Crazy for Chevron

I have a new design obsession: Chevron anything! I seriously want to use the pattern everywhere, from pillows to furniture, but right now I am really craving a chevron rug for our living room. We have been needing a rug for quite a while now, and I think the chevron pattern will be just the thing to offset some of the more traditional pieces in the room. I will post pictures once I actually have the rug, but for now here are some of the amazing interiors that have inspired my desire for chevron.

Yes, that is my chair fabric! Now I know the patterns will look great together! 

Love all of the graphic patterns in this room

Mixing black and blue

I'll take two of these, please!

Take me to New Orleans!

Ok, so this blog is supposed to be about design, and I may be veering off subject just a tad with this post, but I really feel the need to talk about how excited I am for my perfectly DESIGNED Bachelorette Party! This weekend my bridesmaids and I will be heading to one of my favorite places in the world- New Orleans! This place is great for so many reasons. I love the people, the architecture, the food, and the easy-going-fun-having feeling you get from the moment you arrive. New Orleans also has some of the most amazing artists you can find, and each time I go I try to bring back a little something to incorporate into my home. I love bringing pieces back from a great trip because they always remind you of those memories and the people you were with. I cant wait to see what I find this weekend-and if I win big at Harrah's, I promise you it will all go towards artwork! Now it is time for me to share with you some pictures of the things I am most excited to see this weekend, I hope it inspires you to incorporate your love of traveling into your home!

Beautiful Artwork!

I could spend all day (and a fortune) looking at this!

Beignets! Yum!

And Pat O'Brien's - my favorite courtyard spot

with my favorite New Orleans drink-the hurricane!

Wonderful Wallpaper!

Check out these pictures, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Scary, dated, sad, dull, and awful are some of the words to describe how I feel about this wallpaper. Over the past decade, many of us have hated wallpaper and spent a lot of time and effort removing every piece of it from our homes, but I am here to tell you that wallpaper is no longer a depressing subject! It has actually been my design obsession lately and if I didn't live in an apartment, I would be covering every inch of wall space with the amazing patterns available today. It is such a great jumping off point for any room. I am a big believer that starting with a wallpaper or textile will always help you to easily choose your colors and accessories for the rest of the space. I could go on and on about my love for wallpaper, but instead I will choose to share with you some truly inspiring interiors using, yes, wallpaper!

Updates and Accessories

Things have really started to come together lately around my apartment. We have had a couple of wedding showers now and gifts from friends and family have really allowed us to fill our home quickly! Some of the newer things to see include dining chairs and accessories. I like to think of a space in terms of layers. You have the structure of the room which is the bottom layer, then the furniture, the lighting, and the accessories. As you begin to play with and add to each layer of a room it becomes more and more interesting. Think about a table setting, for example. A table fully set with china, silverware, glassware, flowers, candlelight, eccetera will always look better than a bare table. I believe that a few well-placed accessories can add so much character to a room, especially if they are personal items that mean something to you and reflect your personality, or just items you love. Here are some pictures of my dining area with the new chairs and also some fun accessories I have collected!

Quick Fix!

As you all know, my fiance and I were lucky enough to have some great things given to us for our first home together! Some of the things given to us were awesome, but did not really go with my concept for the apartment. A perfect example of this is my chair, which looked old, sad, and plaid when I got it. Adding some fun fabrics to it's classic style really made this an beautiful chair that is now my favorite thing in the room! Another thing we were given is this lamp:

At first glance this thing doesn't look like its got a whole lot going for it. I really liked the shape of this lamp though and decided that a little paint would give it some new life. Yes this lamp is pure brass, and my mom was not too thrilled with my idea to paint it, but the way I see it, if I didn't paint it then I wouldn't use it and that would be a waste of a perfectly good, FREE, lamp. So after one can of blue spray paint here is the result:

What an improvement right?! I love the lamp now and it is the perfect accent piece in our living room. And this project was so easy that it could be done in one afternoon. So next time you are out at thrift stores and garage sales, make sure to look for lamps with great shape!

My chair is done!

It's finally here! My beautiful chair got delivered this weekend and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! I promised to post pictures of the end result and here it is! It has undergone a huge makeover since it's plaid days and now has a fresher, more contemporary look, perfect for my apartment! 

And yes, my cat loves the new chair too. Obviously he is a man with great taste! 

Wedding Wednesday!

With my October wedding less than 3 months away, I consider myself to be in the final stages of wedding planning. It has been a lot of work, but I love getting to see all the pieces come together slowly but surely. Packages arrive at the door almost every week now and I am starting to get more and more excited each day! Planning a wedding is a huge task that takes a lot of time and thought. I truly believe that it is all the little details that will make this day so special. It can seem overwhelming at times having to make all of these decisions, but I have come up with a way to make the process a little easier. I have learned to simply rely on my instincts and to only choose things that I absolutely love. If you love all of the little things that you choose along the way, you will end up loving everything once it is all put together! I am pleased to say that there aren't many instances where I have settled for something I was just "ok" with, and that there haven't been many rushed decisions along the way. I wanted to share with everyone some of my inspirations. My vision for the wedding reception is all about dim chandeliers, candlelight, lush bouquets in pale colors, and elegant neutral linens. I think this inspiration board really captures all of that, and I hope that the wedding turns out to be just as beautiful as all of these images!