Collaborate....not compromise

My husband and I make a good team. We work well together (when we're not exhausted or hungry, that is!) and we make decisions that we're both happy with. As my husband says, we collaborate, not compromise. By definition, compromise is "a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims". Therefore, compromise insinuates that someone must adjust their claim, or principal (or style) in order to come to a middle ground. They are giving something up. Collaborate means to work with, cooperate with, one another. There is no underlying notion that you must give something up. As Nate Berkus states on his website, "you cannot persuade someone to give up their specific taste". So, when my husband didn't like this painting from Urban Barn that I LOVED, I couldn't be mad that it wasn't going to hang in our house (disappointed, yes, but mad...no).

"City in Motion"

We're still trying to determine what should hang on the wall where I wanted this, but we'll collaborate.  I cannot force him to change his taste and like the picture.  If I didn't care what he thought, or if he really didn't care what went in the house, then I would buy it. In a heart beat. I love it. It's vibrant and interesting and full of life.  But I wanted his opinion on it because "when someone gives me choices, I know they are doing it because they care about me." (via Nate Berkus).

I want my husband to love our house as much as I will once the renovations are all done and it's decorated. As much as I love this painting, we'll collaborate our tastes and find something we both equally adore.

Wall Art....and me?

This weekend, I came across this blog, All Things Thrifty, and was mesmerized by it.  I pretty much love all things damask-ish and all things black & white, so this met BOTH my loves.  It looks like a lot of work, but if we can't find something large for our one wall, I may have to attempt this in the summer (as we don't have a garage, and it would probably be too dusty to attempt in our basement).  My hubby will have to teach me how to use a few tools, but he said he would (although he probably just doesn't want to spend the 5 1/2 hours doing the cut out like this husband did for her). After the shape was cut out, they stapled black material to the back, so it's 2 dimensional. Isn't it amazing??

image via All Things Thrifty blog

For more info on her DIY, click the links above.

As for other wall art...well, I've really been wanting to do a wallpaper feature wall in our master bedroom for awhile now. However, my husband is a little wary of it, as it (depending on the pattern I choose) could be very difficult to put up.  Not to mention, difficult to take down if we don't like it as much I thought I would.  Plus, it's quite expensive! I never realized how much wallpaper cost! So...I've recently found vinyl wall stickers.  Should I try these instead? They're a fraction of the cost, and they're easy to remove (and reuse!).  If we painted the wall behind our bed a slightly darker color, and put these in white (or black), wouldn't they look amazing? 

images via Etsy

What do you think?  I'm still deciding if it's right for us and our master bedroom...but, I figure, I could always use it in my office/make up room, or (when we have kids, and if we have a girl) in a kids room.  So, I put it on my Christmas list anyways!

Sarah Richardson....and my house!

If you know me at all, you know I'm a HUGE fan of Canadian Interior Designer, Sarah Richardson.  I first caught a glimpse of her when I was in High School and she hosted a show, Room Service, where she taught me how to easily fold a fitted sheet. A little lame? Maybe. But I was always frustrated with the elastics and getting it smooth....until voila! Sarah came along. I was instantly hooked. Since then, I've been an avid follower of her website (and sad when she doesn't update her "tips" section...), and addicted to her shows, Sarah's House and Sarah's Cottage, just to name a few.  In January, they'll be a new show on TV, Sarah 101, and I can't wait!!

But, to get to my point, she is about to become part of my house. Not literally, but her paint line. Hopefully. My husband and I have been endlessy searching for a new paint color for our walls. Several discouraging sample cans later, I finally suggested trying Sarah's paint line from Para Paint. I have to admit though, I was a little disappointed to find out that she simply renamed existing Para Paint colors, and didn't actually create them herself...but, regardless, if she uses them, I'll try them!! Today I'm going to pick up sample cans of her "Linen" color (aka "Comfortable Chinos") and one shade darker "Sturdy Trivet" (not renamed and used as the Sarah Richardson line....). The picture below doesn't do the colors justice though... click on the Para link above for better color viewing.

How could you not be a fan of Sarah Richardson?? I mean, just take a look at some of her designs....



Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House 2

 I tried talking my husband into framing the ledge over our corner fireplace into a full height wall, just so that I could copy this fireplace with the offset tall mirror....he wouldn't go for it though :(

Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

This is where I first fell in love with the marble & glass tile combination....Ah....if only this could be my bathroom!

Images via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

Probably my favorite entrance of all time...I absolutely love the mirror, the bench, and the railings!!!

Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

Makes me want to have a wallpaper feature wall in my own house... (sigh)....

