Friday Crush

Required Friday reading - One Kings Lane's feature on the NYC home of designer Alex Papachristidis...it's blow-your-mind bananas. And this cobalt + violet moment above is owning me right now. It's all just so good in an over-the-top way. And I must say that the warm, rich jewel tones are totally prepping me for fall that is now mere WEEKS away. I'm so very ready.

Hope you have a delightful weekend...see you next week!

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French Blue on Fleek

Popped in on a favorite portfolio - that of designer Liz Caan - and fell in love with this whimsical, sophisticated, french blue youngster's bedroom:

Critter print done right, Quadrille wallpaper/fabric (Arbre de Matisse Reverse), buffalo check, contrast welts, Leontine Linens, and the most delicious pop of raspberry. IT'S ALL HERE.

Color can really be your story in a space. I think it's challenging to decorate this way (simple and tailored is always harder for me) but the results can be gorgeous. And this shade of blue is completely on fleek, which is the same thing as on point, for your information.

See more of Liz Caan's wonderful work on her website...

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Stepped Rex Headboard

It's been a while since I've made a purchase for the house that has thrilled me to the core...and it was worth the wait. Because I just bought a glorious upholstered headboard from One Kings Lane and had to share because it comes in some ridiculous colors AND IS ONLY $370 FOR A QUEEN.

Here is the one coming home to me - the Rex headboard in beige:

And it's going in this bedroom, which is currently our guest bedroom but will now become our sleeping quarters with Mac's move to the other downstairs bedroom for his nursery.

Let me tell you, picking a color was not simple. I really, really debated going with the lilac version because it kept visiting me in dreams...

But, alas, my rational brain won and I decided to pick a color that would safely coordinate with my current room...though I think the pattern on the one I chose spices it up a bit.

And here are even more colors to make your choice especially excruciating:

^ MINT ^

^ SAND ^

^ DENIM ^

^ GREEN ^

^ BLACK/WHITE ^

But wait...that's not even all of the colors. THERE ARE MORE - click here to see them all.  And the price ranges from $369 (twin, full, queen) to $459 (king, cal king).

This was a serious buy in my eyes...I might have strongly argued my case for a solid 4 days with Carter ("But we don't need a headboard, D...we have one that YOU picked out."...silly Carter) and eventually just had to go for it as my brain wasn't allowing for other thoughts until I bought it.

I might still be thinking about the lilac one...happy headboard shopping!

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Friday Crush

Design by Tilton Fenwick, Photo by Trevor Tondro for New York Cottages & Gardens

I have been knee-deep in sourcing everything for our bathroom "renovation" this week...not sure if it's a true renovation or more of an update but all I know is I am so glad it is finally happening. 

Our bathroom looks absolutely nothing like the sensational design above by Tilton Fenwick but I've been focused on this kind of imagery this week. I LOVE the subway tile and wallpaper combination with the subtle bullnose border of tile delineating the two. And the artwork makes it, yes? I wonder what the owners thought when the designer suggested that painting in the bathroom...

We are showering one of our besties and her bump Saturday and I can't wait...if I get some good photos of the party setup, I'll share. Hope you have a fun weekend ahead! See you next week.

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Mac's Nursery: Inspiration

Mac is finally getting a nursery...I think.

The plan has been to put Mac in Ana Claire's room once she moves over to the bed from her crib. Which has not happened. And Mac is still in our room. And we are approaching one year.

Carter and I are convinced that having them together would actually work fine (and would be more convenient for us). But it's a question of timing and I'm getting impatient with Mac's unsettled state and the fact that the little guy has no dedicated space in our house (stuff. is. everywhere.).

We also agreed that there is something nice about devoting space to a child...Ana Claire's room is hers. The older she gets, the more she loves her room. We designed it for her and every little touch that went into it was carefully planned for our baby girl. And I want to do the same for Mac.

So, that's where we are headed. Though we asked Ana Claire if she wanted Mac in her room, to which we received a hearty "Yes!"...hmmm, what to do with that.

In the meantime, the nursery design is coming together rather quickly in my head. And I stumbled across this picture which is part inspiration and part teaser to show you where I'm kind of going with my own design:

Design by and image via Smitten Design

LOVE this nursery. It's not exactly where I'm going with Mac's space but I'm hoping the overall feeling is similar. I am employing black and white buffalo check, a wood jenny lind crib (Ana Claire's current crib once we evict her) and dogs.

