From the Inspiration Folder

Another couple of weeks have passed...and what eventful weeks these have been! Especially the last one, with not one but two natural disasters hitting the East Coast. Thankfully we are ok here, but it has definitely been a little crazy! I hope you are all doing fine wherever you live.

House & Home

I promise I do have some fun posts in the coming weeks, including mood boards, my kitchen renovation project, and designer features, but in the meantime, I wanted to share this beautiful bedroom from Canadian House & Home if you haven't already seen it. To start, I love the wall color! It's BM Oxford Gray. I also love all the natural elements and textures in the room. Then, of course, the La Fiorentina fabric in the chair and pillows completes the room beautifully. I like the idea of repeating the same fabric but in different colorways in one space. Would you do that?

Have a great week!

From the Inspiration Folder

Good morning! I am having a slow start to the week after having such a productive weekend. I managed to finally start painting the living room, finished up making my bedroom curtains (which I made from a sheet set, mentioned months ago!), and helped my brother find the perfect couch for his place. Unfortunately none of it is ready for me to show you, but all the work has left me very tired for the start of the work week...

I wish I were laying in this bed instead:

 Studio Ten 25

What were you up to this weekend?

Blue Accent Walls

Lately I have been finding myself clipping pictures of rooms featuring dark blue accent walls. I love the depth it gives to a room!


In the next two rooms below, the blue wall provides a great focal point in an otherwise neutral space:

House Beautiful

Lucyina Moodie

Loving the drama it creates in these dining rooms:

Lucyina Moodie

Apartment Therapy

Another great example of the blue creating depth - such a beautiful space!

Nuevo Estilo via Delight by Design

I've posted this nursery before, but I couldn't help including it here:

Design*Sponge

If you are afraid to commit to painting a wall, how about just creating a large inspiration board using blue fabric? Check out the example below:

Emily Henderson

What do you think? What is your favorite color for an accent wall?

Living Room Paint & Moodboard

I hope you had a great holiday weekend! Mine was just amazing, in part thanks to the beautiful weather we had in DC. I can't believe Fall is right around the corner...

As I mentioned, I went shopping for paint yet again this weekend. I am now on my 7th paint sample! I know, crazy. This paint situation has been nothing short of a nightmare. Every paint I pick looks so extremely different (darker and "muddier") on my wall than it does on the swatch or even on a painted piece of paper with the exact same paint.

I recently said I was going for cream on the walls. Well, once my (beige) sofa came in, I realized cream would be too similar. A friend of mine suggested going with gray, and at this point I figured I had nothing to lose. I picked up a couple of samples, tested on a couple of walls, and basically my condo is starting to look like a Mondrian painting:

BM Light Pewter top left, BM Edgecomb Gray top right, BM Nimbus bottom

The good news is that I think I made my decision! The top one on the left! The photo is awful, but it doesn't matter because the paint (Benjamin Moore Light Pewter) looks nothing like it does anywhere else anyway...but it works in my condo and that's all that matters! It's a little light, but it should look nice. I think the actual painting process will be a piece of cake next to the color selection issue!

So now it's off to the fun stuff - accessories! I put together a moodboard to see how everything will come together. I am still debating over coffee tables #2 and #5 (THANK YOU all for your suggestions), and the pillows and artwork are just placeholders, but here's what I am thinking:

I can't wait until it is all finished!!

Recreating a Bedroom

I love this bedroom from HGTV Canada's Pure Design. When looking closely at it, I thought it would be a fairly easy look to recreate.

While you could purchase the West Elm bed and paint it blue, you could get a similar look by keeping the headboard white and bringing in one of these accessories from Home Decorators instead:

Add a pintuck duvet cover, an Ikea Galant glass top desk, and Waverly's Chippendale Fretwork fabric and you are all set!

Color Schemes ~ Navy, White & a Hint of Red

Hello everyone! In honor of the Independence Day coming up, I thought this week for the color series I'd work navy in with white and a touch of red. It is such a classic combination that you can't really go wrong (well, unless you take the theme to heart and put U.S. flags everywhere!)

