can you bring me my keys....

inspiration can come in all sizes....whether it's big or small, i hope you are inspired by something today ;) happy wednesday....

*images courtesy of janice valise, sarahleeab

upholstery details

since i touched on the 'small things' yesterday, i thought it would be fun to continue sharing tips on how to take a room to the next level; this time through upholstery. suzanne kasler does an amazing job w/ upholstery details...in fact, i think she nails it. one of my favorite things about suzanne, is the fact that she can make a room look fabulous by the smallest touches...for instance, by adding a small tape banding behind the nailhead of a dining room chair, you get a truly custom looking piece. or take an alternate fabric and create a banding at the bottom of a sofa or chair skirt- so easy but it takes the piece to the next level.

or say you fall in love w/ six dining room chairs in a store. they are upholstered in a great neutral linen...well, to get a more custom look w/out having to reupholster a perfectly fine chair, just do the host and hostess chairs- add a pouch of color on those two. or just have an upholsterer add a different fabric to the backs of the chairs-a simple ticking stripe looks awesome....

another tip i think can carry you a long way is adding nailhead trim. polished nickel looks fabulous on an upholstered piece. if you are creating an upholstered headboard, nailhead gives a great custom look...or if you have an upholstered chair, just simply add a small accent detail by the arms to jazz it up...

none of these tips are mind blowing but if you just remember them when you are decorating a space, it will give you such a great custom look. remember 'small things' can go a long way!!

*images courtesy of suzanne kasler/hickory chair, decorology, house beautiful/ballard design

it's the small things...

lately, i have become obsessed w/ looking at details...when i get a magazine, a catalog, or am searching the web, my eyes immediately zero in on the details that go into the space. it's amazing how effortless the stylists make it look...in everyday life, it's often a step that is overlooked but if done properly, boy, it can make a room go from nice to fantastic....

*image courtesy of the domino mag files, design sponge

what's hiding in your garage....

today i thought i would share w/ y'all what is hiding in my garage....this little diddy (along w/ my DR table and several other pieces i have collected from various thrift stores, yard sales, etc....drives my husband crazy b/c that is his one spot in the house). i found her under a lot of "junk" at one of my secret junkin' spots....when i saw the detail on the drawers of the chest, i knew it was special.

now the chest does have one catch, it was taken from a kiawah house where she was used as a vanity....so it has a hole in the top. i can't decide if i want to turn her back into a chest for my entryway; i could have a wooden top made or i could get a piece of marble cut for it. the other option would be to keep her as a vanity and used it in the 'next house' (wherever that maybe)...i would put a marble top on and maybe paint her a french blue....

so now i ask you...what treasures are lurking in your garage??

*images courtesy of newlywed dairies, design sponge/ betsy burnham

enter

the entryway of your home is the first impression people see upon entering your house...would they stop and linger or would they just pass it by....is it a firm hand shake or a soft one?

*images courtesy of katie sellers, domino, unknown (please forgive me), domino

color trend

i feel like lavender has been creeping into interiors more and more lately. even though as a young child, i would always choose the pink crayon over the purple one...i am digging the way these rooms feel. and if you are looking for a paint color to give you this kind of tone, Ben Moore's Excalibur Gray 2118-50 is a great choice...i used it in a client's bathroom and it reads as a nice masculine purple.

*images courtesy of jessica condatore design studio, abbey goes design scouting, house and garden/ gwyneth paltrow

vintage wildlife silhouettes...

i was recently reminded of these fabulous vintage wallpaper silhouettes when someone asked me about the giraffe i drew on taylor's wall....i saw them in domino a little over two years ago when i was trying to figure out taylor's nursery and fell in love with them. at the time, they only offered three wallpaper patterns and unfortunately, they didn't go w/ the pink and brown we had already painted the room. but today when i went on inke's website, i saw that they offer a huge amount of vintage wallpaper...i think they are just fabulous!

*images courtesy of inke, domino/real simple, washington spaces