Nursery Mood Boards

I've been working on a nursery for a very special little girl who will be born this spring. Normally I start the design process by sharing inspiration photos with the client to get a sense of what they do and don't like and what direction to take with the space. In this case my client shared up front that she was drawn to Serena & Lily's Lola Bedding and that her husband had some Alexander Calder prints (similar here) that he was thinking might be good for the nursery. I felt inspired by these two very different jumping off points and created two separate mood boards for them to get a sense of what a room might look like if designed around either of those items.

(Here is the board inspired by the Lola crib Bumper)

(And this is the Calder board)

Not surprisingly they liked elements from each of the boards and wanted to try to bring some of the energy from the Calder board and blend that in with the softness of the Lola board. The mom-to-be also really liked the bird fabric from the Calder inspired room and felt like she wanted to explore some alternatives to the Lola bedding. Here is the next board I made for them:

We are continuing to tweak and refine the design. I hope to share more as the process moves along. And I really can't wait to meet the little girl who all of this is for!

Marble Coffee Table

What a find! My mom and I recently made a quick trip to Berkeley for some mother/daughter bonding. She was so supportive and kind as I dragged her through many an antique store - not all of them worth the trek. We did however score at Jack's Antiques on Adeline Street. (They are old school and don't have a website but you can find them on yelp, etc.) I've been on the lookout for an oval coffee table for the living room. The space definitely needed something smaller than what we've had there for years. Plus, my husband kept banging his shins on the old rectangular one so he was on board with the idea of a change. Lo and behold, we found this:

Once I got it home I cleaned up the legs and trim with a mix of baking soda and lemon juice.

And then I went over the trim with my krylon gold leaf pen to brighten it up a bit more. You can see what a difference it made.

I do love the greek key and other details in the trim.

And now it is happily installed in our living room. So pretty.

If You're Shopping For A Runner

Continuing in the shopping tip vein I had to let  you know that One Kings Lane is having an amazing runner sale. They have them in every color and style and at pretty great prices. Here are some that caught my eye:

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You can view the whole sale here. If you're not already a member you will have to set up a free account to access the sale. Happy shopping!

Right On Target

So Target has done it again. They have a new collection in their Home Decor section that is spot on. Here is the aisle I snapped on my phone when I stumbled across it:

And here are shots from the website of some of the items:

You can view the whole collection here. And then get yourself to Target!

Plans For 2013

Happy New Year! I am not a big resolution maker but it is hard to ignore the opportunity for reflection and planning that is offered when the calendar changes from one year to another. I definitely have found myself thinking about all the wonderful things that happened in 2012 and setting some goals for the new year ahead. We have big plans for our house in 2013 - a much thought about home addition should finally happen (yippee!) - and I am hoping to grow my business more as my son graduates from preschool and heads off to kindergarten in the fall. These are my plans for the house in 2013:

*Make this home addition happen (To Matt, our good friend and talented contractor, let's do this!)

*Zhush up our stairwell. I'm thinking of adding moulding like this:

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*Create a gallery wall with artwork from my husband and daughter. Jason was an art major in college and we have many pieces from his art shows stacked against a wall in our bedroom. And my daughter clearly inherited his talent and has already started creating a portfolio of her own. I need to hang this art so we can all enjoy it.

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*Get a new runner for the hallway. (I'm sort of cheating here because we already ordered this one.)

*Refresh the living room. (Again, we have already put some of this in motion. Details to come!)

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*Replace our entry hall light. We're not going to go quite as dramatic as these homes but aren't they gorgeous?

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(Miles Redd via here)

*Host more dinner parties and invite more friends into our home.

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I think that about covers it. Wish me luck!

Easy Christmas Projects

Somehow we've arrived at December 24th (again!) so I have a couple very simple Christmas decor projects that can be pulled together at the last minute - or saved until next year. Let's get started!

Inspired by this post I decided to make these as gifts for our very special neighbors this year. I started with a trip to Joann's for small terra cotta pots, moss, and tree forms. 

I sprayed the pots with chalkboard paint but that step is entirely optional. You could leave the pots as is, add some gold or silver leaf, paint a design with acrylic paint, etc. Then I used my trusty hot glue gun to adhere the moss to the tree form and then to glue the finished "tree" into the pot. It was messy but not very complicated.

Tie a pretty bow around the whole thing and you're done!

Next up was a very quick and easy centerpiece. My mom uses an amazing local florist to do the flowers for her parties but she wanted another simpler piece for one of the tables for her Christmas Eve fete. I was enlisted to help with something involving pinecones. Back to Joann's for pinecones, both small-medium and mini sized.

Next up was a stop at Trader Joe's for some seasonal greens. Of course these and the pinecones could easily be gathered from your yard if you have access to such natural wonders. Then I grabbed a pretty glass bowl and got to work.

I started by filling the bowl with the larger pinecones, then scattered some of the smaller ones around on top, and then trimmed a few branches of the greens and tucked them in around the bowl. It took about 10-15 minutes and I think it turned out pretty well.

(I took the finished product outside to photograph because the light was better and the tables inside were not yet put together. Don't mind the brick.)

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a great holiday!

What I've Been Up To

Hello there! I realize that most people out there are currently in the thick of holiday craziness but I am finally coming up for air. We celebrate Chanukah so we had a very full and fun week last week followed by my husband's 40th birthday and now things are calming down. We will gear up for a Christmas eve dinner at my mom's followed by a lazy (and present filled) Christmas morning but I am done hosting events for a little while at least. Here is a peak at what we've been up to:

And the biggest surprise birthday present ever (for the best guy I know)...