Friday Favorite: Ginger Jars

Friday is here and even though it's only 15 degrees, the sun is still shinning! Here's a great way to freshen up your home interior for spring, blue and white ginger jars...

Who knew Williams Sonoma had a Home Department - I always thought they were all about the kitchen! Check out those massive ginger jar urns:

Group different sizes and patterns together:

Or use them as flower vases for an extra pop of color:

And if you only have one or two pieces, it can still make a pretty big statement on it's own:

I am on the lookout for some unique ginger jars to bring spring into my living room!

Color Crush: Bold Blues

My current color obsession is a variation of bold blues with pretty pinks. Check out these beautifully decorated rooms - so inspired right now...

I need these Asian inspired candle holders!

If only I had more rooms in my condo, one would be painted navy - no doubt.

Add a pop of color with fresh flowers.

 Mix multiple blues together for a less traditional and more eclectic feel.

 

Add easily interchangeable accessories to brighten up a room - pink lamps with blue vases and pillows!

Add some drama with gold accents.

Navy and white walls - so classic with a bit of fancy.

Pillow inspiration: 

 Sticking with my Chinese-inspired Chinoiserie theme, here are some ideas I found. 

Just love bold blues with pretty pinks!

Doesn't this make you want the warm weather of spring to arrive - right now!?

Paints and Pillows

This weekend was a busy weekend for my mom and I. We had multiple missions we wanted to accomplish - two goals: paints and pillows! We started off with an early morning paint class, where we learned all about the differences between Chalk Paint and Milk Paint. It was a fun morning with my partner-in-design :)

These were our materials: paint brushes, 400-grit sandpaper, a piece of plain unfinished wood, cotton cloths and a chart of the available Chalk Paint colors. This paint is super easy to work with - no prepping of the original surface, be it wood, metal, ceramic, plastic etc. You don't like the first color you chose to paint with - paint over it! 

It's just that easy! 

We were provided with 3 Chalk Paint colors - French Linen (which you can partly see above), Paris Grey & Duck Egg Blue along with light and dark wax. 

 Here is the start to my painting. I began using French Linen but ended up playing around and mixing up all 3 colors (which was way more fun!).

Here you can see my board after I distressed it some with the sandpaper and then waxed it for a smooth finish. I used the light wax all over and the darker wax in the crevices. The nice thing with the Chalk Paint is, you don't necessarily have to wax it. Waxing it will give the piece a smooth feel and protect it from water and scratches - leaving it without wax will give it a more 'chalky' appearance (given the name). 

Finished Chalk Paint - Smile for a close up!

Showing my mom's board (top) compared to my own, since she used a little more Duck Egg Blue. Also in this picture at the top is the Chalk Paint Brush (round size small). These brushes are a little more pricey compared to a normal paint brush - but totally worth it, especially if you are painting a larger piece.

 Next we worked with Milk Paint. This paint works more like a stain and can be used on finished or unfinished wood surfaces. The nice thing is, it doesn't require PREP WORK on the original wood surface either! 

We had two colors to work with - Kitchen Scale (shown above) and Luckette Green. This paint comes in a bag, as a powder that you have to mix - 1 part water to 1 part paint. Just make sure to mix enough paint to cover your piece but not TOO much - you don't want to have to toss it. Who likes to throw dolla dolla bills down the drain? I think no one! 

My board painted with a mix of both colors. 

My board after I distressed it! I really liked the way this paint turned out, even more than I thought I would. It keeps the integrity of the wood grain, which is super interesting. But I like the look of the Chalk Paint better and I'm more of a 'let's save time and keep it simple user'. So the Chalk Paint is more up my alley - no mixing required! 

The second part of the weekend revolved around PILLOWS! I'm dying to add more color to my living room and the easiest, cheapest and fastest way I thought would be with pillows. I have been obsessing over these bright prints from F. Schumacher: 

From bottom left-hand corner moving clockwise: 

1. Modern Damask Print; Colors: Gray and Fuchsia

2. Chinoiserie Print (discussed below)

3. Chinoiserie, Retro Chinz; Colors: Gray and Fuchsia

4. Modern Floral Chinz; Colors: Rouge, Grays and Greens

My favorite is this stylized Chinoiserie print with traditional Chinese-inspired motifs. This print is a contemporary style of a floral fabric with a dramatic pop of color. Even though it shows peonies, lotuses and magnolia flowers (there's even a peacock in there!) - it's not OVERLY feminine.  Which is what I like, since my sofa is a bit on the feminine side.

