Favorite Details Around the House

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, of course you know that I love the larger elements that make a room: wallpaper, furniture, paint, draperies, etc. 

The great thing about decorative accessories is that they are a fun way to punch up a room and really make it sing without over-committing to a huge decor change. You can easily layer in fun little groupings and then switch them out when you need something new. 

I'm constantly tinkering with these elements in my home and love nothing more than a quiet afternoon when I can move things around from room to room (yeah, it's a nonstop party up in here). I thought I'd share a few details of the current set-up around the house:

Plus, here are a few accessories that I'm considering adding in the coming months:

Fornasetti Lidded Candle (at Barneys): 

Scoop vase in Emerald by Jonathan Adler

Velvet Green Bolster Pillow (via Biscuit Home):

Kelly Wearstler Channels Pillow (via Etsy) - also thinking about this fabric for roman shades in the kitchen: 

Malachite obelisk (via One Kings Lane): 

Gold leaf mirror (via PB Teen!): 

I frequently post pictures of little details around the house on instagram, so follow me there too if you liked this post. Thanks for reading! 

The Front Parlor/Piano Room

I think of all the rooms in the house, this one has been the most challenging for me to pull together. It's a little awkward, since it's essentially another formal living room (right next to the other formal living room), and for the longest time, I just couldn't get my head around how to make it stand out and serve a unique purpose.

It gets great light thanks to the two sets of large double windows, so it's a really pleasant room to spend time in, but I wanted to shake things up a little bit here.

Then, it hit me. LEOPARD. 

I feel compelled to mention the round table above is indeed centered on the window. It would drive me insane every time I saw it if it was not. The angle of this picture is a little slanted, which is why it looks off-center.

I dig symmetry, so I knew I wanted a pair of matching chairs in here. It took me a while to zero in on exactly what style I wanted, but ultimately settled on a slightly overscale wingback from Ballard, upholstered in a Sunbrella fabric (since these babies will get lots of direct sunlight, I wanted a fabric that could withstand it).   

I am all heart eyes for them and they are exactly what I wanted in this room.

Not to mention, handsome Mr. Lincoln looks like he was made to go there between them, right?

The little metal side table is from Pottery Barn.

The bench under the windows is topped with a couple of Ikea sheepskins to cozy it up a little bit, and the round table in the center of the room is also Ikea. The topiaries are from a little boutique (Cooper & Co for those of you fellow Lincolnites), and the tray is vintage.

Looking toward the other end of the room, you see our piano, which came with the house, but which I painted using Annie Sloan paint in a custom color. 

Have you used this paint? It's black magic. It's perfect for someone like me who likes painting but hates all the boring prep work. Sanding, mineral spirits, etc. No thank you. With this you just dive right in and paint - no prep necessary. I realize this is sounding a little like an ad. I can assure you Annie Sloan has no idea who I am (but if you are reading this, Annie, and want to send me some free swag, I will gladly accept ;))

E's gorgeous little reading nook is on the left above, and we still love that little space very much. The doorway to the right of the piano is a hallway leading to the powder room, and beyond that then the office and TV room in the back of the house. 

The piano stool is an antique, which I upholstered in a cool Nate Berkus fabric.

Not dusty, just old. 

I love the little glass balls on the feet.

The other piano in this room belongs to Miss E:

It's officially the cutest thing ever. 

The rug is a really beautiful woven silk in a striated green with some navy and chartreuse to it as well.

I think it looks especially pretty on the dark wood floors.

I also have a pair of these mirrored cabinets in the room, one on each side of the window. 

That bunny sculpture (by Christy Puetz) has moved around a lot in the house, but I think this is now the perfect spot for it. The artwork above is by Michelle Armas. 

This piece was purchased at auction, and I cannot remember the artist's name (and am too lazy to go look at the signature). I do love it, and also love the pretty gold bamboo-y frame.

You can see in this picture that it hangs on the left side of the room, behind one of the chairs. 

I think I'll be adding a floor lamp in that corner too, once I find one that I really love. 

Here's a view from the Front Parlor into the Formal Living Room and then on into the Dining Room so you can see how all the spaces relate to one another: 

I love how the colors in this room tie into the rest of this part of the house, but also bring some new elements to the table too.  

I have a lot of fun decorating those two little cutouts you see above. Currently, I have a few pieces of blue and white china there, but I'm sure that won't last for too long before I'm swapping in something new. 

Getting this room finished was a big check mark on the to-do list, and I'm so happy with how it came together. It's the perfect mix of mostly traditional elements but with a few modern and whimsical touches, as well as some new, some vintage, some high end, and some low, that I love.

Side note: sweet little Murphy, whom you see above making himself at home on the chair, has been feeling really bad lately and is in a lot of pain due to a slipped disk in his back. If you're so inclined, we'd appreciate any good vibes you can send his way for a speedy recovery.

Thanks so much for reading!

Tremendous Trims

Adding trim to upholstered pieces is a great way to dress them up, add a level of interest, and tie together various elements in a room. Trim adds dimension to a room and helps create that layered and "designed" look to which many of us aspire. 

I love using trim on things like curtains and lampshades, but it also looks great on furniture and pillows. 

I've used trim in a few places in my house, and after putting this post together, I'm thinking I'll be adding it to a few more :) 

This fun ball trim on the TV room roman shade is so perfect for the room and the shade fabric:

This one I really like, because the lampshade is also lined in metallic gold paper. I think the gold and black ribbon trim really takes it over the top.

