oh Andreas, it is you i adore

the best part of checking the mail....  is getting the anthro catalogue.  walking back to the house, i flipped through the usual pretty dresses.  and then.  and then i saw this little beauty and suddenly it's all i can think about.

 

its pretty much perfect.  great colors to work with, great pattern to hide the wear and tear of kids and dogs, durable fabric, great lines.  beautiful details.  looks so cozy!  the last picture shows how richly textured and colored the textile is - the pattern could go nordic or look more southwestern (dare i use the term).  this sofa is one of those great pieces that makes a statement without screaming it.  very easy to work an entire scheme around it, or it set in down in neutrals of wintry whites.  there aer so many colors to pull from - my favorite is the orange.  it'd really be perfect in my living room.  santa, do you hear me?!

i could work this into just about room.  check back for an inspiration board featuring my newest love, Andreas.

magic carpet ride

its july.  i haven't posted since the end of march.  ouch.  i have about 22 drafts and just never could get the time to wrap it up, make it look pretty and really love it, so no posts were published.

i've had free time.....  and as per usual, i've been moving furniture and rugs around.  if not for being a designer, i swear i could be employed by a moving company. 

i inherited a rug - well, my Auntie did and i had to have it, so i asked, and she so kindly handed it over.  its not really my color scheme - i rarely decorate with red in our personal space.  i like red, its just i like pink more.  but i knew this rug was something i had to have. 

in my Ma-Ma's house, it was anchored by chintz sofas, striped drapes - it was a traditional room, but had pops of fun.  the rug was unexpected and such a "wow" moment.  maybe that's why i love it so.





THE navajo rug.



first as the dining room rug. but once the high chair was moved into the dining room and my sweet, darling girl was throwing food down from her plate, i had to move it.  so, upstairs into my bedroom it went. 

i loved in our bedroom.  i loved it with the purple and with the touches of turquoise.  its soft under foot and i thought the graphic statement was awesome.  but i didn't love the layout of the room, so i moved the bed, and consequently, moved the rug.

 

and now its back downstairs, but in the living room, layered over my diamond and white rug from dash and albert.  and i love it, love how it ties the colors in the room together. 

in true Natalie form, these 3 rooms have been through many changes since we moved here 3 years ago.  and they will continue to change.

in my next post, i'll go through the changes the living room has seen, and what i'd like to see change.

all blocked up

as per usual, the best laid plans....  well, the usual part would NOT be (by any stretch of the imagination) that i made plans, but that things didn't go as planned.  and that's too much planning --- just using the word 4 times has me nervous.  however.  while my mom was here i had all these ideas (much more comfortable with that word, i love that word) for posts.  but, we got busy, the duckling was battling a bug and ahhh, i'm finally back at our desk, ready to get to work.

i've spotted a few things worth a looksee over at world market.  even though i don't have the room for it, if someone (ahem, anyone) bought this for me, i would most certainly find a place, and quickly.  i love the lines and of course the fabric...

kanta chaise

i think they did a really great job with the details, like the welting and the legs.  i would (of course) liked to see some color in the fabric, but overall, i like the effect.  and yes, i am, and always have been a little crazy for block print.  my new sheers are block prints and i await anxiously for them - once they arrive, i'll post a pic. 

block print long anna slipcover chair collection

also love the slip cover, which is sold separately from the chair(!!!!).  with a rough hewn wood table, a dhurrie or one of those great dash and albert indoor/outdoor striped rugs that i've posted about, it would be so much fun.  wide stripe would be best.

these remind me of one of my all time favorite rooms (or Kathryn Ireland, love her fabric and aesthetic)

house beautiful

when i first saw this room, i was drawn to it....  it hit me on many levels: colors, layers, patterns, symmetry, subtle differences, repetition of shape, details and relief.... i say "relief" because the eye does need to rest - the art gives the room the relief it needs from all of the other patterns all while complimenting the colors and shapes. 

the chaise and/or slipcovers from world market easily lend itself to a look like this (or it could go rustic minimal with charcoal or chalky white walls, rough woods, slate and beams). 

either way, i love it!



it was all yellow

on this particularly chilly day, i thought we'd make our sunday color post about yellow, the color of sunshine, happiness and peeps (which is kinda the same thing as happiness). 

yellow can help add light to an otherwise dark room.  it can add some fun to an otherwise serious room or it can punch up the colors around it.  yellow can be a neutral or the perfect accent.  i love yellow.

lovelyclusters.tumblr.com

desiretoinspire.net

paloma81.blogspot.com

via decorpad

Image as Seen on Effortless Style Blog, Martha Stewart

Tamara Mellon’s London Flat

via thedecorista

image via Pinterest

room-galleries.myhomeideas.com

Yellow (Live Tokyo 2009)

happy Sunday y'all!

washed out & wonderful

its no secret i am color obsessed.  patterns, colors, layers of both, i can't get enough.  so today, i thought it might be fun to switch gears. 

here are some of my favorite neutral spaces - and what makes them so great, in my opinion, is the use of patterns, however subtle, lush textures, a sense of warmth, and beautiful details....

freshomeideas.com

vai pinterest.com

via prettystuff.tumblr.com

valencia house via planete-deco.fr

Phoebe Howard

via home-shabby-home.blogspot.com

and my very favorite saved for last...  this is how i dream of neutral....

via pinterest

soft layers of color washed in with warm tones.  there's still pattern, and so many wonderful layers of metal, wood, tiles, textiles.  i am so in love with this!  you can follow my board on pinterest "how i dream of neutral" for more inspiration.

p.s.  here is a sample of a living room board i put together - just the fabrics.

brown & white geometric woven (betwixt by celerie kemble) would be a pillow on the blue, beige and cream print by schumacher.  the white embroidered linen (top) would be drapes and a small pillow.  animal woven and ikat, both pillows on the (bottom left) sofa - a highly textured, white & sand colored sofa.

i want..... them all!

is it normal to be this excited about a rug? 

my all time favorite rug (classic styling, affordable and easy to keep clean) is now in a couple new colors.  and i am LOVING them!  and then.... there's more.... there is a new pattern also in this fantastic category of  indoor/outdoor rugs by Dash and Albert and it is so, SO lovely. 

i know wool is the most comfortable and gets high marks for how easy it is to clean, but these polypropylene rugs are soft under foot and even after dog throw up (eww) and a red wine spill (oops), it is impossible to tell they have suffered so much abuse.

and here they are in all their indestructible glory:

and now the new pattern(s):

yes, i am a stripe freak.  yes i love rugs that can take a red wine spill and not show it at all (the rug pad did not survive), and yes, i love the colors.  all of them.  now the hard part: to decide which one will grace your space. 

*i have the diamond khaki and white in our living room with a dhurrie over it, and love it now as much as i did when we purchased it 6 years ago.  classic.

Get yours where I get mine:  Sustain INC.  ask for Lauren!

sofa envy

i have sofa envy.  very simple.  i long for a chesterfield in a moody color, in a sumptuous fabric.

thackery chesterfield

this is the kind of sofa that invites you in and says "come on in, stay for a while.  get cozy" 
and i want it.  love the color, love the low back.  love how comfortable it looks.