I am no dog person, but I can appreciate a solid dog motif. Especially for a little boy's space.

I'm hoping to strike a balance between whimsy and masculine and the above nursery captures that quite well...though I'm planning for more color (you know me).

Plans will be shared. I think I just need to mentally get over the room-sharing idea which was our hope...but I know having a sweet space just for Mac is going to make my heart happy.

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Catalog Pick: Moroccan Coffee Table

I consider these catalog picks to be public service announcements. As I write them, I'm usually thinking, "Do people know this is available?!?!" My hope is I'm unearthing gems.

Like this Moroccan coffee table (base) that is available at Pier 1 for $350. That's bananas for something so wonderful to look at:

The style factor of your space would go up exponentially with this reasonably priced item. I LOVE the star motif and you just can't get more handsome with the lines and shape. You can go modern, traditional, boho...pick your flavor and you can likely work this table in.

I am already doing mental gymnastics to create the need for a new coffee table in my house...nothing yet, but this will probably be the first one I buy next time I need one.

See it here....(also available as a lovely end table!)

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Friday Crush

via Parker Kennedy Living on Instagram

Alert Old Town Alexandria locals...someone needs to paint their house like this! Totally loving this tonal paint treatment with a bright pop of white for the door. And the shade of blue is spectacular. I love seeing a historic home that uses bright color but maintains a classic, timeless appearance.

No big plans for this weekend, which is fine by me. Hope yours is great. See you next week!

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Colorful Cotton Flatweave Rug

I alluded to our basement den expansion also being on our final punch list and I have earmarked this rug as a possibility - I think it's perfection for a play space:

I'm a big fun of colorful rag rugs, but they can skew a little country sometimes. These are that same soft cotton vibe woven with a kaleidoscope of fun color, but the edge treatment keeps it modern. And the colors are so juicy! I would have trouble picking one, but it's on my shopping list for the new space.

See all the options here...

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Black Hexagon Bathroom Floor

It is finally happening. We are finally, finally (!) turning our attention to our upstairs bathroom. We literally have not TOUCHED it since we moved in. Actually, we replaced the pink toilet with a white one, but that's it.

Otherwise, it has stayed in its original 1950s state - gray and black wall tile, white walls, and pink fixtures. I personally love the wall tile. And it's in ok shape (not great, but ok). So all we need is paint, some new fixtures and a new floor.

For the floor, I decided we are going to do a black hexagon tile and I'm pretty jazzed about it. I think it will be a perfect statement.

Let's be clear that our bathroom won't look nearly as beautiful as the ones pictured above when complete, but the floors will hopefully be the same.

Every room in our house has gotten a facelift except the bathroom (which happens to be our bathroom, so in a way, it's the "master"). Once we give it a cosmetic update AND finish up the expansion of our basement den, we might actually be done with this fixer upper.

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Friday Crush

Photo by Pieter Estersohn, Design by Nick Olsen, Architectural Digest

I saw this image on Chinoiserie Chic and it blew. me. away. Really, anything by Nick Olsen tends to blow me away but this office nook was just 100% complete genius. With the wallpaper, blue ceiling, lacquered door and perfect desk + lamp combination...I think it's one of those spaces that is going to stick with me for years  (others that have done this - Joe Nye's bedroom, John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon's dining room).

I don't hide my disdain for summer so I'll note that I'm thrilled August is here and we can go ahead and get these last summer weekends over with. I'm ready for Labor Day...but then I know the Fall will fly by with activities like it always does so I'm trying to savor a couple of slow weekends coming up. Hope yours is great - see you next week!

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Wheatland

Thank you, Garden & Gun, for introducing me to this stunning Virginia home - called Wheatland - on the Rappahannock River. Totally and completely breathtaking:

Photos by Patricia Lyons

That is some jaw-dropping stuff, folks...traditional beauty. I love the colors used throughout and the home's architecture is so beautiful nestled among the trees. 

Completely dreamy, right? Check out all the photos here...

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New from Megan Young

I always have my eye on Megan Young, one of my favorite designers. What appeals to me about Megan's work is her ability to mix the very traditional so it feels modern.

Virtually every element in these spaces is traditional, yet by mixing styles, scale, fabrics and colors, Megan creates really fresh spaces that certainly feel classic but not at all stuffy. That is a skill. And she has mastered it.

Above photos are from Megan's website from a New Jersey home that I have yet to see (I tend to stalk her website) so I was thrilled to set my eyes on some of her additional work.

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