a n h - m i n h . c o m

We have a stool, which was used for the kitchen peninsula in our old house, that needed a new place to live in the current house. I placed it in the closet so that Jon would have a place to sit and put on his shoes. But apparently, he is very possessive of this stool and would reprimand me every time I moved it over to my side of the closet. So obviously, I needed my own seat:

I pulled this chair out of our guest bedroom (which I'm hoping to update soon/rid of the black and white motif). It was an inexpensive piece that Elizabeth was kind enough to pick up for me last year at the Alameda flea market. I spraypainted it black and found the cream cushion at the Secondhand Sunset booth for $2. The cushion covered in Manual Canovas' "Misia" print is an Ebay purchase.

And I just couldn't resist photographing the chair with one of my favorite heels. I love the contrast between the grey patent and the pink interior lining.

Posted at 07:01 PM | Link | Comments (4)

A few weeks ago, I started the process of transforming a sad little closet downstairs into a gift-wrap space. This is what it looked like before I cleaned it up:

And here is the after:

Continue reading "That's a Wrap" »

Posted at 08:56 AM | Link | Comments (8)

This weekend, I had access to industrial sewing and overlock machines. So, with some excellent guidance/close supervision, I did some sewing for the first time in ... I can't even remember how long! (I haven't used my sewing machine at all since moving nine months ago.) I whipped up this little pillow for the armchair in our guest bedroom:

The pillow is made with some leftover fabric that was in the workroom, and I can't believe how well the colors in it match with the armchair and ottoman. (You'll have to trust me on that, since the photo is a bit dark.) I think the chair still needs either another pillow (maybe a square one behind the rectangle) or a throw (probably in orange).

I also sewed a pair of curtain panels for the gift-wrap closet, which I'll hopefully be able to share photos of soon. (Just to clarify: There are no windows in the closet. I removed a couple of cabinet doors and decided to replace them with fabric panels. Again, I managed to find the perfect pattern in the workroom.)

Posted at 07:41 AM | Link | Comments (2)

Over on decor8, Holly posted a little tour of my house.

Thanks, Holly, for inviting me to share!

Posted at 10:10 PM | Link | Comments (15)

One week into the spring season: the skies are blue, the sun is shining and the temperatures are in the 70s here. Since the house is currently flooded with natural light, I'm trying to take photos for an upcoming mini-house tour (on a design blog that I am a big fan of).

Right now, one of my favorite things is walking through the front door and being greeted by fresh flowers:*

* Thank you, Trader Joe's, for your awesome $6.99 bunches of tulips!

Posted at 01:04 PM | Link | Comments (1)

Some people like looking at bookshelves filled with colorful spines. Me? I like walking into my closet and seeing colorful shoes. They make me happy.

(BTW, our bookshelves are a mess. The office/library is the most neglected room in our house.)

Posted at 08:09 PM | Link | Comments (14)

While most of our furniture purchases follow much deliberation, there are a couple of spontaneous buys in our house that I really love. Such as the "Boomerang" chaise by Romani e Saccani that we bought at DWR right before we moved into our first house (it was discontinued, so was on sale):

And most recently, we picked up this vintage bench that was used in a school gym in London:

The bench isn't very deep — less than 12" — so it fits perfectly in our entry area. I just can't decide whether or not to add cushions to it. Oh, and I also can't decide what to hang on the walls behind the chaise in the living room.

Posted at 03:52 PM | Link | Comments (17)

After living for seven months with just sheers in our bedroom nook, we finally put up some actual curtains.

These grommeted linen panels are on sale at West Elm. Initially, the plan was to buy yards and yards of the Marimekko Lumimarja fabric and have curtains made. (Look how great they look in Nicole's guest room!) But the cost and effort involved were more than I wanted to deal with right now.

While I've got curtains on my mind, I think I need to buy some sort of trim to dress up the plain white panels in the guest bedroom. It's a good excuse to make a trip to The Ribbonerie!

Posted at 04:59 PM | Link | Comments (3)

I need some help, please. This is the candelabra that hangs above our dining table:

It needs to be replaced — mainly because it's impractical. I am not about to light all of those candles every night, but we definitely need more light in that area of the house. Although I would love a David Weeks fixture, I have no idea how to get my hands on one. (I suppose I could ask a designer?)

Are there any lights out there that you'd recommend? I think this candelabra is about 3' in diameter, so the room can definitely handle a good-sized fixture.

Posted at 07:27 PM | Link | Comments (10)

So much time had passed since I last logged into my Flickr account, I actually forgot my password. But I'm just getting back into the Flickr thing and started a new set with a handful of photos of our house. Hopefully, I'll be able to round up more pics and upload them soon.

Posted at 08:40 AM | Link | Comments (3)

This past Christmas, we decided to give a present to our house: a Jill Bliss original. Last month, we were lucky enough to hang out with Jill while she painted this lovely mural in the bonus room (a.k.a., my craft room):

This is just half of the mural. Unfortunately, the (small) size of the room makes it impossible to photograph the entire wall in one shot. But trust me — it is really amazing. And my terrible photograph does not do it justice.

Posted at 08:10 PM | Link | Comments (5)

After Apartment Therapy linked to my previous post, several people commented and emailed regarding a how-to. While written step-by-step instructions would be tough, I do have photos that I took along the way that may be of assistance. For anyone interested in trying something similar on their own walls, below are the project pictures I could find on my camera.

Continue reading "Painted Wallpaper" »

Posted at 03:37 PM | Link | Comments (33)

Paint, paint, and more paint! There have been a couple of paint-related projects around the house lately. Here's a picture of the bathroom wall that I previously mentioned:

The pattern is basically Cole & Son's Pompeian. I think the room still needs some pops of color though, so I may have to get some new towels in there.

