design plan: the good mood board living room edition

i am really excited about participating again in the good mood board blog event with remodelaholic.if you have missed the previous 6 boards, click here to get started by viewing the first board. there will be a link at the end of each post to take you to the next board. it's kinda like a train....a train of inspiration and ideas! (and, hopefully you will get to visit a few blogs that are "new to you".)

 the last room we focused on was a master bedroom. you can see the plan i designed for that room here. this time, we are focusing on living rooms, and i have chosen to create a plan for my "maybe someday" house. this is pretty close to what i would create for my own living room...one thing i love to do is mix high and low, and in this design plan, i have mixed items from affordable sources like ikea and home decorators with higher end items from jonathan adler and schumacher.

i picture this room with 9 foot ceilings, and the walls painted a soft warm grey color like revere pewter by benjamin moore. 

as ALWAYS, i would love to see hardwood floors, and a fabulous trim treatment on the wall like we did in the library of house #5. this would be a room where we sit and talk, entertain guests, get on the laptop, or read. ideally there would be some amazing built-in bookcases somewhere in the room to house a bunch of books.

a clean-lined subtly striped sofa would be the anchor to the seating area, with a grey velvet wingback chairs on one side, and i simple armless chair on the other side. above the sofa, i would love to take an over scaled photo and cut it in half, and mount each piece in a simple gold frame. the chandelier from jonathan adler would provide a sense of whimsy and add some subtle touches of gold...plus, can you imagine the amazing shadows that this chandelier would cast?! i imagine they would be pretty spectacular.
 anyway, here is the design plan i pulled together...i tried (i REALLY did) to use olio board, but i am a creator of habit. especially when that habit has NO learning curb! here is the plan:

sources:

griffin sofa from ballard designs

tibetan hand knot starburst rug

hazelton ottoman from home decorators

luxe wingback chair by crate and barrel

bungalow 5 jacqui chest

west elm morten table lamp

crystal poster from etsy seller debbie carlos

zanzibar schumacher pillow by etsy seller woodyliana

round bone mirror from wisteria

benzy land cushion from ikea

jazz pillow cover from west elm

allegra hicks flower pillow from west elm

dexter stone chair with contrasting welt from overstock

jonathan adler sputnik chandelier

alana two tier side table from grandin road

the next blogger in the event lineup is stephanie lynn at under the table and dreaming.

be sure to check out her mood board by clicking here!

and in case you missed the schedule, here it is:

Monday November 28th:

1. Remodelaholic

2. Home Stories A to Z

3. The Handmade Home

Tuesday November 29th:

4. House of Hepworths

5. Simplified Bee

6. Our Humble ABowed

Wednesday November 30th:

7. Design Dump

8. Under the Table and Dreaming

9. DIY Showoff

Thursday December 1:

10. Just A Girl

11. All Things Thrifty

12.  Link Party at Remodelaholic the mood board review links.

etsy roundup at 6th street

if you didn't see my etsy picks yesterday at 6th street design school, be sure and check them out here.

and a big thank you to kirsten for giving me a great excuse to window shop on esty!

the holidays + good mood board event

i hope everybody had a fantastic loooong weekend. i know i did. i cooked a LOT, we had thanksgiving dinner, watched a few movies as a family, raked uh-LOT of leaves, visited with friends, and relaxed. and no, i never got around to making the table look amazing...it just looked ok. a simple tablecloth, my white dishes, some cute striped napkins, a few mercury glass votives with candles in them, and that was it. maybe next year. *cough, cough.
a BIG thank you to everyone who checked out my curators sale at joss and main! i was really excited to see how many items sold out, and was pleased with the overall selection. i tried to include items that were budget friendly, and had an interesting and eclectic look. this was (obviously) a first for me, and it was a lot of fun and a really great experience. one of the things i realized is that joss and main has a blog! i honestly didn't know that before i was asked to curate the sale. i wrote a post for the blog that you can check out here.

