Thursday, January 31, 2013

Eames Prints.

The Eames Foundation is currently raising money to help preserve and care for the Eames House for the next 250 years! Crazy ambitious and well thought out. To help raise money, they have created some prints that are for sale and I, of course, REALLY want one.


There are two more, but those two are my favorite. They are available for sale HERE. I also happen to have the most perfect spot in my living room for the... Now I just need to convince Bill it's the greatest thing ever (before they sell out!).



Update: February 2, 2012
I got the okay from Bill to buy one! We decided on the red/coral star/sunburst one (whatever you you decide to call all of that). We thought the pop of color would look best and I was afraid that the other one, while it reads more Eames to me, would be more brown than grey. I have looked at it on a few screens now and I don't know what color it's really supposed to be at this point. I can't wait for it to arrive! BTW: because the funds for this are going towards a non-profit foundation, the purchase is tax deductible for donations!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Couch Sneak Peak.

The couch arrived on Friday! I'm a couple days behind, but I'm a busy gal...



And that's the extent of the sneak peak... My living room is a chaotic mess complete with 3 different wall colors, two couches, three chairs, two credenzas, a book shelf, a DVD cabinet, four lamps, two side tables, and a coffee table. Most things are smashed into one half of the room and we currently can't open the front door. Oops. Most of that is going into the basement. Well, two lamps, one couch, one credenza, one side table, one chair, DVD cabinet and then all of the other stuff that I shoved in my office for the time being. Where did all of that come from...? Hopefully by the end of this weekend we can get the old stuff down into the basement. It requires going out the front door, around the side of the house for a straight shot down the basement stairs... so it's a lot of work.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Living Room Paint.

The wonderfulness of picking paint...

 

Paint is one of those things that can go either way. It can look amazing or it can turn out horribly wrong. I've had some of both happen.

I am at the stage where it is time to finally pick the paint color. I've been shopping like crazy looking for pillows and/or pillow covers, art, and whatnot to help put our living room together. I've known for quite some time that I wanted a gray/grey. Nothing too crazy there. The problem is that there are SO MANY shades/colors/variations. Each of those then change with the time of the day for natural lighting and interior lighting and whatever color light bulbs I happen to be rocking at the time. Now that the couch is ordered and that color picked, I know I want the same gray but much lighter. I want the room to be BRIGHT.

With our bedroom, I lucked out in the gray department. I found the curtains we have at Ikea and I then went I got all of the appropriate paint swatches at Home Depot, found the gray and dropped it down a level.

Behr  |  780F

For the bedroom, those curtains I mentioned were Dark Granite, so I used Anonymous. I then used mostly white and a yellow color for everything to keep it bright enough. I would like to do the same sort of thing... And according to the below photo, I'm thinking the fabric swatch for the couch is closest to Anonymous.


So, I am thinking drop it down a few shades, which bumps us off that paint swatch... I'm assuming this is supposed to be the lighter level. I'm assuming there is a logic to paint swatch numbering?

Behr  |  780E
The close ups for that one are not really working for me (colors are off)... The Billowy Down looks too blue in real life. Full Moon still looks too light. I think I'm leaning towards Sterling because we have white trim and I have nearly white curtains with white wood blinds. Is there one between Full Moon and Sterling that I'm missing...?

I worry that I'm not going light enough because I want to make sure there is a large enough difference between the couch and the walls. I ended up with the black wall in my living room because after rearranging the living room awhile back, the couch sat within a blank wall, no curtain interruption. The couch just blended right into the walls... no good. I'm also trying to debate on whether I keep the black wall or not. While I like it, the dark color shows all of the imperfections which tends to be significant in a house that's just over 60 years old.

Right now my plan is to paint it all and in Sterling. Off to go buy some paint...


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Finding Art.

Finding art work can be a huge pain. Especially when you're picky... like me :)

I've been searching the fantastic internet for all sorts of terms: mid century print, eichler print, atomic ranch print. Ugh. Some interesting things came up, but nothing that I loved. So I moved on over to etsy.com. Fantastic place and just searched "mid century print," which worked a lot better...

We found one artist with some fantastic things and a great deal (buy 2, get 1 free!)!! But... there are too many options. I created, just for Bill, a bunch of options visually... The shop is Thedor.

