Fabrics

Galbraith & Paul Spring 2012 collection of block printed fabrics on linen.

Inspiration for Casual Living Spaces

Love everything in the home of Cosima von Bulow Pavoncelli designed by Markham Roberts. The whole home has a warm, layered feel. It appears effortless but in reality is harder to achieve.  Keep in mind, Cosima is a Dutchess, I don't think any of this is from IKEA. It takes some investment but I would like to lean into this aesthetic.  I like this English sofa with nail head trim and ikat pillows.  It is flanked by modern end tables layered with books and topped with gourd lamps.

Peter Dunham's one day makeover of an LA home.   Linen block-print fabrics from his own line provide muted color. The chairs are from a Paris flea market.  He adds more texture with a natural woven rug (from IKEA!) and cowhide from DWR.  This room leans masculine but seems to have a good balance which I appreciate.  I want my three boys and husband to feel comfortable in our home.

Bookish. Mercury glass vase from West Elm converted to a lamp, clever. 

More from Peter Dunham.  Linen textiles, natural woven rug, layers. Nice.

Den Dreams

New sofa, perhaps a tightly slipcovered English roll arm sofa in linen.  If I go light I'll need to be able to wash it.

Offset the traditional with some modern end tables that could hold our coffee table books and robert abbey lamps.

Chang Mai fabric for our ottoman. Love the teal, greens, yellow and bold pink hues and it mixes well with what I already have.

Chocolate graphic rug...needs to handle the traffic of four children as the den leads to the backyard.

And then I would lounge around in this gorgeous blue dress...

Library Design Board

Playing with ideas for our front 'library'.  It's a small space, the original cozy cottage-sized entry plus living room with fireplace. 

Considering...

Tufted and skirted lee chairs flanking the stone fireplace with Suzani Trellis pillows.

Herringbone sisal layered with a zebra rug.

Mohair sette.

Motega lamp or similar in a color from the accent fabric.

Small x-stools for under the console.

Makeshift Mudroom

Before....blank wall, pile of jackets and backpacks.

After....added wainscotting to match the rest of the house and hooks.  Everything has a place and in it's place.  Joy!  

Peek into my Kids Rooms

Here is a peek into how the kids rooms turned out. There was a moment that they were fairly tidy, so I quickly snapped some pics.  Still a work in progress but getting there...

There is something about looking at a room photo that helps me figure out the final touches.  After seeing my photos, I bought zinc, slightly industrial letters from Anthropology to fill that space over the boys beds.

I love how the Annette Tatum monogramed shams came out.  And the Serena and Lily sheets and cabin quilts have been great.  The blankets on the ends of their beds aren't part of the design plan, but they are the boy's crib blankets that are super soft and they are still very much attached to them.

More photos of the other rooms over on my family blog.



Art work by David. This is part of a pair he painted while I was pregnant with our trio - featuring our cats Max and JoJo  doing some amazing tricks.



Stunning

Another tablescape with metallics.  This room from Erika and her team at Urban Grace.  They are so talented, I love getting to see their work. See full story here.

Holiday Table Inspiration

This fall table by Eddie Ross found in Lonny Magazine is great inspiration for the holidays. These golden colors look would great with my blue china. Those birds are from hobby lobby! then painted in gold.

Mottehedeh Imperial Blue

Kid's Room Update

Big kid beds and bedding have arrived.  H's room and trim painted.  Shams are being monogrammed and curtain rods primed and painted for hanging. 

I'm working on the finishing touches and the fun parts that make the rooms feel like kid's spaces.  I will be able to share some pics soon.

Although we have three new fun rooms in the making, most of the time the inhabitants find their way to our  room and new bed.  So although we now have a 'roomy' king, it can get quite crowded.  I've resorted to bribing our kids with a quarter if they can stay in their own beds until the sun comes up.

More Kid's Room Designs

I *think* I've finally settled on the kids room designs.  Baby Coco near our house carries a great line of bedding by Annette Tatum that mixed well with the Serena & Lily that I liked.  It was also much easier to decide with the fabrics in hand than just shopping online. 

Everything is ordered and I look forward to sharing photos of how their rooms turn out with you in September.

Holden's Room

Sanctuary

I've been distracted by new job, kids, life in general and I've neglected my hobby, my design blog, which also means I've neglected my own home design.

But a creative spark has been ignited. My husband has one request, that we get a new king bed. One that can be our sanctuary but also accomodate our four children in the morning or on stormy nights, when they crawl in bed with us.

So of course, this opens up a world of design questions. For a new mattress requires a new bedframe, new linens and well, makes me take a second look at our bedroom as a whole.

David knew he wanted a Westin Heavenly bed. The W Hotel bed, which appears to be identical, is 35% off so we ordered it last night. The offer expires today, but I believe they run big discounts from time to time.

I knew right away I wanted a fabric covered headboard, the question is only what shape and fabric. My inspiration photos are included in this pos.

For linens, I have an inclination towards white sheets and a white duvet covers with some detailing. Pratesi, Leontine or Frette would be my first choices if money were no object. I am particularly font of the Pratesi chain design shown on the middle two photos.

Good options that are better on the budget include Serena & Lily, Restoration Hardware and Sferra.

J.Crew Sneak Peek: Spring Collection

catalog sneak peak (to be released in stores Monday)

The big spring collection arrives in J Crew stores Monday and they will begin stocking their shelves. My sales associate said everything should be on the floor by Tuesday evening.

I can't help myself, I am addicted to J Crew and am eagerly anticipating this collection.

