Coral, Green, and Yellow

So our living room reveal is delayed a bit.  I hope to be able to have that ready to share by the end of this weekend…Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I thought I would share that we have come to an agreement on a color scheme for the room.  It’s totally different for me, but I love it.  I knew I wanted a stronger color scheme for the accessories, since many of the main elements in the room (carpet, sofa, shelves, accent tables) are going to be brown or beige.  I’m just not a beige kind of girl (note the bright red sectional sofa from the old living room), so I really wanted bright pops of color to contrast with all of the monochrome blah.  I am actually loving that I can really go in any direction I want with the beige base…and I am definitely ready to have fun with some BRIGHT accessories!

We already have a pale yellow on the walls, so I wanted to work with that color.  So we decided on bright coral, grass/sage green, and butter yellow.  Cheery, happy, citrusy pops of color to wake up all those neutrals.

The below inspiration photos are different interpretations of the general color scheme we are after, but not an exact match.  And don’t forget, all of this shiny happy color will be toned down with TONS of beige and brown.

Source: Design Seeds

Source: Apartment Therapy

Source: Apartment Therapy

 

Source: A Rosy Note

Source: A Rosy Note

I must admit…I love that brassy gold lamp in the bedroom pic.  Thinking of maybe incorporating just a smidgen of that too.  The best part, is that if I get tired of these colors, it will be easy to change them out by swapping out the accessories!

Stay tuned for the reveal in a few days…

Polka, Dot? Why not?

On special request of my awesome cousin Kerry, I thought I would do an inspiration post about something she and I both love; polka dots!

What girly-girl doesn’t love polka dots?  I don’t even particularly consider myself a girly-girl, but I love them just the same.  Which I am sure you can tell from some of my fabric selections in my sewing projects…

What other classic pattern can be demure, sassy, cute, sweet, jazzy, fun, and even a little bit sexy all at the same time?

Source: ShopRuche.com

Source: Kawaii-Nails.blogspot.com

Source: ModCloth.com

Polka dots don’t take themselves too seriously.  They are playful, but in an understated kind of way.  They can take something boring and utilitarian and give it volumes of personality.

Source: Flickr.com

Source: PBTeen.com

Source: brightbazaar.blogspot.com

Source: CraftZine.com

How do you feel about polka dots?

Source: GroomsSoldSeparately.com

I heart fabric shopping!

Hope your weekend was great!  I finally got out to spend some of my birthday gift cards yesterday.  Of course, they were almost all for crafty-type places.  I ended up with quite a haul of fabric for future projects!

Fat quarters were on sale for $1 each, so I got a ton:

And there were a few others on the bolt that I couldn’t resist.  The linen (at the very top of the pic below, above the Star Wars fabric) was a pre-planned purchase.  I am thinking about trying some sunglasses cases with that.  The rest will be used for about a million other projects I have floating around my head.  I wish I could sew full time so that I could get done everything I want to do!

Isn’t that yellow floral awesome?  I’m not sure why, but I have been really drawn to the yellow/black/white color combo lately.  I actually love how it looks with that black & white check fabric…hmmm…

Oh, and the Star Wars fabric is for Tadd.  He wants me to make him a wallet out of it!  We’ll see how that turns out.

Porch Envy

When Tadd and I were house shopping back in late summer/early fall 2009, there were a few houses that I fell in love with that just didn’t work out for one reason or another.  They all had 1 thing in common, front porches. While all of the houses we looked at were newer (less than 10 years old), my favorites were always the ones that were built in the style of an older house.

We put a bid on a house just like this, but blue. I love the L-shaped porch and the graduated columns!

The house we ended up with is great, but there is no front porch, which is something I often regret. When Tadd and I carpool to work, we pass through the Eola Heights neighborhood in Downtown Orlando to get to and from his office.  It’s a neighborhood FULL of charming older houses (mostly Victorians and Arts & Crafts style bungalows),  many with beautiful front porches.  There have been many times when passing through that part of town where I have turned and said to Tadd, “My next house WILL have a front porch!”

We do have a screened in back porch that we both really enjoy.  Our property backs up to a cattle ranch, and we have great views of the cow pasture and the lake beyond from our back porch.  And we get to see all kinds of neat wildlife (aside from the cows and horses from the ranch, we see tons of deer, wild turkeys, sandhill cranes, etc).  But as I’m sure all you other “front porch people” understand, it’s just not the same.

Below are some of my front porch inspiration finds from Pinterest.

Source: OldHouses.com

Source: The Selliken Group – Portland Real Estate

Source: TheHouseDesigners.com

Source: Gant Construction

If you have a front porch, do you use it?  If you don’t, do you have porch envy like I do?

Kitchen Inspiration Files

Originally I had thought we were going to do a shoestring budget kitchen makeover this year.  Now we know we have some exterior repairs to do (we need to add some gutters to our roof, and part of our front entry will need to be worked on), so depending on how much the not-so-fun stuff costs, we may have to delay some or all of the kitchen makeover.  So until then, I am just gathering ideas and inspiration.

Here is my kitchen as it looks now:

I know I have talked before about my ideas for what I have in mind to do:

• paint cabinets white
• add cabinet hardware
• new pantry doors (I want french doors painted black with frosted windows or possibly curtains behind the glass)
• white subway tile backsplash
• butcher block countertop for the island with a new smaller prep sink & faucet
• wrap the island in beadboard
• new countertops for the outer counters, although I haven’t decided yet what I want to do with them…we might use one of these Rustoleum countertop kits

So since I’m not sure when we will be able to start, and because once we do get started on the kitchen, it will likely be a slow project and not done all at once, I am satisfying my desire to make it over by looking at inspiration pictures.  So many beautiful kitchens out there in Pinterestland…  Sigh!  Someday…

This is pretty much how I plan to makeover the island by wrapping it in beadboard.  Just picture it minus the extension and plus 1 prep sink.

