Totally Inspiring Room

The living area in a project my Isabel Lopez-Quesada via ECLECchic.

This living room is by Spanish interior designer Isabel Lopez-Quesada. This is my second time featuring her work on a Totally Inspiring Room post and I’m sure it won’t be the last! Her rooms always seem supremely livable and effortlessly chic at the same time. Definitely something I find totally inspiring… not to mention that I’m totally in love with the blue/purple/pink/coral scheme. See more of the project at the blog ECLECchic or see more of Isabel Lope-Quesada’s work on her own website!

Happy Tuesday, all! Until next time…

Orange + Pink + Black

All photos via Pinterest.

I’m loving this fresh and sophisticated color combination right now! It just pops and announces that spring and summer are on the way. Amid the photos above (all from Pinterest) are new fashions from J. Crew, art from Laurie Rollit, colorblocked pillows, a pinstripe cake and other fun and infectiously colored items.

Color inspiration board from Jessica Tierney Designs.Jessica Tierney Designs

More inspiration from Pinterest: this color inspiration board from Jessica Tierney Designs (image via Noa Noa) is a sweet and sexy example of this stellar combo.

A Holly Penikas pin from Pinterest.

Holly Penikas shared this colorful sign… a little kitschy but again, I love the color combination. This just proves that it really is a timeless combo.

It could also be great as a bold choice for a girl’s bedroom…

Pink, coral, and black in a girl's room. Via Pinterest

The just right pops of color to keep a library from being just a dull reading room:

Coral pink and back library in House & Home via Pinterest.

Or a statement maker in an entry:

Tablescape featured in Lonny Magazine via Pinterest.

Check out more coral + pink + black or orange + pink + black on Pinterest. Have a happy, fun and safe weekend!

Totally Inspiring Room

From Pinterest via sfgirlbybay.

Victoria from sfgirlbybay pinned this picture yesterday on Pinterest and it struck a chord. I absolutely adore the floors in the foreground. My dream home will have black chevron/herringbone floors! The vintage globe, midcentury chairs, and and pink hallway are all nice touches too.

Have a great Tuesday everyone. 🙂

Best of the Week

What a week! I’ve feel like a whole year has passed. Really, it’s just a lot of life happening all at once. That’s life though, right? The ups, the downs, and everything in between. As the young Indian hotel clerk says in the trail for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: “Everything will work out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.”

This week:



I was really inspired by this great mood board from fellow Charlotte design blogger, Andrea. She is a designer and DIYer who moved here recently, like me. Check out her cool projects and inspiration on her blog, SpaceSays.



Caitlin Wilson Textiles.





Surfing through some links on Laura Casey Interiors, I discovered this link to Caitlin Wilson Textiles. I’d never heard of this star design blogger but I was delighted to discover her new line of textiles! They are so beautiful and the blue, pink, and linen colored chinoiserie inspired floral gave me ideas for a great living room scheme. A complete set of swatches is available for $20 and comes prettily packaged in a beautiful pink box.

I finished my lamps here, read the YA bestseller The Hunger Games, and tested out a new Android app called Eggdrop with much success.

I also want to take a moment to say something about SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. This is a bill that will effect every blogger out there. See this great post about what the bill means for you and me. Sign a petition, call your reps, and get the word out to your readers and fellow bloggers! This is OUR internet.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! See you next week!

Totally Inspiring Room

Via Decorology.

The weather here in Charlotte is so changeable, one moment bright and sunny, the next somber and rainy. Today it is sunny and cool but rain is forecast. Being a native Seattleite I’ve learned to carry an umbrella everywhere, no matter where I live… so I’m prepared.

The weather has me thinking about cozy corners like this one. As soon as I saw this picture, I fell instantly in love. There are so many things in this little spot that satisfy my tastes: the comfy armchair covered in a bold, feminine fabric, the dark floors, the exotic looking non-traditional stone of the fire surround, and lots of pretty little touches in the accessories.

I hope you’re having an amazing Tuesday everyone! See you tomorrow… with the pillows I had made to coordinate with the office chair. Until then!

Soft Touch

Its a soft, gray, rainy day here in Charlotte today. I was planning on putting these pics but the soft, muted colors seem especially appropriate given the melancholy Springs weather.

Here is a serving of rain washed colors for this not so sunny spring day:

Soft pinks, gray, and white dominate this set. (Sources: unknown, Domino, Elle Decor, unknown.)

Washed out bluish gray and Sterling rose lavenders create a moody ambience. (Sources: unknown, Domino, unknown, Champagne & Macarons blog.)

Soft gray-browns, white, and silver. (Sources: Mallory Morrison Photography, Greige blog, unknown, Elle Decoration Australia.)

Have a great Friday and a (hopefully) sunnier weekend!

Neutral Territory

Kitchens. I like ’em clean and uncluttered. The sleeker and crisper a kitchen is the better I like it. And nothing says clean like neatness, organization, neutral colors, and no upper cabinets (though open upper cabinets are fine). I’m not against having decorative objects or color in the kitchen as long as they are accents and not the only thing you see. So, today I’m presenting some of my favorite (mostly white) kitchens. The uppers are missing or open, the decor isn’t tacky and over the top, and yet all if them look welcoming and homey.

Currently my very favorite kitchen. Everything about it makes me happy. Not sure of the source but I’d love to know!

There is a lot to love here: open shelves, white dinner and serveware, marble counter tops, rustic-modern cabinets, the wall mounted tap, and art leaning casually on the backsplash. Gorgeous!

A more feminine, traditional take on idea… this is so cute! It’d be perfect in a little cottage.

Technically, I’m cheating a bit here because there are some upper cabinets… but the rest of this kitchen is so perfect (especially the view through the door) that I couldn’t pass it up. And… its a tiny cabinet!

Chalkboard walls are a fun and functional way to bring interest to a kitchen.

Pastels

It is gloomy and rainy here. I guess that’s those spring showers everyone talks about. I think I understand now hy springtime is the time when everyone breaks out the pastels – it’s a cool way to transition back into color after winters soft neutrals. So, for this Monday – pastel inspiration. Hope you all have a great week!

A Favorite Room

It is funny how, sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. This is a room that I clipped out of magazine a few years ago, back when I was still in my more modern, minimalist phase. Back then if it wasn’t black and white, I didn’t usually care… at that time, this was too much color for me but I couldn’t stop looking at it.

I realize now that it’s because even with all the color the room is clean, uncluttered, and lived in looking. A beautiful combination in my book. The beautiful harmony of colors, which I didn’t appreciate once upon a time, are wonderfully delicious icing.

Happy (super late!) Thursday!

Pinkalicious.

Here’s a look at some pink interiors. The latest issue of House Beautiful is all about this versatile color and features a plethora of options for using it in your home. It totally inspired me to be on the lookout for beautiful pink rooms… Here are some that I found while browsing last night. Enjoy!