Bookshelf Revamp

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Simply Styled

Using the pictures below, can you guess what is happening at our house this weekend?? The bookshelf in our dining room is getting a bit of a face-lift! Ever since I saw the number Emily A Clark (my new design crush) did on her office bookshelves, I keep noticing dark backings on bookshelves everywhere, and I want some of my own!

Recently
I looooove the color on these two bookshelves (above and below) – the paint is an inky blue, which is so rich and pretty. My fear with mirroring this type of color is that it won’t “go” with the existing colors in the dining room. The room is currently painted a light powdery aqua, I don’t feel like the almost navy would compliment it… maybe I’m totally wrong?

Luxe and Lilies

These next two bookshelves are a bit closer to the color I’m going for – its a dark grey – a true grey, so it will make the back of the bookshelves quite dark. A good contrast against the books we’ve got in there, however I’m realizing that while we’ve got quite a few books, they aren’t ideal for staging a bookshelf. There are no cute bindings, and not a ton of variation in color.

I’m also realizing that our bookshelf is quite a bit more functional than any of these here (coral overload in the photo below). Ours will still have to be functional – living in a small apartment, we need somewhere to store our books, so this bookshelf can’t just be a vehicle to store cool stuff (For example… that egg below on a pedestal… A mini globe… Tortoise shells… A scull…)

Worst case scenario?? I just wasted $15 bucks on paint. No big loss 🙂

Wish me luck!

Little Green Notebook

Emily A. Clark

Office
Emily A. Clark

I have a crush…

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Simply Styled

It’s true! I have a total crush on a new interior designer (well new to me) – Emily Clark. In terms of taste, I think we are kind of soulmates. I’m not even 100% sure how I stumbled up on her blog, but I swear I can’t get anything done around here! Her home is amazing, and I am totally captivated because her taste and choices are what I aspire to achieve.

I have a real appreciation for designers who take some chances with color and pattern. I love the contrast of the dusty navy wall against the white curtains and fireplace, and I love how it compliments the rug, and ties the whole room together. It has been several months since we got our new dark grey trellis rug, and I’ve struggled to find accessories to go with it. Do the throw pillows compliment or take away from the pattern on the rug? Is it too much pattern? Too much grey?? Too geometric? These questions and doubts about decisions I’ve made keep me wondering why I’m not totally satisfied with the look of the room.

The conclusion?? The color and pattern of the rug is very strong, and it needs an equally strong counterpart in the room – a complimentary wall of color perhaps – to bring it all together.

Since we may end up moving towards the end of this year / early next year (the story of my adult life is packing up once a year on average), I don’t want to put in the time and energy to paint the living room now… I think… but after seeing her living room (which by the way was featured in Better Homes and Gardens) I had an aha moment, and think I’ve figured out what we need to do in our next home to bring the room and rug together.

Can we talk about these pillows?? I am a heartbeat away from immediately placing an order for the Chaing Mai Dragon Print fabric (in mocha) to make some throw pillows for the living room. It. Is. Love.

Apparently, (and this is news to me) this fabric has made it’s way around the design blogosphere, and is very “trendy” (translation: overdone) but since it’s the first I’ve seen of it, I’m pretty sure my less design-y friends won’t know or care that I totally jumped on that bandwagon.

**An update here: a single throw pillow cover in this print is looking to be in the $200 range… must find out if I can order this fabric on my own…..

Ok… in my future house, I need this office. That wall of books is making me want to stop downloading books onto my Nook – just so I can start collecting! I LOVE the contrast of the dark backing with the white shelving and the colorful books. Also, that lamp was a $70 thrift store find – originally shiny brass – that she spray painted black. I am green with envy!

And that table – the old, dinged up, antique table with turned legs?? Craigslist. I’ve never seen anything that awesome on Craigslist!! I’d love to hate her for her fabulous taste, and luck in tracking down amazing second hand finds, but I just love her.

The breakfast room in her old house – love the painted wall, the lantern light, and the chartreuse patterned curtains that you get a slight peek of. Is it totally creepy that I know that this is in her old house?

