a nod to masculinity.

this is the first time ever i will be sharing a bedroom with someone (aside from two years in the dorm during undergrad), and DEFINITELY the first time i will be living with a boy. the original pitch, in which i thought i was compromising, ended up looking like this:

"that's not at all masculine," he said. but look!! blue! nautical touches! "those aren't masculine, those are nods to masculinity." touché, sir. it is a pretty girly room. the sisal rug, the green & ivory lamps, and the set of cane chairs will all stay, since i already own them. the pottery barn duvet cover is in the mail as well, and was agreed upon by both parties. it is also on sale.


something about crisp white bedding with an embroidered border feels really indulgent and grown up... like having my own personal hotel room. i'm going to get them monogrammed, but i didn't like any of the PB fonts. i think once it gets here, i'll take it to this shop called a little bit of this. i used them before to monogram a pillow sham and they did a nice job:


they have a big selection of fonts and colors. haven't decided yet what i'll go with this time! something more masculine, mais bien sûr.

i decided that if we were going to get a plain, masculine duvet cover, maybe i could still go a bit wild with the bedskirt. i got a bed bath & beyond flyer in the mail, saw that amy butler had a collection there, and BAM! this arrived in the mail a few days later:


i REALLY like it. yes, it is maybe a little girly, but it is indigo! and teal! i'm going to hold on to it for a bit before deciding whether or not it should go back. i'm not sure if it will fit with the overall look we're going for in the bedroom. here are the mutually agreed upon inspiration sources:

source unknown.

samantha reitmayer's amazing bedroom on d*s

after seeing jenny's post on little green notebook this morning, i headed straight over to target.com and put this little number in my cart:

the set (comforter, two standard shams, and a navy bedskirt) is on clearance for under thirty dollars, and also comes in a nice taupe color. we have a down comforter and will be using the PB duvet but we might use this, like jenny mentions, at the foot of the bed, in which case the amy bedskirt will be going back to the store. decisions, decisions. i just want everything to be DONE!

some progress...

i moved the living room furniture into about fifty different configurations today, after cleaning that rug stripe by stripe with a handheld mini-vacuum. time for a target run and an upright vacuum.

i think we like it, but i'll have to sit on it for a few days. the cane chairs are getting painted glossy black, and upholstered in this raffia fabric

from frank's and inspired by this post:


that accent wall is painted ralph lauren salmon pink & was chosen because it's a very similar shade to the pink settee... but i'm not sure what to do with it now that the couch isn't up against it anymore. maybe a gallery wall?

or a console with the television, when kdubs brings his humongous one...

compromise.

since kevin and i are contemplating moving in together, there have been a lot of design and furniture related conversations lately (all initiated by me, of course). where i lean bright and eclectic, he tends toward american traditional. we've had our fair share of polite disagreements.

i took a break from cleaning today to throw this together as a starting point. i'll pitch it when he comes home from work. we'll see.

more outdoor spaces

both from apartment therapy.

can we talk...

...about how incredible this is?



via oncewed.

holy moly.

found on this is glamorous

plain doilies on ribbon? what was i thinking? i've got to step it up next year. i'm thinking lights are the way to go, based on this picture.

(aside from spring.)

the reasons to be excited for march...

one: liberty on the cheap

two: hairphones for all, keeping hands free while serving with your new liberty of london dishware

feeling love-y.

custom valentines... what a great idea! i'm loving the pink/red combo and the zigzags.

by dwellstudio for tiny*prints

the pattern reminds me of this great rubie green bedding that i've had a crush on for a while now:


and lastly, a messy-hair kiss, spotted on a cup of jo:

dreamy music, dreamy spaces.

joanna newsom's new album art was released today. gorgeous styling, gorgeous typography, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

there isn't much i wouldn't do to get my hands on that leopard-print bench. the gem tones, the drape-y fabrics, the ornate lamp shades and side tables... there was a time in college where i tried VERY hard to make my bedroom look like this. minus the taxidermy. the photo makes me think of these spaces spotted recently on apartment therapy:

martha & ben's wicker park brownstone, seen here.

libby & ryan's andersonville apartment, seen here.

sarah's minnesota home, seen here.

for more music-related interiors, apartment therapy posted an interesting analysis of the imagery in charlotte gainsbourg's new video. i have to admit to a long, long love affair with charlotte. it's pretty impossible to NOT end up one of the coolest girls ever when your parents are the fantastically foxy serge gainsbourg and jane birkin:


the video features spaces dreamy and surreal-- definitely worth watching. enjoy!

an admission:

i judge books by their covers. i'm a sucker for a beautifully-designed reprint, even when i already own the book.

currently hanging out in my amazon cart:

pride and prejudice, penguin classics


animal farm, plume

the stranger, vintage


the picture of dorian gray, penguin classics

and all of the penguin clothbound classics, for that matter.

for fun with vintage cover design, check out the pelican project: