Summer is here!

So I realized this morning that I should really take pictures of this house before the little man gets here and chaos reigns supreme... So today was spent cleaning and subsequently taking pictures [and remembering at all costs to put the camera back into the hospital bag fully charged].

[This was me today, but with far less effort into getting dressed... from milanmaternity.blogspot.co.uk]

But before I get into that whole mess - I am way excited that it has been 3 whole days of it feeling like it's May [before that it was more like January/February]!  Hence the need to go out and water all of the pretty flowers that our landlord left for us, as well as the daydreaming about living in a place where it doesn't rain, and we can have a sitting area that looks like this:

from bhg.com

I could totally kick back with a margarita or two on this lovely sofa - listening to some tunes, waiting for my burger... or lobster... you know, whatever...

See below for where to buy!

In the UK:

1. FSC Parasol, Lido 2m with base, £68.20 at John Lewis; 2. Ammero Sofa, £275 at Ikea; 3. Outdoor Cusion, £15 at Next; 4. Tam Tam stool, £15 at Habitat; 5. Coral Tapered Lantern, £25 at Debenhams; 6. Porcelain Tealight Holders, from £8 at Graham&Green; 7. Applaro Folding Table, £17.50 at Ikea; 8. Playnation Stripe Cushion, £20 at John Lewis; 9. Harlequin Scatter Cushion, £24 at John Lewis; 10. Anorak Kissing Robins Cushion, £45 at Heals.

In the US:

1. Build-your-own Chesepeake Platform Sectional, from $79 at Pottery Barn; 2. Smith & Hawken Patio Umbrella, $157 at Target; 3. Marimekko Apelsiini Pillow, $34.99 at Crate&Barrel; 4. Shine Company Side Table, $60 at Walmart; 5. Paddywax Candle, $13 at Macy's; 6. Square Modern Lanterns, from $7.50 at Pier1; 7. Decorative Garden Stool, $90 at JCPenney; 8. Yellow/White Geomatric Pillows [2], $56.99 at Target; 9. Fiona Outdoor Pillow, $34.99 at Crate&Barrel; 10. Ikat Outdoor Pillow, $35.50 at Pottery Barn.

Now to organize all of these pictures... and take out the trash.  Maybe after the little guy's hiccups stop.

Here comes the sun?

I was pretty psyched to see the sun over the weekend [and again yesterday!], but the lovely English weather has harshed my buzz once again by bringing the rain.  So I thought that a good way to get me a little excited about summer [if it ever arrives] would be to try to replicate a nice summery bedroom, a la this one:

from tatertotsandjello.com [best.website.name.EVER]

The room is so bright and sunny, and I love the blue/yellow/white-washed wood panelling behind the bed... and I'm now regretting every design choice I made in the house... See below for where to buy:

In the UK:

1. Logan Duvet Covers, from £30 at John Lewis; 2. Aspelund Bed, £99 at Ikea; 3. Herrup Rug, £35.99 at Ikea; 4. Linen Cushions, from £40 at Graham&Green; 5. Handle Mirror, £45 at Marks&Spencer; 6. Urusula Cable Knit Pouffes, £175 at Graham&Green; 7. Lindvend Side Table, £14.99 at Ikea; 8. Gold Ruched Throw, from £45 at Next; 9. Mandalay Roman Blinds, £22 at John Lewis; 10. Kramare wall light, £6.99 at Ikea.

In the US:

1. Basic Modern Rug, $39.99 at Target; 2. Pavillion Pillow, $20 at Pier1; 3. Brimnes Bed Frame, $129 at Ikea; 4. Organic Essential Blanket, from $59.99 at Pottery Barn; 5. Lemon Rope Pouf, $159.99 at Target; 6. Marimekko Pipperikera Duvet Cover, from $89.95 at Crate&Barrel; 7. Bamboo Roman Shade, from $38.24 at Walmart; 8. Scalloped Accent Table, $29 at Walmart; 9. Navy Scalloped Mirror, $19.99 at Target; 10. Husvik Wall Lamp, $29.99 at Ikea.

