Ten things that make me happy – August 2009

Okay I'm a day late, but...

1. Organic Cotton Union Jack Pillow from Fabricadabra
2. Heirloom and Hybrid Tomatoes – I'm obsessed with growing some. These are called Oaxacan Jewel.
3. Bird Shopper – I love cool grocery totes.
4. Parrot Garland from Pearl River Mart – Great for an end of summer celebration!
5. Diamond Bamboo Chair from Kanibal Home – They've got a blog too.
   
6. Routtura 3-light blue glass and chrome chandelier – Only $99 from homedepot.com! Also comes in amber glass, which I also find beguiling.
   
7. Dresses from Mod Cloth
8. Tiffany Blue – This approximation is Aquaduct from Sherwin-Williams. Perhaps my hall wants to be decked out as a little blue box.
9. Pushing Daisies – It's twee, it's clever, it's surreal and it's canceled. Should have known this one was too off-the-wall for network.
10. Big funky earrings – And this particular pair is on sale.

Score!

Check out what I picked up on CraigsList this morning for $40!


Yep, it's a working vintage tole chandelier in fantastic condition! Thank you, thank you lighting gods.

I've had a crush on these things for a long time now. So much so that I bought one on eBay a few years ago in hopes of restoring it to its original splendor. Tragically, it had been spray painted metallic gold and needed to be rewired. The best I could do was repaint it white and call it a day, so I'm pretty stoked that now I've got the real deal.

Here are a couple of nice photos featuring these beauties:

by Celerie Kemble, via Matters of Style
This one has lemons on it!

via Decor Pad

Best in Show

For some reason this morning my boyfriend and I started talking about our favorite varieties of cats. Later on, curiosity led me to the Cat Fancier's Association website where I enjoyed some of the photos so much I wanted to share them. But since doing a post solely about cats seemed a bit too off-topic, I thought I'd imagine what chair would be most suited to each one for their lounging pleasure. Cats do love to lounge, after all. So if you'll kindly indulge this eccentric little voyage, here's what I came up with...

Abyssinian
+

Kartell Mademoiselle D&G Chair



Japanese Bobtail
+
Pottery Barn Brooks Slipcovered Chair in Bettina



Singapura
+
IKEA Stockholm Easy Chair in Blad Brown

I have this chair and the curtains that match in my chocolate brown den. I don't have the cat.

Oriental
+
Anthropologie Astrid Chair in Naive Tropical



Sphynx
+
Room & Board Loring Chair in Slate Velvet

No cat hair on the velvet! Genius.

Cornish Rex
+
Urban Outfitters Lulu Chair in Red Pepper



Siamese
+
Anthropologie Cleo Chair in Polly

Reminds me of the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp stalking the pet bird and fish.

Devon Rex
+
Jacobsen Egg Chair

Bet you thought I'd put the Sphynx on the Egg Chair for the whole Dr. Evil theme. Nope, too cliché. I think this cat belongs on it. One of his eyes matches!

This experiment has confirmed what I already suspected to be true: I like my pets more angular and pointy than round and cuddly. I'll round this up with of my pets on a chair:


Happy Friday!

Inspiring Workspaces

I've been getting busy with some freelance design work lately, so the subject of workspaces seems an appropriate topic for the day. Here are some of my favorite photos of desks, offices and little nooks of productivity!

photo from housetohome

photo from Kishani Perera

photos from Kishani Perera
If I wish really, really hard, can this be my office??

photo from Kimberly Ayres
This one looks so tidy and spare I can't imagine actually working here, which may contribute to the sense of serenity I get from the room.

This definitely looks like the desk of a graphic designer. It takes one to know one!

photo from Blueprint
Have decided I shall split my time between the purple office above and this one here. It's only fair.

I'm still incredulous that this is a guy's dorm room. Where does he keep the Maxim posters and the beer can pyramid??

photo from lovelydesign
I know I featured this photo in an older post, but it really fits this topic nicely too! I love what Sharilyn did with her workspace.

photo from Southern Accents
And to think I've been using my hall closet to store my toolbox, Scrabble, old records and an antiquated computer!

I've forgotten where this came from, but it's lovely.

And now, back to work.

Ten things that make me happy – July 2009

Since today marks the end of the month of July I put together a list of ten things that make me happy at the moment. This post goes out to my old pal Domino, something else that never failed to make me happy.