And at last, the formal living room in her old house (I believe possibly also featured in Better Homes and Gardens).

It’s funny – I see things in other people’s homes that I never knew I wanted, and suddenly I have to have them – the magic of the internet I suppose. But those birdcages are awesome, and that zebra pillow is something I must find. This room has a lot going on, but feels clean and simple at the same time. I need to learn that, because sometimes I find our home feeling cluttered even if it’s not.

Have your Cake and Eat it Too

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Simply Styled

Isn’t this the funniest, cutest, most awesome dessert plate ever? Now if only I could find where to buy it…

Cow Hide Rug – Do or Don’t?

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Simply Styled

Emily A Clark

I am a city girl at heart – I love to be in nature but I also like to come home to my blow dryer and cozy bed – but while I might be slightly scared of horses, and would never wrangle a cow in a million years, I am really into the idea of a cow hide rug!

I keep seeing cow hides pop up in some really refined, contemporary spaces, and they look really cool – not cowgirl. I’ve been drawn to the lighter dyed versions (cow spots are not really my thing), but I’ve even seen a few with a zebra print on them that looks SO cool.

Stephmodo
One time, I told Kris that I loved the look of zebra print, and he gave me his “Who-is-this-crazy-person-and-where-did-my-completely-sane-girlfriend-go” look, but I SWEAR, if done right, zebra print can look classic! I need to print out this photo from Stephmodo’s blog, and put it on the fridge for him to see. This room is actually a nook off the hallway of a Southern California home, that the family made into a functional office space. Genius!

willowdecor
Look at how these light cow hide rugs blend into these rooms! The rest of the decor is relatively simple – clean lines, and not a lot of color. Aside from the irregular edges on the rugs, nothing about them looks “risky” – the first word that comes to mind when I think about purchasing a cow hide rug. Maybe simplicity is the best way to ease into it?

DecorPad
Ok, this room is just awesome, right? Those icy blue walls with the vibrant yellow Louis XIV chairs?? If I had an office, this is the color scheme I’d want to go with. It’s bright and light all at the same time, and somehow it doesn’t feel like too much. Dare I say it, the rug is the safest choice in this room!

Eclectic Living Room design by Los Angeles Interior Designer Elizabeth Gordon

So… this room is very “styled”. I actually hate the ceiling from the sunburst light fixture to the bamboo wallpaper (sorry homeowners), BUT what I do love is how the zebra print cow hide is positioned underneath a glass coffee table (so as not to obscure the pattern), and that when laid lengthwise, it mirrors the symmetry of the two sofa’s that are facing one another. I’ll ignore the ceiling, the screens, and the complicated sconces, because the rest of the room is spot on perfection.

Create Girl
And… the cow print. Not my taste, but I’ll admit that it brings some much needed life into a totally neutral oatmeal colored room. This rug also looks a bit furry, which creeps me out a bit too much. How do you find a rug with minimal “fur” – I really do not want to imagine my rug in it’s former life… aka eating grass and chilling on a hill in the sun.

DIY – No Sew Throw Pillows

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Simply Styled

The living room has been getting a gradual face-lift, and while we haven’t gone so far as to buy new sofas (a major purchase off my growing apartment wish list), the addition of a new rug, curtains, potted succulents, and some sea fan art have helped re-vamp this room. The throw pillows on the sofas have been mismatched since we moved in (last November), and while this has bugged me endlessly, I hadn’t gotten around to replacing them… until now!

I’d been looking for throw pillows, but since they run anywhere from $30 (on the low end) to $100 (on the high end… well, MY high end) I couldn’t commit! It started feeling like a big purchase, and I didn’t want to make the wrong decision.

Finally, one of the mismatched throw pillow covers ripped, and that was pretty much the straw that broke the camel’s back. Hallelujah – a good excuse to get some new (matching) pillow covers!

Since I’ve been such a commitment-phobe over buying throw pillows, I decided that I’d make them – a pretty aggressive decision since I do not know how to sew – I don’t even own a sewing machine. I thought to myslef, how hard can it be?? Famous last words, right? Wrong! If you have a hot iron, you can make a throw pillow – I promise.