Still working on stuff in the house, but we're getting there... I'm a little bit slower than usual with the weight of the monster inside of me.  Lots of pictures to come, and in the meantime, I"m going to try to get this kid to do a little head-spin so he's facing the right way to get out... I'm picturing something like this:

I'm sure that's how it works.

Blast from the Past

It has been a while since I was on here, and lots of things have happened for us.  For starters, we moved out of central London, and into the suburbs.  Secondly, I'm as big as a house - getting there anyway.

So, since we're only a couple of weeks away from D-day, we've had to do A LOT of work on the house/getting ready for the little monster to show himself... and I'll post pictures of the room makeovers very soon.

Until then, I've decided to get back into the blog-o-sphere [I hate myself], and go back to my old tried and true see-something-I-like-and-try-to-replicate-it-on-the-cheap.  So here it goes:

Image from blimi.eu

I love the mix of industrial in the dining chairs and retro in the accessories and accent chairs in the foreground... not to mention the burst of lime.  See below for where to buy...

In the UK:

1. Round Facet Mirror, £110 from Next; 2. Forte Table, £399 from Made.com; 3. Just Staggering Framed Print, £45 from Graham&Green; 4. Bertoia Dining Chair, £130 from amazon.co.uk; 5. Bourbon Vintage Cabinet, £199 from Made.com; 6. Mies van der Rohe Style Apple Green Barcelona Chair, £289 from cultfurniture.com; 7. Metal 'Home' Hanging Letters, £25 from Debenhams.

In the US:

1. Raie 3-Drawer Chest, $199.95 from Pier1; 2. Swan Swivel Chair, $249 from Walmart; 3. Malachy Mirror, $199 from Crate&Barrel; 4. Stretched Typography Canvas (Set of 3), $79 from Pottery Barn; 5. Shell Round Dining Table, $105 from Walmart; 6. Obbligato Chair, $182 for 2 from Walmart; 7. Decor Shapes, $11 from ACMoore.

That's all for now, but I'll try to be better... we'll see how that goes.

Christmas Time

So I haven't really thought about Christmas all that much this year.  Probably because I'm not going to be back home in Maine.  It becomes just another day when you're not in familiar territory [not that I haven't been in London-town for the past 3 Christmases, but it's unfamiliar all the same].  Nevertheless, I decided to decorate the apartment yesterday.  Nothing to crazy [although D thinks I go overboard... how easily he forgets what my parents house looks like this time of year], and nothing new to add to the collection [I can't believe you can't buy 'Fetus' First Christmas' ornaments].

Ha! Oh, so creepy... [but one of the many reasons I haven't been on here in quite some time].

Anyway... all of this Christmas talk got me thinking about my dream Christmas-y looking house, and I found this little gem:

from homeforchristmas.co.uk

I'm all about the traditional stuff when it comes to Christmas.  Real tree [though ours is fake because I cannot bring myself to buy one of the sad little trees around here], red, green and white everywhere, stockings hung by the chimney with care [again, we have no chimney, but they go where the chimney would have been had this house not been converted into 3 apartments].  I've thought this all through... but how cute is this area?  Not out-of-control Christmas crazy, but simple and sweet... and the furniture would look great any time of the year.

See below for where to get your Christmas on:

In the UK:

1. Slumber Sofa, £999 at Graham&Green; 2. Linen Snowflake Stocking, £15 at John Lewis; 3. Knodd Bin, £10.99 at Ikea; 4. Snowflake Heart Decoration, £2.99 at John Lewis; 5. Nathalie Chair, £499 at John Lewis; 6. Red Ribbed Throw, £20 at Debenhams; 7. Mistletoe Spruce Garland, £17.50 at Marks&Spencer; 8. Ludde Rug, £23.99 at Ikea; 9. Natural Felt Cushion, £28 at Debenhams; 10. Red London Markets Cushion, £24 at Debenhams.

In the US:

1. Mia Chair, $199 for 2 at Walmart; 2. Brick and Bamboo Bin, from $13.97 at Walmart; 3. Estate Stocking, $19.99 at Target; 4. Cow Parade Rug, from $377 at Walmart; 5. Camdon Fir Garland, $30.99 at Target; 6. Vaughn Sofa, $1399 at Crate&Barrel; 7. Ives Throw $69.95 at Crate&Barrel; 8. Felt Ornaments, $2 for 4 at Target; 9. Peace on Earth Pillow, $19 at Pottery Barn; 10. Ruffles Pillow, $29.95 at Pier 1.

