2 Royal Purple Quirky Dining Rooms

Candadian House and Home purple dining room

I don’t think I own anything purple when it comes to home decor. I only own a few purple clothing items. I like the color but it is a shade I find intimidating to work with. I don’t know why. I’ve found 2 very fun and slightly formal purple dining rooms that help me see the potential of purple.

This first dining room is from Canadian House to Home. This room is a deep, royal purple shade. It feels light and airy against the white trim and the white wall. I love the mix of white accessories, including a thrifty white paper lantern. The colors paired with this royal purple make this color workable. I love it paired with that 70’s goldenrod shade and cool purpley cement gray. And and don’t forget the temporary pop of fuchsia from the fresh flowers on the table.This room is purple room that I can see easily replicated in a “real” home. Now to the other room…

The other room I found on the blog, Roomenvy. This room is a bit more “busy” than the Canadian House and Home one. I love a bold and obnoxious wallpaper. So does the owner of this dining room. There is purple printed wallpaper on the ceiling. This isn’t that innovative, being that is a very old-fashioned thing to do. And may I add a bitch to remove. It too us forever in our dining nook to remove layers and layers of wallpaper off a small part of the ceiling. Anyways, I like this dining room because it is over the top, right down to the royal purple rug. This isn’t fitting for my home and I’m sick of seeing bold colored shaggy things. Do you remember our blue faux fur covered cabinets? Well, I do and I’ll

Patterned purple dining room

never see shag as something quirky or retro again. So, this room isn’t something that I see easily being replicated in a “real” home but it is fun to look at. I could easily see a “real” dining room incorporating this bold print on fabrics and maybe having a yellow/goldenrod painted walls.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I’m doing what I can to wrap up some of these projects before I go back to work. That’s keeping me very busy. And they’re boring projects too. Like cleaning, scrapping, touching up projects. These aren’t those creative projects that I crave.

-Victoria

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2 Dramatic Blue Gray Dining Nooks with Orange Accents & LPs!

Blue & orange. If you know a thing or two about the color wheel then you know the BAM! that this complementary color scheme has to offer. Blue and orange are definitely a color trend now in film, video, media. Think CSI Miami! Anyways, here are 2 young but not juvenile dining spaces with deep navy walls the perfect accents of orange. This rooms also have something else in common: records! Being a vinyl hoarder, I love to see records used in design.

Celerie Kemble dining nook

The first room is from designer Celerie Kemble’s portfolio. This is a cool space. It’s a little more modern than what I do, but it has vintage. OK, so the room isn’t “navy” but it is a bit of squid ink paint shade, so there is some blue in that gray. This gray appears more “blue” with the touches of orange. I love dark gray walls. It is a bit of a “modern” shade and it can come across as very masculine, but it packs drama. You want to transform a room in a weekend, paint it this color. Everything you own will look completely different. Whites will pop and blacks will shine. Anyways, I love the record storage in this nook! It is so clever to have it under the seating in a small space. I got to tell David. He need to build us one of these.  Anyways, this is a cozy space, very hip. I want to listen to records and lounge around drinking beer and eating guacamole and chips in this nook. *Oh, I love the textiles in here because it keeps this color combo and space from being too masculine. It’s a nice balance.

The other dining room or nook is from Rejuvenation’s website. It is a really cool space as well and totally reminds me of the early 1910-1940’s Craftsman homes in the Seattle area being fixed up by young adults like ourselves. (Rejuvenation is based in the PNW). This dining room is the kind of dining room you’d see in our neighborhood while your taking the dog out for an evening stroll. It’s classic but it has a special type of vintage lust seen in the under 40 crowd. I guess what I’m saying is that I love the look of vintage mid-modern pieces shoved into a Craftsman. The cool thing about this space is that you remove the furniture and the accessories and you have a classic Craftsman home that appeals to everyone. You didn’t do anything to ruin the vibe or the bones of the house. You worked with the house and added your tastes without destroying the authenticity of the home. I’m all about that.

Rejuvenation dining room

Anyways, I love this room. Once again, it is a “squid ink” shade that looks awesome against that white mill work. The orange accents are brilliant in this room. The lighting isn’t very typical of old homes but it has a nice vibe, a young vibe. I love the records on the ledge (recognize a few from our own collection). And one can never go wrong with a Saarinen table.

