I’m a firm believer that nothing can give you bigger bang for your decorating buck than paint and fabric. As a result I’m always on the lookout for inexpensive curtains, pillows, bedding, etc…and I’m constantly painting and re-painting rooms…but I digress.
So imagine my glee (yes, I said “glee”), when I stumbled upon several super cute duvet covers for under $100. Let’s have a look see…
Organic Carved Circles Duvet – F/Q $79
Organic Imperial Duvet – F/Q $79
See what I mean? Happy shopping!
Back when I was a single gal dreaming of owning my own home, I used to imagine what it would look like. I always thought it would look like an Anthropologie store…more or less. You know – all artsy and feminine. Now that I actually own my own home, I’m not totally sure why my house looks so…well, normal. Although, it probably has something to do with not wanting to embarrass my son when his friends come over since Anthro stores can be a bit over the top. I still can dream, though. Want to dream with me?
In my dream house I would have this bed. I love this bed. I’ve big fat loved this bed for years. Yes, it’s $1500, and yes, it’s a little over the top, but we’re dreaming here. Remember?
I’d probably add this floofy fluffy white bedding. Doesn’t it look like a cloud? All feminine and dreamy-like?
And may I tell you how much I love this Astrid Chair? I even love the name. And are you noticing that absolutely nothing in my house even remotely resembles the style of this chair? Hmmm, makes one think.
For my kitchen I want these fancy measuring spoons that would make me smile each time I used them.
Same with this adorable milkmaid butter dish. Oh c’mon. The cuteness is killing me.
And I seriously want to eat off of these dishes…or maybe even just lick them.
And after dinner I’ll retire to the study where I’ll light a few candles…
Sip some tea…
And read Sense and Sensibility…or just gaze at its darling cover.
Ahhh…isn’t it fun to dream.
What would you have in your dream house?
I wrote a basic tutorial last week about using Polyvore to create design boards. I wanted to do a second post to show you one other really cool thing you can do in Polyvore – you can grab items from other websites.
First, remember in my last post how I told you to follow this tutorial to download the clipper tool? You need to do this before you can grab items from other sites. Okay? Okay (you’re so compliant..love you).
Okay, so let’s say you’re browsing the Anthropologie website like you do everyday occasionally, and you stumble upon this rug. Your heart goes pitter pat, you let out an audible “Ohhhh”, and you instantly want to use it in a design board.
Since you already downloaded the clipper tool all you have to do is go over to your “Favorites”, and then “Links”, and then scroll down and click on “Clip to Polyvore”.
Once you’ve clicked on “Clip to Polyvore” a little box will appear in the upper right corner of your screen, telling you to click on the photo you want to save to your items in Polyvore. Once your mouse is over the photo that you want to import, a green box will appear around the picture. Once the green box appears around the picture just click on the picture.
A new box should then appear in the upper right corner of your screen asking if you’re sure you want to save the photo to your items – just click “Save”. You also have the option of including tags. This helps others in Polyvore to be able to find your item to use in their design boards. So, it’s kind of a nice thing to do to add tags.
(Note: My computer was acting up and wouldn’t let me grab the Anthro rug like it should have. So in the interest of finishing the tutorial, we are now looking at a different rug…same principle. Okay – carry on).
Once you’ve clicked “Save”, the item will appear in your saved items in Polyvore and you’ll be able to see them next time you visit.
One little caveat is that you can’t clip every photo to Polyvore. Only certain photos can be uploaded. For instance, I’ve tried to use photos from Ebay listings before, and no dice. Drats. Most “store” sites can clip to Polyvore though.
And that’s it. Happy creating!
As some of you may know, I have a bit of a Polyvore addiction. To me, being able to go in a program and virtually create room design boards is the equivalent of playing with Barbies as a kid (…without the whole Barbie-Ken smooching thing). I’m a really visual person, so when I’m designing a room it’s a huge help to be able to see how my ideas will actually look before I actually start working on a room. It also helps me to be able to experiment with different design elements without the commitment of going out and buying that wacky Amy Butler fabric or faux deer head. It’s basically risk free decorating. Love that. Okay – hang on for a highly technical (but hopefully informative) post.
Polyvore can be really confusing the first time you look at it. First you need register to create your own account.
You’ll then want to follow THIS tutorial to download the “clipper tool”.
Then go back to the Polyvore Homepage and click “Create”.
Now the real fun begins!!! You’ll see a screen that looks like this, which is still really confusing.
No worries. Go to the search box and type in whatever you’re looking for. This can be an item like “sofa” or a brand like “Pottery Barn”.
Okay, so you’re looking through the pages of Pottery Barn items and you see something you really like and want to use in your design, like this blue Charlotte Armoire…mmm yummy.
All you need to do is click on the item and you can then select from 3 options: 1) Add to set, 2) View details, 3) Save to my items. If I really like the item I want to save it in my items to use again later. So I’ll click “Save to my items” first, and then I’ll click “add to set”.
