the color of Mexico

My husband and I took a little trip down to Mexico. Part babymoon, part family vacation.
Every time I go, I am blown away by the use of color in everyday life. This is one culture that is not afraid of color. It is a nice get away from America's comfort zone... beige.

Baby Time!

I would like to make an apology. I am not sure if there are even very many of you out there that reads my design blog, but for those of you who did I am sure you gave up hope. I am here to restore it.

I was on the verge of being on top of things, and then I got pregnant. It was planned, but the way this pregnancy has been going has been completely unpredictable. Since the middle of May, I have been pretty busy making a baby and the baby has been pretty busy making me sick. But, lately there have been signs of change. Good change! No more sickness.

I hope I can get back to life as I knew it... kind of. In celebration of my return and in celebration of making a baby, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the nursery. I know as of lately it has become popular to wait to find out what the baby is. We considered this, but with this being our first child, we figured there were tons of surprises in store for us. By knowing the gender I feel like I have some sort of sanity. =)

So, our baby is going to be a BOY!

Immediately I high tailed it to all the online places in search of bedding, color ideas and other fun nursery stuff. Now, when it comes to design, I haven't dealt a lot with the nursery. So, I have pretty much an open mind and an clean palette to start.

Let me show you where I got my inspiration.

Some friends of mine in Kansas gave me a little surprise baby shower before we moved away. This was the diaper cake they made for me. I instantly fell in love with the idea of using Black and White Polka Dots. I figured it could go either way. If we were to have a girl, I'd tie in Sunflowers and Bumble Bees. Since we are having a boy, I am heading in the direction of trucks, boats, and planes. I know that sounds like a lot, but go with me on this. I found when looking online the trend seems to be BROWN. Pink and brown for a girl, blue and brown for a boy, and yellow, orange and brown for gender neutral. I know that brown has been popping up every where and though I love it, it's not for my baby. I think I want to go in a brighter direction. I love the idea of black and white because if offers the opportunity to add any pop of color. Sticking with my inspiration I decided to use accents of red, yellow, and grey!

A good way to make sure I stay on track with my theme is to create a mood board. I pulled together some fabric samples and paint colors to make sure that what I was seeing in my mind, actually worked in reality.

This is my mood board so far...

I will use the black and white theme as the main focus in the room. So the big ticket items will be black and white, like the bedding, the furniture, and the window treatments. The smaller details in the room will keep true to the red, yellow, and grey accents. For instance, art work, pillows, and/or lamp shades. 

I am excited to get this party started! I hope to post more as the nursery comes together!

Speaking of Wallpaper

   

Another Sticker on the Wall is an online archive of wall decals from around the world. Next to each image of the decal is the store link that provides that product. The decals range from single piece stickers to entire wall coverings (I suppose otherwise known as Wallpaper).

                                        

A way to fill blank space or spruce up an old space, inspiration is abundant at Another Sticker on the Wall (dot com).

Half Off! Who doesn't love that?

Company C is having an awesome sale. Half off selective quilts, shams and other essential pieces! Even if you are not in the market for any bedding, it is still worth the time to take a look!

This is one of the best deals. The Nirvana Quilt is reversible and comes in a great combination of colors. I am thinking an accent peice at the end of a bed for a splash of color or give as a gift to brighten someones day. (Cheese I know, but it's true. Who doesn't love a cozy quilt?)

We sell this stuff at our shop. Quality is really second to none and I love all the little details in every piece, like the stiching and the sweet little embellishments. I haven't seen a sale like this before from this company. AND they are even offering $20.00 off  for a purchase of $100.00 or more.

Fabric: Maija Louekari

It was love at first sight when I spotted this mod fabric in last November's Metropolitan Home. Instantly I envisioned many ways this fun print could brighten any space. An upholstered chair, table cloth, or even a wall hanging. Hand drawn by a young inspirational Finnish artist, Maija Louekari, this fabric is only one of many cool prints.

Louekari has a collection of cups, serving platters and plates that showcase her organic simple drawings. She has teamed up with marimekko to bring this collection to life.

Wall Paper: a second chance

Someone asked me the other day what I thought about wallpaper. My first reaction is.... I love it! For those of you going... HUH? This may be what you have in mind when you think of wall paper.

