Pickle Surprise!

Surprise! I'm in Houston for a week! ...and this is Pickle- the newest member of the family & Pepper's 1/2 sister. Isn't she precious? She's hanging out with the other 2 big sisters here in Texas before going back with me Thursday to meet Pepper. Since I'm visiting family, you'll have to forgive the limited posting, but in the meantime ponder what it's like to hold this little squeak-toy of a dog while it snuggles you to death! :)

Chilewich Doormats!

Our old doormats were ready to pass on. The front door one was nice and big, but quite boring- and it was really taking a beating with all the salt & snow! The kitchen door sported the only brown one I could find (to blend into the floor)- a $4 Target mat that had already been replaced multiple times.

After an angst-filled night looking for something attractive, durable, and not too pricey, I finally struck gold:

They're vinyl shag utility mats from Chilewich. Durable, practical, seemingly indestructible... and they look good. They're pretty pricey though ($150 for a 3'x5'... ouch!), but my luck wasn't over yet. Over on RedLollipop.com you can get big discounts on them- and they also sell 'irregulars' for 50% off. I bought 2 irregulars... and can't tell the difference! :D My only wish was that I could have gotten a bigger one for the front door, but the bigger size wouldn't fit... so there isn't anything I can do about that. Either way, I'm basking in how happy a doormat can make me...

Some Mod, Little Paintings...

Some new, little paintings in the shop!

Hemnes Knobs... Part 2

Remember when I posted about those adorable Anthropoligie Timepiece knobs that would look great on my dining room Hemnes? Well, I don't have them. Yeah... I know... let down.

But I did do something with it! I finally remembered a set of antique brass knobs my mom had given me when they were updating their house. They didn't end up using them & would rather give them to me than pay a re-stocking fee.

I think they look lovely on the Hemnes! Makes it a whole lot more elegant for sure- and the brass ties in with the clock plates (although you can't see them here). Only problem? I'm missing ONE. (That's why this picture is a closeup). I'm going to try and track it down somewhere where it doesn't cost me $13 for a single knob...

Pepper in the Pod!

The new eiCrate is here & set up- and we all love it! We could only get it in black (white was sold out), but I'm quite happy with it regardless... and so is Pepper!

CozyLittleCave Textiles on Envelop!!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm now designing CozyLittleCave textiles over on Envelop! You can peruse the articles or check out my shop here.

It's your place for off-road designer pillows, placemats, napkins... you name it! They're based in Belgium, but they off free international shipping! They do charge a $1.50 handling fee per order, but I'd say that's minimal!

I can't wait to offer more designs as my etsy paintings grow, but for now, I hope you'll love what I've got & check these and more!

Side Table Solutions... Part 2

After much agonizing, I've come to a solution that solves my problem 90% & that I'm quite happy with:

The 'new' side table got moved to the adjacent library- where storage was also needed. The current winner is our "C" side table (from Crate & Barrel a year or so ago) which used to slide under the couch. I'm not crazy about having no table near the couch, but it's more of a 'lounger' anyway, so it should be ok. This one blends in without knocking out 1/4th of the fireplace quite nicely. The other one still stands where it was, and at least it provides some of the storage we wanted.

My only concern now is how to brighten up that corner. I have no desire to cover or replace those black Poang cushions, so that's not an option. I actually spent all night fitting and painting cardboard to the back of the built-in -thinking that was sure to do the trick. The back now fades from white to the 'olive oil' chartreuse in the kitchen (with the fireplace beige mixed in too). It blended and brightened so nicely- but you can't see it!! The glare from the glass knocks it out unless you know what you're looking for... and the pictures refuse to show it at all. At least I'm pretty happy with how it looks now... :)

Side Table Solutions

UPDATE: Ok... ok... don't worry, I'm not painting them! I found the only solution I could (for now), which I'd say is 90% successful. I'll post pics tomorrow- hope you all like the solution!

I finally made what I feel was a great buy via Craigslist. I got this pair of solid wood night stands for $25 (I'm using them as side tables)!

They have 3 drawers, a nook, a night light underneath (switch on the side), and an outlet on the back- but Jesse wants to redo the wiring in them. Based on the photos, I was planning on a complete, immediate refinishing job, but after cleaning them up a bit, I was shocked at how good they looked (not perfect, but not bad!).

