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.

 

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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.

 

 



A Purchase For The Dining Room

I am back from visiting my parents with the kids. It has taken a few days to get over jet-lag and I have a lot of catching up to do. Thank you to those who left comments on my posts while I was away. I do appreciate your visits and your thoughts very much.

I did a little shopping while I was in India. If I had had the time there would have been more but the priority was about quality time with my parents.

One of the rooms I wanted to shop for was the dining room which requires new curtains. I have the Silhouette® shades from Hunter Douglas in place already.

I wanted curtains which would be light and airy. I found these. 

These curtains are 100% cotton and are handwoven with this simple copper-like gold-and-white pattern.

 

And this elegant border was a pleasant surprise. The border will fall below the chair rail and the shape of the pattern coincidentally ties in to the ikat stencil pattern on the walls above the chair rail.

 

 

I also like to pair silver with gold in the same space.

Here is a picture of the window from across the room.

 

 

 

 

And here is what will dress it up.

 

 

I am off to see what I have missed in the past couple of weeks in blogland. Hope you are all enjoying your summer!



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.