P.S. I can't write a post about paint without mentioning that I am all about Benjamin Moore's "Natura" paints. I first heard about the eco-friendly line on Apartment Therapy and now I won't use any other paint. There are no fumes and it dries super quickly. Which is good because I had to do quite a few touch-ups on the above wall.

Posted at 07:52 PM | Link | Comments (19)

So the good news was that I was lucky enough to have a five-day weekend. But the bad news was that Jon was gone most of that time. Usually, we spend Christmas Eve with my family and then take the red-eye to the East Coast to spend Christmas Day with his. But, because I was low (okay, actually negative) on vacation days this year, I decided to stay home this holiday season.

What happens when I'm left alone and all I have to keep me entertained is a roll of paint tape? This happens:

Yes, I finally made a decision about the wall in our upstairs guest bathroom. The photo above shows the wall before any painting. I started the project on Christmas Day and am about halfway done with it.

P.S. We hosted Christmas Eve dinner for the first time and everyone should have it as easy as we did. My parents brought some snacks, my brother's family picked up dessert and my sister's family took care of the main course and most side dishes. And our guests actually washed and dried all of the dishes before they left. So yeah, in a nutshell, my family rocks.

P.P.S. Jon's parents gave us a coffee machine and a hot chocolate maker, both of which are awesome. And now — since we already had an espresso machine — we're all set if we ever want to turn our kitchen into a coffee shop.

Posted at 08:31 AM | Link | Comments (3)

We are done! That's right — done with our holiday shopping, with an entire week to spare. Now if only we could get started on those blank holiday cards that have been sitting on our coffee table for the past few days ...

Now that we don't have to make any more trips to the stores, we had to find *something* to occupy our time. So Jon and I have decided to try to start two new house projects over the next week. Yes, house projects — two of them — right before the holidays. And we're hosting Christmas Eve dinner this year. Hopefully, there won't be holes in the walls and small cans of paint everywhere.

Oh! One gift-y thing I wanted to mention, without giving away too much here: We used Blurb for the first time and are super pleased with the results. (Putting together the book, with its photo layouts and captions, brought back memories of working on the high school yearbook.)

Posted at 08:01 AM | Link | Comments (3)

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas in our house! This is the first year that Jon and I have had a real, live tree. And — hooray! — we didn't have to move around any furniture to accomodate it.

The fake tree from Christmases past was about 6'. This one is 8-9' tall, which means more lights and ornaments are necessary this year. One of my favorite new ornaments is the handmade felt fortune cookie by Arawa. It is absolutely genius! (We still need to get a new topper, since the old one is way too small for this tree.)

Posted at 10:28 AM | Link | Comments (3)

We've been slowly making changes to one of our guest bathrooms — such as swapping out the mirror, sconces, vanity hardware and towel bar. But the space still feels a bit too neutral. I've been mulling over several ideas for one of the walls. After seeing this photo on Apartment Therapy yesterday, I'm now leaning towards a stencil of some sort:

I actually like this "Teardrop" pattern from the Stencil Library quite a lot. According to the resource list for the photo, it's about £50, so I'm guessing it's the large or x-large size.

Posted at 08:34 AM | Link | Comments (6)

No, this isn't a re-run. I posted this picture from Angie Hranowsky's online portfolio before, but there's a reason it's popping up again.

See that mirror? Well, we have the same one above our living room mantle. And that rattan side table/ottoman next to the armchair? We're now the owners of the same Franco Albini piece. I swear we're not trying to totally copy Angie's room.

As soon as I saw the side table/ottoman, I knew that it would be perfect for our living room and emailed Angie about it. She was kind enough to respond and suggested that I look on eBay. I ended up getting mine through Austin Modern and it arrived earlier this week. Here it is next to one of our other recent purchases, the Portland studio sofa from Room & Board:

Posted at 08:22 AM | Link | Comments (7)

There are four things I especially love about our home office:

1. The natural light.
2. The access to the lower deck.
3. The built-in desk (see photos of it fake-wallpapered at Apartment Therapy).
4. The storage, thanks to a pair of good-sized closets.

Unfortunately, #4 on the list also comes with bland sliding closet doors. Inspired by Benita's (of Chez Larrson) closet door project shown below, I think I may try to paint them out.

The only thing is: The built-in desk with the Ferm living "Feather" wallpaper is right next to the closets, so whatever I paint on the doors has to complement that pattern.

Posted at 10:31 AM | Link | Comments (4)

What a weekend! My sister and I arrived in NYC around midnight on Friday and, 48 hours later, I was already back home in the Bay Area. One of our first stops was ABC Carpet & Home, where we spied these seating options:

I couldn't resist getting a pair of these stools (on sale!).

We loved this petite upholstered chair, but it was $2500. Yikes.

Obama chairs, but no McCains or Palins to be found.

It was a great trip, but too short! Still, we managed to cram in lots of good eating and shopping. Now I need a nap. (And my credit card needs a rest, too.)

Posted at 09:52 AM | Link | Comments (0)

For our guest bedroom, we pretty much kept everything from the old place. Since we have quite a bit more room than before, we also brought in an armchair and a floor lamp (not pictured). And I'm still hoping to get a pair of ottomans/stools/small benches for the end of the bed and a small side table. But what's really stumping me is what to put on the wall behind the bed. I'm considering buying two of these Jonathan Adler mirrors, to place above each nightstand:

But I just don't know if that's the right move here.

