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Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts

Friday, May 4, 2012

Ghana Bolga Baskets

I'm drooling over these amazing African baskets. Seriously, I want to fill a whole room with them. Or hang them from the ceiling like a giant art installation. Or fill them with strawberries and kittens.

The motive behind the Ghana Bolga baskets is as beautiful as they are. The baskets are hand-made in Africa as part of a fair trade initiative, and assist the weavers (primarily women) with attaining fiscal independence.

The traditional patterns seem so modern with the bright colors, the perfect fit for taking to the market. Since the baskets are made by hand, they are one of a kind, each one completely unique with a different design. And the prices are quite reasonable, so perhaps I can fulfill my dream and have them all!

Ghana Bolga Baskets, via Anna Louise Likes

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

ABC Carpet & Home

I have heard people sing the praises of ABC Carpet & Home for years, but never had a chance to see it for myself. While we were in NYC, Heather and I spent an entire afternoon drooling over the 6 floors (!!!) of goodies. Here's a little peek of what we saw...

And that's just a glimpse of it. I have never seen such a fantastic selection in so many different styles, it was truly a visual overload. If you ever get a chance to visit ABC Carpet & Home yourself, do it!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

White on White

While I'm too much in love with color to ever decorate solely with white, I can certainly appreciate how serene the effect is. Check out these fabulous white on white living spaces that I've discovered on Pinterest.










Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Calendar Deliberations

People, I need your help. I have been pouring over options for calendars the last 3 days and cannot make a decision. Yes, I know it's nearly the end of January already... I'm a little late to the calendar game.

Here are my top choices:



1. Wall Calendar by Snow and Graham, $30

2. Letterpress Calendar Card by Parrott Design Studio, $5

3. Printable Calendar by Lisa Samartino Atelier, $10

4. Screen-printed Calendar by Beau Ideal

5. Letterpress Wall Calendar by Parrott Design Studio, $22.50

6. Letterpress Wall Calendar by Sycamore Street Press, $35

7. Printable Nature Calendar by Blue Tricycle, $5

Aren't they all lovely options? Every time I think I've decided and I'm about to hit the purchase button, I change my mind. To be honest, none of them are 100% perfect... each one has that little something that I wish were different. And yes, I've considered making my own, but until Vintage Printable get's their website in a usable state, it's not going to happen.

So what you think? Or do you know of another lovely calendar I should consider?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Umbu Lumiere


Love these lamps by Umbu! 

Monday, October 18, 2010

Favorite Design Blogs

Thanks to the ease of Google Reader, I subscribe to almost 70 blogs. This week, I want to share a few of my favorite reads with you.

To start us off, here are some of my favorite design blogs...

Making it Lovely is run by Nicole Balch, who is a designer, mom, and DIY-er. She posts mainly about interior design, and creates lovely room boards as seen above.

 Desire to inspire features gorgeous spaces from a myriad of styles. The reader request section answers a subscriber's question with a flood of inspirational images.

{this is glamorous} is exactly that. Gorgeous photos of everything from furniture to fashion.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Dreamy Rooms

I'm in love with these rooms. Each space is one that I'd feel right at home in... here's to hoping someday I'll have a place that's similar!

This Domino room is a classic, one that I've been dreaming of for a while.

This space from Annie Corley is calling my name. That gilded sette? Yes, please!

Brad Duffton's fireplace is the crowning glory of this cozy space.

Butterflies galore in another Domino gem, via style carrot.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Golden

A whole store of nothing but gold items... Sounds like paradise to me! That's exactly what Be Golden is, gilded home goods, accessories, gifts, and quirky items. Shop around here!

My top picks:


Thursday, August 12, 2010

Work Day

Today was a work day, spent on the Frazee Dream Center project. Here's a few shots of our progress, as demonstrated by my wonderful helpers...

Cory putting on the second coat of gorgeous paint

Amy & Lisa painting the cubby system

Brittani organizing mountains of books
She drove all the way from Charlotte to spend the day working with us!


It's coming along splendidly!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Before Photos and Style Board

I think I have solved my design dilemma, I had an epiphany earlier today that was quite helpful. This project I'm working on is with Belle magazine, they've assigned 3 decorators in the area to work with 3 different charities and given us a budget of $100 to redo one of the charity's rooms. I was assigned to work with the Frazee Dream Center, a fantastic group doing long-term education assistance in one of Greenville's most under-resourced neighborhoods. I'm redoing "Kory's Room," which is used for the kindergarten-2nd grade group. Here are the before pictures...

As you can see, it's a good-sized room...plenty of work to be done! They asked for a better storage solution and bright, cheerful colors. So here is the style board I came up with...

Note: there is a decent amount of pink in the board, which is due to the images I could find and the level I was able to manipulate them. There will be zero to minimal pink in the actual room.

The first thing is to liven up the walls with a bright sea glass blue. All the large furniture pieces I've shown here are just to get the idea across, they have built the desks and storage system already.

1. Whiteboard... they requested a laminated poster board, but I've got a nifty little scheme to make a nice whiteboard.

2. Chairs... existing chairs will have the seat cushions reupholstered.

3. Storage Totes... I found white plastic dishpans that are just the right size, and in my budget! They will work perfectly for storing toys and supplies.

4. Storage... existing cubby system will be painted charcoal gray (currently raw plywood).

5. Birds... an installation of paper birds will be placed over the desk area in shades of red with a few accent pops.

6. Curtains... breezy white curtains will let in plenty of light.

7. Pom Cluster... a cluster of red poms will be hung over the bookshelves to create a cozy nook.

8. Red Trim... sewn along the bottom hem of the curtains.

9. Books... need to be organized.

10. Desks... existing desk system will be painted charcoal gray (currently raw plywood).


So that's the idea, I hope I can stretch the money far enough to accomplish all this. I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Announcement!
I will be painting the room on Thursday, August 12 from 9 am-2 pm. I could definitely use some help, so if you're interested, please let me know!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

My Design Dilemma + AHeirloom Cutting Boards

I'm knee deep in a major design dilemma... I'm working on a charity project where I'm making over one of their rooms. The problem is the room is quite large and needs some serious help...and the budget is $100. Fresh paint and reorganization will help, but beyond that I'm in need of some divine inspiration!

While I stare blankly at my computer, check out these gorgeous cutting boards by AHeirloom. I'll be back tomorrow with some before pictures of this project and hopefully a plan of attack!


Aren't they just fantastic? What a great gift idea. Check out AHeirloom's shop, and enter to win one of these beauties at Moonface!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Vertical Gardens

vertical gardens via oh happy day

Have you seen these jaw-droppingly awesome vertical succulent gardens? They're done by Flora Grubb, and I think I need one of these in my life. Lucky for me, they have a DIY kit so I can make my own. I will definitely be busting this out whenever we get around to landscaping our backyard.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Knack Studios: Eudora

I am completely in love with Knack Studio's new piece entitled Eudora. See the amazing before and after here, and buy her for me here (only $525!)