Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tuesday Tips: Protective Storing and Moving for your Dishes

I HATE moving.  It is one of the most stressful things to me.  But man, I do love unpacking and reorganizing.  And, I do like the opportunity to purge a few things.  We moved 8 months ago into our house.  I hope we will eventually grow out of it because of kids but in the meantime, I am thankful that we don't have to move again any time soon.

That said, when I do, I am going to remember this trick - protecting your dishes when packing with styrofoam disposable plates as demonstrated by TheFrugalGirls.com:


This is a trick that my grandmother always used with her china and I still have most of her things stacked up like this, just as she had them (except when I use them, of course!).  She used coffee filters to protect dainty china when it was stacked.


Cost effective and simple.  If you use filters smaller than the plates, you can still display them openly on your shelves and no one will know that the filters are there!

Both images from Pinterest here and here.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Tattoo Pouffs

My friend Kathryn lives in Edinburgh but is a loyal reader of Adorned Abode.  I hate that we don't get to see each other more often due to the big, fat ocean that resides between the two of us but thank goodness for email and internet.  She has been sending me her past issues of Homes and Interiors Scotland and I love looking through them not only for reminders of when I lived in Edinburgh but also to see what other design trends are happening elsewhere in the world.  Many of them are fabulous...some, like this one, not so much.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I recently saw this pouf by Cerruti Baleri.


It really made me do a double take.  I went to see what other poufs they might have and was seriously disturbed at a few of them.  I love a pouf, and I love a good illusion but none of these are anything I'd like to see in my home decor...







Do they creep you out a little too?

Sources here and here.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Staghorn Ferns

I watched an old rerun of Dear Geneieve the other week on HGTV when she redid a couple's NYC apartment.  I loved what she did with the small space.  But even more than the design, I have become obsessed with the staghorn ferns she used in the space.


Here's a close up of what they look like.



Apparently they require very little maintenance (just a mist once a week or so) and can handle indoor light only.  And obviously, they are named because of their antler like shape.

I haven't figured out where you actually purchase one of these things near where I live yet but I did a little searching for some other design spaces that utilize these plants.











I'm on the lookout...

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Peach and Mozzarella Salad and Champagne Vinagrette

I saw a recipe on Pinterest the other day for a Southern Caprese salad that substituted pears for tomatoes which inspired this receipe.  Delish and perfect for summer!


Peach and Mozzarella Salad with Champagne Vinagrette

What You'll Need
1 head of bibb lettuce
1 ripe peach
1/2 - 1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
fresh ground salt and pepper

What You'll Do
Tear the bibb lettuce and place in a salad bar.  Dice the peach and the mozzarella into similar sized pieces and add to the lettuce. 

Whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a separate bowl until combined.  Pour over the salad and toss.


Monday, July 23, 2012

Living Room via Instagram

I am totally obsessed (albeit late to the game as usual) with the Instagram App on my phone.  I love how it makes every picture look so authentic, aged and professional.  Just look at our living room through the eyes of Instagram:

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Adorned Abode Etsy Shop Updates

Hope everyone has had a great weekend.  Rainy weather gave me some time to knit.

Lots of new additions to my etsy shop!  And I got a cute little model to help show off my hats...





Check it out!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Burrata Mozzarella and Heirloom Tomato Salad


This summer I cannot get enough of tomato and mozzarella salad - ensalada caprese.  Ironic for anyone who knew me back in the day when it was my most abhorred food.

Everybody knows how to do a caprese salad but what you might not know is that there is a kind of fresh mozzarella called burrata.  My friend's husband calls it a cross between mozzarella and butter.  And it is just as divine as both.  I paired it here with some of the miniature heiloom tomatoes that Trader Joe's carries, good olive oil, fresh basil and plenty of salt and pepper.  I could eat it every day!




Saturday, July 14, 2012

Privacy Treatments for Bay Windows

I'm going shopping today with my friend who has just moved into a new house.  She has two awesome bay windows on the front of her house that we are going to work on finding a solution for.  One is upstairs in her master bedroom and I think that one will be a little easier.  She's also got one downstairs off of her living room/dining room area.  The way she has the space set up, her dining room table is in front of the bay window and the living area is towards the back of the space away from the window.  She needs privacy from the street view but doesn't want to sacrifice all of the great light these windows let in.  But there's another hitch to the situation - it's a rental so we don't want to spend too much money on something that she isn't going to be in really long term.  So, I've done a little research to brain storm possible ideas for her before we head out on our shopping expedition (which will possibly include Target, TJ Maxx, Pier One, Crate and Barrel or Bed Bath and Beyond - hopefully not all of them!).

I think my friend has an idea of some kind of a shade that will cover the window from about half way down from the middle to the bottom leaving the top exposed to let light in and then hang curtains around.  I have really struggled to find images of what that would look like.  I think the closest thing I found was this:


I think that a more attractive option could be found than that but so far I haven't found any images of what that would look like.

Here's a similar idea but done with shutters and then curtains on the outside which I really like.


We could just use shades with no curtains.  These options look very neat and clean and have great texture.  She'd have to roll them down at night but int he morning you can still see light coming through even when they are closed.




So, there's also the idea of shades that roll down from the top but that are still covered by curtains.  I really like this image below with the valance but it may be more than we are interested in getting into given the rental component.  Still, this is just brainstorming after all...




All of these options look really classy to me - I think this may be a possibility for her bedroom.  This next idea combines that with another layer of privacy and light control but adding blinds underneath the shades:


It is hard to tell exactly what is going on with the window treatments in this next image because of the bright light but I think the way they hung the curtains enhances the height of the space, would provide privacy when needed and looks really elegant.  Good idea for her bedroom:


This next idea is no where near ideal nor my favorite look but I'm just throwing out options here, people.  You can get a product comparable to contact paper that is for window privacy.  I was blown away by the insane varieties of this product and the way in which people have used it.  They range from simplistic to intricate and frankly, absurd looking.  I know she isn't going to choose any of these options but I couldn't resist.





Who in their right mind would want to look at that all day?  Certainly not I.

Okay, then there's an option of sheers with more substantial curtains flanking the window.  This is a real possibility given what I think our options might be out there.


While we are brainstorming and trying to think outside the box, what about this idea of placing a large screen in front of the window in the dining room.  A decorative screen could look neat behind the dining room table, would block people from seeing in but leaving the light exposed at the top.  Just an idea...


And this brings me to my last suggestion.  Now, you have to ignore the hideousness of the treatments in this picture and just listen to my idea.  If you take rods and place them half way up the window and we cover them with panels half way down and then curtains on the outside, we could have a feasible option.  Not frilly, country looking curtains like these, but something sleek and tailored.  This idea really has my brain spinning because there are lots of cool directions you could take it depending on the fabric.


So, who knows what we'll come up with but at least now we are armed with some ideas.  I'll keep you posted.  Does anyone else have good ideas for privacy and light treatments for windows?

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Lusting over West Elm

So I got a West Elm catalog a few days ago.  I swear I dog eared like every page.  See?


(As a side note, sometimes I think that my one of my most favorite things in life is looking at catalogs and dog earring the pages of every single thing I want but know I will never buy).

I love the bold patterns and colors that they are featuring.  I'm also digging the ethnic and South African vibe.  I want to incorporate more of all of these things into my life.

Let's shop virtually, shall we.  Here are all the things I want but have no where to put or no money to buy...





















Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...