Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Guest Posting at Living Savvy

We are just all over today! We are also posting over at the amazing Living Savvy for her famous Spray Painters Anonymous segment. We are sharing a project we have yet to share with you all! Head on over!

Guest Posting at ROOMS


Head over to ROOMS Interior Design blog as we are sharing our ugliest pieces of furniture in our house. That's right. Don't get it twisted. It is true! Would we lie to you? Also, you will be happy you did...Melissa has a fabulous blog that we are sure you will enjoy!

Favorite Room Feature: Triangle Honeymoon

Hello lovelies! Today we have a little design duo that is going to share their space with you...it is Chad and Amy from The Triangle Honeymoon! They are DIY'ers at heart like us and we love what they have done with their spaces. But especially, their dining room! Let's take a look. 


Holy bananas! We are so excited to participate in Sadie + Stella’s Favorite Room series this week. Chad and I have been married and homeowners for about two years now and are finally beginning to really conquer the tricky task of defining our decorating style as a couple.


Twenty four months of DIY projects, paint sampling, and thrift store shopping has led us to one conclusion. We are somewhat quirky, color-loving, cheapskates. We wonder, would this assessment fit anywhere into EmilyHenderson’s Style Diagnostic? It certainly fits the finished look of our dining room – and we love it.




We moved into our home before ever dreaming of starting a blog, this means that the only “before” image that exists of our dining room comes from our MLS listing.




We are the first to admit that it’s not too bad at all. Like most MLS photos it is taken from a wide angle that makes the room seem much larger than it really is. In reality this is a somewhat small space that also serves as a pass-through between our living room and kitchen.


It is also very open to our living room, divided only by an extremely wide doorway which brings two challenges to the space. One – keep the look of the living and dining rooms cohesive enough that no colors or patterns clash with one another. Two – find a subtle way to define the dining room as its own purposeful space.


Here’s a run-down the projects that brought it all together:


1. We replaced our light fixture. Props to our previous home-owners for at least spray painting the brass chandelier black, but it was still a little traditional for our tastes. It stayed for a year before receiving a one-way ticket to Goodwill. It was exchanges with a basic white linen drum shade
purchased online.


2. To further define the space we added faux wainscoting to our walls. You can read all about the process on our blog, here, but essentially we just painted half of the walls white and added a chair rail and wainscoting-like boxes made out of trim molding. We were able to do the whole room in one afternoon and it made a huge impact on the room – for less than a hundred bucks.


3. Repurposed and second-hand furniture make the space a little eclectic, a lot of fun to put together, and very affordable. A great mix in our book. The only new furniture purchased were the four wicker dining chairs that we found at IKEA. The table was found unfinished at a used furniture store and has somehow survived being paint red, then blue, and then stripped down and stained the mahogany tone you see now. The many layers of design disaster actually made for a nice aged patina to a table that’s only about five
years old.




After what felt like hundreds of trips to the Raleigh Flea Market, the china cabinet was found at a garage sale we stumbled upon after one last failed trip. It cost $65 and we spent about twenty dollars more on paint and other supplies to give it real personality. To tie the space to the living room we opted for a green hue that matches the green accents in our living room rug. We know this piece is called “Favorite Room” but this is probably also our “Favorite Piece.”


Our small marble top plant stand was also a thrifty find at $25. We didn’t know we needed it until we found it. Love when that happens.


4. Inventive curtains. We totally snagged this idea from Carmel at “Our Fifth House” whose dining room you saw last week right here. Using drop cloths, craft paint and textile medium we create custom drapes to mimic more expensive ikat fabric we found online. Mounted them with shiny brass curtain rods balanced out the roughness of the canvas drop cloths and made them look suitable for a dining. We continued the curtains into our living room to tie the two spaces together.




5. Finally we just added a lot of fun and colorful accessories all around the small space to reflect our personalities and also keep your eyes moving. All of these items were collected from travels or second hand shops. We also created pop-style art online out of photos of our two pups for an added personal and very inexpensive touch.




Thanks for indulging us by allowing us to gush about one of our favorite spaces in our home! Although it took about two years to get here, the joy of creating a room that no one else has and that perfectly reflects the personalities of not just one but two people (and two pups) makes a room the perfect place to end each day.



Tuesday, August 30, 2011

classic, woodsy soiree recap

Good morning lovelies! As you all know from the party in a post last week seen here, we were gearing up for a soiree we were hosting for Stella and Billie's Dad's Birthday. As you can see in the window here, that is Hurricane Irene passing us by out there. Just kidding! We saw minor showers.

