Sunday 27 June 2010

Have you seen my stapler?

 I need an office space [get it?].  Like, badly.  I was debating us getting a 2 bedroom apartment, just so I could have a place to get some crafty, furniture building, blog writing, design doing space.  At the moment, my drawing board sits behind the sofa [aka, the turd], and barely sees the light of day.  the Harari home of the future will have a nice big office/space over a garage/attic/basement.  A place to keep all of my interior design stuff [ie, fabrics, tiles, markers, pens, watercolors, etc.], tools, scraps of wood... and it will be wallpapered with Beatles paraphernalia [had to spell check that one].   Until then, I would appreciate even a small space of my own.  There's only one place in our entire flat that could hold a teeny desk and that's right in front of the window in the living room.  I have about 3.5 feet to work with, and I think a cute little desk like this would be glorious!






















from Home Shopping Spy

Adorable and funky at the same time.  Dan said that he saw a used office furniture shop nearby, but I have yet to find it [he tends to take very long walks and loses track of time...], but I'd love to find an old, antique [but cheap] desk that I can refinish and add to my portfolio of furniture rescues.  Eek!  I'm excited already!  See below for where to buy...

In the UK:

















1. LEKSVIK Desk, £79 at Ikea; 2. METROPOL Desk Lamp, £45 at Habitat; 3. Savannah Story Bust, Gazelle, £58 at Anthropologie; 4. Eames Eiffel DAR Lounge Dining Chair Green - Panton, £50 at ebay.co.uk; 5. Round Metal Mirror, £99 at Next; 6. Broken Stripe Purple Rug, £50-£199 at Next; 7. Union Jack Cushion £18.95 at aflair.co.uk.

In the US:

















1.  Stripes Rug - Purple (Rectangle), $149.99 at Target; 2. Antiqued Gold Round Mirror , £149.98 at Pier1; 3. Painted Flag Outdoor Lumbar Pillow, $35 at Pottery Barn; 4. Room Essentials® Double Shade Desk Organizer Lamp - Green, $12.99 at Target; 5.  Savannah Story Bust, Gazelle, $58 at Anthropologie; 6. Fabric Task Chair - Apple Green, $89.99 at Target; 7. Avington Desk - Dark Tobacco, $119.99 at Target.

Happy Sunday!

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Psychic!



Ha!  That makes me laugh every time.  Anyway, the reason for that is because I opened up my new Ideal Home magazine, and they had a whole section of yellow interiors.  Huzzah!























from Ideal Home

How gorgeous is that?  I'm still trying to make some kind of yellow situation happen in our bedroom, but the furthest that I have gotten is to put up some cheap-o, yellow curtain.  Where mine just looks cheap and sad, this one is elegant and fun.  Sunshiny, but not to girly.  The walnut stained wood adds a masculine touch and I just love those benches at the end of the bed.  See where to buy below:

In the UK:

















1. Harlequin Wallpaper, Illuminate 75623, Sulphur, £35 per meter at John Lewis; 2. Yellow pocket cushion, £15 at Debenhams; 3. VILMIE Cushion cover, £3.99 at Ikea; 4. TRE Bedspread, £39 at Habitat; 5. Bruges television unit, £404.10 at Debenhams; 6. Pleated White Bedset, £35-£45 at M&S; 7. Tiga Side Table, £99 at M&S; 8. John Lewis Kerala Bedstead, Double, £495 at John Lewis; 9. John Lewis Echo Table Lamp, £45 at John Lewis

In the US:

















1.  The Wallpaper Company 20.5 In. W Yellow Large Contemporary Flower Wallpaper, $44.98 at Home Depot; 2. Green & Yellow Roses Pillow, $31.95 at Pier1; 3.  Colormate Down Alternative Blanket , $34.99 at Kmart; 4.  Room Essentials™ Night Stand - Espresso, $59.99 at Target; 5.  Atrium Zoey 20"x13" Indoor-Outdoor Pillow, $29.99 at Crate&Barrel; 6. Montgomery Coffee Table , $149.98 at Pier1; 7. Square District Lamp, $55 at Pier1; 8. Como Queen Low Profile Platform Bed, $899 at Macy's; 9. Room Essentials® White Quilt Set, $29.99 at Target.

Monday 21 June 2010

Saturday 19 June 2010

Decorating Nightmare!

Dan and I rent our apartment.  We LOVE it.  Great location, quiet [now that our drunk neighbors have been evicted], good neighbors [now] but the fittings and decor are heinous.  Builders paint every wall in this country "Marigold", and the floors in our bathroom and kitchen are an "orange marble" linoleum.  Really, really, disgusting.  Exhibit A:


 As you can see, I've tried to jazz it up a bit with a decent shower curtain, and some pictures on the wall, but it's still not that great.  I might paint the walls [depending on whether our landlord will let us - I have a degree in Interior Design to persuade him...].  We'll see.

Anyway, what brought this to mind [besides having to look at my bathroom every day], was a post by sfgirlbybay from the other day about her equally frustrating renters bathroom dilemma.  What do you do when your stuck with this crap?  Since I can't get the image of her bathroom out of my head, I've decided to dedicate this post to dealing with her bathroom dilemma.























