Because It's Awesome + Home Depot Patio Style Challenge

Today's the day that I can finally share my patio, party people! I say finally, but in reality things actually came together pretty recently. When Home Depot contacted me about participating in their patio challenge, I had no idea Mother Nature was going to make things such a challenge. It came down to the 11th hour and we had to push through record low temperatures (which we may be getting yet again this week..grrrrrr), but we got er done!

HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to Eric and my mama for all of their help getting this together! Eric did so much work due to my preggers condition preventing me from heavy lifting, painting and staining. (Truth: I don't think he trusts me to do as well on the DIY experiments projects anyway.)

And I've not given her enough credit to date for all that my mom has contributed. She was definitely my sounding board when making decisions for this challenge under the clock. Not only that, but she is often my partner in crime when antiquing, consignment and Craigers shopping. It's kind of become our thing, and I've scored so many great pieces thanks to her! She was pretty instrumental in that One Kings Lane sale success. The lady makes a pretty great business partner, I gotta say :)

Enough of the sentiments. Go check out the final product! But be sure to come back and tell me what you think....We'll recap everything in depth later this week.

Monday Blues // 33

Jeffrey Bilhuber

ummm...nails.
I love anything with that collected over time feel with irreverent use of color.

Also, this happened yesterday:

This is the door from our kitchen/eat-in to the garage. I've been wanting to paint it for-ev-er, but have been going back and forth between a bold color or black. Black feels classic and safe, so I knew I had to try this first. I love the color long time, but I didn't get immediately giddy upon seeing it hung, so I'm not sure it's staying. It was also 11pm after a long weekend of moving my mama and having Eric out of town, so we'll live with it for awhile before making any rash decisions. Plus, I think he would kill me if I made any such demands right away. So more on this later.

Home Depot patio reveal tomorrow, ya'll!

I'll be posting a bit later than usual -- 9am Central.

Decor // Pieces + One Kings Lane

You guys catch the Pieces sneak peek this week?? Cheers to going broke on Saturday!

What are you gunning for??

Etsy Shop // Belafonte

Really loving the work of illustrator Emma Leonard! Girl has a lot of range, but I find that I love her painterly and graphic portraits the most.

Belafonte by Erin Leonard

Interiors // Black & Spiro

I'm sorry, but can we please talk about Anna Spiro's new site? First of all, the site design itself is spectacular. Spec. Tac. U. Lar. And then there's her portfolio. I should be saving this for next week's Monday Blues, but it's just too good.

Hold the freakin phone, right? I nearly passed out.

Black and Spiro

MAN, I love that blue is trending.

Monday Blues // 32

A Santamaker's Journey

Happy Monday, kids!

If you were following me over the weekend, you might have seen that I did some serious plant shopping for the patio. Normally I wouldn't go so early in the season because we're still getting freezing overnight temps every once in awhile, but the Home Depot Patio Challenge waits for no one! Which is fine with me as long as I don't end up replacing too many of them...I can't wait to show you how things have turned out!

I'm not gonna lie, my momma and I had some serious fun picking out pretties. My dad even stopped by to keep us company while we got things potted. Just a regular family weekend around here.

Poor Eric was out slaving in the yard.

But it looks AMAZING, so it's worth it.

At least to me, who does a lot less labor in the yard....Soooorry :)

There was some solid fire pit time to reward everyone for their efforts.

Even if the fire itself was miniature.

How was everyone else's weekend? Anything exciting happening??

Interiors // Miscellaneous Perfection

Sorry, guys, but last night when I should have been writing today's post, I was busy eating a McDonalds McFlurry (serious guilty pleasure) and watching the baby kick. Quite honestly, I don't know how long this has been visible because I don't tend to leave my white belly exposed, but I have been feeling kicks since week 15 and Eric was able to feel it at about 18 (we're at 23 now). So if we'd tried, I'm guessing we might have seen this a bit sooner.

I can't say it enough. This is so. surreal. I was absolutely mesmerized.

Also, Baby is an eggplant. Whoever came up with the fruit and veggie size chart was pretty brillz. I love comparing my unborn to what I should be eating (turns out there are no McFlurries on the size chart. hmmmmm).

Enough baby talk. Let's just look at some pretty pictures, shall we?

One of the best kitchens/eat ins of all time.

Mark D. Sikes via Lonny Magazine

Crazy perfect dining room.

Lindsey Adelman chandelier via Small Shop

And I'd like to be here...

Estee Stanley via Casa Sugar

...eating these...

A House in the Hills

...with one of these in-hand.

And nothing else to do.

 Lark and Linen

Virgin, obvs.

