plan b: table lamp for grady's room

so, i ordered this lamp for grady's nightstand from the foundary right before christmas:

i loved the industrial look, the large metal shade, and the articulating arm.
it was just what i was looking for!
well, imagine my surprise when this lamp showed up at my doorstep:

hmm. yeah, it took me about 10 seconds to realize that this was NOT the lamp i ordered.
plus, the arm of the lamp was totally bent.
can you see how bent it is on the picture?!
(i was beginning to feel like a chump. did they not think i would notice? gheesh.)

i called the foundary to see if i could swap the bent/wrong lamp for the lamp i ordered, but they didn't have any more left. (insert a very sad face from me and some begging to see if they knew who made it and where i could find it. they didn't. and then i proceeded to spend the next hour on the internet looking for an alternative that wasn't $400 with no luck.)
customer service was really nice, and refunded my money, but i still don't have a lamp for his night stand.
i recently won a $50 gift card from west elm from jean's great blog (flower hill designs), so i think i might use it to cover part of the cost of a new lamp.

here are some that i am considering:

morten table lamp.
the matte finish is nice, the shape is great, and i like that this lamp would add another dose
of black to the room.

i also really like these lamps:

industrial task lamp

stephen antonson table lamp

cast metal horse lamp

i have had a crush on the barometer lamp from ikea forever, and it is very affordable.

i am leaning toward the morten table lamp, but will probably wait for a few more weeks before i commit.
there is a home goods about 3 miles form my house, and i am going to make a few trips there to see if
anything that catches my eye. i will keep you posted!

my dream foyer

layla grace is having a "pin it to win it" challenge, and i thought i would give it a try!
the challenge is to create a pinterest board of your dream foyer, using items from layla grace's
store. they have a pretty amazing selection, so it was pretty easy for me to come up with
my "dream foyer". apparently, my "dreams" are very expensive (i think this foyer would cost more
than the combined value of the last four cars i have driven!)....but, this is just for fun,
so i wasn't counting pennies...
you can click here to see my pinterest board, but just for fun, i threw them on a board for y'all:
(oh, and you have to picture this space with herringbone hardwood floors, a 10' coffered ceiling, and
wainscoting. cuz if yer gonna dream, dream BIG!)

entries are due this evening.
go here to read the rules, and start pinning your own dream foyer!

schumacher look-alike fabrics

when it comes to decorating a home, i am solidly in the camp of "save some, splurge some".

 i love finding a great looking affordable find that is similar to a higher end piece. however, there are also times when paying a little bit more can get you an item that can really elevate and transform a room....and often, that item is a fabric.

it's no secret that a lot of designers (including myself) are big fans of high-end fabrics like the ones from schumacher. here are some less expensive dupes for some of my favorite schumacher fabrics:

schumachers camberwell vase in citrine is a fabulous, large scale print with various shades of greys and yellows on an ivory background. it retails for over $130 a yard.

isham indienne in lemongrass by waverly is very similar, and less than $20 a yard.

schumachers zanzibar in space retails for over $200 a yard, although you can buy it here 

for around $155 a yard. this is the fabric i just used for pillows in my living room.

giverny spice by rich loom is a dead ringer for zanzibar, but only 12.98 a yard.

chinois fret is an expensive, textural geometric print that would look great on a large upholstered piece.


this geometric print is similar, and much less pricey.

i really love the energy and color that chiang mai dragon print in lacquer brings to a space, but at 

over $150 a yard, it is not cheap.

formosa compari has a similar look at a fraction of the price.

ellis floral vine in indigo is another great schumacher fabric that sells for over $115 per yard.


although a little bit brighter, gadabout blueberry by stout is a great look-a-like, for substantially less.

soleil l.a. print  would look great on some outdoor pillows.

asha pewter  is more subdued, but has a similar look to the schumacher print.

coconut grove in aqua and tan  is a fabric that i would love to use in my own home someday.
the soft blues and browns are so pretty.


aviary toile in robin has a very similar look. maybe i will just use it instead!

happy shopping!

messin' with mother nature

yesterday i ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things, when i spotted these babies:

 

i let out an audible "eeewwwww" as i walked over to investigate. they are actually white orchids,
"magically" created by dying them with blue water.
i don't know why, but something about seeing a blue orchid really chapped my hide.
i mean, what wrong with NORMALLY colored orchids?

(via style me pretty)

(via beck design blog)

(via google)


i walked out of the store muttering to myself like a crazy lady.
what do you think about blue orchids?
are you as bothered as me?
or do you think the blue is a refreshing change?
do you like smurfs?
would you buy one?
use one in your home?
tell me.....please.

ikea rug into a window seat cushion

about a year and a half ago, i bought an orange, tan and black throw rug at ikea (the no longer available jyllinge rug).
 it was on sale for $3.99, and at the time i  had NO idea what i was going to do with it...i just knew i LOVED the colors and i HAD to have it.

as i was pulling together gradys room, i used the rug as color inspiration, but i still wasn't sure exactly what to do with it. when i decided to use an expedit bookcase as a window
seat, i decided that i would use the rug to have some new cushions made for the top of the window seat.


here is the result!
as you can see, i rehung his old curtains, and added a few pillows.
(the one on the right is made from thom filicia's lawrence fabric in taupe)
the wood stool is from home goods.
the wall color is benjamin moore's blue springs 1592.


the fabric for the curtains was purchased on clearance for $1 a yard at walmart. (yes, walmart!)
the brown herringbone fabric on the larger pillow is by ralph lauren, which i purchased on ebay.
the banded leather and cowhide pillow was purchased at joss and main.


