hello autumn: fall home decor

WREATH | MARBLE CUTTING BOARDS | SUNBURST MIRROR | BRASS PEACE SIGN | MIRRORED PILLOW | DIPTYQUE CANDLE | PLAID THROW | APOTHECARY CANDLES | IKAT PILLOW | GOLD WALLPAPER | MERCURY GLASS LAMP | KILIM RUG | LEATHER BUTTERFLY CHAIR |

it’s officially october, and i can’t get enough of warm, cozy neutrals and candles that smell like bonfires. if i had a million dollars, i’d buy each and every one of the items above. kilim rugs, leather butterfly chairs, mercury glass and wool throws are what it’s all about come autumn. i just want to snuggle on my couch, light nine million candles, and marathon each and every season of chicago fire.

speaking of chicago fire, all of my fall shows are back, and i’ve been binge-watching tv like nobody’s business. like, i’m entering anti-social territory. but honestly, a girl can’t help it when the voice is on twice a week and dick wolf keeps creating amazing shows with hot guys that have ginormous hearts (swoon!).

this time of year is my absolute favorite, and i just want it to last forever. i’d roll around in a giant pile of leaves if any piles made themselves available to me. good thing i’m headed up to vermont this weekend! i’ll leave you with that lovely image, and for now, go admire the pretty things above, and drink some apple cider while you’re at it.

HAPPY FALL!

extreme makeover: the bedroom edition

 

why hello print | mirror | pouf | task lamp | storage baskets | rug | campaign dresser | nightstand

 

i don’t know what it is about the month of september, but every time fall rolls around, i get this undeniable itch to redecorate. i want my home to change with the seasons, i want to start fresh, i want to throw out everything i own and start from scratch. now, i can’t afford to throw everything out and start from scratch (and honestly, even if i could, that would be incredibly wasteful and i’d never recommend it to anyone), i can put together a little mood board and start saving for a few pieces to redecorate.

i’ve been living in my little corner of new york city for five years now, and every so often, i splurge on a piece to make my space feel like home – but my bedroom has remained pretty much unchanged since i moved in. i’ve never regretted my moody gray walls, they make the space feel at once light and cozy, and i love my white bedding more than life itself. my bed is like a giant cloud, and i wouldn’t have it any other way. but my storage has seen better days. i’ve got two dresser in my room (oops, #clotheshorse): an antique chinoiserie style one that belonged to my grandma and that i’ll never get rid of (but it could use a good refinishing), and a cheap ikea piece i bought off craigslist and painted a pale pink. my nightstand is an antique i found in the basement of my building next to the trash cans (you wouldn’t believe the stuff people throw away in new york city!), and while it’s cute, it’s seen better days. i’ve also got a large leather armchair i found on the corner of 61st and 1st (bedbugs be damned) and hustled home that very afternoon a few years ago. my rug isn’t the right size for the space, and my TV is placed just a bit too high for late night movie watching.

all small things, sure – but the moral of the story is, my bedroom could use a little love. i’m a big believer in investing in your home (it’s a luxury to be able to do so, of course), because it’s the cornerstone of your life, and the place you come home to each night. give me the choice between an expensive handbag and an expensive piece of furniture and i’d pick the furniture any day. i’ve been super inspired by this room lately, and it’s got me craving a few splurges. i’d like to get a rug that actually fits my space, get some blinds that are a little bit nicer than my ikea curtains and shitty curtain rods, and maybe even get a mirror that isn’t the target version i found in the attic of our rented house senior year of college.

i mean, i’m 28 years old. i think i can get a real mirror, right? above are the items i’m thinking of. i’ll probably go for the rug first (a dash and albert striped beauty), then the mirror, some chic lighting from target, and some cheeky new art from etsy. those nightstands from serena and lily are to die for, but they’re pricey, and when i was home in massachusetts this past weekend, i snagged some old school mahogany side tables for an incredible $80 at an estate sale down the street. god bless suburbia, i tell you.

what i want this week: volume 10

 

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN 

can we talk about

rifle paper for hygge & west

wallpaper has experienced a serious renaissance in the design world over the past few years, and honestly, thank goodness, because there is a WHOLE lot of unfortunate (read: fugly) wallpaper in the world (70s and 80s homes, i’m looking at you), and that shit needs to be replaced.

in the past, wallpaper was reserved for 70s era kitchens, bad bathrooms, and even worse bedrooms with wall to wall carpet. but it seems those days are behind us, and we’re all moving in the right direction, towards wallpaper that is beautiful, intricately designed, and best of all, uber chic. who has two thumbs and loves uber chic wallpaper?