Might give an actual update on what we've been up to once we figure out how to download pictures from our new camera... what camera comes without instructions??

Mellow Yellow

D finally agreed to let me paint the apartment!  Well, he did it in front of a colleague of mine, so I think he was just saying it to show off what a great husband he is.  Regardless, I'm going to hold him to it, so I think I want to start in the bedroom.

At the moment, our bedroom is Ikea based boring [not that Ikea stuff it bad, we just went neutral and blah [read: cheap]].  It's all in their black-brown color, very minimal.  We don't even have a door to the wardrobe, but that may or may not be because we forgot to pick on up on the day when we bought ALL of our furniture.

Since then [over 2 years ago] our bedroom hasn't changed much.  I bought a new duvet cover, we added a side table to Dan's side, and a bookshelf/tower to mine.  We have finally taken down the posters on the wall [as we're not college students anymore] and are putting up some framed photographs that we've taken on our travels.  So now I want to paint the walls before we put them up, but Dan's getting annoyed that the frames are still sitting on the floor, so it may have to be an afterthought.

Until then, I will dream of making our bedroom look like this:

























If I could add this yellow door in somewhere, I would:

Both from Southernliving.com

I'm trying to stick with yellow, as we already have yellow curtains for the window and the wardrobe, and I'm very thrifty cheap.  I think I might try to steal an unused pallet from work to make a rustic looking headboard from the wood.  We'll see.  I wouldn't mind spray painting the shelf that I have a nice steely color, but I think spray painting in the apartment is probably a bad idea [and Dan may freak out if he finds me passed out on the floor from the fumes...].  See below for where to buy!

In the UK:

1. Eiffel Tower Table, £165 at Graham & Green; 2. London Grey Framed Print, £60 at John Lewis; 3. Three Ball Glass Table lamp £35 at Marks & Spencer; 4. Romany Bedset, from £29.50 at Marks & Spencer; 5. Bologna Bench Seat, £149 at Debenhams; 6. Brimnes bed, £99 at Ikea; 7. Bantie Paradis Yellow and Black Cushion, £75 at Heals; 8. Persisk Kelim Gashgai Rug, £199 at Ikea; 9. Yellow Ball Vase £12 at Debenhams; 10. Ampersand Ornament, £25 at Marks & Spencer.

In the US:

 

1. Orbit Duvet Set, from $59.99 at Target; 2. Modern Serenity Vase, $12.99 at Target; 3. Reclaimed Wood Sculpture, $89.95 at Crate & Barrel;  4. Serena Table Lamp, $125 at Pier 1; 5. Grey and Gold Medallions Pillow, $34.95 at Pier 1; 6. Kattrup Rug, $99.99 at Ikea; 7. Starfish & Coral Wall Art, $14.99 each at Pier 1; 8. South Shore Bed, $129 at Walmart; 9. Norden Bench, $69.99 at Ikea; 10. Hayworth Nightstand, $179.99 at Pier 1.

Cheese Danish

The title really has no bearing on what is below except that the item that is the focus of this post is Danish [and now I want a cheese danish...].

D and I went to Copenhagen WAY back in February, and besides being the home of Legos [which we got a bit too excited about]...

... it is also boast the birthplace of the Panton Chair, one of my all-time favorites.

My photography skills are legendary, I know.  Poor Dan was dragged to the design museum [http://www.ddc.dk/ in case you were interested] on his birthday trip.  I could see him losing the will with every step he took.

Anyway, this got me thinking about our non-dining room, how much I want a Panton chair, and how to blend it with more traditional items to get my favorite eclectic look.  Then voila! 

from decor8blog.com

I like the modern with traditional thing they've got going on.  The monochrome color scheme helps mix the styles as well.  When I showed it to Dan, he said nothing matches, but it wasn't awful, so that's a start.  I should get too precious about it, he did just pull out the remastered Beatles albums he got me for my birthday because he was tired of the talking on the radio... he's falling right into my trap.... mwah-ha-ha!

