Small Spaces and Small Budgets

I've been playing "nanny" this week for a friend of mine that recently had a baby and just went back to work. She is trying to find a great nanny that is located in the Capitol Hill area since she works on the Hill....if you know anyone please pass their name along. Anywho -my week has been a bit busy on top of working on several projects.

Therefore, I'm skimping out a bit today by providing you a link to a must read blog post by Cote de Texas. Joni shares with us six great homes that prove you don't have to have a lot of money to have a well-designed home....it just takes having an eye for style and being creative with your resources and the way you arrange things. This post speaks to my mantra!

Dream Home

The hubby and I are still renters, and we live in a fantastic place to boot. However, I've decided to use these "renting years" to start collecting ideas for my dream home:) I'm not one who desires a multi-million dollar home but rather an older home, with nooks and crannies throughout the house, including a requirement that every room must be frequently used...or I don't need it!

I would love to buy a very small home and then build onto it as our family grows (although I am aware I am signing up for potential renovation stress). Maybe it's the 700 sq. feet that the hubby and I are in right now that has changed my perspective on how much space someone really needs. 700 sq. feet is perfect for us, and Max, the dog. Here are just a few items on my "must have" list:

(image via BlueStar)

I'm a nut for color....in balanced doses of course. I would love to have a primarily neutral kitchen with pops of color such as this fabulous range! Look at how many colors it comes in!

Now I know the idea of chalkboard walls is a bit saturated at the moment, but I still love it. I would want one in my kitchen and of course in a children's bathroom or room.

(image via Pink Wallpaper)

Next, I would want an antique, claw foot tub in the master bath. However, I would paint the outside a delicious color. I can just imagine crawling into this after a long day with a glass of wine and a good book!

Now onto the family room. I have been in love with this Schumacher fabric, Chiang Mai Dragon, for so long. I have a memo of it that I have on my idea board so I can lovingly gaze at it every day:) I plan to make curtains out of them for my family room. I also would love to have a George Smith sofa upholstered in a chocolate or golden brown mohair. Mohair is one of my favorite fabrics for upholstering pieces that would be in a well-lived room. It's cozy and durable.

(image via Schumacher)

(image via George Smith)

(image via Kravet)

I'm a big believer that homes should have the owner's personality spilling out of every room, in an organized fashion, of course! I love visiting friends homes and getting a sense of who they are just by stepping foot into a room. Homes are such intimate places of refuge - it should be the one place where you can truly and freely be yourself and in turn, your home accepts you, warts and all! There is no judgement when you walk in the front door after a long day.

Just a Quick Post!

I just returned from seeing Julie & Julia, and you MUST clear your calendar this weekend for just 2 hours and go see it! It's "laugh out loud" funny and inspirational to all who aspire - and it will make you want to pack your bags and move to Paris tomorrow. I don't know much about Julia Child, but, boy, she was full of one-line zingers! Even the hubby loved the movie :)

I came home with a glimmer of hope of being a decent cook one day. For some reason, I have the hardest trouble cooking entrees, but desserts are no problem....maybe my desire for the latter and my insanely LARGE sweet tooth are what push me to master the art of desserts. Bon Appetite!

Grey Gardens

I finally got around to watching Grey Gardens the other night, and I must say it is definitely a film you don't want to miss. After the movie was over, I sat there dumbfounded over these two women! I couldn't stop pondering the twisted relationship between Big Edie and Little Edie and how they allowed themselves to live in such an isolated, unrealistic and captive world! I think the film really hit home when I saw excerpts from the original documentary filmed in the 1970s - these women were real and they really did live a life of captivity in utter squalor.

Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore were absolutely fabulous and embraced Big and Little Edie to a "T." I now want to rent the original documentary to compare the two films and to witness the real Edie Beales!

Now, of course I fell in love with the house, Grey Gardens. One of the producers of the film explained that the film had three main characters, Big Edie, Little Edie, and then the house itself. I couldn't agree more. The house was designed by Arts and Crafts architect Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe in 1897 and, I read that Ben Bradlee, former Washington Post editor, purchased the house in 1979 and had the house and gardens restored to its former state. I would just love to pull up in that driveway every day!

