The New Look Everyone's Talking About

If you haven't heard about Restoration Hardware's new look, then you haven't been reading many blogs! The blogworld is abuzz with it, so I thought I would just share my favorite room rather than boring you with a lot of photos you may have already seen. This is not a look that I currently have in my own home (although I may have to figure out a way to sneak it in) but, as with so many styles, I do love it. Simple and serene with loads of texture.

Another thing that I like about their new look is that if you can't afford their prices, many aspects could be replicated fairly easily on a smaller budget!

Mudroom/Laundry Bench Remix Progress

Yep. I'm working on it. I know. It must be really difficult to keep up with the speedy progress I'm making! I started on this project on June 28th and I'm ALREADY priming the pieces today! :-)

Could that be the reason for the slightly raised eyebrow and smirk from my husband when he said, "what are you doing?" and I responded "working on my mudroom bench"? I don't have any excuse for not working on it really except that summer was busy and I hate sanding.

I actually enjoy painting, which is the next step, so that should go well. After that I need to get my hubby involved with some power tools so it will depend on his schedule.

I think it's going to actually end up to be a pretty cool bench so I can't wait to share it with you. When do you think that will be? :-)

Hope you're having a great day!

New Work - Bathrooms

Following on from the new kitchen post last week - here are the new bathrooms from the same newly refurbished house by Minty Architecture. The first three images are of the main bathroom (with the timber floor) and the last two is of the ensuite (with tiled floor). So you can see we kept to the same materials and finishes.

It is hard to take photos of bathrooms as you don't really want see photos of toilets! So I have mainly focused on the joinery.

You can see how we used the joinery to set in the bath tap and mixer, which created extra bench space on top as well.

I'm liking the semi recessed basins sunken into a white benchtop - to give the impression as one piece. However, it meant that we had to take all the white formica options (there is actually a few) to the bathroom shop and make sure we got the right white. The showroom assistant did think I was odd...got to get these things right!

Photos by Charlotte Minty. Yep, that is my knee in the photo two!

Divine Chairs

I ran across this chair company in a post somewhere and saved it. Now I can't remember who originally did a post about it (sorry!).

The chairs are from The Divine Chair Company. I have no idea how much they cost but their website says that their aim is "to provide fabulous and affordable furniture to people who appreciate individuality and style". What really drew me to them was their individuality, spunk and whimsicality. I wouldn't want a room full of them, but as a statement piece they would be fun!

How about you? Favorites? Thoughts?

HomeGoods (Chance to win $5,000 shopping spree!)

All images in this post are from HomeGoods

I went shopping yesterday at one of my favorite stores, HomeGoods. There are a couple of things that make this store high on my list of favorites. First are the reasonable prices (you may remember this post where I talked about the HomeGoods folding screen that I purchased for $90, which I have since seen at a couple of places for hundreds more!)

The second thing that I love about this store is that the inventory is constantly turning so you never know what you might stumble upon. Even though I didn't find the specific item I needed for the project I'm working on, it didn't matter because I was just loving looking at all of the new things that they had gotten in since the last time I was there. So many things I would have loved to have designed a room around!

I guess I should have actually said that there are THREE things I love about HomeGoods because I love the fact that they are currently offering a chance to win a Gift Card in their daily giveaway and a $5,000 HomeGoods shopping spree in their weekly drawing! You can do this by participating in their HomeGoods StyleScope. This is a quick online quiz to help you analyze your style. I took it and, while I normally don't put a lot of stock in these quizzes, I would say a good portion of the description was accurate (I would not describe my style* as dramatic modern, however). Here's how they describe my style:

(*Editors Note: One of the issues I had initially in taking this test was choosing a room, because I didn't feel that any of the rooms exactly encompassed my style (if my friends are reading this they're laughing right now because that is so "me"!). Also I was torn between all of the styles that I love (one of the hazards of being a decorator) and the way that I currently live. I took the test again and chose a room that more closely reflects how we live, which led to a different choice in accessories. My style was then defined as Earthy Casual. My husband is Earthy Casual all the way and I would say many aspects of that style also define me. A combination of Earthy Casual and Dramatic Modern? :-))

DRAMATIC MODERN:
You keep up with culture, style, and trends, but have a classical appreciation for beautiful forms and well-made, functional objects. You are inspired by good design and quality craftsmanship, but have a sense of the theatrical and the fun. You liven things up and infuse personality into your rooms. You like how something ornate mixes with modern, or how daring flourishes, like bold color or a wild pattern, can inject some humor and contrast to the serious, straight lines of modern pieces. You are a style leader, and your friends look to you for advice. You are not afraid of glamour. Because you embrace color, art, and elegance, your home makes a happy impact.

