Presto Chango part deux: Pink Meets Nest

A few weeks ago I did a presto chango on my great-grandmother's bench. It had been sitting at the foot of our bed for years, and I FINALLY livened it up with some new fabric, lots more batting, and a fresh coat of semi-gloss. Gosh, it was good for my soul!

Well, I've been wanting to do something to our breakfast room (dining room) for a long time now. We had actually left it the color it was when we moved in, and had kept the drapes that were here, too. They really started getting to me. I love fresh rooms---sea glass and Swedish colors: pale greys, blues, greens, and shell pinks, topped off with lots of white and paired with clean-lined, textural, industrial furniture (and beautiful family heirlooms) when I can afford it.

So Thursday my mom came down to see "me" (a.k.a. Charlotte!) and we had a fun day going around town. We went to the fabric store with the intention of looking at fabric for new drapes for the dining room, but as we were getting back into the car, I said that I'd really like to paint the room pink. So we went back in the store, looked at fabric again, and then went to Home Depot to buy a lovely, pale, glowing shade of shell pink flat paint. Thursday night and Friday morning I gave the little room two coats and voila! A breath of fresh air! Bye bye ugly green paint and gross curtains!

before

after! I love the way the color of the wood shines next to the pink.

Even Charlotte likes it!

It is a little bare right now, but I do like the spareness of it. Next stop: new light fixture and curtains. 

I'd like to put in some kind of pendant light fixture that contrasts with the wall color. Either something industrial or some kind of white, modern orb.

Pottery Barn Exeter 5-Jar Pendant

love these chrome fixtures! Maybe too much bling for my little room, but I'm keeping these in mind for my future dream house.

Ballard Designs Eldridge Pendant

I want the curtains to be clean and fresh and not too girly. Check out the fabric I'm looking at now. Which is your favorite?

Graphic flowers on a natural white. Cool, or too frilly?

Love the cleanness of this.

LOVE this fabric, but is it too old-lady with the pink? Maybe I should use it for pillows somewhere else?

This fabric is by Anna Maria Horner. I love it!!

So that's what's new around here. 

When people think of pink, they usually love it or they hate it. What about you? Have I turned you on to the power of pink?

Lifesized Farmhouse Dollhouse

read the full story here!




via all the mountains...

Light Locations

Light Locations has some fantastically beautiful interiors. Most of their interiors are filled with white & light. Lots look very Swedish Modern, which is the style I've determined that I love best, especially when a dash of the eclectic, textural, industrial or historical is thrown in. And over-the-top pattern, color, ornamentation, and architectural salvage pieces in small doses to juxtapose with the cleanness.

I love these houses! From their website:

Light Locations is a photographic location agency providing beautiful, inspiring lifestyle locations to the film/TV and photographic industry.

Light Locations was started by Sophie Hitchens in 2001. The business has grown from strength to strength and now has an established, well known name in the industry.

Sophie takes pride in providing only the best, most stylish locations in the UK by keeping her portfolio to a manageable size. This enables her to have a personal relationship with both owner and client and provide an efficient, friendly service.

The website is always being updated and clients are kept up to date with any new properties taken on.

Shipping Container houses

I found these amazing houses made from shipping containers from Yahoo! Green. Below is an excerpt from the article.

Invented more than five decades ago, the modern shipping container is the linchpin in our global distribution network of products. In the containers go toys from China, textiles from India, grain from America, and cars from Germany. In go electronics, chocolate, and cheese.

While a number of resourceful people have converted shipping containers into make-shift shelters at the margin of society for years, architects and green designers are also increasingly turning to the strong, cheap boxes as source building blocks.

Shipping containers can be readily modified with a range of creature comforts and can be connected and stacked to create modular, efficient spaces for a fraction of the cost, labor, and resources of more conventional materials.

Discover some of the exciting possibilities of shipping container architecture, from disaster relief shelters to luxury condos, vacation homes, and off-the-grid adventurers. See what makes them green as well as cutting edge.


Here are a few of my favorites. Check out the whole article here.