Little bits of this and that.

That's how I was feeling this week ... kind of all over the place. Ever feel that way?

 

Styling 



Let's start with the early part of the week I helped fellow designer, Stephanie Shaw of Stephanie Shaw Designs style a clients daughter's room for a photo shoot that will be featured in her design portfolio.

Stephanie is an unbelievably talented designer and so fun to work with! Here's a sneak peak of her room ...

 

 

I love how she paired teal and orange together in this desk area. And that Ikea acrylic chair? I'm diggin' it at just $79.

 

 If you'd like to add some pops of orange to your life, try these...

lulu and Georgia rug

Furbish 

c wonder


 

c wonder

Jonathan Adler

z gallerie

Lighting
 

Loving these for projects I'm working on

 

Simple, clean lines

here



 



here

here

And fancy-shmancy...

here

 

here

here

 

here

FLOWERS

The allium just bloomed in my garden. Pretty, huh? I talked about how easy they are to grow  here.

Bought these at Whole Foods. Just love peonies, don't you?

pink peonies

white peonies

Go out and treat yourself to a bouquet today- you deserve it!
 

Hair

 

I  saw the Great Gatsby.
 

 

 Not exactly what I was expecting but it was incredible. Total thumb's up. Just love Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie made me want to chop my hair off again.

 

 Check out these looks.

 

Daisy Buchanan

 

Jordan Baker --Daisy's friend

 

So chic, right?

Have a great holiday weekend!

If you are looking to spruce up your home for summer send me an email ... I'm totes avail (that's totally available) to chat!

15 of the Best Outoor Rugs: Adding Another Layer to Your Outdoor Room

Love the grid

pinned from here



Outdoor flat screens... a must:)

pinned from here

How would you like to relax in here?

 

here

Before we know it, we'll be sipping frozen cocktails on our porches and patios this summer so we might as well do it in style!

Although I'd love to discuss outdoor flat screens, rooms over pools, etc. I'm going to focus on outdoor rugs today.

So if you missed earlier posts I discussed where to buy your affordable outdoor loungey furniture here and where to place all of your beautiful flowers here.

Now I'm moving onto the finishing touches with my favorite outdoor rugs. So, take a gander...

Love the blue and white!

frontgate

For all you anglophiles

grandin road

Are these crazy fun or what?

All three above available at Dash and Albert.

 

You can't go wrong with a classic stripe

ballard designs
 

Dash and Albert

Layla Grace

Dash and Albert



You dog, you!

Hayneedle
 

Even more pattern...

overstock

Layla Grace

Wayfair

grandin road





Neutrals your thang?

 

Restoration Hardware

 

Overstock

Wayfair

Next part of this series will include outdoor accessories. Stay tuned...wohoo!!

Guest post...

Looking to give an old, outdated piece of furniture a more modern look?

Well, I have a very talented designer friend, Shannon Duzy, who is a fabulous do-it-yourselfer and loves to tackle projects like painting furniture on her own. So I hope you enjoy her guest post on ...

 

How To Make Your Own Chalk Paint

Hi there! Shannon Duzy from Duzy Designs here and I had several pieces of furniture in my home that needed some serious painting.  I wanted to paint the furniture with chalk paint because I knew there was no prep work needed and the paint sticks to the furniture very well.

 

So I did some research on chalk paint. I found an easy recipe: use one cup of latex paint in any color and finish (flat, semigloss, etc.) and then add 2 tablespoons of unsanded grout.

product used

 

 

The grout makes the paint very thick and the finish very durable. I use Johnsons clear wax as a top coat and sealer.

 

I use this chalk paint on every project because you don't have to sand the furniture and can easily mix the paint in a red solo cup which makes clean up easy. Here is a piece I painted with my chalk paint recipe. So go ahead and give it a try yourself!

During

Finished piece

Hope you enjoyed this do-it-yourself project!! Until next time ...

West Elm Grand Opening!

My love affair with this brand continues.

In case you missed it .... I'll take you on my own personal tour of the West Elm store. The PR people may not have chosen these exact words but I'll do my best interpretation (I did have a few cocktails of course -- please don't judge:)

I could totally see James Bond owning this coffee table. And by owning I mean rockin' it in his bachelor pad.



West Elm has this non-stick cookware that doesn't contain Teflon. Very green. Am definitely getting. I have stainless steel now that's a total biatch to clean.

 Love the art. Although I think I might of made something like this in kindergarten. I'll have to check my files.

This floor lamp would complete me.

And all of these accessories had me at hello.

I light it like that ...

I just can't get enough of terrariums, honestly.  Is it me or is it gettin' hot in here?

 More boxes for table stylin'

But I've saved the best bits for last. I have three completely useless trivia facts about the KOP West Elm store but I find them utterly fascinating. I hope you will too.

So, when West Elm opens a new store in a city they use building materials that are found local in that particular area.  Here are three examples of that from the KOP store:

First fact--

Guess what their register desk is made of?

You'll never guess. I had no idea until a girl shouted from the audience "Bread Pans!".  

At first I thought she said bed pans (they kinda look like old bed pans, no? maybe?) and I'm getting kind of grossed out but then I heard them talking about  rye bread... and I was like ohhhhhh bread pans. I totally see it now.

Anyway the bread pans came from an old bakery that was located in North Philadelphia in the 1930's.

Second fact--

The wood behind the West Elm sign was re purposed from window casings from a decrepit old building on Callowhill Street in Philadelphia.

Third fact--

The wood on the roof of the store's indoor atrium was taken from an old barn in Lancaster and re purposed. Pretty cool, huh?

So get out this weekend and check out the new West Elm store. Don't live near here? check it out online. Love this company, their marketing message and so many of their products!

Have a great weekend and I hope you enjoyed my tour!