Luxury Shower Drains

Luxury Shower Drains?!  I know, right?  You've never given a moments thought about it until you are sitting here reading this.  But now that I've seen how pretty these are...normal, plain Jane drains seem downright drab.

This is the one I saw in Traditional Home that caught my eye:

So, of course, I had to see what other kinds were out there.  California Faucets has a big selection of luxury drains to match all kinds of styles.

Only downside is that I don't think we'll be doing a bathroom remodel anytime soon.  We FINALLY finished getting our kitchen redone (new counter tops and back splash) and painting the nursery so my husband has put the kibosh on any other home renovations for the foreseeable future!  

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Mosiac House Moroccan Tiles

We are in the process of redoing our kitchen.  Not entirely, mind you, but new counter top and backsplash.  I say in the process because as per any home reno, disaster had to ensue.  I literally want to knock Home Depot out but I will save you from the drama of the whole scenario.  And, if it ever gets finished, I'll post some pics.

Because this isn't our forever home, we opted just to redo the counter top and backsplash for resale purposes only.  That and I couldn't take looking at that horrible Texan floor tile that they put all over the counter top and backsplash for one more minute.  But, if I had unlimited possibilities in my choices, I think I would have opted for something with a little more pizazz - like Moroccan tile.  I am dying to cover the fllor of a sunroom or porch in Moroccan tile and maybe even a bathroom or kitchen.

Mosaic House was in my most recent issue of Coastal Living and has a great selection of patterns to choose from.   Doesn't these want to make you start a renovation project, like now?

Check out Mosiac House's website for their full list of options.  The color choice and patterns are endless.  I love how summery and beachy so many of them feel at this time of year!  Plus, even in the dead of winter, these tiles would make you happy!

Jenny Wolf Interiors

I read about Jenny Wolf Interiors in the latest issue of Traditional Home and was immediately intrigued by the tagline to describe her - "home as autobiography".  This is my favorite type of design - one that incorporates cohesive design planning but doesn't strip a home of all of its personal assets - things the home owner loves, cherishes and makes their home unique.  I try to channel this type of design in my own home - from incorporating family heirlooms and treasures from my mom and grandmothers and incorporating my own, slightly more contemporary taste along with the antiques.

So, when I searched through New York-based designer Jenny Wolf's residential portfolio, I fell in love immediately.  Apologies for the number of photos but they were all too beautiful...and this is just a sampling - visit her residential portfolio for more greatness.  Look how each space tells a story of an individual homeowner and not the just the designer.  Enjoy!

Bold Rug...now what?

My friend Diana has a beautiful floral rug in her bedroom as a jumping off point.  She wants to incorporate color and potentially pattern but the question is, how do I do it without it looking too busy?  Can I still incorporate color and pattern in the bedding if I already have a patterned rug on the floor.

Yes, I say!  Yes, you can.  It is all about a happy medium.  I struggle with this whenever I look at rugs but truthfully in my opinion you need to view your rug as a neutral base.  That's not to say you don't want to coordinate and pay attention to the fact that your rug needs to mesh with the rest of the things in your room but just that you don't need to worry so much about incorporating things to be totally matchy matchy.  Now that I've totally confused everyone, I think it is easier to demonstrate with pictures.  These rooms have a lot going on but yet feel totally cohesive in my opinion.

All images from here.

Nursery Inspiration

I know, I know.  I've been totally slacking on the blog front lately!  I'm working on getting my creative juices flowing so I can start working on the nursery.  This weekend we moved everything out of the guest room and into the basement to make room for baby.  I've pretty much settled on Arrowhead Lake from Behr for the color of the walls (with white trim).

I sampled it this weekend and both my husband and I really like it in there.  I like that it doesn't scream baby and could easily be sophisticated for a grown up bedroom.  I actually got the inspiration from the latest Wisteria catalog that I got (by the way, if you haven't looked at it closely, you need to because I want everything in there!).

That's about as far as I've gotten - a paint color and a cleared out room.  Next step is getting my husband to paint...

I have been looking at lots of ideas on Pinterest, of course.  It's overwhelming now that it is actually my turn to do this to try to pick everything and make a decision on what direction I'm going to go in with the room.

Here are some of my inspiration pics:

All images from here.