Wainscoting to the Rescue

I've been working on a project for a little over a year that involved the design of several full and half bathrooms at a seaside residence. It was difficult creating special and individual designs for each bath. Since the design aesthetic is relaxed and coastal using tile to create visual different designs seems a bit too fancy. Thank goodness for the hero of this tale, wainscoting. The generalized terms for wood paneling on walls, it comes in many different forms. I decided to use breadboard, board and batten and large scale v-groove in both horizontal and vertical patterns. And they're all coming together brilliantly - full reveal later this summer. Here are some of the inspiration images I used in my planning.

{ Images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 }

Inspired Design: Shadows & Highlights

I had originally envisioned using the title "Moody Blues" for this post but while I was pulling together sources I realized there is just as much black as there is blue in this airy yet contemplative bedroom. I pulled this out of the pinterest vaults and it's still one of my favorites bedrooms. I had it pinned multiple times, in fact, on the same board. {Side note, very glad Pinterest now tells you you've already pinned something!} I always feel a sense of content whenever I'm near a body of water even if I happen to be doing some heavy thought lifting at the time. This room seems to wrap you up in that cozy knit blanket of seaside meditation. And I kind of love it. 

Sources // 1 Photograph by Mary Ellen Bartley / 2 Linen Duvet Cover & Shams / 3 Morgan Sconce / 4 Reyhan Pillow / 5 Lang Board & Batten Bed / 6 Mongolian Lamp Pillow / 7 Chadna Area Rug / 8 Antique English Campaign Dresser // 

{Inspiration Image}

Island Home

While I may have mentioned that I'm more and more a fan of minimalist traditional interiors in my post on Monday, those who know me well know that if I ever moved way back down south again to Florida or an island I wouldn't hesitate to go full stop "Palm Beach Regency" in my design choices. My mother recently told me that she had thrown away a great deal of rattan furniture left in our house when they first moved to Florida in the early 80s. I gasped and sputtered in horror, these are the exact items I lust after in vintage stores. Anyway, I loved the Island Spirit feature in April's House Beautiful. It's a beautiful, light filled home in the Bahamas design by the talented Amanda Lindroth. What's not to love? The limestone clad walls in the living room. Rattan and Bamboo in abundance on the veranda. Blues and Greens used throughout. All the white keeping that restrained look I appreciated so much in good design. Nothing's too over the top or crowded. When can I move in? 

{Images by Bjorn Wallander for House Beautiful}

Early Spring Work Wear

In my profession, business casual is a less structured uniform than for those in the corporate world. My winter uniform has included some form a jean almost every day and I can't tell you how sick I am of this routine. It's getting the point where, to me,  denim feels like the horrific school uniform pair of khakis. I'm ready for forego the jeans in favor of my plethora of skirts and dresses yet it's still a bit too chilly for bare legs. Did anyone walk around in that freezing wind, yesterday? Early spring is full of this ennui. Cute, slim leg pants to the rescue.

 I happen to love the Minnie Pants from J.Crew but practically every major retailer has a version of this classic often favored by the late and great Audrey Hepburn. Pull together an effortless workday outfit by pairing with a comfy shirt or sweater, punchy pumps and a few fun accessories. Layer with a trench coat and you have yourself a new uniform for spring. 

Sources // 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 //

Delightful Design: Blair Harris Interior Design

Over the years I've come to realize that my personal style is a mix of minimal, glam, rustic and historic elements. I little bit of amazing ornate moldings, some bleached wood floors and furnishings that are both plush and clean lined. These qualities are what attracts me most to the work of Blair Harris Interior Design. The first image I found was this one of the baby-grand piano. I love the transitional elegance of the piano and the crystal light fixtures paired with the simple white walls and abstract artwork. And then theres the amazing kitchen with glossy navy cabinets, brass hardware, butcher block counters and historic subway tile. Swoon. 

{Image by Jessica Glynn for Blair Harris Interior Design}

Big Style, Narrow Kitchens

Being a city-dweller I'm no stranger to the spatial entity that is the galley kitchen. Yes, these small kitchens are often compartment-like but that doesn't mean they have to look like caves. It's surprising what open shelving, awesome accessories and a fresh coat of white paint can do for these tiny spaces. Of course, amazing natural light is always a bonus...

{Images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 }

A New Frame of Mind

I've worn a combination of glasses and contacts since eighth grade, I still remember discovering that trees had individual leaves and were not just green blurs. These days only my closest confidents know I even wear glasses since I much prefer my contacts. However, I'm finding more and more that I need to give my eyes breaks where I forego the contacts for glasses a few times a week. Staring at a computer most of the day has its downfalls, headaches being one of the worst. As an incentive to wear my glasses more willingly in public I finally stopped into the local Warby Parker to treat myself to a new pair. After trying on every single pair and polling the entire Newbury Street store staff I settled on the Finch in Violet Magnolia. They arrived yesterday and I'm completely obsessed and actually excited to wear them out and about today! 

While you're refreshing your wardrobe for warmer weather, don't forget about your eyewear! Click through some of my favorite frames just released for spring.

Artist Spotlight: Leigh Viner & Erik Barthels

I briefly considered given this post the title of I'm Running Out of Walls because it's true. My walls have rapidly file up with all the amazing artists I've discovered locally, through Etsy and on OKL and Pinterest.  I've admired Leigh Viner's mixed media fashion illustrations for a while now. I love her combination of line drawing with bold strokes and bleeds of color to suggest an earring, a dress pattern, a floral crown. Visually calming and striking at the same time. Erik Barthels' minimalist abstract works on paper are a more recent discovery. There's no question I love a good stripe, his pieces are symmetry at work with a dash of freehand lines. Pure delight.

My favorite! Add to shopping cart now, build more walls later.

To view more work check out Leigh and Erik's Etsy shops. Erik's got some great pieces over on One Kings Lane at the moment, like this beauty. 

Spring Layer

It's about that time of year where we all want to burn our winter parkas or (at the very least) banish them to the deep recesses of our closets. The weather's getting marginally nicer and we just cannot stand to wear that shapeless outer layer one more minute! Mine is practically the only coat I've worn for the past three months. It really should be burned. I'm ready to bring back my lighter jackets and coats, the trench, the jean jacket, the slightly rebellious leather moto jacket and my trusty barbour. Those same layers I favored back in the fall, oh how I've missed them. Please enjoy these well styled spring layers while I go build that bonfire...

Shop Spring Jackets

Images // 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 //

Inspired Design: Colorful Breakfasts

It seems that we all got a little too carried away with the beautiful weather the past few days. Old Man Weather has once again to throw us into rain and snow for the next couple of days. On gray, gloomy days wouldn't it be lovely to have breakfast and coffee in this bright, happy dining nook? Yes, yes it would. There's no way bad moods, sinus headaches or other symptoms of S.A.D could exist amongst this cheerful mix of colors. 

Sources

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Blooming Branches

Spring may finally be in the air… this past weekend I was able to get away with wearing a sweater and down vest instead of my knee length, hooded parka. It won't be too long until the flowering trees in the Public Garden and along the Commonwealth Mall start bursting with cherry, apple, forsythia and magnolia blossoms. I'm thinking of getting a head start in enjoying these springtime blooms by heading to the flower exchange and picking up some cut branches to replace my lovely fake flower arrangement in my living room. I'm thinking something pink or peach in color, possibly quince or plum blossoms if they have them to create a bit of visual interest and height over by my windows. 

{Images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 }