Presto Change-o

‘Tis the season for house guests…and the need for a quick fix!  I have two occasional chairs I purchased at the Long Beach Antique Market that are in need of re-upholstering and refinishing.  A year after bringing them home I still haven’t found the “perfect” fabric, nor decided on the “perfect” finish.  But the potential embarrassment of having guests see them was looming, so I devised a simple, cheap, and quick fix to disguise them for awhile.

The sheepskin rug and the pillow are from IKEA.   And I can finally enter the dining room without being nagged by my unfinished home improvement project!

The Office

Thanksgiving came and went, and Christmas is right around the corner (how is it possible?).  I guess this means I should be blogging about decking the halls, but I’ve been promising our home office reveal for quite a while now.  So, here it is…our home office transformation (I know you’ve barely been able to contain your excitement!)  As with the rest of the house, it’s a work in progress (I’m already thinking of rearranging the furniture).  But this is what we’ve done so far.

Here are the “before” photos.  Embarassing.

Ugh.  You can see why it needed an overhaul.

First we had our Shepard Fairey prints framed and hung.

Then we hung wallpaper and painted the ceiling.

Next came the shelves (and MANY trips to the Container Store).

Lots of storage was a must to keep our clutter in check.

Velvet drapes and gazelle horns added a masculine touch.

Lastly, we added some comfy furniture…

And Husband’s favorite lamp.

The next project on deck is the master bathroom, which is calling for LOTS of paint.  So, you might not see that reveal for a while.  But in the meantime, stay tuned for some smaller projects.

Boo!

You might remember my Halloween post from last year when I professed my Halloween decorating woes.  After feeling ever so sorry for me, my Artist Mom created an amazing ceramic Halloween mask for me so I can always have a bit of boo in our home this time of year.  Take a look!

 

And despite Husband’s objections, I couldn’t resist bringing out some spiders.  This time I situated my spidery looking air plants on them for some added “eek!”

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

A Rug’s Life

In May, Husband and I took an amazing two-week vacation to Turkey.  While planning our itinerary we thought it best to end our trip in Istanbul so we wouldn’t have to schlep our Grand Bazaar purchases all over the country in our suitcases.  I was secretly hoping to snag a gorgeous Turkish rug for the dining room, so this seemed like a genius idea!  However, our genius idea wasn’t as brilliant as we touted.  Strangely, and surprisingly, we didn’t buy one single thing at the Bazaar.  No Turkish rug, no Turkish towels, no leather pouf.  Such disappointment.  I’m not saying we didn’t see loads of incredible wares, because we did.  But by the time we arrived at the Grand Bazaar, whether it was because we were overly exhausted, over stimulated, or over budget, our grand plan just didn’t come to fruition.

Despite coming home empty handed, my memory of seeing the rug making process will last just as long as any rug we would have brought home.  Here are some photos to illustrate the process:

Removing silk thread from silkworm cocoons.

Dyed silk yarn for the REALLY expensive rugs.

Wool yarn is spun by hand…

and colored with organic dyes.

Rugs are hand knotted, one piece of thread at a time.

The pattern is attached at the top of the loom for guidance.

It’s a long process.

Some rugs cost more than $50,000.

Shoes off!

Husband and I already plan to return to Turkey some day, so maybe that will be the time to find a special rug for our home.  Until then, I will never look at a rug the same way again!

Patience and Progress

I’m happy to report that we’re making progress in our quest for a super rad home office…and I’m equally happy to announce that this is the first weekend in a month that I haven’t visited the Container Store!  (OK, so I pulled into the parking lot, but quickly came to my senses when I assessed the overflow of holiday shoppers.  Someone would have gotten hurt with a shopping cart if I had entered that rat’s nest.)   However, since it is a three day weekend, my decorating list was long.  So instead, I tested my patience by visiting Home Depot three times, Kinkos twice, IKEA once, and Pottery Barn (quickly!).  I’ll share photos of this weekend’s projects over the coming weeks, but in the meantime you can take a peak at our office decor pinboard here on Pinterest.  (And here’s a teaser photo to whet your appetite!)

Tune in next time; fun things are on the way!

It’s a Celebration!

Last night, my dear friend Danica and I threw a We Think You’re Rad party for our girlfriends.  We filled Casa de Weekend Decorator with amazing friends, delicious food, strong cocktails and of course some fun decor.

When Husband and I moved into our place almost two years ago(!), my instinct was to entertain only when we finished decorating it.  Well, it’s finally crystal clear that continuing on that path will result in no visitors EVER.  In fact, that House Warming party?  Nope, still hasn’t happened.  I’m realizing, though, that our home decor will always be evolving and there is no need to make excuses for why it’s not finished yet.  In fact, Margaret Russell, Editor in Chief of Architectural Digest, just touched on this point in the February issue of the magazine.   She quotes Nina Griscom who says, “(Her apartment is) complete, but it is not finished, a word I cannot utter when it comes to decorating a home.”  And I now see how important it is to have people over while still in the process of decorating.  It shows me how people naturally want to use the space, and highlights what is missing or needs to be rearranged.  Last night, it was the chandelier over the dining table that is still missing and greatly needed!