Source: At The Picket Fence

Another beautiful butcher block and beadboard island.  This one has the subway tile backsplash too!

Source: Southern Living

This island is much bigger than ours, but it has a prep sink!  I love the little shelves with the spice jars and cookbooks.

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A close up of my backsplash of choice.  So pretty!

Source: Kitchen Tile Backsplashes

This is another idea I have had is keeping the beadboard island white, and painting the rest of the cabinets black.  My walls are very similar to this color, so this would give me a really good idea of what the finished product would look like.  Although I think if I were to do that, I would have to go with butcher block counters for the whole kitchen to unify the space.

Source: Favorite Paint Colors

An example of french doors on a pantry painted black!

Source: Thrifty Decor Chick

More pantry french doors, this time in white with frosted glass:

Source: The Inspired Room

So I guess maybe you can see now the kind of look I am going for.  I am so excited to get started, but obviously our kitchen is functional as it is, so other stuff takes priority.  I am ok with that.  Nothing we have planned is particularly expensive, so we can just take our time and do a little here and there.  It probably won’t be done by the end of the year like I had hoped, but that’s ok.  It just gives me more time to gather inspiration and ideas.

Countdown to Mad Men Season 5.

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Mad Men, and I am SO excited about the Season 5 premiere this Sunday night on AMC!  If you are a fan like me, I’m sure you are just as excited.  We have been waiting patiently for new episodes for almost a year and a half!  So to say this Sunday’s premiere is highly anticipated is an understatement.

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If you know me, you know I love history.  And something that I find so utterly fascinating about Mad Men is the attention to detail when it comes to historical accuracy.  Even subtle, little things that might fly over the majority of viewers’ heads (especially those of us who did not live through the 1960s), they take the time to get right.  For example, the premiere of Season 2 took place on Valentine’s Day, 1962.  The end of the episode concluded with everyone being glued to the TV, watching Jacqueline Kennedy give a tour of the White House.  Sure enough, this little detail really happened…On February 14, 1962, CBS did, in fact, broadcast a special of the First Lady inviting the nation to see all of the restoration work that had recently been completed.

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And for me, it’s not only the historical accuracy that I love so much, but also the way it’s woven in and out of the story with such a natural flow.  You never feel like these details are inserted intentionally with a wink and a nod to the modern audience.  There’s nothing clunky about it; it’s just really good writing (and acting!).

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And I would be remiss if I talked about Mad Men without mentioning style.  The clothes, hair, makeup, and set design are all drool-worthy.  It’s as if the whole show is one big piece of art.  While I’m not sure that the mid-century style fits MY personal style perfectly, there’s just something about it that is so aesthetically pleasing.  The sleek furniture, rich colors, classic suits, and tailored dresses just ooze with class.  Again, it’s the little touches I love, like Betty’s tufted headboard (above), and Joan’s signature gold pen necklace (below)!

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Did you know that Banana Republic has its own limited edition Mad Men-inspired line of clothing?  Some beautiful stuff too…

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So we are getting ready in this household for our own little two-person season premiere party on Sunday night.  I broke out the Mad Men cookbook that my brother gave me for Christmas, and will be making a few items from it, including Don Draper’s favorite cocktail, the Old Fashioned (made, of course, with Canadian Club).  I had thought about making classic martinis (a la Roger Sterling), but Tadd is just not a martini kind of guy.  And he hates olives!  And to make a classic martini, you MUST have olives.

Only 48 hours to go!  Who else will be watching the season premiere with us?  Are you doing or making anything special for the occasion?

An Ode to Orange

As a follow up to my post last week honoring the color yellow, I decided to do the same for yet another misunderstood and under-appreciated color in Mr. Biv’s spectrum…

ORANGE!

As I mentioned last week, I really consider myself to be a fan of all the colors, but it puzzles me as to why orange always seems to be (next to yellow) last on the list of favorite colors.  It’s so warm and vibrant and cheery, even a little bit exotic (think tropical flowers & fruits!).  It works so well with so many other colors too.

What would Halloween be without a big, beautiful orange pumpkin?  What would a sunset be without orange skies?  What would a fruit salad be without orange cantaloupes…and of course orange oranges! 

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the beauty of things that are orange (images found via Pinterest):

Pinterest

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What do you think?  Can orange be beautiful?

Yellow Appreciation Society

Confession: I love the color yellow.  If you have seen my kitchen or living room, you probably know that already, as it’s all over the walls.

It seems to me that the color yellow is one of the most under-appreciated in the whole Roy G. Biv spectrum.  Whenever you ask someone what their least favorite color is, it’s never blue or green or red…It’s always yellow.  Poor, poor misunderstood yellow…

Now I might be biased because I truly love all the colors.  Recently someone asked me what my least favorite color was and I couldn’t answer, because I love them all.  There might be shades of a color that don’t appeal to me, or combos that don’t work for me, but the colors themselves are all beautiful in their own ways.

But yellow is especially beautiful.  In my mind, it brings about all kinds of appealing imagery.  Yellow can be sunny and bright.  It can be soft and buttery.  It can be glowing and golden.  It can make me think of lemonade or tulips or rubber duckies.  Traditionally, the color yellow has symbolized renewal and hope.  How any of this could be considered bad or ugly, I will never know.

Just look at all the beautiful yellow images I found on Pinterest!:

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Pinterest

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Pinterest

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So…Won’t you join me in the Yellow Appreciation Society?  It’s sunny and warm over here, and we have plenty of fresh lemonade, pineapple spears, and maybe even a few of these to go around!:

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Linking up!: