Thursday, March 31, 2011

Furry Friends

If  you ask us, pictures of interiors just look better with our furry friends in them.


(1)
 Can you spot "spot"? There is a custom niche made just for him (or her?). 
Hint: look under the window seat. 

(2)
Michael Smith's dog Jasper is featured here in the designer's bedroom. In fact, Michael's fabric line is named after his beloved pup.

(3)

(4)


(5)


(6)

(7)
We couldn't resist.
Here is a wonderful pet "home" from Boutique Tents found here

(8)
Hands down, this one is our favorite!






My, (Meg), two pups, Milly and Hendrix,  love sitting on the furniture!



And speaking of animals!  Please read below for a wonderful event that raises money for the Nashville Humane Shelter!

Join us at one of Nashville's most fabulous events!



Cause For Paws

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Belle Meade Country Club

11:00 AM

Social Hour, Silent Auction, Luncheon and Fashion Show by JAMIE
Julia Colton Award will be presented to Gigi Grimstad

2011 Event Co-Chairs:

Caroline Armstrong and Meg White


To purchase tickets, please click here.


http://www.nashvillehumane.org/events/event.php?eventname=Tickets

Please click here to see all the wonderful auction items available at this year's 23rd Annual Cause for Paws Fashion Show and Luncheon. The auction opens at 11 a.m. and will close at 12:15 p.m. So plan to arrive early and bid often in support of the Nashville Humane Association.


http://www.nashvillehumane.org/events/event.php?eventname=Tickets


Images 1-2) Unknown 3) Traditional Home 4) Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles 5) House Beautiful 6) House and Garden 7) www.boutiquetents.net 8) Unknown

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What's in your Closet?

While I (Brooke) was cleaning out and organizing my closet last week, I started to daydream about having a super stylish, spacious, and organized closet.

Here are some chic closets that have inspired both Meg and I along the way. 


(1)
We love the natural light and the round tufted ottoman the center of Nanette Lepore's dressing room.  But it's her pup that is really stealing the show here.

(2)
We have had this image for a while and it is such a great idea. 
LOVE the wallpaper detail. 
It would be hard not to delight in this closet, even on those days when you can't seem to find ANYTHING to wear.


(3)
J Crew Director Jenna Lyons' Closet
Shoes please? Um, yes, we'll take them all. 


(4)
A clean, polished dressing room/bathroom by Michael Smith. Placing the tub in the center of this space is fantastic.


(5)
How dreamy to have a chaise lounge in your closet. And a chandelier!


(6)
Tory Burch's closet is so much fun! The shirred fabric behind the glass panes gives the doors added softness to this space. Not sure if we would get annoyed by having to open multiple closet doors just to see your wardrobe, although the look sure is pretty. The window behind the vanity is large enough to let a lot of natural light in. Love the pop of orange on the island and notice her dressing stool. 

(7)
The "X" motif found on the drawers and the upper cabinets make a wonderful statement in this man's dressing area. 

Images 1) Elle Decor 2) Domino 3-5) Elle Decor 5-7) Images Unknown

A new home for old furniture


My grandmother recently emailed the fam (yes, my grandmother is super hip and has a Gmail account) and asking if anyone wanted to give this vintage coffee table a new home. It belonged to her parents, my great-grandparents, but she didn't have room for it anymore. With a new house to fill and a soft spot for old family things, I gladly took it off her hands.


How old school is that blue top?!

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. It's in decent shape. There are some nicks in the wood...


...and the mirrored stuff on the glass top is starting to flake off. Plus, it's very blue.


But I love its curvy lines and diminutive stature. I have no idea what it's made out of, but this puppy is light! I can carry it with the glass top on it without even coming close to breaking a sweat. 


I mean, look at that shape!


Don't let that reflection trick you -- the sky was blue but not really that blue. Plus, it was like 38 degrees. Scroll to the top and check out all the snow in the first pic!

I don't think it's an antique, but it did have this marking on the bottom. 


My grandmother thinks it's from the 1940s and has only sentimental value. I was thinking I could refinish it, and maybe find a glass cutter who could make a clear top for it. But when I mentioned that to my dad, he seemed not-quite-so-thrilled that I'd mess with his grandparents' table. Hmm. I guess I'll just hang onto it as is for a while.

