HOUSE

Hot Pink Coffee Table & More Changes in the Family Room

There have been a whole bunch of little changes happening in the family room.

First, on Friday I went to do some painting with my friend Angela (from the Painted House) and she had this coffee table at her loft that wasn’t working in the space. You know how we bloggers like to trade and borrow things (it allows us to get new stuff without feeling too guilty!) so it came home with me to see how it might look in my family room:

I had been wanting something wider than the white coffee table we had in there to take up some more of the space. She found it at an antique mall and had it powder coated in hot pink which I just love. At night it can look a little too neon but in daylight, it looks pretty good. What do you all think? I think it’s so funky!

I also changed up this spot:

Yup, the Danish chairs finally got stained. They turned out a little darker than I had planned but I like them enough. The photos are my own which used to hang in the kitchen office and behind the chair is a lucite table which holds a mountain of magazines to read:

Remember how this spot used to look? The mirror has gone up to the master bedroom and the chest is now in the guest room. Those rooms are up next once I finish in here. We’re getting close, folks …..

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Another Family Room Sneak Peek

If you’re following along on my 2012 Decorating To Do List, you know that finishing our family room is near the top of the list. It’s where we spend most of our time in the house and I think that’s why I’ve probably redecorated that room more than any other. I’m not done yet but here’s a little peek at what I’ve been doing in there:

Remember the Danish chairs I bought in the fall? They got nice new blue covers thanks to my mom. (You know how I’m loving blue these days.) Now I just need to do my part of the project which is to stain the wood a darker color. Notice how my part hasn’t been done yet and my mom’s part was finished ages ago!

And check this out, the same chair on 1stdibs for $1200:

This makes me feel better about what I spent on them! I also just spotted the same chair at the Tenbosch House Hotel in Brussels:

That’s exactly the color of wood I want for my chairs. The whole hotel has great design by the way.

As you can probably tell I wanted to bring some color into the room so I brought in this painting (which is a very old one of mine) and that became the jumping off point.

I’m also trying out the orange Pop chair (from the living room) in here right now but we’ll see how long it lasts. I’ll have some more peeks as I get closer to crossing this room off of my list!

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

To Paint or Not to Paint the Iron Bed

Thank you all for your feedback on the new blog design. I made a few more changes and additions yesterday and think it’s finally done! If you’re seeing any glitches though please let me know. Thanks again!

Alright so on to today’s post. I’m in love with this room – and this bed. I’ve had this in my files for the longest time because I have a similar antique bed in the guest room and I’ve been wanting to paint it.

Here’s the bed in the guest room of our last house:

I liked the color of it in that room but in our current house I’m not so sure.

Gray or blue would look nice and there’s also always white:

But I think the white would be just a little too shabby chic. I also really like the patina on the bed right now and it would be kind of a shame to cover that up. It reminds me a little of this bed:

So I could just leave it and use a with a warmer color palette for the room which would work well with it. Would you like to weigh in?

(Photos: 1.Unknown 2.FTRB 3.via Brabourne Farms 4.Sarah Kaye)

More of the Living Room + a Holiday Contest With a $250 Prize For You

Okay, it’s finally time to tell you about the project I’ve been working on and it includes a chance for you to win $250 from any online retailer!

The reason I reshot the living room is that the lovely peeps over at Houzz invited me to participate in a contest called “Full Houzz for the Holidays.” They asked “How do you transform your entertaining area to accommodate family and friends at the holidays while still maintaining a well-designed space?”

I shared my answer in this Ideabook and I would love your support! All you have to do is click over to my Ideabook and leave a comment at the bottom. One comment = one vote. (Your comment can be anything and as short as you want.)

The three ideabooks with the most comments/votes by December 2, 2011 will win and everyone who commented on the winning books will be entered into a drawing to win $250, $100 and $50 gift certificates from any online retailer. Just in time for the holidays!

Thanks so much for your support!

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK with an SLR this time!)

 

A Higher and Wider Look at My Living Room

I think I got a little ahead of myself yesterday when I said I’d be telling you about a new project today. It’s going to have to wait until tomorrow but I can tell you it involves my living room which I’ve been reshooting since the big reveal last month. I especially like how this first photo turned out so I wanted to share it you.

This one also gives you a better idea of the entire space:

Would you believe I shot these with my iphone?! It’s wider than the wide angle lens on my SLR so I was able to fit more of the room into the frame. Incredible.