I guess we are going to try to finish the upstairs bathroom this weekend. I have to admit that I’d rather do something else, you know, like something fun. Oh, well. This house isn’t going to renovate itself. Bummer.

-Victoria

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2 White Rooms with Pink & Teal Accents

kitchen featured in Living Etc.

These two rooms have so much in common despite their different functions. They are stark white rooms with bold accents of pink, teal, and lime green.

This kitchen and dining room was featured in Living Etc. I am attracted to this space for many reasons. One of the reasons is that it is a small kitchen. I get sick of seeing huge outlandish kitchens in design magazines. The other reason is that it is old. It has brick floors. I can’t remember exactly but I think this is an old Spanish or Portuguese apartment.

Anyways, I love the use of accent colors. The white paint makes the space look fresh and well, it emphasizes the high ceilings. I love the robin’s egg blue counters. And I love the dining room accents. These energetic colors really pop against the white backdrop. These are the kinds of things that are easy to change and perfect for renters. Never underestimate the power of colorful accessories.

And I thought that was a fireplace but it appears to be a secret passage or storage. And I love the chrome diner chairs paired with a sturdy wood table.

This other space, a bedroom nook of some sort or a guest bedroom, was featured in Marie Claire Maison. This room has such an eclectic

Marie Claire bedroom

layered feel. It is like the Living Etc. kitchen and dining room because the room has old architecture, the walls are a crisp white, and there are colorful accessories. I love this bedroom. I love the mix of fabrics and prints. I love the jewel tone colors. I also love that there are paperback books everywhere. You don’t see paperback books in decor magazines very often so they really stand out when they are in a room. I just really like this room because it is so livable and feels like home. It’s eclectic and not stuffy.

It has been a hot weekend here in the PNW. I found some great thrift chairs and a German Shepard paint by number. David found a huge, bright koi picture. I dislike it, too bold. We rarely disagree about home stuff. Marriage is about compromise, right? So, the giant kois are hanging up in the studio.

Well, Frink and I are going to commence the sweating for the day. Old homes without a/c are no fun when temps exceed 90° 😦 Too hot to clean, cook, or renovate.

-Victoria

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Liking Lichen Green Living Rooms

Maire Claire Maison great room

I love a foresty lichen green. Perhaps because I like fungi? Could be it, but these two rooms are tops. This first rooms is from Maire Claire Maison. It was a cool article that took an unbelievably beautiful space to begin with and gave it 3 makeovers. I like the lichen green one for many reasons. Like I said, this was a great room to begin with. It has dark wood floors in immaculate condition. The ceilings are tall and the natural lighting is breathtaking. And there are great features such as millwork, the fireplace, the door hardware. I love the lichen green walls with the milk chocolate brown trim color. This is unexpected and a bit “moody”. The red accents make the green color pop. I like the room because it has a  cozy feel. Open shelves make books accessible and the large ottoman acts as table. And I’m a fan or antlers/horns. You put those in a room and I’m in love. This room has a very “exotic” feel to it because of the color combination and the mix of objects and textiles.

The other room, a foyer, was featured in Coastal Living. I love this room because the color combination is unexpected and I love this earthy green with wood tones. I also like this room because it is a coastal house that isn’t all light and white. I have been totally inspired by this room. I love the salmon door. I would love to see the exterior of this home. But, it looks awesome against the lichen green. I know what that color combo dominating some portion of my house. Lichen green walls and salmon painted thrift furniture or

Coastal Living lichen green foyer

salmon walls with lichen green fabrics…But, all of the colors work in here from the green to salmon to chartreuse to sky blue to sea pebble gray. I love it. Plus, the space isn’t too shabby with the all of the hardwoods. I also like steps playing bookshelf and the cool collection of pictures and how they line the stairs. And I love ship art. Especially ship art in a seaside home.

So, yeah. I’m liking lichen green rooms.

-Victoria

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2 White Bedrooms with Dark Antique Iron Beds

Canadian House and Home white bedroom

I love both of the bedrooms here because I like their simplicity. Both rooms have dark metal/iron beds. Both of these rooms remind me of the Tudorks bedroom: dark metal bed, antique luggage, fancy lighting. What do I want after seeing these rooms? White bedding.

