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
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Kartell Mademoiselle D&G Chair



Japanese Bobtail
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Pottery Barn Brooks Slipcovered Chair in Bettina



Singapura
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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
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Anthropologie Astrid Chair in Naive Tropical



Sphynx
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Room & Board Loring Chair in Slate Velvet

No cat hair on the velvet! Genius.

Cornish Rex
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Urban Outfitters Lulu Chair in Red Pepper



Siamese
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Anthropologie Cleo Chair in Polly

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

Devon Rex
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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!

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house

As of this morning, I'm officially captivated by this website featuring historic properties for sale. It's pretty fascinating to see what my money could buy in other parts of the country. It's also a bitter reminder of how ridiculously inflated the real estate in Florida has been.

Not sure if I'd want to live in all of these places (Where's the nearest Whole Foods?) but here are a few that make my heart go pitter-pat:

3 bedrooms, 2,866 sq. ft.
Aurora, Illinois (about 40 miles west of Chicago's Loop)
$142,000

This home features an elegant turn-of-the-century Victorian style. You'll find all the charm of the time plus modern conveniences. The kitchen is new with stainless steel appliances. Also new is the plumbing, electric, and bath. The interior rehab is complete. The exterior porches must be demolished and rebuilt and the siding must be scraped and painted. Situated in a great location, this home will be walkable to the train when the city's River Edge Park is complete.

4 bedrooms, 1,400 sq. ft.
Thomaston, Maine
$249,000

Charming antique cape with original details and beautiful floors. House is set on the tidal St. George River. Nature abounds with seals swimming by, kayaking, bird watching and fishing. In the town's heyday ships and schooners pulled up to the property's former dock. Fabulous lawns for gardening or entertaining, cobblestone walkway, and large attached barn with many possibilities.

4 bedrooms, 2,480 sq. ft.
White Creek, New York
$150,000

Step back in time 200+ years! Large, lovingly maintained colonial in the historic settlement of White Creek. Authentic and original detail throughout. The owners have graciously provided a lifelong history of the home and the surrounding area. A perfect country getaway. Relax on the screened porch and admire 30 year old perennial gardens. An easy commute to the Capital District and located minutes from the Vermont border.

4 bedrooms, 2,900 sq. ft.
La Grange, Georgia
$209,000

This Charleston-style Victorian built in 1900 reflects the charm and exquisite detail of an era gone by. Located steps away from La Grange College, churches, museums, theatre, shopping and dining in historic downtown La Grange, it offers the best of in-town living.

All work and no play...

...makes Emily a dull blogger. All work and no play makes Emily a dull blogger. All work and...

Oh, hello! You've just caught me having a Jack Nicholson moment. I am finally starting to see the light at the end of a reeeeeeaaaaalllly long tunnel of freelance design frenzy, but the process has taken its toll on my well-being as well as my blogging efforts. On the plus side at least I'm gettin' paid for it, which brings me to my retail-related topic for today: IKEA.

Say what you will about their thrifty ubiquitous assemble-it-yourself merchandise. For me, IKEA is like a reassuring Swedish friend who makes me feel like anything's possible when I hang out with her — I guess I envision IKEA more as a gal pal. She encourages me to finish decorating my living room now rather than waiting for those spendy West Elm shelves go on sale or the day I can finally afford that elusive Saarinen table, and I am grateful for it.

So I was pretty darn excited when the 2010 (Sidebar: Is it just me or does next year's date still look really, really weird?) catalog came last Friday, although at present the aforementioned freelance work has prevented me from enjoying it to the fullest, i.e. curled up on the couch with a cup of tea in hand.

I'm planning a post of my top new product picks, but until then I'd like to call attention to the fact that IKEA has actually lowered last year's prices on a number of items. Pretty great of them in these uncertain economic times, don't ya think? For your consideration:

RIBBA frame – $9.99 (was $12.99)

This is my much-lauded cheap frame from previous posts — and that was before the price cut!

Left to right:
KASSETT cd box with lid – $3.99/2-pack (was $6.99)
KASSETT magazine file – $2.99/2-pack (was $5.99)
KASSETT magazine box with lid – $11.99/2-pack (was $14.99)
KASSETT media box with lid – $5.99 (was $9.99)

I've got some of the magazine files in white in my office, but I'm definitely going to go grab some more!

KARLSTAD sofa with long cover – $399 (was $499, according to the printed catalog)

Sofa gender roles be damned, I think KARLSTAD looks great in a skirt! And BTW, that's big savings folks.

And last but not least:

MALM 6-drawer chest – $129 for black-brown veneer finish (was $149)

I'm a fan of MALM's clean styling but if it's boring to you as-is, consider the nearly endless possibilities of pattern by adding wallpaper to the drawer fronts. Dig if you will:

How about using the warm floral above in an office setting along with the orange Kassett boxes!

A chair-rail height wall mural might be interesting too. The dimensions were just right on this one.

Or perhaps Malm black-brown's white counterpart, which is $10 cheaper. I thought a couple of the options below would be really cute in a little girl's room.

Do you faux bois?

So there you go! Until next time, hej då!

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.

More fabrics to love!

Jan was kind enough to comment on my last post with a link to a fantastic fabric group at Calico Corners. Thanks, Jan! It's called All About Orange. See them all here.

They look so pretty all hung together there and they're all great — especially the coral-ish ones! It appears I'm sort of crushing on coral recently. I think it would be a wonderful foil to the light robin's egg walls in my office/art room. Aside from the Thomas Paul I mentioned before, this one might be my other fave of the bunch:

Blossom in Cinnabar – $23.99/yard

And just for kicks, here's another lovely specimen I forgot to include yesterday:

Silhouette in Ebony – $24.99/yard
I'm intrigued not only by its beauty but by its slightly Rorschach-ian quality. :)

Fabrics to love at Calico Corners

The birthday is over, the Anthropologie gift card has been spent (15% discount applied, thank you) and now it's back to business — and by business I mean wandering around the web coveting pretty decor-related things.

In addition to the slipcover book I got recently, I've been semi-obsessed with the idea of learning upholstery for a while now. Unfortunately that obsession didn't spur me on to do anything about it until recently. I guess all things in good time, right? Anyhow, I started with a Google search for any classes available locally which turned up zilch. Then I sent away for info on a sort of correspondence course in upholstery. I am as yet undecided on the school option, I thought it wouldn't hurt to order a book or two from Amazon.

In the meantime, I think I'll draw inspiration from some of the fantastic fabrics available from Calico Corners. If you're any kind of a fiber-holic or a pattern addict (I am both) check 'em out. Here are a few patterns of note:

La Mare in Summer – $17.99/yard

Fabriano in Cocktail – $27.99/yard
I think this one has a Josef Frank vibe to it. I approve.

Mandarin in Summertime – $17.99/yard

Dahlia in Aegean – $20.99/yard (in stores only)

Stockholm in Sungold – $23.99/yard

Aviary in Tangerine – $23.99 (in stores only)
I'm pretty sure I dig most things by Thomas Paul.

Is it just me, or do these make you want to pick up a staple gun too?

Aww...

Look what Anthropologie sent me for my birthday!


A 15% off card in an adorable fabric envelope with buttons on it! Me and Anthropologie are BFF.