January Obsessions

This month I am all about the preppy elegance of navy blue. I love it in large doses like slathered all over the walls of a kitchen or in small accents like linens and pillows and artwork.I especially love it paired with bright pops of yellow, green and turquoise. Here are a few recent faves:

via Caitlin Wilson Design

Via Pinterest

via Rue Magazine

via Apartment Therapy

via Quadrille

via Recreated

Pendant Love

Things I want in this room: Everything. That copper orb pendant by Tom Dixon is so beautiful paired with the marble tabletop and kilim rug. Also, I think I need that Paris Vu Par poster for my living room...

Check out a few more rooms with the glorious copper pendant HERE and HERE. 

Image: The Design Files via Spicer + Bank

Dining Room Rant

Here is what is unfair: If you live in New York City and you are not a billionaire, it is unlikely that you can afford an apartment with a separate formal dining room.

You know why this sucks? Because you can't host a proper traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with centerpieces and a family riot. But ALSO because you don't get the joy of decorating it! Look at this table and chairs! Look at that lamp! Look at the freaking wall art!

My current dining room is the small corner between the living room and my refrigerator. It is also directly in front of the door to our apartment and therefore it acts as a catch-all for mail and other detritus of daily life. Plus, randomly, our seltzer maker. I've always wanted a dining room because when I was younger we ate at our coffee table unless it was Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter and I hated it. I wanted a formal place setting and multiple glasses and flowers on the table! I wanted to practice my mastery of which fork goes with which course, etc!

So you can see why it is so disappointing to be in this predicament. Sure, I can eat a proper meal at my dining room table. But it will be to the hum of the refrigerator, not the chatter of my incredibly interesting and intelligent dinner guests and smooth jazz.  And god help us if someone happens to enter the apartment while we are eating because they will basically walk straight into our meal and chaos will ensue. Oh woe is me.


Image: roygbiv via my little apartment

Shut Up, Monday

I guess this gorgeous space makes my day a little better. It is essentially the most beautiful goddamn room you've ever seen right???

Image: The Inside Stoop via Acoustic Garden

Red is the new Grey

Oh my goodness this bold red eating nook is so decadent and cozy. If it were mine I would spend every spare minute nestled amongst those black & white pillows, pouring over shelter magazines with a giant mug of tea. Ms. Vreeland would be proud!

Image: Apartment Therapy

Pet Peeves

I realize I am only an amateur designer and the only portfolio I have is in my head but when it comes to design, I have a lot of opinions. In fact, I have so many opinions and pet peeves that I've decided to compile a list. In the interest of time and also your attention span, I'll spare you the full list and stick to the highlights.

1) Art work that isn't the right size for the wall

What's the tiny thing next to the door? This simply will not do.

 All too often I see framed art that doesn't quite take up enough space and this annoys me.  When I see a small painting all by itself on a large, long wall I start to feel nervous and my eyes dart around the room looking for companions to hang next to or around it. People. If you have a large expanse of space, fill it up! Take a chance and blow up a photograph until it is so large it practically looks pixelated. Create a gallery of matching prints or hang a bunch of unrelated items a la Kate Spade's showroom. In the long run, your walls will have more visual impact and your space will feel homier and more sophisticated.

Much better, no?

2) Rooms that are too 'matchy', AKA 'theme rooms'

Something is not right! Something is quite wrong!

This really drives me crazy. I grew up watching HGTV and other design shows and while their tastes and range have improved over the years, I am concerned by the lingering attitude that a room has 'style' and is 'decorated' simply because everything in the room is coordinated. This does not show any personality nor does it show you have any taste. This only shows that you can make things match. That's just lazy decorating if you ask me! Your space will be a thousand times more interesting if there is a variety of color. Your rooms have your stuff in it and this stuff hopefully took years to accumulate! I certainly hope you have not spent the last 10 years buying things that are only Tiffany blue and chocolate brown. Decorating should be an organic process and it can take years. It should not be completed in an afternoon at HomeGoods.(Though I love me some HomeGoods.)

I know. There's a lot going on here. But isn't it exciting?!? There's so much to look at!

3) Lack of pattern and texture

Good bones but too white! And too sparse! And PLEASE buy an accent rug!

One of my former employers decided that my style is decidedly "English" because I like a lot of texture and layers and for everything to be crowded together. While she was referring to flowers, I think this also applies to my style in interior design. I adore pattern and texture. They are stimulating and sophisticated and oh so versatile. The bolder the better. Rooms that lack both pattern and texture just look flat and boring. They feel cold, like a waiting room. Even the smallest hint of pattern can make all the difference in a room so if you can't quite commit to bright colors or a big floral rug or toile wallpaper, start small and introduce patterned pillows for your couch or textured placements or tablecloths, which can be changed when you get bored. Even the smallest little touches can make all the difference.