 I thought the example from House Beautiful below was a great one of the scheme done just right:

(Ok, so I can't really tell if it's navy or black, but it would work well either way!)

source

And here is a moodboard for a living room with this color scheme:

This concludes the series with navy! Starting next week, I will work with various colors paired with a personal favorite, charcoal gray.

It is going to be a little quiet here for the rest of the week, as I am off to Lake Tahoe for a few days over the 4th of July holiday. I am so happy to be taking some time away from work and responsibilities! I will try to pop in if I can, but I am not sure how my internet set-up will be like.

For those in the U.S., have a great holiday!

Moodboard sources:
White sofa & curtains - Ikea
Blue side chair, coffee table, artwork & mirror - Ballard Designs
Red side table - Crate and Barrel
Blue table lamp - Robert Abbey
Floor lamp - Neenas
Rug - Surface Threads
Bird bowl - Jonathan Adler
Red pillow - Sea Cloth
Chevron pillow - Twinkle Living/CSN Stores

Color Schemes ~ Navy & Coral

Continuing with the color series, this week I am combining the navy with a vibrant coral.

I am surprised not to see this combination used more often, but you can see one example here, where designer Amanda Nisbet combined it with a hint of chartreuse for a very colorful scheme:

source

The dark navy helps to ground the bright coral, but the scheme is still vibrant enough to work well in a high-energy space such as a kids' playroom or outdoors. I went with an outdoor space for this week's mood board:

What do you think? Would you use this color scheme anywhere?

Moodboard Sources:
Double chaise lounger, lanterns, rug - WS Home
Coral Pillow - Thomas Paul at Layla Grace
Blue Pillow - Dransfield and Ross
Table with umbrella and chairs - All Things Cedar
Paper lanterns - Luna Bazaar

Inspired by Color Splash Miami

Good morning! I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was wonderful, which makes it even harder to be back at work on a Monday morning...

Did you watch Design Star on HGTV last night? What did you think of it? I have to say I was bummed with the results. Luckily, there was a great episode of Color Splash Miami right after the show. I absolutely loved this living/dining room:

The picture doesn't quite do it justice. On TV, it looked so bright and welcoming. I loved the neutral palette with just a touch of aqua. It's very similar to what I am hoping to achieve in my living room (in fact, I wish I knew what paint color David used here.)

Here is the dining room corner. Again the picture is not as great as it was on TV, but the mirror behind the buffet is to die for. David covered the borders with a gorgeous zebra fabric. I love the layered effect of the buffet in front of the mirror. It adds so much dimension.

Color Spash is not a show I watch too often, but I am usually impressed with the makeovers. What is your current favorite design show?

Image Source HGTV.com

Color Schemes ~ Navy & Seafoam Green

To continue with our color series, I'm taking navy and exploring it mixed with seafoam green. As blue and green are analogous colors (adjacent on the color wheel,) the combination produces a really soothing atmosphere.

  

 Of course it is nothing new to see blue and green paired together, but I hadn't taken much notice until seeing this nursery on Design*Sponge a few months back, which combined deep navy and a soft seafoam or minty green:

Design*Sponge, more pictures here

I just love those shelves! Since seeing this picture, I've saved it to my inspiration file and hope to be able to decorate with these colors one day. For the time being, I created a mood board inspired by this scheme:

After seeing those curtains, the board took on a beachy vibe, making this scheme perfect for a sunroom or a casual sitting room. What do you think?

Join me every Wednesday for another color scheme! I'll continue to explore navy for the next couple of weeks, next time with coral!

Moodboard Sources:
- Sette and throw: Nate Berkus for HSN
- Curtains: Anthropologie
- Lamp and rug: West Elm
- Table: Horchow
- Sunburst mirror: V and M
- Clam shell: Z Gallerie

Color Schemes ~ Navy & Lilac (New Series!)

So I got back from Miami a couple of days ago and I am still having a hard time getting back to routine. I didn't get to explore too many art deco interiors in the short time I was there, apart from the gorgeous Delano Hotel, but I had a great time. Vacations are the best, aren't they?

