SANTORINI DREAMING

On our honeymoon Mr. Eric and I went to lovely Santorini, Greece. We stayed at an amazing hotel in Oia called Perivolas.  How much plaster, concrete and white paint do you think it would take for us to get our house to look like this?  We may even have to bleach the cats (totally kidding.)

Especially beautiful was the lighting.

We hit the Monastiriki flea market in Athens, which is where we were told the owner buys his lamps, but we came back sadly empty handed.  Even so, I find myself remembering back to those rooms when I think about the feeling I'd love our house to have.  Effortless, natural and inviting.

DOMINO, OH HOW I MISS YOU

Before I owned a home I used to read Domino religiously. It was, hands down, my favorite magazine and I couldn't wait for it to come every month. Now that I actually have a home Domino has sadly gone the way of the Dodo (or Blueprint, which I also miss terribly.) Go figure. So what's a girl to do? I've tried House Beautiful; inspiring, but needs more DIY. Elle Decor; pretty, but unattainable. This Old House; educational, but not design-y enough. Where's the hip, young, little high, little low, crafty beautiful home magazine? What's your favorite shelter mag? What should I be reading?

ALREADY?

So yesterday at the bodega the counter guy snuck a peek at the NJ Transit pass in my wallet while I was paying and gave me a "You from New Jersey?"  Immediately I got defensive and gave him a "Why?" which I really wanted to be a "No!" or a "Well, I just moved there" or even better a "You shut your mouth!"  Then I had a scare that maybe I looked Jersey already.  In two weeks I had grown a pouf or turned into a Real Housewife.  Thankfully, it was only the pass.  But what's funny about my defensiveness is that I AM actually from New Jersey.  Born and raised.  15 years of New York will sometimes make you forget that.
image via Bravo TV

BED TIME

One thing I'm learning about moving from an apartment to a house is that extra rooms means buying extra furniture.  It can be a little overwhelming thinking about all the things we now need.  But first things first, we need a bed.  We've pondered buying an inexpensive West Elm Narrow-Leg Bed Frame and adding a headboard later.  We've also considered the Calvin from Room & Board but for the price I'm not totally in love with it.  There's just something a little heavy about it. 

Well, yesterday I came across a website called Vermont Woods Studios and I think I'm in love.  All of their furniture is hand made by artisans in Vermont.  They use sustainable materials and they have free white glove shipping.  Some of the furniture is a little too traditional for my tastes but there are some simple beauties in there.  Like this Shaker Moon Bed.

It's almost perfect.  And the really great thing about this company is that since everything is handmade to order you can customize.  This could be my dream bed with one simple cut, straight across the headboard.  So it looks like this:

Simple, modern, light.  Exactly what I was looking for.  Now the only question is will the natural cherry shown above look good with my walnut Blu Dot Drift Dresser? The bed does come in walnut but I'm not sure I want to be too matchy-matchy with the wood.

image via Vermont Woods Studios

WALLS AND CEILINGS, WHAT TO DO?

It's 2 weeks in and we are finally starting to think about painting.  And boy does this place need it.  While looking at swatches last night I realized that our trim and ceilings need painting desperately as well.  We'll go with white for the trim, but the ceiling has me thinking.  Does it have to be white?  What about the walls and ceiling in the same color?  It seems like it could be cozy for a bedroom as long as the color is not too dark. We're leaning towards light neutrals. Thoughts?

image via House Beautiful