TGIF

It's been a long week.

Image: the goodie life via The English Muffin Blog

Belated Travel Diary

So, last October, I spent a long-weekend in Los Angeles with some of my favorite friends. My friend Amy lives in the most charming house and I spend my spare time decorating it in my head. My ideas change with the weather and my mood but basically, I envision most of it to look like a lighter, airier version of Nanette Lepore's living room which was featured on CasaSugar a few months ago.

 

Lepore enlisted the help of pop design god Jonathan Adler and the result is an  eclectic mix of style and texture which perfectly reflects the designer's love of all things ladylike yet whimsical. ( I know, I usually hate that word too but you gotta admit, it applies here.)  My favorite part of the living room is obviously the crystal ship but the portrait of Eva Peron is a close second. I'm thinking I need a similar portrait for our apartment...perhaps of Elizabeth Taylor? 

Image: Elle Decor via CasaSugar

Black is the new Black

WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT 

If I were a Hollywood media mogul, this is what my office would look like. I would sit in that comfy chair and just yell out ideas for someone to transcribe so I could keep the desk clear of laptops and other such nuisances. Also, maybe I would wear a gold lame jumpsuit.

Too much?

Image: i suwannee

Oh, and also I like the yellow pillow.

In my ongoing quest to find and buy a rug for my apartment I constantly find myself drawn to stripes and chevron-inspired patterns. I just love how the repeated pattern looks with florals and how it adds depth to a room and helps offset any large solid pieces like our giant orange couch. I saw this living room in Living Etc and went bananas over the rug/throw pillow/fabric-covered wall combination.

Also, why don't I have a tuxedo couch?

I've had the Ikea Stockholm Rand rug on my list for quite some time now and the only thing that keeps me from running out and buying it is the concern that my cats would ruin it or my roommate would get sick of vacuuming all the cat hair off it and would start to secretly hate me AND my stupid rug. Maybe the solution is that I get my rug BUT I learn to vacuum...

Images: Living Etc and Ikea

Love Love Love

Behold! The most perfect wall color EVER! I want to marry this color it is so perfect.

Image: Domino Mag via Automatism

I want to go to there.

My problem with decorating kitchens is I really don't use them enough to know how to incorporate style and utility. If it were up to me, I'd store books in the cabinets and sweaters in the oven. All I really need is a tea kettle and a good-sized drawer for take-out menus. The goal for my next, more grown-up apartment is to find a way to make my kitchen fully functional yet decorated with the same attention to detail as every other room in the apartment. (Unless I live in a studio, which is a whole other can of worms.) My inspiration will be Tracy's newly renovated kitchen, which was featured recently on The Kitchn and is adorable.

Mainly, I am jealous of her updated appliances and crisp cabinets. Our fridge is about 500 years old and struggles to keep anything cold yet there is a suspicious-looking glacier forming along the back wall and I *think* there might be a can of diet coke in the middle of it. I am also envious of the smooth tiled floors, especially after I cut my toe on a crooked floorboard the other day. Come to think of it, my current kitchen is a wreck! Time for a new project!

Image: Shutterbean via The Kitchn