The theme of the party was classic, woodsy and masculine. I guess we should say "themes".  As you can see, Boris was well received at this event. He fit RIGHT in. For the tablescapes, we went with a navy tablecloth with a homemade greek key pattern. Easy project, folks. Also present on the table, silver chargers, green napkins and last but not least, lanterns. 

A close up of the tables. 


A little mercury glass owl and some moss balls were added to the mix. Can anyone spy a peeping Billie in this picture? 
The bar. Equipped with galvanized accessories, ie tray, ice bucket. To keep the theme rolling, we only thought it to be appropriate to serve the beverages in mason jars. Also present at this soiree, none other than the Savannah Fizz
A Birthday cake for the Birthday boy. It is difficult to tell in this photograph, but the cake is adorned with navy stripes. It was adorbs. 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Monday Musings: Pops of Purple

Good morning lovelies! It is just another glorious Monday. Even if Monday came equipped with a pot of gold, it would still be tough to stomach. But...to brighten the day, we are talking about a punchy color. Purple! That's right. All shades and hues of purple. Lilac, plum, fuchsia, lavender and mauve. You name it, we are loving it. The accents add such a playful and charismatic aura to the space. Let's just face it. We are purple people eaters this a.m.

Love this space. All of the big elements in the space are shabby chic and calming and then you get to the accessories. We adore the fuchsia accent pillows and the other hints of purples around the space.
Total funky and eccentric use of purple here my dears. Amazing va va voom lampshade and also ceiling to floor window treatments. DRAMA.
We are obsessed with this quiet and eclectic sitting room. This space is full of character and thoughtfully placed accessories. Not to mention the lilac velvet chair and the gorgy flowers. Just the right amount of pop!
We have been dying over this image for sometime now. This console table is out of hand. Now, if someone gave me this on a Monday, it might change my thought of Monday's. No lie. Not to mention all of the major purple accessories accompanying this table. The sea fans, the flowers, the shells, the books!! Oh my. All different shades, shapes and sizes. We are equal opportunity when it comes to purple. 
Totally extreme. Love the fuchsia striped wall and all of the purple art adornments. To die. Wonder if a man designed this?? Hmmm. We are going to go with a solid no on that one. The grape chandelier? Amazeballs. 
Amazingly blue walls. Amazingly amazing gallery wall. Amazing plum and mauve bedding and even more amazing plum patterned floor art. Larving it all! Every element in here is so unexpectedly cohesive in the space. 
{elle decor}
Again with the gorgeous purple furniture. Statement. Piece. Serious. Before my dying day, I will have a lilac entryway table. It is going to happen. This one happens to be offset by amazing art including shades of purple. Gorg. 
{interiorly}
Happy. Monday. Here is to wishing you all arrive on a pot of gold today or maybe a purple entryway table. Whatever your heart desires!

Friday, August 26, 2011

S+S chow: skillet rosemary chicken

Thank you, thank you it's Friday! It has been a long week and we have a busy weekend of festivities on the way. Maybe a soiree that we will share with you all next week...hmmm. Today, we are sharing with you an amazingly scrumptious, as well as, affordable dish. Chicken thighs are a cheap meal solution that bring a whole lot of flavor. Quick and easy, this dish is. It will not disappoint, my friends. Happy weekend!

Ingredients
3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Kosher salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (6 to 8 ounces each)
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.
Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet, place chicken over mushrooms and potatoes and drizzle with any marinade remaining in the bowl and the juice of the remaining lemon.
Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

DIY: Crested Deer Head

So I have been salivating over a high gloss white deer head for some time now. The price however, was not so exciting to me. Stella and Billie's dad had the most amazing solution...EVER. After hours of scouring the internet for a deer head, he happened upon a buck head on Ebay for a steal. Now, we will ignore the fact that it was an ugly brown color. Nothing that a little paint and lacquer can't fix! To give it an even more customized look, we found a wooden crest to accompany the deer head. We could not be happier with the results!

Supplies needed:
Buck Head
Paint Brushes
Primer
High Gloss White Paint
Lacquer
Wooden Crest
Spray Paint

Step 1: Locate your ugly brown buck head. As you all can see, the shape and size is perf! This is a resin buck head, so it is legit. Definitely high quality as far as buck heads go. Clearly, I know so much about that. 
Step 2: Prime that baby up. After covering all of the brown spots, and allowing Boris (that is what we named him) to dry, you will paint 2 coats of white semi gloss paint on the head. After allowing this to dry, paint a coat of lacquer onto the head. This gives you that super high gloss appearance. After allowing this to dry, you are ready to fix Boris on his crest.
Step 3: We located a wooden crest at Michael's for $10. Total steal. After a few coats of midnight blue spray paint, and another coat of lacquer...Boris was ready for his debut. Here is Boris in all of his glory, in his new home. 