Posted at 02:47 PM | Link | Comments (15)

Just as we were about to land in Tokyo, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet at home. Usually, I forget to pack pajamas. This time? Just all of my credit cards.

That oversight, coupled with the fact that we were trying not to check-in any luggage (I hate waiting at baggage claim), cramped my shopping style. But I still couldn't resist picking up a set of these "Design Chair Cushions" at Sempre.

In the store, they displayed them with several different chairs — including the Eames fiberglass design that we have in our kitchen. I had actually been looking for cushions for these chairs because I always feel like I slide back too far and then the table ends up feeling a tad too high. Even though they didn't fit in our suitcases, I managed to successfully carry four of them home with me on the plane.

Posted at 10:18 AM | Link | Comments (5)

So I did it. I bought THE MIRROR. The one I posted about here and then again here. But, after my second post, Leah (of More Ways to Waste Time) emailed to let me know that there was an eBay seller offering up the same mirror for much less money. So, thanks to Leah, the mirror is now hanging in my living room:

The original plan was to place it in the dining room, but the size just overwhelmed the credenza over there. So we moved the mirror to the living room, where there was a vacant spot because the painting that hung above the fireplace in the old house seemed too small for the new space. (The painting is now on the wall leading from the entry to the living room.)

P.S. I still do not love the paint treatment in the living/dining room. We have polled every single person who visits the house and, for some inexplicably reason, most have sided with Jon and think we should keep the walls as-is. Huh???

Posted at 08:48 AM | Link | Comments (4)

Remember when I posted about Ferm Living's branch wall sticker a few weeks ago? Well, it is now up in our bedroom:

Since I'm always describing our house as a giant treehouse — in part because we look out on to a bunch of redwoods — it seemed fitting to add these branches above our bed. (Apologies for my lack of photography skills!)

Now I've got a dilemma with the guest bedroom: Again, I don't want to put anything heavy on the wall behind the bed because we're near the San Andreas Fault. Right now, I'm leaning towards doing a simple wallpaper treatment, with just a few panels. I like how it looks in the bedrooms below (from the House to Home website):

Posted at 08:18 AM | Link | Comments (1)

As much as I loved our old house, whenever Jon and I spoke about our next place, there were two things at the top of my wishlist: 1) a walk-in closet, and 2) a laundry room. We got lucky and now have both in the new house. I decided that the latter should be our first makeover project, since the space is small and wouldn't take a crazy amount of time and effort.

This is what the laundry room looked like when we moved in:

And this is what it looks like now:

I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. And I owe a big thank you to Elizabeth for helping me pick out the paint color and to Jon for handling the wallpaper (his first and, according to him, last time with that).

Posted at 07:53 AM | Link | Comments (12)

We are really really really looking forward to the three-day weekend. No, there aren't any plans for a big BBQ. Nor do we have any travel booked for Labor Day. (We took our little getaway last weekend to Napa.) We are simply going to stay at home and FINALLY make our way through the unpacked boxes lying around. And there are plenty of them!

The past month has been busy with work, travel, houseguests, gatherings, etc., so we haven't been able to set aside any time to get ourselves organized. It'll be nice to finally put things in their proper place and start to feel settled in the house. Below are snapshots related to some projects on this weekend's to-do list:

See you next week!

Posted at 08:49 AM | Link | Comments (4)

I came across this photo on the Ferm Living blog and immediately went over to their online shop to order the "Branch" wall sticker for our bedroom:

See, we live right along the San Andreas Fault, so hanging anything above our headboard makes me nervous. This is the perfect solution for adding a little visual interest, without the risk of anything falling on top of us if there's an earthquake.

Also found on the Ferm blog: A sneek peek at a couple of new (not yet available) designs!

Posted at 07:26 AM | Link | Comments (5)

Since I was in NYC last week for less than 48 hours, I didn't get a chance to visit ABC Carpet & Home. But I did make it over to Barneys housewares department, where I picked up this Madeline Weinrib rug:

Also at Barneys, I spotted these cute stools and ottomans done up in Judy Ross patterns:

And at Anthropologie, they had a bunch of vintage suitcases that had been transformed into tables with the addition of some wooden legs:

Those suitcase tables are now officially on my DIY project list.

Posted at 11:22 AM | Link | Comments (2)

What a week. In the middle of all of the moving madness, I had a writing deadline *and* ended up going to NYC for a couple of days. All good stuff, but very tiring!

Oh, here is a snapshot of the only box-free room in our house, the dining room:

And in case you're wondering: Yes, we are short several chairs in this photo. But they have been ordered and should be here any day now (an amazing housewarming gift from my sister). The candelabra is a holdover from the previous owners that I'm still debating about. And we need a longer runner now that we've expanded the dining table.

Have a great weekend!

Posted at 07:25 AM | Link | Comments (11)

We've spent the past few weeks packing up box after box and it's finally moving day! The previous owners of the new place vacated this past weekend, so Jon and I went over and snapped a few photos. Like this one:

There are skylights in pretty much every room on the main level of the house. And Jon informed me last week that those windows way up there by the ceiling are called "clerestories."

This photo is taken from the dining area and you can probably tell that there's a faux finish on the walls. I am not a fan of faux finishes. But Jon claims that he likes it. (I think he's just saying he likes it to avoid having the walls repainted.) I'm willing to live with it for a bit and see how it works with our furniture, but I'm skeptical that the finish will grow on me. I think the space would look better with a nice coat of white.

Posted at 07:11 AM | Link | Comments (9)

Remember those great pocket-sized floor plans that were posted on Apartment Therapy? I decided to take that idea and modify it a bit by using a Russell + Hazel mini-binder.