This is the 1930's, cotton candy bathroom.  Totally trendy then... not so much now [though I love that metal vanity and the painting].  Not even nice enough to be called vintage.  So here's the inspiration for the update:





















 
The Retro/Vintage Scan Emporium

Fun and colorful.  Very obviously vintage.  Let's bathroom accessorize!

In the UK:

















1. Bellasole Mirror, £94.50 at Not on the High Street; 2. Photography Blackpool Beauties - Getty Images, £157.50 at Heal's; 3. Gessate Jug, £23.99 at Zara Home; 4. Flamenco Shower Curtain, £98 at Anthropologie [in love]; 5. Damask Bathmat, £58 at Anthropologie; 6. Turquoise 'Droplet' towels, £1.60-£16 at Debenhams; 7. Water Hyacinth Linen Bin, £35 at John Lewis; 8. Molton Brown Global Gift Set, £20 at Heal's; 9.  Round Diamanté Photo Frames, from £8.95 at Graham&Green; 10. Westminster Basin Taps, £55.20 at Homebase.

In the US:

















1. Gone Surfin' Wall Art, $59.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 2. Antiqued Gold Round Mirror, $149.98 at Pier1; 3. Amy Butler Coventry Fabric Shower Curtain, $39.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 4. Seville Willow Hamper, $29.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 5.  Mira Vase, 24.99 at Crate&Barrel; 6. Embossed Frame - Dark Pink (4 x 6"), $24.99 at Target; 7. DKNY Spring Tree Bath Rug, 29.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 8.  Delta Windemere Polished Brass Double-Handle Bathroom Faucet, $78 at Lowe's;  9. DKNY Boucle Bath Towels, $7.99-$16.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 10.  Calypso Orange Candleholders, $1.95-$2.95 at Crate&Barrel.

Now to figure out what to do with mine...

Summer is yelow...

Or, at least it should be.  It's a really gray day here.  The skies were totally clear this morning too!























Roxxn






















Katy Elliot






















The Style Files

Yellow has moved back to being my favorite color.  It drifted to fuchsia for a while, but I have become a bit less girly-girl, and back to my hippie [as my husband says] carefree self.  Yellow is happiness, and sunrise, and sunset.  Here are some of my favorite yellow pieces from the UK and US.

In the UK:

















1. TROLLSTA Side table, £35 at Ikea; 2. Yellow pocket cushion, £15 at Debenhams; 3. Yellow geo bed linen, £4.80-£18 at Debenhams; 4. Telephone Boxes Print, 30x30cm, £30 at John Lewis; 5.  Gruffalo Paw Tea Mug, £6.95 at Graham&Green; 6. Lima, £12 at Habitat; 7.  Harlequin Wallpaper, Illuminate 75623, Sulphur, £35 per meter at John Lewis; 8. John Lewis Mr Bright Chair, Gold Leaf, £899 at John Lewis.

 In the US:

















1.  Zola Vase, $9.95 at Crate&Barrel; 2. Sweet Lemon Bathe & Bloom, $32 at The Body Shop; 3. DwellStudio® for Target® Andalucia Comforter Set , $69.99-$89.99 at Target; 4. Pacific Coast Table Lamp, Urban Boheme, $149.99 at Macy's; 5. KitchenAid Artisan 5-qt. Stand Mixer - Yellow Pepper, $299.99 at Target; 6. Mexicali Dinnerware , $4-$7 at Pier1; 7. Paisley Shower Curtain, $16.99 at Target; 8. Gerber Slipper Chair - Sungold, $299 at Target.

And now maybe I can spoil myself with that yellow jacket that I saw at Debenham's the other day...

Sunday 13 June 2010

Confession

My name is Lauren, and I am a Beatlemaniac.

I made my husband take me to Liverpool this weekend so I could be in the place where The Beatles began.  It has always been a dream of mine to go there, and I will be eternally grateful to Dan for going with me and feeding my obsession.

















All of my boys.

We stayed in the Hard Days Night Hotel, which is totally awesome and obviously Beatles themed [hence the above picture taken in the stairwell].  I made Dan go to the top floor and walk down so I could see all of the pictures [it was only 6 floors...], and our fab room was adorned with my favorite Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney.






















Since this is almost definitely what our bedroom [at least the guest bedroom] will look like in our future home, I have decided to figure out where I can get this stuff.  See below for where to buy!

In the UK:

















1. Autograph Lorena Bedstead, £649 at M&S; 2. EDLAND Bedside table, £59 at Ikea; 3. John Lewis Connaught Wall Light, Nickel, £45 at John Lewis; 4. Clarissa Hulse Burnett Boudoir Cushion, £30 at John Lewis; 5. John Lewis Egyptian Cotton Duvet Covers, Black, from £30 at John Lewis; 6.  Handwoven Cushion, Burnt Orange, £15 at M&S; 7. The Beatles Pop Group Paul Mccartney George Harrison John Lennon and Ringo Starr at Emi Stidios, £41.99 at Art.co.uk; 8. Handwoven Cushion, Turquoise, £15 at M&S.