Happy Friday! ox

Design // Spa Q

Love this branding by MAUD for Spa Q. Great use of texture, pattern and color.

MAUD

So much beauty in simplicity!

Guest Post // Loving Lately at Vmac and Cheese

Since Victoria is on extended vaca in Napa (*grumbles under breath*), I'm discussing some of my favorite spring steals over at Vmac and Cheese today. So if you need some wallet-friendly springtime inspiration for the casa, head on over!

In somewhat related news, I am loving Target's Threshold collection like nobody's business! There are just a few pieces I don't need any excuses to buy...

rope lamp // faux leather lampshade // brass animals

diamond pillows // basketweave metal accent table

wall urchin (whaaaa????)

hurricane // jute rug

Have you guys checked out any of these goodies in store? Thoughts?

Type Tuesday // Sean Wes

Sean Wes

* Thinking of you, Boston. Emitting all of the love and strength I have for mankind today. *

Art // How Now Brown Cow

So this is going to sound a little crazy. Blame it on my midwestern roots or coming from a family of farmers, but I am sort of into the idea of cow art lately.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Before you write me off completely, know that there are some totally legit options out there. I mean, if Sharon Montrose is doing it, it's gotta be cool....

one // two // three // four // five // six

I'm specifically taken with that first one. Could be really beautiful in the right space, right??

Or have I officially lost it?

Monday Blues // 31

House Beautiful

Get serious.

Completely obsessed with this space! Quite the daring mix of pattern, color and texture. It works for me. You?

Vintage fabric on that sofa....Life is so unfair.
And speaking of life, I'm so glad to have you guys in it. Even if it's virtually. Love my mommy coaches! Thanks to all who commented and emailed after Friday's post. oxox

Artist // Yulia Brodskaya (and random Friday thoughts)

You guys. It's Friday. Which is great, except how did that happen?? I feel like my days are down to 7.5 hours with so many more things to accomplish than is humanly possible. Eric and I had dinner with good friends last night and since they're expecting their second babe any day now (!!!!), they had lots of baby advice to share. Which I'm soaking up like a dry sponge.

They asked so many questions about how we felt about this or are we going to do that, and I was so embarrassed by how many times E and I just looked at each other with blanks. WHO'S NOT READY? These kids! We went straight home (okay okay we stopped for ice cream first) and talked about all the baby related things that need to get done/learned before Baby Reed arrives.

But, selfishly, what about all of the nonbaby things that I thought I'd do before our little one enters this world? What about the things I want for myself and ambitiously thought I could have in place? I know that these things work themselves out and that priorities are bound to change once Baby hits our arms, but MAN if I don't want so many things for ME first.

Am I a horrible person? Everyone goes through this, right? And I KNOW that my life isn't over in any way shape or form, but it is a hard truth that Baby's needs will always come first after this. Dreams I had for myself may be put on hold or fall to the wayside completely. Clearly, I'm still processing that.

Yulia Brodskaya

Be sure that I am immeasurably grateful and excited for this gift due to arrive in mere months. In so many ways, I look forward to this unknown and how life-changing it will be. Curious -- if those of you that are mommies care to share -- how do you balance? Do you kind of inherently know where to draw the lines for yourself?

* And, oops, none of this has anything to do with the gorgeous paper craft genius that is Yulia Brodskaya. Until you read her artist declaration about the limitations of the medium and how it's forced her to experiment and embrace what can and cannot be accomplished within those boundaries. Quite poignant and more than relevant if you think about it.

If you're still reading, thanks for entertaining my ramblings.

Happy Friday! ox

House Guest // Swoonworthy

I love getting to introduce today's house guest. Not only because she knows a thing or two about design (don't miss her house tour for all of the evidence), but also because she's sic talented in ways even she didn't know! Some of you may recall my mention awhile back about that day she decided to pick up a paint brush and make MAGIC for the first time since high school . . . Total. Ridiculousness.

Thanks for stopping by to share your stellar tips today, Kimberly!

. . . . . . .

I'm so excited to be a part of Tobe's House Guest Series!  I've admired her and her blog for such a long time - she's got an amazing sense of style and I'm so so excited to be welcomed into her very awesome space!!   Can I use anymore exclamation points?!! Sorry, I'm excited!!!  Ok, I'm calm.  I am.  And breathe.

A little about me... My boyfriend and I bought our Edwardian semi in Manchester, England nearly 3 years ago and have been working on it with our own two hands ever since, blogging about every success and every failure at www.swoonworthy.co.uk.  My own style is a mix of eclectic, boho and glam (Is it any wonder I love Tobe's style?).  However, like many of us out there, we don't have loads of cash to splash around and yet, we want big style.  It's hard to find fantastic products when the selection here in the UK is pretty sparse.  The room sizes are decent for England but homes are generally much smaller here than in America or Australia.  With such challenges, I've learned that many of the rules I read when I first started my decorating adventure are meant to be broken - with creativity and a bit of attitude, I've discovered anything is possible.