Read on for my crafty tutorial!

Step I: Buy Fabric

I am admittedly frugal – always looking for a way to save a few dollars, even though I like nice things. Interior fabrics that have a good weight AND an attractive pattern can get pricey pretty quickly. Enter my solution – the shower curtain.

I was at Target, when I stumbled upon this shower curtain – it measures 6’x6′ which means I have plenty of fabric to mess up a few times, and at $20, you can’t beat it! This pattern in particular picks up all the colors in the rest of the room – blues, golds, and grays, on a creamy background – just what I was looking for! I told my best friend that I bought a shower curtain to make pillows and she laughed so hard. Little did she know what a genius I was… after showing her the finished product, she’s not laughing anymore.

Step II: Measure fabric

Since these pillows are “no sew” there are no zippers. An envelope pocket on the back makes this work, so this means that for each pillow, you will be cutting out three pieces of fabric. The front panel, and the two back “envelope pocket” panels. Knowing that my pillow insert measured 20″x20″ I wanted to be sure I cut out plenty of fabric to account for the seams. After messing up my first few pillow covers, I figured out the right measurements to make a tight fit. I learned the hard way that if the pocket pieces aren’t long enough, the fluffy pillow pops out of the pocket (fail) so the key to making this work is having the pocket flaps overlap by at least 8 inches.

– The front should measure 22″x22″
– The back pocket panels should measure 22″x17″

(for those of you who know what you are doing, you can probably make the front panel 21″x21″)

Step III: cut out all the pieces you’ll need

I like to work in assembly line fashion – cut out all the pieces you’ll need at once, so you can move on to the next step – it’s just faster this way… trust me.

Step IV: Gather your supplies

Once the pieces are cut out, get everything set up to make these pillows. Make sure your iron is filled with water for the “steam” function. Plug it in, and get it hot. Pull out the ironing board, and grab a damp washcloth, and your iron on fusing (aka the glue that holds these pillows together). I used Singer Regular Hold Iron-on Fusing Web – grabbed it at Target (conveniently located in the same aisle with the ironing boards)

Step V: Assemble

Take a look at these diagrams – it will make it a lot more clear when assembling

Lay the “front” pattern side up, and lay the first envelope flap on top of it pattern side down (patterns should be facing each other.

Measure out the fusing web, and place it between the two panels of fabric.

Take the damp washcloth, place it over the fabric, and press the hot iron for 20-30 seconds. The combination of the moisture and the heat will make the fusing web melt and bond the fabric. Do not just try to use the steam from the iron – it’s not enough!

At this point, the fusing web should have connected the front panel to the first envelope pocket flap on three sides – see dotted line int he diagram below:

Lay the second panel face side down on the other side, and fuse to the first envelope flap and the pillow front. The panels will (and should) overlap. See diagram below:

Once the fusing is done (it takes deceivingly longer than anticipated), let the pillow cool (so the “glue” doesn’t come apart) and carefully flip pattern side out. Put the pillow in, and voila… insta throw pillows – no sewing required… they look pretty good! Best shower curtain EVER.

Can I Live Here??

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Simply Styled

But seriously… can I really live here?

From the oversize chandelier, to the exposed brick wall, to the high vaulted cieling, to the black and white contemporary furniture, and tons of light and windows… I have some serious jealousy looking at this! Don’t get me wrong, I love our little apartment, but sites like Lonny and Pinterest make me green with envy over other people’s homes that boast fabulous architectural details.

Normally, my taste is a bit more traditional, and I like to use more color in our home, but the black and white (and shades of grey) in this room are so clean, and bright, and pretty… I can’t help myself! This room takes the staples that I love (clean classic lines on the “core” furniture – sofa, chair, side table) and couples it with some masculine feeling contemporary pieces (the coffee table, graphic pillows, and brick wall).

