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Shattered Stool & Germs

January 11, 2013 — 1 Comment

I ordered this beautiful ceramic wood stump table (Silvia Stool, $99)over the holidays from Joss & Main, one of my favorite flash/private sale sites. Isn’t it kind of ridiculous? Unfortunately when it arrived the other day it look like this:

I knew it was a bad sign when the box was wrapped with an extra layer of bubble wrap on the outside. I was planning on using it back by the piano and colorful chair kind of like this:

Alas it was not meant to be. Joss & Main was really good about giving me a credit back for the full amount and shipping but they don’t have any extra. It is one of those purchases that I looked at a bunch of times over a couple of days before ordering. Mr. S. even weighed in on which one he preferred, so I was pretty excited to get it. I did learn that it was made by Statements by J who I see makes quite a bit of stuff for both J&M and One Kings Lane. So I guess I will be keeping an eye out for something similiar. I was planning on using it to hold my coffee cup for when I sit in this chair and talk to Mr. S. while he works on the computer. Oh well.

In other news the stomach bug has struck again (this time it was me). Yuck! After Sam was sick on Saturday I scrubbed the house down with Lysol wipes and washed all of the sheets, towels and blankets. I guess it wasn’t enough. I spent yesterday in bed watching bad tv. I’m up today and except for being really tired and not very hungry appear to be mostly better. Now if I could just get someone to do all of the other work I missed I would be all set.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and may the bad germs stay away from you!

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In -Dining Room, -Furniture, -Shopping, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

Toy Storage and The Expedit Conundrum

July 18, 2012 — 5 Comments

Expedit Shelving Unit from Ikea, $69.99

I would love to say that I have some new excited thing to show you. I don’t at the moment (although I have a few swirling around in my head). Instead I am feeling overwhelmed by the toys in our little house. We have officially entered toy storage hell. Okay, maybe that is an overstatement, but the toys are taking over, particularly the Legos and little characters. My old storage systems are no longer working now that the kids have gotten older (and the toys more plentiful). It is now time to rethink and readjust! The kids playroom (the old nursery) has become the holder of a lot of the toys, but it is chaos in there! There is dress up clothes all over and little characters and vehicles lining the floor. We have also entered small Lego world, which means stepping on them at least once a day. We don’t have a lot of shelves for toys right now. Before we relied on low bins and tables to house everything. I now need to think more vertically. I am also looking for some more storage for the kids clothes (particularly out of season and clothes that they haven’t grown into yet), plus artwork storage.

I’ve been perusing shelving and bin options and I pretty much always end up back at the Ikea Expedit. I don’t love it, but it is so functional and affordable. I feel like they are overused, but the other shelves with similar cubbies are 3 and 4 times the price. I have vowed not to buy cheaply made furniture anymore, but it may provide useful storage for the foreseeable future for the kids. I also need to decide on something and move forward.

Land of Nod Container Options

Land of Nod Felt Containers

One thing I am not a big fan of are the box and bin choices for the unit. Fortunately I received a new Land of Nod catalog the other day, and there looking at me (in lots of pretty colors) were some really nice bins, baskets and tubs. They are designed to fit their system (which appears to be about 12×12 verses 13×13 for the Expedit). I am willing to give up that inch to get better looking containers.

Land of Nod Plastic Containers

Of course now comes my second conundrum. I love the softer felt containers, but I’ve heard that clear plastic ones work better with kids so that they can see what is inside easily. I think I may need to compromise and use some of each. I am thinking of also mixing in some boxes from the Container Store. Now if I can just get Maisie to stop “packing for trips” and hoarding toys in strange places, we might be able to get our house back under control.

Does anyone have any advice for toy storage for kids in the 3-5 age group or older?

5 Comments

In -Furniture, FAMILY, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

New Chair

July 16, 2012 — 1 Comment

New Chair from One Kings Lane

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We had a pretty relaxing weekend, although I don’t think I am quite ready for the week. I realized that I haven’t shown you my latest chair and its new home.

