I don’t know where my dream house is, or what style it will be, but one thing I know for sure is that it will have lots, and lots, of windows.
I love the idea of a wall of windows and a view outside that rivals anything going on inside.
Some Monday morning inspiration:
Beach views:
See more beautiful (and lust worthy) home inspiration on my Pinterest boards!
Posted in Decor, Her Home, Her Inspiration
Tagged dream home, retractable windows, wall of windows, window wall, windows
Summer is peak rental season, and if you’re in college, just out of college, or just out of the house you’re likely looking at your first (second, third) apartment of beige carpet and white walls.
You’re way to chic (and fabulous, and cool) to live in a beige (read: boring) world.
In an apartment, especially one shared with friends, your bedroom is your own personal style zone. You can add a lot of visual impact with basic (and inexpensive) pieces like bold rugs, pillows, or throws. Keep clutter to a minimum with multi-purpose items like the tray table or a storage ottoman, and shelves that are cute enough to be display pieces.
Welcome home!
I love to arrange flowers and keep them in the house. They can really add great color and vibrancy to any decor. They can also get quite expensive.
If you, like me, are not best buds with orchid farmers in Holland, and don’t have the yard to grow your own roses it can be tough to keep up this little decorating habit.
Before you start to peruse the “silks” please just think seasonal!
Look how pretty a simple peony or a few dahlias look in a sweet repurposed vase, or the great visual impact of more affordable seasonal blooms like carnations, hydrangeas and cockscomb, also know as brain flowers!
Even the most affordable flower (carnations) can look stunning and sophisticated when arranged in one bold color. All of these flowers can be found at your grocery store and even farmer’s market!
P.S. A great way to save on a wedding or event’s floral budget is to buy local and seasonal blooms! Click here for more tips on what is in bloom.
Posted in Decor, Her Home, Her Weddings + Events
I spotted a cute coffee/side table in the recent West Elm catalog and it has put me on the hunt for all things honey-ed.
The hexagon tables come together to form a mod honeycomb. In white marble and raw steel, the all natural look is made industrious, sturdy and all around cool.
This only kicked off my search for more honey comb chic items. How great are these?
Vases from West Elm:
A gorgeous DIY from Design Sponge:
A sleek laquer tray, from the King of Cool Jonathan Adler:
Do you dig the modern honey vibe?
This weekend we went to a friend’s house for a birthday party and in their backyard they had a plastic chair in the shape of a giant hand. It was funky, far out, not at all typical for DC and the thumb made a perfect arm rest.
It was also a great conversation starter. It made me think about picking up a bold, “look at me” kind of chair.
What do you think about these wild ones?
First reaction: swoon, love, adore!
Kartell Mademoiselle Chair
Williamina Aluminum Chair
Merve Kahraman Hybrid Chair
The Acapulco Chair by Ocho
What do you think, would any of these chairs find a place in your house?
Tagged acapulco chairs, bright chairs, cool chairs, funky chairs
Part of the apartment updating included the bathroom vanity. It needed some freshening up and we were in hot pursuit of a look that 1 part sleek, 1 park chic and 2 parts “ohm”.
We went to Restoration Hardware and fell for the Spritz. It was fabulous for sure, but when I got it home and saw how big the piece were and considered the prices I was more OMG than Ohm…
faucet/mirror/bar/toilet paper/hookI am a bargain shopper, and it turns out not just for shoes and t-shirts. I scoured the Internet and found a vanity set that was so similar you’d almost think they were related.
sconce/faucet/hook/toilet paper/bar/mirrorI found all of the pieces, except the mirror which is the only RH item I kept, at Lowe’s – they were a better fit for the space size wise and the savings – though not huge – is something I feel good about.
The little extra shopping around was worth it for me. I love the look and it’s one more new feature in the new old apartment that I am loving. What do you think?
One great thing about our apartment is the storage. In fact, our 1-bedroom apartment has more thoughtful storage for clothes and more then our entire house.
Upon moving back we knew that our closets would get an upgrade too. Off to the Container Store we went, the purveyor of all things efficient, to design our new closet system.
40 minutes with Maureen (our helpful Container Store associate) and a few hours of Mark doing all of the heavy lifting we have new closets!
The closets are sliding door closets. Mark’s has mirrored doors and mine now have beautiful grasscloth wallpaper – another impressive DIY project! The closets have sliding shelves for all my shoes; baskets for tops and sweaters; hanging spaces for jackets and jeans (yes, I hang my jeans); and an amazing caddy for my jewelry.
No more clunky dresser and fabulously chic organization. This is pretty close to heaven! Thanks to Mark for DIY-ing for this awesome wardrobe upgrade!
Posted in Decor, Her Closet, Her Home
Tagged closet, closet wallpaper, container store, container store elfa, custom closets, diy projects
When we lived in our old new apartment the first time the walls were a standard white. White on the ceiling, white on the walls, white on the baseboard. 
Around year 1 we got antsy and painted our vanity a shocking tomato red and the entry and dusty maize.
In year 3 we realized the error of our ways and painted the vanity creative a light morning blue and our kitchen a faint seagreen.
When we rented, our apartment was painted again. This time the bedroom dark chocolate brown and pale avocado green. The kitchen a roasted almond butter and the living room a saturated indigo. 
This was a LOT of color…
We repainted the entire apartment in neutral tones. If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that’s what I favor in design. We chose Behr Ultra Paints in Creamy Mushroom for the bedroom and living room, and Powdered Snow in the kitchen and bathroom.
I am loving this new palate. It plays well with real color. It is solid. It is a touch romantic.
Which colors were your favorite?
I am sorry I have been a little quiet these past few days, maybe even weeks, but we have been very busy in our house. In fact, in the past month we cleaned, staged and sold our house. Last week we packed it all up and moved.
Where to begin… Two years ago we moved from our condo to a rowhouse in central DC. It was big and spacious but in the end we realized, for us, it was too big and too spacious.
Exhibit A.
My Old Kitchen
We have since moved back to our old condo, more on that later. When you leave a kitchen this large you have to think thoughtfully about what you need, not just want in your new space.
Here are my space saving kitchen must-haves:
Shop: Bowls, Pot, Utensils, Cutting Boards, KnivesWhere space is a premium you have to be smart. Bowls and dishes should be multifunctional and stackable, gone are the canisters and jars of utensils, no longer are we cluttered by a big knife block when we only use two knives anyway.
We thought long and hard about and have right-sized our supplies to fit our needs and space.
Do you have a big kitchen or a small kitchen?
The Daily Batch 