some favorites

Two of my favorite things from Ballard Designs--I want this rug in chocolate and this zinc harvest basket from Suzanne Kasler has a gorgeous orange interior.

 I never tire of seeing a beautiful black and white checkered kitchen floor . . .

 or a brown zebra rug

 some industrial lighting above the kitchen table would be a great update, this is from Restoration Hardware

 Beautiful Frances Palmer handmade pottery, I'll take those tomatoes too!

 Fresh flowers add so much to a house.

 Stacks of books! Kevin Sharkey organizes his by color.

an orange Hermès blanket would look great just about anywhere ;)

brown grey

photo from Martha Stewart Living
We have been living in our current home for just over 7 years and the day after we moved in our living room and dining room were painted.  French country has always been my favorite style but that has changed over the past year or so--now I favor a more eclectic look.  At this point, I am so over my dining room color I want to start painting it today!  A much more neutral palette would update the room nicely.  Martha Stewart's brown grey is beautiful and sophisticated.  The color would work well with our table and chandelier.  This is just one of many projects I have for our house this Fall!

current color

back to school

My design classes started yesterday--I am taking Principles of Interior Design and Interior Materials, Finishes + Sources this semester.  It was a busy day--after getting both girls off to their respective schools, grabbing my Starbucks, attending 3 hours of class, running a couple errands, school pick-up and a quick appointment at the pediatrician I was wiped!  It didn't help that it was 87 degrees yesterday, that's noodledom for me.  Anyway, I am happy to be back in school with these interesting, creative women soaking it all up :)

Elle Decor

It's always fun to see Elle Decor waiting inside my mailbox.  What a great issue!

The vintage lights above the Lauren's dining room table are amazing.  Not to mention the leather chairs and beautiful frame.  The scale is perfect.

Wouldn't you love to snuggle by that fur throw and read a good book?  Very inviting!

A gorgeous view of the Central Park reservoir from the bathroom.

Anthropologie papier-mâché animal busts

Today I took my tween daughter to Anthropologie to find a gift for a friend.  It is always an inspiring place to visit and browse, I love the creative displays and unique collection of clothes, housewares, books + jewelry.

These were my favorite items on this visit, they are handmade in Haiti.

Layers of repurposed cement bags are covered with vintage French book pages to create these papier-mâché animal heads.

 Beautiful!

Rue Magazine

So excited! The premiere issue of Rue Magazine will be available online tomorrow--September 16th.  Can't wait to see what inspirations they have for all their readers and there's always room for a new design magazine!

Picture height

Too often, pictures and artwork are hung too high on the wall.  Ann Harwell is an artist with a terrific blog and an etsy shop.  She posted this photo recently and not only did I love the artwork but that it is displayed at such an attractive height.  Beautiful!