CATEGORY: Accessories

New Dining Room Rug + Pillow + a Paris Hotel

So the Hicks rug ended up in the dining room. I decided it was too much pattern for the living room but it works well in here because there’s less going on.

This is truly one of my favorite patterns so I’m really glad I was finally able to use it somewhere in the house.

I also brought this pillow out to see how it would look in the room:

A little story about this pillow – with a laughable number of gaps due to my horrendous memory. I bought it in Paris this spring in a little shop in the Marais (I can’t remember the name) and my girlfriend who was with me bought a makeup bag (or it might have been a coin purse – I can’t remember) made out of the same fabric. The salesperson told us the pattern is based on a medieval map of Paris and indeed, it depicts some areas and streets that no longer exist. Not the Louvre which you see here. Obviously that still exists.

I had never seen this fabric before and just loved everything about it. Then, when I was back in Paris this summer, I was reading a magazine (Air France inflight I think) and saw this:

It’s an ad for Le Mathurin, a hotel in Paris, talking about its newly remodeled rooms. See the pattern on the moodboard? It looks like they used it in wallpaper form in that room in the back. Anyhoo, I thought it was an interesting connection.

While we’re talking about Le Mathruin, let me leave you with the video from their website. It’s nicely done and I quite enjoy this kind of music on a Monday morning. In fact, the hotel is so well presented, I’m going to keep it in mind for future trips. I’m also going to make it one of my Hotel Picks FROM THE RIGHT BANK.

It’s going to be another busy week around here. For all you locals, if you’re free this Thursday, come talk blogging with me at Digital Atlanta’s Design Day at ADAC. You can RSVP here or with ADAC. I also have a great book giveaway and other fun stuff coming up later in the week. But today, I’m on my way to the dentist for a new crown. Hope your week is off to a better start than mine!

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

On My Radar: Gray Gotland Pelts/Sheepskin

I love sheepskin as rugs and seat cushions in the colder months and have had some of those Ikea ones that everyone has for a few years now. Ever since last winter though, I’ve been dying for some of these gorgeous gray Gotland pelts.

As luck would have it, Monika is carrying these in her shop, Splendid Willow Avenue ($340 each). Here’s what she has to say about them:

Considered by many to be the most desirable sheep skins, are the smooth silky, gray curly and gorgeous skins from the old viking sheep on Gotland (a small, Swedish viking island in the Baltic sea). Gotland pelts are world-renowned for their superior quality. They are strong, durable and very high luster with an array of rich gray shades.

I’m going to place an order as soon as I decide on how many. I would love six for the chairs in my kitchen like in the first photo but that seems extravagant since we only use two of the chairs most of the time. So I may opt for just a couple for the couch in the family room.

It seems they are also on Ikea’s radar. When I was there last week, I spotted a gray version of their popular Ludde sheepskin ($39):

Keep in mind these are not Gotland pelts and you definitely get what you pay for but if the real thing isn’t in your budget, it’s not a bad alternative.

So what do you think? How would you use these pelts in your home?

(Photos: 1-3.Skona Hem 4.via Niceroom.tumblr 5-6.Splendid Willow Avenue 7.Ikea)

***Don’t miss the Hygge & West wallpaper giveaway open to readers worldwide!***

A Slightly Different Art Wall Post

Thank you all so much for the nice comments/tweets/emails about the InStyle mention yesterday! And thank you for all the compliments on my living room too. You all are the nicest bunch, I swear.

Okay, so I usually do roundups of art walls but when an art wall (and the space it’s in) is this outstanding, it deserves its own post.

This is the newly opened Woodsman Tavern in Portland, Oregon and as soon as I saw the photos, I knew I had to post about it.

All manners of landscapes in a variety of frames. It must have been so much fun to hunt for all of these pieces and put this wall together!

What’s really cool about the place is that it was created from scratch.

It looks like it’s been there for ages due to their choices in vintage industrial furnishings, fixtures …..

lighting …..

and furniture:

Total PNW hipster vibe, right?

Now I just need to know how the food is. Any Portlandians (Portlanders?) reading this, if you try it out, let me know!

(Photos: the Woodsman Tavern)

***Don’t miss the Elce Stockholm Pillows Giveaway open to readers worldwide!***

Some Hicks Hexagon Has Finally Made It Into the House

I have been trying and trying to find a spot for some Hicks hexagon wallpaper in the house because it’s one of my favorite patterns. I’ve talked about it a lot (like here and here). But I had to come to terms with the fact that there’s just no place for it. Then what do I see on One Kings Lane but a Hicks hexagon rug! Right then and there, my only-inexpensive-rugs-because-of-the-dogs rule went straight out the window. I ordered it in the lighter colorway and it just arrived:

I haven’t had time to put it in place yet so it’s just hanging out in the hall right now. I bought it for the living room but it could also work in the dining room so I may have to try it out in both to see where it looks best. Meanwhile, I looked around to see if anyone else had the rug and here’s what I found. I don’t know if they’re all Hicks but they’re all hexagon patterns.

I’m crossing my fingers the dogs don’t spit up on it like they do on everything else! I’ll show you where it ends up as soon as I decide. And if you’ve seen it in any other space, I’d love to know!

(Photos: 1.FROM THE RIGHT BANK 2.Can’t remember. Please let me know if you know. 3.House Beautiful 4.Eric Cohler 5.Wall Street Journal)

Art Walls, Part 13

If you’re working on any art walls in your homes, here’s another idea for you: a wall by theme. How awesome is this wall of paint-by-numbers?! So kitschy and fun!

Here’s a cute one using all maps:

What an impressive wall of portraits:

If you’re into vintage floral paintings, there are a lot of them around so it would be easy to do something like this:

This is a nice collection of portraits (and just an all around lovely room):

And remember this one from good old Domino:

You could do the same with any topic that interests you. I guess this is sort of what I have going on in my kitchen office which has a travel theme:


This space looks a little different now than it did here. I guess it’s time for another update on that too!

So what do you think? Any other ideas for an art wall theme?

(Photos: 1-2.Country Living 3.Skona Hem 4.Better Homes & Gardens 5.via Decorati 6.Domino 7.FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Art Walls, Part 12

As you all know by now, my favorite type of art wall is usually the mixed frames/mixed media variety. But I do love a good monochromatic one every now and then. It actually makes a lot of sense considering how much I love  black and white photography.

This one has a tiny bit of color but let’s just overlook that for purposes of this post:

Do you have a favorite style of art wall?

You can find all of my prior art wall posts here.

(Photos: 1.New York Times 2.James Tse 3.Skona Hem 4.via Frankly Esoteric 5&6.via Decorati)