We are moving in June to Alexandria (hopefully) and I would love to ride a bike to work everyday. This one in particular is calling to me. Maybe ’cause it matches the Mini. :)

I’m feeling bold and colorful today with the relaunch of the blog, and Carlos Miranda is doing nothing but egging me on. How rude.

I know you’ve enjoyed those photos, but did I mention I refreshed the blog? Oh I did? Well come to the site and check it out, I’m loving it! I’ve added categories up top for all my favorite areas and now that I see there aren’t many posts in each topic, maybe I’ll actually post more! :) I designed it myself, so I’d love to know what you think!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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All photos from Carlo Miranda’s portfolio website.

Found a great little etsy shop today! Jan Skácelík of the Czech Republic runs a great little shop that carries wonderful mid-century modern inspired prints. I’ll let the prints speak for themselves.

Mid Century Modern Modernist Print

Nordic Tea Print

I like to Rock Print

Stig Lindberg Bersa – Swedish Tea Time Print

Some Like it Hot Print

As you can see, Jan is a talented designer and while I haven’t had a chance to totally dive into her blog just yet, it looks promising form the quick scroll I gave it. I’m definitely bookmarking her etsy shop and subscribing to her blog posts. :)

Second thing that’s kept me busy? Car shopping! I had a pretty reliable Mazda3 for a few years, and it was GREAT for hauling all that stuff back and forth from Ikea, since it was a hatchback. But.. I just wasn’t in love with it. So, after hunting for 2 weeks, I managed for find this lovely down in Raleigh, NC:

And transferred it free of charge up to Dulles! While I know I usually focus on all things home around here, I thought I’d let you in on what I’ve been busy with lately that has kept me from progress around the blog (other than my slump). It was a pain, getting rid of the Mazda — let me just warn you, NEVER LEASE A VEHICLE! It is such a pain to trade it in early!

But in the end, it was worth it because I ended up with this feisty little car. I am so excited! The new job means at least an hour in rush hour traffic, but with this cheery, peppy, zip-in-and-out-of-traffic car, I think I can handle it!

I have a week of vacation next week before I head into a new job, so here’s hoping at least the painting will get done in the dressing room, huh?

upholstered slipper chair – diamond jacquard
Whether as an accent piece in your living room, or a focal point in your bedroom, this is gorgeous with it’s low-slung dimensions and bold print.

ikat ogee linen window panel – ivory/straw
A fun way to add a bold pattern without it being to overwhelming. The fact that these are light and neutral means they’ll let light in and keep your space open.

pebble circle rug
Living room, bedroom, dressing room — this cushy rug would work in any room where your toes need some extra padding.

sphere table lamp - cloudy opal
These would look great flanking a bed, on a side table, or even as a desk lamp with the right wattage. Love the milky base.

leaf shaped entertaining dish
For treats or change, these little dishes are so cute and wonderfully priced to boot!

fringe suede pillow cover - evergreen
This fun pillow would look great on the couch or on your bed.

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So, what are your favorite items from the new West Elm Fall collection? Too many to choose from, or too neutral for your tastes?

It’s funny to see a space come together separate from a moodboard. Some of the same things are still there, but things like the rug and over-head light have changed. We purchased a cowhide from Ikea and returned it a few weeks later — it just didn’t feel right. Then I happened upon the Ikea 2011 catalog preview and saw this awesome chevron-inspired rug that hit home. While there was a tinge of worry that the space might feel claustrophobic because of the busy pattern, it turned out wonderfully. It’s flat weave so cat hair doesn’t show on it and on several occasions I’ve noticed Kira digging at it but no threads are coming up. Win-win-win!

So without further adieu, shall we? Let’s start with the last image I put up of the space, beware the horror:

This was the Monday after we moved — two days in — what a mess!

And this is what you walk into now! The wall color has shown itself to be much more grey than the tan it was supposed to be, but that’s okay — it works! One of the major design principles in every field (web, print, interior, etc) is repetition repetition repetition! So I hung three square frames that will someday in the (hopefully) near future house a few pieces of handmade artwork. The boyfriend and I are both designers by day, so we’re hoping to put some of our Illustrator skills to work!

The living area! The purple couch is throwing off the whole space, honestly. I’m trying to go for a primarily yellow and grey space here, and purple does not fit the equation! (The Ikea Varnamo sofa is NOT brown..)

We went with a CB2 Eden lamp because it was plug in. It’s not ideal, and the cord drives me bonkers, but it gives us much needed light! The coffee table, while awesome in it’s own right, is way to bulky for our space. And let me tell you, hanging curtains in that bay window proved to be a nightmare. Since the window is inset, there is not room above the window frames to add curtain rods, so we 1980′s that beast and used the white clip-rods that you used to see a lot. Not ideal, but super cheap!

Eventually the guitars will be hung on the blank wall right there and the amp and accessories will be put into a storage ottoman or trunk. I’d really like to see a danish credenza here for our entertainment equipment, but they are super expensive. The Markor (from Ikea) TV stand is great, but just too big, bulky and dark for this space. And don’t get me started on that lamp shade — it’s all about progress, baby.

The living room is very oddly set up, what with passages to the kitchen/dining room on each end of it, a utility entrance behind the camera (that we covered with a shoe cabinet) and the bay window — so setting up the space was tricky. While I am not 100% happy with the flow, I hate having a couch butt up against a wall if it doesn’t have to. This is the pathway into the living area, with a good full-on shot of the bookcase in it’s new white-glory. And a peek at our dark grey dining room wall. Yum.

A close up of the bookcase. We reduced the number of books we have to only those we might actually look at again and it freed up a shelf for family photos.

