Sit down.

Ahhh…don’t these fantastic deckchairs from Gallant & Jones just shout Summer? Tamra (Gallant), one of the founders of Gallant & Jones was inspired by the classic English deckchairs she spotted while strolling along the Thames in London. She brought the idea back home to Vancouver and shared it with her designer friend Gwyn (Jones) and a chair was born as they say.  Each chair is handcrafted in Vancouver by Tamra and Gwyn using sustainable black walnut wood and gorgeous fabrics. They aren’t cheap but the quality of these deckchairs is worth it.

We’d been putting off buying a new rug since we moved into our rental a year ago but when George the cat threw up on the current rug for the millionth time we knew the time had come to bite the bullet and find the right rug.  I spent about a week shopping locally and taking home several samples but nothing quite looked right with the blue couch which is the centerpiece of the room.  So late one night I was surfing the WWW for inspiration and popped over to NYC’s ABC Carpet & Home.  I was super excited to see that you can now shop online and of course I immediately searched to see if my favorite Madeline Weinrib rugs were available through the website (called Amagansett in case you are looking for them).   To my sheer delight not only were they carrying her cotton rugs but they were on sale and came with free shipping! So without further ado here’s what I bought!

As soon as I saw the Keri rug from her Amagansett collection I fell in love. I loved the floral motif and how it almost perfectly matched the Indian floral motif on the couch pillows. The bright raspberry was a risk but when I looked around the room I realized I had quite a bit of pink and red on the walls already.   Since the rug is on the thin side I bought a 1/2 inch rug pad and it makes the floor super cushiony. I realize this look is not for everyone and I was unsure at first myself of the bold color choice, but in addition to warming up the room it really ties together all of the different elements I have going on in that room and the adjoining living room. It certainly boosted my confidence that blogger Making it Lovely also has a pink Madeline Weinrib rug in her living room.

I have to give a big ups to the hubs who trusted me on this choice and luckily feels comfortable enough with his masculinity to lounge in his leather chair surrounded by all of that pink.

I’m still not sure what to do with the wall behind the tv.  Since we can’t paint the walls I feel like it needs something. I’m also not sure if I want add a coffee table in this room. So I guess this isn’t really a full makeover just yet, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is some more information about the prints and such that I have on the walls. Behind the couch I hung the polka dot plates I bought off of One Kings Lane, here’s a picture from Charmville’s blog. On the right wall is my Stephanie Levy print.  Behind the leather chair is my Nate Lambdin print and opposite is my San Francisco print from Ork Posters. Lastly, in the living room is the hubs Jerry Garcia print from the über talented Marian Bantjes.

I have always liked the idea of a bench at the foot of my bed. There is something very romantic and plush about this design element that makes me think of a French woman’s boudoir.

I was just perusing Vivaterra’s unique collection of eco friendly products when these suzani benches caught my eye.  These benches of sustainable sheesham wood are made with suzani’s of 100% organic cotton using eco-friendly dyes and they are on sale now for $235! Sadly of course, in my house it would most likely be covered by clothing or kitty hair and these benches are way too pretty to cover up. To see more of Vivaterra’s homewares click here.

Dear Most Beautiful Chair in the World,

If I wasn’t already married and knocked up and you weren’t already sold to some lucky bastard, I would definitely want to marry you and have adorable chair babies with you. That’s not weird at all right?

Sincerely,

Your Biggest and Possibly Your Strangest Fan

For more amazingness from Spruce Upholstery in Austin, TX check out their two Etsy shops here and here.

I have been waiting a long time for the day when I could share this news with the blog world…the hubs and I are expecting our first baby in January! I promise this will not become a baby blog but there are so many wonderful things that I have been saving up to share with you for when this day finally came.  Since I know many of you are Moms, I hope you’ll enjoy this post as much as I did putting it together!

P.S. If you have any recommendations for things you couldn’t live without when you had your baby, please write to me. I am a sponge right now for information!

Hable Construction: Storage Bushels, Skip Hop: Diaper Bag, Uppa Baby: Vista Stroller, Serena & Lily: Glider

Halo SleepSack Swaddle, FloBib Dribble Baby Bib, MamaRosa Booties, Ella Moss Little Ella Romper, Happy Greenbee Organic Striped Cardigan

Wee Gallery Mobile, Decoy Lab Elephant Clock, Bibitty French Alphabet Cards, Cocoon Couture Whale Beanbag, Serena & Lily Peacock Sling

Harmonie-intérieure Wonderland Decal, Skip Hop Vine Floral Crib Bedding, Inke Heiland Wallpaper Tree, E.Soule Zebra 5×5 Photo Box, JennSki Letter L (lion), Sweet Nellie Martin the Dog

While I was in London I picked up the May issue of House and Garden UK (my new favorite design mag) where I saw this photo by Chris Tubbs of artist Jorge Estevez’ Paris studio.  I love everything about this kitchen especially the trumpet lights made from vintage gramophone horns and the bright hanging glass tealight holders in the background.  I wasn’t able to find these exact tea light holders but found a similar version here. The gramophone lights are from Trouver Antiques and they’re on sale!

I’m back from London, still a little jet-lagged but ready to get back to work.   It’s never fun to come back to an in-box full of email but it is fun when they contain notices about beautiful new products! Atelier R.Bernier the dynamite French design workshop has created this gorgeous “pyrographed” oak coffee table.   Don’t worry I didn’t know what pyrographed meant either.   It’s the process of engraving a design into something, in this case wood, with a heated needle.   I’m a sucker for the simple lines of this table but it’s the engraved floral motif that elevates this to something more than just a coffee table, it’s a work of art.