Okay, more tomorrow. I swear.

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Weekend Loot + Family Room Progress

I decided to pop down to Scott’s this weekend and within 5 minutes of arriving, I found a pair of Danish modern chairs that I couldn’t resist. I plan on darkening the wood and recovering the cushions. You know, the usual.

Here they are in the family room for now. They may stay there or I may sell them in my shop (which is getting a facelift soon).

By the way, that’s a new rug in the room too. It’s gray sisal and I can’t adequately express how much I love it. I had tried so many different rugs in there and nothing looked or felt right until this one. (I got it at the Westside Foundry.)

I’ve also been meaning to show you this Josef Frank fabric I got a while ago on ebay.  It’s one of my favorite of his patterns:

It’s kind of perfect for these chairs but you know me and patterns. But since they’re removable cushions, it’s less scary than upholstering something with it. My goal is to get this room done before the holidays so I’m motivated to make a decision. (Famous last words.)

So, did you pick up anything fun this weekend?

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

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)

Inspiration for the Family Room

With the living room and the dining room done, I’m now simultaneously working on finishing the master bedroom and family room. For today, let me show you some of my inspiration for the family room.

I’ve got a white slipcovered sofa in there like in all of these rooms and I’m just going back and forth about how much color I want to bring in. It looks a lot like this room right now:

and I really like this for the fall and winter. Then in the spring, maybe bring in some brighter colors like here:

and here:

(You might remember this from the apartment I posted earlier this year.)

Aside from the white couch, the common thread in all of these rooms is a really wonderful lived in feel – definitely what I’m going for since the family room is where we spend 90% of our waking hours.

Do you find yourself spending all your time in one room in your house too?

(Photos: 1.Vogue 2.Lonny 3.Skona Hem 4.Tavern Agency 5.Papa Stour)

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

Big Reveal: The Living Room

At long last, here is our living room! As the formal living room, it doesn’t see much action so I decided to use it as a living room/library.

The built-in was the perfect place to house all of my art and design books and with all the natural light, it’s a great place to read. These shelves get tweaked constantly but here is how it looks currently.

Across the coffee table is this:

Across the table the other way:

As you enter:

A closer look at the mantle:

I was in the mood for a pretty bare mantle this weekend. (This is another thing that gets tweaked almost daily.)

The antique baby grand player piano that came from my parents:

I used to play as a kid but can’t anymore so it’s nice that it can play itself! (Growing up, some neighbors thought it was me playing when they heard it playing on its own and they would gush about how beautifully I played. Sometimes, I just let them think that!)

A closer look at the art wall:

The art is from various galleries, antique markets and ebay. I’m always on the hunt for nice pieces so I envision this wall getting completely filled out eventually.

So that’s it! Next up, the master bedroom. It’s time to whip that room into shape once and for all!

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

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

My Design Identity Crisis as Illustrated by Some Favorite Interiors

When it comes to design, I firmly know what I like and what I don’t like so you’d think it’d be easy to settle on a decorating plan and execute it, right?  Only if that were true! The problem is that I like so much. One day, all I want is an all-white, fairly minimalist space;  the next day, I want colorful and bohemian; and then the following day, I want neutral and sophisticated ….. and on and on it goes.

Take for example some of the homes/rooms I’ve blogged about over the past year. They’re all different and yet I love them equally – it just depends on my mood.


Over the years, I’ve learned to balance my split design personality pretty well but there are times (like lately) when it can be paralyzing.

Okay, so who else suffers from this ailment? And how do you cope?

(Click on the photos for the original posts and credits.)

Another Peek of the Family Room

I moved a whole lot of things around the house this weekend and here’s a little peek of what I started in the family room:

I decided to make use of this dead space so I’m trying out a bunch of different things. There’s more to do but this is what it looks like for the moment. Please excuse the wrinkled slipcover and the pile of magazines about to topple. (I’m so behind in all my magazine reading!)

The mirror came from my dressing room which you may remember:


and the chest used to be in the master bedroom which you may also remember:

So you know what that means ….. these two spaces are getting tweaked too. The Tord Boontje curtain went down to my studio/office/storefront a while ago and there’s an art wall happening in this space which I also need to show you. It never ends – as you know! :)

I’m also still playing around with the mantle in the family room. I just gathered more of my white pottery so there’s a bigger grouping:

I just love a big group of white anything!