anyway, back to this weekend...i spent a lot of time in my pajamas, and really tried to focus on my family. it was wonderful! thanksgiving really is my favorite holiday...i love that it is centered on eating a wonderful meal with our families. good food, good company, and hopefully some laughs and a nap. how can you top a day like that?? i also love that thanksgiving is the official gateway to christmas.

although i tried to unplug myself from the computer, i did spend a little time on pinterest. it's hard to stay away from that site! it's so addicting. in any case, looking through all of the pictures got me in a holiday mood. there is something so calming about looking at amazing houses all decked out for the holidays. 

here are a few of my favorites from the archives of my blog:

all images scanned by me from various sources over the last few years.

it's time to get out the christmas decorating tubs! (if i can find them....grrr.)
***

also, this week, i am participating in a mood board link event with some other AMAZING bloggers!

 the first three posts will be up today, and you can start by checking out the first one,

from cassity at remodelaholic by clicking here.

here is the schedule for the week:

Monday November 28th:

1. Remodelaholic

2. Home Stories A to Z

3. The Handmade Home

Tuesday November 29th:

4. House of Hepworths

5. Simplified Bee

6. Our Humble ABowed

Wednesday November 30th:

7. Design Dump

8. Under the Table and Dreaming

9. DIY Showoff

Thursday December 1:

10. Just A Girl

11. All Things Thrifty

12.  Link Party  for your boards here at Remodelaholic

joss and main shopping event

shopping for my joss and main collection is now open!
there are some great accessories, lighting and furniture, as well as some pretty holiday decor.

check it out here.

happy shopping!

paint choices for grady's room

i have narrowed down the paint choices for grady's room. here are the finalists:

boothbay gray

blue springs

feather gray

and a picture of them in the room....with and without the flash:

i am leaning towards blue springs. the booth bay gray has a little too much green in it to tie in with 

the rug, and although i really like the feather gray, i worry that it might look a little too feminine.

what are your thoughts? do you have a favorite? have you seen or used these colors before?

pajamas, pancakes + pedicures party

a look at my daughter charlotte's birthday party, which was held a little while ago at my house:

the theme was "pajamas, pancakes and pedicures".
the girls showed up in their pajamas, and we had breakfast and then all the girls got pedicures. it was perfect for 10 year old girls!

the inspiration for the party color scheme was the floral fabric, which i found in the clearance section at joann's for $2 a yard! i loved the different shades of pink and raspberry and purple. i thought it seemed girly and sophisticated. i decided to use muted shades of pinks and purples, and tossed in a little gold and black and cream.

i tied bunches of coordinating balloons to the chandelier with coordinating ribbon. 

the "10" was made from pictures of charlotte throughout the years...it was so fun to look at, we kept it up for almost a week after the party.

the flowers really make the table special. i was lucky to find them at my local grocery store! 

the colored candy was purchased at a party supply store.

i brought a fabric sample to the bakery, and they matched the colors. the cake only cost $16.

charlotte wanted sparklers instead of candles.

as a party favor, each girl got a pedicure set (from the dollar store) and a gift bag.

i hired a gal to come and give pedicures to the girls. they LOVED it! i bought some large cheap bowls from the dollar store, and filled them with warm, soapy water. each girl soaked her feet while she waited for her pedicure.

my husband was a little reluctant to let us use sparklers on the birthday cake, so we stood next to an open door while we sang happy birthday...it was totally fun and cute, and the sparklers didn't leave any ashes or residue on the cake at all (which i feared)! it turned out great. we let the kids light the leftover sparklers outside.

the finished toes....

and, the birthday girl, charlotte.

the invitations...

i just printed out the invite on a plain ivory card and added the colored strips of paper at the bottom, which i sort of "weaved" to give a 3d effect. i lined the envelopes with gold wrapping paper.

the party favors:

i bought 1/2 yard of fabric and sewed the bags myself. the purple flower is actually a hair band, and was purchased at the dollar store.

inside the gift bag was a little tin filled with candy, some bubbles, and two mini bottles of nail polish.

happy birthday charlotte!