Color Me Pink

The cover of Veranda magazine has me lusting for adding some pink hues to my home.

I love the idea of the Asian jars and cherry blossoms, especially for my foyer area. I love the drama of the height which would be an exciting introduction to my home. Now, I just have to figure out where to buy cherry blossoms.

Get In My Closet!

Dear River Island,

Please bring your store and it's beautiful clothes to the US. Preferably to NYC.

Signed,

Truly Smitten

Creme wrap dress

I already have the cream wrap dress but I'm dying to buy the other dresses and that jacket before it sells out.

Have you ever heard of River Island?

It Taunts Me

You have NO idea how much I want this table! It's haunting my dreams...

I'm taunted because I thought this table was sold but alas, it hasn't been. Maybe it's a sign that it will be mine!!

Retail Therapy

This week has been especially tiresome, stress inducing..bordering down right depressing. So what does one do when feeling the blahs? She goes shopping! It's even better when the scores are AWESOMELY priced!!

Although still Winter... Spring is just around the corner and these sandals are just what the doctor ordered. These Vince Camuto Aman sandals are fierce! I love the rich brown color, a beautiful neutral. But the selling point was the Croc texture and the cuff around the ankle detail. I can see me rocking these with many a DVF wrap dress.

Next up, another pair of fierce! These I had actually been eyeing on the Vince Camuto sight but never pulled the trigger. How delighted am I that I got them for a STEAL!!

LOVE!!! I chose a cognac color, yet another great neutral. I love the design and can see myself rocking them with tons of looks. The Vince Camuto Baron sandal also comes in black but I typically don't wear black shoes in Spring or Summer.

The bestest part of scoring these super cute shoes??? They were only $25.00 each!!!  Bananas, right?!?

Thanks, GP for sharing!!

Newest Additions

I've been making some progress with the living room. I received my lamp delivery yesterday. YAY! I found a couple of vintage Hollywood Regency, Mid Century Asian, Modern lamps.. (that's a mouthful) on Etsy.

These lamps are HUGE!! They are 42" tall and so fab!!

Although not the ones that Brooke sourced, I did keep in her "Go Big or Go Home" suggestion.

The lamps did not come with the shades which is cool because I wasn't in love with those. The seller, Retrosymphony, did pass along a source for custom shades and provided me with a photo of the more modern shade.

I really like the shorter shade.

I believe that I will be painting these lamps white and freshing up the brass fittings. I will tackle that this weekend.

I will also be looking into getting some decorative wall molding. I saw a segment on the Steve and Chris show (LOVE their home decor segment) and it has me in a tizzy to get my walls done.

So pretty!

Seemed easy enough, I just have to remember to measure twice, cut once.

 

Need Sand And Sun

via

Finishing Touches

I was getting really frustrated with trying to figure out how to "finish" my living room. So rather than go it alone and probably make tons of mistakes which would equal many trips to the store for returns or exchanges.. I opted to get help from a design blogger.

Meet Brooke of The Modern Sophisticate

I happened upon her blog maybe two weeks ago and loved every post. I especially loved her fashion-inspired design boards.

Tom Ford's collection that I LOVED!

I was so smitten by her interpretation of Ford's collection and just overall style aesthetic. We shared so many favs, styles and looks.

I shot Brooke an email and almost a week later, I had a design board to finish my living room. It was if she had read my mind but added edits because I can get out of hand... really quickly, just ask Hubby.

So here is the first board:

She gave me drama, texture, Neoclassic, Modern, Vintage and glam. What I especially loved was the Arteriors Mirabelle Twelve Light Chandelier. That chandelier is so fab and would totally make my living room SANG!!! Not sing.. SANG! So yeah, I'm gonna have to save up for that baby.

I loved the idea of black drapes but for some reason, I thought that black drapes would be too something...for the space..even though I have the black fireplace and the piano. I decided to hold a black table cloth up the the window and wasn't in love. It was just as I suspected.. too severe. Boo!

I emailed my concerns to Brooke and she sent me another board in the blink of an eye.

This board is giving quiet sophistication, which is what I'd like the living room to feel and look like. I love the shade of gray, which is neither too light or dark. And the gray with the brass and gold tones really work well to me.

I've already ordered the brass curtain rods, the drapes and lamps. I'm looking for a source for custom bolster pillows. I will head to Home Goods for the bone boxes and Mongolian throw pillows, they always have those items there and for great prices.

I will order the Flokati rug probably at the end of the month and try to find someone to buy me the "to the trade" large scale Greek key to trim the drapes.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Get In My Master Bathroom!

If I could have anything in my master bathroom remodel, it would be a marble tub.

via

The veining in this tub is spectacular. I also love that it is a clawfoot tub, my favorite. The brass hardware is so complimentary and warm as is the antique gold trim leaning mirror. The wood flooring, (which I'm sure is reinforced to sustain the weight of a 2200lb tub) adds even more warmth to the room.

I WANT!

