Favorite Room Feature: Of All the Fish in the Sea

Hello my darlings. Today we have such a talented and special guest. Seriously. I found Kim from Of All the Fish in the Sea while perusing Pinterest, shocker. I found an unbelievably chic and well executed design board. I clicked through to the original source and up pops Kim. After looking through all of her incredibly unique and ground breaking work, I emailed her immediately begging for her to show us more of her home. She obliged. She is kind like that. Today she is sharing her guest bedroom with us which happens to be a completely eclectic space. You know how I like that!

Hi Everyone! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be here today at one of my most favorite blogs, Sadie + Stella! It was such a tough decision to choose a favorite room to share with you all. My top two design philosophies? #1) Revel in the unexpected & #2) Vintage is a way of life. I think my guest bedroom is always one of my favorite rooms and is a perfect example of my philosophies come to life. 

There's just something about a guest bedroom- it's a place to have a little fun, take some chances that you might not take in your master bedroom and just live in your design moment.  Here is what my guest bedroom looks like today:

I painted the walls Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue. I love how cozy and cave-like it makes the room feel. During the day, this space gets a lot of natural light, so darker just seemed to work. The furniture is a mix of old and new. The bed is Ikea, the brown leather chair is vintage, and all of the artwork is thrifted vintage too!

The tumbling block chest is a vintage piece that I refinished myself. You can read about it on my blog here. I'm not going to lie to you, it took a lifetime to finish, but it's totally worth it to have something so unique and one-of-a-kind lovely in my home! 

The white lamp and oil portrait are both thrifted, as well as the beginnings of my blue and white china collection. I love the juxtaposition of the modern block pattern on the chest and the Chinoiserie effect of the China together. So unexpected! 

The bedding is Pottery Barn and the Suzani and Ikat pillows on the bed are from Homegoods (who doesn't LOVE that place?!)

The Mexican serape throw is vintage, as well as the suzani pillow on the leather chair. The portrait hanging on the closet is also vintage. 

I just love the look of layered rugs, and these are two of my favorites in my whole house! The one on top is an antique Persian that was a Craigslist find, and the striped one on the bottom was $12 at Big Lots...who would have thought?! I turned two vintage snack tables into upholstered stools for the foot of the bed, you can read about it on my blog here. 

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my guest bedroom. I cannot thank Lindsay enough for having me!  I hope you'll stop by Of All the Fish in the Sea sometime and say hi! xx Kim 

What's been up

So as the holidays were beyond hectic and time consuming I have foolishly neglected to let you in on my life as of late. I mean lots of things happening. DIY projects (ahem one), selling furniture, buying furniture. Wheeling and dealing basically. The story of a true hustler. One thing I will tell you, I finished my DIY tray inspired by one of my lovely and talented blog friends, My Crafty Home Life. Believe it or not, the before product of this tray is from Lowe's. With a little gold spray paint and some cabinet hardware, the finished product looks like the real deal. Mine is really serving a purpose acting as the container for my barista station. Can someone get me a freaking espresso machine? Santa dropped the ball on that one. 

And while we are on the subject of My Crafty Home Life, Linda watches out for me on the regular. She picked up this unfathomably cute terrier knick knack. It opens up to reveal any treasures that you might want to stow. My treasures happen to be no calorie sweetener packets. The heart wants what the heart wants. 

In other news, I sold my old couch! I did. Finally. I am obsessed with contrast piping right now and am hell bent on making it happen in my house. Insert this fabulously affordable option. Now I am still going to change some things up on this piece to make it more custom such as getting rid of the front pillows, and adding framing trim as mentioned here. I told you I would hit the ground running on those resolutions. Eat your heart out. 

Sectional

Still in the seating department, I snagged these unbelievable cane barrel chairs up for an absolute steal this week. How much you ask? I thought you would never ask. $18.00 a piece. I know. I am not giving you my address. Resist the temptation. After a little paint and reupholstery, these babies are going to be knocking my socks off. Speaking of which, where did that saying ever come from? It is kind of disgusting if you think about it. I really don't want to be knocking anyone's socks off. 

The other woman. 

So I know I said I will be recovering the chairs, and this is where you come in. Of course I adore and value your opinions. I am thinking of painting the frame navy or color. I know, opposite sides of the color wheel. I like to keep it interesting. So keep that in mind.

Option 1: With navy or coral. 

Snow Leopard

Option 2: With just navy I think. Coral would be entirely too much. 

Leopard

Option 3: With navy or coral. 