So with that in mind, I thought I'd share with you today some of the things I've learned along the way using my own home to demonstrate each point...

5 Myths of Decorating Debunked!

Myth #1.  It takes a big budget to get big style.

Hell, this is the easy way out!  Who wants to just BUY when you can 'make do and mend'?  Get creative with paint, wallpaper, fabric and vintage items.  Your home will be more creative and more eclectic to boot.  Not only that, but you'll end up with pieces that are unique and uniquely you.

See that little chest of drawers?  It was a horrible ugly painted pine dresser with silver knobs that was ready to go to the charity shop.  Left over wallpaper and paint and some new handles gave it a new lease on life.  Total cost?  £24.


Myth #2.  Rooms should be decorated in light colours to make the space appear larger.

Pish.  Dark, sexy rooms allow walls to fade into infinity - the corners of the room expand and actually make the room appear bigger.  Accessories pop off dark backgrounds and take on a sultry sophistication.  Ya know what they say, "Once you go black..."  (I won't finish that one.)

Since painting my bedroom black, it's not only made accessories and furniture pop, it's given us the best 'cave' for a brilliant night's sleep.  Win win.

Myth #3.  Small rooms should always have furniture and accessories that are small or scaled to fit the space.

Using big art, a large light fixture, a big mirror or a single oversized object in a room fools the eye into thinking that a room is bigger than it actually is.  It's a great trick to play with scale and interior designers use it all the time.   Follow their example.

My dressing room is a tiny box room.  Using a huge mirror and a big obnoxious pink chandelier was never a question.  How boring would the room be with a tiny mirror and tiny pendant?  Bigger is definitely better!

Myth #4.  Every room should have one focal point.

Why stop at just one?  You want to be tantalised at every turn - giving your eye something gorgeous to see at every turn gives the room interest and makes you want to linger to take it all in. 

My dining room has at least four focal points - a large floor to ceiling gallery wall, a mantle, a console vingnette and a barcart with a big art canvas above it.  I'm a maximalist at heart so it makes sense to decorate in a way that reflects my passions.

Myth #5.  Stick to neutrals for maximum resale value.

Listen, you are living in  your home right now.  Not some future imaginary person.  Unless you are looking to sell in the next 6 months, decorate for you.  You spend so much of your time in your home - why go bland when you could go beautiful?

Ok, so not everyone may 'get' my colour combination - saffron yellow wallpaper, pale turquoise curtains, olive green and bright yellow sofas and pops of pink play nicely in my head.  But as long as I enjoy it, who cares what other people think?

I hope these myths inspire you to take risks and get creative with your space!  Have you broken any rules in your home?

Shop Love // Emily Rickard fine art and colorful things

Emily Rickard on Society 6

I'm ashamed to say that even though I've had my iphone since October of last year, I have yet to commit to a case for it. (I know. I live on the edge.) This is less about the abundance of adorable cases out there and more to do with the fact that the hard ones don't seem to protect much in the event of a crash. So I've been eyeing a few different skin options lately instead. These beauties by Emily Rickard sure would make a colorful statement, no?

Problem is, I'm going to need one of each!

Monday Blues // 30

Lonny magazine

Not gonna lie, I could have used another day (or two) in my weekend. I did sneak a few quiet moments on Sunday to catch up on emails and peruse some of my latest home decor mags. So nice to relax just a bit and get caught up! Would not have complained one bit if I'd been forced to do that in the space above. Gotta love those little hits of blue!

BRB

Sorry, dudes. Short hiatus while I play in the sun yard this week. This is in no way a reflection of how much I love you.

 via Happy Mundane's killer Insta feed

Back on Monday. ox

Monday Blues // 29

Happy Monday! We were finally blessed with weather that warranted a little bit of patio action and yard work (gotta get ready for that Home Depot Patio Challenge!) so much of our weekend was spent outdoors. Heavenly. Hope those of you celebrating enjoyed your holiday weekend as well!

To kick off the week, I have to ask:
Have you guys seen the newest, greatest art and textile shop in town? Behold, Rebecca Atwood's gorge collection:

images Nicole Franzen for Rebecca Atwood

Blues for days. Delicious, right??

I fell hard for her art selection as well. May have even conned her into sending me one pre-launch :)

 

Best check out her limited edition inventory before they're gone!