Basket case...

Effff.....You guys I was so determined to stay on a good post schedule, and literally fell off the wagon one week into it. Regardless, I'm going to give it another go this week...Happy Monday all!
Painted baskets, are not a new idea. In fact, I remember growing up my grandmother used to paint flowers and things on baskets. Lately I've been seeing this idea resurface on Pinterest, in a more modern way. No flowers today, but clean lines and geometric shapes instead. 

The other morning, I was bored but stuck at home while my oil was being changed at the auto shop, so I grabbed a couple of baskets I had in storage, acrylic and spray paint I already had on hand, and my little stash of old paint brushes and got busy. These are the two I started with (I didn't want to use any really good baskets, in case it didn't go so well):

I wanted the first one to look truly hand painted, nothing perfect, with a simple design:

The second one, I taped off and sprayed with a gold metallic spray paint:

Now they serve a great little corral for the hundreds of kids books and toys, Race's little brothers leave around our house. 

So there you have it, a simple, possibly super boring to you project that took less than 30 minutes. What about you guys? What do you do on those boring Tuesday's when you're stuck at home? Go on, share.

Stacked high...

One question I've been asked a lot over the years by family and friends, is how to style a coffee table. This is a tough one, because you want it to have depth, be interesting, yet you don't want your eye to stop there, you want it to keep moving throughout the space. My favorite answer: books. Books are fantastic design pieces. They add the aforementioned depth and interest, plus you can really use coffee table books to give your room personality, and reflect your family's personality. Design can become stale and anonymous, if you don't add your own love into it, and what better ways than beautiful books that you love, and reflect your interests.

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What about you guys? What's your favorite design element for your coffee table?

Fun playroom...

Playrooms are by far my favorite rooms to dream about. You can do so much with them in today's world, with miniature hermes chairs and little ghost chairs, things are really looking up for the playrooms of the future. When my friend Leesa (yes, we are basically designing her entire house this month...no I'm not kidding), who you might remember from here, here, and here, asked me to whip up a mood board for her new playroom/family hang out space I was of course ecstatic. She wanted a space where her, her husband, and her little one, Charlotte, along with Charlotte's two older cousins (3 and 4 years old) who Leesa watches while their mom is at work during the day could hang out together. A place to play games, storage for their many, many books, and a small art table...Done, done, and done.

This green sofa is one of my favorites from Ikea right now, the Stockholm. I want to buy it and hoard it for our next house so hard. It's great for kids because it's slip covered, so the first time paint, food, or let's face it poop get on their it's as easy as ripping it off and throwing it in the washer. The family wanted a place to play games, so I thought a small round pedestal cocktail table  instead of a traditional coffee table would be perfect, and by adding two children sized ash chairs (that I'm slightly obsessed with) they can easily sit 4 or 5 around the table. I'm loving these tree bookcases that are now everywhere. This is the "Knowledge Tree Bookcase" made by Poshtots, and the color is so fantastic. This will easily hold all of their books, and I added three little mushroom poufs (that I've been obsessed with since I saw Genevieve Gorder use them here). I threw in the Pkolino art table and benches from Nordstroms, and a fun black and white striped tent for playtime. I finished the space with some fun art, throw pillows, and again my go to Zgallerie rug (those hide rugs are great for kids, because they clean up easily). 

Black rug
zgallerie.com

Teal accent pillow
zincdoor.com

Throw pillow
lampsplus.com

Eichholtz black and white throw pillow
$170 - occa-home.co.uk

CB2 throw pillow
cb2.com

Knowledge Tree Bookcase in Green
poshtots.com

Fritz Hansen Série 7 Children's chair - Stained ash
$660 - madeindesign.co.uk

P'kolino Art Table & Benches (Toddler) Blue One Size
nordstrom.com

STOCKHOLM
ikea.com

A Teepee to Call Your Own (Black Stripe)
landofnod.com

Anne-Claire Petit Apple Mushroom Crochet Pouf - 40 x 35cm

Anne-Claire Petit Yellow Mushroom Crochet Pouf - 40 x 35cm

Anne-Claire Petit Mandarin Mushroom Crochet Pouf - 40 x 35cm

So there you have it, a fun simple playspace that the adults can enjoy too. How about you guys? Whats you're favorite room to design/decorate/style? Go on, spill.

Beau-coup

Beau-coup is not only one of my sponsors, but also a fantastic resource for all things babyshower/birthdays/weddings/etc. They sell everything from invitations to favors. Check it out:

Yup, now go shop...just click on the Beau-coup ad on the right, and let's get this party started...

A Functional Guest Room for Leesa...

Happy Monday all! First of all thanks for all your kind words about my last E-design. I'm always a little nervous sharing my work with the world. I'm not a big fan of being judged, and I think one of the reasons it's taken me so long to start this little business, is because of fear...Fear of other's not liking my work, so I appreciate your kindness.....Now onto today's business:
When my good friend, Leesa decided to turn her mostly-used-as-storage spare room into a functioning guest room, she asked for my help to make the best use of the small space. All she had was a gorgeous vintage oak dresser. This is what we came up with:

The gorgeous upholstered gray bed was the splurge for this room, and adds so much sophistication to the space. I chose white bedding. I love white bedding, but in a space that is used daily, it's just not practical, because you'd probably have to wash it daily. In a space that is only used occasionally, however, it's a nice luxury. She wanted a spot for her guests to sit (just enough room to sit comfortably while putting on their shoes) but there is no room in this small space for a large chair, so we added the two tufted, green ottomans at the end of the bed. She also wanted a place for a small desk, but this 12 x 12 room wasn't really having it.  Instead of two nightstands, I added a small white writing desk with brass hardware on one side of the bed (it can be used both as a nightstand and a writing space...holla) and a gorgeous gold side table to the other. The rest was just making the space comfortable, with a lot of gorgeous $10 pillows from World Market, and a cozy teal throw, along with my favorite Z Gallerie rug to soften the hard wooden floors. The desk chair reflects her gorgeous oak dresser perfectly, adding the weight and cohesion the room desperately needed.

Teal table lamp
lampsplus.com

Chocolate brown rug
zgallerie.com

Teal throw

Wall art
zgallerie.com

West Elm gold throw pillow
westelm.com

World Market throw pillow
worldmarket.com

World Market teal home decor
worldmarket.com

Bought at Nebraska Furniture Mart for about a third of this price, but if you aren't local and like it you can also find it here:
Upholstered bed frame
roomandboard.com

Redford House midcentury furniture
mytwodesigners.com

OKA wooden kitchen chair
okadirect.com

Ottoman
lampsplus.com

So what do you think? Are you over my green and teal obsession? Do tell...