Each room has its own tab, which includes: a layout of the space on grid paper, fabric swatches for furniture, and clippings of possible future purchases. I'm also keeping track of paint chips and wallpaper samples that we might incorporate in the house later on.

Posted at 07:57 AM | Link | Comments (0)

So I have this idea for our new house: a Wii Room! Jon's not fully on board yet though ... And that could be because we don't yet have: 1) any furniture for that room (including a TV), or 2) a Wii. But here's just what we need to get motivated to start putting together our Wii Room:

Nintendo wall stickers by Blik! (via Apartment Therapy)

Posted at 09:02 AM | Link

Our realtors came over earlier this week to assess our current house. The night before they stopped by, I took down the Ferm Living wall decals in the living room:

I was sad to see them go and am convinced that I need to re-create this corner somewhere in the new house.

P.S. The wallpaper in the entry is staying!

Posted at 10:03 AM | Link

Just one of the reasons we love our new house: It's got a little bit of a treehouse feel to it.

Another reason we're eager to move in: AIR CONDITIONING! This current heat wave is brutal.

P.S. I haven't posted any interior shots of the place because the only photos I have feature the previous owner's belongings.

Posted at 07:56 AM | Link

In my head, I've already started mapping out exactly where everything will go in our new house. And there are two pieces of furniture that I'd really like to buy: a bench for the end of our bed (I've always wanted to have one and finally have the space to make this happen) and a comfy armchair in the guest bedroom. You know what I learned while researching these items? That lots of companies will send you free fabric samples, including Pottery Barn, Crate&Barrel, Williams-Sonoma Home, and Room&Board. Very handy!

Also: Fabric stores — such as Textile Arts — often charge a small fee for samples, and you can later apply that fee as a credit towards your purchase. (I really like Nicole's Lumimarja curtains and am leaning towards that fabric in a different colorway for our bedroom curtains.)

Posted at 03:54 PM | Link

I don't think I will ever get tired of saying these words to Jon: "That goes in the laundry room."

Yes, the new house has a room dedicated to washing and drying and ironing clothes. And, although I'm not a fan of these chores, I am super-psyched to have a laundry room. In fact, I have been sifting through old magazines and online galleries searching for inspiration for ours.

Source: HGTV Canada

Source: House to Home

Source: This Old House

Source: Hampton Design

Source: Domino

But before I get too carried away with the design of the room, I have to actually pick a new washer and dryer ...

Posted at 09:38 AM | Link

It has been a crazy week. There's been a lot going on, but the biggest thing is: We closed on a new house!

Although we LOVE our current house and I suspect that I will get weepy in the days leading up to our move, our main concern was the square footage. Since we'll soon have a bigger space to play with, I am constantly peeking at Desire to Inspire for decorating ideas. These are a couple of my favorites lately:

P.S. Yesterday, I went to the Pacific Coast Builders Conference for a writing assignment and got completely overwhelmed by doors, windows, countertops, hardware, etc. I'm relieved we won't be doing any remodeling with the new place!

Posted at 08:03 AM | Link

Remember the Kelly Wearstler-ish fabric I bought back in January? Well, SIX months later, they have been transformed into curtains that are finally hanging in the office/craft room:

The original plan was to hang the panels with clip rings, but I screwed up on the measurements and we had to go the pole-pocket route. Oh well. I still love our new curtains.

Now we just need to clean up the rest of the room! Oh, and dress up that daybed.

P.S. Did you see the fantastic installation of the Wearstler "Imperial Trellis" wallpaper over at BeachBungalow8? So pretty.

Posted at 08:43 AM | Link

Back in April, I mentioned the rosebushes that my parents planted for us — including a red one. Well, shortly after that post, we had some yard work done. And I came home from work one day to find the red rosebush gone. No trace of it. It had been accidentally removed, so it was subsequently replaced ... by what we thought was another red rosebush. Until it started blooming recently:

I love this hot pink color, but really miss our red rosebush. Maybe we'll have to plant another one somewhere else in the yard.

Posted at 08:29 AM | Link

More wallpaper was brought into the house this weekend! But not on the walls ...

Here's the deal: We have a guest bedroom. Yes, it's very nice and grown-up and all. But it actually isn't the best use of an entire room in our house. Jon and I have discussed and he insists that we maintain a guest bedroom, so there you go.

There is a small closet in this room that is used to store random stuff (e.g., my wedding dress, our luggage, paintings we picked up in Paris). When we have guests, however, we have to clear out this closet and make way for the guests' belongings. Well, this practice just could not continue. So we decided to buy a narrow Ikea armoire for the room, and this armoire is entirely for our guests to use. Since it's not a very big room, it's not ideal to bring in another piece of furniture, but it makes the space function better.

To spruce up the armoire a bit, we lined it with PB's Overlapping Leaves wallpaper and replaced the knobs with a pair of white coral knobs I picked up at Anthropologie:

The wallpaper was super-easy to apply. It's pre-pasted and features some fancy schmancy wallpaper technology called Surestrip, so you just need to dip it in water and then stick it on. THAT'S IT. Magic, people, magic.

I'm not sure about the knobs, but I like them better than what came with the armoire. I wish I had purchased extras of the link knobs that I spraypainted for the nightstands (seen here).

Remaining projects for this room:
• Paint and sew a new cushion for the chair that Elizabeth found at the Alameda Flea Market.
• Arrange some travel photos and art prints on the empty wall.