The total bill for this project, $60. That's right! $60. The ones I had been eyeing over at Z. Gallerie were retailing for at least $250 for this size. Aaaaand, Boris even has his own crest. What more could a deer head want? We are happy with the finished product and the price! 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

and the winner is...

As always, a drum roll would be much appreciated here...The winner of the Noble House Designs Giveaway is...


Amy over at Triangle Honeymoon! Amy said:

http://www.trianglehoneymoon.com/ said..
Love the neon vintage necklace!


Amy...we might come and steal this win from you. Not. Kidding. We are so jealous. Congratulations and we hope you enjoy it! 

Thanks to all for entering and thank you to Noble House Designs for a FAB giveaway! 

Favorite Room Feature: Our Fifth House

Today, Carmel from Our Fifth House is going to share her favorite room with us, her dining room. Folks, just prepare yourself for this major transformation. Carmel has an unbelievable eye for style and is a DIY girl at heart. Gotta love that! We love her space and know you will die over her super unique stenciled ikat wall. 


Hello Sadie + Stella readers!  I'm Carmel from Our Fifth House.  We are currently living in our fifth house, hence the blog name.  Yes, I know I'm a genius.  I'm very excited to be here today to share my favorite room.  There have been so many gorgeous rooms featured in this series I'm honored to be included!  We moved in to this house just about a year and half ago.  It's crazy how fast time flies!  While we still have quite a bit of work to do in the "make this house a home" department; we have managed to finish a few rooms.  I say "finish" loosely here because in my mind it's never really finished - more like in between makeovers.  HA!


My favorite room in my home is my dining room.  It started out looking pretty dated with white wall-to-wall carpet, a shiny brass chandelier, and hand-me down dining room furniture that never really quite fit our personalities.




In addition (while I don't have a whole room before picture) the walls also came with a very interesting wall paper.  I like chinoiserie, but I wasn't crazy about this paper.  I think it was the color palette that threw me for a loop?





At any rate, we (well, honestly I did most of the work- just sayin') took the wall paper down and painted the walls a very light off-white (Waverly Cafe Cream) and the ceiling a buttercream (Martha Stewart Macadamia).  We craig's listed our china cabinet; and then moved our dining room table into the kitchen (after a little paint makeover) and brought in our kitchen table and chairs (World Market).  Initially, we tore the carpet out and stained the subfloor.  Yes, you read that right - we stained the subfloor.  We knew that someday we'd put down hardwood, so we figured why live with carpet that we hate in the meantime.  Someday came sooner than later.  This Spring, we were forced to replace our kitchen floor due to a water issue so we went ahead and had dark bamboo floors laid throughout the house.  While our new floors are stunning, the crowning jewel in this room (in my opinion) is the ikat stenciled wall.  I order the stencil from Olive Leaf and stenciled just one wall.  It totally made the room, and it was so easy to do.  It was my very first stencil project, and I'm so pleased with the result!  My stenciled wall was even featured in the new issue of House of Fifty, which was such an honor!





I really love how the table brings in a casual vibe so this room doesn't feel too formal.  The chandy is from Home Depot. I hung a few glass drops with some jute twine to add a little sparkle.





The buffet is really just an old dresser I picked up at a consignment store and I gave it a little more antiquing with some glaze.





The fabric covered canvas chalkboard is an easy diy project.  


The other side of the room hosts a gallery wall of special family photos and mementos.  The dining room isn't a room where you expect to see a gallery wall and I think that's why I like this wall so much.  It makes the room feel more inviting.





We use this room quite a bit.  The hubs and I both love to entertain.  My kitchen table is usually covered with some type of project which is why I wanted a dining room that didn't feel so off limits.  This room strikes a nice balance between elegant and casual.  It fits our family's personality so well now!


Thanks for checking out my favorite room.  Thanks to Sadie + Stella for the invite.  This is such a fun series.  Hopefully, in time, the rest of my house will start to come together a little more, and I'll have a whole house filled with favorite rooms!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Party in a Post: a classic, woodsy soiree

So we are in the stages of preparation for a soiree we are throwing this weekend for Stella and Billie's dad. We wanted a classic yet masculine theme for this party, not like our usual brightly colored glitzy glammy soiree. We didn't feel he would appreciate that as much. Men, they just don't get it. We love the natural elements mixed with the refined accessories. We cannot wait to share the finished product with you!


