Pretty in Blue

Oh! What rich wallpaper from the Wallpaper Collective. The Artist is the fabulous Camilla Meijer.

Head in the Clouds

Oh, what a great idea to have a cloud-painted headboard. Sweet dreams! (thanks, Apartment Therapy).

A Little Spice

The bedroom happens to be fairly clean today so I figured I'd snap a few photos to show you how things are coming together on the home front. For a long time the bedroom had no decoration or plan whatsoever. My big break came one day when I was driving past the plethora of vintage shops on Hawthorne (hooray, PDX!). This 1970s-era headboard painted bright red was sitting outside and screaming my name. Never mind that I had nothing to match it, this thing of beauty was now mine.

My impulsive purchase unleashed a frenzy of design desperation as I scoured the house for anything at all that might coordinate with BRIGHT RED. First came a beautiful quilt that my mom made me which, since she has a pretty sophisticated sense of color,  gave me great direction for the rest of the room. The quilt inspired the fun orange walls. Since I have a lot of wood in the room (floors, side table & dressers) I like that orange is bright but still an earthy color.

With so many warm tones I needed a bit of pop, so I unearthed two turquoise Vietnamese lanterns and felt everything come together. I was able to raid my stash of fabrics and stitch up multi throw pillows to balance out the colors (I knew I'd use that fabric one day!).

Finally, I needed something iconic hanging above the bed so St George and the Dragon did the trick. Although I had no plan at the start, I managed to use things I already owned to coordinate with that red headboard. I've decided the vibe is Chinese-temple-meets-Turkish-bazaar. Maybe that's stretching it but it works for me. 

The Slowly Evolving Room

We moved into our house about two years ago when I was six months pregnant. For some strange reason it took a very long time to decorate everything (I just used the past tense as if it's actually finished) and the living room has been a particular thorn in my side. To have finished it even a little is such an accomplishment I figured I should share some of the results...

We started our living room adventure with a couch and a painting, which roughly established the color scheme. The search for just-right chairs began when we realized there was not enough seating for two pets and any number of humans. It seems like decent chairs should be an easy find... not so. New chairs were too big, too expensive and poorly constructed so thrift store-a-shopping we went. Jackpot! $200 later we had two sturdy, perfectly-sized chairs and an AWESOME lamp.

Phase two involved a desperate search for the perfect fabric to cover the chairs with. We lured our neighbors over with wine in order to solicit countless opinions—apparently it takes a village to make these important decisions. I love the pattern we landed on. (If I was a good Textile Designer I could tell you where the pattern came from but I seem to have lost this info).

The wall behind the chairs was tricky to fill but we decided it needed something large, bright and round (too many straight lines in the room) so it was a great moment when we found this huge mirror at a going-out-of-business sale. And if you're wondering what that squirrelly sculpture is in the background, it's a cho fa that we picked up in Thailand (some detail pics of that here).

And there you have it, the evolution of a living room.

Dreaming of a Door

Wow, this has to be the most innovative stained glass design I've ever seen. I love the style, the color and the way the shapes wrap around the wooden frames. Also, check out how it's used–as an interior door! These images are from the remodel of an original Greene & Greene home by HartmanBaldwin. If you like looking at beautiful houses, go check out their work.

The Perfect Mix

I found this dining room by interior designer Barrie Benson in Domino Magazine. I absolutely love the orange/turq mix, the giant window and, especially, the gorgeous printed chairs. And take a look at that floor!! I love it all.

Color, Pattern, Age, Beauty, Sigh...

I can't stop staring at ABC Carpet's current collection. Each carpet is stunning on its own and, as a collection, even more so. Just wow.

Closer is Better

Domino Magazine frame idea

Photo from Teresa Meyer Interiors

Every time I try to hang multiple pictures on a wall together I end up creating an OCD nightmare with frames that are constantly going off-kilter. In the end it just looks messy and stresses me out. Problem solved... make the frames touch. The way the images are butted up against each other in the photos here looks both tidy and creative. Gotta love it.

