Ikea Expedit Shelf »

In search of another opportunity to showcase a little personality in our dining area, I turned to the Expedit shelf from Ikea. What I love about this shelf more than anything, is that it is so versatile. It can house books, movies, clothing, computer accessories, crafts, and so many other things in a very orderly fashion. I also love that when turned different directions, it can act as a room divider or faux wall. So it’s safe to say, if we move or change things around, there will always be a home for this shelf.

So this is what my expedit shelf looks like now, although I’m certain things will move on a daily basis. I have a tendency to keep noodling with nick nacks.

Some of the things shown:

Branch pitcher {jayson home and garden}

Faux wood alarm clock {eq3}

Mercury glass votives {pier 1}

Picurewall Company »

I saw this company from the Jennifer Squires Photgraphy Blog. I love doing picture walls in homes because they give a wall purpose, add color and show personality. My cousin was asking me what she could do in her new house that would help her make it feel like home. I suggested a picture wall for those reasons and to help her connect to this home that she didn’t yet have memories in.

And since picture walls can get tricky, The Picturewall Company helps take the guesswork out of it. They provide frames, images, mats, tacks, hooks, a template and bubble levels to easily and evenly hang the pictures. Great idea!

“He’s Just Not That Into You” Design Style »

Having seen the movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You” with my girlfriends last weekend, I haven’t stopped thinking about the interiors. While I absolutely LOVED the movie {for reference of my movie style, my favorite movies include Cold Mountain, Love Actually, and currently, Burn After Reading}, I was very distracted and enamored with the interior design style that was used in each of the revolving character’s respective homes. I’m still digging around for better pictures, but I’m going to show the ones I found and what I think there is to learn about these interiors.

KEEP IN MIND: Reflect on how you decorate your home as you look at these images. I have started a post on ‘Throw Away The Rules’ decorating for all of you matchy-matchys out there. Do you love the looks of these interiors? Are they in keeping with the ‘purse matches the bag’ rules? Likely not. If you choose to continue reading this post, you are making a silent vow to ditch the ‘rules’ of decorating.

What I take away from this bachelor pad, is the use of multiple textures; The leather couch, the exposed brick wall, and different surfaces lining the windows. I also noticed the use of colors that break the rules; brown sofa, grey chair, and black shelving. Didn’t we learn not to mix our blacks and browns? While many of these things ‘break the rules,’ they look great together.

Now, the bachelorette pad, with the overuse of pink, and vintage fifty’s-era touches. This room was too cute - and did a great job of mixing patterns. I wish I could find more images of this room because it really did a great job of breaking the rules. Yellow walls, pink shelving, an awesome-bizarre horse lamp {who doesn’t want one of those?}, red curtains, and pretty much anything you could pick up at a flea-market.

This renovated house made me fall back in love with mid-century modern. They had the greatest built-in shelving and beautiful neutral greys with honey colored wood. I guess you’ll have to see the movie to get a better glimpse of this one.

This home had a crazy eclectic style.  Everything was browns and neutrals, with patterns that don’t match, and rugs that don’t match the sofa, and I loved it. What stood out the most was the artwork that covered all the walls. There was no rule to the artwork - there was a print next to an oil painting next to a photograph, and it all looked amazing. It had this great lived-in masculine feel and I thought it did  a great job of breaking the rules.

SO, Lesson learned: You are now going to break the rules with your next decorating project, and you’ll be amazed at how much personality gets put into the room. Out with the stiff and boring, in with the eclectic and fun! Good luck!

Image source: media.movies.ign.com

Decorating With Black and White »

Sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics. Here I’ve compiled some fun black and white decorating, as well as my suggestions on products that will help make it happen.

And here are my suggestions for great black and white pieces:

Here are the highlights:

ceramic canisters {pottery barn}

nesting hexagons {west elm}

deco scroll curtain {urban outfitters}

birdie lamp base {urban outfitters}

french industrial side table {wisteria}

swedish tub chair {wisteria}

Wall Tiles {target}

Mantle Clock {target}

Accent Table {target}

above image credits from:
http://www.housetohome.co.uk
http://hookedonhouses.net/2008/03/07/decorating-inspiration-black-white/
http://mysanantonio.ctwfeatures.com/homestyle/home_20080327_contrast.html
http://alkemie.blogspot.com/2008/07/study-in-black-white-one-designers-home.html
http://freshome.com/tag/graphic-design/

Recovered Pillows »

My mom updated her couch with a recovered set of accent pillows. She complimented her small-scale patterned couch, a blue and green ticking upholstery fabric, with a large-scale floral fabric from Amy Butler, one of my favorite fabric designers. When putting fabrics together, always consider color and scale. Two large-scale patterns would appear too busy, and two small scale patterns wouldn’t balance like these two.

