my house

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 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)

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***

Ladder for Dressing Room Found!

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Last week I mentioned wanting a lightweight ladder for my dressing room and a very kind reader (thank you Brandon @ d.coop!) pointed me to the Inreda from Ikea. It was exactly what I had in mind so I hightailed it down to Ikea the next day and voila, here it is now in my dressing room:

It’s a silver/gray which I want to zhuzh up at some point but for now it’s great just having a ladder! Thanks again, Brandon!

Sneak Peek of the Art Studio

Being shut in for a week does have its benefits. (I did make it out this weekend for those who asked!) All that time in the house allowed me to actually finish a few of the countless paintings I have lying around. So, today I thought I’d give you a small peek of my studio.

I still need to do a lot in there, like get a rolling cart with shelves for my supplies but for now they’re all spread out on this table. I hung the homasote board from my old office to hold sketches, favorite images, references, etc.

Many of you have been asking to see some of my art. For some reason I’ve been reluctant to post them here but I finally decided what the hell. So, for the very first time, here are some of the paintings I’ve been working on:

I hope it’s not too disappointing for those of you who’ve been waiting(!) I like both figurative and abstract so I’m always doing a little of both. I should really focus on one but it works for now. (On the wall are just some ink drawings from a life drawing class years ago.) I’ll be hanging most of the paintings in the house and I’ll post pictures when I do so you can see them better.

So that’s it. It’s just a tiny sneak peek today because like I said, I still have a ton to do. Stay tuned for another look soon!

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Sneak Peek of the Kitchen Office + FTRB in Lonny!

I have a quick sneak peek for you guys today. We have a small office on one side of the kitchen and for some reason it seems to be the place where all the junk ends up. So it was looking like this for a while:

A hot mess. I couldn’t take it anymore so it was one of the things I tackled over the holidays.

The first thing I did was to get rid of the doors on the upper cabinets. That gave me more display space (which I don’t have much of in the kitchen). That little bulletin board was also getting on my nerves so I tore it out. Then it was just a matter of decluttering and organizing.

If the art wall looks familiar, it’s because it’s the one from my old office. You may remember I moved my office to the basement. I have different plans for the walls down there so this collection of travel photos and posters needed a new home. If you want to know about the individual pieces, you can find it in this post. I just got the “Tara” sign when I took my parents to visit the Margaret Mitchell House over Christmas. (You know, one of those touristy things you do when you have out-of-town visitors.) I like to have a souvenir of all the cities/countries where I’ve lived and I couldn’t resist the kitsch factor. Interesting side note: Did you know that 2011 is the 75th anniversary of the publication of Gone With the Wind? Or maybe frankly, you don’t give a damn. Hehehe…..

So, shall we take bets on how long it’ll stay this neat?

And for those of you who weren’t on Twitter or Facebook last night: Yesterday, I dove into the fantastic new issue of Lonny (like I always do the minute it goes live) and I was completely immersed in the very cool home of Angel Dormer, style manager for West Elm, when lo and behold what do I see but this:

A lot of squealing ensued. I mean a lot. Thank you, Angel and Lonny!

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

What I Did On My Blogging Break

I got so much accomplished around the house last week while I was not spending time online. (Gee, could there be a correlation?) Here are the things that I finally got to cross off of my to do list:

  • Clean/organize garage.
  • Clean/organize storage room.
  • Organize kitchen office.
  • Donate household items and clothing to Goodwill.
  • Organize linen closets.
  • Reupholster dining chairs.
  • Organize office. (Almost done.)
  • Organize art studio. (Almost done.)

I also got the guest rooms set up before Christmas. So this means every room in the house is finally cleaned and purged of unnecessary stuff. Now comes the fun part of organizing and decorating. I’ve been dying to get to the point where I could say that ever since we moved in!

Here are the dining chairs before:

and after:

Nothing too drastic. I just wanted to give them an update and I also didn’t want to mess with the wood. I really love the bold black stripe of this fabric (found at Fabric & Fringe, a fab store that Julie has been telling me about for months).

I know it’s sick but in all honesty, this is exactly what I wanted to do over the holiday break. How did you spend your holidays?

(iphone photos: From the Right Bank)

We Have Blinds! (Sneak Peek of the Master Bedroom in Progress)

After talking about window treatments for almost a year, I thought you might like to see what we finally got. Ta-da:

It’s probably very anticlimactic after all that talk but I could not be happier. They’re white linen with blackout lining and I got the same ones for the bathroom and one of the guest rooms.