So what say you, you design geniuses? Also in adding seating news, I, like everyone else in blogosphere, snagged these incredible X-benches up from Target. Swear. I went on my normal Saturday Target run to pick up some contrast piping pajamas I had seen online and of course I just had to browse the end caps. It is habit. What did I see? I saw these perfectly coral and white piped x benches. $59.99. As opposed to the normal price tag of an x-bench being $300+. Do I really need these? It's debatable. I just couldn't fathom them being in someone else's home. Where will these go? TBD. Again, I really don't care where they go, I am just happy they are mine. 

In other news, my go to store for home decor, Home Goods asked me to take their Stylescope Quiz to determine my actual "style". This will come as no surprise to you, it claims that I am sassy with a touch of boho. My other blogger gal pal, Camila with Effortless Style also joins me in this category. Super exciting!

Stylescope

On the subject of features, iVillage recently featured my dining room for budget friendly home decor tips. You know I gussied this room up on the cheap. Check it out!

iVillage

Well that is all for right now kitty cats. Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday, which I woke up to thinking it was Wednesday. Buzz kill. Love you. Mean it! XOXO

Monday Musings: Antelope

My love muffins. How are you? Did you have a nice weekend? They are never long enough. Are they? Today I am discussing something so near and dear to my heart, the antelope rug. Of course it would be about an animal of some sort. Of course. Don't get all "oh it is sooooo Serengeti" on me. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this flooring choice, but I am all guns blazing about it. I love the neutral color palette and natural vibe that it brings to the table. It is sure to balance any space. I have big plans for myself and the antelope rug. I am not quite sure what that entails yet, but it is going to be magical. Let me show you other magical antelope scenarios. 

Veranda

Sadie + Stella

So if you are well versed in the subject of antelope flooring, then you know that it can get quite pricey. That is where my genius bargaining skills come in. I have found the perfect budget friendly alternative. 

Splurge/Save

So where are we on this subject? Do we love? Or do we think it looks like someone has walked along the carpet dribbling a liquid substance in a straight line? Shoot me straight y'all! Regardless, this baby is going to be making its way into my abode. XOXO

A collected living room design

We made it through the first week of 2013. Cheers to you. You should really pat yourself on the back, it is truly a fete. Today I am sharing the design plans for my clients' living/family room. They currently have this bright white space that is meant to be a sitting/lounging area. No TVs or electronics allowed please. I love the tradition that my client is instilling in her home. Everyone needs a space like this, where people are forced to interact without technological interruptions. 

The goal of the space was to provide a ton of seating for they entertain frequently. I wanted to keep the space a white backdrop and add pops of vibrant colors. 

This enviable coffee table you spot below is an existing piece of the client. I am slightly jealous over here I have to say. We are going to slap some black lacquer on this baby and it will be ready to roll. Who doesn't adore the campaign hardware? I mean come on. This piece is begging to be styled. 

On to the next one. The mantle. To continue on with the theme of seating, two tufted club chairs have been added, and also x-benches for footstools (not seen here). I see this as the perfect place to sit by the fire and read a book. Put your feet up. Stay awhile. You know? Picturesque. 

Here the space is currently. The chairs will obviously be swapped out. Such a blank space. You know I love my spaces tabula rasa style. 

On to the last lone wall in the room. When you enter into the space, as seen above, this spindle chair will be the first thing you see, facing the mantle. Again, goal was to create more and more and more seating. And more. Both my client and I have had our eye on that spindle chair for sometime and I have to tell you, I just adore the classic vibe it adds to any design. The emerald green credenza will be flanked with a wishbone chair and adorned with a mix and match gallery art wall. 

As you can see, this bare wall is crying for a credenza. Sobbing really. The backs of the built in bookcases in the space will be lined with grasscloth and styled to perfection. 

And here is our fabulous Craigslist find credenza. As noted above, this will be painted the color of the year, emerald green. Rich, luxe and fabulous. Even the tiger and the baby girl are giving their stamp of approval. I knew I liked this little girl. Isn't the detailing ah-mazing? You know it is. 

So whatchu think? I cannot wait to share the progress with you as my client is off to a running start. What are you dolls up to this weekend? I need to do some housekeeping (ahem) and work of course. For serious. I hope y'all have a ground breaking weekend. See you next week. Love you. Mean it. XOXO

Get the Look: Super Chic Bar

E'erbody knows this girl loves a bar. I mean seriously. When I first laid eyes on this image, to say I was taken would be an understatement. I loved the neutral backdrop, the in your face yellow lighting and the nature driven art. Let us not forget the lucite bar cart and the geometric rug. While everything seems to be a different style, it all works in harmony. Just the way any eclectic space should. 

Interiors by Studio M

So who wouldn't want to recreate this masterpiece? I know some of you greedy hoarders have some sort of a lucite bar cart on hand. Shame on you. Shame on you because I am wildly jealous. Maybe you have the lucite, but I am bringing the other elements to the table. Get the look. 

