We are very close to closing on our house in Mill Valley. Frankly owning a home in California brought a lot more hassle than happiness so I will be glad to end that chapter.  We learned a valuable lesson in home ownership…never buy a home as an investment. Instead buy a home you love.

These flashy retro wallpapers from Kreme already have me thinking about decorating our next home.  And these interiors from Wary Meyers have me fantasizing about going really mod in this imaginary home.  Alas, it will be awhile before we have enough money saved to buy again but there is no doubt that I will go bold with the design!

This post is dedicated to the readers of The Official Preppy Handbook, wearers of Lily Pulitzer and dwellers of Palm Beach, FL.  This kitchy tennis wallpaper from UK based interior design firm Turner and Pocock is the perfect design for the model preppy family room. Bunny Turner (a totally preppy name that I love by the way) and Emma Pocock were inspired by the portfolio of designer Catherine Cazalet and joining forces with her they created this line of graphic wallpapers. See more from Turner and Pocock here. (Full disclosure: I own a copy of The Official Preppy Handbook, tongue in cheek of course).

When in doubt, draw flowers! When I’m in doubt I usually climb back into bed and hit snooze five more times, but I think drawing flowers is probably a much more positive and productive thing to do.  That’s why I love this Florence, Italy-based shop called “When in Doubt Draw Flowers“. Using retro wallpapers, WINDDF makes a whole bunch of cute products from jewelry to my personal favorite, lampshades.  Lucky for us they have an Etsy shoppe so you don’t have to wait for a trip to Florence to purchase, though that would certainly be worth getting out of bed for!

When I was in High School the girl with the most style hands down was Ramey Griffin. I loved sleep-overs at Ramey’s Dads fabulous home with the biggest kitchen I’d ever seen stocked with treats, a real jukebox in the living room and a swimming pool out back. But best of all was Ramey’s bedroom.  It was the type of bedroom every girl dreams about. Not only was the room from bedspread to curtains covered in precious patterns of pink and green but she had a tv inside an armoire and her own massive bathroom! I was lucky that Ramey and I were friends so I got to spend lots of time in that dream of a bedroom.

It’s no surprise then that Ramey, now Ramey Caulkins, is now an interior designer who’s Maine vacation home was recently featured in the July edition of Coastal Living.  I was so happy to see the photo’s of her home and see that she still loves pink and green! Ramey has filled her home with the cheerful fabrics and wallpaper of Sister Parish Designs to give her home that “loose and livable” style she favors.  You’ll have to pick up the magazine for more information about her fabulous home.

]]> http://littlewillow.com/2009/07/14/ramey-caulkins-and-sister-parish-designs/feed/ 6 http://littlewillow.com/2009/07/08/madison-grow/ http://littlewillow.com/2009/07/08/madison-grow/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:29:35 +0000 lilwills http://littlewillow.com/?p=3355

I absolutely love the way these wallpapered ceilings look. The wallpaper is from Madison & Grow’s Pasadena Collection. All of M&G’s wallpapers are printed on recyclable paper from sustainable forests using non-toxic water based ink. You can even wipe the wallpaper clean with a damp sponge! Just gorgeous.

It has been so hot here that I’ve recently taken to sleeping in the guest bedroom. Two people and two cats nestled in our bed was starting to feel like Dante’s Inferno instead of a cozy snuggle-fest.  Now that I’ve spent all this time in that unused room I’ve noticed that the bed really needs a headboard or at least something feigning as a headboard.  So as usual when I’m looking for home inspiration I took a gander at the latest sneak peeks on Design Sponge.

The sneak peek of illustrator Linda Ketelhut’s house had an image of her bedroom with Nama Rococo framed newprints behind the bed. I went immediately to Nama Rococo’s wallpaper website and found that they now offer single sheets of their wallpaper perfect for framing.  I’m partial to the French Dot pattern above with its bold colors and botany inspired graphics which remind me of Josef Frank fabrics. I think with a simple Ikea frame job or mounted on board a few of these single sheets would create just the pop that room needs.  What do you think? I’d love to hear what some of you have done to improvise a headboard in your home.

Check out these funky fresh wallpaper designs from graphic artist Aimée Wilder.  Shop her wallpaper collection here.

SODA by Chicago artist Amy Allison had been in my things-to-post-about folder but it wasn’t until this feature of her home on Design Sponge that I snapped to it.  I love the picure above of her porcelain cups on a simple shelf.   I wasn’t aware until this feature that these hand silk screened wallpaper prints are from this beautiful lovebird toile wallpaper which she sells by the roll! Read more about Amy here and visit her webshop here and read her blog here.

I am in love with Brooklyn artist Julia Rothman’s wallpaper designs! Why choose wallpaper designs that would have looked nice in your grandmothers house when you can choose from Julia’s whimsical and fun patterns instead?   Julia’s mini-empire also includes silk-screened prints available through her website, cards and gift wrap available from hello! lucky and children’s bedding available from The Land of Nod. But back to her fabulous wallpapers, you can find those at Hygge & West and WallCollection.   Enjoy!

Such pretty illustrations from Claire Coles. After mining flea markets for vintage wallpaper she hand-stitches these delicate vignettes onto rolls of wallpaper or onto smaller framed pieces.   I’ll take one for my boudoir please.

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.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw these beautiful Louise Body designs. Her cushions just slayed me. The hand painted details on vintage fabric with dainty birds on one side and rich brocade on the other, oh so pretty! Her wallpaper kills me too, so Palace of Versailles circa Marie Antoinette. Have you seen the Sofia Coppola movie by the way? The set design was breathtaking! These cushions are about $120 each.

This new-to-me home collection by Ferm Living (out of Denmark but now available in the US), has got me contemplating wallpaper for the bathroom again. The cool thing is they also have wall stickers so if I can’t commit to covering the entire wall I can just add one of their pretty wall sticker designs instead. But man I love the wallpaper! Check back this Winter for their new bedding collection.