Pottery Jones

Hello dear readers!  Well, I said I wasn't going to do it - but I got some new vases for my apartment.  Oh well, it's an addiction.  One from the Goodwill, one from Marshalls, and one was a gift.  Now I'm busying rearranging pottery in my apartment and I must admit it is one of my favorite things to do.  Display is an art form.  Beautiful objects need beautiful display.   I wish I owned a pottery store!  I scoured the Internet looking for some inspiration and found plenty.  Here's a few beautiful displays of pottery.

Love the pale gray vases!  Gray is one of my new favorite colors.  I'd love to decorate a room in all soft shades of gray.  Dreamy.  Image via Bolig Magasinet.

I love this monochromatic display!  One of my favorite ways to display vases is by color.  I also love all the simple shapes.

Drool worthy display of German op art pieces.  Above two images Roger's Carefully Curated London Home via Apartment Therapy.

Another beautiful display.  Love the pop of gray and the pop of orange.  Also love the frames as art, great use of negative space.  I love when beautiful objects are displayed and the overall look is still clean and simple. 

I need these vases!  Matte finishes are my favorite!  That yellow chair is not bad either.  Above two images  Rachel and Marc's Bright, Beautiful London Home via Apartment Therapy.

I love vases paired with art.  Cute organic cut paper art by Tiel Seivi-Keevers.

Color Scheme: Pink, Gray, White and Black

Here is a color scheme I just can't get enough of.  I'm obsessed.  Pink (both hot pink and pale pink), gray, black, and tons of white.  The white makes it airy, while the black makes it romantic, sophisticated and the hot pink makes it a little edgy.  A perfect color scheme.  It looks great with pops of turquoise, red or yellow.  Or for even more romance, lilac and silver.

Hot pink and gray are fab together as these two pieces of art show.  Pink is not just a girly color and can be used in a modern and edgy way.  I love both of these pieces of art so much, I'd love to have them reproduced on very large canvases.  Images:  left flickr user orphotographer, right the style files. Here are some gorgeous rooms in this color scheme.  I am also loving the addition of organic pieces.

Bolig Magasinet

Light Locations

Ish and Chi

Notice those legs on the coffee table.  I love how the paint treatment makes them look like they've been dipped.  It's the best of both worlds.  Add some color and show the wood.  I'm seeing these everywhere and I love them.  Stay tuned for a post devoted to this subject.

My Scandanavian Home

 Harriet Anstruther via New York Times

BluBleu

How awesome is this bathroom?  I thoroughly love the modern shape of the hot pink tub.  I'd love to see an over sized crystal chandelier hanging here.

Want just a little of this color scheme?  Pillows are the perfect way to add a pop of color.  These gorgeous pillows are from Bholu.

New Apartment

Here's a first look at my new apartment.  It's humble and small, and I love it!  I love it more than any where I've lived in a long while.  After years of living in old buildings, I have a new appreciation for clean and modern.

I love that the apartment has a little entry way.  I have one of my paintings hanging there.  The air conditioner is an eye sore, but thank God it's there.  It's a necessity.  I've actually used it already!  Who would have thought it would be 87 degrees in March!

Here's the living room, proudly displaying my Dee Adams painting. My stuff fit perfectly!  There is nothing new here.  I'd love to have a new  lamp where my moon lamp is.  I can see the lamp in my head:  oversized, mid-century, Danish-inspired, turquoise....I hope to find it at a flea market this summer!  I have an oversized ottoman that I am currently recovering and hope to show you soon.

I love the hanging lantern!  I might add a couple more at staggered lengths.  I also love the deck.  There's a tree right outside my window which will provide great shade and privacy once it blooms.  What a blessing!

I have part of my rock collection on my end table.

Here's the view to the entry way from the sofa.  Not really a fan of carpet, but I like that this carpet is neutral and unobtrusive.  It's great to walk around unselfconsciously.  I prefer wood floors, but everywhere I've lived the floors creaked.  The building is so quiet it's wonderful.  I can't hear cars, sirens, buses, planes, helicopters or trains (like I could at my previous place)!