Posted at 08:11 AM | Link

On Saturday, Christiana (of Ferm Living) came over for the wallpaper project do-over. Prior to her visit, I ripped off the wallpaper that Elizabeth and I had installed. It was surprisingly easy! (The task may have been helped along because — following the advice of the guy at the local paint/wallpaper store — I applied a coat of some sort of special primer.)

It took Christiana and I about an hour to complete the re-wallpapering of the 8'x3' area in the entry. Figuring out the cut-out and trimming the left side were the really tricky aspects of the job.

My sister has this lovely cabinet that she wants to give us, and Jon and I were planning to place it against this wall. But now the wallpaper just looks so good, I don't think I can do it.

Posted at 07:32 AM | Link

When I saw Jill's collection of house drawings over at Together Gallery, I had to ask if she would consider a commissioned piece of my own house. I was thrilled that she agreed, and even more thrilled when I received the drawing yesterday:

I love the way she's captured our house with her unique style of illustration. And this is definitely something we'll proudly display for many years to come — no matter where we live.

Posted at 07:38 AM | Link

Please excuse my bad photography, but I wanted to share a bit of our newly wallpapered accent wall:

This was the first time Elizabeth or I had ever wallpapered anything and it was ... uh ... interesting. Much harder than I thought it would be — considering the wall is only 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide! But, as with a lot of older homes, nothing was straight. And there was a cut-out in the corner. And did I mention that neither of us had ever done this before?

Jon and I are contemplating a do-over, but a cabinet may end up covering most of the blemishes anyway.

(Pssst ... In the background, you can see the dining room chairs that we finally decided on.)

Posted at 09:26 AM | Link

More roses from our yard:

I had forgotten how nice it is to have fresh flowers around the house — even nicer when you can pick them yourself!

Posted at 08:37 AM | Link

I've been meaning to paint the guest room nightstands for a while now, but the winter rains and various vacations left me with just a handful of weekends to work on the project this year. (Yes, this has been in the works since January.)

I think the white is much better in the room than the natural wood, but I feel like there's still plenty more to do in this space!

Other items seen in this photo:

• That's an Anthropologie knob, previously brass, that I spraypainted (the knobs are no longer available).
• The tissue box is an older Lotta design; there's a bench cushion in the room that I covered in the same fabric.
• The vase is the Swallow cup by Cake — only $14! (Flowers courtesy of our garden.)
• Bedding is an older Dwell pattern/color, with West Elm bolsters. (Bluefly sometimes has the duvet set in stock.)
• The alarm clock is from Restoration Hardware.
• The lamp was a clearance item from Garnet Hill, and I added the trim to the shade.
• And that little upholstered horseshoe on the windowsill is from Hable Construction.

Posted at 08:07 AM | Link

I like our kitchen a lot — I mean, as much as someone who doesn't enjoy cooking can — but it's always felt a little staid. Since we didn't want to add curtains to the window (I prefer leaving it fairly uncluttered), we decided to give the Strossel Design window films a try:

I think it's nice that the greenery is still in view; the films block part of the fence between our house and the neighbors' (who wants to see that anyway?). And, in case you're wondering, they are super easy to apply.

Posted at 08:26 AM | Link

Saturday: I came across a vintage trolley at Anthropologie that would be the perfect replacement for an old Pier One bookcase in our dining area. But there were two problems: It was $1800. And it was already sold. (The sales associate said she could track one down from another location, but that didn't take care of Problem #1.)

Sunday: I found something similar in style to the Anthropologie trolley at Nest. The size was even better for the spot I had in mind! AND it was much, much cheaper! But there was one problem: I couldn't fit it in my car.

Tuesday: Jon had an appointment in San Francisco, so he stopped by to pick up the shelving unit. The most perfect thing about it? It's a shoe rack from the 1930s. A shoe rack! Given my deep love for shoes, I feel like it was so meant to be mine. I mean, ours. (Apparently, the store owners brought it back from one of their trips to France.)

Most of the shelves consist of dowels (not flat surfaces), so I went to Tap Plastics and had some sheets of Plexi cut to size.

Posted at 07:55 AM | Link

The rosebushes are blooming!

My parents planted several rosebushes for us last year and they are going crazy this spring. I love that they are pretty much the first thing I see when I pull into the driveway every day.

Posted at 12:19 PM | Link

I was recently lamenting to Elizabeth that the living room in my house seemed sort of blah. Sure, we have red accents and some patterns, but maybe what we needed was a new rug to liven things up a bit. So we decided to layer a colorful rug on top of the neutral, larger sisal that's already in place. This is the chosen rug (Pottery Barn's Moorish Tile in clementine orange):

Me like!

Pssst ... Even though the PB website says the rug is a catalog/Internet-only product, my local store actually has them available in the orange (brown and yellow are special order). If only I had known! Because you know I hate paying for shipping. That's what I get for believing what I read online.

Posted at 10:40 AM | Link

After a trip to The Ribbonerie:

I was able to finish the living room curtains:

Hurray for completed tasks!

BTW, I wouldn't have thought to add two grosgrain ribbons of different colors and different widths. That is all Elizabeth's idea, and I think it turned out great!

Posted at 07:01 AM | Link

I have been a fan of Heather Frazier's mobiles for quite some time. So I am happy to report that one of her creations is now hanging in the corner of our bedroom:

Hmmm ... Now that I'm looking at this photo, I'm thinking I may need to lower the mobile a bit. Maybe so the top is along the same eye-line as the top of the framed posters by Robert Hanson and Hanna Werning.

P.S. You can check out Heather Frazier's lovely Portland home in a House Call I posted on Apartment Therapy a while back.