See below for where to buy.

In the UK:

1.  Pemberly Cross-Back Dining Chair, £89 at John Lewis; 2. Majvor seat pad, £7.99 at Ikea; 3. Trollsta sideboard, £259 at Ikea; 4. Chrome Tripod Floorlamp, £125 at M&S; 5. Panton S Chair, £189 John Lewis; 6. Printed Canvas Grandpa Clock, £69 at Graham & Green; 7. Sonoma Dark Extending dining Table, £599 at M&S; 8. Molnig ceiling light, £20.99 at Ikea.

In the US:

1. S Chair $139.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond; 2. Antique Black 2-Door Buffet, $129.99 at Target; 3. Planked Airplane Panels, $299.00 at Pottery Barn; 4. X-Back Chair, $169.99 for 2 at Target; 5. Casablanca Ebony Seat Cushion, $39 at Walmart; 6. Stanton Hills Hanging Sable Bronze Patina Chandelier, $246 Home Depot; 7. Allen Floor Lamp, $349 at Crate & Barrel; 8. Terravida dining table, $799 at Crate & Barrel.

So much for this happening every other day.  Next week, hopefully I have the after pics of the project that has been the bane of my existence for the past few months...  In the meantime, this is also what I thought of when I wrote "Cheese Danish":

Obviously.

How do your flowers grow?

Whoah!  Long time no see!  It's time for me to get back into the swing of things, as work is REALLY stressing me out, and I'm forgetting why I love design so much.  So I'm going to make a point to post something every other day, even if it's a quick blip to save my sanity...

So if you're anything like me, you are a flower murderer.  I'm like a homicidal maniac with flowers, pretty as they are.  My brown thumb really has nothing to do with this post, but I have found a flower trend that needs to be weeded out (see what I did there?): Vintage Flowers EVERYWHERE.

It's like Cath Kidston and Vera Bradley threw up all over my magazines, and in my favorite shops.  I'm sorry, but this trend will fade.  It was popular in the early 90's, and for some reason has come back into the light from it's very shallow grave.  The trend is invading every aspect of design at the moment from interiors:

To fashion:

 ... not that I wouldn't kill to be able to fit into either of those dresses...  but I really figure myself as more of a Joan Holloway than a Betty Draper...

That last one is me as a mad men character (go to: madmenyourself.com, it's way more fun than it should be...)

But I digress...

The key to getting the floral trend right is to do things in moderation, and be bold with your choices, a la the image below:

Lots of flowers, minimal gag reflex, doesn't feel like you're in your grandmothers living room with plastic covers on the couch.  See below to find out how and where to get everything (for cheap-ish) below!

In the UK:

1. Baily Medium Sofa in Heather, £999, John Lewis; 2. Pink Bird Candle Stick, £17.50 at Debenhams; 3. Lime Candle Holder, £20 at Debenhams; 4. Antler Head Wall Art, £55 at Marks&Spencer; 5. Inbloom Rug, £75-£225 at Marks&Spencer; 6. Red 'Felt Ripple' Cushion, £25.60 at Debenhams; 7. Swing Chair, Harlequin Rush 9363, £750 at John Lewis; 8. Fashion Vintage Eyelet Curtains, £75-£89 at Marks&Spencer; 9. Cream Rouch Flower Cushion, £17.60 at Debenhams.


In the US:

1. Burnham Floral Armchair, $499 at Target; 2. Assorted Bird Art, $19.99 each at Pier 1; 3. Turquoise Triangles Ceramic Vases, $24.99 & $39.95 at Pier 1; 4. Arbor Tree Sculpture, $40 at Target; 5. Surya Rug, from $89 at Macy's; 6. Klyne Sofa, $1199 at Crate&Barrel; 7. Thai Silk Pillow, $45 at Target; 8. IMAX Vera Rose Pillow, $50 at Walmart; 9. Wayborn Bamboo Coffee Table, $375 at Walmart.

I have been out of this for a while, so I have to admit that I have no idea where any of the above pictures com from, don't sue me!