colorful design inspiration

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Some people rely on a calm serene monotone color palette to decorate their homes with.  I respect that.  

No judgement.  I love that design aesthetic myself.  But when it comes to gravity, I'm more often drawn to design that hosts an undeniable, unapologetic saturation of color.  Mixing different shades together in unexpected ways is more my cup of tea.  I think the inspirations I've chosen above definitely lend themselves quite nicely to that concept.  

How do you feel about color?  Do you enjoy mixing it up?  

Or maybe prefer to keep things on the calmer side?

Only one more day until Friday!!!  Julie

currently coveting...brass accents

Can we talk about brass for a minute?  For a long time, brass and anything having to do with the goldish tone was totally out.  I myself was completely grossed out by all of those brassy goldish door knobs and drawer pulls that came with my 1996 constructed condo.  I hated the pretty brass bed that I grew up with.  I secretly loathed every brass light fixture that was installed in my parents' big beautiful new construction home.

But that was then.  And this is now.  Now I'm craving that tiny of touch of glamour in my own home.
Here's the thing about brass:  It must be used in small doses.  Just a smidge too much and you're headed into brass overload.   The way to keep it classy is to add an accent piece here and there.  Perhaps it is best to think of it as jewelry for a room.  Maybe add a bowl here, a light fixture there, an occasional table there.  Then to be on the safe side, take one piece away.

Emily Henderson knows how to do it right.  All of the interior design inspirations shown in this post are all hers.  Want success with brass in your abode?  Follow Emily's example and you're in.







Shopping for some hits of brass to add to your place?  Here are a few pieces that shouldn't be hard to find:
Just click the links below to purchase your own.

one:  astra chandelier by anthropologie // two:  brass letter wall art by crate & barrel //

three:  martini side table by west elm // four:  walker sconce by pottery barn  //

five:  hanging brass planeter by urban outfitters 

Here's a not-so-secret secret about finding super budget-friendly brass pieces:  Hit up the Goodwill store nearby.  The home goods section usually always has a whole aisle devoted to some of those long ago shunned little gems of glamour that I'm currently coveting.  And that's one place that you will most likely find me in the near future, too.

How do you feel about brass?  Are you in or still on the fence about it?

cheers, Julie

domicile delight

Just a little domicile delight to help get you through the middle of the week and rev you up for the end.  

These pics come from Dwell Magazine and can be found here.

Happy Hump Day!  

Julie

friday favorites 8/23/13

I knew you were looking for a little somethin' somethin' to daydream about today.  

So without further ado, I invite you to my friday fantasies.

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jonathan adler design found here

You're welcome.

Want to indulge in a little more interior design fantasizing?

Just check out my "design inspiration" pinterest board.

Thank god it's friday.  (No TGIF's here.  We're going for the full effect.)

Julie

a pretty plethora of plums

I was up late last night, so I was lucky enough to catch "Because I Said So" on TV.  Have you seen that movie?  I know, it's not uber sophisticated.  But I am a girl, so although I don't generally like to admit it, I'm usually pretty happy to sit through any kind of rom-com when I get the chance.  Not for the usual reasons, though.  Sometimes I just like movies for their set decoration.  In this one, Mandy Moore lives in the cutest apartment and she has a big plum colored chesterfield sofa.  I know.  To die for.  Right?

I don't usually go for the color purple, but this movie, in conjunction with the impending return of the fall season, has me thinking about it some.

pinned here

Of course, this sofa is an obvious plum obsession.  Who wouldn't want one?  At least in their dreams.

anthropologie ruffled picea buttondown

This pretty plum blouse works for either the office or a night out.  Feel free to ship one my way, Anthropologie.  Just sayin'.

pinned here

I don't really think there's anything I'd actually want to paint purple, but I do love looking at all these lovely shades together.

pinned here

Ummm, there's no being on the fence with this vespa color choice.  You've got to be all in.

plum upside down almond cake

Will the real plum please stand up?  Or upside down maybe?  Who wants to make me one of these cakes?

new husky stadium

Not truly officially plum, but it has to be mentioned that purple (and gold) are going to be high priorities on the family agenda starting this next week.  Go dawgs.

How do you feel about purple?  Yes?  No?  Not in a million years?

Happy Thursday, Julie

friday favorites, 8/16/13

This cat on instagram.  His name is Toulouse and Amanda of RustBeltThreads (an amazing etsy vintage shop!) is his happy owner.  You should follow rustbeltthreads on ig for more Toulouse greatness.
Seeing pics of him pop up on my ig feed never gets old.  Just look at that face.

This song by Foals.  It's called "My Number" and it kind of sounds like something reminiscent of the 80s.
At least to me.  Which is probably why I really like it.


This show, "Boardwalk Empire".  We don't have HBO at my house, so we miss all the good stuff like Game of Thrones, Girls, Shameless and, of course, Boardwalk Empire.  But I do have a library card and my name finally made it to the top of the waiting list for Season 1.  Just started watching it this week and so far, it's a really good show.


This book, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?".  This is another result of me having a library card.  Gotta love the library.  I just picked it up, in addition to, "Silver Linings Play Book", so I should have plenty of good reading material to keep me entertained for at least the rest of August.

