Hard and Soft: Mixing in Wood Pieces

Here's a look I've been seeing a lot of lately, and loving it!  Mixing in wooden or organic forms with clean lines or light colors.  Love the balance of hard and soft.  Here's a particularly great example:

This beautiful dining room combines hard and soft elements very gracefully. The room is airy, soft and a little bit funky.  Because the well chosen objects are graphic in shape, there is still a simplicity to the room which adds a peaceful feel.  The soft painting and white walls lend an airiness to the room.  The lovely and simple table runner looks like a cloud on the dark table.  The table also grounds this airy room.

Here's another view of dining room.  Love the balance of the old with the new.  The light and dark.  The simplicity of the Eames chairs is perfectly juxtaposed with the heaviness of the table.  The unexpected mismatched chairs  provide a rugged touch while remaining airy as they are painted white to match the walls.  In the corner a proud ethnic piece has gained prominence by not having to compete with a jumble of art.  The look is skillful and perfectly balanced.  There is also a perfect balance of masculine and feminine in the room.

As you know, my preferences always lean toward the simpler, uncluttered home.  But I do love beautiful things, color and texture as well.  To satisfy these needs and yet remain uncluttered is what I strive for in decor. This type of restraint is all about balance.  It may look simple, but it's not easy.  However, if you are able to pull it off, the peaceful feeling you enjoy while spending time a room like this is so worth it!   This couple managed to pulled it off in their entire home and with a child and dog!  Proving it can be done.  A fine achievement in decor.   I highly recommend the rest of the home tour.  To see the rest of this gorgeous home:  Courtney & Michael's Scandinavian Comfort via Apartment Therapy.

Mood Board: Pink and Red!

Red is a powerful color.  It's probably the most feared color in decor.  I'm not a big user of red in decor, but there's nothing to fear about red.  If you need to be especially confident for a meeting or speech, wear red. Don't listen to what anyone says about red lipstick - it's sexy!  Especially with a nude eye makeup.  In home decor, a little red goes a long way.  And red looks great with pink, as the following pictures show.

I adore this photograph by  Femke Reijerman via See | Me.  At first I thought the girl was walking along the beach.  Perhaps it is the illusion of wind in the photo or perhaps it is because I miss Lake Erie so much.  I realized after sometime that she was actually walking by a painted brick wall.  In my opinion, this illusion shows the skill of the photographer.  I was literally transported by this photo.  I'd love to see it blown up very large and hanging in this dining room.

Can't you see it hanging on the left wall?  And how fab is this dining room?  The pink table and red chairs look so hot in this industrial looking loft.  They work well because the floors and walls are white.  It's very clever that there are no objects placed on the table.  It's gorgeous enough to stand on its own as art, with no competing objects.  Also dig that hot pink island.  David Mikhail via Desire to Inspire.

You already know that gray is my new favorite color and that I'd love to do an accent wall in gray.  The color scheme of pale pink, red and slate gray is stunning in this kitchen sitting area!  Oh dear, I was sure I was going to do a scheme of yellow, pink and gray for Spring.  But maybe now I'll do red, pink and gray.  So many colors, so little time.  The more I fall in love with color, the more that I learn there really aren't any colors I don't like, and there really aren't any colors that don't go together. Photographed by Anna De Leeuw for vtwonen.

You don't have to use a lot of color to have an impact.  A piece of art in a bold pink and red looks great in an otherwise restrained room.  Go big with your art for an uncluttered look.  Love the hanging lamp and the table (the Saarinen is my favorite table of all time) and chairs.  Aga's Modern Interior in an Old Building via Apartment Therapy.  Want to see more beautiful uses of pink and red?  Click here.

Pink dining room

Below I listed some beautiful dining rooms that are part of my inspiration file.  Those rooms featured rustic tables.  I adore this room, so I had to include it as well, even though the table is modern.  This is one of my favorite dining rooms.  The pink on the walls is a scrumptious shade and proves that pink can be used in a modern way.  I adore the pink armoire.  This room would make a great office, and the armoire would provide tons of storage.  Image Alcro via Emmas Design Blog.

Office inspiration from dining rooms

Today I was obsessing about how to make my office space more beautiful.  This is a concern for more people everyday, as our home increasing becomes a work/live space.  For me, the answer to my office dilemma seems to come from dining room inspiration.  I don't need a dining room, but do need an office.  I need a very large table to spread out, and a buffet is the perfect solution for beautiful storage.  I especially love the look of a light rustic table in reclaimed wood, or pickled pine, combined with modern chairs, lighting and art.  Here are some photos from my inspiration file.  I think any of these could be turned into a fine office.

This is one of my favorite dining rooms of all times.  I've featured it before on this blog.  See previous post here.

Rustic table, modern chairs and modern art.  Adds up to pure beauty.  Image source unknown.  Bad blogger.  I think I got this image from sfgirlbybay, but not sure.  Please contact me if you know the source of this image.

I prefer wood in light or natural colors.  I love this image.  Love the art.  Make sure to check out the rest of this beautifully simple home tour.  Dante's Simple & Sophisticated Style via Apartment Therapy.

These pink modern chairs look fabulous with this table, and work well in this industrial loft.  The rustic theme of the column is repeated in table and is balanced nicely by the more feminine chandelier.  I'd love a work space like this.  I'm sure abundant creativity would flow from this space.  Image Fritz Hansen.

Starbucks Art

I adore Starbucks. No other coffee will do, but it's more than that. I receive superior customer service there. It's a great way to start the day, with a smile and with the inspirational "How I See It" on your cup.

I am also madly in love with the graphic artists that work for Starbucks. If you like graphic art and logos, Starbucks is a visual cornucopia. The Starbucks mermaid is the cutest logo I've ever seen. I'm also in love with their gum tins, their cards, their pamphlets, their cups (see my favorite Starbucks cup here). I've been very noble in exercising restraint when it came to their thermoses. They are so cute I could have had an entire collection!

Here are some examples of Starbucks' graphic art I've collected.

Gum tins. I want to have these framed.

Detail of gum tins.  Here are a few of the cards I've collected.




My personal favorite:
Isn't it fab? I adore it! You can even design your own card at their website. Wouldn't that make a great gift? (link)

Love this coaster. I've shown this before, but it makes sense show it again. This is one of the finest examples of type I've ever seen. I could see this piece rasterized and hung in a dining room in a loft. The dining room, would of course be all white and have a pale rustic farm table like this one:

I'd love to see a combination the Paton S chair and the ghost chair with this table. This is one of my favorite dining rooms of all time. I keep it my inspiration file and think it would be a perfect counterpart to the industrial kitchen I wrote about below. Image from Dwell, May 2006. Sorry for the tangent, that's how my brain works. One thing influences the other. Creativity influences creativity.

To the guidance counselor who talked me out of becoming a graphic designer: I wish I hadn't listened.

To young people everywhere: trust your heart.

To the graphic artists at Starbucks: thanks for being an inspiration!

That's how I see it.