Sorry I have been so absent of late.  I have just been swamped with work and end of summer stuff.  My mom was in town and we bought Maddie’s uniforms last week….I cannot believe my baby starts preschool on Monday…..booo hooo.  We had a little play-date today with a friend who will be in the same class.  It was too cute to “spy” on them as they played.  Really, is there anything better than observing a three year old’s active imagination at play?

Anyways, sitting here waiting to hear back from the AC person as our upstairs unit has gone out.  It is slightly laughable to even think  we have a prayer of getting someone out today….given Dallas has had like over forty 100+ degree days this summer.  It rained the other night and I got so excited I had to wake my husband up…..it was like how I used to act when I was a kid and it snowed.  Wish us luck in the heat…thank goodness for the downstairs unit still humming along and the backhouse (my office) which is working just fine!  Anyways, I digress.

I had my chairs all figured out for our new eat in kitchen.  And then I saw these in Architectural Digest over the weekend……

Photo by  Roger Davies

I think they would go great with my new kitchen.  Below is the table I am getting close to buying.  Took husband to take a look over the weekend and got his vote of approval.  I love that it has 5 leaves—just so perfect for impromptu entertaining in the kitchen.

We are doing white cabinetry on the perimeter of the kitchen (with a possible VERY faint striae effect) and grey on the island.  I was planning to do all of the counter tops in marble.  Until I found the limestone seen below.  I am thinking of using it along the perimeter to contrast with the white cabinetry.  I just love it (and yes, I know all of the cautionary tales about limestone counter tops).

Don’t you love it when your vision starts to come together? Of course, I haven’t priced these guys out yet….I may be back to my bamboo chairs by tomorrow!  Hope you are doing well and enjoying these last precious days of summer.

I am a huge lover of the combination of pink and green.

Here is proof that is isn’t just for little girls.

Jody Stewart for British Homes and Gardens

Love it!

Along the lines of my love/hate relationship with ceiling fans, I often take issue with covering a beautifully painted or wallpapered wall with a lightswitch or outlet cover.  I know many just paint them but I am not a fan….because the paint inveitably scratches and chips and one is left with a bit of an eyesore.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I first spotted these great products from Forbes and Lomax which are now availble for US voltage!  Yay!

Need a dimmer?  Yep, they have that covered too.

Don’t mind a switch becoming a focal point with the right finish?  You can do that too!

I will admit I have not looked into pricing yet.  And I am sure they do not come cheap.  But, assuming they do not break the bank….these are going to find their way into our home.  We have a terrible hodge podge of outlets and switches (read: brass, wood, chunky child safety, etc.)  I want some continuity for sure.

Have you seen this product before?  Anyone with any experience (or another similar source)?  I’d love to hear about it!

I have a love/hate relationship with the ceiling fan.  I think they are ugly….and I usually opt to remove them whenever possible.  In fact, the movers hadn’t left our house before the fan was taken down in Maddie’s room and the chandelier from her old nursery was installed.

But, it is only April in Dallas and I can already see that they will become my friends in the coming months.  As I work on Harry’s nursery I am starting to think that I have to find a way to work in a ceiling fan (and not the wooden one that is in there) for practicality.

I have been thinking of having a drum shade made for a standard fan à la Dwellers without Decorators (image below).  However, with 8′ ceilings I am a bit nervous that they will look a bit out of scale (not to mention that my husband will bump his head!)

Funny enough, in the last week I have seen two ceiling fans that I think I could live with.  The first one is from the 2011 DC Design House that is currently open.  I like the acrylic blades and how the fan almost isn’t there.

image via My Notting Hill

A few days after spotting the above fixture, I noticed another acrylic fan in the bedroom of designer Tobi Fairley.  If it is good enough for Tobi, it is certainly good enough for me.

photo by Werner Straube for Traditional Home

In case you are interested, the first fan is by LucePlan and the second is by Quorum International.  I found a “retro” acrylic version on Quorum International that may work for Harry’s room.  What about you?  Do you have ceiling fans?  Any good sources for ones that look better than most?  I am always interested in hearing of a new source!

Update–The fan used in Tobi Fairley’s home pictured above came out in 2002 and has since been discontinued.  They do have some other acrylic options but you will not find the same fan.  Sorry! 

You know those freebie papers that find your way on to the front lawn only to be saturated by the sprinklers before heading to the recycling bins?  We’ll I am glad that this one made its way into our house.  Friday night after the kids were in bed I curled up in my favorite chair with a glass of wine and a stack of mags.  My husband was happy to man the remote and chill out.  Perfect Friday night if you ask me!