the rug wasn't quite big enough to have all two 36" cushions made, so i opted to cover the bottom of the cushions with a faux leather, purchased at my local joanns.



i really love the way the cushions turned out!

there are still quite a few projects left to do in his room, and i have yet to hang anything on the wall, but i am hoping to have his room totally finished in the next two weeks.
notice that i said "hoping"....
:)

a touch of houndstooth

it was loud at my house last night.

very loud.

my husband is a huge alabama crimson tide fan, and they were playing lsu in the

 bcs championship game last night. there was a lot of cheering and clapping, and yelling at the referees, and....

celebrating! yep-in the first shut-out in a bcs championship game since ever, alabama beat lsu  21-0. 

which is s BIG deal if you're into football. (which i am not, but i AM into my husband!)

one of the past coaches, bear bryant, used to wear a houndstooth hat, and it has become a 

signature print for the team.

SO, in honor of the win (and for my very excited husband), here are a few pretty rooms with a touch of houndstooth.

 a gorgeous room with just the right amount of print from the very talented caitlin creer.

i adore this room, designed by jonathan adler via house + home. kinda wishing the image was bigger so i could bask in it's loveliness without my eyes going buggy...

this is a preppy chic room by marshall watson, featured in  house beautiful.

that striped rug and two acrylic tables are perfect!

houndstooth double-duty.

love the trim on the drapes too.

via bhg.

i really like how this green geometric pillow perks up the brown houndstooth on this chair.

via design stiles

it's hard to look at this room without being happy. there is a lot going on here, but it all works so well.
apartment therapy

thèse matching chairs are a nice pop of pattern in this pretty neutral room.

maison petite

i really like these black built-ins, and the touches of houndstooth on the back of the chairs and in the  throw.

traditional home, scanned by me

i love my husband, but i know i am NOT alone in saying that i am GLAD that there are 8 more months until college football starts up again!
:)

my living room: an update

a few updates in my living room:

the pictures aren't great...but when this room is all finished, i will get some better images.

on each side of the large mirror, i hung two matching vintage gauche paintings. (gauche is an opaque watercolor)

since i knew i had to keep all of my existing furniture and my existing rug, i chose to stick with a color scheme of camel, gray, black and orange. 

i also got the cushions back for this chair. i chose a large scale ticking fabric in ivory and white with a contrast welting in black velveteen. all three pieces (the back and seat cushions on the chair, and the ottoman cushion) took about 3.5 yards of fabric and cost about $120 at my upholstery shop. not a bad deal to totally transform this chair. you can see how it used to look here.

one thing that used to bother me about the ottoman cushion was that it didn't have any way to secure it to the ottoman itself...it was just a loose cushion. when  i took it to the upholsterers, i had them add two ties near each corner so i could wrap them around the legs to secure the cushion. it has worked like a charm! the cushion stays put, and i actually like the way the ties look!

i was really excited to put the new cushions on the chair, but it wasn't until i got the zanzibar pillows back from my seamstress that i fell in love with the chair! i really love how the stripes and the zany floral work with each other. the pillows were a splurge, but well worth it!

the black lamp was purchased at a thrift store. it started out brass, but i spray painted it black a few years back.

the peace sign hand was also purchased at the foundary.

the mercury glass bowl was also a thrift store find. it is filled with rocks from a beach on whidbey island, where my husband and i went for our anniversary two years ago.

my old, badly-needing-to-be-recovered-chair got a pick me up with a faux fur pillow in a hexagonal cutout pattern, found at tj maxi for around $8. i got the little metal stool at the foundary.

here is a look at the other side of the room. right behind the sofa is the dining room table. 

i haven't hung anything on the wall there yet....i am still trying to decide what to do. i have a few pieces that are leaning on the floor there that my or may not get hung there.

i think i am going to paint the metal bases of my ottomans an off-white. i want an additional pop of cream somewhere in the room...and right now, the stools blend in with the tones of the sofa too much.

i don't like the dining room fixture at all, but i will most likely leave it alone, since this is a rental house.

 

the large embroidered pillow and the zanzibar pillow were both made by my seamstress. she bought extra of both fabrics, and will have both pillows available soon in her etsy shop. she is in the middle of an out of state move right now, but when she gets settled, i will give you a heads up.

here is a close up look at the embroidered pillow. it is really beautiful in person! the subtle texture and sheen are really gorgeous. 

a better look at the zanzibar fabric...it's so pretty in person! the blue-gray tones, the deep orange, and the camels and blacks are so sophisticated, and the linen is a nice heavy weight. you really get what you pay for when you order a schumacher fabric!

all of the holiday garland is gone, but i still have all of my mercury glass displayed.

in a few weeks, i will replace the twigs with a fern or other plant to add some green, 

and will most likely take down the mercury glass and add some other accessories.

thanks for taking a look at the updates in my living room!
there are still a few more items i want to address:

1. probably paint the ottomans, and possibly change the fabric.

2. iron and hem the curtain panels.

3. add some green to the room with live plants.

4. possibly change out with light fixture...sorry i didn't show you pictures of it..it is an ugly ceiling fan with four horrible lights. the lighting in the room is really harsh, which i know can be improved with a new light...i am just not sure i want to go through the hassle.

5. eventually replace the tan chair.

6.paint of refinish the table in between the chairs. you can't tell form the pictures, but the top is really in bad shape.