My New Pillow

This is my new pillow. I chose the yellow stripe fabric then matched it with a softer yellow velvet back to make it look sunnier and less of a mustard colour. I could have simply purchased one from the dozens of options at the store, but where is the fun in that?! I am quite happy with the results, even more so that I though. The pillow is sitting on a black chair that I will get reupholstered when I have the time and funds to do so. Now I have two lovely pillows in my living room and an itch for more. As it turns out, pretty pillows are an addiction. That was very predictable, wasn't it?.

Dressing up a Table

Ok, it's time to reveal my Martha Stewart side. To be fair, I am not very crafty at all. I cannot sew a button to save my life and five-year-olds cut straighter lines into paper than I do. Where my creative side does kick in is when it comes to decorating for the holidays. While my favourite holiday is definitely Christmas (by far. I'm Mrs. Claus. Nice to meet you.), I do look forward to hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a large number of people every year. I may not be grown-up enough to own a set of 12 matching plates or two identical forks for that matter (yet! I'm working on it...), we manage to dress a table fairly nicely based on what we have. Inspiration for this year posted below.

I like the idea of wrapping silverware with a rustic little rope. Seems appropriate for Thanksgiving.

I am thinking of ordering these napkins for this year but worry that they may not arrive on time. They are from EmersonMade, a company worth checking out. Nice table runners too.

Moooi Lolita Lights

Beautiful. That is what Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers' Netherlands company "Moooi" translated to from its native Dutch language. And it also translates to these gorgeous lamps in any language if you ask me. The Design Sponge wrote about these Lolita lights a few weeks ago (yes, The Design Sponge again... I apologize for the redundancy but I have a lot of blogging catching up to do!) and I have been thinking about these ever since, with photos of them carefully stored on my desktop, as if it would be possible to forget. I want the stamp-up lamp, in that fabulous greyish-lavender colour. I know exactly where I would put it. However, I know that I can never have one. Not because of the price though. At over 800$, they are definitely waaay above my budget but, unfortunately, that often doesn't seem to stop me from flashing my visa card around in stores where I shouldn't even dare to enter to begin with. It is the fact that they are too girly for our already feminine decor that will put an end to my daydreams of Lolita lamps. Its very name screams girly and I should have taken the hint and avoided the entire post altogether but I didn't and now I am dying to buy one of these... But I promised to tone it down. Why did I ever do that?!

The Making of a Store

Just as I was discussing the possibility of opening a boutique with my favourite person this week, I came across this post from Design Sponge. I have seen a few restaurant spaces get built over the past few years but haven't witnessed the opening of a store so this sneak peak is really interesting, not to mention quite the coincidence. While this boutique is mainly focused on flowers, I enjoyed how these girls turned an empty white space into a beautiful shop!

Thornback And Peel

I have posted photos of my frames before I'm sure. They hang on the wall in the entrance to my kitchen. These beautiful tea towels were given to me by my best friend and were designed by London duo Juliet Thornback and Delia Peel. Their quirky products, including t-shirts, aprons, cushions and chairs are handmade and look fun on walls, tables and people too!

The Waiting Game

How do interior decorators do it? Patience, patience and more patience! I am coming to the realization that in the decorating business, everything is slowed down. It is almost as if time stops. An idea is born when you start thinking about changing a thing or two in, say, your dining room or when you are approached by someone in need of advice. Then, you go to the furniture or (in my case) the fabric store, where you choose a few patterns and order samples of your favourite ones. 8 WEEKS LATER, you are still waiting on some of them. Where are they? How come it takes sooooo long?! Finally, they arrive. You look, you think, you choose. Great! You are ready to order your new pattern. 8 WEEKS LATER, they arrive (if you are lucky, sometimes longer...). The next step is to take your piece of furniture and your fabric to the upholsterer. 8 WEEKS LATER, they are ready to take home. They may tell you 4 to 6 weeks but don't listen to them. It's always at least 8.

During the process of this waiting game, you are thinking about other colours and items that could use a facelift in you dining room but really, you would like your chairs to be in the room in order to visualize the entire space as it will be. Patience! In a world where you can get anything, and I really mean anything delivered from Amazon or any other online monster in 24 hours or less, why the hell has the decorating world not caught up?! This is 2010! How come it takes sooooo long?!?!

Four years ago, I had a couch custom made. I waited for it for what felt like a year. It wasn't quite that long but it was long enough that I went into the store one day and started yelling at the poor salesman like a crazy person. (I'm sorry Derek from Yaletown Sofa, wherever you are....!) As it turned out, the couch was ready but the fabric was backordered. Of course...

I can't imagine working in one of these stores for a living, having to apologize to every impatient customer, putting out fires here and there and also, most importantly, trying to explain to angry, puzzled clients HOW COME IT TAKES SOOOOO LONG!?!!!?!! If one day, I get an honest answer from someone, I will let you know.

Hello!

Apologies on a very lame month of August. The reason why I have been so busy is photographed above. I am enjoying (almost) every moment though! My computer desktop in covered in saved images from these past few weeks and in desperate need of a good sorting through. I plan on being more disciplined in the near future and look forward to catching up on decorating ideas and inspirations...