Feature Friday: The Lovely Cupboard

via 6th Street Design School by Kirsten Krason on 11/18/11

I love the name of Heather's blog, the Lovely Cupboard. It has such a nice ring to it. Her home is just as lovely as her blog. I asked Heather to introduce her home and here is what she said

"Hi there! I'm Heather from The Lovely Cupboard. I had to pinch myself when Kirsten asked if she could feature my house. Being one of my favorite blogs, I stop by 6th Street often to find design inspiration. I've discovered that my own personal style is a reaction to make my first home, a 1940's Tudor style cottage, feel fresh rather than just old. My husband and I picked our house because we love older homes and the character that comes with them.  While I've always collected antique and vintage pieces, I started feeling like my home was looking more a like a museum than the fresh space I'd envisioned. I started incorporating bold fabrics and new pieces mixed in with flea market finds to make sure that things didn't feel too stuffy. Luckily, I've also inherited some pieces that my family has collected from literally all over the world. These heirlooms add a global feel to my house and have such meaning to me as well. While my to do list for each room seems to keep growing longer, I'm working on being content with the progress we've made so far. I'm always on the hunt for budget-conscience DIY projects to imitate looks I love. Welcome to my home!"

Read more about these chairs here. 

 

Don't you love that ombre art? Read more about it here. 

Thank you so much Heather for sharing your home with us! 

Not only is Heather's home beautiful but check out what she did with her classroom. 

I wish my teachers were this cool when I was in school. 

Hang Modern: Merkled Coat Hooks

Sent to you by lizzie via Google Reader:

Hang Modern: Merkled Coat Hooks

via 2Modern Blog by greg@2modern.com (2Modern) on 11/22/11

Loving this oddly shaped, colorful, powder-coated aluminum hook for the wall. From the website:
"A perfect time to bring color into your space and just in time for winter jackets and rain coats! The Merkled Coat Hooks are inspired by the cutoff forms that result from the waterjet cutting of the Merkled Coat Rack during production. Similar to the Merkled Coat Rack the strength relies on one slight bend in the arm of the hook. Great solo or in a cluster. Merkled Studio, dually based in Portland, Oregon and Chicago, Illinois, specializes in designing for metal, wood, textiles, felt and leather. All of our products are made in the US." $15 for individual and $95 for a set of 7. More here.

I’m like a busker, kind of

I’m like a busker, kind of

via Pitch Design Union by Margot on 10/23/11

I guess by pardon the dust I meant pardon the silence too, jeepers. I've been in the weeds since last Wednesday, helping code two different websites, designing another, revising logos for two different clients, and prepping to go to Portland (!!!) on Wednesday.
But I want to talk about the graphic that went into the sidebar last week for Paypal donations. If you've been reading for awhile, you know this is a new thing and it's because I need a little help. It's so interesting, I've been thinking about the ads/no ads thing for a long time but I don't really have enough traffic to support them, so I've never felt a need to discuss money here at all. The truth is, I'm just your everyday small business and I've got some steep expenses heading my way in the next few months. Oral surgery on November the 10th and far sooner than expected I'm going to have to spring for a new Mac too. And while I am one of the rare self-employed who has health insurance, it doesn't cover my teeth (reasonably affordable dental coverage isn't available to me at all. Frankly, I've yet to meet an American freelancer who actually has dental insurance if they have health insurance at all). So I'm paying for the wisdom teeth and the resulting recovery time off out-of-pocket. It's going to set me back about 2k, not that much in the grand scheme of life I realize, but having some help definitely makes the process a heck of a lot less painful for sure. If you're not into donations, that's honestly cool too, thank you for stopping by just the same. All of you are amazing and your hairs smell of sunshine.
And uh… If you have any tips to share for a speedy recovery I am ALL ears, or eyes, rather. I will try anything and everything that is supposed to help, on top of the usual ice/rinsing/soft food. Here's one my dentist told me: eat lots of pineapple beforehand. Apparently its got enzyme that promotes oral healing. Thank you, SCIENCE! I'm going to be the valedictorian of wisdom teeth, just you wait and see!
{Image credit: Creative Life designed & printed by Amanda Cherie. So perfect for this post it's exactly same the kind of pluck it takes to put yourself out there. Thanks, Amanda!}

Interior Therapy

Interior Therapy

via ATELIER Abigail Ahern by abigailahern on 10/23/11

You don't need to seek out a therapist when you get the decorating right at least that's what I'm thinking. When you walk through the door and your heart rate increases because every single thing in that entranceway is there because you love it. Not just the entranceway obviously your whole house, no matter the time of day or the time of year, you walk through the door and zing – instant happiness.
I did something as simple as changing the summer blossom in my vases over the weekend with our new faux winter blossom – yellow/twiggy and amazing  made me instantly happy – skipping round the room type happy. People actually knocked on the door and asked where I got the flowers from which made me even happier!
Anyways entranceways are hard to get right – they are often narrow and in my case not totally working. We are off to the DIY store (that's Graham and I of course, Maud and Mungo are off to school – Mungo's first day and I'm a little nervous being only a baby. No doubt I shall be calling every hour to check on him – yep one of those mothers)! Anyways we're off to the DIY store to figure out how to panel the hall. I've currently got a bit of art hanging there but not enough to make an impact so am hoping panelling will somehow pull the hallway together. Panelling, art anything that embellishes walls and brings them alive will up the heart rate. Look at these two images for example – there isn't a ton of art but what there is totally nails it and brings the walls alive. That's exactly what I'm on the hunt for – a good piece of art relatively inexpensive  to just bring the area alive – that and a bit of panelling possibly.
Photography by Chris Court