In this magazine, the home of Mersina Stubbs was featured.  She redecorated a “once-heavy Mediterranean” into a hip and edgy home for her family.  All photography is by Stephen Karlisch via Paper City.

The above image is of her husband’s office.  I love what she did to the ceilings which were no doubt dark/heavy wood previously.  According to the article, the ceiling treatment was an “accident” as she came home after it was primed and love it so much she kept it, in favor of what she had initially planned to do.  I will admit that the boar’s head is a bit creepy to me, but it was a present from her husband’s brother.  And, we are in Texas y’all!

I love the dining room….it just looks so comfortable.  I am a big fan of Louis style chairs…love the lines.  And the chandelier, oh my!

What about these two guest rooms?  I only live a couple of miles from this home….but boy would I love to be invited for a stay!  You know I love grasscloth, not to mention the comfortable and cozy feeling this next room evokes.

And, a Madeline Weinrub rug and a comfy, yet funky, chair.  Yes, I’ll stay here please!  And, there is even some DIY going on here.  The article states that Ms. Stubbs painted this little abstract in under an hour.

My ever so slow coming around to the color lavendar continues, not only in the above guest room but also in the living room.  Love the palate in here.  Seems both restful and approachable which I love for the oft forgotten room!

And, I love how she mixes more current / contemporary elements with traditional ones such as the blue ceramics and artifacts from her travels.

And finally, I love this little vignette in a downstairs den.  Of course, the iconic Clarence House “The Vase” wallpaper is fabulous, but I also love that she used artwork of her own (age 5) and playful elements like the gigantic “Tab” can.

This home’s style is not something you would find in my home (I am NOT this cool).  But, I really love most of it.  What about you?

It has been a while since I participated in Moodboard Monday over at the blog Pewter + Sage.  However, I have been feeling pressured inspired to get moving on Maddie and Harry’s rooms in our new home.  So, when I saw that this week’s inspiration was a crib from Bonavita I thought it might be a sign to put pencil to paper and get moving.

And, while we are at it I have to share a photo of the “client.”  Am I a lucky mama, or what?

Anyways, here is the crib I am using for inspiration.

Bonavita Francaise Lifestyle Crib

I should mention as you look at my board that Harry does already have a crib.  It is iron in a matte pewter finish….it is about the only purchase I’ve made for the poor kiddo to date!  In any case, here is what I have come up with.  If you follow my blog, you know some of this has been kicking around in my inspiration files for a while.

The starting point for the room was the Julia Rothman wallpaper for Hygge & West.  Babies spend a lot of time looking up….and my little man will fall asleep and wake up to these beautiful birds.  I do realize that this feature will have to be replaced in a few years but I do not mind.  He’s likely my last baby and you only live once!

The carpet will be a custom cut Stark carpet in “Logo.”  I am only leaving a 6″ perimeter of wood around the room.  I am adding wainscoting 5′ up the walls (see example below) and I am adding crown moldings as well.  All woodwork will be an off-white (Navajo white by Benjamin Moore).  The upper few feet of the walls will be Benjamin Moore’s Galveston Grey.

On the windows I’ll likely go with roman shades.  Currently, I am thinking China Seas  Fiorentina, Dark Yellow on White.  I’ll band them with Christopher Farr linen in Silver (I scanned the fabric sample I have and it reads beige here.  In reality it is a grey linen with a slight silvery sheen).  The bumper and crib skirt will be done in the silver linen as well.  Ties on the bumper and a peek through on the skirt will be in the China Seas Fiorentina (similar to the style below).  I’ll find a yellow tape to match or may have the skirt bordered with the China Seas fabric….still deciding.

The glider is a hand me down from big sister Maddie’s nursery before we moved.  I honestly have not decided if I’ll go to the time and expense of getting it recovered.  They jury remains out on this one.  The black armoire (photo from the showroom floor) was one of the first pieces of furniture I bought when I remodeled my first ever townhouse.  It was my first “adult” furniture purchase and is sentimental to me.  The black dresser was purchased at a tag sale and is doubling as the change table.

I still need to work on art.  I am kicking around ideas like French Alphabet postcards, a silhouette, a monogram, family photos.  We’ll see……

So, there you have it.  Harry’s nursery progress to date.  I am currently in the process of bidding the woodwork and painting….so we are making progress and hopefully you will see some real photos of the finished room in the near future!  Now, hope on over to Pewter + Sage to see what other fabulous nurseries everyone has come up with using the Bonavita cribs!