Miniature and stop motion animation

I heard Wes Anderson on Terri Gross and he talked about how he visits the Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Museum of Art for inspiration. There is quite a connection between miniatures and stop motion animation. These are some pictures from two of my favorite recent stop motion movies.

Love this room

House Pictures: With the Water Damage

Pictures of My House: Before During and After

Transformations

I love before and afters and not all have to be from the ugly duckling to the swan. Here is a great study room for kids (I know, who has the luxury of a room just for their kids to study in?) that has been transformed to a lovely study room for....teenagers. Aaahh disposable income!

Images via Cote de Texas

Yellow Velvet

I know it's been heavy on inspirational posts rather what I'm buying/will buy but that's because we sort of ran out of money for the time being (I hope). I will gather the courage and post real pictures but this will have to do for now.

I've posted Kate Spade pictures in the past but notice the yellow velvet chair--yellow velvet is such a metaphor for what I try to achieve in my home (maybe that should have been what I called the blog). It's at once quirky, luxurious, young, modern and classic--yin and yang.

By the way, I also love John Baldessari and the Spades have a whole collection of them. (I'm learning about him too-most recently in Seven Days in the Art World).

Floor Cloth

I've always loved floor cloths--not that I've seen many up close but I certainly love the idea of a painted canvas as a rug. I found this one by Sheila Bridges and the technique looks simple enough(if you can paint, that is). Alpha Workshops makes them too but much more expensive.

This one actually has a sociological bent. You can order them in whatever skin tone you want. Two innovative ideas in one. Hmmm.......

Green

Though in an FIT project, I chose green as my least favorite color, (purple was no. 1), it's been creeping into my consciousness. I'm thinking of an apple green as a nice contrast for the lavender in my living room on curtains, and maybe a pillow and a richer green for my bedroom curtains. Velvet is a great texture but so inappropriate for these triple digit days.

Moodboard via Design Sponge and pillow from Hable Construction

New Thought

Go figure!

Look at this baby on Craigslist. It is for the price of.....$150 and he's willing to deliver. Yes it needs to be reupholstered and no, I don't know when I'll get around to that-slash-be willing to spend the money-slash obsess over buying fabric on the cheap and finding a separate upholsterer or do the full service thing at calico corners. HELP!!!

To Buy or Not To Buy?

To take the plunge or not to take the plunge?

This chair is on sale at Jayson Home and Garden. Do I feel more pressure because its on sale and who knows how long it will last? You betcha!

The only drawback I see in this chair is the lack of nailheads. I do like the shape though.

Pendants in the Kitchen

See? I am not the only one to use schoolhouse pendants in the kitchen! I found this at Design Sponge and the look in my kitchen is, while not similar, in the same ballpark with the tile, white, and the stainless steel.

Now that I've ordered the wallpaper and bought SY a mattress, I have $800 left to play with. This will have to include an entry light although there are so many things left, I'd love to buy:

A sale at Jayson Home & Garden

new Ballard Daybed

mirrored vanity

Just to name a few!

Something I've wanted for years that I thought I might have leftover money for that is only somewhat related to home decor is a sewing machine--though not a Hello Kitty one!

Original Inspiration

I thought now would be a good time to bring myself back to the original inspiration for my living room. One of the reasons I hired Nick , besides the fact that he is immensely talented in his own right, is that he was an assistant to one of my all time favorite decorators, Miles Redd. While at my house, Nick mentioned one of Miles's rooms as inspiration for the palette he gave me. He saw that I was into the feminine backdrop with the more masculine furniture layered on top. It helps me stay within those parameters by looking at this picture (courtesy of milesredd.com)

Perhaps this room is the reason I should resist the incredible urge I have to purchase this console from Reeves Design I found at abc Carpet today while buying a living room rug. It was a floor model and on sale for $800. Not exactly masculine, huh?