You value serenity. While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used.

Click below to go to the site and take the quiz for yourself! I would be interested to know what your style is. Also, don't forget to enter for the free gift card and shopping spree!

To see what others are hooked on, check out Julia's Hooked on Fridays...

Sassy Saffron

myhomeideas.com

I apologize for the very brief post today. Things are a little busy, but it should result in some good things to share with you in upcoming posts. I'm also trying to get as much summer in as I can. You know me and the whole "I can't believe summer is ending" drama. My husband keeps reminding me that we still have fall and that it's not going to snow tomorrow. :-) Why do I live in Minnesota again?

I wanted to say THANK YOU, too, to all of you who are followers or have subscribed through a reader or e-mail. I appreciate it! I can't tell you how much fun it was to see my followers go to an even 60 today and to see my Feedburner number hit 101. I'm sure that seems like small pototoes to some, but I remember wondering when I started blogging in May if anyone would ever read what I was putting out there. Thanks for your feedback too. Please keep it coming. It helps to know what you like, what you don't like and what you would like to see more of.

Hope you're having a great day!

New Work - Kitchen

Here is a new kitchen that I designed earlier this year. This was part of a collaboration with 'Minty Architecture' - my architect sister, Amelia Minty. We occasionally work together and here she got me to design the kitchen, bathrooms, joinery and other interior details.

For the kitchen, we kept it simple, clean and white with a splash of red. We allocated the red on the splashback and we brought it out into the Dining area with a red pendant light. The client's heart collection continues the theme.

The breakfast bar is ready for some stools and the well travelled clients have added their cool little details, re: Miss Statue of Liberty on the window sill. I couldn't resist.

Photos by Charlotte Minty.

Outdoor Inspiration

Architectural Digest Photography: Bruce Buck

Well, it's happening. The Minnesota State Fair starts tomorrow which, for me at least, marks the beginning of the end (of summer). While I have no intention of focusing on that fact and am determined to squeeze every moment of enjoyment out of what is left of summer, I know that this winter I will be dreaming of places like this. Sunshine, warm temperatures, being outside... :-)

Architectural Digest Photography: Dan Forer

Architectural Digest Photography: Erhard Pfeiffer

Architechtural Digest Photography: Panagiotis Fotiadis

Architectural Digest Photography: Scott Frances

Source: Architectural Digest Photography: Bruce Buck

I'm linking this post to Outdoor Wednesday at Southern Inspiration.


Have a great day!

DIY Inspiration

Remember this post about the rug and how I love words used creatively in home decor? Well, how about this floor?!!! It was stenciled by Maryam at My Marrakesh. I first read about this on The Devine Home blog, but the photo is from Decor8.

Guess what this used to be! Check it out at Centsational Girl...

Click HERE to see what how an old entertainment center was repurposed. I'm fairly certain you have NOT seen this use for it before! Very clever and fun...

Hope you're having a great day!

New Work - Soft Furnishings & Details

Following on from the 'Before and After' postings - here are the new soft furnishings and details from this job. The client is particularly fond of Robins Egg Blue so we used this as the main palette for the fabrics chosen. We used contrast piping on the existing old style furniture and the cushions to create contrast and give a nice crisp edge.

For the cushions, we used a range of textures, like velvet and moire (watermarking) and soft French-influenced patterns for interest.

Photos by Charlotte Minty.

New Work - Before and after (2)...

Here is some more of 'before and after' from the last post - again I have paired up the images so you can see the changes. This time we have the Hallway, Dining room, Living Room and Study.

Photos by Charlotte Minty.