The Dining Room

Elle Decor

I want this rustic table for the living room as well as these 19th Century Chinese chairs. I think they would be great as Captain's chairs.

I'm adding this to the top of my Rustic, Glam, Asian dining room inspiration file.

 Sounds like another job for Brooke.

Get In My House!

I'm loving creamy white and gold these days. It's such a fresh and chic combo.

Brighton Etagere

Looks kinda pagoda-y... love touches of Chinoiserie!

Hemmingway Daybed

 So LOVING this daybed. It's whispers, "Glamourous".

Linley Console Table

 It had me at it's Crocodile embossed top. I love me some faux Croc!

Tabourette Side Table

This side table is just...everything. It's leather wrapped, brass binding, nailheads, ball feet and smoked mirror top. FABULOUS!

I would love to come home and see ALL of these residing there.

To Paint Or Not To Paint

I bought a vintage highboy last year and it's in great condition and really lovely BUT I'm thinking of painting it.

So, I thought it serendipitious that I came across this Before and After:

via Better After

What do you think? Should I paint it?

Rawr!

I love me some animal print. To me, it's the most fabulous pop of FIERCE! And I would like to incorporate it into my decor.

I have a pair of small vintage settees... I'm thinking one of them needs a leopard print makeover. It will go in my office space.

I think this would be great for a child's room. It's full of youthful exuberance. Perfectly playroom worthy!

Love everything about this room, especially the bench swathed in zebra print.

This Stark "Antelope" rug is BLOWING MY MIND!! Maybe I can do this as a runner for my stairs or in my dressing room. I WANT and NEED!

Zebra print cow hide in the kitchen! Why not?? I totally would.

Is that a tiger print ottoman I see? So loving that! It's a punctuation that brings an otherwise serene room to SUPREME!

How do you feel about animal print? What's your favorite?

It All Began With This

My love for the Porter chair began with this photo. At the time, I had just began becoming somewhat interested in interior design.. figuring out what appealed to me.. what I thought was fabulous. It was this room.. by designer Smith Boyd.

Actually, I just discovered, today, the name of this designer.. thanks Kimberly Ward!

I believe this was one of the very first photos in my inspiration folder. I love so much about this room but it was the Porter chair that stood out. I loved that tradition was turned on it's fabulous ear and the chair was covered in a beautiful chevron-esque fabric. I still don't have my beloved Porter chair but I will!!

And can I just say I'm totally smitten with the luxe layering and texturizing that Smith Boyd imparts into all of his designs. I love how he mixes multiple styles so seamlessly...

This bedroom has changed my entire idea of how I want my dining room to look. It's glam, has a Chinoiserie vibe and has color. LOVE IT!

I wish he had a book, a class at the Learning Annex, a pamplet, SOMETHING that could break down his design process..give insight into how he sees design.. But for now, I'll just keep him on my radar and look out for more fabulous design from him.

Living Room Update

I'm currently working with a fellow blogger on my living room. Although, I love what I have in there so far, I felt I needed assistance with pulling the finished look together. I didn't want to shop for something I loved only to return it because it didn't "work" or "fit". I wanted off the return, shop, return, shop, return roller coaster.

So, I've forwarded over everything she needed... photos, measurements, my "wants" and "needs" for the space as well as my style.. well in my case, styles..because I love a bit of everything.

My hope is that she's able to cull through all of my ca-razy and provide me with a room that's "Veranda" worthy.

I just hope she doesn't ask me to paint. Ugh, you KNOW how much I hate painting.

A Lttle Of This And A Little Of That

I'm still working on the kitchen. So much so, I'm dreaming about it, literally, every night. I will begin tackling the DIY rustic work table/island, probably next week.

However, I still feel that there are other areas in the kitchen that need filling. Let's take a look at what I'm envisioning shall we?

There's a blank space near the range that I want to put a rustic industrial shelf, like this:

via

I want open shelves to store my dish collection... to look sorta like this:

via Pinterest

Next up, the floor. I need a rug. I have been hopeless in this area because I haven't seen a single rug that I like.. NOT ONE. I thought I wanted something worn and a little frayed but for some reason, it just doesn't fit "me". 

Then, I finally came across two rugs that I really like. The first was a grey Ikat type rug from Ballard Designs:

Sorry for crappy phone pics. Although the color reads blue.. it's really various shades of gray...very pretty.

And the second one is a comtemporary wool rug that has a pop of yellow, which is the accent color I want to use in the kitchen.

Home Decorators

I'm leaning towards the gray Ikat because it's a neutral and I can add a pop of color with accessories (less pricey items).

Oh yeah and I would like to add lighting over the island so I'm deciding amongst these few:

Orb 6 Light Chandelier

Hicks Pendant in Polished Nickel

Julia 5 Light Chandlier
Because I need a little glam...

Still have no idea about the windows.. I guess it's because I like them bare. I love letting the natural light in and how as it changes throughout the day, so does the "feel" of the kitchen. So they may stay bare.

Anyone have any suggestions on a rug and/or lighting? I'm all ears.