FORMATION   |   AREA   |   PILLAR

DNA IV   |   DNA II   |   DNA VII
LIGHTLY   |  PILLAR   |   SHOW

DNA VIII   |   DNA VII   |   DNA II

FISK II   |   FISK II   |   FISK II

OPPOSITES   |   FORMATION   |   TANDEM
FLOW no.24   |   FLOW no.26   |   FLOW no.23

LIGHTLY   |   AREA   |   PILLAR
OPPOSITES   |   AREA   |   TANDEM

See? SO MANY OPTIONS. I could keep going too. There are some I didn't even click on yet... And the more I think about the more I change my mind. I originally fell for the DNA prints, but a lot of the other "feel" much more mid century... Decisions, decisions...



Update: February 2, 2013
We ended up going with that very last set. They arrived yesterday and they look FANTASTIC! I've picked up two frames and need a third. I'm just going with some simple walnut finish wood frames with matting to fit in with wood colors we having going on from Target (and with a 5% off thanks to their debit card!). The Target by our house only had two, so I'll need to stop at a different one or order online...

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Shipped!

The new couch has shipped! Which is awesome because the Thrive website advertises 3 weeks for production. We are just under a week for production and it looks like it should be arriving Friday!

I have a lot to do...  including painting, figuring out where I want to go in terms of accessories color, new wall art...

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Recovering Pup.

The pup had some teeth pulled at the beginning of the month... the cause of bad genetics, his like for catching toys rather than chewing, his refusal and difficulty to get his teeth brushed, and his lack of actually chewing is daily food. But he is all better now and feeling fantastic, along with some super clean teeth and fantastic breath. Here are just some shots of him about five days after his surgery...





Friday, January 18, 2013

Changing a Dream.

In June of last year, I made a post about my "Dream Living Room"... as dreams tend to do, mine has changed. While I still all love those things I posted about, I am now aiming for more realistic. Over the past year, I've been collecting furniture to completely redo my living room. Here is what I've collected so far...

Philco Record Player
Footstool
A pair of gold scalloped back swivel chairs
Lane Acclaim table set -- still needs some love to be pretty again.
Starburst / Sunburst Clock
Lane Cradenza
 Now that we've ordered a new couch to go with it all, it's about time to get everything in place. See what will fit and what won't. We've got a few other smaller things that I've gathered as well, like an old metal fan, a couple vintage cameras, a starburst mirror (actually from Home Depot's Martha Stewart collection), my grandma's sewing machine and this chair that isn't quite mid-century, more Art Deco.


There will definitely be more photos and post to come on how it all come together and some before/after photos.

These were all off of my instagram account.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

We just...

... ordered a new couch!

I am beyond excited and a little worried at the same time.
We bought/ordered the Nixon Sofa from Thrive Furniture in Expectation Grey.

Such a great looking mid-century style couch!

After a very long time of hating our current couch -- weird creaking since we moved, crappy pulling fabric,  misshapen cushions -- I will soon have a shiny new one.

We've stumbled across the Thrive Furniture site multiple times and as a new couch became more and more realistic, we kept going back. While other companies had some couches that were similar to some of the ones on Thrive Furniture's site, no one had one that style quite like the Nixon. After looking at it so much, everything else became to 'plain'. So, I ordered their free swatches so we could check out would work. And like magic, the samples arrive the next day.


Now for the past couple weeks we've been comparing swatches with the pieces we already have (trying to make it go with our awesome gold swivel chairs from FindFurnish!). It was really between the Expectation Grey and Klein Granite. The Klein Granite was feeling just a bit too dark and had a hint of green to it that I wasn't really feeling.

I'm slightly nervous about the big purchase, not having every actually sat on the sofa or been able to see it in real life with the right fabric. In reality, I sat on a regular, hard kitchen chair in my office for a few years and liked it, so I guess I shouldn't worry about comfort. I am worried it will arrive and I will hate it. Luckily, Thrive Furniture has a great return policy, so that's helping my worries. In all honesty, making any large purchase makes me worried and anxious.

But... I can't wait until it's finally here, in my living room and I will assume, looking awesome. I will definitely update when it arrives and we're settled in with it. Their production and delivery time is about 3 weeks, so maybe in a month or so...

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

January Stitch Fix.

I pushed my 3rd Stitch Fix to longer than a month because of Christmas... Trying to give my self a little more time about spending money on myself. I recently started following Stitch Fix on Instagram and so I am constantly seeing all of the awesome things that they've had recently... the just over the month in between time was too long....


New packaging!



Here's what my box had...
  • Dylan and Rose Florian Overlap Tulip Pocket Skirt
  • Pretty Persuasions Star Print Scarf
  • Tulle Betsey Open Back Sweater
  • Collective Concepts Arinell Triangle Tribal Print Tank
  • dRa Miro Open Banded Cardigan

I tried photos in a new location today... I don't think it went as well.

