Uh, yea that’ll work. Except, yanno, BIGGER.

I looked around and priced large canvases – but in the size I wanted, at least 5′x5′, we were looking at spending at least $300. Yea, no. So I dug around a little more – lightbulb, ding ding! You can stretch your own canvases with stretchers and linen canvas, but even then you were looking at spending at least $120 on a roll of canvas. I don’t want a pretty painting on it, I just want a modern blank canvas for the wall!

That’s when I thought back to painting the dining room a couple weekends ago – the canvas I used to cover the floor is only about $10-$20 at Home Depot and are at least 5′ wide! Add in the stretchers for $7 a pop and we’re talking under $40! Ding ding we have a winner! I already own a staple gun and staples, it’s just time to decide if we should do it now or later. I’m torn.. I really want to try it out now, but we don’t have a place to put it. It would just be good to know if it will turn out right. What do you think?

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.

Perfect. It’s modern, it’s eclectic, it’s soothing, it’s bright.

And the silly portrait doesn’t hurt. ;)

via d*s

The flow is so much better, but now we have a big empty wall where the tv stand used to be. My idea’s are ever-changing, but I have a rough concept of what I’m going for. I’d love to have a wall of curated but random photos and things hanging on the wall, but would also love some additional storage. I was really inspired by this relatively cheap hack of sorts that Anna at D16 came up with.

Anna from D16′s apartment wall.

Anna used Ikea kitchen cabinets to pull this look off! I love it! The fact that it is floating makes the visual space much airier than if it was just a credenza on the floor. This has been in idea in my head for awhile, and seeing her use it shows me exactly how it should look!

While the plan is definitely to move in June, might as well make the space work for us while we’re here right?

So, how you been? :)

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?

Graphic black wall. Cowhide under your toes. The Sputnik and George Nelson lamps. That blanket is to die for. The simplicity is amazing. And the butterfly chair is a good place to toss your clothes. The Brick House succeeds again.

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?

Yellow and pale blue work so well together. I love round mirrors hung by cords. Perhaps this would work? The curves of the lamp juxtaposed to the hard edges of the cabinet put a smile on my face. The ash-stained wood is amazing and unexpected; and the brass feet finish it off perfectly.

Love.

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!

We have a huge space on our dining room wall that will need something. I’ve had a couple ideas, but this may be the simplest with the biggest result! Now to convince the boyfriend that this would be awesome for our wall! Our curtains are green, black, white and tan — would be an interesting combination to work with — maybe we’d even take it in a completely different direction in a complementary color.. Things to think about!
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Side note: Our new house is still a huge mess. Our rooms are getting switched around, furniture is still being moved around and we still have a few boxes left! We’ll get started on more blog-worthy projects soon!