Since party decorations were my responsibility, yesterday marked my first trip to the Los Angeles wholesale flower mart.  Very exciting!  Fresh flowers are essential for any party, so I did dawn patrol and snagged up some great blooms.  Here are some photos of the flower arrangements I had a blast putting together:

 

 

 

Good times, Ladies!

Tune in next time for the next project on the horizon…

 

Wishful Thinking

Husband asked me the other day for my Christmas wish list.  I know the truest answer is that I have everything I’ve ever wanted or needed.  But the constantly quantifying seven-year-old in me can’t help but launch into a long list of gift-value calculations.  I’m still working through the math, so Husband continues to wait for my list.  However, I do have a rolling list of items I’d like for the house.  I’m calling it my Wishful Thinking List because, well, once Husband sees the price of some of these items he’ll agree it’s an appropriate name.  I’ll stick with the holiday theme here and list just seven items, one for each day left until Christmas.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

1. Super fun brass legs from Kelly Wearstler.   They make me want to go swimming!

2. Limited edition Zag Tray from Up In the Air Somewhere.  Love!

3. Eames Molded Plastic Armchair from Room and Board.  Our dining table is looking bare with only four chairs.

4. Richard Nixon Throw from Jonathan Adler.  This would look fab on our bed…the couch, too!

5. Horchow “Knot” Mirror.  I’ve been eyeing this beauty since we moved in.

6. In a perfect world I would replace all our light fixtures with ones from Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co., but I’ll settle for this cool Graduate Lamp.

7. Quirky, I know, but charming the heck out of me…Stork Feet Pot Stand from Anthropologie.

I hope you chose wisely when making your Wish List (I mean if I had forgotten to put Guess Jeans on my wish list in the 5th grade, I probably would have died), and don’t be shy about making a Wishful Thinking List.  If nothing else, it’s a catalogue of your ideas and inspirations.  Merry Christmas!

Decorating for Christmas (Day 2 + a glue gun)

The year my older sister was born my mom and grandma started a special Christmas tradition.  They decided they would give my sister a bell-shaped ornament every Christmas until she was ready to decorate a tree of her own.  One day she would have a large collection of ornaments to fill her tree; all gifts from Mom and Grandma.  My first Christmas brought me an angel-shaped ornament (for their little angel, ha!)  Now I have 30+ angel ornaments, and love pulling them out and taking the trip down memory lane every year.  Since Husband and I have decided not to get a Christmas tree this year, I used my angel ornaments to decorate a different kind of “tree”.

P.S. If you decide to start a similar tradition, be sure to write the year on each ornament!

In addition to our Christmas “tree”, I put a few more decorations together…

Here is the wreath we bought from our nephew’s scout troop (it was naked when I started).  I used my trusty hot glue gun to attach the bow I made and every one of those gold glitter snowflakes (and I have the burns on my fingers to prove it!)

In addition to my angel ornaments, my mom makes sure I have plenty of other angels for my collection.

Our Christmas table.

I decided to get my DIY on…Christmas flags!

And I finished wrapping all those frames!

Whew, decorating complete…now I should probably start shopping for Christmas gifts.

Tune in next time for Wishful Thinking!

Thanksgiving at Home

Husband and I traveled north to my parents’ house to celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend. I think I’m still sideways from the 500 mile drive…and all those calories. Cassius is still recovering, too. He’s about to embark on his 24th hour of continuous sleep.

One of the best parts about spending a holiday at my parents’ house is I get to see my mom’s, always amazing, decorations. I’m convinced that my love of decorating is a genetic code written directly into my DNA by my mom. Forever I will wish that I had photos of all my mom’s holiday decorations…and trust me, no holiday was ever decorated the same way.

Sadly, now that her kids are out of the house and living hundreds of miles away, decorating for the holidays just isn’t the same for my mom. But no matter what, Thanksgiving would not be Thanksgiving without a proper dining table. So here is just a little something she threw together for our Turkey Day dinner this year. Check it out!

Voila!

Hand made by my mom…ribbon, maple leaves, a dried pomegranate and a glue gun.

My dad made that antler candelabra for my mom. He found and gathered all those naturally shed deer antlers.

The chandelier above the table was designed and decorated by my mom, and built and installed by my dad. What a team!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and felt fortunate to spend the weekend with family and friends. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well.

Tune in next time…I’ve got some fun stuff lined up!