a grey day

Courteney (I never realized she spelled her name that way) Cox (note the Arquette has been dropped) must have been in a grey mood when she began remodeling her Malibu home. I love the minimalism and mix of materials, but I think the home could use a little more color. Especially in Malibu! Maybe daughter Coco has a pink bedroom that's not pictured, but I could use a little more sunshine. Images from Elle Decor.

this one goes out to the one i love

I don't know what it is about her, but I've had a girl crush on Keri Russell for the better half of 10 years now. Maybe it's because I identified with her character on Felicity or because I once saw her crossing the street in front of me in New York wearing a camel-colored trench coat and jeans with her hair pulled back effortlessly, and she just looked so down-to-earth and someone who would be your friend. Maybe I like her because she moved away from Hollywood and married a carpenter or maybe because we were pregnant with our sons at the same time, and she named hers River (River Phoenix was my first true crush, following Kirk Cameron, of course). Whatever the source of my infatuation--did I mention we're the same age, and I once saw her photographed in a magazine wearing a pair of jeans that I own...and she had them cuffed like I used to do?--I was excited to see her Brooklyn home featured in this month's Elle Decor. Oh yeah, we once thought about moving to Brooklyn, too...

Clearly you can judge by my slight insanity that there's no way I wouldn't like Keri Russell's abode. Unless it was Real Housewives of New Jersey tacky, but come on. Take a look at it yourself, and if you see a similar look evolving in my future home, then maybe I have taken this "crush" thing a little too far.

Images from Elle Decor.

CLEAR-ly

It started with my obsession for all things clear and led me to an obsession with a new interior design firm. Well...maybe not an obsession, but I like their designs. I saw the Akbar table (pictured above) in my latest issue of Elle Decor and had to check out the genius behind it. 

[Side note: when is too much clear furniture too much? Have I reached my limit yet? If I use this table in a bedroom, where there is no clear furniture of which to speak, is that okay?]

My investigative skills lead me to White Webb, NYC interior design firm of Matthew White and Frank Webb, and here is a look at some of their work that harmoniously tows the line between classicist and modernist:

if the shoe fits

Dries Van Noten, Style.com

How much do I love this shoe? And it's not just a shoe. It's art and it's inspiration. What if you designed a room based on this shoe? I think it would go a little something like this...

The wall color would be dark royal blue by Benjamin Moore,

a throw pillow would look like this one from ABC Carpet & Home,

toss in a glitzy little light fixture like this twist pendant light,

and finish it off with a sleek side table from The Conran Shop. 

Voila: shoe becomes room. The funny thing is, it would probably cost you less to decorate an entire room like this shoe than to buy the actual shoe.

feeling groovy

Gypset Style, amazon.com

In case you haven't heard, Boho--as in bohemian, as in fancy word for dirty hippie--is in this spring. As much as I dislike this movement, I also love it. The Grateful Dead-following, gypsy-skirt-wearing, pierced-nose-girl inside of me cannot be silenced. She keeps the corporate, over-scheduled mom side of me in check. While the idea of living as a starving artist has long since dissipated from my dreams, I wouldn't mind being a hippie of the sophisticated kind as outlined in Julia Chaplin's Gypset Style (Jet Set + Gypsy = Gypset). I don't want to be the gypsy that picks your pocket in Spain, but I'd like to be the gypsy that travels glamorously and lives stylishly.

my doppelganger

Why is it that we always see ourselves in someone else...or we're always trying to see ourselves in someone else? You know when you're watching The Bachelor and some girl has the ugly cry going and vows to never date again (I made that same vow in college, you think). Or you read a book where you connect with the main character--a fictional character I might add--because she lived in the same neighborhood as you in New York and she rides the subway to work and likes to drink martinis. I'm not talking about myself here, by the way, but I could be talking about you.

Anyway, my point is that my friend just sent me a link to her friend's blog, and I have to say that I kind of see myself in this girl. I won't say her blog right here for fear of labeling myself as a stalker (which we know I've had experience with in the past) but I have added it under "suggested reading." She also sells things online and--other than her witty and humorous writing--there are (at least) three things listed that tell me she could be me:

Chiang Mai fabric: remember seeing this here?

I've definitely touched on this subject once or twice in different variations.

Been there, ikat.

Admittedly, I was not the first to come up with any of these ideas, but it is comforting (or perhaps validating) to see someone with your same interests even though we're all striving to be unique. An oxymoron perhaps, but that's what unites us...or is it just me?

seeing redd

It seems like all the interiors I've been loving lately have been the work of New York-based designer Miles Redd. His mix of high and low--along with the juxtaposition of casual and glamour--is artful and inspiring. His design business grew organically as he began decorating friends' apartments in New York, and I hope to one day be as lucky (and talented!) as Redd. Take a look at some of his work (images from Miles Redd).

the world wide internet machine

I was just playing around on etsy--one of my favorite sites to find everything you could ever want and a lot more of what you would never want--and typed in "mid-century modern furniture" just for kicks (or to satisfy my daydream of decorating the pool house...after we buy it...and renovate it...). Here's a sample of what I found:

fabulousmess

Qnssker

summerland

ChristopherModern

The furniture is great, but then I found this...

StudioTree

How cute is this stocking? For the past two years I've been trying to find stockings for the family that are festive, cute and timeless with a little sass. I think these might be the answer. We could each have a different mid-century icon to call our own. Then again, if the dream of renovating a mid-century home never comes true and we end up in a cookie-cutter on a cul-de-sac, the stockings would seem pretty silly.

comfortable chic

A couple weeks ago one of Alex's colleague's contacted me in pseudo desperation to help her turn her uptown (uptown in Charlotte means downtown) condo into a home. I met with her on a Saturday afternoon to check out the space and get an idea of her design style, etc., and it turns out that she inadvertently introduced me to a new style: Belgian Modern Design. When I asked her to describe her personal style and asked about her favorite furniture stores, she said her dream would be to outfit the entire space in Restoration Hardware. I immediately came home and began researching the "Restoration Hardware" style and came across Belgian Modern--characterized by neutral linen, little furniture, no clutter and warm-toned woods that create a setting that is warm, comfortable and lived-in. In addition, I read on the DwellStudio blog that this design style is about to take over America in way not seen since the Hollywood Regency movement. Thanks, Danielle, for showing me a new look!

p.s. Stay tuned as I track our decorating progress. Here's a closer look at modern Belgian:

Interior by Kay Douglass, House Beautiful

Interior by Kay Douglass, House Beautiful

Interior by James Huniford, Elle Decor

Interior by Sills Huniford, Architectural Digest

Restoration Hardware

Restoration Hardware