Here are the elements we are planning on pulling together to bring this party to life:
1. Let's start with the linens. We chose a simple, masculine navy striped fabric to use as the tablecloth. The fern green napkins bring a natural element. 
2. We want to accent our space with white ceramics filled with lush, green moss balls
3. Swoon. We are obsessed with these taper holders. They add a little rustic and a little chic. Perfection. 
4. Lanterns always bring a bit of an outdoorsy feel inside, we love the clean lines of this pair
5. Hooty-hooo. Everyone needs a ceramic owl at their party. 
6. I spy two balls made of driftwood, you may have spied them in one of our e-design boards. We just had to incorporate these into our party decor. 
7. This galvanized tray will be a prime location to set up the bar for the evening. 
8. Perhaps the Savannah Fizz will make an appearance at this soiree! We think they might need to be served in mason jars

Monday, August 22, 2011

Noble House Giveaway Reminder!




To enter:
Follow S+S {if you already do, hooray! If not, just click the little follow button over near the top right column} Visit Noble House and come back HERE to comment and let us know what your favorite piece of Sara's is!!
For additional entries you can:
  • Like Noble House Designs on Facebook
  • Follow Noble House Designs on their fabulous blog
  • Like Sadie + Stella on Facebook
  • Follow Sadie + Stella on Twitter
  • Tell your Facebook friends about the giveaway and link to this post
  • Blog about the giveaway and link back to this post 
  • You can also tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @sadieandstella and link to this post in your tweet!
 *Be sure to leave a comment each time you do one of the above! 
Again, enter HERE.

This giveaway ends Tuesday, August 23rd at midnight.

monday musings: vintage oriental rugs

Good morning lovelies!! We hope you had a fab weekend! Today we are gushing over vintage oriental rugs. We adore them in every space in the home, but especially the kitchen.  It brings a multitude of colors to an often monochromatic space. We love the punches of reds, blues, oranges all in one little square of floor art. It also gives a very glamorous appearance in the center of a family's home. We would go on a magic carpet ride ANY day with any of these beauties. 

This image is from the kitchen of the oh so talented Jamie Meares. This was a shot taken of her home in the debut issue of High Gloss Magazine. OBSESSED. Truly. Jamie has an eye for style and this room is no exception.  We love the incorporation of the white and stainless steel accessories in the kitchen. Then BAM. Just like that. Major color and pattern added to the space. Gorg. 
Again, from the same shoot of Jamie's house, a beautiful oversized vintage persian rug. Although this space has color and pattern already, this rug just adds to the uniqueness.
Talk about statement floor art! This rug is absolutely divine. It fits so perfectly in the small space and brings just the right colors to the kitchen. The unbelievable kitchen island shown here, was actually a diy. If you can believe it! The midnight blue also appears in the rug. Love!
Now we have used this image before in specific relation to the round tray. Today, we are using it for the fabulous floor art. The pattern of the rug is absolutely incredible. Amazing symmetry and bold colors add so much interest to this clean and airy space. 
We love the reliance on accessories in this living room! In such a monochromatic space, this designer brought in so many different elements to keep the room interesting. It so amazing to see a room so well designed yet not really having any hues but grey. Well styled! 
Again! A fabulous persian rug in a kitchen. We love! Also, midnight blue cabinets?!?  We see this becoming a major trend in kitchen design and we absolutely approve. This rug adds the right amount of color and glam to this homey kitchen. 

Friday, August 19, 2011

S+S chow: buffalo chicken bites

TGIBCB. That's right. Who cares about it being Friday? We are just glad buffalo chicken bites are here, and here to stay. Ok...we do care it's Friday. 

Last weekend we had a little get together with our friends and tried this recipe for one of the appetizers. Holy. Smokes. That is all that can be said. These little bites pack a whole lotta punch. It has the decadent pastry crust and then the spicy center, and all topped off with the creamy blue cheese. Nom Nom Nom. 
Ingredients 
1 cup finely diced cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's brand is the best)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup warm milk 
2 1/2 cups of flour

Directions
To make the buffalo chicken mixture, in a small bowl, combine the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, softened butter and hot sauce; set aside.

In a 1 cup measuring cup, heat the milk and then add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir into warm milk until dissolved; place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.


Add 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast to the stand mixer and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary. Allow the dough to knead in the stand mixer for 5-7 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Place dough into a clean bowl that's been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope. Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of buffalo chicken mixture into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope. Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Make 3 more ropes with remaining dough, filling and cut into pieces, transferring to sheet pans. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).


Bake buffalo chicken bites in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven (some cheese may have melted out.) and brush tops with melted butter before serving (optional).