I’ve gone out of my comfort zone for this inspiration board, to put together a room that “feels” the same as this inspiration, but is much more in line with the budgets normal people (aka me) would be working with…

Inspiration: Black and White Opulence:

The goal here is to create the same look and feel of this lofty, architecturally stunning room, when the details may not already exist. Kris and I live in an art deco apartment from the 1930’s. It does not have exposed brick anywhere, no vaulted ceilings, and no arched windows overlooking a courtyard.

Tom Hagga makes some really awesome wallpaper’s, and the one I used in the inspiration board has the look of exposed brick. I’d be really careful when deciding where to roll this paper on the walls. Keep in mind that from a distance, it looks like brick, but up-close there is zero dimension. I’d be sparing, using cool paper like this on a small wall, or on a wall with large windows, so that this paper peeks out from the architectural details – as opposed to dominating an entire wall.

For rooms without large expansive windows, Ballard Designs has a huge assortment of floor to ceiling height mirrors that have the look and feel of windows (pretty clever, eh?). The Amiel Arch Mirror has a lovely dark maple arched frame, and antiqued mirrors that reflect light. This would be an awesome solution to open up a smaller room.

Aidan Gray Kason side table is pretty much perfection. I am a sucker for a pretty pedestal, and the weathered wood on this perfection. For a tenth of the cost, the West Elm.com Turned Pedestal Side Table (made of mango wood) has the same dimensions and would do the trick just as well.

The finishing touches bring the room to life, and add a bit of glamour – with the mercury glass lamp, the pretty chandelier, and the graphic black and white throw pillows. One note with a chandelier – do not try to hang in the center of a living space if the cieling isn’t vaulted. Opt for a corner over a chair for reading, or over a desk on the room’s perimeter.

For some greenery, a fiddle leaf fig always looks well groomed, orchids mean minimal maintenance, and the little black stallion figurine is as sassy as it is inexpensive (I went with black here, but gold would look awesome too). I took a queue from one of my favorite bloggers who spray paints inexpensive children’s toys to display as art – yep, $2 plastic toys become decor. It’s pretty much genius if you ask me. Check out Cassie’s DIY Brass Figurines to see the before, the after, and trust me when I say it looks amazing.

Tom Hagga Exposed Brick Wallpaper (price upon inquiry)

Target White Slipper Chair $199

ZGallerie White Graham Slip-covered Sofa $899

Crate and Barrel Frame Medium Coffee Table $499
Aidan Grey’s Kason Wooden Side Table $1200 (West Elm’s Turned Pedestal Side table is VERY similar at $199)
Home Depot Chandelier $99
RugsUSA Dark Grey Rug $300 for the 8×10
Ballard Designs Amiel Arch Mirror $699 (each)
Homegoods Mercury Glass Lamp and Shade $40
Horse “Sculpture” DIY (idea from the fabulous Cassie of HiSugerplum)
Black and White Graphic Throw Pillows: Etsy ($30-50 each)
Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant + White Orchid

Flokati Rug

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Simply Styled

I spotted a Flokati rug in a commercial for this local San Francisco furniture store, and it looked so soft, and luxe, I’ve since become a bit obsessed. You are probably thinking, this crazy girl JUST got a new rug… and this is true, but I think that when we move into a larger space, I’d love to invest in a pretty, fluffy Flokati for the bedroom.

I see all the fluff and think how it might not stand up well to a high traffic area like a living room… but in a bedroom… that could be a match made in heaven. Just picture it… it’s a cold morning, still dark out, and the alarm goes off… you get up and swing your legs of bed… imagine how amazing this rug would feel under your feet! Like butter, I tell you!

A real Flokati rug could put you into some serious debt, but the amazing RugsUsa.com (I wish they had a different name) has the Standard Shag Greek Flokati Natural Rug for a sweet deal. The 5’x7′ is ~$600 normally, but it’s 35% off right now.

Doesn’t it just look like a cloud with all the pale grey accents below? And with the zebra skin?? So chic. I wonder if this is a look I’d tire of, since I normally go for cleaner lines, and very classic pieces. This is way more hippie dippie than I’d normally go, but looking at these photos where the rooms are based around classic furniture… Luckily we’ve got quite a few big ticket items already lined up, so this goes at the bottom of the list, but the Flokati… it’s on the radar for sure (plus it’s just so fun to say).

