A view from my window - land Iguana

Inspiration can come from just about anywhere, even from a land Iguana! This picture was taken by my dad on a recent trip to the Galapogos Islands.




House Beautiful Magazine 
You know me, I love a white kitchen, and this La Cornue Range is amazing!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
Leah

Agate Wall (Art)

I recently saw this picture of a bathroom by DKOR Interiors, and I think it is absolutely stunning!
The visual impact of the blue agate wall is so striking, especially paired with the minimalism of the rest of the white and brown bathroom. I love the mix of sleek modern furnishings and the natural elements of the agate and wood floor and walls. The agate wall is an Alex Turco waterproof art panel, that is specifically designed for spaces in contact with water, and any area exposed to extreme weather conditions, including outdoors. So amazing!

Here are two more Alex Turco waterproof art panels that I think are simply beautiful!

If you like the look, but an Alex Turco art panel is not feasible, you could easily make your own agate art panel! You could get a large scale poster of agate, like this print from Fine Art America:
or simply paper, such as these marbled papers from imagiart:
and frame it (as is or blow it up bigger) in an acrylic frame like these from Bumblejaxto achieve that seamless look, it would be simply beautiful!

Also, check out these amazing agate photos from Captain Tenneal, a ‘Rocktographer’.

xoxo,
Leah
ps -  I don't recommend putting your DIY agate art panel inside your shower or outside in the elements. 


Playroom - feature wall

I am in the process of turning a room in our house into the kid's playroom. I was originally thinking I would paint the room a medium toned gray color (Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170) and have white furniture, such as book cases and storage shelves. This would create a neutral background for all the kid's colorful toys. I was also going to use the kid's own artwork as the art for the room, kind of a gallery look.
                                                  
I painted the room Stongington Gray. While I love the color, the room needs a little something extra to make it feel more lively. So now I am thinking of different options to spruce it up a bit. I love the look of horizontal stripes on a wall, so I thought of adding some white stripes on the gray background, like this:


Or like this, leaving the bottom portion grey and only doing stripes above the center line:
But then I started looking at wall murals. I am actually undecided about whether I love wall murals or if I think they are kitschy, but perhaps for a playroom, they are just the right thing! Here are a few I am considering for one wall in the playroom. I can just hear the games/imaginative play these murals could inspire: 

1. Let's play hide and go seek!

2. We're going on a bear hunt. (I love the sunlight shining through the trees)

3. Do you want to go for a swim?
4. Where shall we go today?
5. Want to go for a ride?

6. Did you get the moon rocks, or should I?
The ideas are endless with these wall murals! It is so much fun considering all of these. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

xoxo,
Leah




A view from my window - Yellow and Gray

Inspiration can come from just about anywhere, even a yellow warbler! This picture was taken by my dad on a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands!
The yellow and gray color scheme seems to be everywhere these days, perhaps because it is such a nice mix of an interesting neutral (gray) with a bright pop of color (yellow) and can work in just about any design style. 

Here are a few yellow and gray rooms inspired by this amazing picture of the yellow warbler.










Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
Leah

Windows - steel frame windows

A few months ago I saw this picture of a foyer by Steven Gambrel and thought it was simply beautiful.
I kept thinking about this picture, it is a look I know and love (muted tones, uncluttered, serene, elegant), yet there is also something unique about it, the steel frame windows. I started to look for pictures of this type of window, and noticed that rooms with this architectural detail look sophisticated and polished, in an understated way. What I like about steel frame windows is that they are subtle yet have a lot of impact, they allow a lot of light to shine through (the frames tend to be slim), they help to create an indoor/outdoor living feel and they really highlight the window. They also work in different design styles, such as traditional, modern, eclectic, transitional etc... 

While I love the look of these windows just about anywhere in a house, steel frame windows in a white kitchen would look stunning, it would add a lot of interest in a subtle way. Have a look at these inspiration photos.









Atlanta Homes Magazine
I am smitten, I love this look! In lieu of replacing all existing windows, painting the window frames black or dark gray and the trim around the window white, would achieve the look!

Would you try steel frame windows (or re-create the look of steel frame windows) in your house? 

xoxo,
Leah

Colors - Pantone Fashion Color Report Fall 2012

Fall seems to be very quickly approaching! In that vain, I wanted to tell you about Pantone's top 10 fashion colors for Fall 2012, (twice a year Pantone reports on color trends based on the New York runway fashion shows). There certainly are parallels between colors that are in style for fashion and colors that are in style for interior design, meaning colors you see in new fabrics and items found in home furnishing stores. If you are thinking about re-doing a room, or even if you just want to update a room, the color report has some nice neutrals and some fun bright colors you may like to consider.
I wanted to show you how to use these Pantone colors (or any other color(s) you like), to decorate your house with affordable, original art. Art is very individual, so my goal here is to just give you some ideas. I grouped the Pantone colors by two, using the colors as presented above, one on top of the other, because I like that there is one neutral and one bright color in each color combination. However, you could certainly mix and match these anyway you like! One of my favorite websites for original art work is Etsy, where all the images below are from. 

French Roast and Bright Chartreuse



Honey Gold and Olympian Blue



Pink Flambe and Titanium
 

Tangerine Tango and Rhapsody


                        

Ultramarine Green and Rose Smoke

So there you have it, new color schemes and fresh art ideas for your house.

xoxo,
Leah