But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, wallpaper has come a long way in design, material and application. I really think wallpaper got it's bad name because it was not exactly easy to get off the wall, and a lot of wallpaper stuck around much longer than it should have. (That lovely ivy border around your mom's kitchen. yikes!) Remember wallpaper should be temporary. Wallpaper is meant to be a permanent fixture in your home, but rather a fun way to add life and visual interest to a room for a season. I believe that wallpaper manufactures are now producing higher quality paper which leads to a better application and an easier removal. Notice I said easiER, not easy. I am not making any promises here. (That's my disclaimer. haha.)

Anyway, I found a bunch of rooms that I thought really showcase wallpaper. Remember, when choosing a wallpaper keep quality in mind. It will make a difference in the end.

I especially like this one. It is so subtle and it  really brings a calming element to the room.

In this example take a look at the texture the paper adds to the room.

A place to call home

OK! I can't take it anymore. Nothing is for certain, so things could change, but I am bursting with excitement so I am going to spill anyway.

We are buying a house.

This is something that has been in the making (so you could say) for a few years. We have had our eye on the Austin area for a while. While we were in Texas for Chirstmas, we made a short trip to Austin to check out a few spots. By a few I mean 9 houses in one day. We came to the overall conclusion that most people should NOT be allowed to design/ build their own home. I am talking... no bath tubs in the entire house, or no windows in any of the bathrooms, or no dining rooms at all, or how about rain water collection as the only source of water... in TEXAS! Clearly these houses were 100% custom with no thought of resale!

Needless to say, we were losing hope. Just when we thought we couldn't take anymore, we stumbled across what is quite possibly the most perfect house for both my husband and I. Ladies and gents that is a feat for which I thought was impossible. A house we both simultaneously fell in love with? No way! But alas, it's true. 

I call it "The Beige House" You see every wall, counter top, floor, and cabinet is some shade of beige. I am not kidding you. Ok, so there are a few exceptions but still, it is a sea of beige. At first, this bothered me. The first time we caught glimpse of this house it was in pictures on a website. It came across as a typical track house. BORING! At least in my mind that is what I thought was boring. I was wrong. I almost passed it up because all I could see was bland beige.

There is so much character and unique little details about this house that I hardly noticed the beige. Now, this issue of beige is a whole other post. So I will leave you with a few pictures. Let me know what you think...

The view when you enter the house

The kitchen

The front doors. (I love them)

The master bath

There will be more to come, I just wanted to get it out there before I go crazy!

News

I have news and I am anxious to tell it, but I NEED confirmation! One more week people, one more week!

A Love Story

As many of you  have noticed to the right of my blog I have a list of "gotta have it". ( When I say many, I mean the few lovely souls who check this blog every once in a while) In that list there is a book. This is not just any book, but a book about a process. It's a sort of self help book. This book oozes with vibrant photographs, helpful story boards, and a break down of one designers mind. It is called Kelly Hoppen Home.

It is a bit of a love story I suppose. Once a few years ago I worked for an eccentric furniture designer. Crazy and unethical would have been more accurate, but impolite. However, he did have a glorious library of design books that looked almost brand new and never opened. Since my job presented me with more than enough opportunity to do nothing, the man I worked for highly suggested I read this book. As you may have guessed, it was the Kelly Hoppen Home book. Being he is British and so is Kelly Hoppen, I could see how he had a bit of a crush on her designs. At first I scanned the book glancing over all of the photos. Half way through, I realized I was asking many questions about what was going on in the photographs. "Why did She do that?" or "What was she thinking?" or "How did she come up with that?" I've got some time on my hands, why am I rushing this? I was smitten.

I started over. I started with the cover. Then onto the forward and deep into each page. I was so into this, I bought a little note book and began taking notes. I read and re-read pages hoping I didn't miss some little gem buried between the lines. Sadly, this affair didn't last long, and neither did the job. Before I could finish the book I left that job. Understandably so after lying to clients, and after performing many, many other unruly tasks that would make any ethical person uncomfortable, I left. Truly that is another story I should really share with you on another day.

I never forgot the times I spent with that book, and not to mention all the information I had yet to unlock in the remaining pages. It has been on my wish list for quite some time. It must have been meant to be because my Secret Santa surprised me with the unexpected. My book. My Kelly Hoppen Home book!

Now if I may, as I read, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts. I do plan on starting over, but maybe I will not journey alone. It's always better when there is someone else to share the excitement with! I have already started, but I have taken more of your time than I could ask for. So, I will share my most recent revelation soon. Stay tuned!