Weekend Projects

This weekend, there wasn't much time for rest, but our tea bags did provide us with some lofty goals. The heart shaped breakfast was Smitten Kitchen's Oat and Maple Scones, which I adapted with white whole wheat flour and almond milk. I got a little carried away selecting paint colors online and left them in the oven a minute too long, but I'd still recommend the recipe.

John painted our spare bedroom Celadon Green, part of my master color plan that is captured by this Design Sponge post. When I found it, I already had the bright blue, whites, greys, yellow and peach in my head, but this visual layout helped a lot. I've revisited it many times since this slow home design project started last summer. Our downstairs is finished, except for dining chairs and new flooring! The pops of coral amidst the white, bright blue, and grey are everything. That's the back room, and the front room is grey, white, and gold. Pretty. One of these days I hope to show you.

The spare bedroom (and one day office) is this relaxing yet invigorating green, connected by grey to our bedroom, which will be the lightest peach you've ever seen, with a darker peach bathroom. Pink and peach are supposed to foster warmth, support, and love. Apparently aggressive criminals are immediately soothed when placed into bubble gum pink rooms. Noted.

Knack Studios {Greenville, SC Art}

Yesterday I went to see my friend Barb at Knack Studios, and I have to share her with you. I stumbled upon Barb's work after finding some of her pieces at a local antique store. Her card was there with her studio address and I drove right over, thinking she might have a shop I could browse. She didn't have a shop, and she was actually right in the middle of a shoot for her book (available now for pre-order!), but she was so sweet and gracious and let me come in and look around anyway.

Living with Plants: Air Plants by Sea & Asters

Hi, friends,

I mentioned last week that I'm going to try, as we get settled, to add plenty of green life in our home. I've been wanting to try Air Plants for a while. Low-maintenance is good for me, and these don't even require soil. When I found Sea & Asters, I had to give it a try. This shop handmakes little custom pods for you that are perfect homes for the Tillandsia she sends along with them. Take a look at what I got in the mail this week.

The pods are so tiny and beautiful. The shop owner also sent a handwritten thank you note, which totally won me over. I chose gold to complement our living room (work in progress), but it was nearly impossible to turn down this sweet little heart.

The best thing is that I'm only going to have to soak these once every week or two for them to thrive.

Happy air planting, and big thanks to Sea & Asters for the lovely order.

Making Curtains

Hi, friends!

After my long bout of bronchitis and busy travel schedule, I needed this past weekend to watch movies at home with John and recover. We did get a little done, though, like hanging art and curtains that have been sitting around for the past few busy weeks without a home.

And, I can hardly believe this myself, but I made a curtain. With my own two hands.

After Carrie from DreamGreenDIY explained how easy Heat'n Bond is, I knew it was the solution for my weird kitchen window.

We also added long, sheer curtains to our french doors in the back. It's amazing how different fabrics change the feel of a room. Suddenly that space is softer and cozier and feels more like home.

Here's our newly dressed window.

Thanks, Jess and Carrie, for the inspiration.

Living with plants: Succulents

Although John and I still have a lot of work to do on our house before it's complete, I was so excited to finally add some plants this weekend. There have been lots of interesting studies about the benefits of living with plants, and eventually I want to have a home full of them. I started small with a little collection of succulents. They're so petite, green, and architecturally appealing. 

Although succulents need drainage, I'm trying indoor terrariums with horticultural charcoal beneath the soil to create space to drain. Fingers crossed.

Here's the finished product.

And apparently the moss I added on the surface is edible - Herbie tested it for us.

Here's to adding extra life, wherever we can. 

Then and Now

In our ongoing quest to make our empty house a home, John and I have been planning an Ikea trek for several months to pick up a few basics. Ikea might get a bad rap because of its reputation as the college-student go-to, but the truth is, it's a great place to find clean, modern lines and affordability. I needed some Parsons style tables to accent our living room, and while I love the West Elm offerings, it was impossible to ignore the good old $7.99 Lack Side Table in white.

When I decided on two wide, modern grey stripes to be the focal point in our dining room, the Docksta was the perfect accent. The room is small, so a round four-seater was the only way to go.