Heavenly Headboard

Pat Bravo is a textile designer who wrote this post about her lovely new print collection called Indie for Art Gallery Fabrics. Pat shows us her inspiration for the Indie collection and I'm swooning over this bedroom photo. That headboard is just plain jaw-dropping and I love it against that textured mustard wall. Of course the bedding coordinates perfectly-I think it's from Anthropologie but can't tell for sure. When I find out where this room exists, I'm going to move in.

Giant Squid: A Good Idea

I think I need a kraken in my living room... 

Surface View is a company that takes bold artwork, blows it up and customizes it as murals, window shades or prints. I'm particularly fond of Le Pouple Colossal by G. Buffon...

 

What's cool about their website is that it allows you to imagine the mural in a variety of rooms (like the living room above) and in several formats (mural, shades, etc). They have interesting art choices and have also partnered with museums to re-create some of their famous works. Fun stuff!

Homey

Again on the subject of living rooms, I'm liking this combo from Designer Angie Hranowsky. This is one of my very favorite color combos, then add a touch of Asian art and a few printed textiles. What's not to like?

Portraits

This is one of the most unique designs for a living room I've ever seen. The dark wall and old/new mix of portraits are a great centerpiece but I'm also struck by the textured carpet, mix of furniture styles and pop of color. This is the Manhattan apartment of Frederico de Vera. Pic is from Elle Decor.

A Hoot!

We just finished having our kitchen re-done (months of hammering, etc) and a friend got me these adorable owl measuring cups from West Elm as a kitchen-warming present. SO cute!!

Modern Old Wallpaper

I blog about wallpaper a lot but I don't actually have any in my home yet. I might have to finally take the plunge for a bit of Miss Print's new/old style wallpapers. Love the rich colors and bold lines. Yummy.

Top to bottom: Pebble Leaf, Muscat Small, Cotton Tree

OCD Book Shelves

The OCD part of me absolutely loves this bookshelf organization from an art exhibit by Chris Cobb. Since moving (a year ago) I'm still sorting through my many books and trying to figure out where to put them. I can't think of anything better than rows of color-matched bliss. I wonder if my husband will object?

IKAT CHAIRS!!

From the Absolutely Beautiful Things blog.

From Copy Cat Chic blog.

From Anthropologie.

From Finders Keepers blog.

In case you haven't noticed, ikat is THE textile of the moment and I am particularly fond of ikat chairs. The bold pattern on a small-ish space is exciting and nicely balances the traditional, folky feel of the print. Hope this look is here to stay for a while!

Mmmm... mercury

Ooh, etched mercury glass! This is from Jayson Home. Like it.

LOUD Textures

I've been noticing some huge, blown-out texture prints recently and I L.O.V.E. them. This one is a Wallpaper called "Thatch" for Cavern Home. So simple, so awesome.

Print Profusion

I'd always wanted to display my prints but I hadn't come up with a good way to do it... until now. This brilliant idea from The Purl Bee uses simple embroidery hoops. The lovely prints here are all Liberty of London (of course).

Pink Well Done

Despite the fact that I refuse to decorate my daughter's room in pink, I am not a pink-hater. Until recently, I'd spent most of my career designing prints for girls' clothes and have developed an eye-rolling annoyance with the over use of pink for girls. By itself pink is a fun color and I love it when it's used well. Here are some of my favorite pink rooms:

pink room 4, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

The peachy pink above mixed with neutrals is classy and warm. Photo from Katy Elliott.

pink room 5, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

Above is a living room designed by Steven Gambrel. I like the mix with green and light wood. Photo from Apartment Therapy.

pink room 3, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

Mixing red with pink is one of my favorite combos. It looks perfect in this Mexican-style room at Casa Puerta Roja.

pink room 2, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

This next room (above) is such a brave and bold color combo, you have to love it. Photo from Tudorks.

pink room 1, originally uploaded by nrillustration.

Another awesomely bold combo. The turq and pink contrast is so eye-catching, you almost miss the subtle variety of pink, red, purple and tangerine on the bed. Photo from Casa Pinka.