THIS GIRL.

as a renter, wallpaper is in my dreams, not my reality, but that doesn’t mean i can’t do some imaginary shopping, or real shopping for the folks that DO own their homes. so, where does one look for cool wallpaper? there are a lot of options, but one of my favorite places to shop is hygge & west. you may recall that a few years ago, h&w did an awesome collab with joy cho of oh joy! it was this collaboration that put hygge & west on my radar (the collection is still on sale today, and trust me when i say, it is to DIE for. cho’s “petal pusher” print kills it. i’ve seen it used in dozens of rooms, and never has it looked too busy or out of place. GLAM to the max).

i didn’t think anyone could match cho’s designs. that is, until i heard that anna bond of rifle paper co. would be doing a line for the brand. i am a HUGE rifle paper fan, and, thanks to anna bond, have become a bit of a stationary snob over the years. bond, who is rifle paper’s creative director, hand sketches/paints* all of her whimsical, beautiful pieces, so it’s no surprise that her wallpaper line (which is screenprinted in chicago) is TO DIE FOR.

*if you’re not following her on instagram, you’re missing out.

i picked out a few of my favorites above, and, just for fun, i had a little think sesh about where i’d use each of them in my dream home. laundry room, powder room, kid’s room, library. check, check, check and check. miss bond, you’ve done it again.

shop the entire rifle paper co. for hygge & west collection here.

on being a real grownup: apartments and jobs and the like

on tuesday night, i instagrammed this photo of my hotel room with the hashtag #realgrownup. i was on a trip for work in philadelphia, and was staying at a sheraton, in a room with a giant king size bed that i had all to myself. and as i took off my makeup, washing off the day, and changed out of my fancy ‘meet the clients for the first time’ dress into my leggings and sweatshirt, i had a little moment of “holy shit, i am a real grownup.”

i know it sounds silly. i am a real grownup in a lot of ways. for starters, i just turned 28, which is definitely real grownup territory. i have a good job where i make good money. i have a nice apartment that i pay for all on my own. in fact, i pay for everything i do all on my own: my vacations, my (expensive cult class) exercise habit, my many orders of takeout sushi and my shopping excursions. i am a decidedly separate entity from the family unit in which i grew up. the live i live is mine -though i share it with other people – it’s no one else’s.

sure, i don’t have children, or a serious relationship (the latter i’d take right away, the former i want eventually), but beyond those missing pieces, i’m doing fairly well at being an adult (there were some serious roadbumps when i first graduated college). i am, for all intents and purposes, a legitimate, real, grownup.

that being said, i sometimes feel light years behind my peers, a lot of whom are in serious relationships, a few of whom are married, and most of whom seem to have it all figured out. and don’t even get me started on my imaginary peers – the legions of bloggers i follow who SERIOUSLY seem to have it all (i know that a blog isn’t real life, but you know what i mean).

this is going to sound ridiculously superficial and shallow, but the one area where i do feel like a real grownup on the regular is my home. my apartment is my pride and joy. i moved into it during a time when i was really going through some shit (and that’s basically the understatement of the century), and for a while, i was convinced it would never feel like home. but almost five years later, i’m still there, and it’s more comfortable than i ever could have imagined. it is my sanctuary. i’ve poured a lot of time, and heart, and money, into it. and yet, not a penny i’ve spent on it feels wasted. the things i buy for my home, even the expensive ones, feel like the most worthy investments in the world.

which is why i fell head over heels for this ‘starter apartment’ (and i use that term insanely lightly; this woman clearly has moolah and resources many of us don’t) featured on one kings lane. it’s a one bedroom, and belongs to the eldest daughter of OKL founder susan feldman. like i said, girl has resources.

kim, the article states, had spent the past 5 years in a cramped roommate situation (we’ve all been there, thanks new york!), and this was her first real grownup home. she enlisted OKL stylist andrew to help her create a glamorous, modern place that she could call her own. the before pictures are nothing special, but the after shots are truly spectacular – proof that you can take a boring white box and turn it into something beautiful.

i doubt that i’ll ever be able to afford the level of decor this apartment boasts (and even if i could, i’m not sure i could stomach those price tags), but the message of the piece – that you should buy what you love, and create a home that feels like it’s really YOURS – sits well with me. my apartment might not be as fancy schmancy as this one, and i might not yet have figured out my true decorating style (as OKL says, design is never done!), but it is MINE, and it looks and feels like me…

and that, my friends, is real grownup territory.

a modern feminine home tour

you guys. i am OBSESSED with pretty much every room in christine dovey’s (who pens bijou and boheme) home. it’s at once uber feminine, totally chic, bohemian but modern, glamorous but traditional. dovey has managed to tick all the design boxes without a single inch of the space seeming overdone. i’ll let the photos speak for themselves, but do yourself a favor and check out the full shoot on style me pretty living.

lauren santo domingo’s paris apartment

i’m not really a glamorous type of girl. sure, i can rock red lipstick with the best of ’em, but i’d never describe myself as the glamorous, nor sophisticated, type. but that doesn’t stop me from loving glamorous people, and glamorous spaces, when i see them. such is certainly the case with lauren santo domingo’s paris apartment, a study in black, white and gold. this space is BEYOND chic. there’s really no other word for it besides glamorous. i can’t imagine living in a space like this – it seems more like a museum than a home – but i sure can take a long hard look at the eye candy. enjoy! 