Posted at 07:43 AM | Link

When we moved into our house, we didn't have a dining table, so we ate at the kitchen counter every night. This worked for a couple of months, until we decided to host a birthday dinner for Jon. That was just the motivation we needed to go out and find a table. I had a very specific idea in mind, which we totally lucked out and found at a vintage shop. It was affordable and imperfect — both of which are good things in my book.

So for three years, we've kept this table that I adore mostly uncovered. But when I recently came across this Dwell tablecloth at Target (they no longer carry it online), I decided to give it a try:

I think I still prefer seeing the bare wood tabletop, even with its scratches and discolorations. (Perhaps it has something to do with the contrast between the white chairs and the teak table?) So the tablecloth may be brought out only when we're expecting company.

P.S. I think Jon and I have finally agreed upon replacement dining room chairs! More on that when it's a done deal/purchase ...

Posted at 02:28 PM | Link

Last night, while I was sewing up a little pillow for a chair in the office/craft room, Jon was slicing away at some Flor tiles, putting together a runner (with a border!) in the main hallway of our house:

Posted at 06:54 AM | Link

I tried to convince Jon that we should get these chairs for the dining room:

But he refuses. He thinks they are outdoor chairs and, therefore, belong in the backyard. Nevermind that even Pottery Barn is now showing them as INDOOR dining chairs. Complete with cushions for them.

*sigh*

And so the search continues ...

Posted at 08:15 AM | Link

I am really bad at unpacking after a trip. But this week, things are different. They have to be: Jon's parents are coming to town this weekend. So in addition to emptying out the suitcases and doing loads of laundry, there is plenty of tidying up to do around the house. And lots of donating of random furniture.

In the guest bedroom — where his parents will be staying — at least we've got this off the bed and on the wall now:

Textile picked up during our Thanksgiving 2007 trip to Los Cabos

Posted at 07:14 AM | Link

Pssst ... Erin over at Design for Mankind kindly invited me to participate in her "The Dailies" series. You can read all about my Saturday — and check out some never-seen-before photos of my house — right here.

Posted at 09:16 AM | Link

Remember the living room curtain issue? Elizabeth and I agreed that the Amy Butler fabric was a bit too pink, so we nixed it as the patterned band at the bottom of the grommeted panels. Then I remembered that I have a yard of Marimekko's "Liv" fabric.

We both think it works well with the rest of the room, but needs a little something more. (I've only pinned it in place to see how it looks.) A band of cardinal red or tomato red will probably be added between the curtain and the fabric.

Posted at 07:19 AM | Link

I never really met a windchime that I liked ... Until this weekend, when I came across this pinecone version at a local shop:

It's available in multiple sizes, but I thought the smallest sounded the best. So that's the one now hanging in my porch.

Posted at 07:12 AM | Link

We enjoyed a super-mellow three-day weekend ... well, at least I did. Jon had to deal with a fair amount of work around the house, as well as in the office. (But the latter, although a bit of a pain, led to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants — Hotaru — on Sunday night.) At least he got to check out the Tour of California, which kicked off in Palo Alto/Stanford on Sunday afternoon. (I quickly got bored and walked over to the mall.)

At home, I had a little to-do list for Jon that mostly entailed hanging stuff up. Here's one project that he wasn't responsible for because Elizabeth came over to help out:

P.S. In case you're wondering about the title of this post: During cycling races, it's a tradition to ring cowbells to cheer on the riders.

Posted at 09:28 PM | Link

Currently lying on our living room rug, but (hopefully) soon to be hanging on our bedroom walls:

Left: Robert Hanson print
Right: Hanna Werning poster/wallpaper

Posted at 06:53 AM | Link

I've been on the hunt for new curtains for our living room. Right now, this option is in the lead:

Purchase grommeted panels and ...

Add a band of Amy Butler's "Lotus Wall Flower" in cherry to the bottom.

Posted at 10:34 AM | Link

The office/craft room still needs some work, but at least we've emptied the freestanding Ikea bookcases and loaded up the wall-mounted Elfa system:

And, yes, that is a Flavor Flav clock on the bottom shelf. And a UPS delivery-guy bobblehead on the top shelf.

Posted at 07:43 PM | Link

I am crazy about this Draper cabinet and totally want one for our dining room (to store cookbooks):

But I simply cannot justify paying $275 — which is about 35 percent of the cost of the cabinet itself — for shipping. I just can't do it.

Posted at 09:35 AM | Link

Okay, two quick things:

1) The door installer's cell phone ring is The Beastie Boys' "Brass Monkey." Awesome.

2) Here's said door installer's handiwork in our hallway:

Again, awesome.

Posted at 03:37 PM | Link

Thanks to Elizabeth and her artistic eye, this is our current mantlescape:

Noteworthy items: The hurricanes on each end are left over from our wedding reception; the Eva Zeisel vases were a gift from Jon years ago; the conch shell is from a family vacation to Turks and Caicos; the painting is from a gallery in Vietnam; and the framed picture is one of the annual holiday photos taken with Jon's family.

Posted at 05:20 PM | Link

I have wanted a chandelier for a long time. And I was so pleased when Elizabeth — who is guiding me through some redecorating around the house — agreed that the guest bedroom is the perfect place to install a chandelier. Grace's post yesterday served as a reminder for me to go ahead and purchase one already. So, on my way home from work today, I did. This one:

It's the Gracie, in glossy white, from Crate&Barrel. Next decision: Shades or no shades? And if yes on the chandelier shades, then what color/style?

Posted at 05:07 PM | Link

Int. Our House - Evening

Jon and I are in the living room. He is sitting in his usual armchair, directly in front of the giant TV. I'm standing in front of the fireplace, placing the newly purchased Palo Samko rocking bird on the mantel.