This is the sitting area of the master bedroom and it’s where I go to read (which these days is never). I’m really happy with how the space is coming together working just with what I have. The sofa was a hand-me-down from my parents. I had intended to paint and reupholster it but once it was in place, I actually liked how the dark wood and cream worked with the gray and white in the room. So it’s staying as is. The cushions are all old ones from my stash. I just need to get a side table.

Once I find one and get art up on the walls, I’ll show you the rest of the room . . .

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

The Dressing Room Is No Longer Florescent

I completely forgot to tell you last week that I finally got around to replacing the god-awful florescent light in my closet/dressing room.  So it went from this:

to this:

Sooooo much better, don’t you think? This is the chandelier I told you about a while ago. I’ve always liked this type of light but had no place for one – until now.

And the obligatory detail shot. If you missed the first sneak peek of the dressing room, you can see it here.

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Update on the New Office

When I saw this photo on Design Sponge recently:

it made me think of my new basement office. The gray couch, shag rug, shots of black, the brick fireplace (that will be painted white just like this!) and white walls. I was planning on bringing in some yellow to the room but this room reminded me how much I’ve always liked red as a complement to gray.

It also made me think of this room that I’ve loved for a really long time which uses the same color scheme.

and also of this space, which has been on my inspiration board for years now:

I still love this space so much.

So, just like that, I think I have a new color palette for the new office. For some reason, I happen to have a lot of red accessories so I could pull this together with things I already have and it’ll also be easy enough to switch out if when I get tired of it.

And speaking of my inspiration board, I decided to make another one using a frame that I bought recently and the leftover homasote from the board I made earlier. I think it fits in better with the new office:

I just attached the homasote to the back of the frame with screws. (By now, you know that when it comes to DIY, I rarely mean me when I say “I.” There’s always help involved; this time it was my dear husband.)

And the last thing to show you in the new office is this:

Do you remember the Tord Boontje curtain I hung earlier in the master bedroom? Well, this is one of them. Do you also remember me saying that I had a pair of these and was looking for a place for the second panel? Well, the basement has two doors so it was the perfect spot for the pair. Now that I’m going to be spending a lot of time there, I wanted to put something on the doors and they turned out to be the perfect thing.

The sun started to set by the time I got around to getting this shot but it’s really pretty when the light filters through and casts shadows like it did earlier in the day:

Now I just have to train the dogs to not scratch on the doors so we don’t end up with Torn Tord’s!

(Photos: 1.Design Sponge 2.Marie Claire Maison 3.from Domino 4-6.From the Right Bank)

Family Room Sneak Peek

Friday, I talked about how I had my books distributed throughout my house. So today I thought I’d show you one of the places I mentioned. This is in our family room / keeping room (as it’s also called here in the South). There’s still more to do to “finish” the room but it’s getting there.

We were lucky to have this built-in that holds a ton of books and some other items like my vintage typewriter and matchbook collection. There are more books and things to add so it’ll probably look very different the next time you see it.

The chair is from Paris and the Union Jack pillow is from Etsy that I posted about here.

Stay tuned for photos of the rest of my books . . .

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Dressing Room Sneak Peek

I’ve always wanted my own dressing room. What woman doesn’t, right? Well, I guess I finally paid my dues after years of living with tiny closets because I now have one. It’s not huge but I’m not complaining!

It started out as an almost bare room with just one rack:

I called in the professionals and had it customized. Money very well spent IMO. (You’ll see what they did below.)

The room is an odd shape with one wall that protrudes. I put a white Ikea Malm dresser there and it fit perfectly. It also blended in nicely since everything was done in white:

Then the movers came in and literally dumped everything in it:

Worst. Movers. Ever.

Well, bit by bit, it got tidied up:

(You can see some of the rods and shelves that were installed in this photo.)

Just before we went on vacation, we wallpapered the one free wall:

The wallpaper is one of the ones I had forgotten I had which I posted about here.

Then we hung the mirror that we used to have in our old bedroom. (I got it at the Seattle Design Center a few years ago.)

And voila, this is the view now as you enter the room.

The little glass lamp is from Anthropologie.

It’s hard to get a good shot of the entire room but here is one side of it:

(Yes, all my clothes are black. Just about.)