This first crisp white bedroom was featured in Canadian House and Home. This is one of those rooms that would be pretty even when standing empty. The ceiling has interesting lines and the floors are stunning. If we were to refinish our hardwoods, this is the stain that I would use. There really isn’t a more classy look that light walls and dark hardwoods. This room has nice accents. I love metal beds and old suitcases and luggage used as storage. This is a winning combination. What would I have done differently in this room? Well, I wouldn’t of painted the window trim a darker shade of white for a needed contrast. People underestimate the power of that little trick when they have bright white walls.

The other bedroom is beautiful as well. I do not recall where this room was first featured. I apologize. It reminds me of the first room because it is white, neutral and the dark metal bed adds needed contrast. This second white bedroom is much more rustic. It looks less new than the House and Home room. This white bedroom has a very old home shape. It looks like the bedrooms in our home. It really looks like a smaller version of our studio.This room also has a dark metal bed and dark pictures for high contrast against the white walls. This room’s floors are the opposite, painted white. It’s such a beautiful look. This room has such a fresh feel but it is grounded by rough antiques. This grit gives this white bedroom character. And note to self: We have walls like the ones in this room and I haven’t put pictures up. I love the row of low paintings. I need to do this. Great excuse to hang

Rustic white bedroom

up my Audubon  bird pictures.
I really do love both of these rooms. They are my “style”.

I’ve been going through the house taking so many pictures lately. Next week will be the 1 year anniversary of our home ownership and our home restoration. We’ve done so much but it’s easy to think you haven’t when some things are still a wreck. I’m happy we have pictures to remind us of all our hard work. I’m trying to get before and after pictures ready to share. You’ll get some giggles out of the “befores”. Who else do you know moved in a house with a 13 foot mural/silhouette of  a naked lady? Who else do you know had to peel faux fur off of every door in their house? Who else do you know was peeling adhesive off of the ceiling where mirrors used to be? Geez…

-Victoria

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The Obsessive Casbah of Master-Mind Perfumer Serge Lutens

Last month’s (June 2010) W Magazine was awesome. It took us into the home of the reclusive fragrance genius Serge Lutens. My other blog is www.eaumg.net. Believe it or not but renovation is not my obsession. Fragrance is. I was delighted to see this article. It merged my obsession with something I’m beginning to be obsessed with, homes. My heart fluttered when I heard of this article. Serge Lutens home is so well, Serge Lutens. It’s exotic, over the top, and complex. In my little girl fragrance fantasy head, this is how I imagine this genius of a Nose living. I couldn’t believe that this is really how he lives.I’m totally intrigued and in awe of this home that took 35 years to complete. (Shoot me if I’m still trying to complete this place in 35 years). I can see why this project became an obsession. I can also understand how he wants to walk away. So much energy to complete such a project! I want to walk away after 1 year of trying to complete a project! I usually don’t like the whole “Moroccan” decor because it is a bit HGTV and I’ve seen so many bad suburban interpretations that embarrass me. But this one is breathtaking. It’s eerie. It’s perfect. Serge Lutens is a master of the senses.

Here is the complete slide show of his reclusive casbah on W Magazine’s site. I have to share this space. I rarely swoon over “celebrity” decor or house tours but this is unbelievable. It’s dreamy, verging on nightmare and that’s why I had to share.

-Victoria

Serge's garden complete with moody night-blooming flowers

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2 Antique Industrial Style Studies That I Like

David and I are trying to take control of our space. We have rooms that we never spend time in. I think we are used to living in a smaller space. Those “other” rooms aren’t really useful. We spend most of our time doing “desk” things from writing, blogging, and inking. I’m thinking of establishing “mini-offices” throughout the house. A mini-office for inking, his and hers laptop mini-office etc. Here are 2 quaint studies that I like. These have an industrial warehouse type of “raw” vibe.

Anthropologie "study"

The first one is a open loft room that I found Anthropologie. This space is nothing like my home. It’s big and open with exposed bricks. Terrible overhead lighting. But I love the look. It’s raw and rough and if I had an urban loft, this is what I would want it to look like. This “study” is obviously not a study, except for a study of the Edison style lighting sold at Anthropologie. But, like I said before I like the feel of this. I’m thinking we could have a little desk like this with an aluminum stool in the studio or something. We could do computer stuff, something like that. I really just want a place to put my industrial lighting and apothecary jars of old knob & tube wiring we have from the house. Why am I such a sucker for industrial rustic look?

