Pompom Garland

One of my favorite stores in the Bay Area is located on 4th Street in Berkeley and is called Nest (sadly there is no website for this location). There is an additional location in San Francisco, but the Berkeley location is my favorite. Recently I stopped in and found this delightful tin full of a rainbow colored pompom garland goodness.

 


 Everyone needs a multi colored pompom garland in their lives. I promptly purchased said garland and hung it between the opening of my kitchen and living room.



 
So pretty.

DIY: Dressing Up the Foyer...

I have been looking for a long time for a storage savvy piece for my foyer.  Now don't start thinking I have a grand foyer; the very word "foyer" sounds grand doesn't it?  Well, my foyer situation is not grand but after lots of searching and thinking and more searching I finally found the perfect piece.

I found this piece at my local favorite flea/antique haunt.  It was olive green when I found it:

 

I knew that it needed to be French Louis blue. I used my favorite Annie Sloan chalk paint and cleaned this old girl right up.  It took a good 2 1/2 coats; I spent the bulk of my painting time talking to Sophie so I quite enjoyed myself. I finished the whole piece off with Annie Sloan wax and allowed a few days to dry completely before I styled it.

Here is this beauty NOW:




The drawers contain ALL of our DVD binders and Wii games.  We still have a whole spare drawer for whatever crops up in the future.  I loved the colors and lines of this piece.  Also, it weighs a TON, so it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Like, it seriously weighs a ton and I still can't believe that I hauled it out of my car and into my house. If I ever doubt my own strength I just have to look at this giant thing and pat myself on the back.

A Floral Kind of Mood...

I'm feeling florals lately...

Like this pretty little number above...

Or this adorable valance...

Ahhhhhh, this gorgeous throw from my favorite store is another stunning floral...

And finally this gorgeous rope floral rug from the Free People store. I'll admit it: I am coveting it :)

Maybe its just summer or maybe its my mood, but the colors of florals are really inspiring me. How do you feel about floral in your home decor? Too much?

Rice: Riots of Color and Inspiration

 

I am a sucker for a riot of color. There, I've said it. So I look no further than the genius store out of Denmark known as Rice. They have a gorgeous website and online catalogues to browse. I'll leave you with a few sumptuous pictures to get you inspired...

House Tour: Kristy G in NYC

I've known my dear friend Kristy Glass for close to nine years now. We met back in 2002 when we were both living in Astoria, Queens. I was pregnant with my first; her oldest was just a little baby. She is one of my closest friends. Today I thought it would be fun to take a little snapshot tour of her home in the city.

One of the many things I admire about Kristy is her zest for color; her home is a reflection of this. She lives in Long Island City (Queens) in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo that she and her husband and 2 daughters (ages 5 and 8) have lovingly called home now four years and running.

Three words Kristy uses to describe her home are "cozy, cheer and love". 

When I asked Kristy what she loves most about her home, she said that the number one thing is the layout. She explains that, "we passed on a view of Manhattan for this layout and I've never regretted it. I love the use of vertical space. We try to go up as high as possible. I love my industrial restaurant lamps too. And my cerulean bookshelves. And of course my washing machine, dryer and dishwasher!" You have to understand that these are like GOLD in any New York City home.

And of course I had to ask what wasn't her favorite about her home. She answered that it was space constraints. "I would love to have one more huge closet and one more room. In my perfect world, we would purchase the unit next door and tear down the wall. I also wish for heartier floors; the ones we have scratch easily".

I asked Kristy if she had any ongoing or upcoming projects in mind for her lovely home. She answered that "the floors could use resurfacing and there is some deep cleaning needing to be done. That's the boring stuff. As for the fun stuff: I would love to knit/crochet a TV cozy to cover the TV and would love to change the green paint to maybe a bright grey or soft aqua... But it's so much work! I'm also insanely researching Murphy beds for my kids room!"

Thanks Kristy for letting us visit your home on Dwelling by Designs' very first House Tour!

Scratch Map- See Where You've Been!

I think that this is genius; no surprise that it's from the folks at Uncommon Goods. It's a map of the world where you scratch off where you have been to "reveal adventurous pops of color and local facts that turn traveling into a 'domestic' treasure hunt of on-the-fly geography lessons". Brilliant!

According to the website, the map is back ordered right now, but I'm ordering one for our family room. Between me and my husband we have done a bit of globetrotting and plan to continue. I think our map should make a colorful addition to our home. Consider picking one up for your house!

Handmade for Home: Scrap Fabric Garland

This was something I made for the banister in my home. I created this garland from many many colorful pieces of 8-10" scraps from my overflowing bin, tying them around a single long piece of twine.

It makes a colorful addition to our banister after the holidays.