The Expedit Shelving Unit in white is the perfect piece to create an entryway in our happy little living room. Add the Capita legs for a little more polish, and now the keys and mail and candles can all have a place to go at the end of the day.

I loved The Everygirl's Ten Favorite Ikea Finds, which included several pieces from my own shopping list. On our next trip, I'd like to find a work table to create office space upstairs, and we aren't sure yet, but we both love this revival chair, the Strandmorn. It made the cover of the 1951 catalogue! Reading chair, maybe?

Don't miss this fascinating post about the history of the brand: how Scandinavian progressivism became design for the world.

Tip for Decorating

This was a good weekend. There were two hot yoga classes, one trip to Upstate Pride, and things accomplished at home. I bought several little plants for a succulent garden, which is exciting because adding plants means our downstairs is finally coming together! We still need a few pieces of furniture, but that will come soon. John managed to paint the stripes I wanted in the dining room perfectly, and I can't wait to show you.

Until then, here's a tip:

I have art I've been carrying around for as long as two years without displaying it, mostly because it's oddly shaped and custom framing is so expensive. I've had a few pieces framed along the way, but now that I've found American Frame, I'll never spend that much again. You put in the measurements of your print and choose a frame and mat. It's so easy. Everything is custom cut for you and sent within a week, and you assemble the frame yourself. We framed three pieces this weekend that were going to cost hundreds in the store. You should try it!

Image is one of our newly framed prints, a favorite of mine from Blanca Gomez.

Light & Gold

Hi Friends.

John and I have been painting our condo. Its small size calls for white, to let the space and art breathe, but I'm incorporating some color as well. It's tricky, because we don't have a ton of natural light. Meanwhile, I stumbled across these lights and think they're the prettiest thing ever. Imagine a room with layers of neutrals and gold, with a couple of these hanging from the ceiling.

xo.

Our Wedding {Decor}

I had a really good time planning and designing our wedding. My family thought I was a little crazy when I insisted that we stick to a certain (early) timeline, but I'm really glad I followed it; it made the weeks around the wedding pretty stress free! I was busy beforehand, but it never became unmanageable. 

Red Orange Yellow

by Bri Emery of designlovefest

I can't get enough of bright, vibrant color.

March!

It's no secret that I love March. March is for Spring, and March is for the birthdays of many of my favorite people. March is when John proposed (has it really been a year?).

We haven't had much time for decorating in the midst of new job, job hunts, wedding planning, and audition season, but I did recently order this print by Blanca Gomez for our house. It's exactly what I'd like to be doing today, on this pretty March 1st.

For the Cynic

Sometimes I get so excited that it's really hard not to type my whole post in capital letters. This is one of those times. Good things are happening.

I have always loved the prints from Fifi du Vie (especially Oh Darling..Adventurers). This one has been on my mind lately, because after leaving my iPhone in an H&M dressing room in Atlanta, I actually got it back 12 hours later. 

John and I also booked our honeymoon flights this morning, and I've been jumping up and down in my head all day.

xo,

         Lauren

Down Filled

Recently I've been thinking lots about how to decorate our new home, a place that represents us and will foster happiness and creativity. Even though I wish I could buy/paint/create/find everything right this minute, having to wait makes it a more fun and thoughtful process. Meanwhile, Herbie is obsessed with my new pillows from CB2. And contrary to his mom, it has nothing to do with the color.

Shapeshifting

via Design Sponge

Inspiration comes in so many forms. For me, it's clearly been in music (though not as much these days) - and often in words, color, and design. For a while, it was our wedding. Designing a day to represent both of us individually and what we've become as a unit kept me entranced for hours on end. Most recently, it's become our home. We finally have a place of our own combined with the feeling that we're going to stay a little while. What inspires me now is having a space to create something for us - a place to live, work, and play - a blank canvas that will serve as the backdrop for our next few chapters.

We both have a penchant for bright colors, so I'm thinking a neutral background that will allow for lots of warm, energizing pops of color. I've been having a lot of fun searching Design Sponge, Design Love Fest, Oh Happy Day!, and others to see what excites me and find offbeat ideas on where to shop.

Scouring Craigslist for thrifty furniture finds becomes so addictive!

xo,

        Lauren