I’ve been on the email list for Revival Home and Garden in Seattle for months. Each email update about their latest gorgeous item always leaves me salivating and wishing I lived in Seattle. Well today’s update brought happy news, they’ve launched an online store so I no longer have to covet from afar and neither do you.   Here are a few of my favorite unique pieces today.

After many months of eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new settee she finally arrived and I couldn’t be more smitten with her! She is just so pretty and feminine and comfortable. Now if the kitties would just move over I might be able to enjoy it!

I had the best experience on Monday buying a new couch! When was the last time you heard somebody say that? Instead of settling for any old straight-out-of-a-catalog or this season’s Pottery-Restoration-Sonoma-Pier-Macy’s-type couch, I did a bunch of research and found a way to make my own. Yes, I actually used the resource section of my new Domino Book of Decorating and found a furniture manufacturer that allows you to select from a wide range of couch styles, then let’s you choose the fabric and hardware. I went to Hamilton Park Interiors here in Utah and worked with an awesome designer named Kathryn who helped me pick a Drexel Heritage settee. I have to say it was more fun than I imagined. The possibilities were endless (thank God the hubs wasn’t there — I imagine it really would’ve felt endless for him).

In the end I fell in love with the ladylike scalloped back and the antique look of the turned legs in the above design, though the combo of the rich blue fabric and the jacquard silk floral pillows with a little fringe made it a show-stopper for me. Of course now I have to wait until January for it to arrive but looking at this mock-up of the final couch will help keep my eyes on the prize until then. Below is a photocopy of the fabrics but once the real deal is in I will repost for your viewing pleasure.

One of my loyal readers, Molly, bartered with a friend of hers for this antique cabinet. Only Molly could have seen beneath its layers of chipped paint and cruddy wheels to see that this was a gem in the making. After coating it in polished black paint she used Snow & Graham paper to give it a pop of color for the finishing touch.   This is just the inspiration I needed to give my old bakers cabinet a much needed face-lift – stay tuned for that! You can purchase Snow& Graham paper through Paper Mojo.

I way overbooked myself this past weekend and now I’m paying for it with a crappy head cold. Friday night was Phil & Friends at the Warfield, so long Bill Graham it’s been a great run. Then Saturday was spent gardening and cleaning house. Saturday night was dinner with friends at the new Cavallo Point restaurant Murray Circle. The consensus was that it was overpriced for the small portions but the food was delicious (out of this world butterscotch dessert), still it’s hard to recommend a place that leaves you wanting a slice of pizza because you’re still hungry. Sunday a.m. we were up and at em to watch Bay to Breakers which was by far the best people watching experience of my life, well except for the Castro during Halloween. Then it was off to Home Depot and more gardening. I hate that I’m sick now but it was all worth it.

Now on to some pretty things worth sharing. Brocade Home has all sorts of lovely boudoir items to shabby chic-ify your home. My favorite is this green bed frame for a fairly reasonable $399. They have a great selection of feminine laser cut furniture and colored chandeliers. I love this tufted lounge chair in my favorite shade of blue/grey, I feel better just looking at it.

As kids, Haley and I used to escape to the backyard apple tree to hideout and make up songs or whisper swear words to each other over and over thinking that if we got them all out at once, we’d never swear again. True story: once after saying s**t Haley went and washed her own mouth out with soap and then told my Mom!

I’m too cautious now to go climb a tree so I’ll have to satisfy myself with a more grown up hideaway from Cocktail UK. The teepee swing would have been perfect for us as kids, we would have filled it with all of our stuffed animals and books. Nowadays I could sit happily in the GLOBO swing seat and swear away until my hearts content – no soap included.

Needs some inspiration for reupholstering your Sunday Flea Market finds? Head over to the incredible Lotus Bleu for designer Jeannie Fraise’s boldly reupholstered vintage furniture. Jeannie travels annually to France and Southeast Asia to gather her beautiful fabrics for custom upholstery, cushions and curtains. I’ve got my eye on some bedding from India and I’m definitely filing this place away for my next upholstery project. Bonus for me, Jeannie’s store is in San Francisco!

One of the things I miss the most about our years living in San Francisco was meandering home from work, up and over the hills, to our apartment below Russian Hill. I loved the discovery of a new boutique on Polk, taking a peek at the menu for the latest hipster restaurant on Hayes or stopping into a little sweet shop on Union for a before dinner treat. So last week I came up with a plan. The hubs and I commute home together, so instead of waiting around for him I decided to get a head start and walk in the general direction of the Golden Gate Bridge and he could pick me up wherever I ended up.

This plan led to the best SF discovery I’ve had in awhile, the design boutique Eden & Eden! As soon as I turned the enormous antique doorknob to enter I felt a wave of awe fill my soul. I was like a kid in a candy store, oohing and awing over the ferm Living wallpaper, the stunning Ivana Helsinki clothing and bags, colorful Antoni & Alison cashmere sweaters and my new favorite, People Will Always Need Plates witty mugs and of course plates. The shop has a real international vibe, due to owner Rachel’s British beginnings. There are items from Denmark, Finland and the UK all displayed with the sophisticated eye of a curator. On the Eden & Eden website they have made a select few goodies available for purchase which gives a sense of the diversity and the quirky personality of the shop. Rachel could not have been more kind or easy to talk to, in fact I think I talked her ear off!

If you like what you see at the shop, Rachel and Christiane from ferm Living have joined forces to offer design consulting. I would love to hire an interior designer but have often been intimidated by the thought that a designers taste might take over and my home wouldn’t feel like mine anymore. I was happy to hear Rachel talk about their low-key design services, often reusing items you already own to revise a room or an entire house. It is truly a pleasure to visit this unique boutique, if you live in San Francisco or come visit don’t miss Eden & Eden! Located at 560 Jackson Street at the base of Columbus Ave in North Beach.

Here are some snaps Rachel graciously allowed me to take on my last visit.