Recent Home Purchases

Today feels so much like Monday to me. J & I spent the weekend in Chicago celebrating a friend's wedding/college reunion and didn't get home until well after midnight Sunday night/Monday morning. So I made the wise decision of taking Monday off from work.

This meant some things got done around our new home! While I sort through all of my Chicago pictures, I thought I'd share some recent purchases. I'm on a roll lately....it's bad. We showed up Sunday night to a few boxes on the front porch, and again Monday afternoon....all we could do was laugh. The mailman definitely hates us already. Whoops.

Here are the most recent purchases I've made. Many purchased just yesterday in our first ever weekday visit to IKEA. And let me tell you, I will never go on a weekend again! It was so calm, parking was a breeze, and there were no lines for checkout. If you can get to IKEA on a weekday and save yourself the weekend chaos, I highly suggest you do!

6.17 Recent Home Purchases by talkative-tlc on Polyvore

These items will be scattered around the house, but we literally need something for every room. I can't even think about pictures, mirrors, accessories yet. Too many big item to decide on first. But even without curtains, etc this place is starting to feel more like a home.

We spent last night putting together the IKEA shoe bin and sideboard (it's similar to the linked one but we built our own with their BESTA line). And it's so nice to look over and see a furnished space rather than a blank wall. We're getting there my friends!

If anyone has a good IKEA hack for our new nightstands, send it my way! These nightstands are just way too good of a deal not to pass up. Here's a recent post with a few ideas I've noted. Now, to find a free weekend to get them done!

Oh, and when I say many boxes on our front steps, I'm talking a few new articles of clothing too....what? I couldn't help it! These sales are insane. I'll be sharing those purchases tomorrow!

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Pocket Doors

Since I used my Monday post to recap Nemo, today I'm getting back to my weekly home design post.

How do you feel about pocket doors? Indifferent? I was certainly indifferent to them until I lived with them. And you know what? They are just plain awesome.

I can't say for sure how many years ago my parents put an addition on their house, maybe 12 years ago (mom?) and they opted to put a pocket door in for the hall bathroom. Genius! What a space saver. I loved the idea of it.

The condo J and I purchased is actually deeded as a 2 bedroom - the second bedroom being where our living room is. But because it's technically a bedroom, there's a set of doors separating the kitchen from it - in the form of double pocket doors. It is such a great use of the existing walls. And it's nice to give any guests who spend the night in our guest room living room a little privacy. As an early bird, I love that I can get up, get the coffee going, take Tucker out, etc and not disturb guests.

Would you consider pocket doors if you were given the opportunity? Here are a couple rooms with pocket doors that I'd love to have in my future home.

Pocket doors to the outdoors? Seriously? Amazing.

What do you think? Are pocket doors for you? 

J&A's Charlotte Home

The long awaited Charlotte house tour is here! You should know that it's been a very long weekend but I'm staying up Sunday night to make sure this post is all set just for you. I warn you, there are a lot of pictures in this post. But I know you are so excited to see J&A's new home. So warm up your coffee and know that you're not going to get any work down for the next few minutes.

I am in love with this style of home. It's a Craftsman style home and I really wish there were more like this up here in the Northeast. So.much.character.

The first room upon entering their home is this unbelievable living room. What's not to love? Built-ins, a gas fireplace, and perfectly paired furniture. 

 So the furniture in this room was found at a salvage shop where you bring them the fabric you'd like them to reupholster the furniture with, and well, they work their magic for you. How awesome is that?! Great finds! And the fabric choices were ideal. Teal velvet loveseat, and a cow hide chair. So much to love.

Next you enter the dining room. World Market table, West Elm chairs, a hand-me-down hutch from my parents, an Anthropologie rug, and curtains Jackie sewed all work so well together. Great mix of high/ low prices, Sabrina would be proud. J&A ended up leaving the walls in the dining room alone and keeping the blue. And I am really glad they did.

 Craigslist bar cart. Awesome sauce.

Off the right side of the dining room is a small hallway with a bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, and extra closets. It's a pretty sweet little guest nook. J and I basically had our own guest suite to stay in! In my haste to document this gorgeous home before catching our flight, I missed our guest bedroom but here's the downstairs bathroom that visiting guests get to use. Marble tiled shower, marble counter....not too shabby.

And from the dining room, we enter this ah-mazing kitchen.

Carrera marble island with black cabinets, paired with black granite (maybe?) counters, marble backsplash, and white cabinets - so so dreamy. I am a big fan of changing up the kitchen island so that its not the exact same, but pairs perfectly.  

With a good amount of space between the island and cabinets, a typical runner size rug was just too small. So how awesome are the FLOR tiles? The color is a nice touch too!

And straight across from the kitchen, the last room of the main living space is the living room/TV room.   Love the dark grey sectional, jute round rug, and Adrian's Eames style chair - also refinished from the salvage store.

And because I was SO impressed with my sister's handy work, look at all the pillow covers she made. How awesome is that first one?! She's working on some for me now. :)

We only snapped one photo from upstairs but Jackie wanted me to show you their upstairs guest bedroom which is basically the storage space right now as they still unpack. Just so you'd know they're normal and parts of the home are not picture perfect just yet. But we forgot that photo. So instead I'll tease you with a picture of the curtains Jackie made for their master bedroom, and yes that is the Crate & Barrel Colette bed...totally on my dream home wishlist. 

