What to put on it??

Now that you have the coffee table’s shape and color all figured out… your next thought is probably ‘what should I put on it??’

Here are some ideas for you:

If it’s a designer one of a kind piece that instantaneously does the job of being the eye catching focal point of the room I’d say just keep it at minimum or leave it without just the way it is… often times you wouldn’t wanna spoil an original sculpted art piece by hiding it under all those accessories! … Cases in point:

But of course there are tons of coffee tables you can show off your accessorizing skills with.. and here is a quick guideline:

You can never go wrong with books!

Add some fresh flowers..

Who said you should only have one coffee table? Arranging side by side smaller tables could look very stylish!

Make sure you play with slightly different heights

Unusual and exotic collections from your travels..

Use a tray on your upholstered coffee table/Ottoman..

A fun decorating way with the kids in mind..

aaand most importantly do not clutter! You still need to leave some space for your guest’s coffee cup!

[Images via: 1. Stalac coffee table - The Practice of Everyday Design, 2. Bobby Berk Home, 3. Nuevo Estilo, 4. Decorpad, 5. Decorology, 6. Decorpad, 7. Decorpad, 8. Decorpad, 9. Decorpad, 10. Searlate Furniture Group - HGTV, 11. Aimee Kim, 12. Nicole Sassaman, 13. Ron Marvin, 14. Annie Selke - Design Esquire, 15. Max & Co - Decorpad, 16. Viva Terra - HGTV, 17. Decorpad, 18. Decorpad, 19. Desire to Inspire, 20. House Beautiful, 21. House Beautiful, 22. Country Living, 23. Colour + Sound]

Coffee tables..

[Image via: Country Living]

Dazzle your guests and give your living room that extra pop of style with an eye catching unusual coffee table. Whether you have a soft spot for flashy colors or like things neutral and earthy, there are countless designs out there and even recycling and DIY ideas you could use for an easy living room makeover that goes a long way!

[De Santis Hand Painted Coffee Table - Pottery Barn]

[Image via: Living etc]

[Nusa - Home Portfolio]

[Graham & Green]

And then some..

[Images via: 1. Silas Seandel Studio - Home Portfolio, 2. Grain of Thought - Home Portfolio, 3. DellaRobbia - Home Portfolio, 4. ?, 5. Bedzine, 6. Promition - Weylandts, 7. Lorna Lee John Muller, 8. Copper & Nickel Plated - Weylandts, 9. Koji Collection - Home Portfolio, 10. Egg Shaped - Weylandts, 11. Pirouette - Weylandts, 12. Lazerian's Mensa, 13. Teak Root - Weylandts, 14. Caressa - Weylandts, 15. The Sternum - David Ebner]

Faves of the day!

Even stunning would be an understatement! The painted out old architecture and the bright orange designer lamp = DYNAMIIIIITE!!

[Photo credit: Annie Schlechter]

Sleepy elegance..

[Photo credit: Richard Powers]

It’s laundry time!

My Sunday morning laundry plans are putting me in the mood for new ideas for laundry room organization. I think the laundry room is just as important as any other room in the house and including it in your design projects could actually make the chore a little easier. Okay I know it could be challenging if you barely have enough bedrooms in the house, but you see the good thing about laundry rooms is that you don’t really need that much space… even a “laundry corner” would do with the right organization cuz you can make use of your wall space and move vertically… it’s one of those times you should calculate wall space into your square footage!

Anyway… starting off with a place for everything and everything in its place kinda plan through the right utilization of storage space and options, adding some natural sunlight, an inviting cohesive color palette, and some decorating touches you can really take your laundry space a long way and turn a boring “unprocrastinable” task into an enjoyable breezy experience.. here is how:

Starting our review with the smaller spaces.. you can fit a cute laundry space in your sunny attic!

A built in in a low traffic area

Or behind sliding doors in the kitchen..