Lamp/Lampshades/Rug/Bar Cart/Art/Wallpaper/Tassel/Box/Mirrored Tray

Favorite Room Feature: Chateau À Gogo

Ladies and gents. To start of this new year right, and practice what I preach regarding my resolutions, none other than Brandy from Chateau À Gogo is sharing her bold and chic space. I recently stumbled upon Brandy's blog by way of several other blogs and I have been hooked ever since. She has a love for bright hues and unconventional design. Basically twins. Right? 

Hi Everyone!  I am thrilled to kick off the 2013 season of Sadie and Stella's "Favorite Room Feature".   I am fairly new to the blog world.  My one year anniversary will be February 1st.  I started my blog like so many others as a creative outlet and to meet others that share my love of design.  One day a good friend said to me, "I love your house.  It just makes me so happy every time I'm in it."  That is one of the best compliments I've ever received and one reason my tag line for Chateau À Gogo is "where fun and design live happily ever after". I always add moments of fun in each space I style with pops of color, graphic wallpaper or unique artwork. I also believe each space should be a mix of classic vintage and modern pieces with touches of glamour and texture to add depth and personality to the room.

I love every room in our house but my favorite is the living room (aka lake room).  This space is mainly windows which allows nature to be the backdrop but also makes space planning a challenge.

The previous owners had a completely different style than mine. 

Here is the room BEFORE (I don't know about you but I love seeing before shots):

And here is the room TODAY:

I painted the walls and trim in Benjamin Moore Simply White to give the room a clean white foundation.  Simply White does not go cold and it does not go cream.  It is a perfect warm white.  The majority of my furniture pieces and lighting are vintage but I've chosen a modern rug, fabrics and accessories to achieve a good balance.  I added touches of glam with the bar cart, glass and mirrored coffee table and the brass Chinoiserie andirons. The West Elm Martini table, Jonathan Adler tray and Stray Dog drum table keep the space from feeling dated.

I am a firm believer that every home needs a bar. I actually have two....cocktail anyone??

And as always, I've added my touches of FUN.

I hope you enjoyed the tour around my lake room.  Please swing by Chateau À Gogo.  I love unexpected guests!  Thanks Lindsay for having me and I wish everyone a FUN 2013!

CHEERS!

Brandy

new year. new start.

Happy. New. Year. Let me guess. Your head is spinning, you are begging for 4 Advil and a gallon of water and are actually reading this post from the McDonald's drive thru due to being majorly over served last night. No? Just me?  I hope you all had a fabulously festive evening and that you are ready for the new year and the excitement that lies ahead. New year. New start.

When the clock strikes midnight on January 1, many resolutions with good intentions commence. Many diets start, extreme exercise regiments begin, people vow to be kinder and better in the new year. Me? I start making lofty home and business goals for myself. On the list for 2013? Just a few projects up my sleeve. Let's hit the high points on my impending to do list. 

It is going to start from the outside and slowly work it's way in. I vow to make my front door to my house coral in 2013. And. And. Adorned with a gold lions head door knocker. Yes. This must happen. I love myself a colored door and semi scary animal greeting each and every guest. The juxtaposition of the inviting color with the wild animal is just too too fabulous.

Maria Killam

2013 is going to be all about the walls for me. I plan on embarking on some large millwork installation on at least one of my walls. How fabulous is this space below? The time and planning that it took to plan and execute this design absolutely exhausts me. 

Go bolder. Bolder is always better. I am talking bold walls. Bold furniture. Bold art. Bold accessories. Bold patterns. My home is going to become even more bold this year. 

LGN

I will get a new couch this year and it will be customized with the framing ribbon in the middle of each cushion. I have been inspired by a few of my colleagues, Jamie and Emily, by their trailblazing ways in reference to cushion modification. Sounds so fancy, right? I think this look can give such a custom appearance to any couch whether it be an Ikea or something higher end. Everybody wins. 

Palmer Weiss

Other notes of 2013? We all know emerald is officially in. We've heard. I have one special request/goal/resolution that society as a whole needs to engage in. Can we please ditch the 234,956 different "Keep Calm, Carry On" signs? Puhhhhh-leasee. They automatically make me feel aggressive. Thus defeating the purpose. Let's cool it on that. Shall we? Oh and work out more? Eat better? Be nicer? Not make fun of people? I think those are the things I am "supposed" to be surrendering in the new year. 

I am so excited for all of the opportunities, challenges, trials and tribulations that this new year will bring. More importantly, I am thrilled to be going through all of that with you all. My lovely readers. What projects do you all have on your list for the new year? Do share! Love you. Mean it. XOXO