Are you in love with this home now too? Wasn't I right, decor straight out of a magazine? The builders of this house thought about everything. I left Charlotte with a list of "must-haves" for our next place....we'll see how that goes.

Thank you J&A for hosting us for a great weekend! And thank you for letting me share your new home. It is a beautiful home and you've done an amazing job decorating. I look forward to many more trips down in the future.

west elm holiday

Ummm, guess who I got to meet last Wednesday??? YHL!! I went to my first ever book signing. The bloggers/masterminds behind the blog Young House Love were in Boston to sign copies of their new book.

This book is pure genius. So many great ideas that are easy & affordable. Now I just need a house to attempt these projects on.... YHL is the first blog I started following daily close to 2 years ago now, crazytown. I've hooked some friends and family on it too - it's just that good.

So there was no doubt in my mind I'd be going to their book signing. Even if that meant waiting in a very long line....And when that very long line snakes its way through West Elm, it's really not a bad wait. I was also lucky to have a great friend there with me so we were able to chat/catch up for the 2+ hour wait. Ya, we're hardcore. But it was worth it to meet these two gems!

Oh, and did I mention it was SNOWING in Boston on Wednesday?! Also crazytown. But again, no way were weren't going!

So what were some of the items at West Elm that caught my eye while waiting you ask? Here are a just a few accessories I saw Wednesday that I wouldn't mind having in me casa.

1 - Industrial Pendant - I can't help but love mercury glass. 

2 - St. Jude Ceramic Owls - $5 of each purchased goes to St. Judes. How amazing is that?

3 - Cozy Throw - omg, this throw looked amazing. Comfy, cozy just like the name. I really liked the Slate colored one and could totally picture it in our home.

4 - Snow Globes - these were perfect. Simple yet so fun. I don't know what it is about snow globes but they always make you smile. I may need to add one to our winter decor over here.

5 - Owl Mugs - owls are huge right now. They're everywhere. These are just fun. I like the white ones best.

6 - Kamal Snow Dots Dinnerware - absolutely loved these. Great holiday mugs without being too in your face christmas-y or winter-y. Though I definitely have a pair of reindeer mugs I bring out each year!

Happy shopping!

Window Panes

How's your Monday treating you? Did you have a nice weekend? We had a great weekend over here and have some fun condo updates to share soon. Can't wait! But for now, here's Monday's home decor post.

Something you don't see everyday is colorfully painted interior windows and doors. I love the look of black exterior windows so why not bring it inside?

Last month when I was home for my grandfather's funeral, I spent a lot of time flipping through old photo albums. (Side note - what are we going to do in fifty years when no one has photo albums anymore? Will we still have the digital prints from fifty years earlier? So strange.)

Anywhoo, I came across this photo of myself and it brought back many, many memories. One thing I've learned from my mom through the years, do not be afraid to take risks. Don't mind the obnoxious face I chose to make in this photo, apparently I did not want my photo taken.

My mom chose to paint the interior door and windows in the sun room of our old home turquoise. You daredevil, you! And I loved it! Still do in fact. If I had to guess, this paint job was definitely done while my dad was away because there is NO way he would have said yes to this. This was how many risks were taken in my household growing up. Do it while dads away, if he doesn't like it, he can paint it back. Love it! Remembering this one.... ;)

Here are some other color options that add such character to the rooms - Would you dare? I am certainly keeping this in mind for our future home.

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Currently, I'm thinking black exterior windows if we end up with a white or light grey home, colorful interior windows in a room that gets a lot of natural sunlight and possibly a navy, or dark grey door to the master bedroom. Who knows what our future home will look like so these are just some ideas. But we'll see! What do you think?

Restoration Hardware Finds

Thank you Restoration Hardware for sending me your newest catalog. I'm sure the mailman was not pleased the day this 700 page catalog was put in the mail! So what did I do Sunday while J was at the Pats game? Well I did finally get to the gym, and then spent my day drooling over the most recent issue of House Beautiful and yes, flipping through RH. Oh, with HGTV on in the background. Ha! 

I don't think you can disagree when I say that RH knows how to make beautiful furniture. Yes, it's expensive and mostly out of my price range, but it doesn't hurt to look right? Here are a few items I would purchase if I was redecorating, and had won the lottery. 

1 - Shelter Headboard - isn't this gorgeous? Who doesn't love an neutral upholstered headboard? And this one my friends, is a steal in terms of RH pricing.

2 - Strand Mirrored Desk - I just love the look of mirrored furniture. Captures light in a room but also disappears into it at times too. J would never use a mirrored desk but I would love to have my own desk in our next home. J will have a complete home office, but all I'll need is a desk. So if it's going to be in the main living area, shouldn't it at least by pretty to look at?

3 - Victorian Hotel Pendant (in polished nickel) - I have loved this chandelier since the first time J & I saw it at RH about 2 years ago. It is simply stunning in person. Even J loved it. I have yet to find something similar to copycat this chandelier but I'm also not sure I could ever justify spending more than $1,000 on a ceiling light. Not yet at least...ha!

4 - Brudges Adjustable Linen Desk Chair - how amazing is this chair?! This was one of the first things that really caught my eye in the catalog. I love the look of linen, and having the option to adjust the back is pure genius. Everyone needs to lean back once and a while when sitting at a desk. 

5 - Vienne French Four Poster Bed - I have been dreaming of a canopy bed in our next home for a while now. They are such a statement. I realize they only work in certain rooms but I would love to incorporate one into our next home - whether it be the master bedroom or a guest room.

What's on your furniture wishlist?