Framed agate slices
I fell in love with the idea of framing agate slice as wall art after I saw what Erica from Moth Design had done with hers.
So on a whim, back in February I ordered two on Etsy. And they just sat on my desk. Then Tanya from Dans le Townhouse just recently framed her agate slices and they are stunning
This was the motivation I needed to get my rear in gear and do mine. I wish I would of been able to hand pick my agate slices, rather than order them on line. The agate slices I ordered aren’t half as stunning as Tanya’s. And they didn’t have that pretty gold around the edges, which makes them look so much prettier.
My plan was to order the frames at Pottery Barn like Tanya did, but I got lucky and found two at where else…HomeGoods! They were white 11 x 14 frames with a nice mat, I wanted black frames, so I just sprayed them black. I quickly gold leafed the edges before I assembled them into the frame.
I attached my agate to a canvas panel, which is a thin canvas board with the texture of a stretched canvas, but more sturdy. Canvas panels were my staple when I was in interior design school for presentation boards.
I used Aleen’s Glass and Bead glue on the backside of the agate slices to adhere them to the canvas panel.
Gold urchins
Gold urchins are popping up everywhere. I first started noticing them styled on coffee tables and fell in love.
via Everyday Girl
The trend credit goes to Jonathan Adler. They are actually wall sculptures which were originally made by C. Jeré in the 60′s along with other very sought after collectable varieties.
Photo CasaSugar
Recently, Jonathan Adler partnered with the C. Jeré studio and reissued their most iconic mid-century designs. For $1250 you can get these signed and dated sculptures.
I don’t have anywhere to use them on a wall but I love how they look as a decorative accessory.
via Style At Home
On a side note..I’ve been seeing coffee tables styled like this a lot lately. Where the heck are you suppose to put your coffee? Isn’t that why it’s called a coffee table? It looks pretty in a picture but it sure isn’t functional in my opinion.
I was so happy when I came upon a knock off version of the gold urchin locally. I picked up one small gold urchin for $30.
I just set my gold urchin on one of my side tables for now, until I find that perfect spot. {looks like I need to get a Channel book after looking at those two styled tables hehe} I’m already loving the visual texture it has. I might go back and buy the other two sizes, I like how they look clustered together.
Sick and shopping {not sick of shopping}
I got myself a cold last week and can’t seem to kick it. So I am going to the Doctor today hoping he can fix me up so that I am healthy and more energetic for Thanksgiving. To pass the time, I have been catching up on blogs, pinning a TON oh and…shopping. I thinking being sick is going to put me in the poor house if I don’t get well soon.
{I would love to say I was doing some pre-Christmas shopping for my family and friends but that would be a lie. I was totally selfish and bought for just me}
Wanna see what I bought?
First up is the beautiful Caitlin McGauley print. She is one talented artist! I just fell in love her fashion illustrations
I guess technically this was a gift, because the proceeds goes to the hurricane Sandy Victims. Couldn’t pass that up!
I must be on an illustration kick because I bought this one by Jessica Rae Summer
{maybe this picture depicted the way I was feeling and that is why I was drawn to it} This girl is ONE talented artist as well. Check out these chairs she hand painted for the DIFFA Dining by Design event with Kelly Sutton of SuttonHouse {one of my favorite designers!}
My next shopping splurge was at JCrew Factory. How in the heck did I not know about them having a factory store on line? They are having a 30% off plus free shipping. Now how could I pass that up?
Great space saving closet tips
I have been slowly organizing my closet. It all started with Pinterest and people pinning glamourous closets like these
To die for pink pendants light fixtures right?
The tufted seats…gonna do this for sure!
Oh the shoe space is to die for and that chandelier? Be still my heart
Seeing all these Pinterest images made me realize three things:
1. I have a dream closet but didn’t realize it’s potential until Pinterest
2 I need to organize my stuff much more efficiently to make it look pretty {like how they laid out the shoes in the last picture}
3 It was time to glam up my closet
I started my makeover back in March when I wallpapered my closet in this large damask print
But that is as far as I got. Until recently, when I saw this light fixture at a local store, Girard Avenue Collections
It was the perfect glam piece I needed for my closet, so I bought it. Unfortunately it is still sitting in the box in the closet and not hanging from the ceiling. My electrian is TOO busy right now so I have to wait, ugh!
So in the mean time I started organizing and editing my clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry. I needed to have more organization and neatness in my closet if I want to achieve that glamourous dreamy closet. No more stacking my shoes hap-hazardly and mixed matched hangers.
Agate in your home
Have you noticed the agate trend? It’s everywhere in home furnishings. I like the movement of agate but in small doses. I could not live with this countertop on a daily basis, could you? Way too much movement for me. {I’ll take two of those light fixtures please!}
But I do love how agate looks as bookends
And in lamps
Or framed art
I think the use of agate in this bathroom is my all time favorite. Even though it is not fitting into my small doeses theme , I think it is stunning
You could get a small dose of this look via Anthropologie
Those knobs were $14 each and just went on sale for $2.95. I bet they sell out fast.
What is your take on the agate trend? Love it or leave it?
Sprucing up some HomeGoods mirrors
I bought two mirrors at HomeGoods for our river house, for $39 each. I loved the shape of them and I knew the blue would be a perfect match to the room. Well, actually when I got them out there, I realized that they were too perfect of a match {I forgot to bring my camera charger so I had to resort to using my iPhone camera}
See how they just blend into the wall? I decided they needed a pop of color on the frame to really stand out. Since I don’t have a lot of options when I am out at our river house, no craft room or Michaels close by, I have to hunt around to see what I can use. All I could find in my limited stash was some old liquid gold leaf paint that was almost the consistency of syrup. It wasn’t the best medium to paint with, but it did the job
I used tape to mask off the blue area I wanted to keep. Much better right?
Here are both of the mirrors in the room
Look at how much the mirrors stand out now
Even though the paint was hard to work with, I am glad I got it done. Adding the gold made such a difference, and it didn’t cost me anything. Gotta love those kind of projects!
World Market dining chairs
I have been looking for two parson chairs for the dining room table at the river house. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a slip covered or upholstered chair, but I knew I wanted a solid color. I wasn’t having much luck, and wouldn’t you know it, when you aren’t looking for something you find it. It happened last week when I was shopping with my friend for her granddaughter’s birthday party at World Market. I spotted the perfect chair for the perfect price, $97 each.
This is the color they sell on their web site
But I got my chairs on clearance because they were discontinuing the red color. I snapped a picture of them sitting in my garage
The combination of the red upholstered chairs, blue cushions and gold valance will compliment the Wonderland drapery fabric on the other side of the room
Even though the dining room table has a “country” feel to it, I think by adding the more stream lined upholstered chair and the blue geometric cushion fabric will make it less country looking. I am trying to avoid replacing the table, so I am hoping these updates will work, what do you think? I am heading out there this weekend to put it all together, so we will see. I will keep you posted. Have a great weekend!
One King’s Lane starburst mirror
I subscribe to the One Kings Lane’s emails to get their daily sales. A lot of their stuff is pretty pricey, but they also have some reasonable items that I find affordable.
One item I kept looking for was a 24″ starburst mirror for our river house. They seemed to have a variety of these mirrors pop up on their sales, but they were $200 and up plus an outrageous amount for shipping. But I kept looking every day, just in case. And sure enough I found one that was affordable and the exact size I needed. $59 plus tax and shipping. You know what I always say…Score!
Even though I originally wanted the finish in gold and this one was dark brown, I knew I could easily gold leaf it if I needed to
