Beach on the Brain

I'm getting ready for another trip to the beach and this is when I start imagining what my SoBe alter ego would wear...


http://www.oldnavy.com/ (One Shoulder Bandeau Bikini Top and Bottom)






http://www.piperlime.com/ (Tibi Malawi Bikini)




http://www.lamercollections.com/ (Carpe Diem in Silver Bezel White Dial)

God Save the Queen!

I just finished putting up about 8 rolls of Cole & Son wallpaper that cost a cajillion dollars (yes cajillion) and wished I saw this earlier, although it is not realistic to put up in a house where it needs to suit both the female and male species and wouldn't make the cut anyway!  Hmmm....maybe my closets could use a facelift...

50-229 Graham & Brown Crowns & Coronets White,Black Motif Wallpaper

Time to Put All Those Hours of HGTV to Good Use

#1 The Inspiration - I found this beautiful Indian inspired elephant wrapping paper at Paper Source last year.  It's elegant with rich colors, perfect muse for my guest bedroom makeover.

#2 Picking the Room Color - I decided to highlight the green-yellow of the elephant.  The green is calming,  complements the dark brown tones of the wood floor and a good base for accents and accessories.  The color I picked was appropriately named 'Soothing Green Tea' by Glidden.  I'm a fan of primer and paint in one and since Glidden doesn't offer that I opted to color match with Behr Premium.

#3 The Furniture - I have been eyeing this fabulous headboard from West Elm called the Morocco Headboard.  The wood tones work well with the wood floor and enhances the feel of the Indian print.

#4 Bedding and Accent Pillows - I already had a rich brown sheet set so I wanted to be a little girly and give the bedding a pop of color to offset all the brown of the sheets and furniture.  I didn't want to go crazy with a print as it would compete with the Elephant wrapping paper that I plan to frame.  Therefore I chose a poppy color quilt with an interesting decorative texture and shams.  I also include some champagne color shams to tone down the brightness.  All these items are also from West Elm.

  

#5 Accents - I'm going for a luxurious feel.  I have a vintage dresser in the guest bedroom with updated handles from Anthropologie.  The perfect artwork to hang above this dresser are a pair of vintage (circa 1970) fashion sketches that I scored from Gilt Groupe.  The frills and sophistication of the gown in these sketches generate the right feel.  The sketches and dresser paired with my existing brown zebra print rug anchor the room nicely as the core accents.

#6 Finished Product - It was a little slow to get all this stuff delivered and then finding time to hang pictures, etc.  But it's finally finished.  I am excited to have people come stay with me and hopefully enjoy the room as much as I had decorating it.

Forest for the Trees

I'm slightly obsessed with "woods-themed" home decor lately.  My house is very modern looking and thus modern furniture; however, ultra-mod is not me so I am looking for natural elements to help ground the place.  I am particulary mad about the Cole & Son Woods wallpaper.  You just can't find good wallpaper in the U.S., they seem to have to import it from across the pond.  Recently Anthropologie has been selling Cole & Son on their website but for a whopping $198 per roll!  I found the same roll on a UK site Tangletree Interiors for 49 Pounds (I don't have a Pound sign on my laptop!).  Factor in international shipping and the conversion rate, you still are better off buying it from the U.K. bloke.  I have also included a few other "wood-type" eye-candy for your enjoyment.

 

1st Row (L to R) - Woods Wallpaper, Arylic Table with Tree Bark Design

2nd Row (L to R): Branch Etched Barware, Driftwood Table Lamp

3rd Row: Branch Votive

Great Wall of Plates!

My trusty Lucky Magazine led me to this awesome website called Velocity.  They have some of my favorite home decor designers including Thomas Paul.  Thomas Paul has great prints and colors.  I was particularly drawn to these plates and fabric.  The blues and Asian feel is appropriately modern and cute at the same time.  I plan to use these in non-traditional ways.  I will use them both as pieces of artwork as they are too cute to be eaten on or used on one of my bad DIY sewing projects.  The plates will be perfect in shadow boxes and placed in the master bedroom.  The fabric will be either stretched over a canvas frame or put in an art frame.  Love it!!!

Thomas Paul Hong Kong Garden Dessert Plates (Set of 4)

Thomas Paul Duralee Folly Fabric in Slate

South Beach Getaway

I just spent a well deserved extended weekend in Miami.  We stayed at The W South Beach, a new Starwood property that opened up in July 2009.  This place was a huge design inspiration and applied what we call "Bromstadian Principles".  If you don't know what that is then check out Color Splash Miami.

Below is a compilation of pictures from the hotel.  I love they way The W used pops of color and combines modern, quirky, and traditional elements (pay attention to the red wingback chairs with the jade green cheetah rug - perfection!).  Oddly enough, I used iMovie, an application on my 2006 Macbook that I just realized that was a) there on the computer and b) really easy to use.  Enjoy!

How Cute Is This?

Would you have the heart to wipe your feet on this little cutie?

Twinkle Living Rugs Milan