Rooms don't require bright colors to add depth. These neutral colors emphasize the subtle patterns.

4) The 'Build a Room' Technique

This room is lovely but seriously lacks personality.

Everyone has at least one friend who is guilty of going to one store and buying the bulk of their furniture and decorative items all at once. In the age of Ikea and CB2, this isn't the worst you can do. But please for the love of god, spend the rest of your days adding in some variety so I don't walk into your house and think I have stepped into a catalog. At some point I will drink too much and start referring to your furniture by their store-given names. Do you mind if I perch on the edge of your Karlstad? Wow, I didn't know the Triumph Lounge Chair came in this color! It will happen. I promise you.

I love the variety of style and substance in this dining room.

Last but not least...

5) Design Trends

Just a few recent trends...

Hey, I love faux bois, coral and cardboard antlers as much as the next girl but if you have too many trendy items all at once, it begins to feel like you decorated with a list.  Danish Modern console? Check.  Eames Chair? Check. Birch Tree Wallpaper? In every room. I'm not saying I'm against any of these things or that I haven't fallen for at least three trends every single year but there is a line that must be drawn somewhere. Your home should be a reflection of you and your style and tastes.Who else has your taste? No one, that's who.

Let's also be honest here: sometimes we buy stuff because it is fashionable, not because it necessarily fits us. (Ahem, Skinny Jeans) God knows I love me some rainbow-colored bookshelves but they are not for everyone or for every room.  While they might look amazing against your white walls, surrounded by your neutral couch and love seat, they would look completely out of place in my living room, where they would compete with the other colors and patterns in the room. Also? Don't waste your money on something that you might get sick of in a year or two once it goes out of fashion. Books can be rearranged and that lucite chair from Ikea can be sold on Craiglist but that coat rack with a giant mustache on it that was on virtually every blog ever? In another six months no one is going to want that shit. Your tastes will change from time to time but unless you can afford to redecorate as often as you replace your toothbrush, I'd stick to stuff you know you will want to have around for forever. And by 'forever' I mean 'until you have to move and decide to overhaul your entire style from scratch'.

Images: Elle Decor, The Home Show, Domino, Real Simple, Living, Etc,  CB2, Apartment Theray, My Deco

love love love

I love everything about this room. I love the light fixture. I love the wall color. I love the old-school champagne glasses and the abstract artwork. I love the chrome-edged table and the plaid tea canisters. I even love the dinosaurs, which usually terrify me.

Image: Domino Magazine via Happy Mundane

I need an intern just to think of titles for me

I was reading The Kitchn  this afternoon when I spotted this wonderland of loveliness in one of their galleries. I love how much character and personality this kitchen has-somehow a dresser and lamp next to a freaking stove looks chic and elegant.  I'm also mad about the fancy terrariums and the pottery vignette on the open shelving. I would genuinely look forward to cooking if my kitchen looked like this.

You can see a tour of this whole duplex apartment in Dallas over on Apartment Therapy and I highly recommend it because each room is brimming with interesting accessories and layers of pattern and texture. I am especially fond of the exquisite hallway/foyer, which is probably to be expected.

Image: Apartment Therapy

Design Soulmates

 I have been freaking out over Matt Berman's Manhattan apartment, which was featured recently on Elle Decor. Isn't it just so yum?? I cannot stop staring at the photographs because the apartment gets better with every photo in their slideshow.  From the artwork below the bookshelves to the cubed coffee table, green dining room chairs, and oversize mood board, this space has excellent attention to detail and a well thought out floor plan. I love how the masculine heft of the larger pieces are balanced by lighter benches, patterned accessories and soft rugs. Basically, I would do anything to live here. Berman's aesthetic sense is so amazing, I would like to cut out his prefrontal cortex and just insert it right into my brain. Then I would decorate my apartment to look like his. And then I would give him back his prefrontal cortex because it really isn't nice to go around cutting out chunks of people's brains. Also, ew.

Moving on:

Look at the watercolor of Mae West! Check out the hanging lamp above the table! Why don't I have big branch arrangements on my table!?!?!

This is my ideal workspace: simple and not fussy with interesting things to look at when I am lacking inspiration/procrastinating/bored out of my mind.

Images: Elle Decor

Dark Thoughts

The Diversion Project

Rue

Living, Etc.

Thai Cong via Decorista

Living, Etc. via Door Sixteen

Ruthie Chapman Sommers

Transitions

We are finally starting our major apartment overhaul! The first step was painting the living room (more on that debacle later) and the second step will be tackling our wall art situation. Last night we discussed the pig sty that is currently our kitchen.

