What I 'Chairish' Most

Okay, time to grind the gears back in motion! I haven't been blogging much, but I always like to think I'll get back to it soon, so when I was contacted by Chairish with an interest in having me create a style board around a piece of furniture, in this case one of their accent chairs, it was a perfect reason to dive back in.

You guys know about Chairish, right? I'm sure you do, but just in case you don't, it's a fantastic full-service site dedicated to helping you buy and sell amazing curator-approved finds for your home. What does that mean? Well, it means they've done the legwork for you in sourcing pre-owned, gently used items in great condition.  I first heard about Chairish through designer Emily Henderson's blog.  You know how designer types are always changing up their decor and/or hoarding those great flea market finds? Well, sometimes they need to make way for the next look or great score, so they head to Chairish to list the items they no longer need (or have room for!) Imagine the thrill of scoring your best Craigslist find ever....it's like that, but 100 times better! Seriously, you could furnish an entire room in under an hour with the things they have listed. Everything from James Mont to Jonathan Adler, Mid-Century to 80's Glam, architectural fragments, accessories galore, pillows! rugs! mirrors! You get the picture (and yes, they have artwork too.) All at fair prices, and with a 48 hour return window, so in the odd chance that French arched window doesn't fit because you forgot to measure for ceiling height, well you're covered.

My challenge in creating a style board was to imagine a plain white space and make it bright and colorful using my favorite accent chair from the Chairish site. Because they have so much to select from, I had a hard time narrowing down my choices to just one style board, so I created two! Here are a few.....or 50!....things from their shop that I love.

Using this green Eames style chair as a jumping off point, my first board features Green as the star of the show.

I'm a big fan of mixing elements of different styles together. I like to refer to it as Mid Century Moroccan or Modern Ethnic design, a look I use extensively in my personal space. I'm loving the fresh mix of green and blue-green hues here; It's both refreshing and soothing at the same time. I totally dig this room and would install this in my own home in two seconds flat!

coffee table,  sideboard,  trunk,  pillow,  mirror,  lamp,  artwork,  rug,  chandelier,  ceramic pot,  urchin

.....

 If you follow Chairish on social media, you'll see they will often post a pic of an unfurnished white room with HUGE potential and ask #whatwouldyoudo? with the room

This was the latest installment

Gorgeous, right? Man, I love the 'Barn' feel of this, with those wide plank wood floors, high pitched peaked ceiling, and wide door opening. With a blank canvas like this, you could go in sooo many directions, but since I love color and the challenge was to take a room from white to bright, I chose an ultra-saturated purple chair and pictured it in that awesome space as my inspiration.

This fab armchair by Safavieh had me at Purple.Cotton.Velvet! In addition to many, many vintage finds, there is some newer merchandise offered as well, so it's always worth entering a current brand name in the search bar to see if your favorite maker is listed. Just a little tip ;-)

I rose to the #whatwouldyoudo? task with this style board, using that gorgeous purple chair to inform my other choices, and I must say I'm a little jealous of this room and wish I could live in it! Again, mixing modern elements with international accents is a look that really works for me and taking a room from white to bright is easy when you have color like this to work with.

chair,  artwork,  tray table,  pillow,  pillows,  mirror,  chandelier,  bookends,  bench,   ottoman,  lamps,  suzani,  architectural arch 

So you see, you really could furnish an entire house using all items from the Chairish site. What are you waiting for? Go check them out! You just might find that perfect, one-of-a-kind element you're looking for to make your space uniquely yours. Enjoy!

disclaimer:I was contacted by Chairish to write a post, all opinions/product choices are my own.

West Elm Pattern Palette Design Contest on Olioboard

Hi Friends! So, Olioboard is at it again....teaming up with fantastic sponsors to allow Olioboard users/creators to design a room featuring the sponsor products. Well, when I saw they were partnering with West Elm in what they are calling 'The Pattern Pallette Design Contest' I was super excited to throw my hat in the ring! I LOVE West Elm! Their products are so modern, yet so timeless. And Olioboard is my go to site to create mood/project boards for a potential look. I'll never forget the first time I heard of Olioboard and posted about it here.

Well, the contest is in full swing, and man did this one bring the talent! There are some super fantastic looks going on over there...you don't want to miss it! There are only 8 days left to vote, so get on over there and show some love!

Like I said there are many, many, many really terrific boards in this contest, so I wanted to share a *few* with you here. I really wish I could share ALL of them, but there are, as of right now, 52 pages and counting of talent to scroll through, so here are a handful of entries, in no particular order.