So what have you tweaked lately?

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Sneak Peek of the Living Room

It has been such an exciting week here at FTRB and I’m so, so grateful for all of your support – for my new shop, the One Kings Lane sale and just for FTRB in general. Thank you so much for your visits, your comments and your friendship. It truly means the world to me.

Okay, enough gushing and on to our living room. I’m still pulling it together but it’s time to give you a sneak peek already!  You knew an art wall was a given:

This is what is across from that wall:

and underneath the wall:

and what’s on the coffee table:

I’m waiting on my new rug to arrive (to die for) and I’m still working on shots of the rest of the room so stay tuned for a more full reveal very soon!

If you’re visiting from OKL or are just new to FTRB, here are a few links to help you get acquainted:

-You can see everything I’ve done with my house so far here.
-There is a tour of my last home on Design Sponge here.
-You can shop my virtual shop for one-of-a-kind antiques, original art and vintage gems here.
-There’s more than you ever wanted to know about me here.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone and if you haven’t had time to stop by yet, the One Kings Lane sale runs until Monday morning. Thanks again for a ridiculously fun week!

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Chair Options for the Garden

As I mentioned on Friday, I’m starting to turn my attention to the garden now that I can stand going outside again. It looks like we’ll need some new dining chairs (and probably a table too) since the old ones have taken a beating with all the rain and snow the last year. One option I’m considering is the classic Tolix.

I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember and I know they’re sturdy and comfortable too.

Don’t they look great in all of these gardens?

My second option is to just get a couple of benches:

I like that you can squeeze as many people on a bench as you need but it’s not the most convenient when you want to get up from the table if you’re wedged in between people.

The third option is to just get more French cafe chairs (which are what I have now).

You can never go wrong with cafe chairs as far as I’m concerned.

If you’re new to FTRB, you can see my chairs in this old post.

Shall we take a vote?

(Photos: 1.Vogue 2.Campagne Décoration 3-5.Tumblr 6.Martha Stewart)

The State of the Backyard

Can I just tell you how happy I am that fall is here?! Fall has always been my favorite season and now that I live in Atlanta that could not be more true. Being a Northerner, the summers here are brutal. Unbearable even. But the temperatures are dropping (there’s even a chill in the air in the mornings!) and I could not be happier. I want a hammock to lounge on outside just like in this photo!

We’ve had a lot of work done in our backyard over the summer (nothing fun – regrading, adding drainage, installing a patio, etc.) and now that it’s cooled off,  plants are being added. Lots and lots of plants.

So it’s kind of a mess right now but it should look really pretty when it’s all done. I’m also actually starting to think about hanging out outdoors again which can only mean one thing: new garden furniture!  Since the rest of the country is done with all that, I think I should be able to find some deals, don’t you? Let me know if you have any good sources.

Wishing you a lovely autumn weekend! (And a spring one to my friends in the southern hemisphere.)

(Photo: I lost the source. Please let me know if you know.)

Big Reveal: The Dining Room

Are you ready for the reveal of the dining room? You’ve seen bits and pieces so I thought it was time to finally show you the whole thing. Here we go …..

One of the reasons I fell in love with this house was this room for its ceiling, arched entry and the rest of the millwork. The whole room is more traditional than what I normally do but it suits the house and its function as the formal dining room.

A quick recap of things I posted earlier: the furniture came from my parents (except for the two white Louis chairs which I brought over with me from Paris); I decided on this Barbara Barry chandelier after a very long search; and I painted the sideboard which was my first Annie Sloan chalk paint project. The walls are painted Benjamin Moore “Bunny Gray” and looks a little more gray in person.

The photography is from various galleries, auctions and artist’s studios. If you’ve been following FTRB for a while, you may recognize the photography wall is exactly the same as it was in the dining room of our old house. I guess when something works, it just works. (If you haven’t seen the old dining room, there’s a photo of it on Design Sponge.)

On the sideboard: I found the lamp at Home Goods which made me ask where has Home Goods been all my life?  I. LOVE. IT.  So much so that I got a different version of it for another room in the house. The ceramic leaf dish was a recent find at Peridot, a local gift/home store (no website). The white candlesticks are Ikea and the brass ones are from thrift stores. (It seems like every thrift/junk store is filled with them so if ever need a brass candlestick, that’s the place to go.)

