woven light

there's something really lovely about light coming through woven materials. i love the burlap/linen types as well as the wider, woodier thatched styles and i've been contemplating their use a lot recently. i think they're a really earthy alternative to a chandelier, but the earthiness itself can be a certain kind of elegance.

 

i especially enjoy when the woven material is juxtaposed with a luxe one, like this high-shine silver base or this mercury glass one. similarly, i'd love to see a woven piece like this in an otherwise modern space...it would ground it and soften the edges, don't you think?

this one is my favorite one of all, though. wouldn't a nicely-spaced row of them look amazing in so many settings?

images from here, here, here, and linked sites

lean + laze

how fun is this lean + laze lounger from pb teen? i'm a full-fledged grown up and i love it. as is often the case, it's way less expensive than it would be if it were marketed towards adult spaces, so i think it's a great find.

rose colored glasses...and blue and purple and white and green....

i'm a little taken with colored glass bottles right now...they're so pretty, especially in lovely pastel shades like these.



i love how this collection is all in shades of blue...so collected and grown-over-time looking, isn't it?

tag sales and flea markets are great places to find glass like this, but it can be challenging to amass a sizable collection upon deciding you want to have one so i like the idea of being on the lookout for good finds at places like that while also picking up a few here and there in retail settings like these and these from west elm. all together they look a little too mass-produced, but mixed in with vintage and mismatching pieces, they totally work.





pier 1 also sells glass bottles, seen below, and in small doses, they can contribute nicely to a collection. these feel more kitcheny feel, right?


and possibly some of the nicest are from pottery barn, like these:






love!

to the max(field)

you know how i feel about things having a collected-over-time feeling (in a nutshell, i adore it). so the maxfield flatware from pottery barn has always made my heart sing. too bad i made its acquaintance after i received every kitchen item under the sun from my wedding registry. if i were to register now, these would be at the very top of my list. the set is comprised of five different place setting styles, and is perfectly mismatched in that timeless, vintage way so many of us strive for in our homes. what i also love about it is that if you eventually inherit flatware pieces or serving pieces from your parents or grandparents, they can mix right in and they make it all that much more authentic.


well since my registry ship has sailed (several years ago at this point), i'm going for the next best thing by collecting mismatched flatware whenever i can find it super cheap. last time i was up in woodstock, i scored an entire basket of old flatware for $1. can't beat that. i recently started polishing it...not easy. i get the whole elbow grease thing now. so i'll do it over time, and one day maybe i'll have a set as lovely as the maxfield.

for the birds

there's something utterly charming about birds, isn't there? a few weeks ago, the arrival of the sounds of birds - with their curious chirping and foraging - was a real pick-me-up. i'm starting to form my birdfeeding plan (remember my last attempt?)...definitely included is an abundant supply of birdseed in my standing feeder, or maybe this one which i still think about.

oh, and a hummingbird feeder. i had the pleasure of seeing real hummingbirds for the first time last summer at my parents' house and they are truly amazing looking, aren't they? my mom put red food coloring in the water which seemed to attract them like crazy, moreso than just the red tip of the feeder.


i love all these bird figures for little spots inside and outside the home, don't you? of course as easter approaches we see everything adorned with birds and their nests - cake plates, pillows, serving bowls - but to me, the ones that are most appealing are like those pictured here, made of natural, organic looking materials, because it's in these cases that they actually look like real, live birds. i don't need bird salt and pepper shakers or candle holders, birds pretending to be something else. to me, that erodes at their natural charm. they're perfect, and enough, just as they are - simply as flying, walking, chirping little creatures.

i love their still, quiet serenity here and the sense of privilege i feel looking at these...it's a frozen close-up look at the likeness of birds which never stay still long enough to admire.




i'm also obsessing about the idea of framed bird print like this one or these to lean on a nightable like this one or this one, perhaps on a low stack of books.

yet another reason to be happy spring is on the horizon.

top image, image 2, images 3,4, images 5,6, image 7, images 8,9, image 10, image 11

a mismatch made in heaven

i love the use of mismatching woods in this little vignette -- the pale gray stained chair is totally unpurposeful looking with the walnut hutch, isn't it? and the white wainscotting and picture frames add even another layer of that collected feeling. i find images like this inspiring because it lets us see how much possibility there is in the things we already own...hand-me-downs, heirlooms, tag sale finds and the occasional new purchase can all live together in a kind of harmony that you just can't buy out of a catalog. well, i guess in this case you actually could. well done pottery barn.

you like?

image

in the bedroom

isn't the the charlotte bedside table sweet? i love the way they're distressed, but not so distressed that it looks intentional. and i love the simple, clean look of it and think it would be perfectly lovely to rest a book or two on, and the tiniest of lamps. i don't even know how i'd decide which color to choose...they're each so nice in their own way. i could picture the blue one in an otherwise white and cream room, but then the white would be so nice in that room as well...

seeing red

sometimes i feel bored by red, but i'm kind of loving the idea of a bunch of these red chairs from pier 1 surrounding a big wooden table like this one.

or even a more modern one like this.

the chairs' ladderback, shaker style reads like a neutral to me now, where a few years ago i would have thought they looked dated and stuffy. perhaps it's the idea of mixing them with a different colored wood that i like, and i love this pottery barn version too, and you could even mix and match colors. a really inexpensive option would be to buy a set of these simple chairs from ikea and paint them yourself with whatever color you want. high-gloss would be fab!

to make the look a collected, relaxed one, i like the idea of throwing in a couple of different pieces too. i would probably go for 4 or 6 of the red chairs, and then add in one of these stools ...

and one or two slipcovered parsons chairs, depending on the size of your table.

or you could keep the look a little more uniform but still not matchy by swapping out two of the pier 1 red chairs for two of these which are a slightly different red and have arms.

do you like the idea of a deconstructed dining room set? this image was what originally got my wheels turning on it, and i've loved it ever since.