Re-Vamping the Bedroom

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Simply Styled

I am like a giddy little puppy – we have made the decision to go with a king size bed and replace our queen mattress! Hooray!!

Knowing that, I can really start planning out our bedroom. I made a few short term changes by flipping over our duvet, and getting some cute pillows and throw blankets to spruce up the bedding, but it’s time to make some real strides here! I came up with this inspiration board based on the changes in my tastes, and some of the accessories we already have!

Obviously, we’ll be working with what we’ve got, so while the red punches of color from my original bedroom inspiration board would be fun and bright, I need to look for things that match the core pieces in the room – the biggest being the rug.

Right now, the bedroom has a large piece of remnant carpet I got for next to nothing in my early 20’s – it’s an oatmeal color, and while it has done it’s job, it’s time to move on to greener pastures. Recently, we got a new rug for the living room, which means the old living room rug has been rolled up and is chilling in our dining room. It’s currently leaned up against the wall and I can’t wait to move into our bedroom. Our “old” living room rug looks almost EXACTLY like the one in my inspiration board, so the red touches from past inspiration boards would feel wrong with this soothing tone.

Now that you can see that the rug is all soothing shades of aqua, tan, and brown, I think I should keep that feeling going throughout the bedding as well. For the most part, the biggest changes will be the bed frame (one nail-head upholstered headboard… coming right up), the bedding, the “new” rug, and a chandelier (for glamour). The art in my inspiration board is already hanging up, the lamps are a done deal, and you all remember my toil (posted here) to re-finish the dresser and nightstands in the bedroom…

I could also do bedding like the Barbara Barry collection. I do love the look of the blue quilted bedding, with a big fluffy duvet folded at the foot of the bed.

I also really like this pale blue paisley – I think I’ll have to see how busy the room looks once the rug is in there. The room doesn’t get a ton of natural light which is a real challenge, so I don’t want to make it feel super small, or super dark….

What should I do? Are these too dark? Too girly? Should I keep looking? Or am I over analyzing everything??

How Pinteresting: Week IV

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Simply Styled

Oh Pinterest, how I love thee. Even though I need to improve the number of projects I actually do, who doesn’t want to see a round up of Pinterest’s best of the best – the prettiest, coolest, and most inspirational pins from the past few weeks. I know I sure do!

Without further ado, let’s go!

– — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – — – —
1. Black and White Graphic Painted Floors
La Dolce Vita is responsible for posting this FABULOUS dining room, and while it takes a brave person to paint hardwood floors, these are absolutely amazing. Without the floors, the room would be nice but the graphic design opens the room up, and take it from “nice” to “holy guacamole”!! Wouldn’t this be a great way to revamp some sad wood floors that needed to be re-finished (or worse, torn out?!) Time consuming, yes, but expensive? Not at all.

2. Chunky Statement Necklace from Shopbop

Shopbop has this stylish necklace in stock, and while a bit out of my “on-a-budget” price range, I can’t help lusting after it. Dress up a plain tshirt, or wear it with a flirty dress for a night out. Something about it reminds me of this necklace Carrie wore on SATC…

3. Prettiest Bedroom in the World?

Um… I think so! I had really loved dark wood for a long, looonngggg time (thus all the dark wood furniture currently in our apartment), but now I’m really loving distressed wood with the look of being reclaimed, or even antique. Wood with a greyish hue seems really organic and brings a peaceful feel to most rooms. Between the upholstered headboard, the weathered wood, and the fluffy white bedding, I am loving how this room looks!

4. Voluminous Blonde Hair

Leave it to Heidi Klum to make us hate her even more than we already did. I am pretty sure that this photo is the definition of a blonde bombshell. I am going in to get my hair re-blonded (we aren’t all natural blondes anymore) and am thinking that I might go after some side swept bangs. I’ve let mine grow out, and they are past my chin now, but this looks so cute on her – I think I could work the bangs again!