Dylan and Rose Florian Overlap Tulip Pocket Skirt
This skirt actually fit me really well, which isn't always the truth with a fitted skirt on my body. I like the unique design and I can see this being great for work or whatever. 
Pretty Persuasions Star Print Scarf
Love this! I just love scarfs in general. I learned my lesson last time with not keeping the scarf, so this one is definitely a keeper!
Tulle Betsey Open Back Sweater


This is one of the shirts I saw first on Instagram. I really like it... jut not on me. It's really unique. I really like the colors and material design, as well as that bow on the back. But it seemed a little short on my body and the bow hit the tattoo on my back in a weird way.

Collective Concepts Arinell Triangle Tribal Print Tank
LOVE this print! I'm not really sure what else to say... It's a nice light fabric and would go well with anything really. Ok, maybe not anything, but lots of things... jeans, a skirt with a sweater.
dRa Miro Open Banded Cardigan

This is a great basic. Great color and comfortable fabric. My first thought was that it would work good over that Arinell Triangle Tribal Print Tank...

If you're interested, you can sign up HERE!

Check out my other Stitch Fixes:  #1  |  #2  |  #4  |  #5

Monday, January 14, 2013

A Credenza.

Bill and I had been looking for quite some time for something new for the television. We (or maybe mostly I) wanted something mid-century, that would match our previously purchased Lane Acclaim table set, and that could house our media components.

FindFurnish is always posting photos of fantastic things that could work... I saw this piece posted awhile back and figured it would sell right away. It actually had a top to it that sold first... I wasn't wild about the cane work on the door, but after getting some Christmas money and knowing they were having a sale, Bill and I went and checked it out.

See all of FindFurnish's photos of this Lane Buffet/Credenza
While at we were there checking out all of their awesome pieces, we found out that the panel on that door is REVERSIBLE! Totally awesome. And I might have to add, I think looks even better with the panel flipped...

Side note: check out that sweet art work... if you go to their facebook page or website, you can see more photos it.

To make a fairly short story even shorter, we totally picked this bad boy up for $100 off. Woot. There are a couple of small spots that need a little love and I definitely need to go through and clean out all the crevices with a cotton swab, but it's going to look fantastic in our living room when we get everything situated!

Anyways, here it is sitting in our living room, waiting to be placed in its new home...





I cannot wait until things are more normal, meaning that this credenza isn't sitting in front of a book case that will hopefully be making it's way out of the living room shortly...

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Mid-Century Amazing at West Elm

Holy smokes... I just fell in love with some of the new stuff at West Elm. I've been pining over their little Mid-Century Nightstand since I first saw it sometime last year(?). There hasn't been a place for it in my house... I think it was yesterday when I got an email that was advertising their new products, but I didn't look until today. They have two matching dresser available now!

West Elm | Mid-Century Nightstand & Dressers

Amazing. Love.
Mid-Century Nightstand | $249
Mid-Century 3-Drawer Dresser | $549
Mid-Century 6-Drawer Dresser | $799

A grand total of $1597 + tax.

And hopefully, according to the new bedding photos floating around their site, there is a new Mid-Century style bed in the future... 

West Elm | Nomad Coverlet + Shams - Slate

To me, this is extremely exciting. West Elm, I will be saving my pennies. And hopefully in the near future, you will be offering that bed too, as that will be my tipping point.

So, currently the most expensive queen sized wood bed on their site is the Emmerson Bed for $1299. That brings my grand total up to $2896 + tax.

Right now I'm in the market for a new headboard/bed. We've been going between buying and building. I've found some great mid-century queen sized headboards, but I'm always too late to the show and they're snatched up by the time I get a hold of the buyer. This could be the solution to that problem! The matching dressers and nightstand only make it better. While I love one of our dressers, a dumpster find from our old apartment right out of college, the other is an Ikea one bought in college and hasn't weathered all of the moving very well. I've been hoping to stumble across another old dresser like the one we have that's maybe free and I just fix up, but I haven't found anything...

But seriously, starting to save my pennies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!

The bed is now up on the West Elm website and it is wonderful!

Mid-Century Bed Frame
The bed ranges from $599 to $899 depending on size. Now I just need to pull Bill (the husband) into the West Elm and convince him of it's wonderfulness, which should not be a problem.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Happy 5th Birthday Behr!

Today is Behr's 5th birthday! Celebrating...

Cupcake!

Not sure of what's going on... hates the hat, but drooling over the cupcake.

Eye on the prize! 
YUM!

Waiting patiently for his birthday toy...

New birthday owl! It squeaks and makes crinkle noises...