Oh, Is this your Yacht?: Navy & White Rooms

Springing from my coastal room exploration we are now in the land of navy &white. Now I sound like a deep sea diver...I may have gone too far. No? O.k., good, thanks, I'll continue. I love navy and white-it somehow manages to be classic but not stuffy.  It's casual,but still pulled together.  Best of all it works in every season. And of course there is the added bonus that it kind of makes you feel like you're on a yacht.

In the Living Room...

In the Bedroom...

In the Kitchen...

 

Another great thing about using navy and white in a room? The color combo loves bright, bold accents-think coral, sun yellow, classic red, or turquoise.

Put a Sailboat on it!

While looking for octopus and sailboat pillows, (Thursday is the day for that, right?), I stumbled upon  some really great decor ideas for  coastal-style rooms.  Let's take a look, shall we?

 I love the central pillow here. It's kind of like if a piece of coral and a zebra had a baby.

This room looks so relaxing. It definitely has a coastal vibe but it doesn't punch you in the face with it.

This bedroom is begging for someone to take a nap in it after they return from a day at the beach.  If no one else wants to I volunteer. Like now.

This Bedroom has a great masculine feel but is still very light and airy.  I hear, from the voices in my head, that navy and white are really making a comeback in home decor.

LOVE these over-sized chairs and the fabric they are covered in.

By the time I could get my kitchen to look like this my 10 month old son would be this old...nonetheless, love the aqua and white.

So this is just me in my brand new kitchen smiling for no reason at running water...Just kidding. Love these weathered stools though.

Now I'm off to continue my search for the perfect octopus and/or sailboat pillow. It is Thursday, after all.

Vintage-Beach Style

After several days of trying to decide what direction I was going in for the house design esthetic I think I figured it out: Vintage- Beach. So far it seems that it will work with the Victorian style of the house and allow for some modern elements as well. A few inspirations:

Doesn't look like the dog in this photo is loving this style-but I think it's pretty cool.

Here are some pieces I found that have that vintage-beachy feel:

1. Vintage Beach Photos (this shop has a ton of great photos like this) 

2. ($1! Great for pillows, napkins, table runners...) beachy & vintage image transfers

3. Wicker Mirror

4. Beachy Pillows

 

5. Vinage Wooden Signs

Happy Hunting!

Hollywood Regency Finds

In between writing articles for work today (YAWN), I was perusing a few different design eras and came across some Hollywood regency-style rooms that were really cool.

I looked around on Etsy and found some great pieces that could bring this element into a room. (click the links to go to the store and item)
1. Recency Mirror

 2.  Yellow Regency-inspired vase

 3.Regency-style zebra chair

 4.  Accent pillows

 

 5. Vintage Chair

 These are just a few of the bits I found.  I like regency for its usability. You can add a single regency-style mirror to a room or go full Lana Turner with it. Either way, a little glamour never hurt anyone (A lot of glamour might have, but whatever blows your skirt up.)

The Writing on the Wall

 You might remember this gem of a bathroom from my first before and after post a month or so back.  To see it in its original condition covered in hunter green and maroon wallpaper check out the pics from the before and after post (and prepare to be frightened). Well, it is almost finished and ready for final details...

Primed walls. Finally. After much spraying with the miracle of vinegar and water (more on that absolute genius liquid later...) and scraping by my dear friend in all things home improvement and blond moments.  

My husband  "happily" assembled this medicine cabinet that came in about 100 pieces.  I am no longer permitted to put furniture together after the move.  It seems several pieces of furniture in our old house that I had put together looked like they were assembled correctly, but, alas, they collapsed when he tried to move them into the truck.

The blank spaces on this wall is what I'm getting my hands on next.  I hung up some art work next to the mirror, but wanted something a little different.  I always love a little irony in my art and decor so I am going to take a cue from the scribbled on stall walls of restaurants and bars to decorate this spot.  Equipped with some lines quoted from my favorite authors and a few different stencil fonts I'm going to get some writing up on these walls.  Stay tuned for more after pics. And if you think of any quotes that just scream "put me on a bathroom wall!" let me know :)

Bedrooms...

I came across these today while researching cottage design for an article I am writing. Planning for bits and pieces of each of these to make an appearance in our home in some way...(AKA: Brain is mushy. Four straight days of renovations with seven month old in tow. Now I know why you NEVER see anybody on HGTV bringing their baby to work. Notice these are all bedrooms. I dream of sleeping...)

I like everything going on in this room, but I really love the letters on the shelf. I know for a fact the ampersand is hard to find though. Let the hunt begin.

I've been seeing a lot of this "door as a headboard" idea. Love the way it looks but have slight fear of wood splinters in bad places. Food for thought.

How can you go wrong when you're bedroom looks like a super cozy bed and breakfast room? Also, if you made the room look like this, check the nightstand for a tip. You deserve one.

WOW. If you remove some of the other antler explosion in this room, this bedframe is kind of amazing.

O.K. husband agrees, I have to do this in the new house. Must put fear of splinters aside...

How realxing does this look? Quite.

And on that note, goodnight :)

To Begin at the Begining...

Two monumental things began this weekend.  Our little man started teething and the renovations got underway in our new house. A few other things happened too.  I downloaded a fantastic virus onto my new laptop so I am back to writing on my giant dinosaur computer for now, and somewhere in the past two weeks it seems the entire contents of my house has exploded and now looks like a war ravaged zone had a baby with a looted toys r us.  But back to the two big things.  Both my son's teething as well as the house renovation had me thinking about before and afters.  And since I'm pretty sure little man will have nothing to do with me getting any before and after shots of his gums, I thought I'd share some before pics of the house.

Plantation shutters in the sitting room. One of my favorite details in this house, but desperately in need of a white washing.

The dining room.  The bottom half was primed this weekend. It was a lovely shade of 'ketschup.'

Fireplace in the Sitting Room.  Probably the least offensive color in the joint. Still on its way out though.

Master bedroom. Mustard, Again.  Or as a friend called it 'burned butter.'

Wallpaper removal int the sitting room. How many layers does it take to get to the plaster...

3rd floor office space. More plantation shutters which I love. Baby blue walls and carpet, which I do not love. Buh-Bye.

Main floor bathroom. Where should I start here...plaid wallpaper, plastic mirror, lampshade randomly sticking out of a wall. Enough said for now.