I still have a little more organization to do and I’m also going to hang this cute chandelier that I found at an estate sale that I happen to drive by recently:

There’s a horrible florescent light in there now. I know! Why??

Once that’s done, I’ll take some photos of it and the other side of the room too.

I feel completely spoiled and incredibly lucky. No more excuses for being and looking like a slob!

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Office Art Wall, Phase I

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I’ve started an art wall in the office. This is the wall where I had originally envisioned the inspiration board going but decided it would make a better art wall since it’s the biggest wall in the room and gives me the most space to expand.

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The photos are my own from my travels:

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The reflection shot is from Italy, the dog is from India, “Jones/Eat” is from New York, and the one of the house and billboard is from South Africa. I have a lot more photos to print so this wall is going to be pretty full when I’m done.*

The two posters are from Etsy. There was a time I swore that I’d never buy anything on Etsy and when I swore that I’d never buy a poster. But that was all before I saw these which have two of my favorite travel quotes:

Not all who wander are lost.

My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.

I have one more project to do for the office and then I’ll give you the complete tour!

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

*A couple of people asked if my photos were for sale. These four are available. Please email or leave a comment if you’re interested and I’ll email you.

Inspiration Board Completed!

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This weekend, I surprised myself and actually completed a DIY project. I finally made that bulletin board I have been wanting and the best part is it was so easy!

You’ll recall that I started out with a piece of homasote that I had cut to 5′ x 4′. After I got it home I sanded the edges with a sheet of sandpaper to make them as smooth as possible. (Please see my earlier post for details on materials and sources.)

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First, I put the fabric down:

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then I put the homasote over it and pulled it taut on all four sides:

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Starting in the middle of one side, I stapled using a staple gun:

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I spent a little extra time on the corners. I just folded it like you would wrapping a box:

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This is how it looked finished:

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We used a stud sensor and marked where the studs were, placed the board on a stack of books at the height we wanted to hang it then screwed the whole thing into the studs. (If you’re doing this, be sure to make a small hole with a nail through the fabric before drilling so as not to pull the fabric.)

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And here it is almost filled already:

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I changed my mind about where I wanted to hang it (I know, you’re shocked that I would change my mind about something.) I decided to put it over this cabinet across from my desk.

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I’m really happy with it and like I said, it was so easy. If I can do it, anyone can! I still have the smaller piece of homasote left. I’ll show it to you once I decide where it’s finally going to end up.

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Kitchen Eat-In Reveal

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Today I’d like to show you the eat-in space of our kitchen. To make it more dramatic, let’s see what it used to look like first. As some of you may recall, this was the light that was there when we moved in:

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Changing it was one of the first things I wanted to do but I couldn’t decide on one/find one that I liked. But I also couldn’t stand looking at what was there so we removed it and this is how the eat-in area has looked for the past several months.

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Pretty bare. Well I finally found the light I wanted and we installed it over the weekend:

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I found it at Providence, a cute local shop that I wrote about last week on Averill’s blog. The owner told me she found it in Florence. It also appeared in a photo shoot in – I think she said – Southern Living. Those aren’t the reasons I bought it but it’s always fun when there’s a story behind a piece.

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It’s so nice to finally have a light over the table! I plan on getting small round bulbs for it but I had these lying around.

You may have noticed that I changed the dining table too. We bought this farmhouse table for the dining room in our house in Seattle, which was a long rectangular room. It was from a local woodworking shop there. But for some reason, it never looked quite right in that room so I ended up using it in my studio. I decided to try it here because the space is pretty large and the round table didn’t seem substantial enough for it. I think it works much better.

For new readers, here is a complete source list for everything you see:

Light: Providence
Chairs: Arne Jacobsen Series 7 from Fritz Hansen
Plates: Crate & Barrel (I don’t see this style on their site anymore.)
Pitcher/Vase: Sentou (Paris)
Napkins: Anthropologie
Purple Stalks in Vase: Whole Foods (Does anyone know what they are? They look black in the photos but they’re actually a dark violet.)

Next, I need to tidy up the office area of the kitchen and then the kitchen will finally be finished!

Did you tackle any projects over the weekend?