As you know, I purged a great deal and went with a simple aesthetic, all though colorful.  Wish I could paint the walls!  Here is a view of the island separating the living room from the kitchen.  I love it!  It's so cute and efficient.  This is by far the most efficient kitchen I've ever had.  I'd like to get a couple of cute stools to put by the island.

Here's a view from my living area to the kitchen.  Cupboards are pretty generic, but at least they are clean and new, and there are a lot of them.  I'm able to store computer, art and photography supplies in them.  That's a lucky thing because my closets are teeny tiny!  I love my Urban Outfitters rug there.  I bought this rug sometime ago and thought it had been a mistake.  It didn't fit in my last apartment, but it's perfect here.

I wish I could paint the cupboards and take the doors off.  But it's a rental.  I'm really pleased with this apartment.  There are all kinds of little luxuries.  There are plenty of outlets, which is a blessing.  There's actually an outlet for my blow dryer in the bathroom and medicine cabinet!  Two luxuries I have been without for a long time.  There's on site laundry.  And, thank God I don't have to walk up three flights of stairs anymore!  But the best part is the simplicity.  It only takes me 10-15 minutes to clean the whole place!

The bedroom needs a little work, so I'll show that to you at a later date.  As you know, my place is always a work in progress.  Thanks for reading!  Hope you have a great weekend.  xxoo

New Stuff

There's a perk in my new neighborhood - a really nice Goodwill store.  Even though I got rid of a lot of stuff - and even though I'm trying to control my consumption - I still felt like I needed a little something new for my new place.  I found a cute teal vase and a really cool architectural remnant.  $1.50 total!  This is the way to spend money and not feel guilty.  Then if you tire of the items, you can just donate them back.  It's the ultimate in recycling.

Stay tuned!  New pictures of my apartment coming up!

Design Overload, Part II: Color Inspiration

So many choices.  How does one decide which colors to use when decorating when they are in love with color?  I think the key must is to trust our instincts, do what we like and let our place evolve and change.  Here are more of my ramblings on color.  As you know, any color scheme I contemplate has large amounts of pink.  Pink and yellow is one of my favorite color schemes.

 

Did you see the cover of the recent Inside Out?  It's gorgeous!  I wish I had seen the magazine.  I love these colors.  So happy and full of energy.

Ya'll know that Nicki Minaj is the shit right now.  Here she is rocking a pink wig with yellow lipstick.  Too fab.

Or how about pink and orange?  Also fun and energetic.  Love this color blocked frock from Forever 21.

Or how about yellow, orange and pink?  This sporty little dress shows it works.  This dress is so cute it could be a painting!  Sorry, I don't remember where I found the image.  I know it's from an Etsy shop.  Please contact me if you know the designer of this dress.

I love yellow with turquoise.  Love the lamp in this picture.  But I think those pillows should be replaced with hot pink ones. Bethany and Joshua's Calming Lake View via Apartment Therapy.

See how great hot pink pillows look with blue?  Love the blue sofa, with the hot pink pillows, organic table and gray ceiling and Moroccan-inspired lanterns.  Cool updated mid-century look.  Spearmint Decor via My Mod Style.

This hot pink chair looks great with the gray walls.  Wish I could paint my walls gray!  Image via Craig Wall.  Anyone know the designer of that fab hot pink chair?

Omigosh - did you know the Vago chair now comes in hot pink?  It's so affordable too!  I need two of these for my deck.  I've said it a million times.  Why isn't there an Ikea locally?

 

I never tire of pink walls!  Love this gorgeous room!  It's divine!  I adore the combination of the pink walls, white floor, orange bedding, pops of black and that fab spaghetti lamp.  The room was designed by Debi of Greener Pastures - A City Girl Goes Country for her teenage daughter.  Lucky girl!