My only concern is placement of this one:

It seemed a little off or crowded at first, but now that we've been using it, Jesse & I love its place there & how functional it is. I can't get over how well the wood matches the mantel- the Poang's placement is a must- so no moving that around. I considered a little pedestal table, but it would be less functional and I have yet to find a well-made affordable one. What do you think? Is it really so awful?? What if I paint the drawers white...?

(excuse the wonky photoshop job)

Nelson Saucer is in the Kitchen!

Yay! It's here! It's here! ...and I LOVE it!

Definitely an improvement on the old fan (good-looking as it was) imho. I love the ambiance it gives... and I can't resist making creepy UFO noises anytime Jesse walks near it. :D

How to Make Cupcakes in Orange Peels!

Ok... this is just too cool not to share. Check out this post I found over on BeyondAGarden- she makes cupcakes IN orange peels. Amazing! I can't wait to try this & I'm gonna have to read through that blog to look for more awesome projects.

In other news, our Nelson Saucer pendant is up and glowing in the kitchen! It's also making UFO noises anytime anyone walks near it! (ok maybe that's me...) Pics coming tomorrow! :D

Colour Birds Pillow

Check out this lovely Colour Birds pillow over on envelop. So cute- I can't get it out of my head! Designed by blanca from Madrid & going for $29.99 for a 40x40cm case. I think it would be very happy nestled on my couch...

A New Look and New Paintings...

It's finally time to revitalize and finalize the look for the etsy store! Check it out - the revamp is topped off with fun product photography, spiffy new business cards, thank you stickers, and new tags on the back of all paintings. And to get the new year going, I've been uploading (a few each day) some swell new work! Check it out here!

Basement Bath...

I've shown a sneak of the basement bathroom before- it's the only room in the house that hasn't been painted (not counting closets- and even some of those were painted) because it was in great condition and pretty cute as is.

Pardon the horizontal artifacts 2/3rds up- I composited two pics together to fit it all in one image

A recent change did happen though- we got a new shower curtain! The old one was very nice indeed and looked lovely, but it was traditional & mellow- which isn't very becoming of a room directly next to a wall of bright yellow zig zags and a giant, plush nuclear bomb. We wanted something more cheerful, and I found it in the Home Vista Tree Shower Curtain from Target. I was hesitant because it's been so popular (evidenced by it's largely being sold out and constant appearances on Apt. Therapy). I'm really glad my mom got it for us though for our anniversary- it's perfect for the space and livens it up just enough!

Vintage Posters Update!! Get yours now!!

Several people have asked me more about how I got all of the vintage WW2 and WPA scans that I printed for the living room & around the house. Unfortunately, popartmachine.com seemed to have severed the links to the Library of Congress archives & there was no easy way to find them! THAT'S CHANGED! (it appears so anyway...)

http://popartmachine.com/catalog/

On the website above- make sure ONLY to use the 'library of congress' search box. For instance, if you type in 'canadians,' one of the first lines should contain the cute canadian victory bond print with the beaver. You should get a grid of thumbnails- if not, go back and try again. ONLY use the LoC search box- not the one in the header! Once you find and download the images, they'll have to be slightly photoshopped from the scan (cropped, rotated slightly, brighten the colors if need be). It'll look just like it does below- needing a little tlc. It took me a full day's worth of time to type in stuff I thought might work to find all the ones I did, but I thought it was so worth it! Feel free to search specifically for the ones I found or try your own ideas. :) That pesky LoC search bar didn't used to be there & isn't on every page, but that's what you want to search & those thumbnails should be the results. Be prepared for some sleuth searching if you don't know the exact titles of the posters you want- you might have to look hard for them!

Don't let the above image scare you- all it needs is some cropping and rotating!

Bright and Sunny!

Aloha! Today was beautiful, bright & sunny here in Pittsburgh, so here's to a cheerful mid-week! I've been spending the day working on photographing some new paintings & getting the shop ready for a new look! I can't wait to share it with you soon...

On Dog Crates...

