Odds and Ends

Today, I have a couple of pictures of odds and ends that will go into our house. The images are of not-so-great quality as they were taken with an iPhone, but I wanted to go ahead and show you. Because....well...I like them, it's Friday, and why not? :)

The first is the light fixture I bought at Round Top for my dining room.


I spotted it while waiting in line for a quick restroom break. If I hadn't had to wait in that line, I don't know that I would have spotted it. The clerk wasn't sure of it's story, but they assumed it had been in a bank or something once upon a time. Won't it look great with a neat ceiling medallion? I just think that glass globe is beautiful, and I can't wait to see what it looks like installed!

The next picture is of one of my grandmother's chairs that I want to have recovered and incorporated into the living room.


As you can see by the picture, they are currently stored at my parents' house in the playroom. However, they originally presided over my grandmother's formal living room covered in silk. By the way, I just love formal living rooms. They seem to always be still and peaceful. I remember feeling that way in my grandmother's, and perhaps that's why I feel that way about them all. I am so honored to have these chairs for my own home now. There is nothing better than beautiful pieces with personal stories!

And finally, I was flipping through the most current Pottery Barn catalogue the other day, and nearly died when I saw this:


I know this isn't going to mean much to you, because I haven't shown you a picture of my buffet, but believe me when I tell you, it looks like Pottery Barn snuck into my house and copied my buffet! I got mine at Round Top last year, and one of the only differences is that mine has a really neat latch for the bottom doors. The other main difference: Mine cost less than half of what they're asking. :)

Happy Friday, friends!

Living Rooms

I would like to dress like this:


And live in her house:



But, really, it's not very practical and probably not that comfortable. I'm thinking I'd rather stay here on vacation, but come home to something comfy. The dress, I'll continue to dream about...maybe it would make good inspiration for the formal living room I want someday...

I have pretty traditional taste with a leaning toward neutral, soothing colors and antique furniture pieces. Just writing that sentence, I got bored. I am too young for this! I need to insert some funk into my decor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to up and paint my new living room hot pink, but I have got to do something different in my new house. Like I said in my first post, it's hard to figure out what to do with a room I've never seen, but I shall brainstorm nonetheless.

I need to be on the lookout for some funky and/or contemporary pieces to mix in with my antiques and neutrals. I want to keep in mind that since my instinct craves soothing colors and antinques, it would be unwise to stray too far from it. I will work with my natural leanings as a base. A personality-infused accent chair, lamp or throw pillow can go a long way. Let's start with a palette:

I am loving this room that Brooke Giannetti did:




Although this is a bedroom, I like this color scheme and feel for a living room. (I'm thinking maybe yellow and grey bedroom, but I'll get to that in another post. Yes, Mom, I am thinking of stealing your idea.) Really, the room is good inspiration for everything. The color scheme is serene, but not boring with pops of the bright blues and greens against the crisp white. But I also love the over all feel of modern traditional. You've got the contemporary lines of the chandelier, rug and bed with the traditional skirted chairs and tufted bench and ottoman. I love the balance and simplicity. Let's be real, though. I cannot paint my living room white, and white furniture in a living room is just ridiculous unless you live in the palace displayed above only, using that room once every five years, banning children from even looking at it. So, how do I translate Brooke's room into my living room while working with what I have?

I have been dying to paint a room porcelain blue, so there is a very good chance that our living room will end up that color.


It's happy, breezy, soothing and looks so nice with neutrals, which I know I am trying to move away from, but it's not like I can afford to start all over again. For goodness' sake, I have a khaki sofa the size of an ark that is bound to follow me around for a few more years - I need to work around it. I also have some dark wood antiques and some white painted wood pieces. Let's figure out some more color.

How about a bright green chair:


And/or a blue chair, darker than the walls:

How about this fun birdcage pillow from etsy?


Or these three black birds:


Or this green owl:



Anything with vintagy prints like found on design*sponge would do nicely.

A couple of these crystal lamps would be nice (p.s. My Mom tried to get me interested in lamps like these a few years ago. At the time I thought she was crazy...now I have some in my bedroom and want them everywhere):

You get the basic idea. I want to build on the neutral base I have available, bringing some fun and youth in with bright colors, fun prints and contemporary accent pieces. You know, I have a magazine buried in a stack somewhere with pictures that would illustrate the modern traditional idea perfectly. I'll find it soon and put it on here. Anyway, now all I need is a house...