But I thought it might be cute in our room we're calling the lounge, for lack of a better name. It's the first room you walk into and it's attached to the kitchen. We're not sure what we're going to do with it, but I'm picturing a sitting room with a couple comfy chairs and a coffee table -- maybe this coffee table? -- in between. 


What do you think I should do with it? Keep it as is? Refinish it and get rid of the blue top? I'd love to hear your ideas!

In other news, I picked up another gray paint sample for the office, called Silver Sateen. It's a little lighter than Natural Gray, but I think it's too green.

 Silver Sateen on the left, Natural Gray on the right

Silver Sateen on the bottom


Gah this terrible light! I swear it's got a greenish hue. Or maybe it just looks green compared to Natural Gray, which is a tad beige.

We've got a dilemma now. The hubs likes Silver Sateen, and I like Natural Gray. Although I'm pretty sure if I just picked a color and painted it, he'd be happy as long as it wasn't pink.

What's your two cents? Do you think we should rock the sateen or go au natural?? I want to hear it!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Decorating for spring

Hey all! Hope you had a good weekend. Even though the calendar says it's spring, it was like 30 degrees here all weekend. (At least it was sunny!). Where is this spring they speak of?

It might not feel like spring outside, but at least it looks like spring inside. Maybe this will encourage some warmer weather around here. I can dream, right?

Here's our dining room looking all springy. I made some paper dogwood blossoms using Martha's directions, except I made mine using 3-, 2.5- and 2-inch squares. I just used regular ol' printer paper, and made some leaves out of green cardstock. Then I hotglued them to a branch I found in the yard.



Here's a close-up of the flower (please excuse the reject decorations in the corner). They're like the easier paper flowers to make in the world.


I put the branch in a big mason jar and held it in place with river rocks and wine corks.


In front of the jar is a $1 silver tray from Target, with some jute and two white pillar candles nestled in. So cheap and easy! I added two bud vases I already had, which really brought out the green in the leaves and added a little symmetry.


Note: I'm not dumb enough to leave these candles lit! All that jute is surely a fire hazard. But they look purdy all lit for the picture.

I made another dogwood blossom branch for the living room, this time with pink flowers. I love how the branch's curvyness complements the shape of the vase.



For more spring color, I filled a few votive holders with green, blue and white sea glass.


I also did a little rearranging with stuff I already had on there, like this adorable flower-shaped bowl from Goodwill. I love the color and the petal shapes.



Above the console table, I put a little spring on the floating shelves. Another branch from outside got prettied up with two paper flowers (also from Martha) I made for our wedding. And everyone teased me for keeping them -- ha! They really do come in handy (like for this paper topiary I made for Valentine's Day). And isn't that turquoise vase to die for?


I printed off this cute Be Happy print from blog Sprik Space and mounted it on some cheerful scrapbook paper. Note: I got a virus after downloading this print, so please, download at your own risk. But I think it's so cute, it's worth it. The hubs might disagree. 

I like how the color complements the vase. Behind that, the weathered frame I bought at a flea market.

On the shelf below, I moved a photo I took a few years ago on a camping trip from the gallery wall in the kitchen, and added a simple white candle and a cutie little bird that usually lives in the upstairs bathroom.


All together now:


I'm already thinking that frame would look fab with a cute little DIY wreath hanging from the center.

And here's it all with the table:


And it isn't spring without gerbera daisies. Nothing makes me happier than these happy, bright flowers. I bought a bunch at the grocery store and used them with some recent Michaels finds to bring some spring to the room next to the kitchen. A branch adds some height and interest.


Gah, look at that sweet little guy! (I love birds.)



I put the rest of the flowers in a mason jar with some seashells in the bottom. They add some happiness to the phone table in the living room.




How can you feel glum while looking at these cheerful fellows? They will surely help us beat the winter, er, early spring blues. Now if only the rest of the snow would melt...

I'm linking up to Centsational Girl's Fair Weather Forum: Spring Decorating and Cleaning. Stop by and see all the warm weather decor! 


Speaking of cleaning, this is what the rest of the living room looked like while I was decorating and taking photos:


The hubs got inspired to go through all his books and get rid of not enough some. I'm sure they'll be lots more spring cleaning and organizing in our future.

Have you decorated for spring yet? 

I'm also linking to the DIY Showoff Project Parade!