Yay! Exciting news: our family is growing by one little doxie pup! The new pup is Pepper's 1/2 sister & we're going to name her Pickle. However, the crate we have for Pepper isn't big enough for two, so we'll need a new one. Now that she has company, the crate will be moving out of our bedroom and into the living room- and I have to look at it. A lot. So I've set about looking for something that isn't hideous.

Basically, there are only a handful of modern, sleek looking options, and they're all between $300-$500. Really. I don't know what's up with the pet companies, but someone needs to get on the ball here & come up with some new options! Luckily, I found one I love- and it's not much more that an ugly one would cost...

It's the eiCrate from GO!PetDesign and the crate alone goes for $100. It's big enough for 2 mini doxies, it looks like an igloo, and it fits with my love of MCM decor. Love it! It comes in black, white, silver, or gold- I'll probably go with white. It'd look great with a wire Bertoia chair next to it...

Here are the couple other (outrageously priced) options out there:

On the left is the retro ZenHaus at $565 for medium size and the BowHaus is on the right for a whopping $599... cute though. There are knockoffs of both floating around, but even those ring up at $300-$400. And frankly, I prefer the eiCrate.

Ordinal Dresser...

After exponentially increasing the residents of our home during the holidays, it became clear that the Poang lounger in the living room desperately needs a side table of some sort. One including storage for dog toys would be a bonus. So that's what I've been hunting for lately. I found the perfect piece for $15 on craigslist, but it turned out to be laminate & therefore unfit for my plans. I've seen some already-stunning options too, but they come with already-stunning prices. I keep bouncing back & forth between finding a piece to refinish or making our own (neither is without concern). While I want a cheap fixer-upper project, I have checked out stores to get some ideas... and I don't know how I'm just finding this one...

It's the Ordinal Dresser from Anthropologie. Beautiful as it is, it comes in at a whopping $998 (lol!). Silly pricing aside, I just love the 1st, 2nd, 3rd on the drawers! And it's something that could VERY easily be reproduced and altered for a refurbished piece (and how darling for a nursery or kid's room?)! Something I'll have to file away for another day perhaps...

The search continues...

The Perfect Vase!

Yay! I received my white Areaware Brush Vase from www.allmodern.com yesterday... it's lovely! I was really impressed with the shipping- it came much earlier than I expected- like... the next day (although it shipped from Ohio & we're in PA). Packaging was extremely thorough; it took me about 10 minutes to get the thing out, but better that than a chance of damaging it i suppose!

Here it is being a conventional vase

The vase is cast resin, and it's simply stunning! I wasn't sure what to expect with resin (I was a little fearful of a plastic look), but it has this raw, elegant 'just came out of a studio' feel that I love! You can really tell that it was cast directly from actual brushes, and maybe it's just the artist in me, but that makes it all the more alluring- the little imperfections and realistic touches. It's part of Harry Allen's REALITY line, so I suppose that's the whole point. There's something inherently beautiful in the tools used in making art- and this vase really helps capture that- not only as a piece of art itself, but as a functional piece! It came with a fitted glass insert so that I can use it for flowers, cuttings, paintbrushes... whatever! And knowing how much I like to move things around in my house, that's a big bonus! I've already been moving it from room to room! :D

Here it is perched gloriously in my studio!

And here, it's just looking gorgeous in my white mantel collection!

The last time I talked about vases I preached the values of classic simplicity. But here, there's just no comparison for something so special and unique- I think it's something my friends would call a 'tess vase.' Not only that, but it's an elegant, functional piece of art that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (a reasonable $75) and isn't going to show up on your friend's table next week. I love having something so elegant that can double holding my grubby paint brushes in my studio and then hold roses in the garden or bay windows upstairs. Lovely!

As stated before, I was provided this product free of charge by www.csnstores.com. The opinions, descriptions, and throughts presented are entirely my own, and I received no other compensation.

A Christmas Lesson Learned...

After taking down our Christmas decorations today, I've decided that we will be rethinking the outdoor plan for next year. You see... we staked the lights in the ground lining our yard- and we thought it looked pretty good. It did. But you see... we live up north now, and the ground is frozen... solid. So now there are probably about 100 little green plastic stakes that won't budge until the ground thaws (whenever that will be). Lesson learned. Oh well.

I think next year we might use our red & white C9s to line the windows on the inside (help heat the house instead of melt snow!), but we'll see. I already decided to hang window wreaths instead of draping garland from the window boxes (a big windstorm up rooted the stakes for 3/4 windows).