     Jon: Do you have to buy everything that you see that you think is cute?

     Me: Yes.

Three weeks later, there are some new additions in the home.

For our wedding rehearsal dinner, we rented out the bowling alley in the Presidio. So when I saw this pair of pins on Three Potato Four, I couldn't resist.

The Palo birdie needed some company. Hence the penguin glass vessel.

I wonder how long it will take Jon to notice them?

Posted at 05:01 PM | Link

What. A. Day. I had to work from home yesterday because we were trying to resolve a plumbing problem that came to our attention around 7am. Since Jon had already showered, he got to leave for work while I waited and waited for Roto-Rooter.

The plumbers were supposed to show between 8am and 10am — "or earlier" said the dispatcher. You know what time they came knocking at the door? ONE. THIRTY. In the afternoon. After three hours and various attempts to clean out the pipes, they left me with the same plumbing problems. But just more frustrated, having wasted an entire day. So the City came out around 5pm and tried to clean out the pipes as well. Today, more City crews will be returning — this time to stick a camera into the pipes to see what's what. (We have a big maple tree in front of our house, so the roots may be causing problems.)

Fun times!

Posted at 08:20 AM | Link

Since Anthropologie doesn't appear to have our newly purchased doormat online, I took a picture to share:

Some of you may recognize this pattern as Alexander Henry's Mocca. Years ago, I actually made some pillow covers with the fabric, but I don't know what happened to them ... Anyway! I like this doormat much better than the old Ikea one.

Posted at 08:06 AM | Link

During our honeymoon three years ago, we popped into the Designers Guild shop in London and picked up a couple of pillow covers (I believe they're called breakfast shams). But I couldn't quite find a spot for either of them in our house ... until this weekend. Although one of the covers still lives in the closet, the other is now providing a lovely, colorful background for Cha Cha:

Now if only I could figure out what to do with the Designers Guild Tatami fabric that I bought a few months ago ...

Posted at 07:20 PM | Link

Today on AT:SF, Danielle posted about this fantastic Guardian article. The UK-based publication profiled the rooms of 37 writers. I always refer to our back room as the Office/Craft Room — never even considered calling it a Writer's Room. But I really like that designation, and it actually is true. This is where I do most of my writing:

The desk was a $15 purchase from a dot-com going out of business. Ditto for the file cabinets. I think I'm going to replace the lamp (which used to be in our bedroom) with a real task lamp. The taped-up paper represents where we're thinking of hanging our diplomas. But I'm thinking I might want to go with ledges so that the diplomas aren't just up there by themselves. We'll see ...

Anyway! In the Guardian piece, this is Will Self's room — my favorite of the bunch because I love all of the Post-Its and the London map stapled to the blinds:

Posted at 05:34 PM | Link

Until three years ago, I lived a passport-free existence. I was finally prompted to apply for a passport when Jon and I planned our honeymoon to Europe. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to go on some truly fantastic trips. I'm taking a lot of photos around the house these days, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite travel keepsakes:

Coincidentally, today's "Room to Improve" column in the NY Times asks: How can I display travel souvenirs without making my house look too messy?

* Prague is known for its beautiful glass and porcelain products. But you know what else you can find EVERYWHERE in Prague? Puppets! So one of our souvenirs from Prague is a Harry Potter puppet. Yeah, that's right.

Posted at 07:59 AM | Link

The AT:SF Fall Cure officially gets underway next Monday. And I am really, really looking forward to it! This will be my first time participating — plus, I'll be posting about the Cure for AT:SF.

Jon and I have been in our house for about 2.5 years now. When we moved in, we made a lot of changes throughout. Now that we've given ourselves some time to settle into the space, I feel like it's time to launch the Nesting 2.0 campaign. There's still a lot we want to do in the house — isn't that always the case? — so I'm going to use the Cure as a big motivater over the next eight weeks. I'm hoping to declutter a bit, as well as finish up some areas that have been works in progress for far too long.

So that's my goal! You can catch it all over at AT:SF, and of course, you should join in the fun!

Posted at 12:21 PM | Link

Getting a new chair motivated me to tidy up my tiny sewing area a bit. While I was going through my pile of fabric, I came across an old Angela Adams pattern that I had completely forgotten about. (I wish she still carried textiles in her online shop!) So I decided to sew a cozy for my sewing machine. Is that weird?

P.S. Yes, my sewing table is actually a $1 Ikea shelf (found in the as-is section of the store) with some Ikea desk legs screwed into it.

Posted at 06:47 PM | Link

One of the design decisions I've been struggling with in our house is lighting. There are several ceiling fixtures that need to be replaced! There are table lamps that I'm tired of looking at! There are corners that are dark and scary! I've been waiting for Perch to make their new designs available online, and today I noticed that they are.

I especially like that — since it's made to order — the Zooey mini chandelier can be purchased at any length. (We don't have high ceilings, so most chandeliers are out of the question for us.)

I also have one of Perch's early bird pendants, but haven't figured out where to place it yet. I picked it up at last year's Mod Economy sale — which, by the way, is happening again later this month and is not to be missed!

Posted at 02:05 PM | Link

Yay! Flor put together instructions for creating the hop skotch rug that's featured in their latest catalog:

When I got the catalog in my mailbox a few weeks ago, I flipped through it about five times, and then browsed the web site for another hour, trying to find this product. Turns out, it's their regular carpet tiles with a little DIY magic.

I think I need this as my hallway runner.