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

The Orange Chair Chronicles & Another Sneak Peek of the Office

As I mentioned earlier this week, the orange chair is making its way around the house. This is where it has most recently landed:

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This is a corner of my office, which has been undergoing more rearranging. (No. Really?) As you can see, I’ve started an inspiration wall, which is being re-thought as I type this (more on that later) and the piles of books and magazines are still on the floor. I thought about putting them on shelves but to be honest, I like them like this because they’re easier to access so we’ll see what happens with those. I may work on the rest of the office over the weekend. Or not. Hope you have a good one!

(Photo: From the Right Bank)

More Tord/Sneak Peek of the Bedroom + FB

Let me show you the entry to the master bedroom:

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It turned out to be the perfect place for the Tord Boontje “Until Dawn” curtain that I’ve had for over a year:

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I’m going to be replacing that light fixture. I really like it but it’s an awkward height for the space so I’m going to move it to another part of the house. I also need to style the whole thing better but I wanted to give you a peek.

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The antique Korean chest has been in my family forever, the big white vase is from Gump’s in San Francisco, the small Murano glass dish was a gift, and the candle is Jo Malone (Grapefruit) .

I actually bought two panels so I’m still looking for a place for the other one. Between this and the light in my office, you’re probably thinking “Man, she does like that Tord Boontje, doesn’t she?” and you’d be right. But after this, I’m done. I’m all Tord’d out!

FROM THE RIGHT BANK

In other news, pigs have indeed started flying . . . FTRB is now on Facebook. After an entire afternoon yesterday, I’m still not entirely sure what I’m doing. But in my defense, Facebook is not intuitive AT ALL. Considering that the whole world uses it, you’d think it was more user-friendly. I mean yes, I’m inept but I know for a fact that there are far more incompetent people out there. Anway, if you’d like to friend/fan/like FTRB (I still don’t know the difference), you can find the FTRB page here.

Bye Bye Boob Light & a Sneak Peek of the Office

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I bought this Tord Boontje Midsummer Light a million years ago but never installed it anywhere. When we moved into this house, I knew that my office would be the perfect place for it because this is the light fixture that was in there:

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Tommy, the sidekick on Sarah’s House, calls these “boob lights” and I think that’s dead on.

The weird thing is the Tord Boontje light was supposed to come with a cord but it didn’t and I couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it. It also came with a plastic cone/cover which got misplaced during the move. So I had to improvise.

So, I got this pendant at Ikea:

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and had dear, sweet hubby install it. I then draped the yellow part of the light over the pendant. (The light is green and yellow but I only wanted the yellow.) And here is how it turned out:

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I think it adds a nice color and texture to the room.

There’s still more to do in my office but I think it’s time for a peek.

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We brought in the table that used to be in the eat-in area of the kitchen. My plan was/is to use blue or yellow chairs but for now, I paired it with the two Pantons. They make the room a lot more white than planned but I’m kind of liking that (when do I not like white?) so we’ll see about the other chairs. There’s still art to hang and the inspiration wall to finish so stay tuned for more.

Bathroom Sconces and a Few New Pretties in the Kitchen

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I finally decided on the wall sconces for the master bath. They’re part of the Lugarno series from Restoration Hardware. We have two vanities in there so that means four scones so I wanted something really simple because I think four of anything can get to be too much. Our bathroom kind of looks like this with gray marble so I think these will work well. They’re on back order so it’ll be a few weeks before they arrive. I’ll post photos as soon as they’re installed.

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RH is at the local mall and while I was there, I got a couple of pretty things for the kitchen. The tea towel is from Anthropologie. (It doesn’t seem to be on their website.) It looks like an old map with a little piece that looks hand-stitched. And you know I can’t resist anything that’s drawn by hand (or looks like it was).

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Guy Wolff hand-thrown pots are on sale at RH so I grabbed one. I just love the color and details. I’m thinking about going back for more. I just put some cuttings from the garden in it for now. The pot in the back is from Ikea and look at the pretty hydrangeas from our own garden! There are a ton of blue ones out there too. You don’t know how exciting it is for ol’ black thumbs here to have things growing in my garden. It’s only because they were here long before me(!)

Thank you so much for all of your support yesterday. They still haven’t taken down my content but it seems we’re at least being heard. They have now removed their contact form and closed comments on all posts so there is no way for anyone to get in touch with them. I guess they got tired of hearing from us! I’m going to follow up with some of the readers’ suggestions and see what happens. Thank you all so much!