 Love this graphic, simple board by Olio community member konstadina

Love the Pink! By member laurajean

 Neutrals with a hit of bold pattern...bullseye! By addedcharm

 A well edited, sleek look and I adore the blue. By member mpricedesigns

 Super cool and moody...kinda mysterious. The dark backdrop is daring and perfect! By grahamssister

 A Mid Century Moroccan vibe...I dig it! By community member marialuisalim

 Silver and Yellow Hollywood Regency look...nice! By lolasty

 It's the artwork and the clean, streamlined mix of items I like here. By community member catsinboxes

 Loving the stripes and the mix of vintage architecture with modern elements. By redoitdesign

I really get the 'collected over time' feeling looking at this space. Beautiful! By member casalinteriors

 I wish I could actually create this room. The wall of books!The curtains!The bed! Created by designasauris

 Franz Kline artwork, a bold zig-zag pouf and clean lined simplicity. Spot On. By spectrumlrmetro

 A sweet little jewel box...a little glam, a little rustic. Me likey. By member lyndaonthehudson

 Nice mix of pattern and texture! by Olioboard community member thejen

 Love the watercolor backdrop and that fab pendant light. By Itchanel

 The depth is amazing and I love that string chair! By community member in2design

 Asymmetrical symmetry is tricky, but member michelerice pulls it off perfectly here!

Chill Out Lounge By agniq. I most definitely could chill out in this room for a good long while.

 

 Very cool downtown loft feel. Love that shot of color in the orange table. By swimen

A really nice mix of solids and pattern. By Olioboard community member netteart

Okay, did I tell you there were SOOO MANY AMAZING entries?! And this is just a sampling of them...you really have to go to Olioboard and look at every page and see them ALL and be sure to vote for all that amazing talent!

I will leave you with one of my own entries in the contest (I have two boards entered.)

West Elmistan By hayestone (me!)

 Have fun, but don't blame me if you wind up spending hours looking at all the beautiful rooms!

Wild for Wire

When was the last time you considered wire as a design element in your own space?  Wire has long been used to make a wide variety of furnishings. There is of course, the iconic Bertoia wire chair.

I mean, where would Mid Century Modern be without this chair?

And there is a dizzying array of wire lighting in design-land these days.

Available Here

I first saw this in ElleDecor a few years back and fell. in. love. Look at this beauty! It has everything going for it.....size, shape, color...it's just plain effing cool!! There are also simpler options, if the swirls and curliques aren't your thing.

Available Here

Or, for those of you with a 'dangerous' side, there are choices for you, too!

Read more about this Here

Really cool options, right?

But what if you were in the market for something a little different and unexpected? We've got you covered..... 

Availability and Artist Credit Here

It's a wire quilt......a wire quilt. Amazing!

Here are some of my own attempts at designing with wire.

 

 This was an experiment I did a few years ago....I wanted to see if I could 'write' with wire. I asked my son to give me a word, he said 'great' so I went with it! I'm not a huge fan of the words on the wall trend, but this works for me. I love the industrial quality of it and I think it really is ...great! It pays to experiment.

Here is another wire creation I attempted that turned out (imho) awesome!! I use these wire balls every year at Christmas. See them at my previous post here. But during the rest of the year, I casually place them around the house to light up dark corners as beautifully glowing little sculptures. I will post later with a tutorial on how I made these.

 

 

So, what wire accessories do you love? Have you experimented with wire in your own design? Please Share!

I would love to hear what you've done.

Austin Residence

The Austins are a fun, young family with two kids and pets.  They needed a practical, easy to maintain and great looking approach to their interior living space.

What was formerly a very worn out Pergo floor is now beautiful,warm, polished concrete flooring.  Virtually in-destructible, it hides dirt easily (perfect for busy moms!)and lends itself to the architecture of it's southwest location.

A great farmhouse table paired with modern chairs make sure there is plenty of room for family and friends to share a meal together.

Since the kids play piano and need to practice often, why not make the piano a beautiful focal point in the great room?

 A cozy little sitting area in front of the fireplace.  The graphic print on the arm chairs brings modern balance to the space.

  View of the great room.

Leather furniture is super practical in a house with little creatures, whether two legged or four!  The red brings a fun pop of color, complimented by the soft yellow on the back wall.  All balanced out by a warm grey "wainscot" to ground the brighter colors.