Make it a part of another room.. perhaps a sharing arrangement with your home office/craft room?

or the hallway to the backyard..

But if possible, unleash your creativity in a designated room!

This one below is my all time favorite… I just love the functionality, the ample storage space in the built-in cabinets and just the perfect pieces of accessories!

Another modern and functional space..

Plenty of storage and gorgeous stainless steel backsplash

A little more laid back design with the pretty wallpaper..

A little on the country side with a lot of folding space..

More storage..

No one needs to know there is a washer in there! Great for dual purpose rooms..

[Images via: 1. Country Home, 2. Domino, 3. eHomee, 4. Furnishism, 5. Material Girls, 6&7. Hampton Design, 8. Decorpad, 9. Decorpad, 10. Material Girls, 11. LemonAnnie, 12. HGTV's 2009 Dream Home, 13. Hard Hat & Heels]

Fotofun!

[Image via: A Life's Design]

What’s better than spicing up your walls a little with creative display of your favorite, most natural, most personal art pieces: your family photos??

Old or new, formal portraits or snapshots.. family photos can really add that personal touch to your space while making your family’s favorite memories and experiences, and the smiles of those nearest and dearest to you a part of your everyday…

My personal favorite way involves careless mixing and matching and layering of different frames and different time.. on the wall and on the floor…  Like your other art pieces, you have to stick to no rules displaying your photos.. just be happy reliving the captured moments and let your creativity lead the way!

I hope these give you some inspiration..

[Image via: Canadian House & Home, image credit to Room & Board]

[Image via: the lovely photography blog Janna Beecher - Original Domino]

[Image via: Martha Stewart]

[Image credit to Laura Novak - Design Aglow]

[Image via: Pottery Barn]

[Image via: A Life's Design]

[Image via: Desire to Inspire]

[Image via: Pottery Barn]

[Image via: Remodelista]

Vastu

Vastu is a DC-based eco-friendly committed design house I stumbled upon a coupla days ago. They’re the type of people who design spaces from a simple urban/contemporary perspective..I love how the rooms feel easy and breezy but center around sophisticated twists of bold art that makes them feel so real and personalized.

Starting off with some living rooms..

Bedrooms..

Staircase..

Library..

Office

Backsplashin’!

A backsplash is a small but often times the most important element in designing a kitchen. It’s the one ingredient that ties the whole space together and takes it to the next level of classic elegance, hip, shabby chic… whatever you want your kitchen to be!

Some of my favorite picks..

[image via GrayGlass]

[image via: Lofts Boston]

[image via: Home Portfolio]

[image via: Decorpad]

[image via: Decorpad]

[image via: Decorpad]

[image via: Country Living]

[image via: Akril]

Chair of the day: Etel’s Esfera

Designed by the Brazilian Etel, this chair is a truly unusual show stopper in the furniture world!

I’d definitely love to see it paired up with an Acro floor lamp at the end of a comfy modern sectional against a floor to ceiling window..

[image via Desire to Inspire]

On the other extreme I think this chair could look just as phenomenally handsome in an elegantly cluttered eclectic space against a french tufted sofa like this one..

Or a laid back super comfy living room..

[Image via: Double Happy]

Living big in small spaces..

Featured in Style at Home, this historic Toronto building 730 sq. ft loft was given a sophisticated urban facelift by Jessica Kelly Design! I absolutely love how despite its tininess this apartment doesn’t feel cramped at all.. The color palette, the exposed brick, and natural lighting = top notch homy elegance!

Great outdoors

It’s officially summer time! .. and for those of you in better weather climates (it’s over a 100 degrees out here!!) summer equals time for outdoor lunches and dinner parties.. Yaaaay! I hope you enjoy the season with these simple but stunning ambiance creation ideas by Cox & Cox..

First off, here is an easy any day DIY outdoor lighting solution for your garden. All you need is fire-retardant paper lantern bags (available in this pretty star punched design at Cox & Cox), some gravel to weigh them down and tea lights ..