Powder Room Reveal (Or, Lessons in Wallpapering) + Poll Results

Well, we did it. We wallpapered our first room. Here is the tiny powder room, naked:

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And here it is now:

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It’s not perfect but it’s not bad and we did learn a few things which will give us much better results the next time:

1. Follow the instructions that come with the paper. Apparently, I don’t know better.
2. Don’t get aggressive with the scraper. Um, this one is self-explanatory.
3. If it’s your first time, don’t get the expensive paper. Think of it as a practice run.

At least I was smart enough to get inexpensive paper for this first try. If we had made all the mistakes we did on paper that cost $200/roll, I would have been pretty upset. But this paper was only $15.94/roll! The bottom half of the walls have millwork that I left alone so it only took 4 rolls which came to just over $65 for the whole room. After searching high and low, I stumbled on it at Sherwin Williams. (Their website won’t let you link directly to the details page for some reason. If you want the details, go to their website and enter: SW9WS2215 under the Pattern Number.)

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While we were at it, we replaced the plain mirror with the Venetian mirror that we bought in Paris that used to hang in our living room. I think it totally makes the room.

And that’s it! I’m pretty happy with it but I have another paper that I think will look good in there too so don’t be surprised if it gets another makeover in the next few months(!) And sorry I couldn’t get a wider shot of the room but it’s off of a hallway and it’s as far back as I could get.

Now, remember the poll from last week? If you missed it, I asked whether you were interested in seeing my decorating in progress or just a complete Before & After.

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As of yesterday afternoon, there were just over 200 votes and 84% wanted to see things in progress. So . . . I will be posting more rooms as they’re coming along, but at interesting stages, of course, so it’s not just a whole lot of ugly(!) Thanks to everyone who took the poll!

A Mini Before & After of the Kitchen + Winner of India Giveaway

***Note: if you are reading this through Google Reader or some other reader, you may only see a partial post. Something has gone crazy with my feeds. I’m looking into it and hope to have it sorted out soon.***

Since the Before & After post about our kitchen on Pure Style Home last week, there have been a couple more changes.

First the new lights got installed:

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Totally digging them. They’re exactly the industrial element I wanted. For those who asked about the source: I found them at an antique mall here in Atlanta called Antiques & Beyond.

Second, my handyman – handymen, actually – were here all week working on various things, including switching out the faucet. We went from this:

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to this:

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I looked at dozens of faucets in all price ranges but I just couldn’t make up my mind. (Surprise, surprise.) But I really needed to replace the old one because it sprayed water everywhere if you turned it on beyond a trickle. So I decided to get something inexpensive to make do until I find the one.  I chose the Hjuvik from Ikea because it’s similar to the style I want, very reasonable ($249) and comes with a ten-year warranty. (That should give me enough time to find something!)

Now, if I can just find some sconces for the window area, a room in this house may actually be finished! Seeing the new lights, what kind of sconces do you think would look good?

And in other news, it’s time to announce the winners of the India giveaway.

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The winner of the pillow cover is visualbenz and the winner of the tote bag is Jenna. Congratulations, girls, I’ll be emailing you later today. And thanks to everyone who entered!

Updating Our Dining Room Furniture

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One of the big items we got from my parents as part of their downsizing is an antique dining set. I was happy to get it since the white table and chairs we had in our old dining room have gone into the eat-in area of the kitchen and we needed something in the space. It’s a very lovely set but very traditional so I have been trying to think of different ideas for updating it.

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One look I’ve always liked is white painted chairs with dark wooden tables. These are some examples I’ve found.

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Our chairs are not these styles, but you get the idea.

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(And look at all the gold frames – this could have been part of Monday’s post . . . )

Being obsessed with white, my first thought was white paint for the wood but then I saw this image and it made me think that gray may be nice:

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I had the walls painted a very soft, light gray (something between the curtains in this room and the walls outside) so I think gray chairs could work really well. But then again, that might be too matchy-matchy so I will probably just go with white.

Of course all this is if I can get up the nerve to paint these beautiful old chairs. (My mom is going to be horrified!) I just feel bad about painting antique wood furniture. I would probably have less of a problem if they weren’t family pieces. But for the sake of aesthetics, I think I can get over it(!) Does anyone else feel guilty about painting antiques?

(Photos: 1. Marie Claire Maison 2&3.via Centsational Girl 4.via Things that Inspire 5.via House of Turquoise)