Duvets for Mr. & Mrs.

Seeing Dwell Studio's new spring line re-ignited an inner fire that burns within me for something I feel strongly about. You see, I am puzzled completely when a married couple or living together couple or whathaveyou couple has a bedroom that reflects that only a woman sleeps there. Where are the men when the decor decisions are being made? Hmm? Oh, what? They don't care about home decor? "Just do what you want," is that what he said? Hmmmmm? 


Ladies, this can't go on. Your man cares. He doesn't want to sleep among flowers and ruffles and fluff. He wants a calm, cool oasis where there's equal ground. 


Enter Dwell Studio amazingness. These are part of their spring line and I heart all of them (and I think my husband would, too, except he probably wouldn't use the phrase "I heart..." because ... he's not a girl).

And some of my old Dwell Studio favorites:

Okay, that's a lot of grey and white. But still, great options, no? What do you think, would your man go for any of those? Do you have another brand you swear by for unisex bedding?


*Martha

Fabric Book

While I was at Ikea last week I found a super fun book in the FABRIC section of the store it is called "Love for Textiles". It is FILLED with beautiful images of inspiration. It is all about using fabric in new and UNIQUE ways. PLUS it tells you how to do a lot of the things that they have shown. What is so awesome is some of the treatments that they have done you don't even need to know how to sew to do them. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is so fun to look at. There aren't many words but boy do I wish I could jump into the pictures and live there. Check out these pictures of INSPIRATION from the book (sorry for the poor quality...my scanner was broken so I took pictures with my camera.I just loved this picture...a lot of the pictures have that vintage look. I also loved that throughout the book there is an eclectic mix of old and new.

They have GREAT tips and easy projects with easy directions.


I liked this idea of just wrapping a chair leg with a ribbon to give it a ballerina flair...so cute.


Wrapping a book case in fabric is a BEAUTIFUL way to liven up your space.


I love that they used a chair as an end table. And the headboard is actually a mattress wrapped in fabric...what an cool idea...I think I might do that because I have one of those thin Ikea mattresses that we don't use anymore.
#2 is a fun idea...use magazines stacked up as a table.

I am in LOVE with textiles...fabrics just SPEAK to me. Next week I will have a post that will teach us a little more about the fabrics we use everyday.

Peace!
Cyndi

Antique Furniture in Seattle

Seattle has no shortage of antique/consignment furniture shops and this weekend I finally checked out a couple in my area. Maybe this can become my new Saturday activity. 


At Cobblestone Used Furniture I was interested in the variety of pulls and knobs, since I'm in the market for some.

My daughter's life revolves around opening and closing things, especially doors. This sea of drawers was her own personal heaven. Open, close, open, close, open, close. The shop lady was not too thrilled with all of this. 

Love these ones. They're practically fused into the drawer fronts.

 Green glass? Okay.

Then across the street to Antika. Their room full of kitschy kitchen goods was killing me with awesomeness.

Upstairs I liked all of these things - the nesting tables, orange chair, stool and Buddha pictures. Heck, throw in the bare-chested male torso and you've got yourself a living room.

Surprise! There's a dog named Tonka that roams this joint at will and he's three times the size of my daughter. She was in double heaven! She followed him everywhere saying, "Woof, woof!" and touched him every chance she got.

The mid-century modern offerings here were salve to my soul. I think this would be a cool kitchen buffet.

This would be the dresser of my dreams for my nursery, but it was just as much money as my other dream dresser.

Another cool buffet or bedroom dresser.

Hello, the legs on that table. YES!

And then a happy yellow chest. Delish.

*Martha

Organizing Children's Art

This article got me thinking about the many ways to organize and display children's art work. May I share with you my personal favorite: the clothesline/cable system. Not that I have put it to use just yet. My daughter is only 21 months. But I hear once the kiddie artwork starts coming, it doesn't let up. 




Here's why I like the clothesline as the first line of defense in dealing with artwork. 


1. It's not permanent. You can quickly put up a new piece of art whether you love it or hate it and constantly edit and rotate as the child brings more home. 


2. It changes up the decor on a regular basis and adds new pops of unique color and design to the wall. 


3. It can work in several different places in the house. I like the kitchen (because it gets it off your fridge and can become a conversation piece around the dinner table), the hallway (think of it as a gallery, maybe install real gallery lighting to make it more special), the playroom or child's bedroom (where the child can take control and rotate it as they choose). 


After the art moves out of the clothesline rotation and you and/or your child have chosen the favorites, it could be put into frames and moved to a more permanent art wall. Then when it's time to let it go, decide what to keep and what to trash, and put the keepers in a long term file folder for each child.


Here are a couple photos of the clothesline approach.


You could easily work with what you already have to create one; pictured above is twine and office clips, below is string and clothes pins.

Or Etsy has some cute supplies to made your own, like these colorful tiny clothespins and baker's twine. Secure the ends on the wall with faux metal Command hooks.

These colorful clips come from The Land of Nod.

 Here's a crisp look with the IKEA curtain rings and clips.

Pottery Barn Kids has several cable systems, with a variety of gender specific versions.

What do you think, readers? Have you put this to use yet or do you go for another approach? What works for you in managing and organizing your children's art?


Happy Friday!


*Martha


images 1. Hybrid Simplicity 2. houzz 3 & 4. Bella Creationz 5 & 6. Land of Nod 7. OhDeeDoh 8 & 9. Pottery Barn Kids 

Valentines Day Decorations

Valentines Day is QUICKLY approaching...its the time of year that we cover the house in hearts and spread the LOVE. Here are some inspirational pictures that I found HERE

living room design by new york photographer Elliott Kaufman

eclectic dining room design by media and blogs A Few Things From My Life

I love this picture because I have those dining chairs. They are from Ikea and believe it or not are made out of PAPER! They are super comfortable too.

spaces design by media and blogs A Few Things From My Life

So CUTE and looks like a totally simple project!

eclectic dining room design

What is fun about this is if you have four frames like this in a room you can just switch out the pictures for this L O V E

spaces design by media and blogs Aesthetic Outburst

Check out THIS tutorial on how to make a similar garland

eclectic kids design by other metros media and blogs Made By Girl

spaces design by media and blogs A Few Things From My Life

eclectic bedroom design by media and blogs Dreamy Whites

eclectic entry design by los angeles media and blogs Lisa Borgnes Giramonti
Such a BEAUTIFUL entry way...LOVE it!

Some of these are so cute...why not keep the love up all year long. Where would you share the love in your house?

Peace Out!
Cyndi