P.S. You'll love Little Edie's outfits as well!

Next movie I am hoping to see this weekend, "Julie and Julia" - I just can't wait!!!!

Back to Life...Back to Reality

As I mentioned earlier this week, we just returned from a fabulous week at the beach with my family and Ron's family. Because it was such a magical week, I can't even begin to recount all the wonderful moments, so I'm just going to leave you with a few highlights....

1. We spent the week playing games...lots of games, and our $20 volleyball set from Wal-mart held up well despite the wind.

2. Not only did I get to spend time with Ron's family, but I was able to spend time with my family as well (Dad was taking the picture).

3. The mother-in-laws were just two peas in a pod!

4. One of my favorite parts of the week were the dinners we cooked. On this particular night we made a low country boil called Frogmore Stew which had shrimp, crab legs, corn, potatoes, and onions....mmm!

5. Fun times were had with Ron and his brother Jimmy. This photo was taken right before I had my wardrobe malfunction. Unfortunately, I had just come in from boogie boarding, leaned down to grab a bottle of water and my bathing suit top just popped off! Fortunately, Jimmy was able to shield his eyes quickly from the nightmare. We are a close family...but not that close!

6. My sister, Laura, and I, grew up playing tons of card games. So we were excited to find some willing players to participate in rounds of Spades and Gin Rummy!

7. My mother-in-law is just too cute not to share!

Juxtapositions of J.Crew

(image via J. Crew)

Most of my friends know how passionate I am about J. Crew...I get giddy every time a new catalogue appears in my mailbox!

It's not just the clothes I get excited about, but it's all the elements that make J. Crew what it is - the styling, the photography, the witty wordings, the interesting color selections, the textures and the juxtaposition of pairing casual with dressy. I definitely believe there is an interior design lesson in every magazine as I'm often inspired to take the pages of the J. Crew catalogue and apply them to interiors. Who says you can't take a velvet upholstered sofa and put it in front of a rustic, coffee table made of reclaimed wood?

(both images via J.Crew)

And the brains behind all this creative ingenuity is Jenna Lyons, J. Crew's Creative Director. She is in the current issue of Town and Country. My dream would be to design interiors part of the week, and the other half would be to walk in Jenna Lyons' shoes.....but for now, I'll just stick to drooling over the delicious content J. Crew continues to create!

(image via Town and Country)

To Market To Market

Well, I just returned from a fabulous week at the beach...more on that later. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them edited and sorted. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you two of my favorite design companies. I discovered these companies while I was at Market in High Point back in the spring.

Natural Curiosities (NC)....the name says it all. This art emporium embraces mediums of all types. In their market space, Natural Curiosities showcased everything from antique maps, to pressed and framed banana leaves to silkscreens. The ingenuity in the way they frame or display a piece takes a simple object and elevate it into a masterpiece. NC celebrates a simple approach to art but in the process they create a sophisticated and intriguing piece of work.

I loved their pressed, framed leaves. The circular frame takes a simple leaf and turns it into a fabulous l'art d'object.

The other display I couldn't tear myself away from was the work of artist Fernando Boher. Again, his subjects are just everyday items, but these are silkscreens framed and grouped together. How fun to have a display like this on a wall in your living room or office. It adds a bit of whimsy to the atmosphere!

(image via Natural Curiosities)

The second company that I am slightly obsessed with is Bobo Intriguing Objects. We arrived to their space early one morning as they were having a first come, first serve designer sale. While we waited outside, they supplied coffee, Krispy Kreme donuts and entertainment. There was a duo playing banjo and fiddle accompanied with singing....Bobo had me at hello.

Bobo specializes in one-of-a-kind found objects, and the owner, inspired by his travels all over the world often creates reproductions of the extremely rare pieces. Bobo's style embraces the eclectic, industrial chic look that has made its debut in the recent years.

I am a lover of using found objects for interiors, so the minute I stepped inside I felt right at home. Below is a wonderful piece that I think would make a fabulous kitchen island...*sigh*