CHA-CHA-CHAIR

It's for sale HERE.

iDECORATE: BEDROOM

My apartment is a studio, but while I'm a happy camper living in one large room, I refuse to pretend that I live in a large BEDROOM. Luckily, the layout is such that with a great (massive) bookcase, I've created free-flowing separate living vs. sleeping areas. Even though the bed isn't the centerpiece of the apartment, I still wanted it to feel luxurious, and since it's in a dark corner, cheery.

And the most cheery thing I could think of was Mr. Bunny. I sketched Mr. Bunny back in my aspiring artist days (middle school?) and he's always struck me as having a sweet, if rather coy, tempérament. He's obviously fond of clover blossoms:

Since my current headboard is a massive chinese screen, I had to hang the sketch with visible cording. After a brief trip to the hardware store, I established two things:  a) they had no appropriate cording or wiring that could hold the picture's weight AND look good, and b) it was 100 billion degrees outside and I wasn't going to look anywhere else. Luckily, after a few minutes of aisle cruising, I found this roll of jute twine. Rustic chinoiserie? You bet!

Here's Mr. Bunny all hung up. In real life, the sorrel colored bedding is a nice compliment to the bright orange of the screen - in the photos it looks odd. The lovely pillows in Windsor Smith Pelagos Haze by Kravet are from one of my favorite Etsy stores, ZzzBoutique.

The chinese screen is a score from a Southern vintage shop - it's covered on both sides and framed in oak. Would you believe it was only $110??!! It almost didn't fit in my car - let's just say I got very cozy with the screen on the way home. 

The little glass and brass bamboo bedside table is the perfect size for the corner, and another vintage store find.  The lamp was a Home Goods score last week - $45.00, and it came with the shade, which has a rougher woven pattern in the same style family as the jute cording (hard to see in the picture). It also came with a cheezy porcelain finial, but I had purchased brass fretwork finials in a vintage store a while ago, even when I didn't have lamps to go with them. If I find something I really like, I just go for it. Inevitably, it finds a home. I love how ridiculously large the lamp looks on that teeny table - it's fun. 

Better view of the lamp (and that weird mismatched color thing again). The bedding is West Elm cherry blossom in sorrel.

That's the room! I'm not done - a different rug, pictures on the wall, and eventually, an actual headboard (I'm thinking grey velvet), as well as a bedskirt in matching Windsor Smith fabric are all in the future! 

FOLLOWING CHLOE WARNER

Everyone (by which I mean you, because you read shelter blogs) remembers this bedroom:

It's by Chloe Warner, from her charming pad in the California Hills with blockbuster-level glam. But she hasn't been resting on those cherry blossom laurels. Warner's design firm, Redmond Aldrich, spreads her special brand of eclectic palm beach goes Asian around town - enjoy a few fresh looks below.

 Images/Chloe Warner/

iDECORATE: BEFORE AND AFTER

Earlier this year I moved to Washington, D.C., into an apartment long on charm and views, and short on size. Much to my surprise, I'm loving living small. No more clinging to boring or unloved items; I feel free to throw things and out and start afresh (as I mentioned on the Great Couch Hunt). So I have. And, I decided that, other than upholstery and textiles, I'm decorating vintage as much as possible. EBay, One King's Lane, and antique stores are my new best friends. Thrill of the hunt! Here are a few first finds.

Pattern play - I had fun piling up the kitchen linens for a colorful effect atop the newly painted table!

BEFORE:  I scored this diminutive table in a vintage shop down South for around $100. It's English-made, and I fell in love with the delicate bamboo carving. Since I live in a studio, it was the ideal size for dining in - but not the ideal color. By painting it a high-gloss black, it would make a nice set with my bamboo fretwork dining chairs from Ballard Designs.

AFTER! A coat of primer and some black enamel, and it's a matched set! I love the way it turned out (much better than I loved painting each and every carving...). It makes a sweet little seating area, and when I move to a larger home, a nice side or card table. I'll need to learn to play...

BEFORE:  I found this sideboard on eBay for $145. It's by Broyhill, and not exactly inheritance material, but I loved the mix of bamboo carved border and turned legs. In a rather bold, but ineffective effort, the previous owner had attempted to go Asian country with cream paint and slate blue hardware. Hmmmm...

AFTER:  a lot of elbow grease later (stripping hardware is a pain!) and with a new coat of paint, it's reborn. Decorating is still in process but I particularly like it flanked by the green foo dogs. Best of all? It has a TON of storage - perfect for a small space.

My new place is a work in progress. I'll update you as things move along!

All images, my own.

OUT OF THE (NORMAL) OFFICE

These are all work spaces - but you could have fooled me. Fretwork? Florals? Rare art? Nailhead upholstery? I'm ready to interview!

Lonny Offices

Kelly Wearstler

Lonny Offices

Ines de la Frassange's Office

Madonna as a Glam Office Drone

Nate Berkus

Domino Magazine

Kelly Framel, of The Glamourai

Drew Barrymore's Offices at Flower Studies 

Flower Studios

Ines de la Frassange at Selby/Lonny offices/Madonna for Versace/Kelly Wearstler Office/Nate Berkus Office/Domino Pink Tufted Office/Drew Barrymore Flower Studios/The Glamourai Kelly Framel/

FROND OF PALMS

I have home decor so much on the brain, I can't look at clothes without thinking of upholstery, or wallpaper... last week, a Kate Spade skirt reminded me of Mary McDonald's fabulous striped walls. And now, I can't look at this darling summer dress (also by Spade) without pining for the Fountain Coffee Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel:

A few more views of that famous Martinique Wallpaper by Stockwell...

Images/Kate Spade/Beverly Hills Hotel/Final 2 pics, Material Girls Blog/

BATHING SWEETIES

I hate swimsuits and Swimsuit Issues,

Seeing those models brings out the tissues -

Whether these are less hate-able

Is somewhat debate-able

But they are quite charming -

And certainly less alarming!

If you miss the classic look of the "bathing sweeties", check out Jantzen's line of suits.

Images/Grace Kelly/Red Parasols/Hepburn/Balloons

SPEARMINT STRIPES

I spy...

Mary McDonald's fabulous guest house living room, turned into...

Kate Spade's Striped Lillith Skirt. P.S. It's on sale!

Images, Apartment Therapy and Kate Spade