Charish Style Challenge: Balance is Key

Hi friends!  Ever heard of the company Chairish?  They are an online store that sells vintage furniture, decor, jewelry and other accessories.  I came across their website a while back and found myself sucked into the virtual vortex of beautiful objects.  So when they contacted me about participating in their "Style Challenge" I was absolutely up for the game!

I love mixing furnishings of different styles and time periods. And Chairish is the perfect source to create an eclectic curated look.  I put together a style board for a Cool Eclectic Blue Bedroom.  All the items I've selected are from the Chairish website except the Anthropology bedding, and West Elm curtains. The key to combining all the beautiful unique pieces you might find at Chairish is balance...

(1) Corbeille Cane Bed, (2) Labyrinth Embroidered Duvet, (3) Claude Medallion Flocked Curtains, (4) Spanish Revival Gothic Double Pendant, (5) Teal & Green Pottery Vase, (6) Danish Teak Nightstands, (6) Persian Overdyed Rug, (8) Rocking Chaise Lounge, (9) Vintage Blue & White Garden Stool, (10) Brass Giraffes, (11) Vintage French Glass Box, (12) Bamboo Campaign Chest, (13) Gilt Wood Mirror, (14) Regina Andrew Aqua Lamp

This design was inspired by the beautiful blue Persian Overdyed Rug. I just love the texture and intensity of it, while still feeling tranquil and calm.  To tone down and balance the intensity, I brought in some more traditional pieces in lighter colors, like the Corbeille Cane Bed and the Faux Bamboo Campaign Chest.  Next I mixed in a more contemporary mid-century modern Adrian Pearshall Rocking Chaise Lounge.  To balance that out, the Danish Teak Nightstands which would be located across the room are also a mid-century style and have similar wood tone to the rocker's legs. then I found a Spanish Revival Gothic Double Pendant that I absolutely love and had to use. Something about a draping chain pendant gets me every time.  Even though it is a completely different style from anything else, by balancing it with other gold items, like the Gilt Wood Mirror, it doesn't seem out of place. The curve of the top of the mirror even echos the line of the headboard! The remaining accessories carry the colors of the rug throughout the design.

So remember balance and don't be afraid to mix that awesome mid-century chair you found with an ornate table!

{Re-Styling} What's On My Coffee Table

Do you guys constantly move things in your home around?  I do.  I'm constantly re-styling my house by moving things I have around.  Because when my eyes have seen the same thing over and over for a while, it's like my brain doesn't even notice it's there anymore.  So the pretty vingette I created last just looks 'blah' to me a few weeks later.  Not only does re-styling give a new look that feels fresh on the eyes, but it gives me the opportunity to enjoy things that I've become accustom to overlooking, and it also gets me to dust when I'd otherwise put it off.  When the goal is re-styling instead of cleaning, its much more fun, right?!

So I thought I'd share my coffee table with you today. Especially being that I just read the Nester's post on creating vignettes.

I got this vase from my mom for Christmas and misplaced it for a while. So glad I found it! I just love the earthy colors, classic shape, and movement in it!

Noah's ARC Nursery Photos

Happy Friday! This weekend is the last weekend that the Noah's ARC Design Challenge vignettes will be up in Orange County Salvation Army stores and the last few days for you to bid on these awesome upcycled donations made fabulous by design students from Westwood College, Art Institute, Saddleback College, and Interior Designers Institute (including moi!). So even though I still have a few more projects from the Noah's ARC Nursery to show you, but I wanted to share my photos of the final space.  In addition to these, Ruel of R-2 Visual Studios in Orange County photographed the spaces, so feel free to check out his website for more photos of us and our competitors.  You can also read more about the competition on the Salvation Army's blog as well.

Get ready for picture overload...

If you want more details about how this space came together check out my posts labeled "Noah's ARC Design Challenge."

A Nursery Armoire Before & After

Hello fellow readers and bloggers! Sorry for the hiatus.  After the completion of the Noah's ARC Design Challenge, which I first told you about here, I took a little break from blogging.  I had a super relaxing weekend and hope you did too!

But now its time to get on top of the remaining projects from Noah's ARC (not literally of course).  Today I'm going to share with you the deets on this beautiful before and after...

We started with this armoire we found at the warehouse...

It has some really beautiful details...

These lovely feminine curves are what dictated most of our other furniture choices.  (More on that here.)  But it also had quite a few large dings in it...

To cover up these blemishes and create a real fresh and clean look, we decided to go white.  (More about our painting plan here.)  So I patched up these nicks and dings with some wood filler, sanded them down, and then handed it off to Rachel took to it with the air compressor and spray gun full of Sherwin Williams "Westhighland White."

With it all painted white inside and out, it looked sparkly and new! But we wanted to give it a little something extra.  So I taped off the bottom insdie and painted the back by hand with SW "Colonial Revival Sea Green."  (Sorry for the poor picture quality; I was painting in the poorly-lit garage at night.)  

We also had two pieces of wood cut to create shelves. Initially we thought we'd have to create braces to hold them up, but as we began painting we noticed that it already had holes for dowels to hold up shelves.  The great thing about this is that whoever its new owner may be can adjust the shelves to their liking!  With  the shelves painted white, we popped them in.

To hang clothes, we cut down an old rake found at the warehouse and attached it with brackets from Home Depot.

Lastly, we taped off the lower inside door panels and painted them with chalkboard paint.  I love this last little touch!  Adorable and functional for your little child's budding creativity!

With the project complete, I styled the shelves with baby clothes, shoes, childrens' books and some storage bins beautified by Pavitra with decorative paper...

PS.  All final photos are taken with my new Canon Rebel t3i. Yay! :)