Our kitchen poses many problems. It is a large room with a big open space in the middle. We have reserved one short wall for a wide kitchen cart to hold our toaster oven and other small appliances. Our round kitchen table resides in a dark corner that is in desperate need of a wall-sconce or lamp. I am considering an open bookcase for the other corner, which would house our cookbooks and pretty bake ware. The problem with our kitchen is the one long wall that leads to the door. Theoretically, we should be able to separate the space into the 'entryway' and the 'kitchen area'. But that is easier said than done, especially since the fridge is right next to the door. The trick, I think, is to figure out a way to separate the two spaces without interrupting the flow of the room. (Sorry to be all 'zen' but it cannot be helped.)

I was perusing the Design*Sponge offerings today and I think this new line by Lene Toni Kjeld would be a perfect way to transition from entryway to eatery while still maintaining two distinct areas. A colorful console/umbrella stand combo could brighten the white while the delicate silver design would soften our bulky wood table. It also looks great with bright yellow, which is a color I am considering painting our dining room chairs!

Image: Lene Toni Kjeld via Design*Sponge

Fly, butterfly, Fly!

One of my best friends in college went through a period where she wore head-to-toe pink-glittery pink eyeshadow, tank top, sweater, scarf, jacket, pants, shoes. Pink. Pink. Pink.

I loved her look. She made a statement. She was saying 'Pink is my favorite color'. (Aerosmith's 'Pink' was literally her favorite song.) Sometimes I prefer a little more surprise in my aesthetic statements. Sometimes I want normal, normal, normal, NOT NORMAL. For example, my junior year prom dress was a deep Indian teal with hot pink crinoline that really came in handy when it was time to can-can. (I joke. I spent most of my prom hanging out in the bathroom and huddled in a corner drinking peach schnapps we had stolen from our parents' poorly stocked liquor cabinets) At other times, I am perfectly happy to wear something completely ridiculous because I have EMBRACED the weird. Like the sequined top in the shape of a butterfly I wore for New Years a few years ago. God I love that top.

I'm not sure if you know this about me but sometimes I can be dramatic.

This living room is my sequined butterfly top. There is nothing subtle about it. From the giant window to the oversize ottoman, ornate mirror and floral wallpaper, this room screams 'I AM A GIRL'. It's the type of room I gravitate toward because it is bold and glamorous but have to make a conscious effort to stay away from because though I am hyper-feminine in my tastes, I dream of living in an apartment that is still somewhat gender neutral. You know, the type of place devoid of doillies and stuffed animals and 40,000 throw pillows that sends boys running.

Sigh. It's so hard being me.

Image: LivingEtc

Speaking of...

Now that my mind's on dining areas, I might as well post some other ideas.


Even though it isn't the most practical idea, I love the look of thick rugs under a dining room table. Especially if the space is small and you need to carve out a distinct dining area. I love this rug because it reminds me of Warhol's flowers.


One of the most difficult things about living in a small space is giving up certain pieces that wouldn't fit or don't make sense in the space. Being the traditionalist that I am, I yearn for a proper buffet in a formal dining room. Even though we are lucky enough to have more than enough room in our kitchen for a dining area, it is definitely more of an informal seating area than a serious dining room. Nonetheless, I would love to incorporate some bold-colored wallpaper like this red and white poppy design.

I am such a sucker for mismatched prints.

And mismatched colors.

And drama.

Images: LivingEtc

La Vie En Rose

As a wee little one, I was convinced that stark white rooms were the height of sophistication. Even though I gravitated to all things neon and/or glitter, I felt very strongly that I must cultivate a stronger taste for all things sleek and chic. When I was 10, I gave a presentation to my mother on the benefits of having an all white bedroom, hoping she would let me paint over the peptol bismol colored walls. (She did not fall for it.) To this day, I often find myself yearning for the whole Scandinavian aesthetic because it has such an easy elegance about it.

Sigh.

I should just admit it now. I am who I am.  And I am a person who needs color and patterns. Boat loads. I need pinks and reds and blues and greens and yellows. I need stripes and florals and polka dots. I need fully-saturated, bright rooms with interesting combinations and textures that may or may not include random metallics. Sure, I like light colors too. I can tone it down a little and restrict my wattage, when necessary. 

But will you LOOK at this!

Who wouldn't want to wake up after a night of too much sangria and stumble into this French farmhouse dining room for fresh fruit and croissants and cafe au lait? 

I rest my case.

Image: Marie Claire Maison

The Very First Post!!!!

My obsession with upholstered benches in the dining room continues....

Image: dominomag.com