Currently Coveting

I know it's a sin, but I'm just not that religious.  Here's what I'm coveting for my home this month...how about you?

 

Casually elegant stemware that can serve up milk or mimosas equally well,

 

fishy rugs,

 

simply beautiful turned wood lamps,

 

the Hans Wegner classic,

 

Michael A. Palmer's view of the world,

 

and perfect flatware for parties, picnics or pasta.

 

Image credits: Hartland Stemware, Simon Pearce; Fish Design Rug, Landry & Arcari, White Turned Table Lamp, Hudson; ch24 Wishbone Chair, Hive Modern; Boat House by Michael A. Palmer, Van Ward Gallery; Seaborne Flatware, Anthropologie

Catalog Living

Logic quiz: Poor self-image is to fashion magazines as WHAT is to home decor catalogs?

I don't know either, but sometimes I feel like I have it, whatever IT is.  Occasionally I get sort of taken over by staging my house...rolling up the throw blankets and storing them just-so in a gorgeous basket (you're cold? grab one of these!), propping the white ceramic fish platter in a plate holder on my kitchen counter (look, it's art!), stacking up a pretty set of books by my bedside (who has time to read?).  Maybe it's some form of OCD, or maybe it comes from buying and selling multiple houses in the past five years (never know when you're gonna have to put it on the market!), but I suspect that some of the obsession comes from looking through too many home design catalogs and shelter pubs.

Luckily, my little brother pointed me to a hilarious site that reminds me how idiotic some of those scenes from Pottery Barn (and others) are.  Catalog Living follows the fictional life of Gary and Elaine, the passive-aggressive, accessory-obsessed couple who live in your catalogs.  Created by actor and Tufts graduate Molly Erdman, Catalog Living now serves as my daily reminder that I shouldn't worry if my throws aren't just-so.

{But really, a little staging never hurt anyone.}

Image credit: Catalog Living, January 20, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: A Sneak Peek

A few weeks ago, I noticed that one of the blogs I follow started doing something called "Wordless Wednesday."  Then a few weeks later, another.  Call me slow, but apparently this wordless business is sweeping the blogosphere, and as a working mom of two who is attempting to set up house, keep up a blog she loves and do some design work on the side, all without moving to Crazyville, I'm totally for it.  So here's my contribution to Wordless Wednesday...a sneak peek of our new-to-us house. 

Then (a mere 4 weeks ago)...

...and now

Inspired by Madeline Weinrib

I've been in love with Madeline Weinrib's sophisti-casual rugs for as long as I can remember, but with price tags in the thousands, Ms. Weinrib's rugs will not be part of my reality anytime soon.  Luckily there are some terrific floor coverings inspired by Ms. Weinrib's work without the accompanying price.

Problem is, my favorite rugs are her pink beauties, none of which I've been able to find in an inspired-by-and-therefore-less-expensive version...

...until I got the new Garnet Hill catalog this weekend!

Image credits (from top to bottom): Madeline Weinrib, West Elm, IKEA, Making It Lovely, Madeline Weinrib and Garnet Hill

DIY Floor Covering

I think I've mentioned (more than once) that our house has hardwood floors throughout.  Beautiful, yes, but the "beauty of hardwoods" that everyone talks about loses its lustre about this time every year.  Since carpets and area rugs are pretty dang expensive, we get to experience our floors in all their ice-cold glory as soon as the thermometer dips below 40.  I started to get desperate, and although this isn't a permanent fix, it's a stylish and cheap way to cover a small area of your floor.

DSC01088

After digging out a fairly large nautical chart that I had sitting around in a closet (my original plan, three years ago, was to frame it until I discovered it would be about $500 to frame my $20 chart), I brought it to a local copy shop to have it laminated.  A couple of hours and $18 later, I had a new front hall floor covering that reminded me a bit of those handpainted canvas floorclothes that I had seen in showhouses and shelter publications.  Make sure to use a little sticky-tack around the edges when you place it on the floor, and you're good to go.