Purple Console

While looking for the perfect light for my entry and console to use as a radiator cover, I came across this at i suwannee, a great blog by Jamie Meares. An entry and a console? Too much... and, really, how awesome is the purple console?

P.S. Although I love the wallpaper behind the console, I think the Anthropologie wallpaper would look especially teriffic.

Vanity

I have been looking for a mirrored vanity for my bedroom. This is definitely a low-end version from urban outfitters but I like that it has some personality to it and is not too plain vanilla especially as I'm one of those suckers with an actual *gasp* bedroom set!!

Wallpaper--obsession?

I can't help it. Whenever I think I'm done looking at wallpapers and have given up the whole pursuit, I find something really great. Of course I have, now that they've finished painting the dining room. The colorful one, by the way, is zoomed in. I'm sorry, I'm still learning my way around this. I'd love some opinions on this!!

Chinese Console

So, Nick suggested a chinese altar table as a radiator cover and this one has a great price. I would want to paint it black, however. Still worth it?

Also I really need sources for a French Daybed.

Kate Spade

I love Kate Spade. Who thinks a fabric, bedding and/or furniture line is not too far away? Me neither! Whenever I think of home inspiration, I think of a picture in the now-defunct House & Gardens from Kate's home of a yellow velvet chair. Does it get better than that? You can see it in the corner.

Ikea

Tomorrow will be our big trip to Ikea. I hope to get shelves, brackets and drawer fronts for the kitchen, a light fixture for SY's room,cabinets for the bathroom, and a light fixture and Expedit for the basement. Wish me luck!

I can't help it. I keep coming back to the wallpaper I've wanted all along. Look at this--is it incredible or what? It has the right combination of elegance and quirkiness that I want so so badly. There must be a way I can make this work!

I ordered it!!

Dear reader, I ordered almost EVERYTHING!

From Overstock, I got the guitar rug and bathroom penny tiles (unglazed).

From Restoration Hardware, I ordered the schoolhouse pendants in oiled bronze and the semi-flush in oiled bronze as well.

I didn't order the lantern from Pottery Barn only because it isn't available until June 29, so maybe I'll buy the antique one I saw at Bibi Lighting.

Wish me luck!!!

Since I can't choose a wallpaper, maybe I'll frame some sheets of wallpaper with molding. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm awful at DIY. I never can get my act together. Nonetheless, here's some inspiration from invitinghome.com.

Bathroom

So, I've been thinking about my bathroom and updating it, even a bit. It's that retro pink and black tiled look. I happen to love the tiled floor--it's a sort of off-black hexagon subway tile. It's time to replace it, though--all chipped. Here is some inspiration.

What do you think of white tiles? These are so well priced from overstock.com with dark grey grout.

In SY's room update, he chose the guitar rug (also from overstock)

SY gets to decide on any 5 x 8 rug for his primary color room. His top picks are:

I'm going for the fantastic look I found in Elle Decor, which I think will be perfect in my white ceramic tiled floor, counter and backsplash.

Which do you like better for my kitchen? The top is from Restoration Hardware and the bottom is from the Sundance Catalog. They cost about the same too (a bit over $100).

Am I crazy for liking this wallpaper for my dining room?

Master bedroom

I am so excited about the changes to the master bedroom--maybe more than any other room in the house (with the exception of the living room minus the anxiety).

The wood floor will be painted pure glossy white (as will the trim) and the walls will be painted celery salt. The ceiling, meanwhile will be painted the same old pickup blue as the living room. The doors, perhaps my favorite element of the room, will be painted a gorgeous cedar green.

To top it off, I want to buy solid green tafetta unlined curtains from silk trading company or half price drapes to go over basic bamboo blinds.

I would love to buy a mirrored vanity. This one from Pier One has the right price.

My dream buy? A French daybed by the window with a chalky wooden frame: either Louis XVI or Louis XV: I just need to find one that will fit a twin mattress and go for the right price.

Technical repairs include taking the applique off the radiator grate and recessing all wires into plaster.

Any thoughts?