About My Coffee Table Books

While I work on styling the coffee table over the new rug in the living room, I thought I would share some of the books I am incorporating. Besides the various colors and titles and fonts that make such a vignette interesting, a collection of books says so much about the occupants of a home.

 

I love a collection of good books. I buy a book with the intent to read it. I also think about what my kids would be interested in and there are a couple that have been gifted to us.

 

Yes, my collection includes a few books relating to interior decorating and design (like below).

 

A History of Art was gifted to me by my Godmother when I was a teenager.

A favorite book to browse is always the Ethan Allen series.

 

 

And Susanna Salk's Be Your Own Decorator is a must for inspiration and in my opinion is for anybody who does not decorate by following "rules".

Another fascinating, inspirational and really spectacular book featuring global perspectives on design - I would love to share some of the pages with you in a different post - is The Way We Live by Stafford Cliff. It has been described as 'an ultimate treasury....' and that it truly is. My kind of book.

This next book was picked up by my husband on a business trip to China many years ago. It has stunning photographs of serene Guilin, one of the most picturesque regions in the area. I like to incorporate this book because of the turquoise and teal colors in it. The colors lend a tranquility to the coffee table vignette.

To mix up the subjects, I have incorporated a hardcover book on wine; Windows on The World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to play around with these books to see what works height-wise and also color-wise. I have removed the cover of A History of Art for now, as well as the one belonging to The Biblical World - An Illustrated Atlas. I love a good National Geographic book - it is always educational and has great pictures.

 

 

 

 

There are more books. I will probably switch them around every so often.

 

I have thought about covering them up in similar colored paper to achieve a more uniform look but perhaps another time.

 

Do you use a selection of books to decorate your rooms and enjoy them as much for their colors and titles?

 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

 



Can you guess which rug I chose?

Last week I talked about shopping for a rug. After much research online and in stores I traipsed into west elm a few times and decided to go with one from their selection. And because I waited I was rewarded with a 15% reduction in price -  all rugs happened to be on sale till Sept 24th!

Can you guess which rug I chose?

 

Gorgeous texture!

I went with a 9' x 12' Chevron Knot Rug. I decided on this one because of its texture and pattern as well as because the color would be versatile in any room. I wanted to downplay the formality of the living room. 

 

The rug looks a little different in the picture above from the west elm picture below due to lighting as well as because one is a close-up. It is the same rug.

 

 

It has been delivered and I spent the better part of this afternoon moving furniture out of and back into the living room in order to position the rug pad and the rug. I did not want to wait for help to do this -  evenings are busy and so is this weekend. It was not easy but I did it.

This is a picture in the midst of the chaos, attempting to unravel the rug pad. And subsequently all the furniture was moved out of the room while I set about precisely positioning it before unwrapping the rug itself.

 

 

 

I am working on a new layout for the main seating area in the living room - something a little different. I drew it out and it seemed to work and I am trying it with the new rug. All will be revealed.

 

Enjoy your weekend as we head into Autumn!

 

 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

While shopping at west elm

west elm opened up a store on our local high street a few months ago. I have long been a fan of their goods, have purchased for and recommended to clients and own a few pieces myself.

 

I have visited this new branch a few times and during the last visit I took pictures of some of the furniture that grabbed my attention.

 

The laquered Source Bench - part of a collaboration with a South African design studio, Source - caught my eye because of the color and then I noticed the woven leather seat. I am drawn to furniture with a woven element wherever I see it, and I always marvel at the different woven patterns. I also love the contrast in the spindles in the backrest as well as the colorblock effect on the feet.

 

 

This bench would look stunning with a variety of throw pillows on it. Playful, functional and a work of art all by itself.

 

Source Bench

 

 

It is also available in white.

 



Incidentally, the Source Dining Chair is also part of the same collaboration.

 

 

Source Dining Chair

I saw a customer buy one of these and walk out with it. I took a quick picture of one by a dining table. It is the John Vogel chair.  

 

John Vogel Chair

Besides the handwoven synthetic seat  - which adds a pretty pattern - the rounded backrest is an interesting aspect of the overall design.

Also on the shop floor was the John Vogel Bench.

 

John Vogel Bench

One of the reasons I was in the store multiple times was because I have been shopping around - in no hurry - for a rug for the living room.

This ivory Chevron Knot Rug, although neutral in color, is stunning. Its design lends dimension and obvious texture to the piece so therefore it is very appealing.

 

 

 

My other current favorite rug at west elm is this gorgeous Snow Peak Rug - luxuriously soft underfoot.

 

Incidentally, rugs are 15% off until September 24th.

 

 

 

Snow Peak Rug

 

 

I shall keep you posted on the rug situation. Are you a fan of west elm?

 

 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often. 

Our Own Artwork For the Basement

The redecorating of the basement is slowly coming together. This is the artwork my kids and I worked on a couple of weeks ago.

 

Our inspiration was this amazing piece done by Connie at Salvage Savvy. I have it pinned on my Canvas Art board on Pinterest.

Using a 16x20 canvas board and some acrylic paint we had in the house, the kids painted the entire piece in this turquoise color. This served as the  background.

Then, using watercolor paints and paper we chose color combinations to paint on. There was no plan with the swirls or streaks. I did shades of orange swirls. The kids chose pink and purple, blue, green and some brown.

Using a papercutter, each sheet was cut into 1"x1" squares - sorry no picture of the cut squares.

We assembled a random pattern of the squares on the turquoise-painted canvas to give us an idea of how the piece would look overall in terms of color placement.

And then the glueing process began. I used Elmer's glue.
 

The kids will agree this was a fun and easy piece to create which they will enjoy for a very long time. Having created themselves makes it more special. Definitely worth trying with kids of any age.

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.
 

Creating Artwork for the Basement

Before the kids headed back to school, I decided that we would work together on a fun, easy art project for the basement to add to the growing collection of artwork on the different walls.

 

 

 

 

This is just a preview of what we did. It took up very little time and we are thrilled with the result. I will share the inspiration and our piece next week.

 

Enjoy the weekend!  I plan to take my kids biking on the local parkway which is closed to traffic on certain Sundays in early and late summer for this particular family activity. Our first opportunity this year.

 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.

 

 

 

 

 

Adding to the Dining Room Curtains

It turns out the dining room curtains I purchased are a little short of the (minimum 84" length) I wanted. There is not much of a hem to work with to add length to them so I decided to add a decorative trim.

 

I shopped around online and found this pretty and elegant trim. I loved the design.

 

 

 

 

This should hopefully be the solution. I will have them added to the base of the curtains. It looks stunning against them.

 

 

 

 

 

Today is the first day of school for us - first year of middle school for my youngest and freshman year of high school for my older daughter. They are both extremely excited - a wonderful thing!

 

If you require any help with Interior Decorating please click on the tab at the top of my page marked 'Services' or click here for further details.

 

I would love for you to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by; please do check back often.