OOPS, SORRY ABOUT THAT

I'm still here. I swear.

You know those blogs where people blog every day and they have a new crafty project they've done or they redecorate a room in a matter of days? Here I am almost a year later and I have to say, in my world, it doesn't happen that fast. I'm just not sure how they do it. But there is good news. Things are actually happening, and if I just get over my Virgo tendencies to have everything perfect and finished, you'll see.

For now, I'll post a crappy phone peek of the desk sexiness we found on Etsy that is sitting in the mess of our office right now. Once we get it sorted out I'll show you the whole room.

APARTMENT THERAPY TO THE RESCUE

Apartment Therapy is no secret in the world of home decor blogs. I've been a loyal reader for quite some time, so naturally I turned to them with a question I've been pondering since moving in. Luckily, they considered it a "Good Question."

Check out the reader answers here: Can Dark Walls Work With Dark Wood Molding?

And here is a picture of the room in question.  Please try to ignore the temporary tables, the unpacked boxes and the haphazardly hung pictures on leftover hooks. But totally take notice of the alien cats, uh I mean molding.

BE STILL MY HEART

I'm dying.  Can you stand it?  This table is a dream.
In fact, I said to Mr. Eric weeks ago that I wanted a rough wood table with metal legs and casters. Please God, let it fit in my dining room.

And while we're at it, can we talk about this chair?

Yes please.

And on a side note, you know what?  Decorating a house is hard.  It's making me realize how completely indecisive I can be at times.  But I am learning.  What I am learning is that things you love will give you serious gut reactions like that table up there.  They'll make you swoon.  They'll make you ooh and aah.  And if you don't do that, it's probably not worth spending money on. We're in no hurry.  We've got, hopefully, many happy years in which to fill this house with items we cherish and items that will last us a long time.  But it's fun looking and it's also fun to dream.  (I'm winking at you gorgeous dome chair, let's hang out.  Preferably in my living room.)

images via Restoration Hardware
and big hugs to Remodelista for blogging that table first.

MISSION: BACKYARD CHAIRS

With the weather warming up my mind has been all about the backyard. We've got the grill and we've got the table, the Nordanö from Ikea. All we need now is chairs.  In typical Ikea fashion they were completely sold out of the Blankö which would have been a perfect low cost solution to seating. This led me to search online where I came across Fermob furniture from France. Le Sigh. So lovely. Luxembourg Gardens in my own backyard! But at $198 for a set of two Bistro chairs or a whopping $630 for a set of two Luxembourg chairs they are, as the French would say, trop cher.  For some reason I love the idea of white or brightly colored (yellow!) chairs with the wooden table.  Is there somewhere else I should be looking? Extra points to the person who can find me a black and white striped patio umbrella!



From left to right: Fermob Bistro Chair, Ikea Blankö, Fermob Luxembourg Chair

images via Ikea and FrenchBistroFurniture.com

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?

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

TIP TOE THROUGH THE TULIPS

OK.  We haven't even moved in yet, but I've decided we need this.

So pretty and yellow and on sale!  It's a little bit crafty and a little bit modern.  Something worth decorating around I think.