This other room or “study” is from Rejuvenation. It’s a bit more functional of a space and it resembles my home more than the Anthropologie loft. The Rejuvenation space has exposed bricks as well, but better lighting (expected from a lighting retailer). This space has the same industrial, antiquarian vibe as the Anthropologie loft. Both of these spaces could be used a study nook or a Tesla-like mad scientist workshop nook. A little off subject, but I love the brass lighting featured here. I didn’t know that I liked pendant styled lighting so much.I knew I loved brass.

Rejuvenation study

I obviously do not have a turn of the century loft to call home. But, I feel I can get this same feel and vibe in my house. I also like the idea of shoving a mini-office in any room. It makes me feel like I’m creating more versatility in my living space. However, I fear that if I put a desk in more than one place that it will get loaded with unsightly papers, bills, etc. They’ll never look as industrial chic as these 😦

-Victoria

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I Need Bookshelf Help & Your Suggestions

For the first time ever, David and I have too much bookshelf in our life. After making a cross country move, we purged and donated lots of books and records. This house has 4 built-in bookshelves in the great room. I don’t know what to do with them because I’ve never had this much space to work with. I’ve collected pictures on-line to inspire me with bookshelves. I’ve figured out what I like about the ones in the magazines but I can’t achieve that in my home.

All the magazine ready bookshelves have these things in common:

-All the books are to the same scale. They are displayed by size. Most of their books are large. It appears that nobody in the magazines have City Lights Pocket Poets Series.

-Never do I see paperbacks! And most of the books appear to be for decoration. For example, they all look antique or old. They are like staged books.

-Cool things are incorporated in the shelves. These cool things, either pictures or knickknacks, all have a common theme. This theme can be white glassware or black & white pictures, you get it. It doesn’t feel so random.

– Sometimes books are grouped by color. I don’t know if I like this.

A glimpse at one of our built-in bookshelves.

Here’s my problem:

– My books are all over the place in scale. I have giant hardbacks and teeny tiny City Lights Pocket Poets Series.

– I have paperbacks and books that look new.Many of the books have obnoxious, bright spines.

– I have too many cool things and they are all over the place in theme. I can easily choose a theme but it may take years to get that “look”. I want my theme to be old stuff that I like. Creepy, old stuff, almost like an apothecary. And pictures in black frames. I also want tabletop antique radios on the top of the shelves.

-I may have too much shelf. See this pic above and below. I have 4 of those from floor to almost the ceiling. Because of they are so spacious, they’ve been a catch all for all our random stuff. You see that shelf: antique lighting shades, antlers, 1930’s Guerlain, apothecary jars filled with exotic resins, and pictures of random people with bags of moneys. This has been were we put our stuff to keep it out of the way of the renovation. The bottom ones with the doors have been great storage.

A view of the entire bookshelf, now, add 3 more.

Our great room/living room is a disaster. This room has the most potential but we intimidated by the large space. Also, our furniture doesn’t fit and it will take time to save up to replace it all. Because this room is so useless and ugly, we never go in there. We never use it. I thought the easiest (and cheapest) thing to tackle at this stage would be the bookshelves.

Now what should I do? I’ve been thinking about getting rid of most of the books. I know this doesn’t fly with some people but I would love to go paperless except for antiques. If I can get it on a Kindle, then I should get rid of it. If I want a book, that’s what the library is for. Do I ever go  to that bookshelf and take a book off to read it? No. The only ones that I look at are the antique ones. How do I make my “theme” look intentional during the collection stage? Right now I feel it is all so random, because it is. I don’t want my bookshelves to look like me-maw’s curio cabinet of Swaroski knickknacks and Home Shopping Network collectibles. How can I make these shelves functional? Any ideas?

Had to share our H.G. Lewis autograph

I have to share our Herschell Gordon Lewis autograph. This was one of those too cool things we had boxed away. Who doesn’t want the autograph of the man that started “splatter film” and junk mail. What great contributions to our society!

