DECORATE or un

It seems ironic that the two books I am drooling over right now are Decorate and Undecorate. I wonder which one I will end up doing...

kiddo rooms to LOVE

These kiddo rooms speak to me. Loud and clear.

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my new LIVING ROOM

diy via Simply Grove

I am in love with this living room. From the amazing yellow couch to the rug to the chartreuse (one of my favorite color words) table to the dog silhouettes and the pendant lights... it's all perfect. I'm sold. I'll take it. I'll be home between 8am and 10pm tomorrow. You can come by and set it up for me then. Thanks.

SUNSHINY decor

With the beautiful summer-is-near weather that showed up on my doorstep this past weekend, I am loving this sunshiny house from Hus and Hem. It would be hard to have a gloomy day in such a bright place! And what kid- or adult- wouldn't love a bunkbed or reading nook like that? Hubby and I are inspired to create such a nook in our guest room. The only problem is that we might fight over it. We'll just have to make it big enough for the whole family to snuggle in!

madewell & BATHROOM INSPIRATION

You never know where you will find inspiration. When hubby and I were on the East Coast many months ago, we saw this scarf in Madewell. Immediately I knew that it was the bathroom color scheme I was looking for: white, gray, black, aqua, chartreuse, and you can barely see it but there are accents of a pale peach. It's just perfect. Hubby agrees. And someday we will actually have a constructed bathroom to decorate. Madewell: providing us with fabulous clothes and bathroom inspiration since 1937.

BEDTIME sentiments

-Jason Loucas as introduced by Design is Mine-

This photo is making its way straight into my inspiration file. I have always loved inspiring, warm words over a bed, but I am loving the idea of those words being the same color as the wall even more. It's as if they were embossed onto the wall. Something like this is definitely going to make an appearance in my bedroom overhaul.

P.S. Don't think I didn't notice the gorgeous bed and bedding... and those mirrors. It's all perfectly yummy!

MOOMAH

Welcome to Moomah, a creative arts cafe in Manhattan...

via Design*Sponge

Is it okay that I want to live in this cafe? Couch to sleep on- check! Amazing decor- check! Food to survive on- check! Now to find a corner I can hide in while they are closing up for the night. I can't have them finding out their beautiful cafe is my beautiful home...

pop goes the YELLOW

-Amy Lau via House of Turquoise-

I love this white and yellow rug (which reminds me of the Young House Love- formerly known as This Young House- living room rug that I saw at Pottery Barn on sale for a steal last summer and have regretted not getting ever since even though I definitely did not have the money to buy it then, but like pretending that I did) and the coordinating yellow frames on the wall. I am thinking our guest room is definitely going to need some yellow popping around inside of it. Possibly a pale gray wall and saturated yellow accents (a la this post)... and other colors thrown in, of course. I'm not a two color sort of girl.

thank you, THE SARTORIALIST

My single favorite shot from The Sartorialist. I am a follower and love his work, but when this post popped up on my screen today, I knew this will always be my favorite. I want to be this woman. The hat, the floral statement necklace, an easy tank and boyfriend jeans, those glamorous bracelets and red lips. It's perfection, is it not?

In other Sartorialist news- Refinery 29 did a guide on how to be shot by The Sartorialist (as pointed out by Jo). So funny, I had to share.

your style in ONE PICTURE

-via Tammy Manet's flickr-

Yesterday, Anne at The City Sage introduced me to the "What's Your Style in One Picture Challenge?" for Summer of 2009. It is so hard to get my style all into one photo. I spent hours looking through photos and I still don't think that this photo encompasses everything that is my style, but it is closer than any other photo I have come across.

The things I LOVE:

1.) The soothing color palette with the pops of turquoise and yellow

2.) The wallpaper panels

3.) The upholstered headboard

4.) The whimsical floral chandelier (remember this one?)

5.) The vintage tufted loveseat

6.) The striped curtains

7.) A hodgepodge of patterns throughout the room

8.) The wood floors

Things I would CHANGE:

1.) Replacing the floral art above the night stands with mismatched, bold paintings- maybe some vintage oil paintings without frames or art done on reclaimed wood.