With these ideas and styles in mind, my mom and I ventured out to find something similar and less expensive. 

I found this very similar Asian-inspired dragon fabric but I wasn't feelin' the baby blue. Just got rid of it from my room, REMEMBER!

I spied this Cherry Blossom print that I actually really liked. But I still wanted something more interesting and less floral. 

I really enjoyed these other asian-inspired prints but I didn't think they would convey on pillows as well. I wouldn't be able to fit the most exciting part of the prints onto the front a pillow. 

This was definitely one of my favorites from the day. I absolutely love the floral design and the solid navy background. Love me some navy - very rich and timeless!

After searching high and low, I figured out I was leaning towards colors in the blue and pink family - think navy and fuchsia. Below is a sampling we pulled - not exactly the perfect designs or patterns but this is similar to the vision in my head. 

Even though we didn't find exactly what I was looking for, I think I'm on the right path now! I definitely would like a Chinese-inspired Chinoiserie or a French Toile as the main pillows and a striking patterned pillow to add flare. 

The search continues... 

And look what came in the mail yesterday!! Check out that cover - blues and pinks...

I think my mom and I feel legit! 

The Side Kicks

Warning - this is a bit of a longer post - but I just had so much to share! 

With my two essential pieces of living room furniture set up (a place for my TV and a place to sit and watch it), it was time to add the side kicks. I again did a lot of investigating online - I knew I wanted more seating and tables that functioned around the additional seating. This was my list:

1. Fancy chair
2. Large patterned chair with an ottoman (optional)
3. Large coffee table on wheels
4. Small cocktail table

While I did my search, I certainly found a lot of things that I would have LOVED to purchase. But I was also trying to be realistic with my spending... Here are some of the things I loved and the substitutes I chose:

Fancy Chair Splurge: This chair I saw in Crate and Barrel - loved the color of the leather and the nail head detail. This leather PRICEY stud (almost as expensive as some of the couches I was looking at) was the reason I decided to look for a comparable gray leather chair. This is my substitute: 

Fancy Chair Purchase: This chair is a very similar gray leather and also has the great nail head detail along the bottom! It is also a bit bigger than the C&B chair which is nice for guests. I found this gem at West Elm during a sale. 

Large Patterned Chair Issue: To be honest, I had a really hard time trying to find a patterned chair that I could not live without. I wanted a fun pattern to mix it up with my pearl colored sofa and gray leather chair. But I didn't want to just pick any pattern - what if I got bored with it quickly? So without a pattern I was crazy about, I decided it might be a better idea to pick a solid color chair. This way I won't get bored with the pattern and can just swap some pillows for an easy and cheap way to make the chair new and interesting again!

Large Not-So Patterned Chair Purchase: I found this gem at World Market. WM has the most interesting pieces with some real unique flare! This chair was a steal and I loved the Atlantic Blue color along with the spindle legs. 

Coffee Table on Wheels Purchase: Tables on wheels seem to be everywhere and they certainly make vacuuming a sinch!  

I'm not gonna lie and say that this table was a steal... I did get it on sale though! It's a great size for my place and goes nicely with the rest of my furniture. I wanted something that had space for more storage but something that wasn't too bulky. And this table is perfect for that - now I just need to find some sort of box/basket to put on the bottom shelf that is functional but also interesting to look at. I already have some ideas!

Small Cocktail Table Splurge: I saw this cocktail table in a picture online without any details on who makes it, where to find it etc. I surfed the web high and low for this little guy and FINALLY found it after a few days. To my dismay, it was WAY too expensive, like 'same price as my coffee table on wheels' expensive... tear.

 Small Cocktail Table Purchase: I could not be happier with this substitute cocktail table I found. It has an interesting industrial design to it with accordion-style iron legs and clawed feet. Not to mention, this table was less than 1/4th of the cost of the splurge table above. And it looks wonderful sitting next to my gray leather chair - all sophisticated in the corner!

Here are some pictures of the pieces all together in my living room:

Fancy Gray Leather Chair Collage

Large Not-So-Patterned Chair Collage

Coffee Table On Wheels Collage

Small Cocktail Table Collage

All together now:

Left Side of the Living Room

Right Side of the Living Room

This picture is a bit dark - these winter months have not been very cooperative with the natural sun light!! But this gives you an idea of the total layout of my Living Room.