patrick dempsey’s frank gehry home in malibu

i am a born and bred northeasterner. i doubt i’ll ever move out west. i don’t love san francisco, california doesn’t call my name, and i’ll be visiting los angeles for the first time this spring. but all that being said, i fell hard for patrick dempsey’s home, as featured in this month’s architectural digest. the home is an original tin (tin!) structure designed by the inimitable frank gehry in the late 1960s; dempsey and his wife updated it with the help of interior designer estee stanley (also the brains behind one of my favorite new interior sites, domaine, as well as justin timberlake’s other half in the homemint collection). estee epitomizes california cool, so it’s no wonder i love this home, even though it’s way out of my design style and comfort zone.

i’m especially in love with the living room, what with those gorgeous clean-lined sofas (custom pieces, of course) and beautiful reclaimed wood pieces. that oversized mercury glass lamp is calling my name (try anthro’s silver etched lamp bases for a similar look). also, we can’t not talk about the stacked wood situation going on on the sides of the fireplace. i mean, HELLO, statement. i’ve seen this done quite a bit over the past few years, but mostly on a much smaller scale. here, stanley really went for the gold (ahem, wood-toned), and it totally works. your eye immediately goes to the fireplace, then gets drawn upward by that antique mirror. love the finish on that, and how it’s just a few shades away, but very much in the same family, as the mercury glass lamp on the side table.

also, can we talk about this room? it’s dempsey’s wife’s art studio. the architectural in this space is beyond. the couple has a few kids, and i like that the studio also includes a comfortable seating area for the family (and perhaps potential clients?). again, we’re seeing lots of reclaimed wood, and hints of industrial style scattered amongst the more california bohemian pieces.

i’m surprised at how much i like this kitchen. it’s way too modern for my taste, and yet, i would LOVE to cook a meal in here. those concrete slab countertops are so crisp and fresh, and i love the way the sun drenches the space in light. a true gehry traot. i’m also loving the wide-plank wood floors. it almost, almost, gives the space a bit of a northeastern farmhouse feel.

and of course, who could forget that they have an AIRSTREAM TRAILER in their backyard? i mean…uber cool. the raised beds hold flowers, veggies, and herbs. all the better to cook fresh food in that gorgeous kitchen, of course.

love it. do you?

gallery wall goodies: note to self print shop

i’m a huge fan of note to self, a blog penned by sarah tolzmann. sarah has an incredible eye for design, typography, and all things pretty (as her day job, she works as a web design for ralph lauren. cool, right?), and has been sharing lovely bits and pieces on the interwebs since 2009. i’ve been a reader of note to self for basically as long as i’ve been reading blogs, and a fan of sarah’s aesthetic since day 1, so when she launched her print shop on society6, i ate that ish right up and promptly ordered a few pieces for my gallery wall. it’s been almost a year since i redid my dining corner, and i’ve been thinking that perhaps my wall needs a bit of love in the form of new prints. lucky for me, sarah recently updated her shop with a few new pieces, and i am LOVING them. my favorite, in particular, is tucked, a fashionista-in-a-striped-shirt rendition that would look so cute against my grey walls.

just for fun, i put together a little board of the new prints i’m loving – all in black and white.

wanted: jayson home’s frank ottoman

{jayson home moroccan wedding blanket parson’s bench}

a story about me and morocco.

the year i was bat mitzvahed, my grandma took my entire extended family (my cousin and i are the same age) on a 2 week trip to morocco. though i had traveled a bunch as a kid (lucky me!), morocco was a whole other world. literally. for starters, it was in AFRICA. i mean, hi, exotic locale. it was also a place where girls with blonde hair and hazel eyes were things to be bartered for. my price was equivalent to a few nice rugs and some steaming mugs of mint tea. it was a place where the old world still had a firm hold on things, where lifestyle glossies like vogue had yet to traverse the terrain, where rivers of mud and discarded trash ran straight through the streets. marrakech, specifically, was a visceral feast. the sights, the sounds, the smells. and don’t even get me started on the leather tannery we visited one day. talk about smells, or should i say, stenches. holy moly, did i have to hold my nose at that one.

as blessed as i feel that i’ve visited such an incredible place, part of me wishes i’d made the trip when i was a bit older. i think i would appreciate the country a lot more now than i did then. i suppose that’s why it’s important to travel as an adult – because your brain has formed enough to truly wrap itself around the amazing experiences that sojourning around the world bring. one thing i’m sure i would appreciate now more than i did than is the amazing color and style of moroccan interiors – from the colorful tilework to the gorgeous moroccan wedding blankets that have become all the rage in interior design over the past few years.

also known as handira, moroccan wedding blankets are traditional cape-like nuptial garments of the Berber women. these gorgeous pieces, worn by brides at their wedding ceremonies, are handwoven by a bride’s relatives, and can take weeks to complete. these days, you’ll see them hanging on walls, atop crisp white sheets being used as bedspreads, beneath dining tables as rugs…the design possibilities are endless. a bit sparkly, a bit sequin-y, and a whole lot of pretty, moroccan wedding blankets are a beautiful, versatile piece that the interior world can’t get enough of.

you can get the real thing by doing a bit of savvy googling, or you can snag mass market versions, which have popped up everywhere from anthropologie to jayson home (where the piece above can be found).