Since I don't want to post pictures relating to this morning's frustration, here's a happier shot of my sisters' and me sledding:

HELP! A Kitchen Light Dilemma...

In our kitchen, we currently have a very nice, contemporary looking ceiling fan. However, the 'can' style light kit not only provides awful lighting- 2 of the sockets have blown! Instead of rewiring, we went in search of a new light kit only to find it an impossible style and finish to match. We found tons of reviews of others claiming the task impossible and hating on how poor the light quality is. SO.... no more ceiling fan. We're taking it down in favor of a new pendant lamp, but the decision is tricky! The new light needs to be bright (we need more light!), it needs to look good (first thing you see when you walk in the front door), and it needs to go with the Ikea Calypso light over the sink.

Here's the kitchen now:

And here are the current runners (hastily Photoshopped in- sizes are very approximate):

1- George Kovacs Large 3 Light Pendant

$270, 20.5" diameter, 3- 100 watt bulbs

(pricey, but the best light quality we think)

2- Possini Euro Mushrooms White 6 Light Pendant

$160, 14" diameter, 6 - 40 watt bulbs

(likely good lighting, fun & unique, but small)

3- Sputnic Chrome Chandelier

$208, 24" diameter, 9- 60 watt bulbs

(a big energy sucker since CFLs probably won't fit- but high on light & fun style)

4- Eden Pendant

$50, 19.75" diameter, 1- 100 watt bulb

(super cheap & simple, but only 1 light & it seems the least compatible with the Calypso)

5- Nelson Saucer Bubble Lamp

$330, 25" diameter, 1 - 150 watt bulb

(clearly the best looking, classic, but only 1 light, expensive, and I'm afraid it might get filthy in a kitchen)

Any thoughts??? The Nelson is the obvious choice in my mind, but the #1 deterrent is the placement so close to the stove- plus the lighting probably isn't as bright as it could be (I'd have to save a bit for it, but that wouldn't deter me). Regardless, balancing price, lighting, looks, and Jesse's opinion is trickier than I thought (and I can't believe how many lights have only 1 measly 60 watt bulb!). Craigslist and ebay have been fruitless or inappropriate for kitchens. I could use really some outside thoughts or suggestions....

EDIT: We went with the Nelson pendant... it was my first choice, and we think it'll look the best with the calypso. The sputnik looking ones would be a dusting nightmare, and #1 (the close runner-up) was too boring for me to look at first thing when i walk in the door. Plus, we want to feel like we have UFOs over our heads :D It's ordered & on it's way- can't wait to share how it looks & thanks SO much for all your thoughts & opinions!

A Not So Traditional Vase...

I was recently given the opportunity to do a product review from csnstores.com. If you haven't checked them out, I would highly recommend taking note- they have over 200 online stores with an outstanding selection of home items from super-budget to super-luxe (how I've managed to be unaware of them until now baffles me)! My favorite is www.allmodern.com, but you can also find great living room furniture and dining room furniture as well. They carry a ton of well-known brands and designers as well as a lot of lesser-known treasures as well- which makes shopping for something specific much easier!

Ironically, after my post a couple days ago on simple, traditional vases, I went with the Areaware Brush Vase... :D I should get it next week and can't wait to share it with you all! I'm going to try and find as many places/ways to use it as possible...

Art Crush: Dinosaur Designs

If you already didn't love Australia, here's a reason to get you wishing you were outback with the kangaroos & koalas! I just stumbled on Dinosaur Designs, an Austalia-based company selling the colorful, creative jewelry and housewares of 3 friends/artists. (And their name has DINOSAUR in it... now that's cool!)

I absolutely love their work and only wish it was sold in the States (although shipping is always an option). Their products are full of so much color, whimsy, and life- all wrapped up in a bow of elegance! I would definitely recommend browsing through their website- it's so inspirational and uplifting (especially on a cold, snowy day like today)- and did I mention their name has 'dinosaur' in it? Yeah... I think they're pretty awesome...

Edit: They DO have a store in the States! There's one in New York (whenever we're there I'm SO making a stop here), and you can check it out here - there's even a panorama of the store- it looks so fun!