Oct 26, 2010

Trip to Molbak's

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Molbak's Nursery in Woodinville with my boyfriend's family and some of mine. It. Was. Wonderful! The place is HUGE and not only dedicated to all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers but things for the home as well. Each area has a unique design and was so well put together. I was told it was pretty expensive beforehand (which it was) but even so there were deals to be had! Mom and I stumbled on these little mushroom clip-on Christmas ornaments for $2-3 each.


Our cart all filled up. I can't get enough of these!

I snapped a few photos for some Christmas inspiration as well. Like this adorable snow-covered pinecone window display! I'd love to make one!


Stick vases!


One of my favorites - a cardinal tree. 




My mom fell in love with this owl. We didn't get it but now that I think of it, he might be a neat (and unconventional) tree-topper. Especially with the mushroom ornaments. And other forest-y things decorating the tree. Oh my...

Their home decor section - I love the shade on that lamp and the bird print!




I thought this was a great table idea, they took two small etageres and placed a chippy old door on top.



So there you have it, if you're ever in the Woodinville area I highly recommend checking this place out!

Oct 19, 2010

Entryway Update: Possibilities

I recently posted about the makeover I did to our entryway. It's had a small update since then with the addition of the Georgina Rug from Pottery Barn, which I got for $22 after the sale using some gift cards. I absolutely love this rug, it's incredibly soft and cushy. I'm also happy that it is a bit darker in color than what's shown on the PB site, especially since I'm using it in the entryway.


Now that the rug is in, my eye keeps going back to the art on the wall. I think it could use a change as well. I haven't had it up that long, but that wall just seems too sparse. I dug out all of the picture frames I had and placed them on the ground in an arrangement that I liked and snapped a photo. Using photoshop I got to see how they would all look up on the wall (while still covering the circuit breaker box):

I like how it looks so I think I might make the switch. I had planned on painting the frames to match, but I'm kindof digging the eclectic mix and how a lot of the frames pull the same colors in the rug up onto the wall. But it didn't stop there, I decided to play around with paint colors in photoshop just for fun:


  I fell in love. Nooooooo! Why do I tease myself like this? We're allowed to paint the apartment but the fee to paint the walls back is something like $200. Le sigh! Maybe I can figure out what the standard apt paint color is and we can just paint the walls back ourselves... since this area is so small it would be such an easy change!

Oct 16, 2010

Karen Templer: Design Idea Book

I was looking around at the library when I stumbled upon a book by Karen Templer called the Design Idea Book. I was hooked by the gorgeous colors and ideas on the cover and the page after that, and the page after that...


Here are just a few of my favorite inspirational images from the book, I highly recommend it if you need to jump start your imagination!













Oct 15, 2010

Estate Sale

I ventured out to my first estate sale today. I actually went to check out a dollhouse for my parents (which was a really cool house but turned out to be way way WAY out of our price range) but since I was there I decided to stay and have a look around. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, so instead of a mad rush to grab things before someone else did, I got to take my time and enjoy looking.

I'm still learning the ropes to estate sale-ing so if you have any tips I'd love to hear them! Something I did learn: if you see piles in corners, they usually belong to someone who has "claimed" those items. One guy got some major scores: a really neat leather chair, a rustic table, a bar cart, a giant wine bottle... his pile of stuff was enormous! We definitely shared the same tastes, I would have purchased everything in his pile (if I were made of money that is).




Oh and on a bit of a bad note, another thing I noticed was that people were not very patient at all. It's unfortunate really. The owners had set up a list to put names down on and they would let about 20 people in at a time so they weren't overwhelmed (there were easily 100 there). Well, quite a few people proceeded to yell, yes yell, at the owners to let them in, or gripe about how long we were waiting in line, or make rude comments about certain items or the way the house looked when the owners were within earshot. Just remember, the people putting on these sales are allowing everyone to be a guest (of sorts) in their home. A little courtesy is always nice! (Not that I need to be telling YOU this... you know, just the invisible mean people who might be reading).

At the end of my walk through, I spotted some pillows piled on a window seat marked $1 each. They were in awesome shape and were a pretty gold cotton velvet. Nab! I bought 6 of them, 4 large gold pillows and 2 smaller taupe ones. I figured if I got them home and didn't like them I could at least use the pillow forms. Nope! Not gonna happen. Love them! Here's a photo of a tiny corner of one because I'm mean like that. Hope you all have a great weekend!


Oct 14, 2010

A little Halloween Decorating

I don't usually decorate for Halloween so this year I thought I'd try out a small vignette in our entryway. It's just something simple, but I love how it looks with the candles all lit up!



Oct 12, 2010

Hirondelle Rustique on the Front Page of Etsy!

Hooray! One of the 8x10 Sea Fan prints from my shop made it to the front page of Etsy.com thanks to ToonyJewelry (who made the treasury)!

Oct 11, 2010

Master Bedroom Mood Board Makeover

I recently completed a mood board for a client, Rachelle, who wanted to update her master bedroom and make it a relaxing place to unwind at the end of the day. She was very friendly, amazing to work with and is DIY savvy to boot!

Like me, Rachelle is a bargain hunter and wanted her room to be completed in stages as her budget allows. She already had the bedroom set and gorgeous bedding. I suggested a new paint color, rug, curtains, lighting and pillows would make the largest immediate impact while keeping within her budget. Later on, she'll add accessories like picture frames, mercury glass candlesticks, accent furniture (including DIYing the tufted cube ottomans with nailhead trim from Project Pretty) and a cozy throw to finish off her room. I'm so excited to see how it turns out!

Oct 5, 2010

A Feature!

First, I want to say a big thank you to Danielle over at Danielle Oakey Interiors, who was so sweet to feature my DIY Imperial Trellis pillows!

She has such a fun style and while browsing through her blog, I stumbled upon a post where she visited the okotoks alberta dump and found some seriously fantastic steals. Wanting to do the same, I called the dumps in my area to see if they had any sort of salvage shops set up. Sadly they didn't, but I did learn that there was a Salvation Army close by (how did I miss this with all the thrifting I've been doing lately?) where they donate most of their salvaged items. Score! I can't wait to check it out!
 

Oct 1, 2010

Cozy up your home: Fall Finds from Etsy

A collection of Fall items from Etsy to warm your heart.

{5x7 Fine Art Print - Lori411}

 {Antique Wooden Dough Bowl - CountrysideAntiques} 

 
 {Velvet Drape - avecdieu}

 {Mountain Goat Candles - PegandAwl}


 {Beautiful Wreath - twoinspireyou}

 {Merino Blanket - RiverFarmRI}

 {Pumpkin Spice Latte Mix - NotYourMamasMix}

 {Small Market Basket - LittleDande}

 {3 Knit Pumpkins - PreciousKnits}

 {Plaid Pillow Cover - HughMartinHome}

 {Hanging Sphere - PinkPeace777}


 {Pine Cone Mirror - haknyak}

 {Pumpkin Spice Candle - aBreathofFrenchair}

{Pillow Cover - PersnicketyHome}
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