1. Bee & Flower Soap – Comes in Sandalwood, Rose, Ginseng, Jasmine and some new scents I didn't even know about.
2. Orla Kiely Stem Print Classic Bag – Currently on sale!
   
3. Living Wreaths
4. Diamond Dogs Fabric by Schumacher – To the trade only...great sadness.
   
5. Amy’s Organic Cakes – Available on the frozen food aisle. They're also vegan and totally delicious!
   
6. Statement Jewelry – Just put this one piece on and you're done!
   
7. Seconds Dinner Plates by Jason Miller
8. Thorsten van Elten Pigeon Light
9. Paul Ranson "Apple Tree with Red Fruit" Framed Print
10. St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur – This libation will always remind me of my friend Amy.
    

And now I shall take my leave and journey to the beach. With any luck I'll be away from the computer for the weekend, but rest assured, my half-baked decorating opinions and sparkling wit will return next week.

Road trippin'

Today I'm on my way down to Naples to see the elusive Ghost Orchid in bloom at Corkscrew Swamp. I'll be back tomorrow evening, but until then in honor of this famed flower, I leave you with two of my favorite things:

Starck's Louis Ghost Chair
Two related facts: First, Overstock.com is selling a pair of lucite armchairs for $329.
And second, I have a birthday coming up. I'm just sayin'.

Vintage Botanical Print of Orchids
Available for download here from Vintage Printable.

Some thoughts on eclectic style

Sometimes it can be difficult to reconcile different tastes when it comes to furnishing and decorating your home. My guess is that most people probably have a slightly eclectic style at the very least. It makes sense considering all the experiences that influence us over our lifetime that certain unrelated things would stick. A few of mine: The pattern of one of my grandmother's dresses, the colorful trinkets in a Chinese restaurant we went to when I was growing up, the Pantone color swatch book, a seashell mirror my mother made in the 70's, antique Audubon prints... You get the idea.

Granted there is probably a certain percentage of the population that truly doesn't care too much about how everything looks together, but I think what prevents the rest of us from letting our eclectic decorating personality shine through is an uncertainty about how to pull it all together. We've all made some missteps over the years attempting to express our personality through our home, but it's time to take charge! This post is dedicated to all the other reluctant eclecticists (I think I made that word up) out there — with the hope that together we can overcome fear and avoid RTG syndrome* at all costs.

*RTG syndrome – noun Pathology.
a common ailment characterized by the matchy-matchy "buy the whole room look" found at Rooms-To-Go.

My apologies for repeating the above photo from a previous post.

Ruthie Sommers' living room from the first issue of Domino still makes my heart sing.



photos from Domino Magazine

To borrow a phrase from the Beastie Boys, in my opinion Domino was the most mackinest at illustrating examples of combining different styles, eras, finishes etc. Why, why did it go away, leaving this sad hole in my heart?

My boyfriend has teased me on more than one occasion for the obsessive way I fuss about keeping all my Domino back-issues safe and intact — I have every issue, you see, and the book too. But to me, that publication was an awakening to the idea that it was possible to have a home that's a true expression of self that doesn't look too shiny new or over-decorated, but just right.

I'd like to devote some space in future posts to explore inexpensive ways to achieve an eclectic style. Stay tuned.

Painted wood is good, Part Deux

Since I've still got wood on my mind (hee hee) I think I'll take this opportunity to express my undying affection for painted cabinets.

I've discovered that when a girl of a certain age takes stock of her various musings on the subject of home decor some patterns begin to form. Allow me to explain... In an effort to allay a growing fear that my decorating tastes ran in more different directions than spin art* at the county fair, I began collecting a "style file" of web photos some months back to try to make sense of my seemingly disparate likes. My first and most obvious observation was the fact that every photo I'd collected of a kitchen featured painted cabinets.

My cabinets are plain old maple (meh), so the following photos are certainly an inspiration for me to get busy with the brush. My apologies for any un-sourced photos here.

photo from Domino

photo via katy elliott (Is that a pecky cypress ceiling? Like that. Reminds me of old Florida homes.)


photo from Domino (one of my absolute favorite favorites)

Nate Berkus' kitchen, featured in Elle Décor

photo from Cottage Living

photo from House Beautiful

fantastic kitchen re-do from Life In Grace

photo from Country Living

*In case you've suddenly found yourself waxing nostalgic, here is a tutorial on making your very own spin art. Hey, that definitely falls under the category of cheap decor! Why not recruit some youngsters and make a whole wall full? Don't forget the IKEA frames!