And the rug up close! It’s basically charcoal grey with the slightest hint of blue to it. Ties in the bluish tinge the walls sometimes give off, as well as the blue undertone the dining room wall has.

Over all, I think Kira approves. :)

So what do you think? I know there is still a lot to be done, but we’ll get there! We’ve been working on our office, our bedroom, the dining room and my dressing room as well, but the living room is by far the most put together. I’d love to hear your suggestions and comments.

One of the ways I plan to accent in yellow is with the fantastically graphic plant known as Craspedia. Craspedia, also known as Billy Buttons and Woollyheads, is part of the daisy family. While they are indigenous to Australia and New Zealand, they can be grown in most areas. But once dried, boy, are they a gorgeous little decorating accessory!

I’ve ordered up a batch of them on Etsy, and can’t wait to add fun punches of yellow all around our space! In the mean time, here are some lovely images featuring the bulbous bud.

What do you think of them? Aren’t they adorable? Would you use them in your house, or are you already?

While I’m busy getting the new place set up, I wanted to share some recently found inspiration with you. We are working on our bedroom right now, and it’s very cozy, neutral and nice. But we were looking for something with some contrast, a black sculpture or something — so I headed to Jonathan Adler’s site, knowing he had some amazing black sculptures! Little did I know, they had an area called “Show us your JA style“.

Upon further inspection, I happened upon these lovely spaces. Shall we take a look?

What do I love about this space? The openness of it! This entry has made this place perfect (well, except for the mail sitting on the Nelson bench in the foreground..)! Those bookcases in the background are amazing, and they have been carefully edited for perfect balance. Love it!

WALL COLOR. WOW. I mean honestly! If I could get away with painting a room or a wall in this house that color, I would! I am in love with those inky wall colors right now. But I really don’t think I would get away with it here! (Mostly because we don’t get a lot of light in the house..)

Pattern, pattern, pattern. All the different patterns make this work! Not to mention that LCW chair in the foreground. ;)

Perfection. Balance, color, depth, contrast. It’s just perfect. And hello, Nelson bench! I’m still trying to convince the boyfriend we need one. ;)

So go check it out for yourself! If you’ve got a piece of Jonathan Adler in your home, why don’t you enter!

The West Elm Totem Duvet and Sham set is a wonderfully graphic set. Though it may be too much punch for our small, low-light bedroom.

I first saw the Room and Board Washable Wool blanket in Charcoal Stripe when the boyfriend and I went to visit the new Room and Board store in D.C. last week. It was just so soft and subtly graphic in person that I would put the money down for it, for sure.

As you can tell, I’m going toward a grey theme for blankets on the bed. Both are graphic, and I’d pair either with some crisp white linens and a brightly colored pillow or two.

First up was the living room. I wanted to go with something that was fun, comfortable and modern. A space that evoked both leisure and style, the living room is the heart of our home. I know, I know — the kitchen is supposed to be the heart of the home, but I imagine we will spend countless hours watching TV, playing Wii, reading, listening to music (both iPod and the boyfriend’s guitar) and hosting a friend or two.

With that in mind, I present the rough moodboard for our space. Nothing has been purchased yet (except that lovely Wayne Pate print) so things may get altered slightly..

What do you think? I decided that since I’m really in love with the mid-century modern style, I wanted to reflect that in our home. Let’s break it down, shall we?

• Room and Board Jasper Couch in Dela Charcoal — This is the big purchase for the room. We have a Room and Board store opening up 2 days after we move in, and are planning to check it out and sit on this sofa to make sure it aces the comfort test. I wanted to go with a darker fabric color that grounded the space, but not black, as I thought that would be too dark. The charcoal grey is perfect. This particular fabric choice will be special order, but should be totally worth it.
• Koldby Rug from Ikea — Originally I had wanted to go with a shag rug, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. While both rugs will probably be hard to keep clean, I’ll feel better about the shorter “hair” length that the cowhide rug will have. Lord knows what would end up in the shag with two sloppies and a kitteh. The plan will be to get one that has some brown in it, some white, and a lot of black to really anchor the room. Plus, if we get it in a shade similar to this one, Kira (the kitteh) will blend right in. :)
• Conical Floor Lamp by CB2 — I have been in love with the Arne Jacobsen floor lamp for some time, but cannot bring myself to spend $800 on a lamp (much like a certain blanket..). So when I came across the Conical Floor Lamp from CB2, I knew it would be a good fit. And even better, there are two light sources, and they tilt to the side and all the way up!
• Accessories to Tie it All Together — These are just as important as the big ticket items! I am still not 100% on a ceiling lamp yet — you see, we don’t have a ceiling socket, so my originally intended George Nelson saucer lamp has been delegated to the dining room. In it’s place, I was thinking something simple and rounded, and I thought this black Ikea Brasa lamp would be perfect. We also have a Spike Clock in colorful hues that will be perfect for a variety of accessories to fit into the scheme and go along with the mid-century feel. And while the color is still debatable (I love it, the boyfriend does not) we have a throw pillow in a bright and bold color as well as one that adds a bit of texture to the couch.
• Color Palette — Our base color for the room, aka the walls, is Valspar’s Oatlands Subtle Taupe which will be a nice, neutral base for the bold and colorful accessories. Accessories will be in a range of grey, (hopefully) chartreuse and salmon/orange/red. We may even toss some turquoise in there to cool it off.

Altogether, I am excited to make this a reality. The last 10 months of living in my current space have been a bit of a disappointment because I knew it wasn’t going to last. Finally seeing a moodboard become reality will be extremely satisfying.

What do you think? Anything you’d change? Anything you love? I’d love to know what you think!