The Birds

I love this photo posted on Instagram by none other than the talented Mrs. Price. Her photographs are just as cool as her copy, which you can check out here. 

ooh la la

I just spotted a link to this furniture designer's work over on another blog. Her name is Daun Curry, check her out here. Love her furniture. The perfect amount of glamour. Lacquer, mirror, glass and lucite, with just the right details. Boy, I need cocktail.

Crazy Kind of Love

Ok, so I finally caught an episode of Million Dollar Decorators on Bravo and I loved it. In  particular  I loved Mary McDonald and her fabulous graphic floor. After googling her I realized that this one woman has been a huge design influence on me and I didn't even know it. I know kind of stupid. But, for the last couple of years I have kept this folder of home design images that I love and there are few that have always stood out to me. I had no idea those images had something in common and that was none other than Mary McDonald. Anyway, she is  definitely my new design lady crush (sorry Kelly).  I can't wait to keep watching. It is like design crack. Give it to me Bravo.


Images are Mary McDonald designs.

The Art of the Trench

I like Burberry's use of their online experience. Users can submit pictures of themselves wearing the iconic trench. The concept being, "a living celebration of the Burberry trench coat and the people who wear it”.

Check it out here.

The Social Network

Good Article over at thedieline.com today about social media. I really appreciated this comment, "We would all do well to remember that human behaviour and motivation changes much more slowly than technology."

Check out the article here.

A Room in Progress

I am in the process of a total bedroom redo. Here is just a little sneak peek. So far, I have painted, wall papered, hung curtains and painted one of two dressers. Stay tuned there is a lot more to do. BTW - This was my first wallpapering job. I did it all by myself:)

Save It. Just Spray It.

Ok, so if any of you have Ikea furniture you know that it really wasn't meant to last through a move. Which is evidenced in my before photo. I decided before I just chucked it I would take a stab at giving it a new life. I am really liking the after. BTW - the gold spray  is the best I have found. True gold. I will write a post on that later. Oh, excuse the mess I started taking the clothes out of the drawers and then realized I needed photos. 

New Lights

My new crystal balls in my living room. I can see the future, lots of beautiful light:)

Before and After - WIndows

In my last dining room post, I talked about my before windows. However, I didn't have a true before to show. This is my Brother-in-law's house as the before, we built the same house in the same neighborhood. So, this is what I started with a cream box with three small windows. However, mine were much worse since my house sits back further from the road then his. I got no light and just a lovely view of my neighbor's siding. That is also the before chandelier as well. I think this gives a better sense of the true before dining room.


Just a quick how-to:
1. Cover windows in black out film so you can't see back of mirrors.
2. Glue Mirror to frame of window, not glass for easy removal later if needed. You can get mirror cut at Lowe's
3. Trim window with white molding.

Etsy Find

Interesting ceramic artist on etsy. The work has some what of Tim Burton quality to it.

Check it out here.

Ask Eli

As most of you probably know I have a pretty awesome talking dog. He's pretty smart, and as he likes to remind me he went to college. I think it was more like lounging around and chewing my Birkenstocks and my roommate's guitar while I while I went to college, but whose keeping score. Since he is a dog and all, he thought he was very qualified to weigh in on Cassie's dog painting dilemma. Play the movie to hear what Eli thinks about it. ** Dog treats were harmed while making this video:)

 

From Granny to Graphic. Cast Your Palette.

C'mon peeps. We need your votes. Which color should Cassie paint this fantastic creature?


Sources:
Gold, Red, Turquoise, Yellow, Black and Silver

Save it. Just Spray It. Take Three.

One last can of spray paint for the day. The first image is a mirror I have stalked for many years. I love it. This exact one is from brocade home and will run you a whopping $649. Ouch! And, I have actually seen ones like this for much more. So, you can imagine how very excited I was to find this ugly brown one for $40 at Habitat for Humanity. I almost cried, I was so happy. I new all it needed was a good coat of white lacquer spray paint and it would be gorgeous. I love it. Now, where to hang it? Oh, and to be fair, the before was taken with my real camera and looks much better in this photo than in person. The after was taken with my cell phone and looks much better in person than in this photo. Sorry about that.

Save it. Just Spray It. Take Two.

Cassie, Here are two other colors that could be fabulous! The blue reminds me of the blue coach in the photo below. I can't wait to see what you do!

Images sourced here.

Save It. Just Spray It.

In this week's edition, Cassie has written in with a dilemma. What should she do with this crazy dog? Well, spray paint him of course! The grandma quality this piece has is caused by the painting detail around the eyes, nose and feet, which can totally be masked by a coat of spray paint. Leaving him fantastically graphic. Knowing Cassie's house, (which this second image reminds me of, but this is actually an image of an Emily Henderson makeover) I think gold would be the perfect solution. Cassie also has a lot of red, so a bright pop of red would probably work as well. But, if you aren't feeling too crazy, black will always work too. So which will it be? My gut is saying go gold. Surprise us! Can't wait to see it!

House image sourced here.

Under the Weather

I am feeling a bit under the weather today so I won't be posting regulary. But, I will be back at it tomorrow with a bunch of fun new posts. Stay tuned. Thanks for the understanding.


Photography by Danny Santos II. You can view his work here.

Pattern

I figured I would kick off my posts today about pattern and texture with this image of Kelly Wearstler. I spied it on her blog this morning and I am just loving her pants. How fabulous. She is so great at mixing patterns, textures, colors and metals. It is also great to see that she still has a label on the bottom of her shoe.

Branching Out

My husband and I love trees. In fact, if you knew the meaning behind the name of my blog, you'd know it was inspired by trees as well (and my husband:). I want to do a weekly post about designing with tree inspired graphics. It is a nice way to bring the outdoors in and add some texture to your space. If you guys have any examples of how you used trees as design inspiration please email me. I would love to include them.

PS - sources are unknown for these photos. If you know, please shout and I will add credits.

Blazing the Trail

I love a good blazer, I mean I LOOOOVE a good blazer. I even kind of like a bad blazer. Maybe that's because my most hated body part is my arms. Instant cover up. For those of you who watch HGTV's show Sarah's house you probably have spotted Sarah wearing some snappy little numbers. Like the one in the first photo. I seriously think often about recreating this look. Well, after a little internet investigating I found out why. Check my source here. Apparently Tommy's (you'll understand if you watch the show) sister is one half of Smythe (the clothing collection above) who does this fabulous line of blazers and the other partner in Smythe is one of Sarah Richardson's friends from high school. No wonder she is always spotted in the most fabulous blazers. My arms are SO seriously jealous. Check out the complete collection here.

Dining Room - Look One

I call this look one, because I still need to add the wallpaper in the molding squares that will better tie the rug and the wall color together. But I still wanted to share the progress I made this weekend. The before picture isn't really the true before, before. The room started with beige walls and the three mirrored boxes were three small windows that showed nothing but my neighbors siding so I added black film and mirror and then molded them out in the white molding. I also replaced the chandelier. I found this cheap glass chandelier and sprayed it white (what a job that was) and then added the ceramic vines from Urban Outfitters. I think these were intended as wall art, but I bought two and made them a ceiling medallion (that was quite a project with super glue!). So that is what I lived with for a while, but I never really liked the blue. I had originally wanted a blue/black but it didn't turn out quite right. Plus I couldn't figure out how to decorate with it. Which brings me to the after. I painted the walls this okra color, which in person just makes the room's energy so much more alive. As I said I am still not quite finished. Stay tuned for look two. BTW - the painting of the girl is done by one of my besties. She is a wonderful painter and she has a pretty cool blog. Check her out here.