So I bought this chair a little while back thinking that it would go in our Master Bedroom. Well, we are still a long way from working on that space, so it was in the Living Room, until we did some rearranging and I moved it to the Dining Room last month. I like it in here so much that I think it will stay here for a while and I might need to look for a new chair for the bedroom.In its new location it is a good resting spot for putting on shoes or sitting and talking to someone while they are on the computer (which happens more than I would like).

Chair in Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower

The chair was from One Kings Lane is no longer available, but the fabric is “Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower” and is $19.99 a yard. They also have a coordinating zigzag and flower fabric, and it comes in a couple of colorways. I really do love the fabric. It is so fun, but it is definitely a statement piece.

P.S. I have some new exciting projects in the works, which I hope to share soon. I hope everyone has a good week and stays cool!

1 Comment

In -Dining Room, -Fabric, -Furniture, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

Dining Room Hutch Update

June 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Built-in Dining Room Hutch circa 1920 with new Glass Doors

One of the house projects that we wanted to finish before Sam’s Birthday Party were the doors on our built-in hutch in the Dining Room. This is not original to the house (built in 1888) but probably installed in the 1920s. Originally this was the alcove where the cooking stove was located (the brick is still behind this hutch) but since it has been here that long, we wanted to keep it. The previous owner striped off the paint and I repainted and papered the inside several years ago. The intention has always been to cut out the wood panels on the upper doors and put in glass. Well the doors have been sitting here for years waiting for that to happen. So last week Mr. S. went to work on them! I voted for the router, but he was concerned that it would damage the doors, so he went the route of carefully using a utility knife to the back of the doors (they are pine so they are fairly soft). He carefully took the back of the tongue off the frames and took out the wood, over several nights. Then he installed glass (Lowes will cut glass while you wait) with glazing caulk and painted the inside of them to match the blue (which is also the same blue as our kitchen island and bench).

Top of Hutch w/ Vintage Fiestaware mixed with new Plates

I dusted off everything in the cabinets and moved some stuff around. I also added some more plates and bowls on top of the hutch. I am definitely not an expert in arranging stuff but I am liking the additional color from the Fiestaware. These colorful plates and bowls were my grandmother’s (as is the chihuahua platter). The pitcher is from the Orla Kiely line at Target a few years ago. The big bird platter is Thomaspaul and the small plates are from John Derian line at Target a couple of years ago.

Close Up of Dining Room Hutch w/ Charlie Harper Tea Cups

There is more glare than I was expecting from the glass, but I am really liking that the doors are back up and it is looking more finished. I still need to tile the random little bit of floor in front. It is concrete (from the original cooking stove), so our floor installer didn’t want to put wood on top. We have tile that matches the tile behind our stove all ready (it has been waiting even longer than the doors).

Our Basement Part 57: Ikea Karlstad Sofa Bed Assembled

June 18, 2012 — 1 Comment

New Karlstad Sofa Bed

I hope all the dads out there had a great Father’s Day!

This weekend was really busy while we tried to get the house ready for 25 kids + parents for Sam’s 5th Top Chef Birthday Party (more on that later this week). We also celebrated Father’s Day (which included Mr. S. working hard on the house + some quality time with the kids). Plus on Saturday afternoon our new sofa bed for the basement arrived along with a new wood countertop from Ikea. Gotta love $59 delivery (into the house no less) for both.

We went with the Karlstad Sofa Bed in Sivik Dark Gray (based on several recommendations). Ikea is also running a special of 15% back on a gift card (to be used for the last upper cabinet for the basement). It arrived in 2 big boxes + 1 small box (for the slipcover). Delivery took about 10 minutes (once we convinced them to pull into the driveway). It took the 2 of us about an hour and a half to put it together (including unpacking and sorting). It was a pretty easy install with no major hiccups. The bed pulls out sideways (so your head is at the armrest not at the back). We tested it out in the store and though it was reasonably comfortable. The sideways layout also works well for our space (leaving enough room to walk around when it is pulled out). We can already imagine pulling it out for a movie night with the kids. The seat cushions are a bit stiff at the moment, but the sample in the store was quite comfortable, so I am assuming with 2 kids jumping on it, it will soften up in no time. And as an added bonus the slipcover is machine washable.

