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.

TEACH ME MARTHA

Everyone who knows me knows I try hard to live by Martha's rules.  It can sometimes make me (and Mr. Eric) crazy.  But it's fun to strive and it's good to have goals right?  Last week on Home Design with Kevin Sharkey, Kevin, the decorating guru at Martha Stewart posted 10 Lessons He Learned from Martha.  Well, I've also learned a lot from Martha about crafting, baking and throwing a mean Halloween party. But, as a new home owner I'm finding that there are a whole lot of other things I need to know now that I've never even thought about before. If anyone can teach me, it's Martha. So without further ado, here is my list:

10 Lessons I Need to Learn from Martha

1. How to plant a vegetable garden
2. How to make pretty covers for my radiators
3. How to tile a floor, a backsplash and a fireplace
4. How to repair plaster walls
5. How to load a dishwasher
6. How to maintain a fireplace and start a proper fire
7. How to unclog the drain of an old tub without a removable drain cover. Grrr.
8. How to repair window screens
9. How to prune a seriously overgrown rhododendron
10. How to remove and then hopefully hang (new and pretty) wallpaper.

I know with Martha's help I'll be able to start checking things off this list soon. Fingers crossed.

images via MarthaStewart.com

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.