2.) Swapping the round night stands for some chunkier ones with storage- definitely something from Barb at Knack Studios.

3.) Swapping the toned down rug for this round Light Wheel Rug.

4.) Replacing the bedside lamp bases with some white ceramic ones, or maybe vintage milk glass hobnail ones.

5.) Swapping the pillow on the right side of the love seat with the ruffles with a sage green ruffle-free pillow.

6.) Adding at least one animal element to the room- a little bird perched on the chandelier would do it.

What one photo reflects your design style? Head on over to From the Right Bank to the Left Coast to visit Alek and participate in the "What's Your Style in One Picture Challenge?" yourself!

(if you recognize my photo and know the magazine source, please leave a comment, so I can appropriately tag it)

BEDROOM inspiration

In the midst of our remodel, I have been collecting inspiration for each room and planning what I want to do (and what hubby wants to do- he's a great help in pointing out what is silly and what actually reflects our combined style). Since this blog was started to share the remodel, I am going to do a post on the inspiration for each room. We haven't gotten to the point of moving back in our house, much less decorating it, but here is a peek inside my head to see what is inspiring the coming redecorating.

This is our bedroom as is. I love the color of the duvet, but feel that I need another color besides the assortment of white, champagne, and ivory. (The antique frame on our chest of drawers was given to me by my grandma- I am HORRIBLE about putting photos in frames. This is one of many photoless frames in my house. Admitting this to you, I have just decided that one of my resolutions this year will be to fill all my frames with photos.)

Although I like more of an eclectic vibe for the rest of my house, I want to keep the bedroom a romantic and relaxing place.

(This photo and the one below aren't cited as I clipped them from mags back in the day. If you recognize where they are from, let me know!)

This is the color scheme I am going for. I am going to keep our duvet and add several green accents around the room in the way of pillows, antique books, and whatever else fits in. We are also going to paint either one wall or all of them a very pale green. I want to add more unique, vintage pieces so that the room has more personality and reflects hubby and I as a couple.

I love the smaller cabinet on top of the bedside stand, with the beautiful display of frames and photographs on top. It maximizes storage space by providing a cute place for books and still gives room to display pretty little things.

(seen at blue moss - via Box Brownie Trading Co.)

I have long loved the idea of having a romantic sentiment above my bed. This one would be perfect.

Small Antique Pine Display Cabinet via ebay

This is the perfect size for the bedside stand, and I would paint it a distressed white or ivory and fill it with pretty green objects.

Hotel Luxury Shams in Sage via Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Some green pillow shams would be nice.

DKNY Pure Harlequin Decorative Pillow in Green

Vintage Swan Vase or Planter via how now design

This swan would be cute with a little green plant in it (if I don't kill it).

Kissing Pleat Shade via Anthropologie

I could replace our champagne lampshades to add some more color. I love the origami-like details on this shade.

Peppermint Hand Mirror via Urban Outfitters

Something pretty to sit on the dresser.

Lana Velvet Pouf via Urban Outfitters

The antique chair in the corner of our bedroom is moving to the living room. I would love to replace it with this pouf. Let's be realistic, I need someplace to throw things when in a hurry. : )

Zinnia Flower Curtain via Urban Outfitters

I want to add just a bit of dark green, and these floral curtains are the perfect solution. I like that they incorporate the lighter green shade, and they also add a cute pattern to the patternless room.

Succulent Pillow via pillowhappy

I don't know if I would want this on the bed or not, but I love this pillow! Maybe it could sit on the pouf.

Now the interesting part will be to see how my inspiration is translated when put on a budget...

THOMPSON FAMILY inspiration

I LOVE this idea. It's perfect for a guest room or, as seen here, in a child's room. These photos come to us from Danielle of Thompson Family-Life, the brighest and cheeriest blog I have seen. It is also one of the most inspiring because Danielle is so darn crafty. --I can only say "one of the most" because really, there are SO many inspiring blogs around these days!-- Check out the rest of her blog as well as her etsy shop for more inspiration and smile-provoking photos.