New Pillow from Homegoods & Napkin from West Elm that will be turned into a pillow cover

I picked up these pillows at Homegoods a couple of weeks ago. I think they look great with the sofa. The black outlines in the fabric work well with the dark gray fabric (which has almost a denim feel to it). The napkin is from West Elm last year. I bought 4 thinking that they would make a nice pillow cover, not knowing where I was going to use them. Fortunately the orangish-red looks great with the pillows. Not sure when I will get around to sewing these up though.

This week’s post will probably be a little sporadic as I try to get ready for this weekend, but we did finish up a lot of long overdue projects on the house, so I will try and get at least a few sneak peaks of the updates. I hope everyone has a great week!

New Wood Counter (temporarily supported) filled with stuff for Sam’s Party!

Here is a little peak of our new wood counter (Lagan, $59). We temporarily supported it with some scrap wood, so that we could start using it. We will be adding a wall cleat to the back, creating a better support for above the safe and screwing it to the base cabinet on the right.

1 Comment

In -Basement, -Fabric, -Furniture, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS, OUR HOME

New Chair for Our Master Bedroom

March 6, 2012 — 2 Comments

Armless Chair in Desert Flower for the Master Bedroom, $329

Yesterday, like most days, I took a quick look to see what One Kings Lane had in stock and instantly fell in love. If you are not familiar with OKL, they are an online sale site that sells housewares in different categories for a limited time. Often the popular items sell out almost immediately. So for the first time in a while I felt the urge to buy something from them! So I called Mr. S. to see if he was okay with this chair and I bought it. I am normally the person that over analyzes every purchase looking for the perfect item so this was a bit of a departure for me. I think it will look great in our Master Bedroom (which is currently on hold while we finish the basement). Maybe I felt the urge to pick this up after choosing off white walls in the basement. My inner kitsch is coming out! I am hoping it is as lovely in person.

In Progress Mood Board for the Master Bedroom

2 Comments

In -Bedroom, -Furniture, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS, OUR HOME

Blue Metal Sidetable: Two Ways

January 12, 2012 — 2 Comments

Blue Loop De Loop Side Table from Urban Outfitters, $49.99 + extra shipping charge

I have been looking for a small sidetable for our porch (for next to our swing) for a while. I have been back and forth on what to buy since the spring for the porch. I was leaning towards a ceramic garden stool, but could never seem to find one that was the right color at the right price. I had given up for now, figuring I would find something in the spring. I have also been looking for a new small table next to our wingback chair in the Living Room. The current one is getting a little unsteady thanks to 2 small children playing with it. So I was looking through the clearance section at Urban Outfitters over the holidays and saw a nice blue table. I was just reading my new Alexander Girard book, so this table really spoke to me! I was thinking it would be good for our Living Room so I decided to order it.

New Table in the Living Room

When I took it out of the package I was surprised at how heavy it was. It is definitely painted steel not aluminum (the description just said “metal”). I was not quite sure if it was suitable for the Living Room (which at the time was full of Christmas stuff). I did immediately think that this would be great for the porch or the backyard. It was also nice and sturdy and seemed like it could take having my kids sit on it (an important feature in our house).

New Table on the Front Porch w/ our Terracotta Colored Swing

So I brought it outside to take a look! And I really liked it. Then I brought it back inside to consider for the Living Room. It has now been living inside for about 2 weeks, and it has grown on me. So I ordered a second one and put it outside! Isn’t it funny how when you give up looking for something, the perfect thing suddenly appears. I also figured if I change my mind about the Living Room I can always use an extra table in the backyard.

What do you think?

P.S. Thanks Mom for the belated Birthday gift!

2 Comments

In -Furniture, -Living Room, -Porch, OUR HOME

Earth Day: Recycled Outdoor Chairs

April 22, 2011 — Leave a comment

In honor of Earth Day here are a couple of Outdoor Chairs made from recycled milk jugs. I am considering a pair of these Emmet Lounge Chairs for our backyard in blue. They are a quite pricey but I love that they are recycled, American made, super low maintenance and come in fabulous colors.

Emmet Chair available through Room & Board $399

Here is also a more traditional option also by Loll Design:

4 Slat Curved Back Adirondack $546

Here is another Adirondack option made from Polywood:

Polywood Adirondack Chair from Brookstone via Amazon $270

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