Home Styles

Our Living Room: Going Green!!!

Well, I took the plunge. We decided on a bright mossy velvet for our sofa reupholstery. I can't find an image that looks like it exactly... It's a bit less limey/ more green than the pic above (house beauitful) and the cotton velvet is super-rich with lots of tonal variation.

We're doing a pair of these tight-back arm chairs from Martha Stewart in the ferny fabric (above) on the reverse (again, color is off):

Here's the exact shape of the sofa (Atlanta Bartlett)... and you must've known I'd have to have a back-up plan... We're also getting a white washable slipcover made for the sofa (exactly like the one below) for warmer months, kids, and so we can bring in any color scheme we want. (Ok, so I can bring in any color scheme.. hhahaha a like my husband really gets to the urge to reaccessorieze! ;) --- We're waiting on having the slipcover made until I feel the urge.. because I'm definitely really exited about the green right now. And... just so you don't think I'm really crazy with money/ flippant I should explain: We got the sofa off of craiglist for really cheap & the current fabric is really dirty. I really wanted to do white slipcovers, but we would have had to reupholster the fabric anyway because it was dirty/ old/ and striped, showing through the slipcover... SO I decided to reupholster it in a fun color so I could have the option to take off the slipcover. Now we'll just wait a few months for the slipcover.

We went with green because we really feel that it's true to the house and its connection with the outdoors. Green greets us from every view and I really want the interiors to be all about the views. (It's also both my & my husband's favorite color ;)

There will still be tons of white because you know I need that:

We bought these glass lamps from Arteriors Home for next to the sofa:

The plan is to tear out the carpet & do hardwood floors. We'll probably start out with seagrass rugs and eventually I'd love to find the perfect worn, antique (or antique-looking, I'm really not picky) patterned rug to layer over the seagrass in the living room. I also want to layer my favorite green fabrics and/ or use them as a skirted table in the open dining room. I want to bring on some old-fashioned florals:

Below is a room with a green sofa from the Martha Stewart furniture line:

Our Living room will be a bit softer, more blended but just to give you an idea.. I love how you can mix virtually any color with green- blues, aquas, pinks, browns, etc... getting pumped!! Since I'm crazy about green rightnow I figured it was time to join the Hooked On Houses blog party. Check it out!! Anyway, we're off to visit my dad at his lakehouse for some (finally!!!) rest & relaxation!!!!

I cannot wait to sit on the dock and swim & go boating & tubing!!! (notice how i'm screaming in the pic below and my husband is just relaxing .. hahahah)

Will be posting from there & hope to get lots done at the lakehouse to show you!!!

xoxo,

lauren

A Sweet Surprise: ( a casual) Tablescape Thursday

Saturday morning one of my best friends, Alissa, stopped over while we were gettting our lower level wall-to-wall seagreass carpet installed. I had to miss a little party some of our friends were having because I had to stay & supervise the install, so she brought over BREAKFAST!!! I've been meaning to do Tablesapes Thursday with Between Naps on the Porch for a while now & figured this was the perfect opportunity! (This one is definitely more food/ friend focused!)

Below is Alissa withher delicious goodies!!!

Now my husband's always said the way to my heart is through food. (He used to bring me beef jerky, not flowers, in college. hahaha) Anyway, the breakfast looked so pretty- being the blogger that I am- I had to make everyone wait to dig in so I could get a couple of pics. It was so simple but so perfect- fresh fruit, o.j., bagels, croissants and I toasted & loaded mine with hot ham & cheese mm mm. (I will now crave that sandwich all the time..)

The pink zinnias in the old jam jar (from my garden- yay the one thing I haven't killed!!) were already there & worked perfectly with all the bright colors in the fruit. I've been dying to use the pitcher that the o.j. is in: It's cut glass with palm trees on it that I found at a thrift shop for $4. The plates are Pottery Barn Classic white and the bowls are vintage soup bowls with a pretty green design on them from Lucketts for $4. So thanks so much to my Tikie Torch (just a nickname for Alissa)- we love you!!!

Hope you enjoyed!! There are so many beautiful tablescapes waiting at Between Naps on the Porch, so go check it out!!

xoxo,

lauren

Natural Elements: Driftwood

I love bringing nature indoors. My favorite accessories are typically natural objects and driftwood is right at the top.

(image above from House Beautiful.) It's so sculptural and its dull gray finish is coveted by many... Furniture manufacturers work so hard to get the perfect dull-gray/ limewash finish of driftwood on their pieces today. It's not an easy finish to replicate because it comes from exposure to years & years of water & sun & often salt. Today I wanted to share with you a few resources & inspiration pics for driftwood furnishings & accessories. Check out http://www.nautilusdesign.co.uk/index.html for some beautiful & unique driftwood pieces like this mirror below and sculptures, lamps, etc. The creator of Nautilus, David Holmes, writes, "From an early age I have been fascinated with driftwood, combing the beaches of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall in my holidays.This interest has never wavered, I still collect driftwood; I love the fact that each piece has it's own inherent texture, shape and colour. The unique quality of each piece of wood inspires my handmade designs."

I love this piece of driftwood he has just casually leaning in a corner. There are so many beautfiul images on the Nautilus website so check it out if you have a minute.

The items below are by another artist, Carl Woodland Jr., also known as "Sonny" who learned the art from his father while growing up in the Florida Keys as a boy. He now continues the business with his wife and daughter. Their website is http://www.alldriftwoodfurniture.com/ and the prices are REALLY reasonable. I WANT this sunburst mirror: (how gorgeous?!!)

LOVE this too:

They come in all shapes & sizes & they even do custom:

Their tables are so beautiful & they do dining tables, consoles, coffee tables, end tables, you name it. Just cannot get over this dining room table:

They also do lamps in all shapes & sizes & the prices even compare with mass-produced pieces.

Here is Pottery Barn's driftwood lamp (below) for $299 and while I think it's gorgeous, I'd rather have one handmade by an artist who makes his living doing it. (above)

Cote de Texas recently posted this photo below on her beloved linen post. I am gagga for this entire room. Notice the driftwood/ limewash finish on the coffee table. And I can't even handle that lamp.

My dad is a bass fisherman in Illinois (it's his lakehouse we're going to in a week!!) and has lots of fish mounted on driftwood. He always found his own driftwood from the lakes and some of them are HUGE!!! To be honest, I like the driftwood better than the fish.

We've been renovating the lake cottage so right now the entire unfinished basement is like a Grandma's attic: full of junk & treasures. As I was nosing around in there, I came across all of his old mounted fish, collecting serious dust. And I was naughty. hee hee hee hee heee... I'm seriously giggling right now thinking about it. hahahah Well, I ripped off some of the fish & hung the driftwood around the house & used it on tables & window sills. Check out the HUGE piece he found below... I snapped the pic before I even pried off the little thing that holds the fish on. I DOUBT this is still hanging now that I've left, or if it is, there's probably a fish on it.

Here's another little piece I love in the same room:

The only piece I have in my home in Virginia is the one in the shelf below. My dad mounted my first bass on it when I was 4 years old. The poor fish is really beaten up right now (I still have it somewhere) but the driftwood is still in perfect condition and I move it around all the time. Here is in the old basement:

And here it is now (below) in our dining room:

There are lots of websited that sell driftwood if you're not in a spot where you can find your own. Here's one of them: http://www.amazonmoosey.com/ (image below)