Another feature of this room that I love are the french doors leading out to the veranda – perfect for having drinks before (or after) dinner. The oil painting was an engagement gift from relatives and is one of my favorite possessions.

I have some more art to hang and I also need to finalize the upholstery on the chairs. The blue gray linen that you see in the first photo is my current pick but I’m not 100%. (What’s new?) So don’t look too closely at the photo – the fabric is only loosely placed on the seats!

More photos to come once I get the rest of the things finished …..

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Impossibly Cute Swedish Balconies

I’m forever stalking real estate and one of the best places for that if you’re into Swedish homes is Alvhem. The photography on that site is truly among the best when it comes to real estate sites. I didn’t think I’d ever see another balcony that could rival the one I posted last month from Alvhem but I recently saw all of these and I’d say they’re pretty good contenders. You may want to get comfortable because there are a lot of photos to show you.

It’s always so inspiring to see how much people can do with small spaces.

How adorable is this little fruit and vegetable garden:

In all of these homes, with just a few pieces of furniture, plants and carefully selected accessories, they were able to create really beautiful spaces.

What did I tell you? Impossibly cute, right?

I’m going to try to not sleep through the weekend and get back into the swing of things around here. If all goes well, I’ll finally reveal the dining room on Monday. I can’t wait for you to see it! Until then, enjoy your weekend!

(Photos: Alvhem)

Powder Room Reveal (Yes, Another One!)

I had the powder room re-wallpapered over 3 months ago so this post is long overdue. But hey, better late than never, right? So without further delay, ta-da:

You may recall that about a year ago, I proudly showed you this room, which was our first attempt at wallpapering. Well, I loved it for a good 2 months and then was ready for a change. I’m sure subconsciously it was just an excuse to shop for more wallpaper …..

So for months I had a ball looking at countless papers and after waffling between a few (as usual), I finally decided on Kelly Wearstler’s Fern Tree. Here’s a closer shot of the paper:

And this time, I called in a professional to hang it. All that stuff about what I learned about wallpapering and how I would do better the next time – fuggedaboutit. A wallpaper hanger is the best money ever spent.

Look how perfectly the repeat on the pattern fit in the space. It’s almost as if it were made for this room. I am so, so pleased with it. Oh and I should let you know that even after 3 months, I still smile every time I go in there. (Just in case you’re worried that I’ll quickly tire of this one too!)

If you missed the “before” and the “before” the “before, you can see them here.

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

 

Sneak Peek: Family Room (Or, The Great Chair Swap)

Where do I even begin?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Sherry‘s house to see what she did with two chrome chairs she had had reupholstered. She wasn’t really feeling them and when I saw them, it occurred to me that the brass chairs I had reupholstered in pink would look great in their place. In turn, her chairs (which were gray) could work in my family room.

Sherry was up for the idea so we threw one of her chairs in the car, drove over to my house, put it in my family room and sure enough, it looked great:

Then we were like, “Why didn’t we bring both of them?” Duh. We had no idea.

So we then threw my pink chairs in the car and drove back to her house. We put them where her chrome chairs had been, she pulled out two of her million pillows and we both couldn’t get over how good they looked. (Head over to Design Indulgence today to see them!) We both ooohed and aaahed over them for a while and then we had to stop because we still had to get back to my house with the other gray chair.

So off we went, back in the car with the other chair. We put it together with the other one and loved it:


Oh, and at some point we started drinking. (It was a Friday. It was late afternoon. Okay, late-ish.)

I’m still working on the shelves but I’m trying to be less shy about showing you things in progress so here you go. This built-in houses all of our travel books, albums (yes, vinyl!), about a million magazines and some souvenirs.

More photos of the family room to come …..

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Sneak Peek: Family Room Mantel

I style and re-style the mantels in this house all the time. I just can’t leave them alone! As I’m in a very Swedish mood lately, I wanted the one in the family room to be really simple and white. And since it’s Swedish Week here at FTRB, what better time to show it to you?

I was also reminded recently that I never showed you where I installed those wall sconces so now you can see where! This light look is making me really happy right now. But you know it won’t stay this way for long. I already have a few ideas for switching it up! I also have more photos of the house so stay tuned for all that.

And if you like Swedish interiors, don’t miss tomorrow’s Hotel Pick FROM THE RIGHT BANK. You will die. It’s so good.

