracks. At this point, I feel like I know them all...but then I came across this China Rose chintz from Scalamandre. If I've seen it before then shame on me for not paying closer attention.

Feast your eyes!

The colorways are spectacular. This chintz gives Le Lac a run for its money in my book. And at $125/yard it's palatable in terms of luxe fabrics. I could part with the cash for one yard and have a set of amazing pillows that would make a room. The trouble would be deciding which color to use!

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Nursery Rocking Chair: Before and After

Remember the story of the old chair that we bought for the nursery?

I was so happy that circumstances put this chair in my path at just the right time and for a great price. I knew its scale, tufted back and the fact that it rocked would be perfect for the nursery...and it is.

Since the moment I got it, I envisioned redoing the chair in a pink buffalo check and I never abandoned the idea, even through a couple of design schemes. And I got very lucky that once I decided to pull the trigger I came across the perfect fabric for only $5/yard during our beach trip this summer.

Throw in some red fabric for piping and my favorite upholsterer Hakan and I have one fantastic little nursery chair on my hands!

The chair looks completely bomb in the nursery and it's super comfy. Hakan of Simply Upholstery might be one of my favorite people on earth because he makes my upholstery visions come true...and always better than I expected.

So one teensy regret? I didn't do the buttons on the back in red! DOH! I thought about it and decided not to for some crazy reason. Carter was a little skeptical about the red trim so maybe he scared me away from the buttons? Can I blame him for this? Totally not a big deal...the chair looks amazing...but the pop of little red buttons on the back would be killer.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Joanna for Andi!  And I picked up the cute pillow in the perfect shade of yellow at Target.

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Friday Crush

Photo by William Abranowicz, Design by Robert Couturier for Elle Decor via Coco & Kelly

Yowza! This is a whole lot of chic in one oval room. And the reason I flagged it is because I'd like to think that these are my nursery colors (and thus baby girl's "signature colors"...it's never too early to have your personal palette). Once you see the nursery you'll be all "Ummm...no, those aren't the same colors" but just go with it that my feature colors are red + pink + jade green and this room combines the hues so perfectly!

My nursery uses the punchy versions of these colors with some yellow intermixed but I have to say that I've fallen in love with the combination. And though green and pink have always been some of my staples, I'm embracing red and yellow like never before. And I've never combined red and green thinking it was too "Christmasy"...but boy does it work. And totally appropriate for a Christmas baby.

And now I've hijacked this post and made it a commentary on the nursery...not this incredible design by Robert Couturier...so let's comment on the floor pattern, rug, lucite desk, moulding and overall rich details. Stunning!

Have a glorious weekend...see you Monday!

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