Alllllright, if I thought I liked the birch tree wallpaper before—check out my post from last month—I’m on the verge of obsession now.
These bathrooms from HGTV.com are killing me with their sharp modernity blended with the tree-laden design.
So, birch tree wallpaper in a bathroom? Yes. Please.
Ooh! The blue lattice stool from Clayton Gray Home that I used in my blue and white inspiration board also looks good in a bathroom.
*Image from HGTV.com.
Icy, pale blue is my absolute favorite color (probably because it’s so clean), and my absolute favorite way to use it is with a hot pop of color in the red or orange family. Just like Leslie Klotz did in her bedroom:
Hellooo, heaven.
Oh, and besides the color pop, Klotz was smart to use woven shades and a walnut nightstand—they warm up a very cool color on the walls.
*Image from House Beautiful.
This is the one instance I can think of, at least in recent years, when a trend began in home décor and then infiltrated fashion. Zebra print may be coming up in fashion, but it’s been staying up in home.
I’ve been compiling images of zebra print décor over the past several months, from Adore Home, High Gloss, and Lonny, as well as retailers Horchow and West Elm. It’s amazing how widespread this trend is! And how incredibly versatile. See for yourself.
Zebra print wall-to-wall carpeting:
Zebra print pillows:
Zebra print furnishings:
And last but not least, zebra print rugs—some real, some fake, some cartoony:
So if you’re trying to figure out how to add a dose of retro glamour to your room without sacrificing edginess, I hope these photos inspire you to consider zebra!
Since this family room, designed by Linda Woodrum, was intended to have mass appeal, it looks a bit like a hotel lobby: high-end, but drained of personality.
However in this case, that’s not necessarily a bad thing! It’s still beautiful, functional, and nicely proportioned and balanced. We can glean a lot of inspiration from this room. Take a look at the photos, and then read on.
What I like about this family room:
1) The drum pendants. Not only are they way more interesting than trendy, recessed pot lights, they’re more intimate, too.
2) Intimate seating. Oftentimes we think that if furniture is too close together, the room will look smaller or more crowded, but that’s not necessarily true. In this case, it’s cozy and appropriate for a family room.
3) Sleeper sectional. The couch turns into a queen sleeper—and I don’t know about you, but we definitely need more space for visiting relatives!
4) Storage ottomans. They triple as a coffee table, extra seating, and storage bin. So functional.
5) Unexpected black-and-white painting. The designer stated, “With so much saturated color, I knew we needed black and white there to clean and crisp up the room.” So true.
6) Not quite wall-to-wall carpeting. That 12-ish inches of space between the carpet and the wall actually expands the space, and that glimpse of hardwood makes the room look even more high-end.
7) A cohesive color statement, expressed in wall color, furniture, lamps, and textiles. I am always drawn to color. Whether it looks methodical or haphazard, color conveys a feeling; and in this case, there’s a richness and warmth that begs me to sit and stay a while. (Wall color is Craft Paper from Sherwin-Williams.)
*Images from HGTV Dream Home 2012.
Happy Christmas Eve! Here’s a simple little post today, in favor of the painted door. Doesn’t it look good in this basically neutral interior? And next to that black-and-white floral wallpaper? Hellooo, chartreuse—you’re looking mighty fine.
*Image from shelterness.com.
It seems to be a good week for discovering new textile designers! Today I stumbled upon Caitlin Wilson, a San Francisco designer with a very trend-forward aesthetic in both pattern and palette.
I love how each of her collections has some brilliant pattern-mixing going on. Pattern mixing is not always easy, so she does it for us! See her collections below, Fleur Chinoise I, Fleur Chinoise II, Fleur Chinoise III, Fleur Chinoise IV, and Hong Kong.
I’ve been over the bird trend for, oh, three, maybe four years now. Bird fabrics, bird wallpaper, bird salt shakers, bird decals, birdcages—it never seems to stop! Why?! Why don’t you fly away already??!
Well… except that was my attitude yesterday. Today, I’m reading Howard Norman’s exceptional novel, The Bird Artist, and it’s not only giving me a new appreciation for birds, it’s kind of making me obsessed with them.
Unfortunately I’m not about to become a bird artist myself, sitting in nature for hours at a time, sketching falcons, ospreys, and sandpipers. I’m much too—hm, how shall I say this—lazy. I’d rather let someone else be the bird artist and me, well, I’ll just give them my money.
Any one of these talented artists will do.
Bird prints for sale at Etsy.com, clockwise from top left:
Kingfisher Kitchen from alfredstark
Night Tree, Crescent Moon, Black Birds, and Farm Fields from TheBluebirdGallery
Great Horned Owl from annasee
Superb Fairy Wren from bridgetfarmerprints
Primary Birds from locole
Osprey at Cape May from berkeleySU
I have a particular fondness for birch trees. The backyard of my childhood home was full of them, like a cute-little birch-tree colony. If I ever move back home (it’s possible! We’re not planning to live on the Mediterranean forever!), I love the idea of working them into our décor. It doesn’t have to be literal, of course, but it could be. Like with this wallpaper, designed by Steve Abrams.
It may not look like much in 2-D, but take a look at it when applied to a rustic-chic room. You only see hints of it because of the limited wall space, but even when it’s just a hint, the illustrated, birch-tree texture takes the room from handsome to titillating (don’t you love that word?).
And check this out—even if you’re too timid for wallpaper, you’re not out of luck! Kristen Dougherty sells original birch-tree paintings on her Etsy page, and they evoke that same simple, graphic, and rustic elegance of the birch tree colony outside my childhood window.
It (almost) makes me want to pack up my things and head west!
