Friday, November 13, 2009

Dreaming: Lovely Lamps

So my favorite lil' home blog, Young House Love, featured Target's beautiful new home decor and Christmas things this week on their blog. And it just so happened they are loving the same lamp I have been lusting after for weeks! These are the lamps that I have been wanting for the bedside tables. I didn't see the candle jars but those are beautiful too and I think would be a really pretty accessory on a dresser. I want to go with hints of gold through out the room, but not King Loey the Third gold everywhere and I think these items are the perfect touch.

My plan is to paint the wall, straight across as you walk in, with 10" horizontal stripes. The same gold tint glaze I used in the bathroom. I am reusing the sidetables from downstairs with a coat of creamy, off white paint and new hardware. I want the overall look to be luxury, glitz but still modern.

Before:

After (color & inspiration):
with new hardware:
Check back later for another post on the headboard and bed details. Oh how I love to dream and virtually decorate. Too bad I don't get paid to do that...

Monday, November 9, 2009

Dreaming: Sidebar & Photography Wall Art

So when it comes down to it, I really love composing blog post and especially ones about my lovely home! However, against my wishes, money doesn't grow on trees and this economy has been rough on my job/salary situation. Therefore, I have to take a break from working on my house and save some money for the next project. But rather than take a break from posting I thought I would start a new blog feature, I am calling it "Dreaming." Each week or when the mood strikes me, I will post about interior decorating or home renovations I am dreaming of completing. Because let's face it I really have mentally decorated/renovation every nook of my little home. I know... I am a nerd like that and I like it! :)

Since we last left off in the living room, I thought the first Dreaming post should be about finishing that space. Having just tiled the fireplace surround, purchased a new couch & ottoman, and moved the tv to the fireplace wall, the right side of the room is pretty much bliss. The wall to the left, however, is not, its bare, its nakey actually. So this is my plans for it...

To start I would love to add a functional but beautiful sidebar/buffet like this one from Overstock.com:
I would keep all of our wine glasses, bar accessories, wine and liquor in this cabinet to free up some space in the kitchen cabinets. It would be nice to serve drinks at this buffet and hors devours on top. Since I don't have a mantel to decorate this Christmas, I would be able to use the top of this buffet as another decorating surface. :)

On the wall above the sidebar, I would pull inspiration from this picture (crate&barrel) below to create a photography feature with six frames.

I really like these frames from Target in the 18" x 18" size, we are talking big, drama, so lovely! The frames come in dark espresso wood to match the sidebar with a crisp, white mat to frame a black and white photograph.
Here is a side view of the frames in both the espresso color and cherry color:
For the actual photographs, I have a collection of black and white pictures from every city, Craig and I have travel to that would look awesome with a thick 4" white mat border. I would probably get the pictures printed at Kinko's at a 14" x 14" size. Kinko's is much cheaper than say, Shutterfly, and it doesn't matter that the images wouldn't be glossy since there will be glass over the prints. So far, Craig and I have been to

Wilmington:
Chicago:
and New York City:
I plan on taking a picture of the Shimmer Wall and surround buildings in Downtown Raleigh and hope to get a nice shot of New Orleans when we visit at Thanksgiving. We have also been to Atlanta and Asheville together but I didn't get a similar picture from those trips. I kind of like the industrial feel of the buildings so leaves wouldn't really cut it. I hope to replace the Wilmington picture with a new trip picture some day too. With those images, I am left with one more available frame... hmm..... where to go? Suggestions?

Thanks for dreaming with me. Do you enjoy these kinds of posts? Can you visualize my sidebar & photography collection?