Dreaming of A Modern Beach Home

Are you summering somewhere this summer?  Not us!  We're stuck here at work, trying to make a living.

But indulge in fantasies we must. So let's look at some really, really pretty modern beach houses today...

In case you are wondering, this house is in Alys Beach, Florida.  Don't you just love how simple and neutral it is?

In The Mood for Turquoise

Just a few pretty things in turquoise...

 

Images via MyHomeIdeas

A Dreamy Bedroom of Soft Colors

We were working on a new bedroom project today for a client and we thought we'd share some of the items we are considering with you.   We wanted to do something soft and pretty, with colors and textures that look warm and inviting...

What do you think? 
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This bed is a custom-upholstered bed.  It shows here in a cream fabric but you can  have it upholstered with your own fabric.  It runs about $2800-3200 for a queen/king.  We like the fact that it doesn't require a boxspring.

We like this armoire for the TV or to store clothing.  It's so chic in person....

We just love this rug from Candice Olson.  We recently put this on sale.

And to add some colors, we love, love this flower arrangement.  It looks so incredibly real in person.

For bedding, this looks like it would be a great fit...

P.S. All of these items can be found at our home decor store.

Our Sponsor:

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Lessons from a Home Stager

The New York Times Magazine has a great article about staging a home today. Eventhough the article is about staging for selling purpose, there are some great tips that you can pick up for your daily life as well...

For example:

1) Start with a white sofa and go from there, as you can change the look quickly by changing the pillows.

2) Have a story, or a theme, and build from there.

3) Do and reedo until it's right.

4) Avoid matchy matchy.

5) Build characters and personality by adding pieces that reflect your lifestyles.

To read this article and watch the video, click here.



Image source: NY Times

Soft & Pretty Decorating Scheme

Our taste has evolved over the year. As we watch decorating trends come and go, we've concluded that certain styles just stand the test of time better than others--especially if they are updated.

Recently we have gradually gravitated toward softer, prettier decorating scheme. We find it more relaxing; and not so trendy that you have to change out your stuff every three to five years.

Here are some of our latest favorite things:


SOURCES:

Flowers by NDI
Rug by Surya
Lamp by Jamie Young
Chair by Nathan Anthony
Artwork by New Century
Chandelier by Arteriors

Organic Decorating from DK Living

There has been news lately regarding organic food--as to whether it actually makes you healthier. A major study by the London School of Hygiene and & Tropical Medicine concluded that consumers were paying more for the "perceived" health benefits. To read more about the study, click here.

But this blog is about decorating, not eating, so let's focus on organic decorating instead. By organic decorating, we are talking about products that use natural materials vs synthetic, and styles that are hand-made vs manufactured.

But we're not the DYI kind of people, we're more like do-it-for-me kinda people, so we rather buy the "perceived" hand-made part.

Here are some that we really like from DK Living:

This is a fantastic rockstone bowl that's great for display fruit and can be used indoor/outdoor. It' retails for $200.

This is a pedestal, but we think it can be used as a side table as well. It's about $150.

This is sold per piece at $25 per piece. It's fantastic as a ground cover for your garden. We love this rock bowl . It's about $300.

This ball looks fantastic in person. It comes in different sizes and we like to display them in group. This one is 12" and it's about $75.
Here's some more rock mats...


We'll be putting these up on our site soon, but in the mean time please contact us if you need any info...

Vintage Decor from Barreveld

Our taste leans toward modern decor, mostly. However, once in a while we really like vintage decor as well. It's kinda like anti-hip, anti-cool, and we like it.

Honestly, we're a little bit tired of hipness--why such a need to be cool and hip all the time? What's wrong with letting our stomach hangs out in an old t-shirt and chugging a beer once in a while?

(Okay, we have to admit we only do this in private--never in public. We live in LA, for God's sake.)

Vintage decorating is like wearing an old t-shirt, actually. It's comforting and nolstagic. We found a bunch of products from Barraveld that we really like.

Here are some of them:

This couch is cored in soft beige linen. It's about $2000.

This antique book is about $30.
We love this door knob, dont' you? It runs about $25/each. We adore this settee. It's about $1900.
This cream/sugar set runs about $125 for the set.

We don't know if this actually works or not, but this antique telescope runs about $400 or so...

This adorable horse retails at $150.
We love this light fixture, either for outside or inside. It retails for $300. This garden conservatory is $4000-it's a real one though! We have no idea how much it costs to ship!

Most of these products can be used in a very modern way. If you want to see an example of this, go to Gjelina restaurant on Abbott Kinney in Venice when you have a chance. They have a fabulous way of using vintage decor in a very chic way. The food is fabulous too...

We'll be loading this up soon in our vintage decor section. In the mean time, if you want to see more or have questions about any of the products seen here, please contact us.

White Decor-So Refreshing

Did you see the latest issue of Elle Decor? It features the home of Monelle Totah, vice president of design for Williams Sonoma. We thought it's worth a feature post because it's such a refreshing style that is so achievable. By that, we mean you can find everything in the home quite easily. Not like those features where the owners alway tell us they brought home these chandeliers from some Paris fleamarket on their backs, you know? For some reasons a Paris fleamarket always sounds more glamorous. What's wrong with a flea market in, say, San Jose?

Anyway, you can find most of the items in the feature (from Williams Sonoma, of course, but other sources as well).

Here is a picture of it:



To see the rest, click here...