In the US:

















1. Kristen Upholstered Full Bed, $459 at JCPenney; 2. The Beatles, Playing Slots, $49.99 at allposters.com; 3. Square District Lamp , $55 at Pier1; 4. Blue Plush Pillow, $19.95 at Pier1;  5. Coral Plush Pillow, $19.95 at Pier1; 6. Modern Home Pintuck Comforter Set - Charcoal, $69.99 at Target; 7. Delano Anna Nightstand - Black, $99.99 at Target;  8. Ovation 18"x12" Pillow, $24.99 at Crate & Barrel.

And for now, I leave you with this little bit of fab-ness!  [I went to all of those places!!]

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Beach Bum

So it's really hard to do Hawaiian style without being kitschy.  And by kitschy, I mean this:














[taken from www.kauaivacationrentals.com]

Eeek!

The way to go to keep it from looking like Hawaii Five-O is to keep it sleek and modern, or ecclectic with some Hawaiian touches.  Now the last post was sleek, and this next one is a mish-mash of styles.  More relaxed surferstyle [taken from blog.livelikeyou.com]



















It's clean, fun and chill.  It's girly, but can easily be made gender neutral with a boxier chair, and darker chest, but I like the femininity and gracefulness of this space.  Plus, that mirror is rad.  Ahh, to be a Hawaiian surfer girl!  I think I need a Mai Tai.  See below for where to buy!

In the UK:

















1. Floral Eyelet Curtains, from £49.50 at M&S; 2. Light Blue Chenille Throw, £38 at Debenhams; 3. Dartington Crystal Flower Bottle Vase, Yellow Clematis, £30 at John Lewis; 4. TULLSTA Armchair, £75 at Ikea; 5. French-Style Chest of Drawers, £225 by Not on the High Street; 6. Dalom Pedestal Table, £16.99 at Ikea; 7. Clear Glass Ball Collection Table Lamp, £39.50 at M&S; 8. Sunburst Mirror, £70 at Kaleidoscope; 9. KARLSTAD Footstool, £79 at Ikea; 10. Kamiko Cushion, £35 at Habitat.

In the US:

















1. Upholstered Corner Chair, $299.99 at JCPenney; 2. Home Textured Throw, $27.99 at Target; 3. Blad Curtains, $59.99 at Ikea; 4. Fuego Conical Glass Vase, $35 at Pier1; 5. Serena Accent Lamp, $30 at Pier1; 6. Scalloped Accent Table, Arctic White, $25 at Walmart; 7. Starburst Mirror, $199 at Crate&Barrel; 8. Danielle Chest, $599 at Pottery Barn; 9. Polysilk Pillow with Beads and Big Stones, $47.49 at Target; 10. Upholstered Ottoman, $199.99 at JCPenney.

Up Next: Best.  Weekend.  EVER!

Thursday 3 June 2010

Aloha June!

Holy crap, it's June!

This year is just flying by.  My parents always said that time goes by faster as you get older, and my god, they were right.  In the past year[-ish], I got married, two of my best friends got married [not to each other], I moved to London, we got our first apartment, my little brother got married, and I got a job [not perfect, but good for now].

In addition to getting married, just over a year ago, I was lounging on the beach with my new husband in Waikiki.  Since it's June, and raining like crazy here in London, I think I'll introduce a little sunny, island flavor to this site.  While in Hawaii on our honeymoon we stayed in an amazing little boutique hotel called Hotel Renew.  Hidden behind all of the large resort hotels along Waikiki Beach, this was the perfect hotel for rest and relaxation after a long wedding prep time [and did I mention that we were on different continents for 8 months before we were married?].
















This is a pic of the guest room that we stayed in at the hotel.  Although it's minimal and sleek, it's still undeniably Hawaiian in feel [and not just because of that turquoise ocean outside].  From the crisp white bedding with the red/orange contrast blanket, to the black paneled walls and modern lighting, this space epitomizes both the fire and serenity of the islands.  Se below for where to buy.


















In the UK: 1. Malm Bed Frame, £99 at Ikea; 2. Coral Velvet Pleats Cushion, £16 at Debenhams; 3. Pia Pendant, £35 at Habitat; 4. Abbott Chair, £199 from Marks&Spencer; 5. IKEA PS STOFF Throw £17.99 at Ikea; 6. ALVINE MEDALJONG Quilt cover and 4 pillowcases, £49.99 at Ikea; 7. Concord Floor Lamp, £49 at Habitat.


















In the US: 1. Henley Mandarin Pillow, $24.95 at Crate&Barrel; 2. Shelf Lamp with Natural Shade $37.99 at Target; 3. Tribeca Platform Bed, $359.99 at Target; 4. Damask Stripe Bedding, $49.99 at Target; 5. IKEA PS STOFF Throw $19.99 at Ikea; 6. Square Floorlamp with paper shade, $56.99 at Target; 7. Metropolitan Chair, $191.99 at Target.