For people who want the details: the wall sconces are Circa, the sketches are from Florence, and the pottery is from (left to right) Jonathan Adler, I think Ikea (but I don’t see it on their site), Nordstrom (no longer available). I have no idea where the little leaf plate is from. It’s old.

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Beginnings of a Plan for the Master Bedroom

I’m really inspired by Whitewell from Designers Guild right now for the master bedroom:

The background of this colorway is actually more white in person than it looks in the photo.

To recap, the bed and headboard are all white (so I think a couple of pillows in this pattern against the white would be really beautiful), the walls are painted Benjamin Moore “Bunny Gray” (second swatch from the left below) which I would describe as a Swedish blue gray; the trim is white, and I’m also still considering the black and white dotted fabric for the settee. So it would look like this all together:

I’m kind of loving it.

The only holdup is the settee because I can’t decide if I want to go black and white with the wood painted white or if I want to leave the wood and just reupholster it in white like the settee in this room:

So as usual, decisions need to be made and I plan on doing that soon!

Thanks for another fun week of blogging and all your comments. See you all Monday!

VVYP47Y7K52Q

A Treehouse for Grown-Ups

When I was a child, I really, really wanted a treehouse and looking back, I know a big part of it was just so I’d have another space to decorate. And you know what? Decades later, nothing’s really changed. I’d still love a treehouse and here is the absolute perfect model!

Completely. Obsessed. I need to talk to someone about getting one built in my backyard …..

P.S. I hope you all had a good week and weekend. The coast was fantastic! I’ll have some photos and other things to share a bit later in the week.

(Photos: Chicago House & Garden)

Please Say Hello to My New Pink Chairs

My hot pink chairs are back from the upholsterer and I think they’re well, um ….. hot!

I’m so glad I decided to go pink! Here’s a closeup of the yummy, nubby wool fabric:

So I’ll be staring at these this weekend. What will you be doing?

Have a good one all and I’ll see you Monday!

Gray Sideboard & Hot Pink Chairs for the Dining Room

Ta-da! Here it is the finished sideboard. I am sooooooooooo pleased with how this turned out and I can’t wait to paint something else! (The dining chairs are up next.)  In case I didn’t go on and on enough about how amazing this paint is yesterday (ha!), I’m a total Annie Sloan Chalk Paint convert now so if you have any questions, fire away. I LOVE THIS STUFF!

The other thing that’s happening in the dining room is that these chairs are now at the upholsterer getting a hot pink makeover:

They are going to flank the sideboard and I had a lot of different ideas for them but recently I just decided they needed to be hot pink. I found a pink Chanel-esque wool tweed that I think is going to look fab with the brass. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the fabric but you’ll be seeing the chairs soon!)

So the color palette of the dining room has evolved into this:


It’s not at all what I had planned originally but I’m loving it!

I’m now on the hunt for a fun fabric to redo the chairs and then I think the dining room may actually be finished!  Now, that would be amazing.

Painting the Sideboard With Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I have just one word for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: AMAZING. Seriously, this is the single greatest thing ever invented. I can’t believe I didn’t find out about it until now but now that I have, look out. I want to paint everything! (If you missed it, see Friday’s post about this paint and what I am using.)

I first put a coat of “Paris Grey” straight out of the can to see how it would look:

As you can see, I applied it directly onto the piece. You really don’t have to prime! All I did was wipe it down for any dust.

I then mixed some with “Old White” and tried that out:

I decided I liked the straight gray so I put one coat on (using a decent quality brush) and left it overnight to dry. But when I looked at it the next day, it looked too blue to me:

I know it doesn’t look that blue in this photo but as you know colors look totally different in person. So I mixed it with some white (like in the second picture) and applied that. I also watered down the mixture since it was the second coat of paint and didn’t need to be as thick as the first. I took this drawer outside to see it in the sunlight:

Just the gray I was after! Let me also add that it is the most smooth, matte finish I’ve ever seen in a paint. And as the name suggests, it is very chalky.

I left that overnight and then it was time to apply the wax:

The wax looks like and has the consistency of lard so there’s no dripping, no mess. Again, any half decent brush will work. As you can see, the wax deepens the color on application but it doesn’t stay that dark when it dries.