A pop of hot pink looks great in this otherwise earthy neutral room.  Recognize that lamp?  (See previous post here.)  Image via est magazine.

Love this romantic room.  The gray walls and sofa look great with the hot pink pillows.  Image via Fey Handmade.  I also love mostly white rooms (especially with white floors) with pops of pink and black or gray.

Image via delikatissen.

Image via Frances Herrera.

Love these beautiful glass vases.  Image via Purple Area.  What's a girl to do when she's addicted to two (or three or four...) different color schemes?  Can all these colors be incorporated into a home that is chic, simple, minimal, modern, Asian, ethnic, Bohemian and Moroccan-influenced?  The key is loving what you have, having fun while decorating and maintaining a sense of balance. 

Design Overload, Part I: Shopping for Inspiration

I was on a wait list for quite sometime for my new apartment.  The time I spent waiting was spent obsessing over design, color schemes and what things I would take with me.  I was really torn on my color scheme.  Of course it would have lots of pink.  But would I have pink with yellow?  Pink with orange?  I also need turquoise, my second favorite color.  I love turquoise with yellow.  And some gray, my new favorite.  Love gray with purple.  Oh so many choices.  I haven't been shopping in quite a while, so decided to shop for some inspiration.  Even though I had no intention of buying anything until I got in my new place, it was fun.  Here are some of the cool things I saw.  Never a shortage of cool things to buy.  First stop Target.

Target had the coolest microwave ever.  I have an open kitchen in my new place, so maybe this Hello Kitty microwave would fit in well.  That brings up another design dilemma.  I love simplicity, but also love a graphic punch.

 

I am on the lookout for an oversize turquoise lamp.  I'm thinking of something ceramic, with some Dutch mid-century influence.  However, these glass lamps at Target were pretty sweet.  They are much prettier in person than in the picture. The picture makes them look sort of green, and they are more teal.  They would look great with an oversize shade.  I love the teal end table.  Reminds me of the teal I used in my kitchen shelving in my previous place.  (See previous post here.)

I don't really use red in my place, but these cute vases at Target were tempting.  I'd love to see these in my brother and sister-in-law's place.  On to TJ Maxx.

Where I saw this cute lamp with an over sized shape.  Even though it's for a little girl's room, I adore it!  I've always wanted to decorate a little girl's room, but I'd use this for myself.

I am completely smitten with this bench.  I'd love to have it in my entry way.

Also in love with this end table.

 

 And this dresser!  Love yellow with turquoise.

 Saw these beautiful pillows at Home Goods.  Love purple and gray together.

This is my sister-in-law's office with her new chair and pillow.  More proof that purple and gray look fab together.

stuff...

Man I hate moving.  I just can't figure out why humans have so much stuff.  I've never been a pack rat or a hoarder.   I feel burdened by so much stuff.  I long for the minimal days of my youth, where everything I owned could be packed in my car.  I loved the freedom of feeling mobile, I could move on a moment's notice if I wanted to.  But I started accumulating.  And purging, trying desperately to keep the clutter at bay.  It's a constant balance.  A love of beautiful things, and a love of sparseness.  Even though I've been downsizing over the last couple of years, this time I was ruthless in my editing.  The place I am moving to is small.  And more than anything, I want simplicity.

As I said, I was ruthless in my editing.  I got rid of rugs, drapes, exercise equipment, most of my books, all the clothes that didn't fit, 90% of my pottery collection, furniture, my journals, tons of paper (where does it all come from?).  After getting rid of so much stuff, there was still so much left.  I am so sick of lugging my paintings around, I almost stopped at the dump to get rid of them.  My sister-in-law talked me out of it.

Ah, time to unpack.  Here's all the stuff in my new place.  Even though I still have a lot of work to do, it's a relief to be here.  I've lived in small places before, but I think this is the smallest.  I do love its layout, though.  Love the open kitchen.  Now the fun begins.  Time to decorate!