Besides, spring has nearly sprung here in Austin. We had temperatures in the mid to high 70s today. I'll have to pack any coats and wool sweaters away in about 10 minutes.

I'm eying this Loulie Ruffle Tank in cotton/silk poplin and Rossio lightweight cashmere long cardigan. All the spring watch strap colors are great but I think this neon coral is my favorite. And of course all the baubles are fun.

Hand cut flower art tee

Meyers Movie Home

It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas. Nancy Meyer is releasing a new movie this holiday season. You don't have to be a design aficionado to appreciate the homes in her movies such as Somethings Gotta Give and The Holiday. Traditional Home is show casing the newest set home in their December issue. I'll be looking forward to getting my issue in the mail. Meanwhile, I'll have to settle for a few images I've combed from the web.

The house is warm, a bit eclectic, traditional but with a few modern influences. I recognize some Lee and Oly furnishings mixed with antiques.


Large oval table in the dining room open to an inviting kitchen with open shelving, Carrara marble on the console and zinc pendants. Meyers designs gorgeous houses but they also feel real, not like showcases. I'd like to sit at this island with a glass of wine and catch up with old friends.


The master bath with claw foot tub.

And master bedroom. This cozy room may be my favorite. I like the fabric headboard and simple bedding and colorful throw, mismatched bedside tables one of which is a writing desk, and the addition of an antique dresser and mirror.

Little Girl Room

Lily is quite content sharing a room with her brothers but I still cant help but plan for her big girl room. (btw, one of my triplets broke the apostrophe key on my laptop today). At some point I would like to move Lily in baby Holdens room (who is not really a baby anymore), and when he is ready move him in with his brothers.

Holdens room was designed with that trade in mind. The walls are a serene pale shade of turquois blue, BM Glass Slipper and the curtains are a cream linen. The chandelier is a bamboo lantern. It suits a baby boy but will be great for Lily with the addition of some feminine details and a healthy dose of pink. I'd like to add a trim to the linen curtains, perhaps with pink velvet ribbon (thanks lisa for the idea).


Im envisioning a full bed dressed in a pink quilt and polka dot or floral linen. Ive been eying this Serena & Lily pink quilt and their melon polka dot sheets.

courtesy of Porchlight Interiors

This iron bed from IKEA is darling.

courtesy of Swish and Swanky

I also like this low profile wood painted bed.

courtesy of Urban Grace

I was inspired by this adorable room and bought my own birdhouses at Michaels. Lily's, I mean Holden's walls just happen to be the same color, although it looks much more grey in this photograph. Holden even has the exact same crib, from Walmart of all places. It has the look of the modern and very pricey crib lines and even converts to a cute toddler bed with its own half side rail. The only thing wrong with the crib is that Holden never actually slept in it. He slept with us until 18 months. Then he moved to a twin bed that I pushed up to the crib to try to transition him to the crib. But he never would stay in that crib. And so he never used the cute dwell bedding either.

A happy coincidence occurred, when reading Erika's design blog Urban Grace I learned that she wanted to use his same polka dotted sheet in her nursery design, but then it was sold out so I was able to send her mine. I didn't charge her, it seemed like it was just meant to be. She said she was going to send me a little thank you. I thought it would be some small token but she surprised me with a $50 gift certificate to Sephora. Wow, so generous.

Anyway I digress from my little girls room daydream. In any event I have plenty of time to plan as shes not ready to separate from her triplet brothers anytime soon.

If you are interested in checking out more childrens rooms look over at my blog roll (right) and visit Swish and Swanky.

Simple Pleasures

This modest home conjures a grand emotion.


Delicious olive living room with electic furnishings.


Surprise, a bold splash of aqua doesn't feel forced in this small abode.


A mercury collection adds some sparkle. Perfect for the holidays.


Cozy quaters.


Want to recreate this room? Start here at Garnet Hill.

Room with a View

photo courtesy of Elle Decor

Need a place to unwind?

The All New Restoration Hardware Store

RH has completely revamped their collections for fall 2009. They have turned about 360 degrees and have embraced the Belgian/French antique look which has been all the rage by top designers in places like Houston for a while. It is gorgeous, I would love the vintage french square chairs (if I didn't have four toddlers with sticky hands of course).

I wonder...now that RH is making this look highly accessible and essentially mainstream, will designers take a significant turn of their own and forge new interior frontiers for their clients?

Before & After: Dining & Den

Before

Middle
This is a bit of a random photo, from the triplet's baptism party at our home. But you can see where the windows were, now there are french doors in their place.

After
Dinning room, peaking into the den. The new french doors give us access to our side yard and are flanked with Windsor Smith's Riad fabric in ming that she used for her sofas and chairs in her own living room. You can check out Windsor's gorgeous home in this month's Traditional Home. The lime green booster seats were not part of my design plan, but are a big improvement from our plastic high chairs.

A snapshot from the den *sigh*. The Thomas the Train table is not part of my design vision, but is part of my plan to survive a record hot summer with four kids under three years old. Notice the colorful paint on our white sofa? I'll be holding on to my white slip covered (aka bleachable) furniture at least until the kids are all over five. My pretty pillow with fabric from Raul Textiles made it out of the study just for this quick photo. Again, not a great photo, but the kids are in bed!

And finally a view from the dining into the kitchen so you can kind of get a feel for the floor plan. I have dreams for a lovely painted antique hutch here in the future. Something blue-gray or green-gray, not matching my drapery, but complementing.