While I was away, my little blog turned one!! I wanted to take a moment to thank all of my dear readers for always coming back to see what I am up to and leaving sweet comments. You have no idea how much I appreciate each and everyone of you!

With that, I thought I would introduce a new series, where I explore one color combined with various other expected and unexpected hues. In the first of the series, I am working with navy. It is such a great color in part because it helps to ground other colors. I actually used navy for my own wedding, when my husband was really against my peachy-pink color choice. We ended up combining both colors, and the result was classic and sophisticated, if I say so myself :)

Combined with soft lilac, it creates a cool color scheme that feels so soothing but not somber:

This combination was inspired by a bedroom I randomly came across in Self Magazine. I instantly fell in love with the combination, which is one I don't see too often. The navy keeps the lilac from looking too sweet, making it a nice color choice for adult and kids rooms alike. 

Self, scanned by me

Inspired by this combination, I put together a mood board to help you recreate a look with this color scheme at home:

What do you think? Have you ever used these two colors together?

In my next post, I will explore navy with seafoam green, so stay tuned!

Moodboard sources:
- Bed and drum side table: Target
- Rug: Madeline Weinrib
- Lilac Throw: Gracious Home
- Curtains: Ikea (ribbon trim added)
- Sheets: Blissliving
- Clock: Walmart
- Lamp: Petit Tresor
- Paint Color: Petit Tresor
- Navy Fabric: Calico Corners
- Lilac Pillow: Beautiful Pillows & Home

Shopping at Burlington Coat Factory

Have you gone to Burlington Coat Factory lately? While I rarely do, I  check in there from time to time because I find some great home decor items. For example, the sheets I made into decorative pillows and soon-to-be curtains, are by Jonathan Adler and were a great bargain. I stopped by this past weekend to see if I could score some goodies, and was delighted to find a whole collection of home items in a beautiful Waverly trellis pattern.

I could not resist making a few purchases, including the pieces above. From top:
  1. Napkins - set of four only $5.99
  2. Pot Holders - also $5.99
  3. Plates - under $2 per piece
  4. I needed a new beach towel, so I could not resist picking this one up for only $12.99

They had so many home decor items in this collection, including pillows, curtains, bedding, mirrors and other wall decor items. I only wish it all came in more diverse colorways, but I still really enjoyed the collection. Do you have a Burlington near you? If so, I recommend checking it out!

Potential Color Scheme for Living Room

Good morning! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I managed to work my way into feeling more confident about my future (thanks in part to your sweet comments in this post), started to map out my plans, and spent lots of time finishing up a design board for class, which I will share with you later this week.

I recently mentioned that I'm considering a new color scheme for my living/dining room. My husband and I have been at our condo for nearly two years now, and will probably be there for another two, so I thought it would be a good time for a change. Only issue is coming up with something that can 1) work with some of my existing pieces, and 2) my husband will approve of (the toughest part!)

For my design board for class, I ordered a few fabric samples online. Turns out that 4 out of the 6 fabrics I ordered did not work for my project, but managed to perfectly coordinate with each other. Online they appeared gray, but turn out to be a lovely seafoam green-ish shade. For my school project, I'm using gray and yellow, and suddenly, when these colors were all next to each other, I realized I had a great color scheme in front of me:

Even more coincidentally, the shades pefectly match a vase I've owned, which I actually bought right before moving into the condo in hopes to go with a similar color scheme (see my inspiration board here). We ended up going with blue, but now I may go back to that original plan.

The walls will probably be a neutral gray, so that I can more easily change the accent color should I get bored (which, knowing me, will happen.) Oh, and the hubby actually likes it! What do you think?

Decorating with Blue

As much as I say I'm tired of my living/dining room blue walls, I still find it such a soothing color. It is no wonder it's such a popular color for bedrooms. I thought I would put together some images of blue living rooms, dining rooms and offices. Many of these served as the inspiration for picking my wall color.

domino

Lori Graham via Apartment Therapy

Martha Stewart

Grace Home Furnishings

Domino

Domino

What do you think of blue? Would you consider using it in any other rooms besides the bedroom?