This blog, "Simply Grove".  Kirsten Grove is an interior stylist and, man, she's totally got my number when it comes to design.  I'm absolutely 100% in love with 100% of the design images that she features on her blog, as well as, on her Pinterest and Instagram accounts.  Just click on over to www.simplygrove.com and see for yourself how Pin-crazy you'll become once you have a look at all the design inspiration goodness.

That's about it for this week.  What kind of things have caught your fancy lately?

cheers, Julie

oh, the places i'd go! the jupiter hotel in portland

Do you ever daydream about going on amazing vacations to cool places and staying in hip boutique hotels?  Everybody does, right?  I know I do.  The Jupiter Hotel in Portland is just one such place that I'd like to visit in the not-so-distant future.  Check out the beautiful pics from their website below (www.jupiterhotel.com).

They have chalkboard doors! 

This is the Doug Fir Lounge where you can go get your drink on and enjoy some good grub.

What the Jupiter has to offer to guests:  chalkboard doors, 32" flat screen tvs, speakers for your ipods and pillow top mattresses.  Plus, you can bring your pets with you.

Wanna up the ante?  Add on one or more of these fresh features to enhance your stay:  a bucket of 4 Miller Hi Life beers, a bucket of 4 Rogue Dead Guy Ales, a bottle of bubbly, a fantasy kit (go to the website and see for yourself.  i dare you!).  You can also rent a bike there for $6/hr or $35 for the entire day.  This place really gets the Pacific Northwest!

The Jupiter is located in one of the coolest areas of Portland on Burnside and is adjacent to some of the new up and coming distilleries and best restaurants that the city has to offer.  It just looks like a whole lot of good merriment to be had. 

It's officially on my list of places I'd like to stay.

cheers, Julie

kids rooms design inspiration

We have a playroom at our house.  It needs a lot of work.  There's a ton of toys and games, a big tv for watching movies, a computer desk, and shelving for storage of said toys and games.  The kids love it.  But it really doesn't have any kind of flavor to it.  A couple of years ago I moved into my current home, which already housed my boyfriend and his two kids.  I've slowly been adding my own personal decorative touch to the house whenever I can, but it can be difficult since our current budget doesn't really allow for such frivolities.  But I do think about how nice it would be if I could just invest a little time and money into it.  It might look something like one of these lovely little inspirations I've shown below. 

pinned here

I love the bright airiness of this room.  Especially the white-washed wood floors and the drum shade pendant light.  Pure perfection.

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This room isn't actually a playroom, but it's still a good one to take inspiration from.  I'm always a sucker for mixing teal blue and orange.  There's just something so lighthearted about it.  Kids would undoubtedly gravitate to the unique seating choices, too.  The bench under the window is a great idea for providing a convenient storage solution in addition to seating.  Don't you just love the dragonfly wallpaper?

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Again, the bright white is so refreshing.  Loving the big fruit as well.  And the patterned rug is genius.  It would for sure help hide the messiness that kids inevitably always seem to grace us with via such things as crayons, markers, and snacks.  Let's be real.  It happens.

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The colors in this room are subdued, yet punchy and playful at the same time.  I'm sure there are some that would disagree with using black in a kids' room, but I think the graphic nature of the way it's used in this room makes it quite childlike.  A chalkboard wall can also be a jumping off point that designers like to use to incorporate black into a bright white kids' room.  Function and form are thus both satisfied.

I put together a little mood board of what I might like to do at my own house someday:

Have you decorated your kids' playroom lately?
I'd love to see what you've done.

cheers, Julie

friday favorites, 8/9/2013

this quote by stephen hawking pinned from here.

Yes, I've read "A Brief History of Time" and, needless to say, it floored me.  I wouldn't say that Stephen Hawking is an idol of mine, but his brilliance can't be disputed.  This quote of his really resonates with me.

this song "purple yellow red & blue" by portugal the man.

It's dark.  It's moody.  But you can still dance to it.  I'm into it.

this recipe for chocolate hazlenut cupcakes by lizzy pancakes.

my boyfriend's birthday is next week and I've been slowly plotting,  I mean planning, his birthday dinner.  He's an insane peanut butter junkie, so I was thinking of making him a chocolate peanut butter cake or something similar.  These yummy-looking cupcakes just might do the trick.  

Lizzy always makes the best stuff.

this book.

I know.  It's a kids' book.  And I'm thirty-something.  But I went to the library this week to pick up some books for the kiddos and this is one of the ones I found there.  Needless to say, it's a childhood favorite of mine and I couldn't resist the urge to steal it and read it myself.

this show.

Have you seen it yet?  It's good.  Really good.  It's one of those shocking, surprising, you never really know what's going to happen type of shows.  But it's also about women.  In prison.  And why they're there.  And what amazing people they can be, even in prison.  Like I said, it's really good and I highly recommend it.  Just finished watching Season 1 and can't wait until Season 2 comes out.  

Unfortunately, that won't be until 2014.  Of course.

this design inspiration as pinned here.

As you may or may not know, I'm slightly obsessed with interior design.  It's way too hard for me to pick out one single design inspiration that I like for the whole week, but this is certainly ONE of my favorites.  Indisputably, blue is my favorite color and I absolutely adore the tone of the blue sofa and ottoman pictured here.  I also really love the way the designer continued the line work from the art up and onto the wall.  

You can find more of my many interior design inspirations via my Pinterest board here.

So there you have it...some of my favorite things this week.

What have you been enjoying lately?

cheers, Julie