Posted at 07:14 AM | Link

The new issue of Domino has me thinking a lot about the backyard. And then this morning, I saw these at The Curiosity Shoppe:

Posted at 08:11 AM | Link

There's one wall in our garage that is lined with cabinets. They were there when we moved in, and as ugly as they are to look at, they serve their purpose well. I decided a while back that, rather than simply paint them white, we should wallpaper them! Have some fun with them!

I really like Graham & Brown's patterns — and prices — and have been pleasantly surprised by all of their new-ish offerings. For example: The Julian MacDonald line. (Please ignore the fact that the photo on the site shows him with Paris Hilton.)

Right now, I'm leaning towards the "Frames" pattern because I think it would be fun to fill in the frames with all sorts of random scribbles, notes, magazine clippings, photos ... the possibilities are endless!

Posted at 01:26 PM | Link

A couple of weeks ago, Apartment Therapy: Chicago posted a "Good Question" about handbag storage. Since then, I've been trying to figure out a better way to store my stash — especially since several folks said hanging them on pegs is a no-no. Yesterday, while at The Container Store, I came across these 3-tier hanging wire bins.

Oh, and I asked the sales associates if I could hang additional baskets (i.e., more than three), and they said that's absolutely possible/safe. Wish me luck ...

Posted at 08:23 AM | Link

This Sunday's NYTimes "Travel" section included a great article on Vietnamese contemporary art:

“Just wait,” my friend said. “You will fall in love with the art there.”

And I had. But while I was fascinated by 20th-century Vietnamese art — a mixture of Eastern techniques (woodcutting, engraving, silk and lacquer painting) with European influences from the early 1900s (Impressionism, Cubism) — I was most taken with the contemporary works by younger artists, many of whom are integrating the traditional into the modern and expressing themselves in new ways that reflect an awareness of what is happening in the Western art world.

The first piece of art that Jon and I purchased was actually from a gallery in Hanoi. We bought it right after we moved into our first house (two years ago):

Posted at 01:37 PM | Link

Before we bought our house, it was rented by a couple for 15-20 years. (A couple who now rent a house two doors down from us.) It definitely needed a lot of TLC, even though the sellers made some minor improvements — such as updating all of the ceiling light fixtures to whatever was on special at Home Depot at the time. In other words, they aren't offensive, but they have no style whatsoever.

We immediately swapped out the dining room chandelier with a LeKlint. And our first summer in the house — which has no A/C — we changed our bedroom fixture to a ceiling fan.

Now, I'm on a mission to replace the entry, hallway, guest bedroom and office/craft room lights. Oh, and our living room needs a new table lamp. For the hallway, I'm leaning towards a Galbraith & Paul pendant:

Posted at 09:59 AM | Link

We've been using the Candelas in our house for a while now. I initially picked up a set of four that, due to a poor battery set-up, went kaput after a few months (I can't remember exactly how long). So last Christmas, Jon bought me a two-pack of the new and improved Candelas. But just the other night, we realized that they had also stopped working. Luckily, this time, we can buy a couple of new batteries* and the problem will be solved.

In my Candela-related shopping research, I came across the colored covers that allow you to change the appearance of the plain ol' white ones. Festive!

(Image from Unica, which also carries the covers.)

Posted at 01:52 PM | Link

So our house has a decent-sized backyard, which is surrounded by a taller-than-me wood fence. When we landscaped the yard about a year ago, we decided to go easy on the plant purchases. We would start out with a small collection of them and see how they matured before deciding whether or not we needed more.

I suggested then — and still bring this up on a regular basis now — that we paint a nature-y mural on the back fence (the one you look straight at when you step out of the house and into the yard). Jon was against this idea in a big way. But I have discovered new ammunition in this debate:

Posted at 02:43 PM | Link

Rainy weekend = Christmas tree up and trimmed. Stockings hung by the (now clean and inspected) chimney with care. Wreath jingling on the door. Windows decorated with Tord Boontje holiday decals. Pumpkin bread straight out of the oven. (Some) presents wrapped and ribboned.

Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Posted at 08:54 PM | Link

So the other night, I caught the HGTV special "25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes." Here's what their panel of experts — which consisted mainly of hosts of HGTV shows — cited as the worst things you could do to your home:

25. Toilet rugs
24. Too many photos
23. Ignoring the foyer
22. Undressed cables
21. Out-of-place themes
20. Outdated accessories
19. Lopsided furniture arrangements
18. Keeping something you hate
17. Too formal
16. Uncomfortable dining chairs
15. Lack of traffic pattern
14. Everything matches
13. Following fads
12. Furniture that doesn't fit
11. Too many colors or patterns
10. Floating rugs
9. Improper lighting
8. Frames hung too high
7. Tacky couch covers
6. Pushed-back furniture
5. Ignoring windows
4. Fear of color
3. Knick-knack overload
2. Too many pillows
1. Fake flowers

Posted at 09:40 AM | Link

Last weekend, I was in Lavish admiring the fabric banners for sale. Since the colors wouldn't really work in our guest bedroom (which is where I envisioned the banner hanging), I decided to sew my own. To start, I clicked over to Purl Soho — the perfect resource for a project like this because you can buy ¼ yard of any of their super-cute fabrics.

Continue reading "Fabric Banner" »

Posted at 08:47 PM | Link

Since our dining room photo display got a bit of love from various blogs, I wanted to make sure it was searchable on the new/improved version of this site. So I'm posting the details again:

The hardest part of this project is the measuring. Really. The bulk of the work was actually done by the kind folks at Tap Plastics, where we bought the Plexi.

Continue reading "Plexiglas Photo Display" »

Posted at 08:17 AM | Link