Oh, I could go on and keep posting more pictures of her work...but I won't. Not today at least. But there will be more later. I promise you that.  When picking out stuff for my own house, I often ask myself, "What would Sarah do?".  Hopefully I've learned a thing or two from watching her over the years.

Lighting....and backsplash!

I really really wish we could put a new chandelier over our dining table. I saw this chandelier over my friend's table, and fell in love....

Then I saw this one as lighting in a Homesense months ago, and also fell in love....plus, I love damask!

Ah.....if only! But, alas, we need backsplash more than we need new lighting.... this is what I have my eye on, but they don't seem to offer a lot of color options, so who knows if it'll work with our new granite ("Kashmir White").

Glass Mini Strips from Julian Tile

Maybe we'll go with a simple subway tile (glass?) with a glass mini mosaic accent band?? Who knows!  We both liked the idea of stainless steel/metal backsplash behind the stove...maybe we'll try something like this:

Metal Glass series by Julian Tile

Who knows!! We're not ruling any options out. We'll look at everything, take some samples back to the house and see which one works the best! We're going backsplash hunting this weekend! Can't wait!!

Let the fabric hunt Begin!

I have never recovered anything. Nothing.  Ok, maybe that's a little bit of a lie. I recovered a small pillow (with my mom's help) for my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) and ironed-on a picture of the two of us. Cheesy? Kinda...but we were 18 and on budgets for our first Christmas together, so we made each other gifts. So, other than a small pillow (that my mom actually sewed), I've never recovered anything.  Now, as we're on the final stretch of renovations, we want to recover my old Ikea furniture. Or, at least for now, the couch. It's hideous and blue. We have a red feature wall in the house (and, currently, yellow walls -- soon to be repainted a neutral color), so the last thing we want is a house full of primary colors. Bleh. 



This is basically what our couch looks like (similar, not exact)





But in this color blue
(above images via Ikea)



My mom recently had her couches recovered, and she found the fabric online.  She's also recovered a few chairs herself, so I'm hoping she can help us keep our costs to a minimum by helping me recover it ourselves.  With simple lines (see pictures below), I'm hoping most of the job (other than the cushions -- which zip off anyways for easy copying of the patterns), will simply require a tight pull of the fabric and a staple gun.  Now, the question is, which type of fabric do we go for? Do we go for a bold pattern? Or something simple pattern? Color? Or neutral (and accent with throw pillows)?





Colors and patterns are quick grabs and open to change. Just getting some ideas!!
(Images via here)

 What do you think?? Ever reupholstered anything??


Chairs...and Foo Dogs!

I just picked up my new cream leather chairs today and I can't wait to get our TV room all set up!! I didn't realize how low they sat, so I'm still hoping that the new coffee table we bought still works with them (I'm sure it will!).  Along with the chairs, I also bought a GIANT silver striped vase (for my entrance?? Literally, it's like 42 inches tall!), a glass base lamp, 4 little wall art mirrors, a (fake) orchid plant (I'm not normally a fan of fake plants, but this looks SO nice), and a pair of foo dogs (that will be a DIY project of mine to paint them white) like below...I thought they were VERY cheesy when I first saw them while I was helping sort our Interior Designer's storage units at work. But then I saw an ugly dragon figurine turned into a timeless, more expensive looking figurine on The Nate Show with Nate Berkus.

Here's a picture of what my Foo Dogs (also known as Chinese Dogs) look like (except mine are an olive green). Won't they look so much better white?? I'm thinking of putting one of these guys on the shelves that will go behind our new chairs.

 "Foo Dogs are typically used in Asian art & sculptures.  They are protective, strong, and courageous."

Here is a picture of the dragon I saw on an episode of The Nate Show (click here for the DIY from Nate's show)



The dragon before (not the prettiest, huh?)



And the dragon after (an audience member thought it cost about $250 from a store)  Nate proved a simple DIY project could turn the ugly foo dogs I saw -- which  I thought were gargoyles!! -- into something amazing, so I grabbed them!!



I don't know about you, but I think I'm addicted to DIY projects now...I've only done one (my jewelry picture frames), but now I look at so many things and think, "that could be a DIY project!!"

'Til next time!

Coffee Table...

I don't have a picture of it, but over the weekend I purchased a lovely new coffee table that I found at my local Homesense store (for a mere $39!!) that will go between my new chairs (you may remember them from this post).  It looks something like the base of this lamp, that I saw on Stylizimo, except my coffee table is black. I can't WAIT to get my new chairs, slap some new paint on the walls (get rid of the mustard yellow my husband picked!!), and decorate this room!!

'Til next time!