I have two of these matching lamps with plain grey linen lampshades on my entry table. They are just basic shades from Target, but I dressed them up with a little bit of ribbon trim in a grey and white Greek key pattern. I think they turned out great! I am SO not a DIYer, but even I can manage one as simple and pretty as this!

Here are a few trimmed pieces I found via my old friend Pinterest that I absolutely adore as well:

Of course Tory Burch's sofa is 100% perfect in every way! I love everything about this, from the green velvet, to the stunning patterned trim tape, to the tiger velvet bolster pillow!

Via the Enchanted Home - this one is a little more traditional than my taste, but I love the perfectly done box pleat skirt and contrast welting!

That'll do!

Matching curtains and table skirt is just spectacular (that wallpaper that looks like deGournay isn't bad either!)!

This bedroom looks stunning, but the roman shade with a large, dramatic trim added takes it over the top. 

Another example of gorgeous draperies with a really wide trim.

I recently fell down a bit of a trim rabbit hole while looking for trim to add to the simple green linen curtains I'm having made for the office. There are some truly stunning options out there, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites here, mostly from Samuel and Sons, Scalamandre, and Clarence House: 

So pretty as a pop of color on neutral fabric. 

I love the mixture of textures and materials in this one. 

So pretty in the various shades of blue. 

The saturated colors here kill me. So gorgeous!

I'm dying to use this one somewhere, even though the colors aren't appropriate for my house at all!

This one, however, works perfectly in my home and I want to design an entire room around it!

The top contender for my office trim.

Love how graphic and kind of mod this one is. 

What do you think of trim? Do you have any pieces in your home that you'd like to perk up with upholstered trim? 

Thanks so much for reading!

E's Bedroom

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season. Ours was full of fun, family, friends, and food -  just perfect.

Sadly though, the time has come to transition out of wearing yoga pants every day and eating treats all the time, so to jump start 2016 I thought I'd start with a fun room tour of one of the prettiest spaces in our home - E's bedroom.

I'm not sure if she realizes it quite yet, but E has got a room that I would have absolutely been crazy about as a young lady. I'm certain this means we're on track for a Minnie-Mouse- or Frozen-themed bedding request from her once she realizes how to push my decor buttons. But, I digress. Onto the pretty pictures :)

I absolutely love the light in her room, courtesy of the big double window, and the slightly angled ceiling detail is fun too: 

The walls are Benjamin Moore Ballet Slipper, which is the perfect pale pink. The rug was actually from her nursery in our old house, and I cannot remember where I purchased it. The giant giraffe is the first item we purchased for her room before she was born. The cute little wicker elephant is a hamper from Home Decorators. 

E's crib (yes, she's still in a crib, and no, we're not moving her until we absolutely have to) is from Bratt Decor and I'd highly recommend it. 

It's super-sturdy because it's solid iron, and it was the prettiest one I could find. It converts to a toddler bed, so once we are ready to give up full confinement we'll still be able to use it for a time.

I pulled together this mini gallery wall combining a few nicer prints with things from Michaels and/or Hobby Lobby, or in a couple of cases, just by framing pieces of scrapbook paper that I really liked. 

As she gets older and I can trust that she won't destroy the things in her room, we'll swap some of the lesser pieces out for nicer artwork.

The Somewhere Over the Rainbow print is special since we used that song as our Wedding Processional, and it gives me all the feels to see it now in her room.

Everyone knows a rocker (or glider) is essential in any nursery, and we use this one (can't remember where it's from - sorry!) all the time and still love it. At the time I bought it, it was super difficult to find a non-traditional rocker, and I remember hunting all over the internets to find this one, but now I see them all the time, even at readily-accessible places like PB Kids. 

The artwork above the chair is a piece by a local artist we bought at an auction, and the white leather pouf is from Serena and Lily, as is the little elephant side table.

The window treatment in E's room is a roller shade from, of all places, Lowe's! I didn't have high hopes when I started looking at their options, but surprisingly they have some really nice fabrics from which to choose, and offer the ability to add custom details to make it look a little more special. The pelmet cover with braided trim is a really nice touch that I'm so glad I added.

My trusty assistant always has to get into at least one picture :)

You'll also notice the dresser still has a changer on it, but hopefully not for much longer! One of my more expert mom friends recently gave me the great advice that it's actually much more about when mom is ready rather than when baby is ready. I'm trying to keep that in mind, but it's SO HARD - diapers are so easy! 

Probably the most fun corner of E's room is this one:

The pink ombre tent gets a lot of play from both E and Murphy. It's the perfect place to hang out and read or pretend to nap. It's from Land of Nod and the green version is on sale now here. 

The last major piece in the room is the bookcase:

It's full of lots of fun little bits and bobs, and of course plenty of books for bedtime stories too.

The adorable leather hippo bookends are another great Serena and Lily find. The books between them are a vintage set of Nancy Drew mysteries, which were my absolute favorite when I was younger (#nerdalert). Here's hoping E likes them in a few years too.

Lots of little pieces (mostly vintage) I've been collecting for E since she was born: 

Although this isn't the final version of E's big girl room, I tried to use many pieces that I thought would grow up well with her and create a room that is appropriate for a little girl without seeming too babyish. 

Thanks so much for reading, and check back soon for more room updates!