5. Marble Fret Coffee Table

This coffee table from ZincDoor is as graphically interesting as the rug it sits on! The lattice pattern on the sides makes a huge visual impact, while the clean smooth top doesn’t take it too far. I love the table, but the price tag is a painful $4998… let’s be real, that equals WAY more than $5K with taxes, shipping, etc. To make myself feel better, I also tell myself that it would be way too busy (and big) for our modest apartment… but isn’t it pretty??

6. Asos Black Mesh Skirt

How adorable is this?! I’ve never ordered anything from Asos, but hear nothing but great things about their clothing – this skirt is just 35 Euros, and obviously comes with lining since it’s sheer! I am seriously considering placing an order, and will keep you posted when it comes!

7. Trellis Linen Drumshade

Shades of Light has his awesome drum shade in both a natural taupe and pale blue, and I love how simple it is. I still love a good glitzy chandelier, but for a more muted (and boyfriend friendly) look, the drum shade has really been growing on me. I’m not sure if $179 is a good price, but I love it anyway!

8. Slouchy Sweater

This girl’s glasses are all sorts of wrong with the rhinestones, but overall, this look is so cute and easy to wear. Even though its loose, the deep wide v-neck makes this ultra feminine, despite the ripped up jeans, and un-done hair. I have no clue where this sweater came from, but it’s going on my wishlist for summer, since San Francisco is never hot.

9. Nailhead Chair

This Chair is from Joss and Main – a site I’ve been hearing more and more about! It’s membership only (it’s free to register and join), and while I don’t know a ton about it yet, they have some really wonderful collections. From the number of blog posts I’ve written about my love of anything with a nailhead trim, it should come as no surprise that I am in love with this chair. It’s got great lines, the nailhead pulls out the details, and I think I could happily sink into this at the end of every day. If there were casters on the bottom, I think it would be PERFECT.

10. Coral hi-low dress

A HUGE trend this spring and summer, hi-low dresses are everywhere. I’m not 100% sold on all of them, but in this floaty fabric, I think its really feminine and pretty. It also helps that the front isn’t super short – that can look sort of odd. I also love the double wrap belt – it makes a “long” dress more casual so you could wear it in the afternoon when it’s still light out. This would be perfect for a rehearsal dinner, wedding, or nice dinner out. Know what would really finish it for me?? Some sort of aqua accessory – coral and aqua are like peanut butter and jelly… it’s just so right together.

Mirror Love & a Bedroom Makeover

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Simply Styled

I love a good mirror, and I’m a firm believer that there should be one in every room. Not only is it nice to not have to trek to the bathroom to check your hair or outfit before leaving the house, but mirrors reflect light, open up a room, and make everything feel bigger and brighter than normal. Whether it’s a big picture frame mirror, a delicate scrolled mirror, a sunburst mirror, or a convex mirror… I love them all!

Is anyone else LOVING those porthole mirrors like I am? Look at a few more close-ups… So cool!!

I am pretty sure this room is going to be the inspiration for our bedroom re-design. The chandelier is perfection, silk drapes are always my number one choice, and that upholstered nail-head trim headboard?! I am dying a little inside…

I absolutely love the look of the convex mirrors lined up above the bed. We have the trio of quatrefoil mirrors above our bed in the meantime (remember how hard I looked for those??) Well, despite all the work it took to hunt those bad boys down, I am thinking of something smaller to go above the bed when we get our new bed and headboard! (no, Kris does not yet know about the new headboard, hee hee hee…)

Not to worry, the quatrefoil mirrors will find a home elsewhere in the apartment, but I am looking forward to updating the bedroom – you have no idea! Don’t you love this bedding? I saw a few similar rooms and just love the smoky paisley. Take a look at this similar and equally awesome smoky paisley print bed… sooo pretty! I also love the zebra paired with it! Are you as in love with this look as I am right now?

We could also do a grand starburst mirror like this one… with the beveled edges, it brings a lot of glamour to the look. Unfortunately, I’ll just have to admire that detailed crown molding from afar – we’ve got crown molding, but nothing like that!