Sometimes you’ll add an item to your board and it will look kind of fuzzy and see through, like this:
All you need to do to fix this is go up to where it says “Background: Remove”, and click “Background: Keep”.
Ahh, much better. But wait, I don’t want to see the wood floor behind that rug. So I go back up to “Background” and click “Background: Custom”. It then pulls up a screen that looks like the photo below. You just use the little squares to draw a line (or box) to crop the photo…keep want you want and eliminating what you don’t. When you’re done, click “OK”.
Now I want my rug behind the sofa, though. So I go up and click “Backwards” until the rug is behind the sofa. It usually takes a few clicks…not sure why. Also, if you want an item in front of another item, you click “Forwards”…but I’m sure you would have figured that out.
Also, a note about finding items: Don’t be too worried about finding the exact item you want to use in your room. If they don’t have my exact sofa, I find one that’s similar enough to give me the right look.
Once you’ve created a “room” you like, you can either click “Save draft” to save it for later, or click “Publish”. Clicking “Publish” is the only way you’ll be able to save the photo in your own computer file.
Once you’ve published your room, just click your username (mine is obviously AnNicole).
And that’s it. You’re Polyvoring!
Beth at Stories of A to Z is having a “Ready Set Vignette” party today, and I really wanted to participate. I hoard accessories, but oddly my own vignettes don’t change very often. Hmmm, maybe if I stopped painting for five minutes they would?… :). So rather than boring you with more photos of the same old vignettes in my house, I also hoard photos of accessories, and here are a few of my faves
This Martha Stewart mantel has been in my “dream home” file for a while. I love the soothing colors and interest of the vintage landscape paintings – especially combined with a simple starfish and a tiny vase that picks up with the green in the paintings. For a similar look be on the lookout for vintage paintings at thrift stores and “flea-tique” stores. I see them all the time. And you can paint unsightly or uncoordinated frames in matching colors that you draw from the paintings.
I love this BHG vignette below. I hope you haven’t already seen it too many times. Ahhh…the combo of white/black and warm wood. Lovely. This look could easily be replicated with a couple black and white drawings or photos placed in large black frames with thick white mats. Warm wood accents and rustic baskets complete the look.
This Country Living vignette is a great example of how repeating similar items can add a lot of interest and result in a a big impact. I love how the topiary kind of breaks up the look too.
Oh symmetry…I love symmetry – mostly because it’s fairly foolproof :). In the photo below they’ve created a visual triangle, though by having the birdcage in the center be slightly taller than the lamps on either side (and much taller than the vases). Triangles are good when it comes to creating vignettes. Make your arrangement create some kind of triangle and you’re probably going to be okay.
Finally, I love this photo from Ballard Designs. This vignette shows how you don’t need a lot of stuff to have a nice vignette. In a nutshell…go big. The combination of the large items, as well as the varying colors and textures, creates a really interesting vignette.
I thought I’d take a stab at something different today and look at the dilemma of combining two very different styles into one cohesive look. You married folks know what I’m talking about right? Not so easy when your spouse has a heartfelt love of all things Nascar and you prefer…well, anything but :).
Today, we’re pretending she loves contemporary style with clean lines and not too much fuss. He loves all things earthy. Give him wood grain and leather and he’s a happy man.
Meet the happy couple’s bedroom:
As you can see, Ms. Contemporary and Mr. Earthy have learned the art of compromise. She gets a bed, nightstands, and artwork with stylish and clean contemporary lines, while he gets his manly leather chair and warm earthy colors. They even managed to find a mirror that combines both simple lines and his beloved wood grain. Ahhh, a match made in heaven.
Now, don’t worry. This single gal isn’t going to attempt to give marital advice here, BUT I have a few suggestions when it comes to combining styles.
Feel free to let me know if you want me to do this again, and if so, are any particular styles you want me to try to combine?
Finally, thanks to all of you who entered the Pleated Poppy giveaway! The winner of the set of 3 posy pins is lucky number 81, Stacy from Snow Business.
This outfit from Anthropologie. Don’t ask me why, but I want it…for a tenth of the price, of course.
It may have something to do with this belt. Look at the adorable flowers!
The cherry blossoms in my back yard…even though every tree in the city is giving me outrageous hay fever…achoo!!! Whew! Excuse me.
This pillow from the Liberty of London line at Target. Of course, you may have noticed I have a slight fetish obsession love for pillows. It’s kind of different, but very cute in person.
Pretty much every room in this cottage designed by Angela at The Painted House. Check out this post, and this, and this. You won’t be sorry.
These ballet flats from the Gap. I have them in bronze and they’re soooo comfy. They’re available in other colors too.
This self tanning lotion by Mystic Tan. I like to think it gives me a convincing, natural glow.
Have a great day!