So, yeah, here’s a peek at one of our many messes. I’m open to suggestions. I feel this is something that I can tackle and maybe this will motivate me to get the great room together. The room isn’t finished. We need a mantel and a sofa that is better scaled for the space. But, the bookshelves just need TLC and editing.

-Victoria

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2 Bedrooms with Song Bird Print Wallpaper

House and Home birdy bedroom

I’m aware that it’s popular and it will be cliché one day, but I can’t help it. I love “bird” imagery. I love nature inspired prints and home decor. It would make sense that I would like the whimsy touch of songbirds in decorating. Here are 2 bedrooms that I’ve stumbled upon. The designers of these bedrooms love birds just as much as I do.

This first bedroom was in Canadian House and Home. It’s cute, thanks to the birds and birdcage wallpaper. I love the carefree print. I have really been craving prints lately and that is very unexpected for me. Everything in the room is “cute”. I like the pieces but together I feel they look a bit contrived. Maybe they don’t look so forced “antique” in person. Pictures are difficult like that. All of the neutral colors really let the wallpaper take center stage here. It’s a charming room.

The other room was featured on Room Envy. This room is much more colorful, but it still has the same vibe. Both rooms have beautifully printed wallpaper, white linens, and a lovely iron bed. This is a bit more “lively” version of the first bedroom shown here. I love the accents of teal. Teal is one of those colors that I

bird bedroom featured on Room Envy

have liked for such a long time. I love the mix of prints and the crisp white linens. I love the wallpaper print and would love to have that print on linens or curtains. Adorable.

Bird wallpaper in cute prints is expensive. Often retailing for about $100 a roll, so many to choose from if you type search “bird”, here. I found a nice bird print with lots of teal for $27.99 a roll here. I’ve never dealt with these companies.  I just know, that I like these prints. I’ve also learned that it pays to shop around and to “give in”. Sometimes you must have vague wants such as “blue bird wallpaper” when you’re remodeling on a budget.

Off subject…I made a plum frangipane tart yesterday and it turned out delicious! I’m really taking this cooking thing up a notch. And I purchased a rolling-pin for $5? I’ve complained for 5 years over something that is $5? Why do I not buy the kitchen items that I need? I’ve decided that if I need it then I will buy it. Having a retro kitchen has motivated me to have “retro” kitchen items such as sifters, rolling-pins, pie weights. You know those things that grandma had around but most young moderns couldn’t identify out of a line up?

-Victoria

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DIY Inexpensive Patchwork Runner or Rug

Patchwork Runner from Martha Stewart Living

Here’s an idea that I found on Martha Stewart Living, a patchwork rug. I can not get over how expensive rugs are. I keep saying that I’m going to invest in one that I love because they “transform” a room. After getting Frink the Frug, I refuse to spend $500+ on a rug. Pets are nice but they aren’t nice to rugs. I also can not afford to spend at least $3,000 on rugs for the entire house (our entire home is sans carpet) and have a dog puke on it. So, we’ve been shopping at Ross and I’ve purchased some “it’ll do” acrylic fiber rugs for now. Lowe’s also marks rugs down more than 50% off, watch the clearance sections. We bought a hilarious “Frankenstein” floor sample “runner” Oriental rug for $5. I love the patchwork quirkiness to it, so I started looking up patchwork rugs and found…

This DIY project featured on Martha Stewart Living. I love a patchwork look. It’s quirky, unexpected. Lately, I have really been obsessed with mixing prints. The rugs featured in the pic above are about $5 each. I could easily make a runner for the upstairs foyer for under $40. Plus, I’m starting to see rugs as disposable with all the foot and Frink traffic and I don’t want to spend much. Here is the tutorial on how to make a patchwork runner. I’m positive I can do this. Heck, I may keep going and make a large rug.

I think I’ll go out today and price check some small rugs like this. Didn’t I say I was going to paint a floor canvas for the dining nook this summer? Yes, I did. Need to order that. This renovation mess is finally starting to look like a home!

Today I’m attempting to bake a fresh plum frangipane tart for the first time. I hope it turns out nicely. I have to run out and buy a rolling-pin. For 5 years I’ve said I need a rolling-pin. Today, I am being proactive and buying one.

-Victoria

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