More etsy pillow love: lopamudra home decor

I found this pillow on etsy by LopaMudra when searching for the Brooklyn living room design plan that I recently posted.  I can't get over these great patterns and the fantastic beadwork offered at such reasonable prices! 

Around town

During our gorgeous fall weekend, I took my four year old on a double-decker bus tour around town. She has been talking about this for ages, and we had a great day together! A few snapshots of our beautiful capitol...

Busy bee!

Sorry for the light posting this week - work has been keeping me busy!!

Betsy Burnham

Looking forward to getting some rest - and finding time for design!

Out and about: Jonathan Adler boutique

Last weekend in NYC, I had a chance to check out Jonathan Adler's Madison Avenue boutique.  I've always loved his "happy chic" style (and, oh my - check out his line at HSN - there are some serious clearance deals right now, like an 32-piece dinnerware set for under $30!).  Some snapshots from my tour around the shop.

And just a little black/brass entry door eye candy that I passed on my walk...

Happy Monday!

etsy spotlight: sukan pillows

In my search for pillows for the design plan in yesterday's post, I stumbled upon etsy seller, sukan handmade design.  Wow - what a great resource for beautiful, unique pillows that could really give a room an eclectic/collected feel!  Check out some of my favorites (of course, starting with the pillow I selected for the design plan)...

Design Plan: Brooklyn Living Room

A few weeks ago, I previewed the living room of my good friends in Brooklyn - who are looking to spruce up their space with pillows, color and texture (these are the same friends with the "Brooklyn bohemian bedroom").  I'm so happy to have found the time to put the finishing touches on a design plan for them! This room has fabulous bones... classic furniture, a smashing rug and beautiful views.  I had so much fun picking out accessories for this space and rounding up some cobalt blue accents to punctuate the neutral/black/red color scheme.  I hope they like it!

Pillows on sofa:
lopamudrahomedecor via etsy
West Elm Totem Pillow Cover
Koko Company Magic Hand Pillow

Pillows on red chairs:
Room & Board Tree Pillow
Jonathan Adler Tramp Pillow

Pillow/throw on off-white chair:
sukan via etsy
West Elm Chunky Tassel Throw

On the floor:
West Elm Honeycomb Floor Cushion
Overstock Royal Blue Pouf

Tabletop accessories:
CB2 Rubberwood Tree Set
Capri Blue Jar Candle
Z Gallerie Porcelain Birds

More entry/foyer decisions made...

Still not sure exactly when our contractors are starting on the front door project, but I'm at least making progress on getting all the pieces ordered and amassed!

After re-measuring the ceiling height in our foyer, I decided a flush-mount would be our safest bet, even if we can have the fixture centered (I had hoped to use a semi-flush if the fixture is centered, since door clearance would no longer be an issue).  I just don't want my tall friends to have to duck when they come in our house!

I opted for the Robert Abbey Chase Flushmount

And, although I was originally thinking of using a lion knocker, we ultimately chose a simpler design.  I love the scale and weight of this ring knocker from Restoration Hardware - and the price was hard to beat at $35!

Restoration Hardware

Another sweet surprise!

We got home yesterday evening from a great weekend with family in NY, and I was surprised (by my husband) with this...

Megan Auman

What a coincidence!!  It arrived at our house on Friday- the same day as my post about the designer!

Crafty Bastards: Favorite Vendor - Megan Auman

My favorite stop at the Crafty Bastards fair in Adams Morgan last weekend was Megan Auman's booth.  I just love the simple leaf shapes and the edgy look of the black steel on her perfect everyday necklaces.  Short, long, multi-stranded... they're all gorgeous!

Not much help

About a month ago, I posted about the colors I was considering for the exterior front half-octagon on the front of our house. 

Well, I picked up a sample pot of BM's Edgecomb Gray to give it a whirl... slopped on a quick coat to try to get an idea...

and I still have no idea if it would be an improvement over the white!  It's really hard to visualize with the blue tape (outlining the future window), the sloppy paint job and the bright light going on in this photo.  The pale beige is a little less stark than the white - which is the goal - but, does it just look like dirty white?  That is clearly not the goal.  The trim would be white - so, I hope that that would give it a crisp/clean contrast.

Shucks!

Found this on sale for $119...

Pottery Barn Calhoun Pendant

and would have LOVED to use this in our foyer.  It would solve the problem of waiting to figure out if we can center our light fixture, since we could easily install it in the current spot and swag it to the center.  But, alas - our ceilings are just too low.  Boo for low ceilings :(

The new mantel-scape...

I played around a bit with my grandma's painting on our mantel and came up with this (for now)...

What do you think?  Figuring out how to display the horse heads gave me the most trouble... they have to stay.  I love them, spent way too much on them to put them away after just a few months, and they would be a major child safety hazard anywhere else in our home.  But, I think the back-to-back placement looks kind of cool.  Do I need to add something with more height though?  The mirror cannot go vertical - it is attached by screws on the far corners - oh well (it's too small anyway)!

Here's a close-up of the beautiful painting.  I was so happy when my grandparents gave it to me.  Both of my grandmothers are very talented artists and it's so special to have their paintings in our home (you've seen others in our master bedroom).

Crafty Bastards

On Saturday, I braved the cold and wet weather to meet up with my good friend and design-partner-in-crime to check out the annual "Crafty Bastards" fair in Adams Morgan.  Overall, it was fun to explore and have a little girl-time - but the weather definitely put a damper on my enjoyment (pun intended).

I'll feature some of my favorite crafters from the show in the near future, but for now - a few snapshots: