White Christmas

What could be better this time of year than simplicity and white?

(immages from pinterest)

Keep Calm and Carry On

 

This poster is a major trend in design right now.  You see it everywhere...kitchens, living rooms, nurseries, bathrooms, hallways and elsewhere.  Even though it is such a trend I could not walk by the giant nautical blue poster I found for Barefoot Dad's office.  He had to have it.  I will post pictures once hung and the office comes together more.  Stay tuned...

Sentimental Dress Curtain

I have been cleaning, donating, and parting with many of the girls' baby items lately. Some are easier to say good-bye to than others. If all three girls wore something it is really hard for me to part with it. With that being said...here is a curtain in our powder room that used to be a sundress that all three girls wore. The colors were just right for the room and it was so easy to turn into a simple little curtain. Just a little sewing and voila! It probably only took me 20 mins and I have a constant reminder of BP, BB, and CC wearing this sundress as babies. Chubby little legs and all!

Wednesday White Kitchen

Another favorite white kitchen. Once again open shelving, big old island, cool pendant lighting, and filled with natural light. Could definitely see a kitchen like this in that 2 bedroom cottage I dream of building someday.

Pictures from Simply Seleta (a favorite blog)

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Doesn't this Guiness Ice Cream float look amazing? I just may whip up a batch of these tomorrow night for my favorite holiday. The recipe can be found on marthstewart.com

Forgot one...

Forgot this Bentwood inspiration picture the other night. (From Martha)

Simplicity...

Ever have one of those days where you just want to simplify? I have had a bunch lately. And I have a confession...when I have one of those days I want to buy this place. I know it looks like a piece, but it has great bones. It could be such a great nature inspired cottage after some renovations. I pass it on the way to and from the girls' school, and some days it is really tempting. So here is the direction I would take with the renovations and design...(pics from marthastewart.com / jonh derian's home tour)

Your Life...

Saw this on my friend Jenny's blog the other day and I CANNOT stop thinking about what it says. I agree Jenny we need a poster of this in our house too!

It all started with a rug.

An IKEA rug to be exact. I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye + immediately thought of BB. It is bright + spunky just like she is. She had definitely grown out of her toddler bed. (We could hear her bashing into the sides of it at night). It was time for a big girl bed for BB + I thought with a few simple + economical changes I could give her a big girl room also. First, I asked my dad if he could dig out my old bed from when I was a little girl. I knew it was stored somewhere in one of my parent's barns. A couple days later he delivered the bed to our house. I sanded it + spray painted it with Rustoleum high-gloss Candy Apple Red. Then I spray painted the rails with a textured metal paint that keeps them from ever rusting again. I like the simple look of the four poster bed + a canopy is too girly-girl for BB so it was ready to go as is. Barefoot Dad took BB to Home Depot to buy wood for the support slabs. They cut it up in the basement + we assembled together. New white sheets + some other linens we already had + voila BB has a new bed + room!

Stay tuned for curtains that I am going to try to make myself. I may need to borrow BP's sewing machine Uncle Matt + Aunt Nicole gave her for Christmas. Ha! And also for a do it yourself project for BB's wall art.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Seeing this Frank Lloyd Wright design was another highlight for me of our trip to Sedona.

lulu's

Lulu's Brooklyn

Sunday fun + Haircuts

My favortie picture from the day.

smitten

I am totally smitten with the idea of a claw foot shower! Genius... Plus I love the happy colors of this bathroom.

Stone Cottage

Ok, so this one was not in a magazine this month, but it totally could be. (I took these pictures this morning with Baby c on my hip.) This little stone cottage is a few miles away + is one of our new property management houses. It is design perfection in my book. I loved it the second I stepped foot in the door. So cozy + warm. A perfect place to escape the city for a weekend. Curl up by the fire with a book. Enjoy a yummy pot roast dinner. Collect leaves on a fall hike. You get the picture. Enjoy the pics...Happy Friday!

Granny Chair

BP in the "granny chair" the day we brought it home. We found it at a local antique store for $15. Total steal! It is in great shape, has great lines, + is the perfect size to put in our kitchen. They don't make furniture like they used to + I plan to reupholster it in a flax colored linen. Now if I could just found another similar size one to put on the other side of the little table.

Basement Project

Been busy with little design / construction project in our basement the last couple of weeks. Barefoot Dad is finally going to get a home office. He really needs it! He gave up his when Baby C was born + truth be told he deserves a man place. A place to escape from the sorority house feeling he sometimes gets living with 4 girls!

The two contractors are finishing up today then we have the floor guy coming + we are going to tackle the painting ourselves. It turned out to be a pretty cool space. I will show more pics when it is finished, but here is a sneak peak of one of the sliding barn doors. My vision for the space was rustic with an urban / modern edge. Think Soho loft meets country barn. Rod + Pete, the contractors totally got my scratch pad drawings, internet print-outs + verbal descriptions. They were amazing at putting the vision to life. So now Barefoot Dad will have a place to call his own, a place to organize his office on wheels, and a place to escape the girly madness upstairs :)

Back to School Design Style

A very nicely decorated dorm room. I saw this in New York Mag while waiting in a doctor's office a few weeks ago. It is the dorm room of a Drew University student who is also an aspiring interior designer. Love it! Just because you don't own your dorm room + it is only temporary doesn't mean you should not make it yours. I am guilty of having an oriental rug in my dorm room. Along with curtains, lamps, and real furniture. I even tried to slipcover the school given sofa my senior year. I never painted the walls, but I wanted to :)

John Derian + Target

I have long admired the work of John Derian, but could never justify the price or choose just one piece. Imagine my surprise when I read that he designed a line for Target ($25 and under) and it debuts September 5th. So exciting! First Liberty of London for Target, now this...Target gets 5 stars in my book. Looking forward to September 5th...

(Some of my favorites from the John Derian Target line pictured above)

Catskill Mt Views...

Remember when I mentioned the cool homes + abundance of farm chic interior design we have where we live? Well, here is yet another one. I opened Country Living this month and saw this gorgeous farmhouse that is about 5 minutes away. The before + after pictures are amazing. Love the decorating in this place! Enjoy and stay tuned for more interesting, beautiful, and blog worthy design right here in the Catskill Mountains.

(all photos from Country Living, you can see the whole story there also)

PS- We recently purchased a used wagon to spread all the miles I drive between two cars + for school carpooling purposes + a little because I have secretly always loved these particular wagons. Anyway, we purchased it from friends who had purchased it from another family nearby + I swear that black wagon in the picture is the same one that is sitting in our driveway. So funny!