All I have to do now is to buff it and then it’s done! I can’t believe how easy this was – I swear I’m ready to paint everything I can get my hands on! I will take some photos of the final result to post tomorrow.

If you want this paint and you’re in North America, you can find the list of distributors here. If you’re in Europe or the rest of the world, you can order from their site. (In case you’re wondering, this is not a paid post. It’s just that good so I had to share!)

Gray Paint Update

Did I really say “……if things go well, maybe the cabinet will even get painted this weekend.”? I must have been high.

Here’s what got accomplished this weekend: I got a ton of swatches and samples:

I painted some samples and stuck them all over the place:

(I know they all look white and the same but they’re all different shades of gray.)

I then checked out all the colors about a hundred times to see them in different light at different times of the day. And here’s where things are:

I’ve managed to narrow the choices down to about 8. As you all know, colors look totally different in person than they do on your monitor so you just have to trust me when I say they really are all gray.

For all of you who want the details, the 8 are:

Farrow & Ball: Cornforth White (the big swatch on the right)
Benjamin Moore: Stonington Gray, Whitestone, AF-695, Smoke Embers (the big swatch on the left)
Richard’s (a regional paint company I just found out about): 0524, 0530, 0539

I chose these 8 because these are the right color value, they aren’t too green or taupe, they go well with the gray on the wall and the hardware on the cabinet. I will make a decision soon, I promise!

“….. maybe the cabinet will even get painted this weekend.” Bahahahahahahahahahahahaha……

Looking for the Perfect Gray Paint (Again)

(Hey, Donna, are you reading? ;) )

I haven’t been talking much about the dining room (other than finding a light) and the reason is that it has had me stumped. You may remember we got dining room furniture from my parents when they downsized. As much as I am embracing more traditional than ever before, it’s still just too traditional for me.

I knew that if I painted some of the pieces to break up all the dark wood, it would make a huge difference but the guilt of painting antiques (and just the thought of broaching the topic with my mom) kept me from doing it.

So I tried modernizing the space in other ways but it just wasn’t getting there. Well, when I was talking to my mom yesterday, I finally just came out with it and guess what? she is fine with me painting! She’s not elated or anything but she’s perfectly okay with it.

So I will be painting this sideboard:

and I’ll probably also paint the chairs but we’ll talk about that another day.

(The swatches above are some of the colors I’m considering.) I’ll be making the rounds today for paint swatches and samples and who knows, if things go well, maybe the cabinet will even get painted this weekend.

Have a good one, all!

Dining Room Light Found!

My year-long search for a dining room chandelier is finally over! When I went to Circa to get the sconces for the family room I saw this Barbara Barry Bowmont chandelier (on sale) and that was that. The size, color and clean lines are just perfect for the room.

I was *this* close to going for the Jean de Merry light I posted about last month but in the end I was too chicken to make such a big commitment. Specifically, I was worried that 1) someone would knock it off and 2) it would start turning up everywhere. We all have those things that just drive us bonkers. For me, it’s those two things. The second thing can’t always be avoided, especially these days when everything is transmitted at warp speed but it still drives me insane.

Do you care if things in your home are seen in a lot of other homes? And how do you feel about knockoffs? Have you ever stopped yourself from getting a high priced item because you were afraid it was going to get knocked off? I’d love to know what you think so please share!

Kitchen Office Gets Tord’d

Remember when I decided to move my office to the basement? And remember when I moved my old office art wall to the kitchen office? Well, the one thing I hadn’t gotten around to moving was this Tord Boontje light that was in there:

I finally got to it this weekend:

I also shuffled some things around …..

again.

So what tweaking did you do around your house this weekend?

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

Corner of My House + a Fig Tree Status Report

Hi, everyone, how was your weekend?

One of the things I got around to doing was hanging more art around the house and I wanted to show you one corner of the family room. The top painting is of a Paris street that I picked up at a local antique mall a while back and the bottom one is of a Seattle street by Julia Hensley, a fantastic artist based in Seattle. The clover shaped ceramic stool is also a local antique store find and the planter is from Ikea.

I know a lot of you were concerned for my fiddle leaf figs that I brought home a couple of months ago. (I was too given my history with plants.) The good news is I haven’t killed them yet – they’ve actually even grown some – but I am a little worried that the new leaves are spotty on the ends. If any of you plant experts have advice, please share.

(Photo: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

***Don’t miss this week’s giveaway of the book Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan***