To Be or Not To Be

I hunted high and low for drapes to hang in my dining room. Finally after purchasing & returning (making multiple trips to Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, JcPenney), I settled on the Felicia curtains from Ikea. They give the appearance of silk dupioni due to it's nubby yet smooth texture. And surprisingly, there have an even hang. Do spruce these up with a non-standard issue Ikea rod & rings. You'll have everyone guessing where you picked up these fabulous silk drapes! Your dirty little secret will be that they were under $100.00!

Check-Mate

Here's an easy way to bring a dash of colors into your living space - Ellsworth Kelly's 1951 piece. I wouldn't plan on springing for it on full price. Let's check back in when MOMA slashes their prices towards the end of summer.

Wall Montage - Take Two

Yet another twist to the wall montage... It Design's Modular Boxes. They are made out of polished aluminum and are suitable for the kitchen & bath. Mix & match and express your individuality! Only pitfall is that they start at around $150 a pop - ouch!

Mid-Century Modern Wall Hangings

Just recently, I blogged how awesome Etsy is for affordable art. Another alternative to jazzing up some blank space is to create a fabric wall hanging. Textile Arts is a wonderful shop that offers the groovy designs of Marimekko and other mid-century modern designers.

I've ordered some in the past, and lemme tell you ... they are super easy to put together. You will need a staple gun (see Nest Essentials) and a little bit of muscle to assemble them for yourself! They range from $65 to $130. Totally worth it since they are quite large (mostly over 42" wide).

Here are some other great patterns:

OONA - Retro tropics!

LIMELIGHT - how cute for a baby's room

LEHMUS - Serene Sublimity

Changing up the Wall Montage

Wall montages have been featured as a terrific way to create a focal point in the house. How about mixing up your favorite photos with your favorite bloom? Imagine sprinkling one or two of these in your next grouping! How fun!

Sorting Mail

One of my husband's daily responsibilities is making a trip out to the mailbox. He's great at getting the mail but it usually ends up being my job to sort and open it all up. Alas, I've found his perfect helper...teehee!

Birds of a Feather

What a fun alternative to wall decals! This mobile is made out of plywood and definitely brings the outdoors indoor! How cool would it look suspended in front of a window...

Interior Design: Living Room Mantle

The first purchase was made for my friend's place - hooray!!! After strong urging, Soojee ended up getting the same wall hanging as moi. Here's a before & after:

BEFORE

Not paying attention to her holiday decorations, the artwork hangs as a focal point but has no particular significance for the couple. The club chairs are hugging the wall (a no-no!) and do not facilitate good conversation.

AFTER

The wall hanging is absolutely delightful!. It's whimsical design plays up the light, airy space. The holiday decorations are gone (thank goodness!), and the artwork is moving to the guest bedroom. We are still evaluating whether the pair of club chairs belong in the space (or possible the couple's Wassily chairs). One thing is for sure, we need to upgrade the homebase for the couple's pets.

To follow this thread more closely, click on the tag - Interior Design.

Someone is Watching Me

As I bumble around the house, these little guys will undoubtedly watch over me. I absolutely love them!!!

I anchored them at the foot of the stairwell to counter balance the traditional Korean artwork hanging above. I'm not terribly attached to the traditional piece but it's something that my parents gave me.

As you know, I'm a big proponent of working with what you have ... and for now, it works. Here's a link to a previous post on them.

Ta-Dah!

Kenneth Wingard delivered! This beauty now lights up my living room.

Here's my previous post when I first spied this: All That Glitters.

Say "Who"

I've been envisioning the logo for Dress Your Nest to be an owl. Don't ask why ... but it's true. I came across this little guy at Velocity Art & Design, and I'm smitten! I was feeling trigger happy, so needless to say... it's on it's way! Check out the works from Lorena Siminovich and other featured artists ... awesome original art that won't break your bank!

Interior Design: Need for A Full Length Mirror

An immediate dilemma that my friend has is that she needs a floor length mirror somewhere on the lower level of her house. Since her floor plan is open, the only viable option is to neatly tuck the mirror at the base of her stairway. On the left is what her stairway looks like now with the console and hanging artwork.

Ikea is all about function. Their Garmo or Jondal mirrors are both under $50 and meet my friend's purpose. If she goes with this type of variety, I'd suggest to her that she places object for visual interest s such as a large decorative vase in the corner.
Another option is to select one that can double both as a mirror & artwork. Here are some options: mirror with bronze or wooden inlay .

Spindle Spandle

There are slight deviations that separate these two clocks: the face, the hands, and size (the one is 22" vs. 16" in diameter). But the biggest differentiator is ~ $350. The one on the left is the classic Nelson Spindle ($405) whereas the one on the right is its close cousin ($56). I don't know about you ... but I'm fine with its cousin!

Wall Flats

Here's a cure for an unsightly wall: Inhabit's Wall Flat. Just take out of the box, apply and voila! Adds texture and design putting wallpaper to shame... very cool.

Floating Shelves

Floating shelves create a sense of effortless organization. Don't feel like you have to fill available space with all your belongings. Be bold and dare to expose your walls and make a deliberate statement. Free feel to express your individuality creating groupings using ones such as those pictured on the left or the right from West Elm.

Convex Mirrors

I have been scouring the net to find the perfect convex mirror. Convex mirrors are often called Butlers or Fish-eye mirrors. This is because their traditional use was to allow the butler to see into a room without entering and interrupting his master. These mirrors can open up a small space, and undoubtedly are interesting to look at.

Here's a mainstream one that I found at Anthropologie - the frame is simple in form and made out of teak.

More ornate ones (that I love!) come with a steeper price tag. This shop in in New Zealand (ugh!) carries products that transport you back to the gilded era. If you know of any good local alternatives, please lemme know!

Wall Art

This is an easy project that adds a lot of pizazz to a room. I love Marimekko's Unikko Wall Stickers. Instead of applying them directly to the wall, I gave them a more polished finish with frames. I found my glass frames (set of 4) on eBay for $21! Enjoy!

Bringing the Outdoor Indoors

You can dress up boring white walls with these super fun decals. They are easy to apply and add interest instantly. I'm planning to use these on my cabinet doors in the study. As soon as my project is complete, I'll snap a photo and let you be the judge.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirrors are a GREAT way of creating the illusion of space. Here's what I did in my dining room. It's a large mirror measuring 50" in diameter. It's simple in shape, and the woven wood provides nice texture.

CeLee vs. the Artist

I saw this hanging in the foyer of the Spire Restaurant . I found it to be monochromatically interesting... great use of aqua and l-o-v-e geometrically simple shapes! But I can't help from thinking how easy it was create. I do recognize that there are 2 things that separate me from a contemporary artist: 1) the idea and 2) the motivation to execute!