Or fly your lanterns up in the sky with these charms… Just light the paper at the bottom of these amazing outdoor paper flying lanterns and watch them soar into the sky (Great for wedding parties!)

Enjoy your outdoor meals without being interrupted by the mossies with these delicate little terracotta pots. They contain citronella wax candles that provide a pretty light while keeping mosquitos away!

You can now store the morning sunlight in a jar so you can use it at night with this great solar-powered jar lamp that comes with a solar cell, a battery and LED lights. It’s waterproof and, once charged, remains lit for 5 hours!

More elegant ideas to lighten and brighten up your trees:

and lastly, keep your tablecloth in place by attaching these exclusive, twinkling glass droplets to its corners.. (I know this one’s nothing to do with lighting but I just couldn’t resist!!)

Enchantment

More enchantment..

A series of my lala land indulgence moments.. the type of things you’ll find on my inspiration board…

An emerald green dress

Cherry blossoms

Bright yellow chairs

Yummy funnel cakes at county fairs..

Standing on tiptoes..

Styled bites

[Images via: 1, 2, 3, 4, ?, 6]

Art Display

Nothing really reflects your taste and personality in the design of your space like the art pieces you pick… Just like you don’t have to follow any rules or please anybody when choosing them, I don’t think you should stick to any particular way displaying them.. Just have fun showing off your art whatever way you like!

[via Flickr... Original source unknown.. plz text me if you know it!]

[Magnus Selander via Desire to Inspire]

[via Style Files]

[via Desire to Inspire]

[via UKTV Home]

[via Design Sprout]

A Lesson in Geography!

[via Home Rejuvenation]

Decorating your walls with maps… Love’em? Don’t think so??

I think they’re a great way depending on the theme of the overall room… Maps would look particularly great in eclectic designs alongside the combination of modern and antique pieces…. and super cool in family rooms, or the dining area in the kitchen, especially if you have kids.. A fun way to have them learn and remember their geography isn’t it?

Here are some of my favorite picks for you:

I love how this one looks in the dining room.  Cozy and classy!

[via Cote de Texas]

[Jim Franco via Desire to Inspire]

[via Photobucket]

[Elle Decor]

This one below actually is the map of Beirut carved on gypsum… amazing ha?

[via Architectural Digest]

And I like that this one is a chalkboard at the same time.. hence double the learning advantage!

[via Calfinder]

Etsy digs: wall decals

Aren’t these adorable?

First row: 1. Simple Shapes $18.99, 2. Style Walls $89, 3. Style Walls $44

Second row: 4. Designed Designer $67, 5. Tweet Heart $15, 6. Byrdie Graphics $38

Third row: 7. Designed Designer $86, 8. Style Walls $25, 9. Simple Shapes $35.99

Amy Butler

Okay… I couldn’t resist the temptation! Being a huge fan of her and her team’s super talented and creative work, I had to give Amy Butler her own post.. To me personally, Amy Butler is one of the most inspiring artists! I love her passion for her art and how it so effortlessly comes out and is clearly felt through her bold designs.. She has you covered from paper cards to area rugs to bedding to wallpapers and everything in between… anything you can design with color and pattern. That type of refreshing design that’ll make you happy just looking at at!

So… picking up where we left off here are more gorgeous area rug designs.. All her rugs are handcrafted and made of the hand-tufted and dyed 100% New Zealand wool..

Moving to Amy Butler’s 100% organic bedding.. these stunning collections are designed to layer print on print to make a statement with low-impact dyes and come with 400 thread count sheets.

On to Amy’s adorable and stylish every day fashion bags:

Impress your guests with dazzling and colorful tableware.. and perhaps even match the colors of the food on the menu a little?

+ some great gift-wrap for all occasions:

Paper crafts & Desktop collection:

and adding some more inspiration…

You can find all of these and sooo much more here..