Master Bedroom in Transition »

Reader, Shannon, has a master bedroom that is currently in transition. She had just purchased new bedding and pillows and is looking to tie it all together. You can see the room as-is in the picture below.

Here are my observations:

I love the matching nightstands and lamps on either side, but the lamps are too small for the size of the room. Plus, they have no form.

The sconces look outdated. At best, they could be pulled down lower, much closer to the nightstands to make it more intimate. If they were spray-painted in a shiny bright color, that could help bring them to date.

The room lacks pattern and color.

Here is the inspiration board I put together for Shannon to show that her room has style, color and pattern. Here is how she can achieve that:

A pale green wall color would be a great way to modernize the zebra print. I suggest adding this subtle paint treatment (as seen on HGTV) with a lighter shade to add interest to the boxy room. {HGTV}

A green bench anchors the green in the room, and adds another formal touch. {target}

Formal pillows play nice with the bold zebra print and bring the brown and green together. {target and target}

Make the couch or bench look inviting with a mustard-yellow throw. {target}

The lamps next to the bed need to be weightier because the furniture in the room is weighty. These lamps are fun AND traditional, and they add warmth to the room. {wal-mart}

The large wall could use some color. This print ties the brown, yellows, greens and reds in one place. {cost plus world market}

Because the wall is large, the print may need some help filling the space. I chose two fabrics by Amy Butler in a vintage frame to help tie the colors together, and add weight to the focal wall above the bed. {fabric.com}

Glass fixtures add color and help set the tone. {bed bath and beyond}

Because the bedding is all one solid color, I suggest tucking a pattern underneath with fun sheets. These colors peeking out add personality to the room. {overstock.com}

What do you think? What would you add?

Rugs »

Somebody please put me out of my misery, and buy this rug. I love it, but it doesn’t match anything I own, nor do I have such a need. But it is too cute to be left on the shelf. Please buy it, put it under your black lacquer dining room set with fuchsia painted walls, take a picture, and email it to me.

This rug is at Ikea and Pottery Barn.

Meet Shelley’s Dining Room »

Shelley has a beautiful house with warm colors and rustic accents. Her dining room, however, has been pushed to the bottom of the list. Below are pictures of the dining room before she purchased the home, and then its current state. She had a cut-out window created in one wall to open the room up and allow her to see her children playing while she is with the ‘grown-ups’ in the dining room.

Below I have put together a few ‘inspiration rooms’ that Shelley likes and can help us choose the right pieces for dining room.

This is the ‘inspiration board’ that I put together for Shelley. It has my suggestions for the room, including:

1. Warm pumpkin color for the walls. (This has been Shelley’s vision and will tie her warm beige sitting room with her sage green kitchen nicely)

2. Dark chocolate rug, to weight the room and make it cozy {hillsdale home}

3. Earthy pendant lamp - ties in with her beautiful tree mural in the neighboring room, color will look great with warm pumpkin wall color. {pier 1}

4. Amy Butler fabric for dining room chair pads. Introduces green color and dark cushions make for kid-friendliness. {fabric.com}

5. Wouldn’t it be cute if each dining chair had a rectangular lumbar pillow? This would make the dining room homey, add color, texture and comfort! {west elm}

6. I can’t get enough of the candlesticks - great for color and intimate lighting. {pottery barn}

7. Cream striped curtains add height to the room, and evens out the saturated colors. {target}

8. Beautiful pumpkin-colored boroque salad plates for fun {pottery barn}

Now, these aren’t requirements, they are inspiration. So what do you think? What would you add?

Send me pictures of your home, and I’ll create an inspiration board for you! Email your pictures to ohbrooke{at}gmail.com.

How many people »

does it take to hang a group of pictures? My husband, sister and mom helped me hang the pictures above my sofa, and here is how we did it:

Picture groups are a great way to fill a big wall, save money on art, hang pieces that mean something to you, and bring color into a room. These frames are filled with scrapbook paper.

Condo Chronicles: Picture Wall »

My hallway was looking pretty boring (as most hallways do) and my friend Shannon pointed out that we didn’t have any pictures of us hanging in the house. (Anybody else not like pictures of yourself?) So I decided to make a picture wall at the end of our itty bitty hall.

I took frames that I already had, (you know it’s not like me to spend money on something like this when I’ve got scraps that can be repurposed), and spray-painted a couple to help with the color palette. The frames are all different in size and color, don’t match up symmetrically, and have no rhyme or reason. Thrown together, free, and perfect.

Thanks for the instigating Shannon!